Offinso Must Be a No-Go Area for Mining – Paramount Chief to Minerals Commission

The Paramount Chief of Offinso, Nana Dwamena Akenten II, has asserted that his traditional area should be excluded from all mining activities.

He emphasized that the area is primarily a farming community and must be preserved for agricultural purposes.

“We want Offinso to be a no-go area for mining. We don’t want them to come and destroy our land. The town has been a farming community all these while by the kind courtesy of the Asantehene. Don’t let anyone come there.”

It comes after some individuals visited his Palace with a mining lease.

The Offinsohene expressed these concerns during a stakeholder meeting on the 2014-Mining Policy and proposed amendments to the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) with the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs on July 18, 2025.

In response, the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Mr Martin Ayisi, urged him to write to officially notify the Commission for compliance.

“The late Asante Mamponghene, Daasebre Osei Bonsu II, did same.”

For his part, the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon Alhaji Yusif Sulemana, encouraged Nananom to disregard all leases that are submitted to them for mining in their jurisdictions.

According to him, all those leases are forged.

“We have revoked all mining leases that were issued after December 7, 2024. Therefore, any lease presented to you for mining is fake.”

He said he was mandated to review existing licences, and the report found that only 316 active mining licences are valid.

Source: https://opemsuo.com/author/hajara-fuseini/