The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi), has stated that his company, Akonta Mining Limited, is going to sue the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, over the revocation of the company’s mining licence.
Chairman Wontumi, in an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb, accused the minister of defaming Akonta Mining with the things he said at a press conference on Monday, April 21, 2025, where he ordered the revocation of the company’s licences.
According to him, none of the things the minister said about his company engaging in illegal mining activities in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve, in the Western Region, are true.
“What we are saying is that we (Akonta mining) are not operating. All the things the minister is saying are lies. I’m no longer going to sit without taking action.
“Enough is enough. We are certainly going to take him (the lands minister) to court. He has defamed us. The things he is saying are not true,” Wontumi said in the Twi dialect.
Chairman Wontumi accused the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, of bringing the mining equipment of illegal miners to Akonta Mining’s compound to make it seem like they were engaging in an illegality.
“He (the minister) has made the security officers transport the excavators and other mining equipment of some people and move them to our yard. We had only two bulldozers and excavators, which were being used for the reclamation of the land. None of my machines were there,” he claimed.
He told GhanaWeb that his company cannot be engaging in any illegality in the Tano Forest Reserve because it was stopped from operating there since the previous government suspended its licence in 2023.
He added that God will punish any person(s) who are bent on destroying him and destroying his businesses.
“God punishes every person who enjoys destroying other people. He punishes them in his own way. Some people become sick…” he added
Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, during a press briefing on April 21, 2025, directed the Minerals Commission to revoke the mining licence of Akonta Mining Ltd over illegal operations.
According to him, a joint operation by the Ghana Police Service and the Forestry Commission led to the discovery of six illegal mining sites linked to Akonta Mining.
The minister said that the operation in Compartment 49, which began at 5 AM and lasted a whopping 12 hours, resulted in:
– 51 arrests (8 Chinese, 39 Ghanaian men, 4 Ghanaian women)
– Seizure of about 30 excavators, 5 recovered and impounded at the operation base, 2 pump-action guns loaded with 5 and 2 rounds of BB cartridges each; one single-barrel gun retrieved
– Confiscation of 2 Toyota Hilux pickups, 1 Toyota RAV4, four motorbikes, and a cache of mining equipment.
BAI/AE
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