Tag: Dr Toni Aubynn

Dr. Toni Aubynn, a former CEO of the Minerals Commission, has urged the government to give an account of drone equipment it has bought to support the nationwide fight against unlawful mining.

Former Lands Minister John Peter Amewu said in 2017 that the government had spent $3 million on drones to monitor galamsey activities and eventually exterminate them.

Toni Aubynn, however, contends that even though the acquisition of the drones “was not effective” at the time, it is now the duty of the government to explain to the populace how the tools helped in the relevant conflict.

“We should account for it; the drone has done ABCD, definitely it would be flown and it will take some pictures, there’s no doubt about that but what has it done in terms of stopping illegal mining?” Dr. Aubynn quizzed.

“If I were the one to measure it [whether the drones caused a financial loss to the state], I would say that it was not useful equipment,” he made this known in an interview with Accra-based JoyNews.

The former Minerals Commission boss pointed out that government must re-think its model of purchasing certain equipment for intended purposes.

“We should actually look at why we are buying certain equipment; it shouldn’t just be buying it to show we’ve bought drones to fly all over the place. How much does it add to stopping the illegal mining?” he asked.

In recent weeks, government has been under intense pressure to clamp down on the galamsey menace which is rapidly destroying water bodies across the country and the environment.

Dr. Toni Aubynn, a former CEO of the Minerals Commission, has urged the government to give an explanation for the drones it bought to combat unlawful mining.

Dr. Aubynn claimed that even though the weaponry “was not useful” at the time, the government has a duty to explain to Ghanaians how it assisted the “galamsey” in fighting.

He said that the substantial impact the purchase of the drones produced could not be explained by simply sharing photographs taken with the drones.

“We should account for it; the drone has done ABCD, definitely it would be flown and it will take some pictures, there’s no doubt about that but what has it done in terms of stopping illegal mining?” he quizzed.

“If I were the one to measure it [whether the drones caused a financial loss to the state], I would say that it was not useful equipment.”

In 2017, then Lands Minister John Peter Amewu received public backlash over government’s decision to buy drones worth $3 million.

He explained that the machines would help monitor and deal with the incidents of illegal logging in the country’s forest reserves.

But the former head of the Minerals Commission, who claims he was opposed to the purchase, says there should be accountability.

“We should actually look at why we are buying certain equipment; it shouldn’t just be buying it to show we’ve bought drones to fly all over the place. How much does it add to stopping the illegal mining?” he asked in an interview on Upfront on JoyNews.

Dr Aubynn also says the only reason the likes of Akonta Mining Company can enter forests to mine is that their owners have significant positions in government.

He added that such people still enter the forests even after a cabinet ban in 2017.

“In 2017 when we were doing the ‘stop galamsey’, one of the things we said – and I think it came from cabinet – was that nobody should be given anything, not even recognizance licence in the forest.

“For me, it was completely closed. Look at those who are mining in the forests; if you did the study, you find out that most of them are in significant positions in government,” he alleged on Wednesday, October 12.