The New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, also called Chairman Wontumi, has categorically refuted claims that he is involved in galamsey, or illicit mining.
Chairman Wontumi said he had shown authorities his mining license as proof that he operated lawfully following his interview by the Ghana Police Service’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
“I was invited by the police and charged with being involved in galamsey. I presented my licence to them to prove that I do not engage in illegal mining or galamsey. They also claimed I was working in the forest, but I told them it wasn’t me. If they have any evidence, they should show it to me,” he said.
He added that the Forestry Commission, Lands Commission, and Minerals Commission had notified him that the land was protected even though he had previously sought for a license to operate in a forest region.
“So, if anyone is working there now, I am not aware of it,” he added.
Additionally, Chairman Wontumi vehemently refuted rumors that, in the last days of the Akufo-Addo administration, he was paid GHS50 million by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
This came after claims that his business, Hallmark Engineering, received a sizable payment from COCOBOD in defiance of a direction from Julius Debrah, the then-incoming Chief of Staff, to stop contract payments during the changeover.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Joseph Asare
