A Member of Parliament’s Energy and Mines Committee, Edward Bawa has criticised the Attorney General, Godfred Dame, about how he reacted to Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng’s report on illegal mining in the country.
According to Mr Bawa, the Attorney General’s opinion on the matter was issued prematurely since the police at the time of his publication had not thoroughly completed investigations into the allegations made in the report.
In April 2023, the Attorney General made statements concerning the report and advised that little attention be given to the document which revealed how some bigwigs in government were directly or indirectly involved in facilitating the practice of illegal mining.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng’s report on galamsey are his views – Godfred Dame
Mr Dame noted that the findings in the former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining’s report were his opinion and must be investigated to justify their authenticity.
However, the lawmaker for Bongo constituency was of a different view.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, he questioned the timing of the Attorney General’s actions, noting that he had issued an opinion before requesting further investigation.
He further suggested the publication by Mr Dame was an attempt to create gaps in the investigation to make it non-prosecutable in order to protect government officials.
“For him to hurriedly issue an opinion and then ask that they continue the investigation, I just feel that it was premature, it was an attempt to create gaps in the investigation such that it is not prosecutable.
“And to a very large extent, the persons involved in this were too close to the extent that it was difficult to look into their eyes and tell them ‘Guy what you did is wrong,’” he said.
During the discussion, Bawa also raised concerns about the government’s commitment to addressing the issues outlined in the report.
He claimed that the government had, in his view, intentionally stalled action on the report.
“The government was not committed to ever working on that report,” he asserted. “They had seen it and had decided to, as usual, find one reason or the other to shelve it or cover it up.”
On April 20, the former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, named some top government officials as being complicit in the illegal mining menace.
The renowned heart surgeon indicated that the rot goes as high as the seat of government, the Jubilee House.
Prof Frimpong Boateng names top government officials engaged in ‘galamsey’
Prof. Frimpong Boateng stressed that the allegations of some 500 missing excavators from illegal miners in 2020 were fabrications of some persons in the government to get him out of the way.
Since his revelation, there has been an increase in calls for accountability from both government officials and individuals involved in illegal mining activities.
Meanwhile, Mr Bawa’s comments highlights the growing controversy surrounding the handling of the report on illegal mining, as it suggested a lack of urgency and transparency in addressing the alleged wrongdoing and environmental damage caused by illegal mining operations.
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