Smear Campaign Against C&J Continues …Two Cabinet Ministers Fingered

How two cabinet ministers (names withheld), using their informant as a conveyor belt to  destroy the enviable record of some mining companies in the country is playing out  in the latest failed attempt to ruin C&J Aleska Ltd and have the company’s license revoked.

Unfortunately for them however, this time, it was poorly executed on WhatsApp platform by the well-known informant.

Available voice recording,  contract document and pictures, intercepted from a WhatsApp platform of Cabinet,  alleges supposed wrongdoings against a licensed mining firm, C&J Aleska Company Ltd.

The two minister, instead of serving mother Ghana, this paper gathered, are rather working for an C&J Aleska, competitor and plotting to shutdown the company with these fictitious documents, false national security reports and claims.

The audio recording, which has a male voice alleged that the mining company, had secretly sold gold concession at Kobro forest in the Jacobu District of the Ashanti Region, to some Chinese illegal miners, without the knowledge of chiefs and people of the area, for which reason government, should revoke the company’s permit.

Our Checks however revealed that the man who is making the incriminating allegations against the mining firm, is a known informant working together with others, behind the two top officials at the presidency.

Identified only as ‘Osoofo Migizo, the informant’s voice was accompanied by a picture of a suspicious Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated June 22, 2018. The document entitled, “Mining Site Reclamation Project Jacobu” was allegedly signed between C&G Alaska Company Ltd represented by one Mr George Arthur and a certain Mr Bright, identified only as “First Party”.

Prior to the posting of the information on the Cabinet platform last week, Osoofo Migizo’, was said to have personally sent the suspicious document to the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Frimpong Boateng and Mr Charles Bissue, a Presidential staffer to take action against C&J Aleska Ltd.

In the two minutes, 10 seconds audio, ‘Osoofo Migizo’ who spoke in the local dialect, ‘Twi’, insinuated that, C&G Aleska Ltd, had sold the mining concession to the Chinese at GH¢70, 000 per concession, in addition to 600grams of gold bar every month.

But when the paper made contact with management of C&G Aleska Company Ltd over the authenticity of the allegation, they expressed utmost shock, and denied ever entering into any such deal with Chinese anywhere.

New Crusading GUIDE was told in the telephone interview that, C&J Aleska Ltd, did not have any gold concession at Kobro forest in the Jacobu District in the first place, much more having any contract with the Chinese firm or anyone in the Ashanti Region for land reclamation work.

The General Manager of the company, Donald Entsuah, indicated out that the said contract document being their accusers were banding about was fake and fraudulent.

According to him, a careful study of the document, showed that the company’s name was wrongly written.

Without mincing words, the company said it suspected the two Ministers, Messrs Professor Frimpong Boateng and John Peter Amewu, had their hands in what was happening and probably had certain agenda against C&G Aleska Ltd.

According to the management of the company, since the two became Ministers, their mining firm has never known peace.

They alleged, instead of focusing on their mandates in their respective ministries to ensure that the menace of illegal mining which is affecting the environment and water bodies, becomes a thing of the past, they rather direct their power on ‘cooking’ untruth story one after another against C&J Aleska Ltd, just to make it look bad and create disaffection for the company.

In a lengthy interview, management insists, what is happening is simply, a case of ‘giving a dog a bad name and hang it’.

The company is demanding a proper investigation be carried out into the claim against them and those behind the plot brought to book.

Blow-by-blow, management narrated that, since the malicious allegations were thrown at the company, all the supervisory state agencies, including security agencies, have visited the company’s mining site on fact finding mission.

However, no singular wrongdoing has been established against the operations of the company, as have been alleged by their accusers.

They mentioned visit by the Minister of Defense, Dominic Nitiwul and his entourage to the site, the Minerals Commission, Forestry Commission and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials led by their Executive Directors on separate occasions.

The Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), as well as Operation Vanguard team, have also visited the company’s site, but found nothing untoward against them.

The company further stated that, the Lands and Natural Resources Minister himself, also visited their concession in a company of some well-known illegal operators in the area who have consistently accused them of illegality; but significantly, had found nothing illegal contrary to the allegations against them.

In spite of these verifiable facts, management said, they could not fathom why the image and reputation of the company was being dragged in the mud unduly.

This paper’s independent check at the Forestry Commission indicates that, the land reclamation contract given to Chinese Company, at Kobro forest in Jacobu, which the informant was making reference to, has nothing to do with C&J Aleska Ltd.

Management has meanwhile, served notice that, should nothing be done to get to the bottom of the case, they would head to court to clear their name and reputation.

This is not the first time such unfounded allegations have been made against the company, mostly by political activists and hirelings.

The company revealed, it has written to the Presidency, the seat of government to inform authorities there about the violent attacks on them; but sadly they receive no response from the presidency.

They also recounted how management on many occasions, had visited the ministries to brief the ministers on the predicaments of the company, especially the unwarranted attacks on them by certain individuals, but all to no avail.

It would be recalled that, the C&J Aleska Ltd, which is a legally registered and licensed large scale mining firm based in Wassa Juabo area in the Western Region, has been at the receiving end of various attacks and accusations by some group of galamsey operators.

Sometime last year when the company’s site was attacked, properties such as mining equipment and vehicles belonging to the firm were set on fire and destroyed by rampaging galamsey operators for allegedly taking over their livelihood.