Suhuyini's GH¢10,000,000 claim 'false, without basis' - Lands Ministry

The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has moved to quash claims by the Member of Parliament to Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini that it spent a whopping GH¢10,000,000 on some conferences and dialogues it held as part of the fight against illegal mining (galamsey).

The Ministry in a statement issued on Thursday, April 7, 2022 described as ‘false’

Read full articlethe allegation by Alhassan Suhuyini and said it had no “factual basis”.

The Ministry in the statement detailed activities it undertook during the regional dialogues and dismissed the assertions by the Tamale North MP.

“The attention of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has been drawn to a story in a section of the media, where the Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Hon. Alhassan Suhuyini, alleges that the Ministry spent Ten Million Ghana Cedis (GH¢10,000,000) on ten (10) conferences and dialogues in the fight against galamsey.

“The Ministry wants to state, categorically, that the said allegation is false and has no factual basis,” it said.

The Ministry however failed to disclose the exact amount spent on the project, explaining that “at the appropriate time, the state agencies charged with auditing the accounts of the Ministry will do their work as mandated by law, and take the appropriate actions if any wrongdoing is detected.

What Suhuyini said

Alhassan Suhuyini on Tuesday April 5, 2022 alleged that the government used over GH¢10 million on 10 national dialogues and conferences it organised to come up with measures to fight the menace of illegal mining (‘galamsey’) in the country.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament , Suhuyini said that such expenditure by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources just on dialogues and conferences was shocking and amounts to the misuse and misappropriation of the country’s resources.

According to the MP (Member of Parliament), the ministry spent over GH¢ 2 million on national consultative dialogues in Accra, GH¢3.7 million on the dialogues in the northern and middle belt of the country and GH¢5.4 million on regional tours.

“Mr Speaker, what is interesting is that it cost the taxpayer GH¢ 2,140,000 to organise the National Consultative Dialogue in Accra, … the Regional Dialogues on Small Scale Mining for the northern and middle belt come up to GH¢3.7 million …. the regional tours that were engaged in by the minister and his appointees cost the taxpayer GH¢5.4 million.

“… all of these put together Mr. Speaker we are talking about more than ten conferences and dialogue and this is a document from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources during the consideration stage of the 2022 Budget statement. Mr. Speaker ¢10 million just on conferences and dialogue on how to fight Galamsey in this country. How does this impact the fight against ‘galamsey’ in the country.”