By Philip Antoh
A letter from the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah, authorised the destruction of many acreages of cocoa farms at Breman in the Central Region.
The internal government letter powered Perseus Mining (Ghana) Limited (PMGL), a multinational mining company against poor local farmers who resisted compensation from the mining giant.
But the September 4, 2025, letter from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR), signed by acting Chief Director, Innocent Haligah, for the minister, mandates PMGL to “access the farmers land and proceed with their mining operation immediately, without their armers knowledge.
The ministerial intervention, triggered by a PMGL petition, set compensation for 6.17 acres of crops at GHS694,284.00 for three farmers— Kwaw Paul, Ama Mpomaa, and Afia Anto—all members of the Concerned Farmers Association-Breman (CFAB).
However, The New Republic’s investigations revealed the farmers named, with at least seven others, were entirely excluded from the process, as they were not notified of the petition, given a hearing, or present for a legally required crop inventory.
“How did the Honourable Minister arrive at his figure of GHS694,284.00 when no one ever came to our farms with us to count our crops?” questioned one affected farmer. “This was done in the dark, and now our livelihoods are being erased by bulldozers.”
The situation highlights a profound failure of due process, where a ministerial ruling was issued as a secret decree.
Eyewitnesses reported the subsequent farm clearings were conducted with armed police and military personnel, destroying cocoa trees and harvested crops, plunging farmers into economic ruin without compensation.
Background
On September 5,2025, PMGL bulldozed cocoa farms belonging to eight local farmers in Breman. The affected farmers—Paul Minah (4 acres), Paul Kofi Minah (1.5 acres), Kwao Minah (3.5 acres), widow Ama Asantewaa (6 acres), Wofa K, Wofa Adinkra, Auntie Blaa and John Koomson—are all CFAB members.
The raids destroyed cocoa trees and wiped out harvested ripe cocoa and other cash crops. A second pre-dawn raid followed on September 6, levelling more farms.
In a phone call to the Corporate Affair sManager of the Ministry on Saturday to react to the issues, promised to call back after listening to the issues but failed to respond to the call,