NDC urges SP to investigate individuals cited in galamsey report

The Nation­al Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on the Special Prosecutor to (SP) thoroughly investigate all individuals cited in the illegal mining report by former Minster for Environment Science and Technology, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.

The National Communication Office said the report on ille­gal mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey’, was scandalous.

At a press briefing in Accra, on Tuesday, the National Communi­cations Officer of the NDC, Mr Sammy Gyamfi, said the NDC wanted an immediate stop to the destruction of Ghana’s forest reserves and water bodies.

He alleged that it was during the ban on small scale mining in the country that more Chinese illegal miners invaded Ghana’s forest reserves with the help of some government officials for illegal mining.

“As the former Environment Minister puts it in his report, never in the history of Ghana has the nation’s forest reserves been subjected to such destruction in the name of illegal mining as we witness today,” Mr Gyamfi said.

He reiterated the need for the government to as, a matter of urgency, address “this worrying situation” for the betterment of the country.

Mr Gyamfi noted that any coun­try that had no firm grip over the protection of its forests, natural reserves, wetlands and biodiversity was doomed for extinction.

Commenting on the recently released undercover investigative work by Aljazeera, an international news network, indicting the pres­idency in a gold scandal, he said Parliament needed to launch a full scale investigation into the matter to ascertain the truth.

Mr Gyamfi claimed the investi­gative documentary uncovered an international gold smuggling and money laundering racket, operat­ing in various parts of Africa.

According to him, the videos showed involving Alistair Mathias, who had gained popularity for allegedly designing money laun­dering schemes for alleged corrupt African leaders, could be seen boasting about his close relation­ship with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and other high profile African leaders.

“We in the NDC are deeply concerned about the damning rev­elations about our president in the latest documentary by Aljazeera.”

“These earth-shaking findings also give currency to the justifiable concerns raised about govern­ment’s opaque Gold-for-Oil deal which many experts, civil society organisations and the NDC have had legitimate grounds to criticise and demand transparency and

 accountability for,” he said.

Mr Gyamfi said that it was imperative for Parliament, while probing the matter to be able to establish the number of compa­nies Mr Mathias own in Ghana, which government contracts had been awarded to (the companies).

He asked the government not to sweep these allegations under the carpet

BY RAISSA SAMBOU

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