Former Environment Minister Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng has delivered a blunt assessment of Ghana’s prolonged battle against illegal mining, arguing that political calculations have repeatedly weakened efforts to protect the country’s rivers, forests and farmlands.

Speaking at the Fourth Annual Colloquium of the Department of Political Science Education at the University of Education, Winneba, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng said successive governments had introduced measures to tackle galamsey but struggled to sustain them.

‘THE POLITICAL COST FALLS ON THE ENFORCER’

Prof. Frimpong-Boateng argued that officials who enforce environmental laws often bear the political consequences, while those who fail to act face little or no cost.

He said this imbalance has contributed significantly to Ghana’s difficulty in defeating illegal mining.

“In Ghana, the political cost of enforcing environmental law falls on the enforcer, and the political cost of not enforcing it falls on nobody.”

ANTI-GALAMSEY SYSTEM WAS BUILT — THEN ABANDONED

The former minister recalled measures introduced between 2017 and 2018, including the ban on artisanal and small-scale mining, Operation Vanguard, district-level committees, miner training and systems to monitor mining concessions and excavators.

According to him, the measures initially produced visible results, with parts of the Pra River becoming clear and reports of fish returning to waters previously considered severely degraded.

He argued, however, that many of the safeguards were abandoned after the mining ban was lifted in December 2018.

GH¢21 BILLION? NO — $21 BILLION RESTORATION BILL

Prof. Frimpong-Boateng has also warned about the enormous financial cost of repairing the damage caused by illegal mining and other destructive activities.

He estimates that Ghana could require approximately US$21 billion to reclaim and restore degraded lands, with about 10% of the country’s surface area affected.

CALL FOR A NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL COMPACT

The former minister is proposing a National Environmental Compact to protect major environmental policies from being discarded whenever political power changes hands.

Under his proposal, any government seeking to abandon a major environmental commitment would have to explain the decision to Parliament and account for resources already invested in the policy.

He believes creating consequences for policy abandonment would make successive administrations more reluctant to sacrifice long-term environmental protection for short-term political considerations.

‘JAIL THOSE WHO APPROVE ILLEGAL PROJECTS’

Prof. Frimpong-Boateng has further called for personal criminal liability for public officials who approve developments in protected wetlands, watercourses, drainage channels and forest reserves.

His argument is that institutions cannot be imprisoned for unlawful decisions — the individuals responsible for approving them should face accountability.

THE GALAMSEY BATTLE CONTINUES

With Ghana still grappling with polluted water bodies, degraded farmlands and destroyed forest reserves, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng believes the country needs more than political promises and temporary interventions.

His latest intervention has once again shifted attention to the difficult question of political will, enforcement and accountability in Ghana’s fight against galamsey.

For Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, Ghana already knows many of the solutions. The real challenge is whether political leaders will have the courage to enforce them — and keep them in place.

The controversy follows comments he made during visits to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) on September 2, where he praised improvements under the current administration while questioning how some institutions had been managed over the previous eight years.

‘WHAT HAVE WE BEEN DOING?’

During his visit to MIIF, the Chief Justice expressed admiration for what he had seen and heard about the performance of some state institutions.

He questioned what Ghana had been doing over the previous eight years, remarks that were interpreted by critics as an implicit comparison between the current NDC administration and the previous NPP government.

His comments have since sparked a wider debate about whether the head of the Judiciary should publicly assess the performance of successive governments.

CDD-GHANA CALLS FOR RESTRAINT

The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has urged the Chief Justice to exercise the highest possible restraint and discretion in his public engagements.

The organisation warned that comments contrasting the current administration with its predecessor could create a perception of political bias and potentially affect public confidence in the impartiality of the Judiciary.

CRITICS TURN UP THE HEAT

The comments have also attracted criticism from political actors and public commentators.

The NPP has accused the Chief Justice of making political commentary and called on him to resign, while political activist and physician Dr Arthur Kobina Kennedy has argued that the remarks were inappropriate for the head of an independent arm of government.

Former Auditor-General Daniel Yaw Domelevo has also urged the Chief Justice to avoid commenting on political matters that could potentially become subjects of litigation, warning that such statements could create a perception of bias.

JUDICIAL SERVICE RESPONDS

Amid the growing controversy, the Judicial Service has defended the Chief Justice’s intentions.

Judicial Secretary Musah Ahmed said the observations were made “in good faith” and were not intended to undermine judicial independence. The Service further reaffirmed the Chief Justice’s commitment to the integrity and independence of the Judiciary and to justice and equality before the law.

THE BIGGER QUESTION

At the heart of the controversy is a delicate constitutional issue: how far can the head of Ghana’s Judiciary go in publicly commenting on political and governmental performance without creating the appearance of taking sides?

While the Chief Justice’s supporters may view his comments as observations on institutional performance, critics believe the language and comparisons risk blurring the line between judicial leadership and political commentary.

With calls for restraint growing and the Judicial Service standing by the Chief Justice’s intentions, the debate over judicial independence, perception and political neutrality is far from over.

The Ghana Armed Forces has completed the right-of-way clearing for the proposed Accra–Kumasi Expressway, bringing the ambitious six-lane road project a major step closer to construction.

The military engineering team has cleared 175.6 kilometres of the corridor in 19 weeks, beating the original 20-week target by one week.

‘MISSION ACCOMPLISHED’

The completion marks a significant milestone in preparations for one of Ghana’s biggest infrastructure projects.

The Ghana Armed Forces was tasked with clearing the designated corridor to create the required right-of-way ahead of the next stages, including detailed engineering and construction. Defence Minister Kenneth Gilbert Adjei described the achievement simply as: “Mission accomplished.”

FROM 50% TO FULL CLEARING

The progress has been rapid.

As of June 25, only 89.5 kilometres, representing 50.9% of the corridor, had been cleared. By September 3, the figure had risen to 170 kilometres, leaving just six kilometres. The military has now completed the full 175.6-kilometre assignment.

$1.7 BILLION ALREADY SECURED

The government has also announced that US$1.7 billion has been deposited at the Bank of Ghana in a dedicated account for the project.

Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson says the full funding required will be ready by the end of 2026 and insists that the project will not be financed through borrowing.

THE BIG ROAD PROJECT

The proposed expressway will stretch 176 kilometres between Accra and Kumasi and is designed as a six-lane, bidirectional highway.

When completed, it is expected to cut travel time between the two cities to roughly two hours, while improving road safety, easing congestion and reducing transportation costs. Plans also include modern interchanges, bridges, intelligent transport systems, electronic tolling, emergency response facilities and rest areas.

NEXT STOP: CONSTRUCTION

With the right-of-way clearing now completed, attention shifts to the next phase of the project.

Government had previously indicated that procurement for the main construction contract would commence in September, following the completion of feasibility studies and detailed engineering designs.

The corridor is cleared. The money is being lined up. The next big question is when the machines will finally move in.

Accra–Kumasi Expressway: Ghana’s mega-road project is edging closer to reality.