Forestry Commission office attack: Coalition demands decisive action
The Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey (GCAC) has demanded swift and decisive action from President John Dramani Mahama and the ministers of Lands and Natural Resources and the Interior to deal with persons involved in the locking up of some offices of the Forestry Commission in the Ashanti Region.
The coalition stressed the need for all persons clothed with authority to immediately take steps to identify and prosecute all individuals, especially politically connected persons, who authorised or participated in the unlawful deployment of the national security operatives.
In a statement signed by the Convener of GCAG, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, and other members of the coalition on Tuesday (July 29), they called for the arrest, prosecution and dismissal of all National Security operatives involved in the act, particularly those captured on video.
Additionally, the coalition stressed the need to establish an independent committee to investigate the matter and to ensure that the implicated Ashanti Regional National Security Coordinator was interdicted.
Context
Last Monday, some individuals claiming to be National Security operatives allegedly stormed three district offices of the Forestry Commission at Bekwai, Nkawie and Offinso forest districts in the Ashanti Region.
The group of heavily armed masked men, numbering about 20, reportedly locked the offices with their padlocks and left with the keys.
Following the attacks, the Forestry Commission issued a statement on Tuesday (July 29) to strongly condemn the forced closure of its district offices and called for the immediate arrest of the perpetrators of the dastardly act.
The Commission described the action by the assailants as a “blatant act of intimidation” and a violation of public service operations and the constitutional mandate of the FC.
The Commission also called on law enforcement and relevant authorities to launch a swift, impartial investigation into the incident, arrest and prosecute all those involved.
Dastardly act
The GCAG described the incident as an “unfortunate, shameful and unlawful coordinated attack”, stressing that the breaking of doors, harassment of Forestry Commission staff, and forcefully shutting down operations were unacceptable, especially so when it was targeted at intimidating officers of the Commission who had been working to save forest reserves from illegal miners.
“This act is not only an abuse of institutional power but also a grave breach of the rule of law, especially when executed by a security agency tasked with upholding it.
It reflects a troubling trend of politically motivated interference in the work of state institutions protecting Ghana's environment,” the GCAG added.
The GCAG also condemned the appointment of politically exposed individuals without technical expertise to the Forestry Commission, calling for an end to such political interference that undermined professional efforts to protect the country’s forests.
The Coalition further urged the government to demonstrate its commitment to good governance, institutional integrity, and environmental protection.
“Ghanaians are losing faith, and failure to act decisively will deepen public mistrust,” it said.
