Galamsey Menace: Special Prosecutor Investigates Charles Bissue, Chairman Wontumi, Other Key Institutions

• The Office of the Special Prosecutor has launched fresh investigations into galamsey corruption against Charles Bissue, Chairman Wontumi and other key state institutions
• The key state institutions included in the investigation are officials of the Lands Commission, the Lands Ministry and the Forestry Commission
• The investigation comes at a time there's been agitations from CSOs and a section of the populace for government to take decisive action against the illegal mining menace

The woes of Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Commission on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Bissue and the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, are deepening by the day.

The duo and other key state institutions are the focus of the latest investigations by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

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The OSP, in a press release on Monday, October 10, 2022, disclosed that it had begun a probe into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences in respect of illegal small-scale mining, also known as galamsey.

The statement signed by Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng named Mr Bissue and Chairman Wontumi's Akonta Mining Company Limited as subjects of the investigation.

According to the SP, the scope of investigations also involves galamsey-related issues brought against officials of the Lands Commission, the Ministry for Lands and Natural Resources, and the Forestry Commission.

"It also targets the activities and expenditure of the dissolved Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), especially in respect of the seizure and management of machinery, road excavators, vehicles, and gold nuggets."

The investigation is also expected to look into "allegations of corruption and corruption-related offences against some Municipal and District Chief Executives and political party officials."

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This investigation comes at a time when there have been agitations from a section of the populace led by some CSOs in the country for the government to take a hardline stance against the illegal mining menace.

Galamsey wreaking havoc on environment

Mention has been made of the devastating effects of galamsey on the environment and the resultant pollution of water bodies in the country.

Despite intense efforts by the government, including setting up a task force comprising the military and police, the state appears to be losing the fight against the menace.

Some have also pointed at official complicity in the menace, hence the miners' audacity to ply their trade still.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu Questions Why Galamsey Is ongoing After Akufo-Addo Put His Presidency On The Line

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that the devastating effects of the illegal mining menace have left the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II fuming with rage.

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Cocoa sector: Illegal mining has affected only 2% of farmland – Agric Minister

The revered King of the Ashantis, who has time without number, minced no words about the impact of galamsey on the environment, questioned why Ghana as a country is failing in the fight to halt the menace.

Source: YEN.com.gh