The Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng was invited by the Office of the Special Prosecutor over issues concerning ‘galamsey’ report.
He was also invited to address corruption-related cases regarding expenditures by the disbanded Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, which he chaired.
In the 37-page report, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng revealed that some New Patriotic Party Bigwigs were involved in illegal mining despite the President’s struggle in the fight against illegal mining.
“Throughout our struggle with illegalities in the small-scale mining sector, what baffled me was the total disregard of the President’s commitment to protect the environment. I can state without any equivocation that many party officials from the National to the unit committee level had their friends, PAs, agents, relatives, financiers or relatives engaged in illegal mining,” he stated.
He added that,“Most of them engaged Chinese working for them. I am not referring to party people who had their legitimate concession and were mining sustainably as they were instructed to do. There are appointees in the Jubilee House that are doing or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace.”
Read Also: Emmanuella Akweley wins Tobvital Atinka Kids Dance
The report which was not meant for the public somehow found its way into the public domain.
After its release, those who were affected went after Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng for tampering with their reputation.
Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng was formerly the Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) constituted by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2017 to lead the fight against galamsey in the country.
However, in March 2020, he was sacked from his role for reasons unknown to the public.
This was about the same time some excavators seized during the galamsey fight went missing.
Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori