Former Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Inusah Fuseini has described as laughable the presidency’s response to former Environment Minister, Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng’s report.
According to him, it is ridiculous to say that because the celebrated surgeon has not provided a transmitted letter, he has not provided evidence to his allegations that officialdom is engaged in ‘galamsey’.
This, he stated is because “there is evidence that the land in the gold mining areas is being degraded with careless abundance. So who are the people behind the degradation that we are not arresting and prosecuting people?”
“The response issued by the presidency is at best laughable,” he said.
The former MP’s comment comes after a report by the former Environment Minister fingered some government officials and persons close to the presidency as having hampered his galamsey fight.
But the presidency in a statement pointed out technical defects with the document authored by the former Minister despite admitting it was submitted to the Chief of Staff in 2021.
It also labelled the allegations levelled at some top government officials in the 36-page document on the fight against illegal as hearsay.
According to the statement, even though Prof Boateng who also served as chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) made serious allegations against some appointees, supporting or interfering with the fight against illegal mining, there has not been any evidence submitted to prove the allegations.
Government indicated that as a result, it is unable to properly investigate the claims and allegations highlighted in the document.
However, Mr Fusieni finds the response unacceptable.
According to him, the President could have called for an investigation into the report rather than asking for evidence.
This, he noted is because the illegal mining that occurred in the mentioned areas in the report is termed universally as an environmental crime, adding that it is a disposition of the environment.
Meanwhile, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has been asked to investigate whether it is indeed true that government and party functionaries are complicit in what analysts say made the fight against illegal mining nearly impossible.