Frimpong-Boateng galamsey report: Sammy Gyamfi files RTI request on activities of Heritage Imperial

The National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has filed a Right to Information (RTI) request regarding the activities of Heritage Imperial Company Limited in the Apamprama Forest Reserve.

In a post shared on X, Sammy Gyamfi stated that he filed the request at four government agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Forestry Commission of Ghana, the Attorney General’s Department as well as the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

He indicated that the request is to ascertain whether Heritage Imperial is engaging in illegality as suggested by the former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee against Illegal Mining (IMCIM) and ex-Minister for Environment Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng,

“This request has become imperative in light of a legal opinion from Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice to the Ghana Police Service dated 12th September 2023.

"The said legal opinion suggests that no evidence has been found by the State in support of allegations by the former Minister of Environment and former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee Against Illegal Mining, Prof. Frimpong Boateng, that Heritage Imperial Company Limited has been mining and/or operating illegally in the Apamprama Forest Reserve,” he wrote.

Sammy Gyamfi added, ”It’s my belief and that the requested information will enable me assist the Ghana Police Service and the Attorney-General to conduct thorough investigations into this matter with aim of punishing anyone found culpable”.

Background:

The National Democratic Congress accused the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, of prioritizing the interests of corrupt officials in the country.

The allegations were made during the "Moment of Truth Series" held at the NDC Headquarters in Accra on October 16, 2023.

Addressing the gathering, the NDC's National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, expressed the party's concern that despite the mounting evidence and multiple witnesses implicating certain companies in illegal mining, the Attorney General has remained silent on the matter.

Sammy Gyamfi argued that Godfred Dame's actions, or lack thereof, demonstrate a lack of genuine commitment to the country's well-being and an inclination towards shielding corrupt officials.

He questioned the Attorney General's response to such concrete evidence, asking, "How can the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice say that, in the face of this incontrovertible evidence? In the face of evidence of chiefs, the youth, and the people of Krobo testifying to the illegal mining operations of Heritage Imperial, how can you say that there is no evidence to prosecute the company?"

In response, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Dame, in a statement issued on October 18, 2023, sighted by GhanaWeb, Godfred Dame said that the allegations against him by the NDC are unfounded.

He said that the NDC is making it look as if an advice from a state attorney to the Central Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service on an investigation it is conducting on Prof Frimpong-Boateng's galamsey (illegal small-scale) report, is wrong.

Dame added that the NDC failed to provide evidence at their press conference to prove that Prof Frimpong-Boateng’s allegations against the government officials cited in his report were true.

View the post plus the RTI request filed by Sammy Gyamfi below:

Earlier today, I submitted RTI requests to the Environmental Protection Agency, Forestry Commission, Attorney General’s Department and Ministry of lands and Natural resources in respect of the activities of Heritage Imperial company limited in the Apamprama Forest reserve.

This… pic.twitter.com/YHWKQOkWQR

— Sammy Gyamfi (@SammyGyamfi_) October 19, 2023