The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has refuted claims that its Chief Executive, Richard Ofori-Agyeman Boadi, ordered the release of excavators seized from illegal miners by the Forestry Commission.
This comes in response to a Joy News report aired on April 29, alleging that the Kumasi Mayor was behind a controversial directive leading to the removal of five heavy-duty excavators from the Ashanti Regional Forestry Commission yard.
The machines, seized in connection with illegal mining operations, were reportedly driven away by armed men claiming to act on political orders, only to be returned hours later following a backlash.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the KMA described the report as "inaccurate and misleading," clarifying that while the Assembly had requested the use of some excavators following the March 21 fire at Adum Railway, it never sanctioned their release from the Commission's custody.
