The Information Minister, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, on Thursday said the Government would welcome any support intended to win the fight against illegal and irresponsible small-scale mining in the country.
He said Government would allow the state security apparatus and investigative bodies to properly scrutinise the unedited footage of the Tiger Eye PI’s investigative piece and those found to have solicited money or taken bribes to bend the rules would be dealt with according to law.
Mr. Oppong-Nkrumah said this in an engagement with the media in Accra, on Thursday, in reaction to Anas Aremeyaw Anas’s Tiger Eye PI’s new investigative piece titled; ”Galamsey Fraud”.
He said government would provide the necessary resources and encouragement to the people to scrutinise the video footage but did not provide any timelines for the completion of investigations.
Mr. Oppong-Nkrumah said President Nana Akufo-Addo had shown enough political will to end illegal mining and its debilitating effects on the environment and, therefore, would not shield any member of his government that engaged in it.
Asked whether the Inter-Ministerial Committee against Illegal Mining (IMICM) has been disbanded following the airing of the video, Mr Oppong-Nkrumah stated that the Committee was still working, unless authorised to disband it.
In the Tiger Eye PI’s investigative documentary, a Presidential Staff and Secretary to the IMICM, Mr Charles Cromwell Bissue, was fingered as the foremost collaborator against efforts by the Government to clamp down on illegal mining.
The Committee was established by government to supervise the ban on small-scale mining imposed in May, 2017, due to the destructive effect of illegal mining on water bodies and the environment.
