Otumfuo Osei Tutu in a handshake with President Akufo-Addo
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, says the people of Obuasi and the entire Asanteman have benefitted immensely from the presidency of Nana Akufo-Addo who took office about three years ago.
According to him, since his assumption of office, the President has personally facilitated the speedy conclusion of all legal cases pertaining to the redevelopment of the Obuasi Mine.
He disclosed this at the launch of AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi Mine Redevelopment Project on Tuesday.
He said Obuasi Mine, arguably the richest in the world, occupies a special place in the economic development of the nation.
“Economic historians will undoubtedly attest that many decades before independence this was the single most important enterprise in the economy,” he said.
Otumfuo asserted that Ashanti Region provided more than half of the country’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) at a point in Ghana’s history from the resources of Obuasi combined with timber and cocoa from the region.
“As we discover new resources and strive for equitable and balanced development of the whole nation, it is fair never to forget debt to Obuasi and Asanteman for the solid foundations laid for the economic wellbeing of our united republic, he said.
“The launch of the redevelopment project today has huge implication for the future of our nation. It should be an important signal to the world that the climate for doing business has never been brighter,” he argued.
President Akufo-Addo urged the company to follow laid down procedures to prevent the degradation of the environment.
“My government had to take a very difficult decision to place a ban on all small-scale mining activities because of the alarming destruction of our environment. The ban is meant to be a temporary measure and that is why it was lifted last December.”
“I am happy to say that today people are fishing again in one of the famous rivers of our country – the Ankobra. It must further be said the degradation of the environment is not done only by illegal small-scale miners.
The President also appealed to residents of Obuasi to support the mine to succeed, announcing that government would soon accept the Assets Relinquishment Plan of AngloGold Ashanti to pave the way for the start of the proposed Obuasi Campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Obuasi