Ernest Frimpong, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Wassa Amenfi East, has been released by the Tarkwa Police Command in the Western Region.
Mr. Frimpong was released on Wednesday [June 12, 2024] evening following the recording of his statement regarding comments made in a viral video.
In the video, Frimpong appeared to encourage miners to retaliate against police officers and soldiers attempting to extort money from them. However, he later clarified that his remarks were taken out of context during a two-hour discussion with artisanal small-scale miners.
Frederick Korankye, the Municipal Chief Executive for Wassa Amenfi East, condemned Frimpong’s comments in an interview with Accra-based Citi News. He urged miners to cooperate with security officers to combat illegal mining in the community and emphasized the importance of obtaining legal documentation and permits for mining activities in accordance with Ghanaian law.
Korankye stated, “the government is ready to facilitate the documents for you to do your work according to the guidelines set out in the mining laws. So that is what I will plead with the miners. In fact, the land belongs to us so we cannot look unconcerned for them to destroy it the way it is.”
He added that occasional military interventions are necessary to ensure compliance with the law, especially given the region’s struggles with rampant armed robbery.
“So once a while, the military will come and then make sure that they do the right thing. At the beginning of every year, there are rampant armed robbery cases over here, and when it happens like that, we rely on these security services to come and assist so we cannot be attacking them and then later come and call them to come and help us.”
