Former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, says he would have been counted among the wealthy if he were a thief.

His comment came after he was invited by the Office of the Special Prosecutor for alleged corruption-related cases regarding certain expenditures by the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining he chaired.

He stated that he could have amassed a lot of money when the opportunity presented itself, but he could not dip his hands into the public purse.

“If I were a thief, I would be one of the very wealthy people in this country. If we all thought about Ghana and had the best interests of this country at heart, we would not be where we are now,” Professor Frimpong-Boateng said in an interview with JoyNews.

He indicated that the country would be a better place if more people had the mindset he has, adding that he single-handedly built the National Cardiothoracic Centre without a pesewa from the state.

“If people behaved like I have done, this country would not be the way it is. I built a whole hospital and trained people, added structures and systems to Korle Bu with internally generated funds, and changed the way the Ghana Red Cross operates. As a minister, I introduced a lot of things that, if they had been pursued, we would have made a lot of changes in this country,” he said.

“Since I came from Germany, I planned the National Cardiothoracic Centre at the age of 39 and built this centre without a single cedi contribution from the government. I am talking about the building, and I have done many things, all in the interest of this country. I never thought about myself,” he said.

He was granted a GH¢2 million bail.