Presidential Staffer Bridget Otoo has fired back at attempts to elevate former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the most serious leader in Ghana’s fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Her reaction followed comments by broadcaster Paul Adom-Otchere, who recently suggested that former President Akufo-Addo had demonstrated unmatched commitment to tackling the menace under the Fourth Republic.
In a strongly worded response, Otoo dismissed that claim as misleading, pointing instead to what she described as a record of double standards and complicity under Akufo-Addo’s administration.
“The president who awarded thousands of permits and whose appointees participated in galamsey is the one who battled galamsey more effectively? Miss me with this lie!”
Presidential Staffer Bridget Otoo
Otoo argued that while the Akufo-Addo government undertook several high-profile operations and announced bans, the same administration undermined its efforts by granting excessive mining permits and failing to root out wrongdoing within its own ranks.
She contrasted that record with measures rolled out by President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, which she insisted are more preventive and structured in tackling the problem.
According to her, Mahama’s government has taken deliberate steps to ensure illegal miners cannot easily exploit loopholes in Ghana’s mining regime.
“President Mahama has not granted any mining permits in our forest reserves and has made it more difficult to even bring in excavators”.
Presidential Staffer Bridget Otoo
Ban on Excavator Importation
She elaborated on one such policy, which required that all imported excavators be grounded until strict checks were completed and tracking devices installed.
This system was meant to guarantee that the heavy-duty machines, which are also used by contractors and large-scale mining firms, did not end up fueling illegal mining activities.
“When you import excavators, it is grounded until it is properly checked and a tracking device installed to make sure it is not going to be used for galamsey. That’s because excavators are also used by contractors and the big mining firms”.
Presidential Staffer Bridget Otoo
This policy, she noted, had the effect of leaving large numbers of excavators at the ports until they were cleared, with many eventually moved to military installations to ensure tighter oversight.
By her assessment, this preventive framework stood in sharp contrast to the reactive approach taken by the Akufo-Addo administration, which often centered on swoops and mass arrests but did not sufficiently address the systemic drivers of galamsey.
Otoo also pushed back against criticisms that President Mahama has been reluctant to declare a state of emergency in areas ravaged by illegal mining.
She explained that Mahama’s position has been that such a measure would be a last resort, to be employed only after all other strategies have been exhausted.
Her comments add to the broader national debate about illegal mining, a practice that has devastated Ghana’s environment by polluting water bodies, degrading forests, and destroying farmlands.
Successive governments have pledged to stamp it out, but efforts have often faltered amid political interference, corruption, and the economic lure of the trade.
For Otoo, however, the focus should remain on policy discipline and prevention, not just optics. She argued that it is counterproductive to heap praise on an administration that, in her view, did more to enable galamsey than to curb it.
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