The immediate past Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has denied any knowledge of the drones that were reportedly acquired by the Akufo-Addo-led administration to aid in the fight against illegal mining, commonly referred to as galamsey.
His response follows a revelation by his successor, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, who stated that he has not seen any of the drones that were supposedly procured to support anti-galamsey operations since he assumed office.
Speaking to staff and management of the Minerals Commission in Accra on Monday, April 7, 2025, Mr. Buah stressed the importance of integrating technology into the fight against illegal mining.
“Technology is very critical in this work. And I think from here, I’m going to see some geo-fencing activities you guys have done here and see how we can even make it bigger and expand it. Yes, there were reports of drones and other things from the Inter-Ministerial Committee.
But I can tell you that it’s probably part of the things we are looking at. I have not seen the drones since I became a minister, and I don’t know exactly where they are,” he explained.
In a same-day interview with Joy FM, Samuel Abu Jinapor, who also serves as the Member of Parliament for Damongo, stated that he received no drones or handover notes indicating any drone procurement when he took over the ministry in 2021.
“These drones being mentioned were allegedly purchased in 2018 by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, chaired by Professor Frimpong-Boateng. When I assumed office, there was no handover note mentioning drones, nor were any drones physically handed over to me.
Therefore, the right institution to direct these enquiries to would be the Minerals Commission, which holds records on all mining activities, or the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining led by Professor Frimpong-Boateng and his team,” he emphasized.
When asked if he ever queried the Committee regarding the drones during his tenure, Jinapor confirmed that he had.
“I made queries and enquiries. There were no records of these drones… they just did not exist at the time I became minister. Were they bought? Were they not bought? How were they handled? All these questions can be answered by the Inter-Ministerial Committee.”
It is worth recalling that back in 2017, then Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, John Peter Amewu, came under public scrutiny over the government’s decision to purchase drones valued at $3 million. He clarified that the drones were intended to monitor and prevent illegal logging in forest reserves.
