The minority in Parliament has urged the government to arrest its own appointees and party officials who were implicated in the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) report.
This call comes after the former chairman and author of the IMCIM report was invited and subsequently arrested by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
In a statement delivered by Rashid Pelpuo, the Ranking Member on the Lands and Forestry Committee, the minority emphasized that the government’s commitment to combating illegal mining, also known as ‘galamsey,’ should go beyond the arrest of Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng and extend to the key members of the government and New Patriotic Party (NPP) officials implicated in the IMCIM report.
The minority stated, “If this government wants to demonstrate seriousness in the fight against galamsey, it must go beyond the arrest of Prof Frimpong-Boateng. It should broaden its scope by ensuring the arrest of government and Jubilee appointees who are at the heart of the government, including Mr. Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, the President’s cousin, the Director of Operation at the Presidency, Lord Oblitey Commey, and Albert Quarm, who have all been cited by the committee.”
According to the minority, it is unthinkable that the government, which is entrusted with protecting the country’s resources, is revealed to be a major sponsor of their destruction.
They expressed concern about the diminishing cocoa farms, pollution of water sources with mercury, the deterioration of rivers, and the destruction of forest reserves on a daily basis.
The background of this situation involves Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, who provided a detailed account of his recent arrest by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
He explained that he was invited to the OSP’s office on May 15, 2023, and subsequently arrested and released on bail after undergoing two hours of investigation.
The minority’s call for the arrest of government and party officials mentioned in the IMCIM report reflects their belief that accountability should extend beyond a single individual and include those implicated in the illegal mining activities.
