A leading figure in Ghana’s small-scale mining sector, has been accused of overseeing extensive environmental degradation, sparking calls for his immediate removal from public office, including Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), the recently instituted and the revocation of his mining license.
Godwin Armah, General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners and founder of Transeco Minerals and Mining Ltd, has been named in a new exposé for allegedly operating mining sites in the Eastern Region that flagrantly violate environmental regulations.
“There is no sign of reclamation, no effort to restore what has been wantonly destroyed,” Charles McCarthy, Secretary for The Extraction Accountability Project (TEAP), said during a press briefing, where it said that “The landscape is scarred by open pits, death traps for people and wildlife alike.”
The findings come from the newly launched Extraction Accountability Project, a youth-led group in Ghana determined to confront the plague of irresponsible mining that is decimating lands, rivers, and forests.
“Our mission is resolute: to identify and expose the industry players, government officials, and political actors who continue to exploit our resources with reckless abandon, flouting every rule and regulation meant to protect our environment and communities”, it said.
The organisation aims to hold mining companies, politicians, and regulators responsible for careless and harmful mining activities.
Their findings directly challenge Godwin Armah’s public persona as a champion of responsible mining.
Despite publicly condemning environmental abuses in the sector, TIP claims Amah’s personal mining operations contradict the very values he promotes.
The group also raised serious concerns about his appointment to the Gold Board, an institution mandated to uphold integrity in the gold mining sector.
“We find it abhorrent that a man who leaves our environment in ruins should sit on a board meant to protect it,” the group stated. “Mr Armah’s rightful place is not in a boardroom but a prison cell.”
The group claims powerful figures, including elements within national security and high-ranking officials, are shielding individuals like Amah from accountability.
While small-scale miners face crackdowns, they allege that well-connected individuals continue to deplete forest reserves and pollute water bodies with impunity.
The group called on key government figures, including Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson, Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Buah, and the CEO of the Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, to act swiftly by removing Amah from the Gold Board and revoking his mining license.
“We do not assume they were aware of these violations,” the group clarified. “But now that the truth is out, inaction would amount to complicity.”
The group has stated that it is taking a new approach to advocacy, moving beyond conventional awareness campaigns to “name and shame” individuals and companies with documented evidence of environmental harm. It describes its work as a response to Ghana’s growing ecological crisis driven by unregulated and illegal mining.
“We call upon Dr Ato Forson, Minister of Finance, Emmanuel Armah Buah, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, and Sammy Gyamfi, CEO of GOLDBOD. It is our fervent hope that you were unaware of Mr Armah’s wanton disregard for responsible mining. Now that you know, you must act swiftly and decisively. Remove him from GOLDBOD with the speed of light. Anything less is complicity”.
“We also demand that the Minerals Commission immediately revoke Mr Armah’s mining licence. He has forfeited any right to operate in our precious land.
“Let it be clear: our aim today is not to convict Mr Armah in the court of public opinion. It is to sound the alarm and call upon those with the power and the responsibility to act. Irresponsible mining is an existential threat to our future, and it must not be allowed to continue, no matter who is behind it”, it concluded.