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Emulate Otumfuo, dismiss officials involved in illegal mining – Ken Ashigbey to Akufo-Addo
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The Media Coalition Against Galamsey is admonishing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to emulate the actions of the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II by dismissing government officials who are found guilty of engaging in illegal mining activities.
This comes on the back of Otumfuo’s decision to destool the Chief of Abuontem, Nana Kwaku Duah III following allegations of his involvement in the illegal sale of lands that rightfully belong to various individuals and families.
The destoolment of Nana Kwaku Duah III and his subsequent handover to the police took place on Monday during a session of the Kumasi Traditional Council held at the Manhyia Palace.
Speaking on the matter, the convener of the Coalition, Ing Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey says Otumfuo has shown leadership which he is charging the president to adapt in his governance.
“This is what we expect of leadership and I completely agree with Otumfuo that if you are a chief, and you have galamsey happening in your community, you are either complicit and are deeply involved in it or you are incompetent and in both cases, you are not worthy of being the chief or leader of the people. And I think this is the Asantehene walking the talk and so it is the same action that we require of the president.”
This comes a little over a week after the chief of Aduamoa was also destooled due to his involvement in unauthorized multiple land sales and various acts of misconduct.
source:Citinewsroom
Majority Leader of Parliament, James Agalga, has expressed gratitude to Ghanaians for the confidence reposed in him following his elevation to the position.
Mr Agalga thanked Ghanaians who had sent him congratulatory messages and expressed appreciation to President John Dramani Mahama, the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), members of the Majority Caucus and the people of Builsa North.
In a statement posted on his socials, he also extended his gratitude to Ghanaians across the country for their support and confidence.
He pledged to work with other stakeholders to advance the government’s Reset Agenda and support the passage of legislation that would improve the lives of Ghanaians.
“We remain committed to working together to drive the government’s RESET Agenda and to champion legislation that delivers real benefits to every Ghanaian,” he said.
Mr Agalga called for continued cooperation as he begins his new role as Majority Leader.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has maintained that the Minority’s concerns over the reported GH¢22 billion loss linked to the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) are not politically motivated.
He made the remarks at a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, where he defended the Minority’s position on the financial implications of GoldBod’s domestic gold purchasing operations.
Mr Afenyo-Markin stated that the Minority was raising the concerns because Ghanaians deserved clear information about how public funds were used in the gold purchasing programme.
He explained that the figures being cited by the Minority were contained in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) report on Ghana and were therefore not figures manufactured by the opposition.
According to him, the IMF identified losses of about US$1.7 billion, equivalent to approximately GH¢22 billion, from the domestic gold purchasing programme in 2025.
He said the IMF attributed the losses to service and assay fees, discounts on gold sold to off-takers and exchange-rate differences between the rates used to purchase gold and the reference rate used by the Bank of Ghana for accounting purposes.
Mr Afenyo-Markin argued that the losses should be subjected to public scrutiny because GoldBod played a central role in buying, aggregating, assaying and exporting the gold, while the Bank of Ghana provided the financing.
He questioned why GoldBod should receive fees from the transactions while the associated losses were reflected on the books of the Bank of Ghana.
The Minority Leader stressed that the location of a loss in an institution’s accounts did not change its economic impact on the country.
He therefore called for answers on the prices paid for gold, how the prices were determined, the selection of off-takers, discounts applied to gold sales and the fees earned by GoldBod.
Mr Afenyo-Markin questioned the risk-sharing arrangement between GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana, arguing that the institution carrying out the commercial activity should not be able to benefit from transaction fees while another institution bears most of the financial risk.
He said the Minority was not seeking to trade insults with GoldBod officials but was focused on holding institutions accountable for the management of public resources.
He urged the government and GoldBod to address the concerns raised by the IMF and provide Ghanaians with clear explanations about the reported losses.
Mr Afenyo-Markin maintained that the Minority would continue to scrutinise the programme because the financial consequences ultimately affected Ghanaian taxpayers.
By: Jacob Aggrey
