Charles Cromwell Bissue
A presidential staffer and Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Cromwell Bissue, has claimed his innocence in a documentary which appears to suggest that he collected bribe to allegedly circumvent government’s efforts to fight against illegal mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey.’
Mr. Bissue, however, indicated in a press statement that he is stepping aside as Secretary of IMCIM in the interest of transparency to allow a probe into the matter.
In the statement, he said: “I would like to state at the very onset that I am innocent of the allegations levelled against me in the documentary, as I was not and have not been engaged in any act of corruption, criminality or misconduct.”
It would be recalled that on Thursday, February 28, government indicated that it was taking steps to carry out investigations into the latest exposé of ace investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyew Anas.
The documentary shows deep-seated corruption by individuals tasked to fight against illegal mining.
Mr. Bissue was partly captured in a documentary titled, “Galamsey Fraud.”
While some Ghanaians have been calling on the state to sanction persons captured in the exposé, Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, told journalists in Accra on Thursday that “government will have the said tapes properly investigated using the raw unedited footage.”
He said: “If any persons are found to have solicited monies or taken bribes to bend rules, the necessary action will be taken.”
According to him, “Government welcomes any efforts aimed at fighting against illegal small-scale mining.”
Mr. Bissue said in the release that “I call for such an investigation, and I am prepared to avail myself to the investigation process. I am confident that at the end of it all, I will be exonerated for my good name to be preserved.”
Anas’ Reacts
Meanwhile, Anas Aremeyaw Anas has indicated that Mr. Bissue cannot claim innocence in the latest exposé since he circumvented some of the required procedures for mining outlined by government because of monies paid to him.
According to Anas, Mr. Bissue took a total of GH¢35,000 in cash through one Andy Owusu, who is said to be a linkman for Mr. Bissue.
“We found Mr. Bissue abusing his office, breaching his fiduciary duties, engaging in bribery and corruption. These were uncovered by way of hard facts captured on audio/visual recording and electronic correspondence,” Anas said in a write-up.
“Mr. Bissue circumvented some of the procedures for ORR Resources Enterprise for a fee. We did not go through any vetting procedure. We did not go through the Minerals Commission, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Water Resources Commission (WRC) and Forestry Commission. Mr. Bissue took care of all of that for ORR. We have paid him a total of GH¢35,000 in cash,” he added.
Again, “Officials of IMCIM did not verify our concession document and did not make any demand for a power of attorney in the absence of the bona fide owner of the concession. We are of the considered opinion that the neglect and or failure to make a determination as to whether we were representatives of the owner was as a result of the money we paid to Mr. Bissue.”
By Melvin Tarlue