Chairman Wontumi must be arrested for engaging in galamsey - Small-Scale miners

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Chairman Wontumi and Chief Executive Officer of the of the Forestry Commission were accused of actively involving in illegal small-scale mining [galamsey].

According to the chiefs at Jacobu in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region, Sir John chairman Wontumi have become the bad nuts in the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The chiefs made this known in a meeting with the Minister of Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs, Kofi Dzamesi last week.

The chiefs of Amansie Central District speaking on the development have called on the President to fight his own appointees and party members who are engaged in galamsey.

Spokesperson of the chiefs said "Sir John and the Ashanti Regional Chairman sent about 30 excavators into the forest with the protection of military men.

"As the chief of my community, I didn’t know anything about that. All we hear was that they were coming to reclaim the land. But not too long just about two weeks, they [Sir John and Wontumi] began illegal mining activities."

But the Concerned Small-Scale Miners said Chairman Wontumi and others must be arrested.

Michael Kwadwo Preprah, Chairman of the association in an interview on Kumasi-based Angel FM said "We are asking the president to immediately call for the arrest of Chairman Wontumi and his cohorts and allow an independent body to investigate the matter."

However, Chairman Wontumi has denied the claim by the chiefs indicating that the chiefs lied.

In a statement, he said "The office of chairman Wontumi wishes to state unequivocally that Mr. Antwi- Boasiako is NOT directly or indirectly engaged or linked in any acts of illegal mining, neither is he engaged in any act of illegal mining in the Amansie area or in the said forest reserve, as alleged by the traditional leaders. It therefore considers the allegations as very unfortunate, especially coming from no mean persons, but the reversed and respected traditional leaders of Amansie traditional Area. Mr. Bernard Antwi- Boasiako wishes to implore the media, the general public and all well-meaning Ghanaians to disregard the allegations and treat it with all the contempt it deserves. It further wishes to caution all concerned to desist from further publishing such unmeritorious and malicious allegations against the NPP regional chairman and the very personality of Mr Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, or face the consequences thereof."