Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, has alleged that he was removed from office because he became a stumbling block to persons behind illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) in the government.

According to him, his claim is based on the granting of mining leases to certain individuals to mine in forests, a situation that could not have happened under his watch.

He added that his removal was masterminded by members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and government functionaries who are into illegal small-scale mining.

"There was an orchestrating scheme even within the party and government to get me out… why is it that when I left, now everybody is in the forest?

"At that time (when I was minister), you dare not enter the forest," Prof Frimpong Boateng, a heart surgeon and former NPP presidential aspirant, said in a GTV interview monitored by GhanaWeb.

He also refuted suggestions that he is behind the disappearance of 500 excavators seized from illegal miners in 2020.

"But let me tell you, I did not take one excavator for anything, and they know the truth. Now things are coming up; we know those who are behind it and the party people who are there," he added.

Watch the interview below:



Meanwhile, catch up on the concluding part of Francis Addai-Nimoh's interview on GhanaWeb TV below:





IB/WA