Sammy Gyamfi and Bernard Antwi Boasiako
The Acting Managing Director of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), Sammy Gyamfi, has stated that the accountability period for the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, is near.
According to Gyamfi, the government’s revocation of Wontumi’s Akonta Mining license is a testament to President John Dramani Mahama’s commitment to tackling illegal mining, popularly known as “galamsey.”
“The day of reckoning for Chairman Wontumi and his ilk has come. @JDMahama means business. Together with well-meaning Ghanaians, we shall win the fight against illegal mining and preserve our environment,” he stated in a social media post on April 22, 2025.
His comments follow the government’s directive, through the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Armah Kofi Buah, instructing the Minerals Commission to revoke the mining lease of Akonta Mining, a company owned by Wontumi, over alleged breaches.
Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah has asked the Minerals Commission to revoke the mining license of Akonta Mining Ltd over illegal operations.
According to him, a joint operation by the Ghana Police Service and the Forestry Commission led to the discovery of six illegal mining sites linked to Akonta Mining.
Akonta Mining Ltd is owned by NPP’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
During a press briefing on April 21, 2025, the minister said: “Some interviews with a few residents indicate that the modus operandi of Akonta Mining is to use force to enter and destroy even the farmlands and produce of poor farmers in the area.
“Armed with this intel, on the eve of Good Friday (April 17 2025), an intelligence-led operation by the Ghana Police Service and the Forestry Commission led to the raid of six illegal mining sites linked to Akonta Mining.”
According to the minister, the operation in Compartment 49, which began at 5 AM and lasted a whopping 12 hours, resulted in:
* 51 arrests (8 Chinese, 39 Ghanaian men, 4 Ghanaian women)
* Seizure of about 30 excavators, 5 recovered and impounded at the operation base
* 2 Pump-action guns loaded with 5 and 2 rounds of BB cartridges each, one single-barrel gun retrieved
* Confiscation of 2 Toyota Hilux pickups, 1 Toyota RAV4, four motorbikes, and a cache of mining equipment.
He added that all suspects have been transported to Accra and are in the custody of the Ghana Police Service, pending prosecution.
AM/SEA
Meanwhile, watch GhanaWeb’s tour of Fort Victoria and the Cape Coast Lighthouse below:
