It is not enough to oust Prof. Frimpong Boateng, he must account for missing excavators - Small Scale miners

The Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners (GNASSM) has expressed its dissatisfaction with how the issue of the missing excavators has been handled so far.

According to the association, kicking Prof. Frimpong Boateng out of office is just not enough to resolve the issues.

Public Relations Officer of the association, Ben Annan, in an interview with Sefa Danquah demanded that the former minister accounts for the missing excavators.

“Professor Frimpong Boateng said the excavators were missing. Our position is that changing Frimpong Boateng is not enough. The government should ask for accountability from him on the missing excavators. If the government leaves the matter as it is, we will fail to reach a consensus with the government anytime soon. He must show us where the excavators are so we know our next steps”

Ben Annan furthered that it will be in the interest of the government to heed to the Association’s demand if it wants to be maintained as the party in power.

Last year, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, the then Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation said most of the excavators that were seized from illegal miners had vanished.

It would be recalled that over 500 excavators used by galamsey operators were seized by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) and parked at various district assemblies for safekeeping as prosecutions proceeded.

But the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation Prof Kwabena Frimpong Boateng at the time shockingly stated that the excavators have gone missing.

As a result, six (6) persons were arrested for stealing or aiding in the stealing of excavators and other equipment.

The suspects included Frederick Ewusi, Joel Asamoah, Adam Haruna, Frank Gyan, and John Arhin, and the suspended Central Regional Vice-Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Horace Ekow Ewusi.

Months after that, President Nana Akufo-Addo replaced Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng as the Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) with Kweku Asomah-Cheremeh, the then Minister of Lands and Natural Resources.