He accused the former National Security Coordinator, Gbevlo Lartey and the former Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, Joseph Yammin of looting under the guise of a clampdown on illegal mining by the anti-galamsey taskforce set up by former President John Mahama in 2013.
The taskforce would among other responsibilities seize all the equipment the illegal miners use, arrest and prosecute both Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians engaged in small scale illegal mining, deport all non-Ghanaians engaged in the practice and revoke licenses of Ghanaians who have sub-leased their concessions to non-Ghanaians.
The NPP MP speaking on the recent 500 missing excavators seized by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), he said the figure has been "engineered by the NDC just to make this government unpopular."
In an interview on Kumasi-based Angel FM, Collins Amankwaa said "We were in this country when the NDC set up an anti-galamsey taskforce and it was led by Lt. Col. Gbevlo Lartey, Yammin and others were all part. When they went to seize 950 excavators, ask yourself where they are.
"They burnt some, including Chairman Wontumi's own as camouflage, they deceived us...they shared them among their foot soldiers and today these people think they have the moral right to talk about galamsey, it's a big shame!"