Franklin Cudjoe has pushed back at critics of Sammy Gyamfi's remarks on formalising small-scale mining, saying the comments were delivered in straightforward terms rather than as an academic argument, Modern Ghana reports. His intervention came in a report published on Monday, 26 October 2026.
According to Modern Ghana, Cudjoe told critics to stop overthinking the statement, describing Gyamfi's language as simple rather than the stuff of a doctoral thesis.
A separate GhanaWeb report says Cudjoe explained Gyamfi's position as holding that mining in rivers and forests has no legal backing. That framing places the dispute around what is and is not permitted under Ghana's mining rules.
The remarks have drawn wider attention. Yen News reports that the group CAGG has petitioned the Attorney-General, asking for a probe into Gyamfi's comments. Asaase Radio, meanwhile, carried a warning from Konadu that the country "might end up in a much more sorry state" over galamsey.
The debate unfolds against a broader backdrop. Reuters has reported on how the gold boom is driving tree loss from Ghana to the Amazon, linking the push for the metal to environmental damage.
Cudjoe's defence shifts the argument from the wording of Gyamfi's statement to its substance: whether rivers and forest reserves can be mined lawfully. The petition to the Attorney-General is the next thing to watch, since it will determine whether the remarks are formally examined.
