Prof Frimpong-Boateng, a former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, has said Ghana needs about $21 billion to reclaim and restore lands degraded largely by illegal mining (galamsey).
The former Minister detailed that about 10 per cent of Ghana’s surface area, equivalent to approximately 23,853 square kilometres, had been degraded, which has left Ghana with an enormous environmental restoration bill.
According to Prof Frimpong-Boateng, restoring the Ankobra River alone had been estimated to cost about $400 million.
He described galamsey as “the largest environmental crime in our history”, warning that the destruction of forests and water bodies was exposing mining communities to toxic substances.
Speaking on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, while delivering the keynote address at the Fourth Annual Colloquium organised by the Department of Political Science Education at the University of Education, Winneba, the event was held under the theme, “Politics, the Environment, and Our Future: Ghana at Crossroads?”.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng stated, “About a tenth of the surface area of Ghana is degraded, some 23,853 square kilometres. Reclaiming and restoring what has already been destroyed would cost in the order of $21 billion”.
Meanwhile, the Mahama government’s fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, has once again come under scrutiny after the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, declared that the country has “turned the corner” in tackling the menace.
The Land Minister’s optimistic assessment has therefore reignited questions about whether the fight against galamsey is genuinely making progress or whether the government is simply projecting an image of success.
According to the Lands Minister, the Ankobra River has been cleared of thousands of Changfan machines and illegal mining (galamsey) operators following a year of sustained patrols.
Speaking on Thursday, September 3, 2026, after joining NAIMOS and Navy Special Forces on a 16-kilometre patrol of the Ankobra River from Dominase to Gwira Banso in the Western Region, the Lands Minister claimed that the government’s fight against galamsey is clearly yielding results.
Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, during the tour, stated, “I have been informed that we are close to 3000 machines that have been cleared not only on the Ankobra, Birim and other rivers. Over 237 arrests, with 144 of them being foreign nationals.
This clearly shows that we are turning the corner; we are using more intelligent lead operations. We are being intentional about these operations, and the results are showing. We have shifted from the periodic raids and moved into permanent deployment, which is showing these results”.
He further added, “If you have followed this difficult work in the last close to 2 years, you will not be sitting on any TV in Accra talking that we are not making progress with the fight against illegal mining.
You have to come to the Ankobra and look at what the Ankobra looked like last year, and today it is clear. We have not gotten to the point where we want to see the river blue, but we have made great progress changfans machines and the thugs”.
While the government insists that recent interventions are beginning to yield results, many critics argue that the claims amount to little more than “window dressing” in the face of continued destruction of Ghana’s forests and water bodies.
One of those critics is Ken Ashigbey, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, who has warned that Ghana is getting to a point of no return in the menace of illegal mining, locally called galamsey.
According to Ken Ashigbey, there is a growing boldness of illegal miners and attacks on security personnel that point to a worsening galamsey crisis.
He disclosed that there is evidence that shows that galamsey has spread to some areas in Ghana where it was previously absent about two years ago.
Ken Ashigbey argued that Ghana’s best bet at stopping galamsey is under President John Dramani Mahama but warned that the President would become a lame duck soon, as he would no longer be contesting for office.
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