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Chiefs must answer to effects of illegal mining in their areas – Otumfuo
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has said he is not happy with his chiefs in the Amansie area where illegal mining also known as Galamsey has taken over the landscape destroying forest and other vegetation cover.
According to him, his chiefs are aware that he (Otumfuo) has been speaking earnestly about illegal mining and that he is never pleased with them about their alleged involvement in the illegality.
Otumfuo made the statement while speaking at the official launching of the 2023 Green Ghana day event in Kumasi ahead of the project on 9th June 2023 across the country.
The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II reiterated his commitment towards preserving the country’s vegetation cover despite persistent destruction of forest reserves by illegal miners.
He said “as you know a couple of days ago I returned from London, where I added the coronation of Prince Charles the III whose number one legacy is perhaps his commitment to afforestation, reforestation and the fight against climate change. Interestingly my private conversation with him was on land reclamation in Ghana and he agreed to collaborate with me for us to do that. He directed his technical team to my team to formulate a policy to help Ghana reclaim some of our lands that are destroyed by illegal mining (Galamsey)’’ he disclosed.
Before the launched of Ministry of lands and Natural Resource and the Ghana Forestry Commission Green Ghana Day Project, the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has already commenced planting trees to protect the environment by planting 2.5 million tears on 6000 hector land towards the protection of Lake Bosomtwe the largest natural lake in the country.
This declaration was made by Otumfuo because of the important premium he attaches to protection to human life and the protection of the lake.
He further more added “as I stand here the minister of land and natural resource Knows that, done about 640 acres of teak plantation in Sekyere Kumawu. I’m also collaborating with the forestry commission to develop another plantation in Offinso where I’m told we have done about two or more compartments. That also we are going to continue to do it.”
He said tree planting is now becoming his hobby because of the tremendous contribution it makes to the environment, climate change mitigation and improvement of livelihood for members of the French communities.
The trees he said also serves as homes to millions of wildlife that contribute to the sustainability of the earth, therefore, one cannot agree with the conservationist and the 26th President of the united states Franklin Delano Roosevelt , when he said “ to exist as a nation to prosper as a state to leave as a people we must have tress’’ for this reason Otumfuo said he has no reason but to embrace green Ghana project when it was launched in 2019.
He said “when old men plant trees society grows great and I have been doing that with my girl and I told her I will never sit under it but she will sit under the tree and for the past two years she has done that with me. we have two trees at the golf park she has nurtured one and I have also natured one’’
He commended Ashanti region for nurturing the higher number of trees thus 7.8 million out of over 31 million with of trees planted nationwide within two years and the trees are doing well. This he said means “our sacrifices are not in vain and being wasted’’.
He encourage Ghanaians to renew their support towards this year’s green Ghana day three planting project under the theme “our forest our health summarizing the importance of forest to our lives’’
He said it is not for nothing forests are called the lungs of the earth stressing without forest our lives on earth indicating for without forest our lives on the planets will be impossible.
Apart from the health benefits forest contributes significantly to nationals economies, however, the reality is that the country’s forest resources are under serious threat from several environmental challenges including illegal mining, the headache of Ghana, illegal logging deforestation, forest degradation, land degradation, climate Change, oil erosion and many other factors.
Goal 15 of the United nation sustainable development goals aim to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of the terrestrial ecosystem, sustainably manage first, combat desertification halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity laws.
However, the Asantehene is worried despite several measures the government has been putting to curb this menace illegal mining and illegal logging continue to pose threat to the country’s forest reserves.
This he said means the government cannot alone, he encourages Ghanaian to get involved to support the government to tackle the matter before that country.
“My chief knows that I have been speaking about this, I’m not happy with chiefs in the Amansie area where Galamsey has taken over the lands. I say to them that if you sit there and you claim you don’t know what is happening then you are not fit to be a chief over there. These are matters we have to take up again and I don’t care who gods it is because we have to enforce it and I have to start with my chiefs first and the government have to deal with the other ones’’ he assured.
He further added, “we all have to take the matter seriously to bring the issue to a closure, because I cannot accept that. I’m going to take a drive around those areas in the Amansie to Manso Nkwanta and all areas to see. I have gotten a report about what is happening there and I’m going to do that’’ he stressed.
He added “end if I finish with that, all the chiefs around that area may have to answer as to why that happened. I was alarmed to hear during the minister press briefing weeks a go that the forest reserves in the Asante Bekwai forest reserve including the Oda river, Subin shelter belt and Aprampram forest reserve are the most forest reserves to control due to the activities of gun-wielding illegal miners and loggers’’
He this unfortunate development cannot continue” I have therefore charge the chiefs in those these areas to work with the forestry commission and the ministry of the lands and natural resources to find ways drive away the illegal miners and the loggers and I know Nananom some of them have benefited from the illegal miners.it is a fact that we have to accept and appreciate it government side too I know there are accusation over there they also have to fight it. We all have to fight it. We cannot hide under any thing by saying we don’t know what is happening’’ he noted.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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