Galamsey Drones: I don't know their whereabouts, ask Prof Frimpong Boateng - Abu Jinapor

The immediate past Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has stated that he has no knowledge of the whereabouts of drones that were supposedly purchased during the Akufo-Addo administration to aid in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

His comment comes after his successor, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, revealed that since assuming office, he has not seen any of the drones reportedly procured by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government to support the fight against galamsey.

Addressing a gathering of management and staff of the Minerals Commission in Accra on Monday, April 7, 2025, Mr. Buah emphasized the importance of technology in combating illegal mining.

“Technology is very critical in this work. And I think from here, I’m going to see some geo-fencing activities you guys have done here and see how we can even make it bigger and expand it. Yes, there were reports of drones and other things from the Inter-Ministerial Committee.

But I can tell you that it’s probably part of the things we are looking at. I have not seen the drones since I became a minister, and I don’t know exactly where they are,” he noted.

Reacting to the claims in an interview with Joy FM on the same day, Samuel Abu Jinapor, who is also the Member of Parliament for Damongo, said he was neither handed any drones nor received any handover notes indicating that drones had been procured when he assumed office in 2021.

“These drones that are being talked about are drones which were supposedly bought in 2018 by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, which was headed by Professor Frimpong-Boateng. When I became minister, there was no handover note which suggested that drones had been bought, neither were there any drones handed over to me as minister.

So the correct place to direct the enquiry will be the Minerals Commission, which is the repository of all records about mining, and therefore they should have records of it, and/or the leadership of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining headed by Professor Frimpong-Boateng and his colleagues.”

When asked if he had queried the Inter-Ministerial Committee about the matter during his tenure, the former minister confirmed that he had.

“I made queries and enquiries. There were no records of these drones... they just did not exist at the time I became minister. Were they bought? Were they not bought? How were they handled? All these questions can be answered by the Inter-Ministerial Committee.”

It will be recalled that in 2017, then-Lands Minister John Peter Amewu faced public backlash over the government’s decision to purchase drones worth $3 million.

He explained that the drones were intended to help monitor and curb illegal logging in the country’s forest reserves.

KA

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