Economist and prominent member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Pianim, has voiced support for Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, asserting that the former minister was not personally implicated in illegal small-scale mining activities, known as galamsey.

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Pianim stated that if credible evidence emerged linking Prof Frimpong-Boateng to galamsey promotion during his time as chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), he would have personally reported him to the police.“If Prof Frimpong-Boateng is in any way connected to galamsey from stopping it or being eradicated, I will be the first person to take him to the police.

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What I am saying is that in an investigation, when I am investigating somebody, people are deemed innocent until proven guilty and somebody of his status, somewhere in the world, can be given serious recognition” he said.He made the remarks during an interview with Accra-based TV3 in response to the news of the former IMCIM chairman being summoned by the Office of the Special Prosecutor as part of an ongoing corruption investigation.

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“I don’t know the of information the special prosecutor had, such that whatever he [reference to Prof Frimpong-Boateng] did he may run away outside and because of that he needed to prevent, he could have taken his passport? And immediately after it was done, we should have known the charges.

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Are we being made to infer that he is part of the criminal gang that is promoting galamsey? Or what has he done? Or he is related to the defamation or the leaking of the report that he made to the president and the request of the president.“If he did that, I’m not a lawyer but I have been in public life. In America, we have what we call Executive Privileges.

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A minister talking to his president, you cannot use that as a charge against him for defamation. Mr Gabby Otchere-Darko is an important member of the kitchen cabinet of the president, Capt. Koda is a serious member of our security services and the military."So, his reputation is important for the security services, if somebody is defaming him, he has the right to try to defend himself and I have no problem with that.

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The personality of Professor Frimpong-Boateng, this is somebody who’s been saving lives in Ghana, and I don’t think we should disgrace him in a way it seems to be done” he added.The Office of the Special Prosecutor is said to have detained the former chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining on May 16, during questioning over his recent galamsey report but was immediately granted a gh2 million bail.

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Sources say he is yet to account for some GH320 million spent by the Committee.Meanwhile, Mr Kwame Pianim has urged President Akufo-Addo to fulfil his promise of conducting a comprehensive investigation into the allegations made by Professor Frimpong-Boateng.Pianim added that if the allegations were baseless, the president should hold a press conference to declare it as baseless.“We need to show that we are delivering.

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For me, the president should rise to the occasion, and pursue the investigation that he said he was going to do. He has the report now, if it is rubbish, let him do a press conference to say my security forces have investigated all the allegations made by prof and its rubbish based on nothing” he added.

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Professor Frimpong-Boateng, reacting to the recent development, stated that he is not afraid of being convicted as he has nothing to hide.Interacting with the media on June 7, the former minister said he would be among the most wealthy individuals in the country should he have engaged in thievery.According to Professor Frimpong-Boateng, he remains a victim of the unjust system being controlled by some powerful

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individuals.

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