The Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Martin Ayisi, has been reassigned to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

The decision follows months of pressure from mining groups calling for his removal. In April 2025, the National Concerned Small-Scale Miners Association of Ghana (NCSSMAG) accused Ayisi of failing to provide effective leadership in addressing illegal mining.

The Association’s President, Michael Kwadwo Peprah, argued that the Commission’s “actions and inactions” had worsened land and water degradation, stressing the need for reforms to strengthen government’s anti-galamsey fight.

It remains unclear what specific role Ayisi will assume at the Ministry or the reasons behind his reassignment.

Ayisi has spent much of his career at the Minerals Commission. He previously served as a Senior Legal Officer before returning in 2017 as Deputy Chief Executive for Promotion and Development, appointed by then-Lands Minister John Peter Amewu under President Nana Akufo-Addo.

On March 21, 2021, he was named Acting CEO, replacing Addae Antwi-Boasiako, and later confirmed as substantive head of the Commission. He served in that role until his reassignment on August 27, 2025.