The Office of the President has refuted claims made by Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation and Chairperson of the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), in a report on illegal small-scale mining in Ghana.

According to the Presidency, the claims in the report are a collection of Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s grievances and are best defined as hearsay.

The document was also labeled by the Presidency as not being an official report before Cabinet because it was submitted in an informal manner.

“At the outset, it must be pointed out that the document being discussed was not an official report formally delivered to the Office of the President. On the contrary, it can only be rightly referred to as a catalogue of personal grievances and claims made by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, intended to respond to some issues he faced as Chairperson of the IMCIM,” excerpts of the statement read.

“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 report, written in March 2021 and handed over to the Chief of Staff, named hundreds of people in the Akufo-Addo administration who were either involved in galamsey or interfered with the work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining.

Almost all of the people named in the report have denied any misconduct.

In a rebuttal, the Presidency maintained that, despite the serious charges made by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng against several government appointees, no evidence was adduced or supplied to allow the claims to be adequately investigated.

The Presidency underlined that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s commitment to combating illegal mining is unshakeable, and the President’s Office welcomes any information.

Find the Presidency’s full response below: 

Press Statement On Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s “Report”

Press Releases 21 April 2023

The attention of the Office of the President has been drawn to a publication in the media ostensibly quoting from a document authored by the former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, and Chairperson of the erstwhile Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, which, allegedly, imputes wrongdoing on the part of some government appointees in the fight against Galamsey.

At the outset, it must be pointed out that the document being discussed was not an official report formally delivered to the Office of the President. On the contrary, it can only be rightly referred to as a catalogue of personal grievances and claims made by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, intended to respond to some issues he faced as Chairperson of the IMCIM.

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.

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.

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.

We continue to count on the co-operation of the general public.