Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, could not hold his frustration when he came across cocoa beans being dried on a road during his maiden tour of roads in Atwima Mponua, a suburb of his region.A viral video sighted by GhanaWeb showed the minister ordering some men, purportedly the farmers who dried the cocoa beans, to remove them from the road.

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The order of the minister did not sit well with one of the farmers, who said they had done nothing wrong and suggested that the minister should rather focus on fighting the menace of galamsey.This infuriated Simon Osei-Mensah, who then threatened to arrest the farmer.“You think Ghana belongs to you, right, Hurry up and remove these cocoa beans from the road.

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When have you seen people drying cocoa on the roads?“You’re telling me that this is not galamsey. If you’re not careful, I will order your arrest,” he said in Twi.The farmer retorted: “If you arrest me, I will be released soon”.This further infuriated the minister, who ordered the arrest of the farmer despite several pleas by onlookers. 

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