A Ghanaian living in London has expressed anger at the presence of embattled presidential staffer Charles Bissue at a Diaspora Town Hall Meeting in London organised by Ghana’s Ministry of Information.

Mr Bissue who was secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) was indicted in an undercover documentary accepting cash gifts to allow an unlicensed mining company to operate.

He has resigned to allow authorities probe the exposé which captured fraud in the illegal small-scale mining sector.

An outraged questioner at the Town Hall Meeting in London was shocked to have spotted Mr Bissue at the meeting and demanded answers.

The questioner quizzed: “To Mr. Deputy Attorney General, you made mention of various corruption issues that are being prosecuted. We are aware that recently Anas Aremeyaw Anas came out with a documentary involving one gentleman here taking cash gift when he was entrusted to work towards elimination of galamsey and now I want you to tell me what specific measures have been done about that gentleman too, Mr. Bissue? And he is here sitting with us; is he here with our tax money with you as government delegation or he came on his own?”



In a response the Deputy Minister of Information Pius Hadzide said: “It’s our understanding that the gentleman one of the questioners referred to has been a long standing member of this Ghanaian community here in the UK and he is here today again as an independent Ghanaian to participate in the programme and he is not part of the government delegation.”

Meanwhile, Mr Bissue reacting to the events that unfolded at the meeting in a write up said:

“I lived in the UK for close to 20 years all my kids are in the UK.

“I had all my tertiary education in the UK.

“I sought permission from the chief of staff, to come and meet my PHD supervisor on mining reforms in Ghana (which is privately funded) and as well see my kids.

“I was not a member of the government's entourage; I went to the programme as a Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party.”