Former Environment Minister, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, has said he was sad after listening to New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart, Gabby Otchere-Darko’s response to the galamsey report.
According to him, he wondered how a person who is supposed to be the lawyer of a mining company exhibited such industrial-scale ignorance about mining laws and regulations.
In a 36-page document, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, who is a former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), accused Mr Otchere-Darko and other government officials of interfering with his fight against galamsey.
But denying the allegations, Mr Otchere-Darko said the former Minister’s accusations are a wrongful twist of facts for reasons best known to him.
Mr Otchere-Darko explained he only called the renowned surgeon to seek information on his client – a company that had the permits to mine in the country.
He stressed Prof Frimpong-Boateng deliberately twisted his mediation to cause public disaffection for him.
However, in a rebuttal, the surgeon said, “Mr Gabby Otchere Darko, it is laughable that you claim to have called me to seek information on your client. If you needed any information, you could have called the Minerals Commission. You know I did not operate mining information services.”
The former minister noted the lawyer was well aware of the destruction his clients were engaged in and yet chose to use his privileged position to protect them and their destructive activities.
“You called to tell me that your client had a valid mining licence and all necessary permits. I told you that Heritage Imperial Co. Ltd. did not possess documents permitting it to undertake active mining. That notwithstanding through your intervention the Chinese, who were arrested, were released by the task force.
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“The many soldiers who were providing security service to your client’s company attacked the IMCIM task force team and damaged the vehicle carrying journalists who were covering the IMCIM operations. The unfortunate scenes were captured on camera and shown on Joy News,” he noted in his response.
Read the full response below: