Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD Ghana) Professor H Kwasi Prempeh has said illegal small scale mining (Galamsey) is a whole value chain business that involves equipment leasing and legal services.
He said the practice also involves security and police protection, media, regulatory and political cover.
“Pay attention,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
Prof Prempeh’s comments come on the heels of the public brawl involving a former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, and Chairperson of the erstwhile Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM),Professor Frimpong-Boateng and some government officials over galamsey.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng in his report on the IMCIM cited several government officials including the Minister of Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah and almost all the other officials cited have denied the allegations.
The Presidency further said the report of the IMCIM could only be rightly referred to as a catalogue of personal grievances and claims by Prof Frimpong-Boateng.
The seat of government 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. This was after Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s tenure as Minister had not been renewed by the President of the Republic in his second term.
“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.