The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has assured that investigations will be conducted regarding allegations of extortion in the Amansie Central District to enable illegal mining in the area.
The Ministry’s Media Relations Officer, Paa Kwesi Schandorf, affirmed that Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the sector minister, has formally acknowledged the development and appropriate action will be taken.
“Yesterday, JoyNews aired an exposé on galamsey involving the Amansie Central District. The sector minister, Hon. Armah-Kofi Buah, has taken note of this development and the government will look into the allegations and take appropriate action,” Paa Kwesi Schandorf stated on Facebook on Tuesday, February 10.
The assurance comes after a documentary, titled ‘A Tax for Galamsey’
According to the documentary, the monies termed “taxes” extorted by local political appointees were to prevent raids to mining sites by security task forces.
The alleged extortion and the illegal activities undermine the intensified efforts of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) against galamsey activities.
Meanwhile, the Amansie Central District Assembly has denied claims that it set up a scheme to profit from illicit mining operations, maintaining that collecting money from earthmoving equipment operators has been a custom that has been followed for many years under various administrations.
In a statement issued on February 9, 2026, the Assembly’s Public Relations Officer described recent media reports about a “galamsey tax” in the District are misleading and a misrepresentation of an old administrative practice “to suit a convenient political narrative.”
The Assembly maintained that the collection of revenue from operators using earth-moving equipment “did not originate under the current administration” and has existed for many years across several political administrations.
“Records available at the Assembly, including official receipts from 2023 and 2024, clearly show that similar revenues were collected in 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and in subsequent years. The current administration did not introduce this system. It inherited an already existing administrative arrangement,” the statement read.
According to the Assembly, revenue collection is based on a bylaw passed as far back as 2008.
