Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a former minister of environment, science, technology, and innovation, claims that if he had been a thief, he would have been considered affluent.
He made this statement in response to an invitation from the Office of the Special Prosecutor about certain expenditures made by the now-defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, which he served as chair of.
When the chance arose, he claimed he could have amassed a large sum of money, but he was unable to access the public coffers.
“If I were a thief, I would be one of the very wealthy people in this country. If we all thought about Ghana and had the best interests of this country at heart, we would not be where we are now,” Professor Frimpong-Boateng said in an interview with Accra-based JoyNews.
“If people behaved like I have done, this country would 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 the Ghana Red Cross operates. As a minister, I introduced a lot of things that, if they had been pursued, we would have made a lot of changes in this country,” he said.
“Since I came from Germany, I planned the National Cardiothoracic Centre at the age of 39 and built this center without a single cedi contribution from the government. I am talking about the building, and I have done many things, all in the interest of this country. I never thought about myself,” he said.
Professor Frimpong-Boateng described as legitimate the OSP’s probe suggesting to the OSP not to be selective in its investigations.
“These are monies belonging to the people, therefore we should all account for our stewardship wherever we are. If I have done anything wrong, I stand to go before the court and answer these questions and this should apply to everyone.
“Those in charge now should know at some point they will be at the other end. if you are on one side of the table, another time you will be at the other end and also receiving questions. Whatever we are doing, we should do it in the interest for Ghana. If you do things without any selfish interest, then this country will be a better place,” the former Minster stated.
He was granted a GH¢2 million bail.
Source: Citinewsroom
