<<Print>>

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Simon Osei Mensah has indicated that there was no attempt to influence what the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II was to say at the dialogue on illegal mining in Kumasi last week.
There has been suggestions that Mr Osei Mensah and the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor had attempted to 'gag' the Asantehene and persuade him to desist from exposing some of the people behind illegal mining [galamsey].

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II had been invited to give the opening address of a “Dialogue” between the government and stakeholders in the small-scale mining sector.

The dialogue was about the illegal mining [galamsey] disaster that Ghanaians have inflicted upon themselves.

Before Otumfuo Osei Tutu II mounted the dais to deliver his speech, the two government officials Messrs Osei Mensah and Samuel Abu Jinapor had gone to him the previous day and pleaded that he should please observe protocol and stick to his script.

But as soon as he stood before the microphones, he revealed, extempore, in Asante Twi, that the government officials had approached him earlier, to “stick to his script”. But before doing that, he would just want to say a word or two.

And he continued to charge that a high percentage of the people in the room – perhaps 30 percent – not only knew who were carrying out galamsey in the country, but that some were themselves involved in the dastardly practice. They should stop forthwith, for he was minded to name and shame them!

Following the revelation by the Asantehene, there has been suggestions that the two government officials had wanted to gag the Asantehene.

Osei Mensah's explanation

In a radio interview monitored by Graphic Online on Accra based Okay FM on Tuesday morning, Mr Osei Mensah denied attempting to influence the Asantehene's speech and said he had no locus to prepare the Asantehene's speech.

According to him, he [Osei Mensah] and the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor had only sought to appeal to the Asantehene to stick to his script, so that the function would not have delayed.

He said their plan was to ensure that the event did not go more than one hour or one and half hours since the Asantehene himself had other functions to attend that day.

He said it was the Manhyia Palace that prepared the speech for the Asantehene and not the sector minister or the Regional Coordinating Council.

Watch a video of what the Asantehene said at the dialogue