I was sacked from government so galamsey could continue – Prof. Frimpong Boateng
According to Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, the former Minister for Science and Technology, his departure from the Science and Technology Ministry was a result of a coordinated effort by the government and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He claimed that the allegations of 500 missing excavators seized from illegal mining activities in 2020 were false and were fabricated by certain individuals in government to damage his reputation and force him out of office. He explained that his stance on illegal mining activities had made him a target for some greedy folks in the government who wanted him out.
Professor Boateng went on to describe the events that led to the missing excavators controversy. He stated that military personnel deployed to arrest illegal miners were supposed to immobilize the excavators, but the owners would remove the control boards and move the excavators away before the soldiers returned.
When someone was appointed to investigate, only about 150 to 200 excavators were found out of over 700 reported immobilized. He emphasized that there was a scheme within the party and government to oust him, and since his departure, illegal mining activities have increased, with culprits even within the party and the Jubilee House.
In 2020, as Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Boateng had initially reported that most of the seized excavators were missing and later wrote to the Police CID to investigate the suspended First Vice Chairman of the NPP, Horace Ekow Ewusi, for his alleged involvement in the missing earth-moving equipment. Ekow Ewusi had been contracted by the government to transport the seized equipment to designated areas for safekeeping.
