A man who once owned a Rolls-Royce Phantom, lost everything in the 2008 financial crash, nearly died from a heart attack, and rebuilt a multi-million-dollar business from a single garage in Accra has issued a passionate plea to Ghana: abandon illegal mining (galamsey) and bet everything on agriculture.
Aldis Ozols, the 55-year-old Founder and CEO of A1 Diesel Limited and author of the newly launched memoir Win Life, Lose Millions, made the emotional appeal on JoyNews’ Personality Profile with Lexis Bill on Thursday night.
Having personally tried his hand at small-scale gold mining in Ghana – and lost half a million dollars in the process – Ozols spoke with the authority of someone who has seen the industry from the inside.
“I think Ghana can stop [galamsey],” Ozols said when asked by the host to share his views on galamsey.
He added, “Ghana can do well with farming. The farming is the super future for Ghana.”
Pointing to the country’s extraordinary natural fertility, the Latvian-born entrepreneur continued, “When you eat pawpaw, you just throw the seeds. You see what happened? They grow immediately. Whatever you plant, the land is so fertile. You don’t need to add any fertiliser. Ghana is so rich. Ghana is so blessed.”
In contrast, he painted a grim picture of the environmental catastrophe caused by illegal mining. “The forests are being destroyed on this continent – thousands of acres, water bodies – everything,” he said. “You can see in Tarkwa that mosquitoes are less than in Accra. Why? Because of poisons in every water.”
Ozols’ journey to this point has been anything but ordinary.
Born in Soviet-occupied Latvia, he grew up in an era when private business was considered a serious crime.
After serving in the Special Forces, he built a €17 million real estate empire across Europe – complete with luxury cars and private jets – only to watch it collapse overnight in the 2008 global crash, leaving him €7 million in debt.
A decade later, a massive heart attack and deep depression brought him to the brink. In 2010, with almost nothing left, he arrived in Ghana. His first venture? Gold mining.
“I invested everything in small-scale mining. Floods came, excavators were destroyed, and after all that pain I got only 2.5 kilos of gold. It was a disaster,” he recalled.
Disillusioned by the destruction he witnessed, Ozols walked away from mining and started A1 Diesel in an unlicensed backyard workshop in 2013. Today the company is one of West Africa’s leading diesel injection and turbocharger specialists, employing dozens of Ghanaians and exporting services continent-wide.
Now a proud resident, Ozols believes the same soil that grows a pawpaw tree from a carelessly tossed seed can feed the nation and the world – if only Ghanaians turn away from the quick riches of galamsey.
His book, Win Life, Lose Millions – launched this week in Accra – is already being described as a raw handbook on resilience. In it, and in Thursday’s interview, Ozols repeated one line that has resonated widely:
“Pain is the best teacher. I lost €17 million, almost lost my life, but I won life.”
He believes Ghana can do the same by losing the galamsey money today and winning life tomorrow.
