Response from the Presidency to the Galamsey Report by Frimpong Boateng

The Ghanaian Presidency has officially reacted to the specifics of a 36-page study authored by Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a former minister for environment, science, technology, and innovation.

The aforementioned report was written in March 2021 by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng in his capacity as the former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), in response to the Chief of Staff's request that he brief the president on his efforts as the committee chairman to combat illegal mining.

The presidency claimed in a statement dated Saturday, April 22, 2023 that the former minister's allegations were only a listicle of personal grievances, despite the fact that the former minister had named numerous members of the present administration, the ruling Patriotic Party, and acquaintances of government players in the report.

It must be made clear right away that the material under discussion was not an official report that was formally submitted to the President's Office. Contrarily, it can only be accurately described as a list of personal complaints and assertions made by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng in an effort to address some problems he encountered while serving as the IMCIM's chair, the presidency stated in a statement posted on its official website.

Prof. Frimpong-Boateng made a number of claims in his report regarding interferences with his work, but the presidency dismissed them as hearsay and unsupported.

In fact, it claimed that the claims in the document were at most hearsay.

After being leaked, the report by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng recently made headlines.

This has led some detractors to charge that the administration and the president lack the motivation to put a stop to galamsey despite its unfavorable repercussions.

Below, you can read the Presidency's full statement:

Press Release Regarding Professor Frimpong-Bateng's "Report"

Publications of 21 April 2023

The Office of the President has been made aware of a media report purporting to quote from a paper written by Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a former minister for environment, science, technology, and innovation and chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), that purportedly accuses some government appointees of wrongdoing in the fight against Galamsey.

It must be made clear right away that the material under discussion was not an official report that was formally submitted to the President's Office. Instead, it is best described as a list of personal complaints and assertions made by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng in an effort to address various problems he encountered while serving as the IMCIM's chair.

On March 19, 2021, during a casual meeting where the document was presented to the Chief of Staff at the President's Office, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng voiced his complaints about the public criticisms and attacks leveled against his term as the IMCIM Chairperson.

This came about after the second-term President of the Republic decided not to extend Prof. Frimpong-Boateng's term as Minister. The paper was not sent to the Chief of Staff for action as shown by the lack of a transmittal, cover letter, or addressee. Notably, the IMCIM was a creation of Cabinet, and any formal report on its operations would typically be submitted to Cabinet via the Cabinet Secretary or directly to the President of the Republic in his capacity as Chairperson of Cabinet. Prof. Frimpong-Boateng hasn't done either as of yet.

It is crucial to note that, despite the serious allegations made by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng against some government appointees regarding their involvement in, support of, or interference with the fight against illegal mining, not a single piece of evidence was offered or presented to support the claims.

The accusations made in the document are, in fact, at best hearsay. It is telling that Prof. Frimpong-Boateng has done nothing to further the issues raised in the document since his March 2021 meeting with the Chief of Staff.

Unquestionably, the President is committed to combating illegal mining, and the Office of the President welcomes any information on such operations that would give the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service a solid foundation on which to conduct its investigations.