Agyepong was responding to accusations by Professor Frimpong-Boateng that government stalwarts have interfered in the war on “galamsey”.
Kwabena Agyei Agyepong has backed calls for action against government appointees who have been indicted in the “galamsey report” by the former minister of environment, science, technology and innovation Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
Agyepong is an aspiring flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Frimpong-Boateng, a former chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, accused some stalwarts in the Akufo-Addo government of interfering with his efforts to combat illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as “galamsey”.
The Office of the President, in its response to the report, dismissed the allegations as hearsay and stated that the report is not an official document submitted to cabinet formally.
The opposition National Democratic Congress, the convenor for the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, Kenneth Ashigbey, and other stakeholders have called for a probe into the report.
Reacting to comments on the galamsey report on the Kumasi-based Nhyira FM, Agyapong said, “action should be taken; President Agyepong will take decisive action. That report will not lie on my desk for two years without attention …”
He also questioned why Frimpong-Boateng did not take action during his tenure as the minister of the sector. The presidential aspirant asked, “Why has Prof also taken so long?
“You were the minister at the time. I would have expected that when he was minister then, he should have taken the firm action to hold some people accountable.”
Agyepong, however, stated that when he is given the mandate to lead the country, his administration will impose a moratorium on all forms of surface and community mining activities in the country.
This, he says, will regenerate the country’s forest cover, which is being lost because of illegal mining.
The presidential aspirant said, “I will put a moratorium on, at least, surface mining for some time to regenerate our forests. If you want to mine, you have to do the deep mining. I disagree with the concept of community mining.
“President Agyepong will put a moratorium to it. We will have conversations with stakeholders and see how we can change the whole process and make sure that we are mining sustainably.”
Agyepong said it will take leaders who have the political will to end the menace which has destroyed most of the country’s forests and water bodies.
He called on mining regulatory bodies in Ghana to take action to ensure that companies which have been licensed to mine also reclaim their lands to prevent further degradation.
“This galamsey thing: there are public officers who have been paid to work,” Agyepong said. “The Minerals Commission is there, all the technocrats who are in charge of compliance and standards are there.
“There is no mining contract or concession that does not talk about regeneration, but have we ever seen a company that has regenerated the forest after mining?”
The former NPP general secretary is on a tour of the Ashanti Region to garner support for his presidential ambition. He is calling on delegates to support this cause by voting for him to represent the party ahead of the presidential primary.
