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Nana Akomea, Managaing Director of InterCity STC, has chided the Presidency for releasing a statement in reaction to Professor Frimpong Boateng's report on galamsey.

Professor Frimpong-Boateng, in his report, indicted some government officials of intefering with his work on galamsey during his tenure as Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) and further accused the seat of government of their involvement in illegal mining.

But the Office of the President has rubbished the claims saying "at the outset, it must be pointed out that the document being discussed was not an official report formally delivered to the Office of the President. On the contrary, it can only be rightly referred to as a catalogue of personal grievances and claims made by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, intended to respond to some issues he faced as Chairperson of the IMCIM".

According to the Presidency, the document was handed to the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President on March 19th 2021 "in an informal meeting, where Prof. Frimpong-Boateng complained about public attacks and criticisms made about his tenure as Chairperson of the IMCIM".

"It is important also to point out that, whilst Prof. Frimpong-Boateng makes serious allegations against some government appointees, as having been involved in, supporting or interfering with the fight against illegal mining, not a single piece of evidence was adduced or presented to enable the claims to be properly investigated. Indeed, the allegations contained in the document are at best hearsay," the statement added.

However, the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has tasked the Police CID to investigate the claims by Professor Frimpong Boateng.

Nana Akomea, contributing to Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show, opined that the reply by the Presidency will make the work of the Police difficult.

To him, "the letter or the reaction from the Jubilee [House] should have been neutral" but in his assessment, the Presidency's response is far from being neutral.

"With how they've written the letter it looks like Jubilee House has already passed judgement on the Professor Frimpong-Boateng's report. When it happens like this and you tell the Police to investigate it, you make their work difficult...when you read the letter from the Jubilee, they say it is a hearsay not backed by evidence and his personal grievances, it means you have judged the matter, so how do you refer it to the Police?" he stated.