Dr. Razak Kojo Opoku has criticised Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah over what he describes as the government’s lack of significant progress in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
In a Facebook post responding to the Minister’s recent defence of the government’s anti-galamsey efforts, the financial economist and academic questioned whether Mr Buah’s performance in office had matched the expectations created by his earlier criticism of the Akufo-Addo administration.
Dr Opoku said Mr Buah’s strong criticism of former President Nana Akufo-Addo during his final State of the Nation Address had led many people to expect him to deliver a decisive response to illegal mining after being appointed Lands and Natural Resources Minister by President John Dramani Mahama.
However, he argued that after more than a year in office, the Minister had yet to make what he considered a significant impact on the galamsey menace.
“The way Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah bashed Nana Akufo-Addo during his last State of the Nation Address, many Ghanaians thought he was super-competent to succeed with the Galamsey fight when he was appointed as a Minister by President Mahama,” Dr Opoku wrote.
He further accused the Minister of resorting to what he described as an “ananse story” ahead of a possible ministerial reshuffle, referring to Mr Buah’s recent declaration that he would fight illegal mining with integrity rather than allow himself to be corrupted.
According to Dr Opoku, the Minister’s emotional public presentation at the beginning of his anti-galamsey campaign had raised expectations, but the results, in his assessment, had been disappointing.
Dr Opoku’s criticism follows comments by the sector minister after a recent operation along the Ankobra River in the Western Region.
The Minister has defended the government’s record, pointing to intensified security operations and the removal of illegal mining equipment from sections of the river as evidence of progress.
On Thursday, September 3, 2026, Mr Buah joined the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) and Navy Special Forces for a 16-kilometre patrol of the Ankobra River, from Dominase to Gwira Banso.
He challenged critics to visit the river and compare its current condition with what prevailed in previous years.
Mr Buah acknowledged that the Ankobra had not yet returned to its original blue colour but maintained that clearing the waterway of changfan machines and removing criminal groups represented significant progress.
Mr Buah also said the government’s anti-galamsey strategy had shifted from sporadic enforcement operations to intelligence-led interventions and permanent security deployments.
He explained that the objective is not only to remove illegal miners from affected areas but also to prevent them from returning after security operations.
The Minister said the approach is particularly evident along the Ankobra, where heavily armed groups had previously confronted security personnel.
He maintained that the groups had been removed and that security personnel were no longer facing armed resistance from illegal miners along the river.
“I think that if you have followed this very difficult work in the last close to two years, you will not be sitting on any TV in Accra talking that we are not making progress with the fight against illegal mining,” Mr Buah said.
“In fact, we are making substantial progress against the fight against illegal mining.”
He urged critics to visit mining-affected communities and inspect the condition of water bodies and mining sites for themselves rather than relying solely on discussions in Accra.
The differing positions have renewed debate over the effectiveness of the government’s anti-galamsey strategy, with Dr Opoku questioning the results achieved so far and Mr Buah maintaining that the intensified operations are producing tangible improvements.
By 1960news.com
