Nana Nteboah Prah addressing the media
Divisional Chiefs and Elders in the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality of the Western Region have appealed to the government to help save the Bogoso- Prestea mine from collapse.
They asserted that the mine, which played a pivotal role in the development of the host communities, was on the verge of collapse.
“The collapse of the Bogoso Prestea mine is unfolding and government agencies and other stakeholders seem to be unconcerned despite the awareness created on the situation by both the workers and the community leaders,” the chiefs asserted.
According to the chiefs, the acquisition of Bogoso Prestea mine by Future Glibal Resources (FGR) was announced suddenly without prior engagement with them.
They claimed that FGR submitted an oral plan of revamping the mine to chiefs after the acquisition of the mine in September 2021.
Addressing a press conference, Nana Nteboah Prah IV, Divisional Chief of Prestea Himan Traditional Area noted that after observing the two years of operations of FGR, the chiefs came to the realization that, FGR do not have the financial capacity and technology to enhance the development of the mine.
He said, at a point, the chiefs requested FGR to formally document the orally submitted plan for the mine and present it to stakeholders to enable Nananom to provide the needed support for FGR to achieve the plan, but the management of the mine ignored the call.
“The company could not submit either a short term or long term plan for their operation whenever it was requested,” Nana Nteboah Prah IV said.
He revealed that somewhere in August 2023, Nananom submitted a five paged petition to the minister of lands and natural resources to assist in addressing the situation at the mine before it got worse.
He mentioned that the ministry assured that the government would not take the issue lightly or sweep it under the carpet.
“Unfortunately, the minister has not provided any feedback to Nananom and all stakeholders who were copied in the petition have remained silent,” he alleged.
Nana Nteboah Pray added that the continuous delay in addressing the situation of FGR Bogoso Prestea mine is threating the security and peace of the communities and land.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi