Remove Amansie Central DCE Now Over ‘A Tax for Galamsey’ Revelations – Sulemana Braimah

The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has demanded the immediate removal of the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Amansie Central following damning revelations contained in a Joy News Hotline investigative documentary on illegal mining.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, February 9, Mr Braimah reacted to the documentary titled “A Tax for Galamsey: The extortion racket fuelling illegal mining,” describing the findings as too serious for the DCE to remain in office any longer.

According to the investigation, illegal mining activities in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region are not only being tolerated but are allegedly organised, taxed, officially receipted and protected by state actors. The exposé points to an alleged extortion system involving the District Assembly and a taskforce operating under the authority of the DCE.

Mr Braimah said the revelations demonstrate a blatant abuse of power and environmental recklessness, arguing that no public official implicated in such practices deserves to stay in office even for another day.

“You cannot permit people to destroy the environment illegally and then collect money under the excuse of restoring that same environment,” he stated, insisting that the DCE should be relieved of his duties immediately.

He also questioned the legality of a district assembly involving itself in mining regulation, stressing that oversight of the sector falls under the mandate of the Minerals Commission, not local government authorities.

“There are Minerals Commission offices responsible for regulating mining. District assemblies have no business taxing or supervising illegal mining activities,” he said, adding that the circumstances demand swift presidential action.

While calling for the removal of the Amansie Central DCE, Mr Braimah cautioned that dismissing one official would not solve the broader galamsey problem nationwide. He argued that any DCE presiding over a district where illegal mining thrives should automatically be considered unfit for office.

“If galamsey is happening in a district, and the DCE claims ignorance, that alone should be grounds for dismissal,” he asserted.

Mr Braimah rejected suggestions that illegal mining could occur unnoticed, saying the scale and visibility of galamsey make it impossible for local authorities and security agencies to be unaware.

He warned that if Ghana’s security and administrative structures are unable to control illegal mining within districts, then the country must confront a deeper crisis of territorial and environmental governance.

“Illegal mining is not hidden. If it is happening and the DCE says they don’t know, then that DCE must go,” he stressed.