Several New Patriotic Party (NPP) officials at the Jubilee House have allegedly engaged in unlawful small-scale mining, often known as galamsey, according to a report by the former minister for environment, science, technology, and innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
The 37-page study, which was written in 2021 and given to the Chief of Staff, has been made public.
According to Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, the report's signatory, some NPP leaders paid Chinese citizens to participate in galamsey on their behalf.
He said that many party leaders were engaged in unlawful mining despite the president's commitment to environmental protection.
What puzzled me the most throughout our fight against unlawful activity in the small-scale mining industry was the president's complete disdain for his promise to save the environment. Without hesitation, I can say that many party leaders, from the national to the unit committee level, had friends, personal assistants, agents, relatives, financiers, or relatives who were involved in illicit mining, according to the study.
Most of them hired Chinese people to work for them. I'm not talking about party members who had genuine mining concessions and followed instructions to mine sustainably. There are Jubilee House appointees who engage in or promote illicit mining or who obstruct efforts to combat the problem.
The study also emphasizes how an NPP representative in the Ashanti Region exploited his position as a member of the Minerals Commission to purchase substantial concessions and then sell them to private people, including party members, for 200 000 cedis for each concession.
This incensed the local party, which resulted in the electorate rejecting the incumbent MP, who had more resources than the other contenders, in the 2020 primary elections. He lost to a less well-known person who had less financial clout, despite charges that he "camped" delegates and tried to bribe them, the report said.
Additionally, Professor Frimpong-Boateng charged that top NPP officials were acting as solicitors for those suspected of participating in galamsey and harming the environment and water resources. Additionally, he accused a journalist of selling illegal excavators and laundering money at the direction of some government functionaries.
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