Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, Eric Kevin Elikem Kotoko, has accused former President William Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, of endorsing illegal mining through reckless and irresponsible commentary while in office.
Kotoko indicates the former President was shielding the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, a.k.a. Wontumi, instead of ensuring he faced the full rigours of the law for his alleged involvement in galamsey.
He argues that the erstwhile administration’s failure to prosecute Wontumi and others showed the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia-led administration had no real commitment to fighting the menace despite several pronouncements to that effect.
Speaking on TV3’s BigIssue segment on the NewDay morning show on Monday, October 26, 2026, Kotoko said the then President’s commentary at the time emboldened persons involved in the illegality.
“In fact it looked like even the President at the time was endorsing the illegality with the commentary that was very reckless and irresponsible by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at the time when he seemed to be shielding Chairman Wontumi,” he said.
His comments were in reaction to the fallout from comments by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, in a video on galamsey operations which has since gone viral on social media.
In the video, Sammy Gyamfi said persons mining in areas not close to roadsides and water bodies should be allowed to mine until the GoldBod regularises their operations.
Some stakeholders have interpreted this as reckless and downplaying the severity of the menace.
The Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey has criticised the comments, describing them as disappointing and inconsistent with the fight against illegal mining and has called for a probe into the comments which it says appear to justify the act.
But Kotoko said the NPP has no moral authority to latch on to the criticism for political points because its own record on galamsey was worse.
According to him, galamsey was one of the major reasons the NPP was voted out because the government had no solution to the problem.
“If we are talking galamsey etc, the NPP would have absolutely no moral authority to want to even pass a comment on it,” he said, explaining that it “was one of the major reasons they were voted out.”
“Because they seemed not to have any solution to the problem at the time they were in power,” he added.
He cited the burning of Wontumi’s excavators during an anti-galamsey operation and his subsequent procession to court to secure compensation, a move he said was rejected by the court after he was found guilty.
“If you recall, even Chairman Wontumi who once had his excavator burnt, later went to court, trying to seek compensation that what was done him was wrong. The court rejected him and found him rather guilty and his case was thrown out,” he stated.
Kotoko said a responsible government was mandated by law to prosecute Wontumi after that ruling, but the then government failed to act and allowed impunity to fester.
“A very responsible government at the time was mandated by law, naturally to prosecute Wontumi. But they didn’t. They let him lose and allowed until one has come and is trying to do things right,” Kotoko added.
NPP has no moral authority to comment on galamsey – Forestry Commission Deputy CEO
