Francis Awuku
The management of F.A. Minerals, a licensed small-scale mining company, has vehemently debunked reports that its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Francis Awuku paid bribe to the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Atwima Kwanwoma, Nana Okyere Tawiah Antwi, to release his seized excavators.
He advised the media house to quickly retract the story and apologize to avert a possible legal action.
A certain media outlet in Kumasi recently reported that Mr Awuku paid a whopping GH¢700,000 to the DCE to retrieve his 12 seized excavators.
The report said that F.A. Minerals is owned by some Chinese nationals, who are blatantly defying the government’s ban on illegal mining.
Mr. Awuku stated categorically that he is not a Chinese national as reported earlier.
He also stated that the malicious reports were published to dent his hard-earned reputation.
Mr Awuku said he appealed to the district assembly to release his excavators to him on security grounds.
According to him, he received intelligence that some people were planning to burn the excavators owing to tension in the area over the siting of a district capital.
Mr Awuku noted that some faceless people planned to burn the excavators which were parked at Foase if they decided to relocate them to Twedie, the disputed district capital in the area.
He said his company wrote to the district assembly to release the excavators to it.
“I am a trustworthy person who abhors all forms of illegality and therefore I would never stoop low to pay bribe to get my machines,” he added.
From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi