General News of Monday, 8 May 2023

Source: classfmonline.com

Aside Chief of Staff, I gave copy of galamsey report to CID - Frimpong-Boateng explains

Prof. Frimpong Boateng Prof. Frimpong Boateng

World-renowned heart surgeon Frimpong-Boateng has said he did not leak his 37-page galamsey report authored way back in 2021.

The former minister of environment, science, technology and innovation, told Accra-based UTV in an interview on Friday, 5 May 2023 that although he stands by everything he said in the document, he did not leak it.

"I didn’t write the report for Ghanaians to talk about it", he said, noting: "It has been two years since the report was authored".

"I didn’t leak it", he said.

According to him, "after I was granted an interview with GTV, some CID officials visited me to investigate some comments I made in the interview concerning some excavators. I then handed over the report to them".

By that, he clarified that he was not insinuating that the report was leaked by the CID.

"I am not saying the CID officials leaked the report but I gave them the report to aid with their investigations and that was the end", Prof Frimpong-Boateng said.

In that report, the former chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining accused some government appointees as well as officials at the presidency of being involved in galamsey, fronting for galamseyers or frustrating his fight against the menace.

He mentioned names such as Mr Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a relative to President Nana Akufo-Addo; Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Director of Operations at the Jubilee House Lord Commey, former MP Albert Quarm among others.

Mr Otchere-Darko has sued the former minister over the allegations made against him specifically by Prof Frimpong-Boateng to the effect that he caused the release of some Chinese galamseyers through his intervention in the work of IMCIM which, he also siad led to the assault of some IMCIM personnel and journalists by soldierswho were offering protection to Heritage Imperial Limited, a client of his.