'From Flagstaff House to Galamsey House' - Henry Akoto expresses sadness over seat of govt

The 2020 parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress in the Oforikrom constituency, Henry Osei Akoto, has described the current state of the seat of the government as a ‘galamsey house.’

According to him, the state of the seat of government, which has had name changes from Flagstaff House to Jubilee House i9n recent years, is now bedevilled with so many stories of some o9f its members involved in the illegal trade of mining.

He explained that by this, the previously prestigious tag that the edifice held has been doused by the recent involvement of a number of government appointees in the illegal small-scale mining in the country.

In a tweet, Henry Osei Akoto indicated that the seat of government is currently a sorry state of what it used to be.

“From Flagstaff House to Jubilee House to Galamsey House…

“Sad for this country!” he said in the tweet.

According to the details that have emerged from the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) report put together by Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, it named a number of current, highly-placed members of the government, as being involved in the illegal trade, one way or the other.

Names such as the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah; leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko; a former Secretary to the IMCIM, Charles Bissiw; the Director of Operations at the Presidency, Lord Oblitey Commey; a former Member of Parliament for Manso-Nkwanta, Joseph Albert Quarm; and former Senior Minister, Yaw Osaafo Maafo, were mentioned.

The rest are Charles Nii Teiko and Frank Asiedu Bekoe, both presidential staffers at the Jubilee House.

The report, put together by the former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, was submitted to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in March 2021.

From Flagstaff House to Jubilee House to Galamsey House...

Sad for this country! pic.twitter.com/CP5IdVdVdP

— Henry Osei Akoto (@HenryOseiAkoto_) April 25, 2023