'You've no moral right to point fingers; you were mute in a mess your son was involved in' — Akosua Manu fires prof. Frimpong-Boateng

Akosua Manu, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Youth Authority (NYA) and a member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) communication team has slammed Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, for his recent accusations of the NPP government.

In an interview on Metro TV's "Good Morning Ghana" show on October 30, 2023, Akosua Manu expressed her views on the appointment of Prof. Frimpong-Boateng as the chairperson of the dissolved Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), describing it as possibly one of the biggest mistakes made by President Akufo-Addo.

Akosua Manu argued that Prof. Frimpong-Boateng's criticism of the government's handling of illegal mining, locally known as "galamsey," is hypocritical, considering his lack of actions during his tenure as the head of the IMCIM.

She contended that the former minister failed to take effective action against illegal mining when he had the power to do so.

"Whatever he has said till date, he himself has no moral right, as far as I'm concerned," she stated.

She continued, "Because when it mattered, when he sat in the chair, he made it nearly impossible to fight it - himself per what he said."

She emphasized, "I don't see why you had the position, you say nothing, you did nothing, and you look the other way when issues come. When issues came, some of us defended it based on what he said."

The NYA Deputy CEO also raised the issue of Prof. Frimpong-Boateng's son's alleged involvement in illegal mining, indicating that if the former minister had knowledge of it during his tenure, he should have taken action.

She said, "You can turn around and start pointing fingers," Manu concluded, "It would be that the biggest mistake ever was to have put him in that position. Because if he himself knew all these things, especially with his son's involvement, then he shouldn't have even ventured."