Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, has said the Volta Region will not allow galamsey into the region.
According to Togbe Afede, compared to other regions, the Volta Region has not yet discovered enough of its mineral resources.
He disclosed that the region will explore its mineral resources and develop a responsible mining industry without allowing illegal mining activities widely known as “galamsey”.
Togbe Afede highlighted that he was confident that the Volta Region had significant mineral resources that could contribute to its economic development.
Speaking at the Volta Economic Forum on September 23, 2026, Togbe Afede stated, “Relating to other regions, we have to discover enough of our mineral resources yet. We are sure they are there.”
“We are sure we will discover them, and we shall also become a mining region very soon. But we shall mine responsibly; we will not allow galamsey in the region,” he said.
Togbe Afede noted that the development of the region must be tied to growth in economic output, employment and living standards.
According to Togbe Afede, the Volta Economic Forum was part of efforts to mobilise resources to support the region’s development agenda, indicating that the objective was to promote development while ensuring that resources were used for the benefit of the people.
Some netizens reacting to the development stated, “Again, so much emphasis is being placed on minerals, and if a country or a region is not rich in minerals, then it puts that Place in a poor position.
Togbe is wearing KENTE, which no business has been built around for centuries”.
A netizen added, “We can only control galamsey if we get rid of the Chinese companies who are the ones most focused on illegally mining. They are the ones who have convinced other Ghanaians that galamsey is acceptable”.
“THE ECONOMIC PROSPECT OF THE VOLTA REGION STARTS WITH
LAND , WATER , SALT , ANCHOVIES , TILAPIA , KENTE , AND MOST IMPORTANTLY THE PEOPLE IN THE VOLTA REGION”, an X user added.
An X user added, “Please, please. Leave the minerals in the soil like that.
Generations to come will devise ways to extract those minerals without destroying the land.
We beg u, leave Volta alone”.
One last netizen added, “Why should mining of resources only be the way out of poverty? This strategy won’t work. We need productive industries, not extractive industries. You are not the government and don’t have the power and resources to stop galamsey once it starts”.
Meanwhile, 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”.
Watch the video below:
Compared to other regions, we have not yet discovered enough of our mineral resources. We will discover them and also become a mining region—But we will mine responsibly. We will not allow galamsey into our region.
— SIKAOFFICIAL🦍 (@SIKAOFFICIAL1) September 23, 2026
—The Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State and Founder of Africa… pic.twitter.com/fN0zzzeYzF
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