Rejoinder: False statements concerning Hon. George Kwame Aboagye, in relation to Professor Frimpong Boateng’s report on illegal mining et al

I, Honourable George Kwame Aboagye, Member of Parliament for Asene Akroso Manso, have taken notice of spawns of false and egregious allegations against my person that have emanated from the report of Professor Frimpong Boateng on illegal mining activities in Ghana.

Being an active and upright businessman from 1988 until I became a Member of Parliament in 2017, my reputation has remained sacrosanct to me, and I have taken every necessary step to protect my integrity over the years.

As part of my business, I have participated in legal and regulated artisanal and small-scale mining. I have been associated with Kocbad Ventures Limited and Kesuadom Enterprise Limited, all of which have obtained the relevant licenses and permits to partake in the mining industry in Ghana.

As part of the commendable Galamstop Operations of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCI), officers of the said Committee, circa 2020, inspected a legal mining site at Anyinam, which is a substantial distance from the Birim River.

At the routine inspection of the mining site, officers of the Special Task Force of the IMCI only raised the fact that the site ought to have one (1) open dam as opposed to the two (2) dams at the mining site.

These dams were being used as a reservoir for the very reason that there was extremely limited access to water resources, nor was there any natural water body in proximity to the site.

In order to ensure compliance with this requirement, the officers of the IMCI took temporal possession of two (2) out of three (3) of the excavators on the site to ensure that the third excavator covered the dam and reclaimed the land.

As faithfully reported by the media accompanying the IMCI, the dam was covered within a week of the site inspection, and the excavators were accordingly released upon compliance.

This is the straightforward and unqualified record of events that have been unfortunately but unsurprisingly distorted to suit the various parties in the crossfire initiated by Professor Frimpong Boateng’s Report.

Consequentially, I wish to assert and reaffirm in no uncertain terms that:

1. I have never engaged in illegal mining at any point in time.

2. Kocbad Ventures Limited and Kesuadom Enterprise Limited are licensed companies that have conducted their mining activities in accordance with the laws of the land, mining regulations, and best practices for the international mining industry.

3. Edmund Kwadwo Koda (Captain Koda), at no point, intervened, influenced any persons, or facilitated the release of the two (2) excavators that had been placed in police custody temporarily.

4. The leader of the IMCI and his Deputy have categorically denied receiving any call or order from any persons, particularly Captain Koda, for the release of the excavators and are prepared to answer queries relating to the same.

I will end as I began by concluding that safeguarding my high reputation is paramount to me, and I will continue to serve my Country with honesty and integrity.

I take this opportunity to advise the media and the general public to exercise extreme caution and diligence in reporting and reproducing false and baseless allegations that have not undergone proper verification.

God bless our great nation Ghana.

Honourable George Kwame Aboagye,

Member of Parliament for Asene Akroso Manso.