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The minority in Parliament, has called on the government to arrest its own appointees and party officials who were cited in the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) report.
This call by the minority is on the back of the invitation and subsequent arrest of the former chairman and author of the IMCIM report by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
In a statement read by the Ranking Member on Lands and Forestry Committee, Rashid Pelpuo, the minority emphasized that the government’s commitment to tackling illegal mining otherwise known as ‘galamsey’ must extend beyond the arrest of Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng and include the key members of the government and New Patriotic Party (NPP) officials implicated in the IMCIM report.
“If this government wants to demonstrate seriousness in the fight against this galamsey, it must go beyond the arrest of Prof Frimpong-Boateng. It should go wider by ensuring they arrest government and Jubilee appointees at the heart of government which includes Mr Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, the President’s cousin, the Director of Operation at the Presidency, Lord Oblitey Commey, Albert Quarm who have all been cited by the committee,” they said.
According to the minority, it is unthinkable that the government who tasked protect the state resources turns out to be the key sponsor in the destruction of the resources of the in the country.
“It is our opinion with the public enquiry on the committee report and damaged forest reserves is necessary especially with the now widening destruction or our lands and rivers by ‘galamsey’ operators, it is unthinkable that the state with of all its reserves, lands, rivers, money, people are left to an elected government to manage, and it turns out that the government itself is a key sponsor of the destruction and misuse of these resources.
“Our cocoa farms are diminished, our people are drinking mercury polluted water, our rivers are dying, and our forest reserves are destroyed on daily bases,” he noted.
Background:
The former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, gave a detailed account of his recent arrest by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
In an interview with 3news, the renowned surgeon provided a full account of his invitation to the OSP’s office on May 15, 2023, which culminated in his arrest and subsequent bail.
“We waited at the lobby down there, and that was my first time in that building,” he said.
“We arrived around 10 o’clock, waiting for my lawyer. When he came, we were taken upstairs to the 7th floor, where the office is, and then we were ushered into a room. I was given a chair, and opposite me was the Chief Investigator.
“On my right, there were my two lawyers, and then some officers from that office.
“So, as soon as I sat down, the Chief Investigator came to me. I was sitting down, and then he put his left hand on my right shoulder and said, ‘Professor, you are under arrest.’
“Why? He said they are investigating corruption and corruption-related activities of the IMCIM that I was chairman of. Any specific thing I had done? No, they are just doing their investigations, but all the same, I was under arrest,” Prof. Frimpong-Boateng said.
According to him, he found the arrest “strange,” considering preceding events, including some lawsuits brought against him.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng further revealed that he was subjected to two hours of investigation at the OSP’s office before being granted a GHC2 million bail.
“They did not even suggest self-recognizance bail. I needed somebody to bail me. So, a friend of mine was down there, and he came up and bailed me, and so I left, and they went with my friend to his house.”
He added that he is expected to report back to the OSP for further investigation.
