Following allegations by the former minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng that some officials at the Jubilee House engage in galamsey, the MP for Builsa South Dr. Clement Apaak has called for an investigation.
The MP believes the revelation by the former minister must be taken seriously and not swept under the carpet.
The former minister in an interview with the state broadcaster, GBC, denied allegations that the state seized 500 excavators that had vanished during his tenure in office.
He said the allegations were baseless and mere fabrications that were made against him to cause his removal.
He alleged that some members of his own political party were sabotaging him internally, including persons at the Jubilee House, who were indulging in the galamsey (illegal small-scale mining) activities.
“No 500 excavators went messing, it was somebody who threw that into the media space to tag something of Frimpong Boateng. What am I doing with 500 excavators?
“The true story is that, at the start of Operation Vanguard thing, the soldiers were supposed to arrest the excavators.
“So, they go into the forest where they’re doing the mining and remove the control board. So, if they remove 20 control boards today, they report that they’ve mobilized 20 control boards.
“But then when you go away, then they bring new control boards and fix them and then off they go. So, we got the report that they had immobilized over 750 excavators so we appointed somebody to go around and check.
“When we went round, I think we got about 150, 200 that you could see. The rest had either been given to the owners or put in extra parts and moved away.
“And somebody put it out there, Frimpong Boateng has taken 500 excavators, what am I going to do with them?
“There was an orchestrating scheme even within the party and government to get you out.
“Look, why is it that when I left now everybody is in the forest? Other times, you dare not enter the forest.
“But let me tell you, I did not take one excavator for anything and they know the truth. Now things are coming up, we know those who are behind it and the party people who are there.
“People in government including Jubilee House are doing galamsey even now,” Professor Frimpong Boateng recounted.
Reacting to this, the lawmaker indicated that the issue is criminality and must be probed.
He said galamsey is a criminal activity and all those involved must be prosecuted.
To him, it is even serious for persons working in the seat of government to be engaging in galamsey.
Such a criminal act he lamented has been part of the reasons why the fight against galamsey has not succeeded.
“We DEMAND an investigation into allegations by Prof. Boateng, a former NPP Minister, then head of the anti-galamsey fight, that “People in the NPP, people in gov’t and people at Jubilee House are engaged in galamsey”. Galamsey is a crime and those involved must be punished.”
According to him, “Ghanaians expect the requisite state agencies/institutions (OSP, BIN, CID) to show loyalty to Ghana by initiating investigations into the allegations made by Prof. Boateng. By his stature and previous position in this NPP gov’t, these allegations cannot and must not be ignored.
CSOs, organised labour, the clergy and all well-meaning Ghanaians must canvas for an investigation into these allegations that elements in the Presidency, gov’t and NPP are engaged in galamsey, and consequently, the pollution of our rivers and destruction of our environment.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
