Krontihene of Akyem Asuom, Nana Boadi Amponim Obodade III
The Krontihene of Akyem Asuom, Nana Boadi Amponim Obodade III, has shared details of how his efforts and initiatives to combat illegal mining in his community were ultimately ineffective.
Speaking to GH One TV on January 17, 2025, the outspoken traditional leader noted that he felt compelled to take action due to the widespread dominance of illegal mining activities, known in local parlance as galamsey in his township.
“I took it upon myself to at least find a solution to that [galamsey] and so I together with the Asafo would go around making sure that miners do necessary reclamation,” he said.
He mentioned that, as part of his commitment to addressing the issue, he submitted petitions to various government agencies in the Eastern Region, but these efforts did not lead to any positive results.
“… I made petitions to several agencies. I wrote a petition to the Assistant to the Regional Commander of the Eastern Region, Commander Ohene Boadi Bossman, and his people of the Southern Command but didn’t have any help from them. I petitioned the Minerals Commission inspectorate at Koforidua but nothing came from them.”
According to Obodade III, the lack of response did not discourage him, and he took it a step further by reaching out to the Ghana Armed Forces, who then deployed soldiers as volunteers to help address the issue.
“I petitioned the operations unit and even went as far as the Southern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces where some soldiers volunteered to come and help us,” he continued.
Obodade III, a strong critic of the previous Akufo-Addo government, disclosed that foreign Chinese nationals apprehended by the military task force for illegal mining were later released.
He added that, along with the soldiers who apprehended the foreigners, he was strangely labeled a criminal, which eventually led to him being taken to court.
He alleged that this was due to the interference of some powerful individuals in the state at the time.
“They were able to arrest some Chinese people and their Ghanaian counterparts, but as usual, the Chinese nationals were set free. They labeled me and the soldiers who had come to help as armed robbers and sent to court, with the case still pending at the Koforidua Court.
“It was obvious that instructions had come from above never to let any of those people venture into stopping galamsey…,” he concluded.
I submitted petitions to several government agencies regarding the galamsey issue, but nothing came of it... - Nana Boadi Amponim Obodade III (Kontihene of Asuom) #GHOneNews #EIBNetwork #GHOneTV #NewsAlert pic.twitter.com/K123z6JKcs
— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) January 17, 2025