Rosewood committee report a big cover up – Apaak

Builsa South Member of Parliament, Dr Clement Apaak, has accused the government of cover up in relation to the Rosewood Committee report released on Saturday February 16.

The seven-member committee chaired by Mr Benito Owusu-Bio, a Deputy Minister of the Ministry, was constituted by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to investigate alleged corruption by some government officials in the illegal rosewood export.

The Committee said video footages and other materials provided by the Environmental Intelligence Agency (EIA) did not have sufficient evidence to back its corruption claims.

But in a statement relased by Dr Apaak who earler called for the release of the report, he said : “The government committee intentionally refused to invite the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), which published a detailed report " Ban Boozled" suggesting government officials, New Patriotic Party members/officials were being given permits illegally to harvest and export rosewood in collaboration with leading officials of the Forestry Commission.

“The committee didn't invite the producer of the equally damning JoyFm documtary titled "Killing Our Roses" which made similar allegations.

“So, how could the committee claim it "didn't have adequate evidence to establish corruption cases against any officials of government" when neither the EIA nor the Joyfm investigative reporters who have such information were not invited to provide better and further particulars?

“Though government largely ignored the damning earlier JoyFm documtary report, it instituted the committee on the back of the international embarrassment captured in the EIA report that forced the hand of government to set up the lopsided committee led by Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Benito Owusu Bio, to investigate this issue.

“I will formally respond to the 77 page government "coverup" committee report in detail in the coming days. All the same, I await the outcome of my petition to the Special Prosecutor based on the EIA and joyfm reports. “