Gov’t Fattens Galamsey Kingpin Prof. Frimpong Boateng & Co. With GHC 300 mil

In what appears to be a waste of public funds, the Akufo Addo’s administration has so far spent over GHC 300 million on the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) in their failed fight against illegal mining operations in Ghana, aka “Galamsey”.

Whatsup News can report that since late 2017, the government has expended GHC 33 million every three months on the IMCIM to fight the Galamsey menace.

However, three years on, the IMCIM may have chased off some of the illegal miners, the illicit mining operations have passed on to governing party officials and their close associates.

A recent secret video recording of the Chairman of the IMCIM, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng has been caught on a secret video recording showing him admitting that he had authorised officials of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to engage in illegal mining to raise funds for the party.

Also, the IMCIM has been cited for reselling and distributing seized mining excavators to NPP officials such as General Secretary John Boadu, Horace Ekow Ewusi, the party’s Vice Chairman in the Central Region among others.

The son of Prof. Frimpong Boateng, Joojo Frimpong Boateng is also known to be operating a mining concession that was acquired under questionable circumstances.

Professor Frimpong Boateng is reportedly involved with his son in operating a mining company called Symphony Mining Limited.

The company which claims its Chief Executive Officer is Joojo Frimpong Boateng, has the IMCIM Chairman as a director of the company, in what exposes a possible conflict of interest.

Professor Frimpong Boateng recently signed a document addressed to the Minerals Commission asking for two out of five concessions available to be given to Symphony Mining Limited.

In the letter, seen by Whatsup News, after officially asking for the concession, the signatory to that private request was “K.Frimpong-Boateng” believed to be Professor Boateng because he included a telephone number that has been linked to him

Last year, an undercover documentary by Ghana’s renowned undercover journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas revealed that a secretary to the IMCIM, Charles Cromwell Bissue was caught in what was believed to be a racket to facilitate illegal mining companies.

These curious dealings within the fight against Galamsey have led experts to rate as a failure, the anti-illegal mining initiative of the government.

“A lot of the taxpayers’ money is involved in this case, if not, the money must be accounted for,” said Alhassan Suhuyini, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Tamale North Constituency on Joy FM’s Newsfile on Saturday.