Former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, has disclosed that some astute Members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) including a former Deputy Minister and MP for the Wassa East constituency, are into illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
He said these persons are mostly financiers of the party as well as financiers of independent candidates.
In a latest report released by the former Minister who was then Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, he noted that “it is well known in the small scale mining circles that NDC members and sympathisers were well established in small scale mining, especially in the Western Region.”
“They acquired several concessions in mineral-rich areas during the long periods of NDC reign. They had the money and other resources to not only sponsor NDC candidates but also support independent candidates in the supposedly strongholds of the NPP. This is what happened in Evalue Dwira and Tarkwa constituencies,” he said.
He cited for instance that “in the Wassa East District, a former NDC Deputy Minister who is also MP for the Wassa East constituency [Isaac Adjei Mensah] has been actively mining in the Subri forest for years.”
“When NPP party officials complained and the army component of Operation Vanguard was withdrawn almost two years to the 2020 elections, the NDC was given an advantage in terms of access to resources from mining. This is because there are far more NDC people engaged in illegal mining than NPP members in the region,” he added.
The document dubbed “Report on the work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM)” made captivating revelations about the (gold) mining industry, especially persons involved in illegal mining and the works and gains chalked by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) during the Professor’s tenure as the chairman.
The 37-page report byformer Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng has revealed that some New Patriotic Party (NPP) officials at Jubilee House are engaged in small-scale unlawful mining (galamsey).
According to him, these individuals prevented him from addressing the issue, as well as the committee he headed.