The government had paid GH¢16 million to the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) by the time of its 23 July 2026 Mid-Year Review. That is 10.6% of the GH¢150.36 million the 2026 Budget allocated to it, with more than half the year gone.
The figures come from the Finance Ministry's own documents. The 2026 Budget's Appendix 4A gives NAIMOS GH¢140.36 million for goods and services and GH¢10 million for capital spending. The Mid-Year Review Speech (para 384) listed payments made "so far", including "GH¢16 million to the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS)".
It did not give a cut-off date. The speech was delivered on 23 July, when 204 days, or 55.9%, of the year had passed.
The 2027 Budget, read on 12 November, raises the NAIMOS line to GH¢200.36 million. That is 33.3% more than the 2026 allocation and 12.9% more than the GH¢177.52 million the 2026 Budget had pencilled in for 2027. The 2027 tables also add a new GH¢400 million line for land reclamation, about twice the NAIMOS figure.
The 2026 table for the Lands Ministry had no such line. These are planned allocations, not money released or spent.
Source: Ministry of Finance, 2026 Budget Appendix 4A [Economic Sector – GOG]; 2026 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review Speech, 23 July 2026, para 384 (a rounded “so far” figure with no stated cut-off date); 2027 Budget Appendix 4A [Economic Sector – GOG]. The 2026 and 2027 NAIMOS figures, and the 2027 land-reclamation line, are planned allocations, not releases.
What people on X are saying
On Saturday, JoyNews's Newsfile programme debated whether the anti-galamsey campaign has failed. @Joy997FM summarised Senyo Hosi, convener of the OneGhana Movement, as saying "Ghana has already failed in the galamsey fight and cannot win with the same strategy".
According to MyJoyOnline, Mr Hosi said: "We cannot rely on NAIMOS alone to win a war which has taken seed at the local level." He also said success should be measured by water quality: "You should be telling us whether our water bodies have improved with all the investments you have made in that particular sector."
NAIMOS spokesperson Paa Kwesi Schandorf rejected the verdict on the same programme. Modern Ghana quoted him: "Government may be rolling in a raft of interventions to deal with the issue, but the results would not be immediate and instantaneous." A @JoyNewsOnTV clip of the exchange had about 16,500 impressions by Saturday evening.
What the budget says NAIMOS did
The 2027 Budget Statement (para 1233) says NAIMOS ran 274 operations across 58 districts between January and August 2026. It lists 120 excavators, 3,234 "chanfangs" and 716 water pumps removed from illegal sites. For 2027 it promises a shift "from periodic disruption to sustained denial of access across major rivers, forest reserves, and critical infrastructure corridors" (para 1234).
What it means
On the ministry's own figures, the secretariat had received about a tenth of its 2026 allocation by the July mid-year review. The 2027 plan is bigger. NAIMOS and land reclamation together come to GH¢600.36 million, about four times NAIMOS's 2026 line.
We found no published figure for NAIMOS payments after July. The Finance Ministry and NAIMOS were not asked for comment for this piece, and no fresh statement on NAIMOS releases was found.
StatsGH has previously reported mercury levels in the Pra and Ankobra rivers, the kind of measure Mr Hosi says should define success.
Limitations
The GH¢16 million is a rounded figure in a speech. It has no stated cut-off date and may not capture anti-galamsey spending through other votes, such as the security services'. Payments after July are not yet published.
Sources: Ministry of Finance, 2026 Budget Statement and Economic Policy (Appendix 4A [Economic Sector – GOG], Appendix 4B 2027 [Economic Sector Summary – All Funding Sources], para 1172) and 2026 Budget Speech para 489. Ministry of Finance, 2026 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review Speech, 23 July 2026, para 384. Ministry of Finance, 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, 12 November 2026, paras 1233-1234, 1583-1584 and Appendix 4A 2027 [Economic Sector – GOG] (printed p.191). MyJoyOnline, "We can't rely on NAIMOS alone to fight galamsey – Senyo Hosi", 14 Nov 2026. MyJoyOnline, "The fight against galamsey has failed – Senyo Hosi", 14 Nov 2026. Modern Ghana, "Galamsey damage accumulated over years cannot be reversed immediately – Kwesi Schandorf", 14 Nov 2026. 3News, "2027 Budget in numbers: Ato Forson's key figures".
X posts: @Joy997FM; @Joy997FM; @JoyNewsOnTV. StatsGH, USGS mercury in Pra and Ankobra rivers, 12 Nov 2026.