The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah (MP) on Friday, February 14, 2025, paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

Disclosing the purpose of his visit, the minister, who was in the company of some heads of the agencies under his ministry, stated that the blessings of Asantehene Otumfuo II was of paramount importance to him and the government.

Mr Armah-Kofi Buah elucidated that as the government embarked on a mission to reform the mining and forest sub-sectors of the country, the support and guidance of Otumfuo would be extremely important. 

The courtesy call was also to seek Otumfuo’s buy-in for the  programmes and projects under the ministry.

He eulogised the Asantehene for his outstanding and exemplary leadership, which is manifested in the lack of land-related disputes in the Ashanti Region, and made a humble appeal to the Asantehene to share his wisdom and leadership with him as he sought to transform the lands sector through the execution of innovative and transformative projects.

On the matter of illegal mining, Mr Armah-Kofi Buah, commended Otumfuo for some major interventions he had made in the past and appealed for support for him and the government as they charted a new path which he was convinced would lead to a complete turnaround in the situation.

He decried the devastating impact of galamsey on the country, noting that 44 of the country’s 288 forest reserves had been devastated by galamsey (illegal mining) activities, with the turbidity level of the country’s major water bodies moving from 5,000 NTU to 12000.

Mr Armah-Kofi Buah emphasised the urgency of the situation, and outlined some immediate and radical initiatives taken by the government to address the problem. 

The measures included the establishment of an 18-member committee of experts, to review the licensing regime, reclassification of the mining categories, and overhauling of the Community Mining Scheme, among others.

“We are very grateful for Otumfour advice and support for the reset agenda that we've embarked on. We've laid out a plan to deal with key initiatives, and it started with the inauguration of the 18-member working committee. We are also reclassifying the mining categories and introducing medium-scale mining,” he indicated.

Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II commended the Lands Minister for the visit and expressed overwhelming confidence in him to deliver on his mandate, and urged the heads of agencies and other officials under the ministry to give him the required support.

Otumfuo, however, admonished Mr Armah-Kofi Buah to address the root cause of the illegal mining canker, which was youth unemployment. He asserted if the youth in the mining areas were exposed to meaningful and sustainable sources of livelihoods, they would resist the temptation of mining in water bodies and forest reserves.

He also encouraged the government to go after the “big fishes” in the galamsey business, apprehending and prosecuting them instead of only focusing on the youth who go out to seek their daily bread, adding that the ministry should develop alternative livelihood programme to cater for the youth.

On the issue of public lands, Otumfuo also counselled the Lands Minister to ensure that the phenomenon of the indiscriminate sale of public lands to public officials was halted under his tenure.

He praised the Lands Minister for the aggressive afforestation initiative and pledged his support for the project, citing the Tree for Life initiative as laudable.

On his part, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, thanked Otumfuo for his support and advice and assured that he would work with the colleague Ministers to deal with the galamsey menace.

Earlier, Mr Armah-Kofi Buah, joined the Ministers of Interior, Muntaka Mohammed–Mubarak; Defence, Dr Edward Omane-Boamah; and the Ashanti Regional Minister to tour the Afari Military Hospital, which was commenced by the Mahama led government in 2014 but stalled under the President Akufo-Addo administration.