Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, who also schaired the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), has revealed that elements within both the governing New Patriotic Party and the Akufo-Addo government, conspired in a grand scheme to hound him out of office to pave the way for their free participation in illegal mining (galamsey).

In February 2020 while still in office, Prof Frimpong-Boateng disclosed that some of the 500 excavators allegedly seized by the IMCIM had gone missing.

In an interview with Accra-based Joy FM, Prof Frimpong-Boateng said: “We were told that 500 [excavators] had been seized and given to the district assemblies but later on, when we went out to check, the figure was far less than that”.

Asked about the exact figures, Prof Frimpong-Boateng answered: “I cannot tell you exactly what but I can tell you it was far lower than the 500 put out”.

He, however, noted that the earthmoving equipment that went missing, were in the custody of the district assemblies.

“That was the case in most of the areas, so, we sent people out there to talk to the district assemblies and we got Vanguard involved and most of them had disappeared”, Prof Frimpong-Boateng said.

In a recent interview with state broadcaster GTV, however, Prof Frimpong-Boateng said the missing excavator story was trumped up against him by his own party and other government officials involved in galamsey, just to get him out.

“No 500 excavators got missing. Who said that? It was thrown into the media space to tag something on Frimpong-Boageng”, he said.

“What am I doing with 500 excavators?” he wondered.