Claims by former Minister for Environment, Professor Frimpong-Boateng, about President Akufo-Addo’s residence being hit by illegal mining activities have been refused by persons with first-hand information.
The former minister in his Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining report said a team had to be dispatched with excavators to restore the vegetation when he learned that the President’s garden had been invaded by illegal miners.
But media engagements with caretakers of the president’s home have revealed that findings in the report are inaccurate.
A caretaker for seven years noted that since he started working, he is yet to sight any illegal mining activity happening at the compound.
“Not at all. Security is here 24/7 so how can security be here and then we allow people to come in that we are coming to do galamsey? What is the purpose of the security being in the house?” he quizzed.
He further questioned how the excavators can be moved into the premises due to the size of the gate.
Security agents stationed at the premises, according to Elton Brobbey, noted that since President Akufo-Addo’s inauguration in 2017, there have always been police, military, and immigration officials on the premises at all times, making it difficult for anyone to gain access without clearance.
As a result, he asserted that the claim that illegal mining took place in the garden is untrue.
He described the report as “serious propaganda.”
“I wonder why people with high positions can bring themselves so low to that extent of telling lies…I don’t see the point because there is a house here with trees in it up to this point, and I’m not sure how we were able to dig the gold, remove the trees, and replace them. So the trees speak for us, and I don’t believe we need to. The trees and the environment speak for themselves,” he added.
