August 09, 2025 — The Lower Axim Traditional Council has expressed grave concerns about the prudent measures the government has taken to combat galamsey activities, which have claimed the lives of two Ministers of State and six others on board a Z-9 helicopter en route to Obuasi.
The Council noted that the deceased in the unfortunate helicopter crash were on their way to Obuasi to launch the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (COMSDEP) as a viable alternative to galamsey, which has been rapidly degrading land, forest reserves, and river bodies.
Awulae Attibrukusu III, Paramount Chief of the Lower Axim Traditional Area, made this observation at a Traditional Council meeting in Axim, in the Nzema-East Municipality of the Western Region.
Two Ministers of State Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, Minister of Defence, and Dr. Alhaji Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology along with six others, lost their lives in the crash while on a national assignment to Obuasi in the Ashanti Region.
Awulae Attibrukusu III issued a stern warning to any of his chiefs to stay away from illegal mining activities, popularly called galamsey, stating that he had lodged a formal complaint with the government and security agencies to arrest chiefs in certain towns within his jurisdiction who are involved in such activities.
The towns mentioned include Awukyire, Kegina, Anagye, Nduabesa, Agona, and Edelesuazo. The Paramount Chief did not mince words, warning that any chief found to have masterminded galamsey activities in his traditional area and subsequently arrested would automatically abdicate his throne.
He decried the wanton destruction of land and river bodies, which serve as the main source of livelihood for the predominantly farming communities in the area.
As President of the Lower Axim Traditional Council, Awulae Attibrukusu III reiterated that he had repeatedly reported chiefs in these communities to the authorities and would not intervene if they were arrested.
According to him, “Gone are the days when a lot of praises were being showered on me, Awulae Attibrukusu III, for what I was doing to fight galamsey.”
He urged the Traditional Council to rise up and deal decisively with galamsey to restore its former glory. He also questioned the chiefs on how excavators and chanfangs pass through their towns to reach the bushes for illegal mining.
The Paramount Chief revealed that illegal miners had invaded his rubber plantation in recent days a farm cultivated with his hard-earned resources only for them to destroy it.
He advised his chiefs and queen mothers to “support the government and the able and dynamic Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, who is a son of the Nzema area, to succeed in the fight against galamsey.”
By Kodwo Nyamekeh
