The Director of Operations at the Presidency, Lord Commey, has refuted some allegations levelled against him in a leaked report authored by former Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.

According to Mr Commey, he has never participated in illegal mining, locally termed galamsey.

In a statement issued on Friday, April 21, he stressed that, “For purposes of setting the records straight, I wish to state without shred of doubt that I have never engaged in or supported illegal mining as contained in the said report.”

Mr Commey’s denial comes after the former Minister for Science and Technology, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng in a report, named him as one of the people supporting and participating in the illegal mining of gold.

As inherent in the 37-page report, the former Minister, who doubled as Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) disclosed that, “There are appointees in the Jubilee House who are doing or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace. Examples are Lord Commey, Charles Nii Teiko, and Frank Asiedu Bekoe (Protozoa).”

Nonetheless, Mr Commey stated in his response to the report that he had never engaged in illegal mining, nor had he sought favour with anyone in that regard.

He challenged Prof Frimpong-Boateng to provide evidence to support his allegations or face legal action.

The report, submitted to the Chief of Staff by Prof Frimpong-Boateng in 2021, detailed the work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).

It called for more inter-agency collaboration and proposed the establishment of a national task force to coordinate the government's efforts.

In addition, the report stressed the need to increase efforts to combat illegal mining, as it has caused significant environmental damage in Ghana.