Akufo-Addo: Mahama Slams President Over Akonta Mining Comment As “A Serious Dent” On His Presidency

• Former president John Mahama has joined the many critics slamming Nana Akufo-Addo for saying that Akonta Mining Company is not engaged in illegal mining
• The president had said that the company owned by a popular member of his party and which is under investigation is not engaged in illegal mining
• Taking to his Facebook page on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, John Mahama said the comment by the president further dents the already deteriorating image of his administration

Former president John Mahama has waded into the criticisms that have greeted President Nana Akufo-Addo’s comment that seeks to absolve Akonta Mining Company from allegations of illegal mining.

According to the former president, Nana Akufo-Addo’s constant habit of clearing his appointees and companies that are under investigation from wrongdoing makes the work of anti-graft state agencies difficult.

“As though proud of that dishonourable badge, ‘the clearing agent’, Nana Akufo-Addo has yet again justified the appropriateness of his nickname with the seeming presidential exoneration of Akonta Mining, a company owned by a member of his political party (NPP) and accused of illegal gold mining in the country’s forest reserves,” Mahama said in a Facebook post on January 10.

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What Nana Akufo-Addo Said About Akonta Mining Company

President Nana Akufo-Addo last week cleared Akonta Mining Company of any illegal mining charges.

The ministry of lands and natural resources had referred the mining company to the Special Prosecutor, citing allegations of mining a forest reserve in Tano Nimiri in the Western Region.

But to the surprise of many, the president said the company owned by Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, aka Chairman Wontumi, is not engaged in that menace in any part of the country.

This exoneration came at a time several well-meaning Ghanaians have demanded punitive actions against the company for mining in the reserve.

Akufo-Addo Seems to Like ‘Clearing Agent’ Nickname

On Facebook, former president Mahama said the president seems to approve of the dishonourable nickname of ‘the clearing agent’ given to him by Ghanaians for always absolving his appointees from any wrongdoing.

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John Mahama also found the forum where Akufo-Addo made the comment most inappropriate.

Nana Akufo-Addo made the comment while delivering a keynote address at an event organised by the Catholic Church in Ghana.

Special Prosecutor Investigates Charles Bissue, Chairman Wontumi And Others Over Illegal Mining

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that the woes of former Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Commission on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Bissue and the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known, have deepened.

The two people with strong links to the government as well as other key state institutions have become the focus of ongoing investigations by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

Source: YEN.com.gh