Former Environment Minister, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, has invoked the wrath of God on those engaged in illegal mining and subsequent destruction of the environment.
Addressing a breakfast meeting by the Kumasi chapter of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship to mark its 40th anniversary, the former Chairman of the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) said God will deal with all persons engaged in illegal mining activities.
He added that no individual participating in galamsey and other activities that degrade the environment will be spared of God’s punishment.
Backing his comment with the book of Revelations chapter 11 verse 18, he said “The nations are angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for you to punish the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and saints who revere your name and to punish those who destroy the earth,” he quoted from the scripture.
According to him, mankind was created to be stewards of the environment and not destroyers of it.
“When we are destroying the environment, we are not alone, the other creatures of God are very important…We are supposed to be caretakers of these things and we are messing up God’s things and we think we are smart, God is not happy with that,” he said.
He exhorted Christians to be willing to speak the truth regardless of the consequences, adding that “I’d be part of that. I will tell the truth and face the consequences.”
He added that if citizens do what is expected of them, the country would change for the better.
On May 16, Prof Boateng was invited by the Office of the Special Prosecutor as “a person necessary for the investigations” into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences in respect of the activities and expenditure of the dissolved IMCIM.
He willingly honoured the invitation, however, events that ensued meant that Prof Frimpong-Boateng was a suspect. He was later cautioned and granted bail.
This followed the release of a 36-page document written by Prof. Boateng to the president, the Chief of Staff, and the police naming top government officials allegedly involved in illegal mining.
But speaking on JoyNews, Prof Frimpong-Boateng insisted that he did no wrong while chairing the Inter-Ministerial Committee.
“If 0.001% of people behave like what I have done, this country will not be the way it is. I built a whole hospital and trained people, added structures and systems to Korle Bu with internally generated funds, and changed the way Ghana Red Cross functions, and as a minister, I introduced a lot of things that if they were pursued, we would have made a lot of changes in this country,” he said.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng added that he has always worked in the interest of the country, and has never thought of making money off the country.
“If I were a thief, I would have been one of the very rich people in this country. If we all thought about Ghana and had the interest of this country at heart, we will not be where we are now,” he said.
