General News of Friday, 5 May 2023
Source: www.ghanaweb.live
2023-05-05It's been 2 years since I left, why would I leak 'galamsey' report? - Frimpong-Boateng
play videoProf. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng is former environment minister
The former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng says he has no interest in leaking a report he compiled in 2021 and is therefore not the brain behind the leakage of same into the public in recent times.
A 37-page report on activities at the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining which emerged in
Read full articleApril contained suggestions by the former minister that some elements in government attempted to frustrate his work as chairman of the committee.
Speaking in a UTV interview, however, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng says the report was not leaked by him. He merely handed it over as part of evidence when the CID approached him to investigate him following an interview he did with state broadcaster, GTV.
“It’s been 2 years since I left the ministry, why would I leak this report? Why now? There were issues about an excavator and my involvement in galamsey raised during an interview with GTV and I said I hadn’t taken any excavator and that there are many NPP members involved in galamsey.
This is what sparked the issues and CID came around, and asked why I said that, then I said it is nothing new I was saying, it is something I had been saying over time and this is the report I am giving about it, so I gave it to them,” he said.
He was however emphatic about the fact that his submission of the report to the CID by no means suggests that he is pointing fingers at them as the people who leaked the documents.
“I won’t say the CID leaked it but I gave them the report because they were conducting investigations and that was all,” he noted.
Prof. Frimpong further noted that his recent invitation to the Office of the Special Prosecutor has nothing to do with his allegations in the said report nor comments he made about some elements in government.
According to him, the Special Prosecutor in his letter, clearly noted that he was to assist with issues relating to corruption that happened during his time as chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining.
“Special Prosecutor’s invitation is about some corruption and corruption-related activities within the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining,” he noted in an interview with UTV.
Watch the video below:
