A section of the youth with their palcards during the demonstration at Nyinahin yesterday
ANGRY YOUTH and opinion leaders of Nyinahin in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region have issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Exton Cubic Company Ltd to evacuate its equipment from the community to ensure peace.
According to them, the presence of the heavy equipment belonging to Exton Cubic Company Ltd, said to be owned by Ibrahim Mahama – a brother of ex-President John Mahama – is rapidly increasing tension in the district.
Spokesperson for the group, Baba Yaro, assemblyman for Nyinahin, who doubles as the Town Council Chairman, stated that the community would allow the machines on its soil only after proper documentation for the mining of bauxite in the area had been done.
“We therefore, emphatically recommend that Exton Cubic Company’s machines at the forest must be out of the district within 24 hours from now until proper documentation and agreements are done,” he stated categorically.
This was contained in a petition which the youth and the opinion leaders presented to the Atwima Mponua District Assembly on Wednesday to be forwarded to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Highlighting the salient points of the petition to the media, Baba Yaro noted that his group doubted if indeed, Exton Cubic had proper documentation to prospect or mine bauxite in the Tano Offin Forest Reserve.
He said his group would not allow any illegality on their soil, especially regarding mining activities, which he claimed, have the potential of degrading the environment and bringing untold hardships to the residents in future.
Machines Impounded
It would be recalled that heavy equipment belonging to Engineers and Planners (E&P) – another company owned by Mr Ibrahim Mahama – sent to the district by Exton Cubic Company Ltd, were impounded by the district assembly on Sunday.
Williams Darko, the DCE of the area, who reportedly led the operation, stated that he had no information about the conveying of the heavy equipment to the forest, especially at a time that government had banned illegal mining.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, also shared a similar view, indicating that he would not allow the machines to enter the forest until proper documentation had been shown to him.
Aborted Demonstration
Residents of Nyinahin, who are also not happy about the presence of the machines in their area, wanted to go on a protest march yesterday but the police prevented them from doing so, citing security reasons.
The entire residents of the town dressed in red attire, were about hitting the road in their numbers when the police stopped them in their tracks.
ASP Ambrosse Aboagye explained to newsmen that the protestors did not secure approval from the police before hitting the street to demonstrate and that was the reason the police stopped them.
According to him, the residents only informed the police that they wanted to present a petition to the DCE, which the police sanctioned, adding that the police eventually ensured that the petition was presented peacefully.
Concerns
Still on the petition, Baba Yaro said Exton Cubic Company Ltd had never engaged the community in a social responsibility forum and that the company had not carried out any publicity in the community as mining laws require.
He also pointed out that “parliamentary approval as the 1992 Constitution requires under Article 268 Clause (1) had not been done,” questioning the company’s claim of having permit to operate in the area.
“We therefore doubt the legality of the said agreement and wish to object to any attempt to grant the said company a mining lease to mine the Nyinahin bauxite by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources”.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi