By Daniel Bampoe
The fight against illegal mining in Ghana has entered a new and dangerous phase following explosive revelations from a JoyNews Hotline investigative documentary that exposed a structured “pay-to-mine” syndicate operating in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region.
The exposé, titled “A Tax for Galamsey”, has not only uncovered alleged institutional complicity but has also reignited national debate about the political economy of galamsey, state capture, and the erosion of environmental governance.
Undercover footage and secret recordings revealed that illegal miners allegedly pay fixed annual fees — including GH₵6,000 for banned changfang machines — in exchange for uninterrupted operations, protection from raids, and informal authorisation to destroy farmlands, forests and river bodies.
Stickers, receipts and bank deposits reportedly formalised the transactions, creating what investigators described as a structured extortion and protection network embedded within local governance systems.
At the centre of the controversy is the Amansie Central District Assembly, which has strongly denied creating any “galamsey tax.” In a statement issued on February 9, 2026, the Assembly argued that revenue collection from earth-moving equipment operators is not a new practice, insisting it dates back to 2008 and has existed under multiple administrations.
According to the Assembly, the practice is rooted in a bylaw passed in 2008, allowing District Assemblies to levy fees on equipment operators under local governance frameworks.
The Assembly’s Public Relations Officer described the JoyNews documentary as a “misrepresentation of an old administrative practice,” accusing sections of the media of framing a long-standing system to suit a “convenient political narrative.”
It further claimed that official records show similar revenue collections in 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and subsequent years, stressing that the current administration merely “inherited” the arrangement.
The documentary also spotlighted a revenue officer popularly known as “Red,” who featured prominently in recordings.
The Assembly confirmed his identity as a recognised revenue collector who has served under successive administrations, stating that his role has always been to collect revenue in line with established procedures.
It added that all funds collected are deposited into the Assembly’s official account at Odotobri Rural Bank, supported by receipts and deposit slips.
However, critics argue that legality of revenue collection does not equate to legitimacy when the underlying activity — illegal mining — is criminal. The exposé has therefore shifted public discourse from administrative technicalities to a broader moral and governance crisis: how state structures, local authorities, and political actors are perceived to have become intertwined with illegal mining networks.
The revelations triggered swift national reactions. Former Ghanaian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Dr Tony Aidoo, called for direct military deployment to dismantle illegal mining camps, arguing that the scale of destruction now constitutes a threat to Ghana’s “territorial integrity.”
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, he criticised what he described as weak enforcement and “pussyfooting” by authorities, urging the state to use sustained military operations to secure reclaimed lands and dismantle entrenched galamsey networks.
“The military are paid to defend our territorial integrity, and that integrity is under attack,” Dr Aidoo said, proposing a continuous security strategy involving battalions of soldiers securing cleared areas to prevent reoccupation by illegal miners.
The scandal has also drawn in central government. The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources confirmed that the sector minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has ordered an immediate investigation into officials named in the documentary.
The Ministry acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations, particularly in the context of ongoing national anti-galamsey efforts, including land reclamation projects, a new excavator import permit regime, decentralised licensing systems, and technology-based monitoring.
According to the Ministry’s Media Relations Officer, Paa Kwesi Schandorf, the documentary exposes not just illegal miners, but an alleged internal sabotage of state anti-galamsey strategies by local political actors and appointees.
This has fuelled calls for dismissals, prosecutions, and systemic reforms to prevent local government structures from becoming conduits for environmental destruction.
Beyond Amansie, the scandal has revived national anger over the broader galamsey crisis. Across Ghana, rivers have been polluted, forest reserves degraded, and farmlands rendered unusable.
In several regions, communities have faced prolonged water shortages due to contaminated water bodies, while schools and settlements increasingly find themselves surrounded by excavators and mining pits — a symbol of how deeply illegal mining has penetrated everyday life.
Historically, successive governments have pledged to end galamsey, launching military task forces, policy reforms, and public campaigns.
Yet the Amansie revelations suggest that enforcement efforts remain vulnerable to local-level corruption, political interference, and informal revenue systems that blur the line between governance and criminal enterprise.
