Former chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, has raised concerns about President Akufo-Addo’s handling of illegal mining issues.
According to Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, while the President was aware of the challenges, he only issued warnings without taking substantial action.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng shared his experience in an interview on Joy News, saying, “But my job was to draw the attention of leadership to that thing. So I wrote a report. And even before I wrote a report, every now and then when I had issues, I informed the president.”
He elaborated on his efforts, noting that he had reported to the President when the Forestry Commission was allocating forest reserves for mining.
“When the Forestry Commission was giving out forest reserves for mining purposes, I wrote a report with the letters, all the details. And the president called Sir John, he was alive then, and he confronted him with these things. But I don’t want to go into details of what happened.”
Despite these revelations, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng is now facing a defamation lawsuit.
He has accused several individuals, including the President’s cousin, Gabby Asare Okyere Darko, of aiding Imperial Mining Company in illegal mining activities.
Reflecting on his tenure, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng maintained that he did not fall short in his role.
He pointed out the financial limitations of tackling the issue, stating, “Plans? No, I mean, it would be good to reclaim the land and do many things. But $500 million, we’re woefully inadequate. Dollars? Oh yes, you need billions of dollars to do that.”
He continued, “We made, we estimated when I was there, we did some estimates with EPA and so on. It will run into billions and billions of dollars. And the other suggestion, I don’t want to talk about it.
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Source: Comfort Sweety Hayford/ATLFMNEWS
