(L) Dr Cadman Atta Mils and DKB (R)
Ghanaian comedian Derrick Kobina Bonney, popularly known as DKB, and Dr. Cadman Atta Mills, brother of the late President John Evans Atta Mills, have engaged in a heated exchange on X over President John Dramani Mahama’s approach to illegal mining (galamsey).
The debate began after Dr. Cadman Atta Mills commented under a story posted by GhanaWeb on X on October 19, 2025.
The story indicated that the running mate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) for the 2024 presidential election, Wayoe Ghanamannti, had announced that he had filed a petition for Parliament to start an impeachment procedure against President John Dramani Mahama.
According to him, President Mahama must be removed from office because he has failed in the fight against illegal small-scale mining, commonly known as galamsey.
Cadman, an economist and presidential advisor, in reaction to the story described the fight against galamsey as Mahama’s “weakest point” in his administration so far.
“The fight against galamsey is his weakest point. There is no doubt that small-scale mining (without environmental safeguards) has increased dramatically during the first 10 months of his administration,” he wrote.
However, DKB, a staunch supporter of the President, quickly disagreed with that assertion, arguing that Mahama should not be blamed for the current state of illegal mining.
“Current galamsey decadence was never J.M.’s doing, he is only being diplomatic addressing it. Saying it’s his weakest point is synonymous with shifting blame to him. He wasn’t the one who approved the L.I. that allowed mining in forest reserves or signed 2,151 mining licenses,” he defended.
Dr. Atta Mills later replied, clarifying that his comment was not meant to assign blame but to highlight his underperformance in solving the issue of galamsey as compared to other issues in the country.
“I don’t know how you can possibly come to the conclusion that ‘weakest point’ is equivalent to shifting blame. In my (and everyone’s) books, ‘weakest point’ means he has performed much better in other areas (economy, governance, foreign policy, etc.) than on mining,” he replied.
Unmoved, DKB maintained his stance, insisting that the blame lies solely on the previous government, adding that President Mahama deserved “applause and not criticism.”
“If you followed the galamsey issue well you would have realized it has spiralled into an uncontrollable hurricane of damage and security degeneracy. He didn’t contribute to this level of damage but the previous precarious government. He deserves applause & not WEAKEST POINT.,” he wrote.
The online exchange quickly drew attention from users, with many weighing in on whether Dr. Atta Mills’ remarks were fair or overly critical of the former president.
See the posts below:
The fight against Galamsey is his weakest point. There is no doubt that small-scale mining (without environmental safeguards) has increased dramatically during the first 10 months of his administration.
— Cadman Atta Mills (@CadmanAttaMills) October 19, 2025
Current galamsey decadence was never JMs doing, he is only being diplomatic addressing it).
Saying it’s his weakest point is synonymous to shifting blame to him.
He wasn’t the one who approved the L.I that allowed mining in forest reserves or signed 2,151 mining licenses. 🤦♂️
— DKB GHANA (@dkbghana) October 19, 2025
I don’t know how you can possibly come to the conclusion that “weakest point” is equivalent to shifting the blame to him. In my (and everyone’s) books, “weakest point” means he has performed much better in other areas (economy, governance, foreign policy, etc,) than on mining.
— Cadman Atta Mills (@CadmanAttaMills) October 19, 2025
If you followed the glamasey issue well you would have realized it has spiralled into uncontrollable hurricane of damage & security degeneracy.
He didn’t contribute to this level of damage but the previous precarious government.
He deserves applause & not WEAKEST POINT.
— DKB GHANA (@dkbghana) October 19, 2025
ID/EB
