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The President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Professor Eric Abavare, has demanded the immediate resignation of two Members of Parliament allegedly involved in illegal mining, widely known as galamsey.
His call follows a violent clash in Hwediem, where over 600 youth reportedly attacked a military anti-galamsey task force from the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS). The confrontation erupted after the soldiers arrested two suspected illegal miners and confiscated vehicles and weapons at a mining site near Bronikrom–Hwediem.
The arrests sparked chaos among locals, leading to a confrontation with the military. With the intervention of community leaders, police from the Hwidiem Command managed to rescue the soldiers and escort them to Kenyase safely.
According to reports, the thugs were allegedly led by the Member of Parliament for Asutifi North, Hon. Ebenezer Kwaku Addo. In a Facebook post on Monday, November 3, 2025, Prof. Abavare condemned the involvement of politicians in illegal mining, describing it as a “betrayal of public trust.”
He singled out MPs Ebenezer Kwaku Addo and Collins Dauda, accusing them of bringing the image of Parliament into disrepute. “If what we saw and heard in the video is true, then they should do themselves the needful and resign as sitting MPs. It is shameful and brings the name of the August House into disrepute,” he stated.
Prof. Abavare argued that the alleged participation of lawmakers in galamsey reinforces long-standing suspicions that illegal mining is driven by powerful individuals who profit from environmental destruction while posing as defenders of the public interest.
“When we say galamsey is orchestrated and masterminded by older and powerful people, some disbelieve it. Here you are, the so-called Honourables of Parliament, clothed and fed by the poor who pay taxes to protect them through making laws, are themselves deeply behind this carnage,” he lamented.
He urged Parliament and political parties to take decisive action to protect their integrity, warning that those involved in the illegal trade will eventually be exposed. Prof. Abavare also invoked the memory of fallen officers like Major Maxwell Mahama, who lost their lives fighting illegal mining, insisting that their sacrifices should not be forgotten.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has presented the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Revocation Instrument, 2025, to Parliament. The new regulation seeks to revoke the controversial L.I. 2462, which allowed mining in forest reserves, a policy widely criticized for worsening environmental degradation.
The revocation marks a critical step in Ghana’s renewed effort to combat illegal mining and restore environmental integrity.
