A Former Deputy Minister of Information, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has described the Presidency under the Akufo-Addo administrations as illegal small scale mining (Galamsey).
He says the President’s pervious comment that he was putting his presidency on the line to fight galamsey was the greatest deception ever made by anyone in the struggle against the menace.
Galamsey is Akufo-Addo/Bawumia's Jubilee House, Akufo-Addo/Bawumia's Jubilee House is Galamsey.
— Felix Kwakye Ofosu (@FelixKwakyeOfo1) April 22, 2023
It is recalled that in 2017, President Akufo-Addo served notice that he was prepared to put his Presidency on the line in his quest to fight galamsey.
Addressing a two-day workshop on galamsey for traditional leaders drawn from different parts of the country in Accra Monday, July 11, 2017, the President said: “I have said it in the Cabinet, and perhaps this is the first time I am making this public, that I am prepared to put my Presidency on the line on this matter.
“If, by the grace of God, my party allows me to go again and I have the health and everything to go again but do not get it again, then I will say to myself: ‘Well, this is a choice I have to make as a human being.’ Do you do what is right or what you think will make you get along? I think you do what is right and what you are required to do.”
But Mr Kwakye Ofosu says this is a greatest deception.
The great deception. pic.twitter.com/XA0u2QR5Yu
— Felix Kwakye Ofosu (@FelixKwakyeOfo1) April 22, 2023
His comments follow the allegation of wrongdoing on the part of some government appointees in the fight against Galamsey, made by a former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, and Chairperson of the erstwhile Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) Professor Frimpong-Boateng, in the report on galamsey.
The Presidency has however said that the report of the IMCIM could only be rightly referred to as a catalogue of personal grievances and claims made by Professor Frimpong-Boateng.
The Jubilee House also said that it was intended to respond to some issues he faced as Chairperson of the IMCIM.
A statement issued by the Presidency on Saturday April 22 said the document was handed to the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President on March 19th 2021, in an informal meeting, where Prof. Frimpong-Boateng complained about public attacks and criticisms made about his tenure as Chairperson of the IMCIM.
“The document did not have a transmittal or cover letter nor, indeed, an addressee, such as to suggest that it was submitted to the Chief of Staff for action. It is noteworthy that the IMCIM was a creature of Cabinet, and any formal report on its activities would, normally, be submitted to Cabinet through the Cabinet Secretary, or directly to the President of the Republic as Chairperson of Cabinet. Till date, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng has done neither,” the statement said.
It added “It is important also to point out that, whilst Prof. Frimpong-Boateng makes serious allegations against some government appointees, as having been involved in, supporting or interfering with the fight against illegal mining, not a single piece of evidence was adduced or presented to enable the claims to be properly investigated.
“Indeed, the allegations contained in the document are at best hearsay. It is instructive that since Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s meeting with the Chief of Staff in March, 2021, he has taken no step nor acted in furtherance of the matters contained in the document.”
It further stated that the President’s commitment to fighting illegal mining is unassailable, and the Office of the President welcomes any information on illegal mining activities which provides a credible basis for investigations to be conducted by the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service.