NewzThe eight state officials who lost their lives in last year’s helicopter crash would be proud of the government’s efforts to combat illegal mining if they were alive today, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Paa Kwesi Schandorf, has said. Speaking on JoyPrime as the nation marked one year since the August 6, 2025, tragedy, Mr Schandorf said the government’s initiatives against galamsey represent the most meaningful way to honour the memory of the deceased. If the fallen heroes were alive today, they would be proud of government’s effort in the galamsey fight,” he said.
Mr Schandorf maintained that the best tribute to the victims was not only to remember them through commemorative events but to sustain a determined and effective campaign against illegal mining. “The best tribute we can pay to their memories is to mount a competent fight and that’s precisely what we’ve done so far,” he added. The eight officials, including Defence Minister Dr Edward Kofi Omane-Boamah and Agriculture Minister Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, died when a Ghana Air Force Z9 helicopter crashed at Adansi Sikaman in the Ashanti Region on August 6, 2025, while travelling to Obuasi in connection with the government’s anti-galamsey operations.
The anniversary has been marked by a national inter-faith memorial service and renewed reflections on the country’s progress in tackling illegal mining. The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, has expressed disappointment over what he describes as the slow pace of Ghana’s fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, a year after the military helicopter crash that claimed the lives of eight people. The Ghana Armed Forces helicopter crashed on August 6, 2025, while transporting government officials and military personnel on an official assignment, prompting renewed calls for a tougher crackdown on illegal mining across the country.
Following the tragedy, government announced a series of measures aimed at intensifying the fight against galamsey, including efforts to dismantle illegal mining networks, prosecute financiers and kingpins, and protect the country’s forests and water bodies. Despite those commitments, concerns have persisted over the pace of enforcement, with environmental advocates continuing to raise alarm over the condition of major rivers and the limited number of successful prosecutions involving alleged illegal mining kingpins. Speaking on Citi FM on Thursday, August 6, to mark the first anniversary of the crash, Dr Ashigbey said Ghana had not done enough to honour the memory of the victims through decisive action against illegal mining.
“If you look at our fight against galamsey, we can’t say that we have honoured these eight people as well as we ought to. I remember I said in an interview that the incident was going to result in a situation where there was going to be a drastic change in the galamsey fight, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs said that they had had a Cabinet meeting and that the president was going to come up with a renewed way of fighting it. “But unfortunately, it is interesting that there is only one galamsey kingpin that has been successfully prosecuted and convicted, and we don’t see others being prosecuted, yet the turbidity of our waters is still where they are, and so I think that we have not honoured these eight people enough.”
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