General News of Tuesday, 18 February 2020

Source: mynewsgh.com

ASEPA petitions Special Prosecutor on 'galamsey' loot

Martin Amidu, Speacial Prosecutor Martin Amidu, Speacial Prosecutor

The Alliance for social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) has officially petitioned the Office of the Special Prosecutor on the alleged thievery and Corruption in the Fight Against Illegal Mining otherwise known as galamsey.

The petition was officially received by Lawyer Martin Amidu, the Special Prosecutor himself this afternoon at his office at Cantoments in Accra

Mr Amidu in turn pledged his support and Commitment for speedy investigations into the said allegations levelled against some members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM),

Mr. Mensah Thompson, Executive Director of ASEPA who presented the petition briefed the Special Prosecutor on the import of the petition and why it is important that the Office of the Special Prosecutor, expedited action on this particular petition.

The Assin Central Member of Parliament punctuates his statements with similes and metaphors, likening President Akufo-Addo to a tree without roots. The roots, he says, are rotten hence danger is imminent.

Kennedy Agyapong, a leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party is furious over how the fight against illegal mining has been crippled by some bigwigs of his party as he chronicles efforts made to neutralize attempts to end the canker.

“It’s very disturbing. Ekow Ewusi is not the only culprit; most of the big men are offenders as well. They should bow down their heads in shame,” he says in his submission on Net2 TV.

“I dare the bigwigs. They should stay away. All the plans of Akufo-Addo are being rendered fruitless when it comes to galamsey. You seize somebody’s excavator and hand it over to your sons. How can you even talk about Mahama and the Airbus saga?”

Mr. Agyapong insists that the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng who doubles as the chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), is one of the persons thwarting the efforts of Akufo-Addo in the fight against galamsey.

“ I met minister of defence and he told me there are two states of military. His is the Operation Vanguard; and Frimpong Boateng has galamstop soldiers. When the galamstop soldiers arrest offenders, Ekow Ewusi then comes with a truck.”