Some district teams intentionally crashed drones to sabotage galamsey fight – Frimpong-Boateng

Former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Illegal Mining, Prof Frimpong-Boateng has revealed that though the use of drones in the fight against illegal mining also known as galamsey in Ghana was quite helpful, there was a deliberate ploy by some people within the districts to sabotage the process.

He alleged that, some districts deliberately crashed their assigned drones in order to make it problematic for the authorities in Accra to monitor the activities of illegal miners and the operations of the committees in those districts.

“Yes, in a way it helped but there was also a sabotage. For example, some of the districts intentionally crashed their drones. They take the drones out and report them missing or intentionally crash them into trees so that we would find it difficult to monitor operations from Accra” Prof Boateng told Blakk Rasta in an interview on the 3FM Urban Blend show on Tuesday 8 April.

His comment comes on the back of a presentation by the current Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah on Monday 7 April 2025 during a meeting with Management and Staff of the Minerals Commission where he highlighted the significance of employing technology in the fight against illegal mining in Ghana.

“Technology is very critical in this work. I think from here I am going to see some geo-fencing activities you guys have done here and see how we can make it bigger and expand it. There were reports of drones and other things from the Inter-Ministerial Committee, but I can tell you that it is probably part of the things we are looking at. I have not seen the drones since I became a minister, and I don’t know exactly where they are” Mr. Buah mentioned.

However, Prof Frimpong Boateng has suggested that the whereabouts of the said drones could be inquired from the National Security or Operation Vanguard and all the District Committees who had the drones; especially the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources that purchased majority of the drones.

“The records are there. When the committee was dissolved, the National Security took over the office. They and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, especially the Deputy Minister Mireku Duker took over without even inviting me to officially handover; so, they should go through the records” the former IMC Chairman stressed.

He however declined to comment on the effectiveness and the state of the fight against galamsey under the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) government when the host asked for his assessment.

“I don’t want to comment on illegal mining for now. We have a new government, and they are doing something so let us give them some time. In the appropriate time, if there is something not going well, I will come and comment. If the President needs my advice, I think there are people there, ministers and committees around him, so if they invite me, I will come and sit down for us to talk” Frimpong Boateng said.

By Samuel Afriyie Owusu

The post Some district teams intentionally crashed drones to sabotage galamsey fight – Frimpong-Boateng first appeared on 3News.

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