A former Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh has denied allegations of seizing the mining license of Kingston Okomeng Kissi, a former Board Chairman of the Precious Minerals and Marketing Company (PMMC).
Okomeng Kissi is alleged to have accused him of cancelling his mining license whilst speaking on Accra-based radio stations.
Asomah-Kyeremeh, however, says he has never cancelled nor taken away Okomeng Kissi’s mining license as he (Kissi) alleges and will not be distracted by such baseless allegations with intentions to tarnish his hard-earned reputation.
For him, the allegation is politically motivated, to demonise his tenure in office as the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources.
Asomah-Kyeremeh through his counsel, Kwabena Asare Atuah in a statement dated May 28, 2021, said the allegations and “The actions of Kingston Okomeng Kissi is just to paint my client black before government and the party.”
He added, “This story is one of the unfortunate stories to tarnish the image of my client in the public domain. Kingston Okomeng Kissi’s claims are untrue and a total fabrication coming at a time my client is no longer in office.”
Mr Atuah explained that the “facts are rather that my client met with Kingston Okomeng Kissi at the office of the Chief of Staff once to discuss Kingston Okomeng Kissi’s claim of ownership of that site” and that after the said meeting, Mr Asomah-Kyeremeh tasked the Minerals Commission to look into the matter.
That, he noted, “The report from the Minerals Commission indicated that the area was encumbered and belonged to someone else who had secured all documentation.”
For Atuah, the former Lands and Natural Resources Minister did not play any role to take Okomeng Kissi’s mining licence, challenging him to produce any documentation contrary to the report of the Minerals Commission.
“We therefore ask Kingston Okomeng Kissi to produce whatever documents he (Kingston Okomeng Kiss) has showing that the area belonged to him (Kingston Okomeng Kissi) for which he (Kingston Okomeng Kissi) claims my client took away,” he stated.
He further added, “As a miner, Kingston Okomeng Kissi has to know that a legitimate claim to a lease of license can only be proved by a valid mining lease.”
Mr Atuah said any interested party in the case can seek for further details on the issues from the Minerals Commission, which is the custodian of all leases and documents relating to mining.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana