The Minority in Parliament has registered its displeasure with the Office of the Special Persecutor to cause the arrest of the former Minister for Science and Technology, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng who was Chairman of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (ICIM).
Addressing journalists in Accra, the Ranking Member of the Lands and Forestry Committee, Dr. Rashid Pelpuo, described the action as “awkward” and “unimpressive”.
“A few days ago we heard news about the arrest of Prof Frimpong Boateng, the Nana Akuffo Addo’s former Minister of Environment Science and Technology. We find the arrest awkward and unimpressive because rather than working with Prof Boateng to get to the roots of the problem, he is seen as a culprit rather than an informant.
“It creates the impression that this arrest is meant to cloud the accusation of Government involvement either directly or through it’s appointed officials in the destructive illegal mining practices that are completely destroying our rivers and our forest reserves and farmlands.
“In April this year in response to the revelation from the report on the Inter Ministerial Committee and the involvement of key NPP functionaries in galamsey operations, we did a press conference to request an investigation into the report. To date we do not know how far the government has gone in this request except for the brazen, arrest of a man who threw all he has to reveal the hidden truth in the Inter-ministerial Committee on Illegal mining illegal. We believe that if government wants to demonstrate seriousness in the fight against galamsey it must go beyond the arrest of Prof Frimpong Boateng.
The Minority also asked the government to cause the arrest of Mr Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a cousin to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; Mr Lord Commey, the Director of Operations at the Jubilee House and former Member of Parliament Albert Quarm, who were implicated by Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng in his 37-page report on illegal mining.
“It should go wider by ensuring the arrest of government appointees at the Jubilee House heart, Mr Gabby Ochery-Darko, the President’s Cousin and the Director of operations, Mr Lord Commey including Hon Joseph Albert Quarm who have been cited by the IMCIL”
The Minority further called for a public inqury into Frimpong-Boateng’s report.
“It is our opinion that a public enquiry on the Committee report and damage to our forest reserves is necessary especially with the now wider destruction of our lands and rivers by galamsey operators. It is unthinkable that the state including all its resources, t’s lands, rivers, money, and people are left to an elected government to manage and it turns out that, the government itself is a key sponsor of the destruction and misuse of these resources.
“Our cocoa farms are diminishing, our people are drinking mercury polluted water, our rivers are dying and our forest reserves are destroyed on daily basis. According to Hon Frimpong Boateng after he had been bailed from an unnecessary arrest “ we can’t sit down for the corruption and destruction of our lands to go,”
Professor Frimpong-Boateng was arrested by the OSP last month to answer questions about suspected corruption and corruption-related offences in respect of the activities and expenditure of the dissolved IMCIM, which he chaired.
