OSP Says Allegations In Prof Frimpong Boateng’s Report Feature In Its Ongoing Galamsey Probe

The Office of the Special Prosecutor has acknowledged calls to probe a report by the former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, and Chairperson of the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.

In a statement on Tuesday, May 2, Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng welcomed the calls and noted that the report forms part of an investigation his office is undertaking on illegal mining popularly known as “galamsey”.

“The OSP welcomes the calls for action and investigations and it assures the public and the civil society that its investigation is ongoing and far-reaching and it also covers the matters raised in the report published by the head of the dissolved IMCIM.”

It assured that persons implicated in corruption and corruption-related offences will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

The report by Professor Frimpong Manso was handed to the President’s Chief of Staff in 2021 and found its way into the public domain in the last week of April.

The report, among other things, alleged that key members of the government and the ruling New Patriotic Party were behind illegal mining in the country.

“I can state without any equivocation that many party officials from the National to the unit committee level had their friends, PAs, agents, relatives, financiers or relatives engaged in illegal mining… There are appointees in the Jubilee House that are doing or supporting illegal mining,” part of the report said.

According to Prof Frimpong Boateng, these officials employed the services of Chinese to work on their behalf.

He said those at the Jubilee House used their roles to interfere in the fight against the illegality.

Among officials incriminated in the report are leading NPP member Gabby Otchere Darko, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Director of Operations at the Presidency, Lord Commey, Charles Nii Teiko Tagoe, an Executive Assistant and Head of Social Media at the Office of the President, Frank Asiedu Bekoe (Protozoa) who works with the President’s Chief of Staff and others.

Almost all of them have come out to refute the allegations with the Jubilee House calling the report a catalogue of personal grievances, claims and hearsay.

Gabby proceeded with a GHc10 million defamation suit against Prof Frimpong Boateng last week.