Blue Water Guards bribery arrests spark calls for reform in Ghana

Nine members of the Blue Water Guards were arrested in Manso Adubia, Ashanti Region, on allegations of bribery and impersonating officers from the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS). The guards, tasked with protecting Ghana’s water bodies from illegal mining (galamsey), are accused of assisting the very miners they were hired to monitor.

Manhyia North MP and former Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Akwasi Konadu, has called for an urgent review of the programme. He argued that the arrests indicate a fundamental failure in institutional design, supervision, and accountability rather than isolated misconduct. Konadu warned that if intelligence and enforcement movements can be compromised through bribery, the entire anti-galamsey architecture is weakened.

Konadu criticized the government's focus on increasing personnel numbers—noting the recent recruitment of 452 additional guards to bring the total to 2,069—stating that “numbers are not effectiveness.” He urged the government to establish clearer oversight regarding recruitment, intelligence verification, legal powers, and movement monitoring to ensure measurable environmental results.