The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr Akuritinga Ayine, has directed the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to investigate the 36-page illegal mining (galamsey) report compiled by former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
The report, which was reportedly submitted to the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration in 2021, implicated a number of people in the then-government and political figures in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The then-government basically rubbished the report, stating that most of the allegations in it were the views of Prof Frimpong-Boateng and were not backed by evidence.
But now that the Attorney General has ordered that the EOCO investigate the report, the persons and the entities implicated in the report are likely to be investigated.
The report, which was addressed to the Chief of Staff and the Ghana Police Service, implicated some New Patriotic Party (NPP) members, including MPs and top government officials, as having been involved in the galamsey menace.
Portions of the report indicated that these MPs and government officials were either directly involved in galamsey or were using their powers to protect relatives who were involved in the menace.
The 36-page report implicated persons, including the former MP for Manso Nkwanta, Joseph Albert Quarm; former Director of Operations at the Presidency, Laud Commey; former Executive Assistant and Head of Social Media at the Presidency, Charles Nii Teiko; and Frank Asiedu Bekoe, former Director of Political Affairs at the Office of the Chief of Staff.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng also accused the former Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, of hatching a plot to bring him down over his (Frimpong-Boateng’s) fight against the menace.
Below is a full list of persons named in Prof Frimpong-Boateng’s report on galamsey and how he detailed their supposed involvements:
Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie aka Sir John (deceased):
In parts of his report, Prof Frimpon-Boateng noted that the late Sir John was actively giving out timber concessions even in forest reserves for logging.
He was also cited to have given forestry entry permits to mining companies, both large and small scale, including those of foreign nationals, for prospecting activities at a time when the president had put a ban on that activity.
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko:
Leading member of the NPP, Gabby Otchere-Darko, was cited in the report as having called him (Prof Frimpong-Boateng) to inform him that he was a lawyer for Heritage Imperial Ltd, a company that was destroying the Krobo and Apaprama Forest Reserves and polluting River Offin.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah:
Prof Frimpong Boateng, in the report, said that Oppong Nkrumah hatched a plot to bring him down over his (Frimpong-Boateng’s) fight against the menace.
According to Frimpong Boateng, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah gathered and incited a team of journalists to attack him and sabotage his work.
Yaw Osafo-Maafo:
According to Prof Frimpong-Boateng, the former Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, connived with some persons to accuse him of selling excavators and putting the proceeds in another person’s account.
He noted that the former Senior Minister covered up for John Ofori-Atta, then National Security Coordinator for the Central Region, and Ekow Ewusi.
Charles Owusu:
Charles Owusu, who was then Director of Operations at the Forestry Commission under Sir John, was accused of conniving to use Chinese gangs to do mining on behalf of Sir John.
He is also said to have called Prof Frimpong-Boateng during an operation at Bepotenten to claim some of the concessions and excavators.
Joseph Albert Quarm:
Joseph Albert Quarm, who is a former Member of Parliament for Manso Nkwanta, was cited in the report as having used his position as a member of the board of the Minerals Commission to acquire several dozens of large-scale concessions in his district for community mining purposes.
He is said to have sold these to private individuals for GH¢200,000 per concession.
Laud Commey, Charles Nii Teiko:
Laud Commey and Charles Nii Teiko, both former Jubilee House appointees, are said to have supported illegal mining or interfered with the fight against the menace.
S K Boafo:
SK Boafo, who was the Chairman of the Minerals Commission Board, was accused by Prof Frimpong-Boateng of supporting the position of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources after the appointment of Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, against a community mining programme.
According to him, the ministry was angry that the IMCIM was at the forefront in matters concerning small-scale mining, which they said were among the functions of the Minerals Commission.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng also noted in his report that SK Boafo even blocked the MCE of Asante Akim Central from allowing the IMCIM to commission community mining sites in the area, threatening that she would lose her job if she did.
Frank Asiedu Bekoe (Protozoa):
Frank Bekoe, who was said to be working at the Office of the Chief of Staff, allegedly was one of the other ‘big men’ who called Prof Frimpong-Boateng in January 2021, after a taskforce entered a concession at Bepotenten for an operation to seize excavators and destroy galamsey sites.
According to Prof Frimpong-Boateng, Bekoe called the taskforce and asked for the release of the excavators at the blind side of the Chief of Staff.
Kweku Baako:
Prof Frimpong-Boateng, in his report, said that renowned journalist, Kweku Baako, called him to express displeasure about his operation at a mining concession owned by his (Kweku Baako’s) friends, Donald Entsuah and Simon Ayman, a Canadian National, under their company – C&J Aleska.
He added that Baako’s New Crusading Guide Newspaper later reported false articles about him with ‘a lot of lies and misrepresentations’.
