The Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye DC, has alleged that the Administrator of the Minerals Development Fund, Dr Hanna Louisa Bisiw-Kotei, has been warned by her party the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to stay away from her anti-illegal mining operations.
According to Abronye, the National Women’s Organizer of the NDC has been given a clear ultimatum: either keep her job by ceasing her fight against illegal mining (galamsey) or risk losing her position entirely.
He claims that her ongoing efforts to clamp down on galamsey activities, particularly in forest reserves, fall outside her official responsibilities.
Abronye further stated that this alleged warning followed Dr Bisiw-Kotei’s public disclosure that out of 40 excavators seized during her anti-galamsey operations, 33 went missing while in police custody.
Speaking on his Ohiani TV programme on July 2, 2025, Abronye alleged that the NDC government has allowed its members involved in galamsey to continue their illegal mining activities without hindrance.
“Hanna Bisiw-Kotei has been warned to stay away from the forest in her fight against galamsey. They said that is not the job she was given, and if she doesn’t listen and goes into the forest again, she will lose her job.
“They said she has embarrassed the government by revealing to the public that the seized excavators have gone missing,” Abronye alleged.
He also claimed that the Minister of Environment, Science, and Technology, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, has similarly been cautioned to abandon his initial plans to combat illegal mining.
“Ibrahim Murtala said on TV3 that he would fight galamsey, but he has been warned that if he tries, he will face the consequences. Have you heard him mention galamsey again since then?” Abronye questioned.
AM/KA
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