Former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng has said that he does not want to quarrel with the chiefs and elders of Kyebi, the hometown of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over the claim that illegal small scale mining (Galamsey) is ongoing at the backyard of the President in Kyebi.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng had stated that galamsey is ongoing a few meters from President Akufo-Addo’s residence in Kyebi.
In his 37-page report to the chief of staff on the fight against illegal mining, he alleged that a party youth organizer had a concession closer to the president’s house.
The Presidency responded to the report and stated that it could only be rightly referred to as a catalogue of personal grievances and claims by Prof Frimpong-Boateng.
The Kyebi Traditional Council also strongly demanded that Professor Frimpong-Boateng should prove that galamsey occurred in the President’s House.
Chief of Kyebi, Osabarima Marfo Kwabrane said: “he should come and show us where he saw galamsey happening. He should come here and prove to us and the whole world. My nephew [President] is not part of that thing [galamsey].
“We need Prof. Frimpong-Boateng himself to come and show us where President Akufo-Addo was doing galamsey and correct our statement that all that we have said is wrong.”
When asked about this issue raised by the chiefs while speaking on the Ghana Tonight Show with Alfred Ocansey on TV3 Monday, May 8, Prof Frimpong-Boateng said “I think that question should be posed to Eric Antwi, that is what I will say for now on that question, nothing more, I am done.
“I don’t want to go and quarrel with Nananom, elders in Kyebi. This thing is three to four years old and I am not going to quarrel with anybody, if they say it didn’t happen, fine, that is their opinion but I am saying that it happened, so I will leave it for Ghanaians to decide. The person to answer that question is Eric Antwi and Eric Antwi is alive.”
Eric Antwi is described in Prof Frimpong-Boateng’s report as a staff of the office of the president.