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National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is happy that finally the 'actual' reason for setting up a committee to help stop illegal mining in the country has been exposed.

According to him, on the surface, 'the committee' (Inter-Ministerial Committee) was to fight galamsey; as it is locally called but behind the scenes, it was just 'handed over to party members' to engage in and share the profits.

"We have been saying this for a long time but...now you have been exposed. The so-called fight against galamsey was a sham;419…the secret is out and we now know the galamsey campaign was for the NPP to take over the galamsey business and make money for themselves…" he claimed on Peace FM’s morning show 'Kokrokoo'.

He was reacting to a recently leaked video where the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng and Central Regional Vice-Chairman of the NPP, Horace Ekow Ewusi were reportedly making some damning statements.

Watch his submission in the video below



Background

This leaked video comes weeks after reports emerged that about 500 excavators are missing after they were seized by the Operation Vanguard; an operational team made up of various security personnel purposely set up to clamp down on illegal mining.

Prof Frimpong Boateng who is also the Chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), disclosed that most of the excavators that were seized from illegal miners had vanished.

He subsequently issued a letter directing the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to arrest and interrogate Ekow Ewusi after learning that he reportedly sold some of the confiscated items from illegal miners.