The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, says Ghana has not done enough to honour the memory of the eight people who died in last year’s military helicopter crash, citing the slow progress in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
The Ghana Armed Forces helicopter crashed on August 6, 2025, while transporting government officials and military personnel on an official assignment, triggering renewed calls for a more aggressive campaign against illegal mining.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, the government announced a series of measures to intensify the fight against galamsey, including dismantling illegal mining networks, prosecuting financiers and kingpins, and protecting the country’s forests and water bodies.
However, environmental groups and other stakeholders have continued to express concern over the pace of enforcement, pointing to the continued pollution of major rivers and the limited number of convictions secured against alleged illegal mining kingpins.
Speaking on Citi FM on Thursday, August 6, to commemorate the first anniversary of the helicopter crash, Dr Ashigbey said the country had fallen short of expectations in translating its commitments into meaningful action.
“If you look at our fight against galamsey, we can’t say that we have honoured these eight people as well as we ought to. I remember I said in an interview that the incident was going to result in a situation where there was going to be a drastic change in the galamsey fight, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs said that they had had a Cabinet meeting and that the President was going to come up with a renewed way of fighting it,” he said.
According to him, the expected crackdown has not materialised, noting that only one alleged galamsey kingpin has been successfully prosecuted and convicted since the tragedy.
“But unfortunately, it is interesting that there is only one galamsey kingpin that has been successfully prosecuted and convicted, and we don’t see others being prosecuted, yet the turbidity of our waters is still where they are, and so I think that we have not honoured these eight people enough,” Dr Ashigbey added.
He stressed that greater urgency is needed in tackling illegal mining to protect the country’s natural resources and fulfil the commitments made following the fatal crash.
READ ALSO:
Finish their work’ – Samuel Aboagye’s widow urges action against galamsey to honour Departed 8
