George Kofi Amponsah (second from left) addressing the media
Angry residents of Wassa Juabo in the Western Region have passionately appealed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to save them from a certain foreigner, who they claimed has been harassing them.
They alleged that the foreigner, believed to be either a Turkish or Canadian, has been tormenting them with illegal mining activities known in the local parlance as galamsey.
They said that the company, C&G Alaskan Company Ltd., had defied government’s ban on galamsey in the country, especially in the Upper Wassa Forest Reserve and other farmlands. Attempts to speak to the company failed.
According to the aggrieved residents, the activities of the company had had adverse effects on the people at Wassa Juabo as several acres of farmlands and river bodies have been destroyed by the miners.
Sounding very peeved, they particularly noted that River Ankobra, which is the major source of potable drinking water for the people, had been destroyed by the illegal miners.
Addressing a mammoth press conference in Kumasi on Wednesday, George Kofi Amponsah, spokesperson for the angry residents, stressed the need for the president to quickly come to their aid.
He alleged that the foreign company paid only GH¢5,000 to the Forestry Commission to secure entry permit into the Upper Wassa Forest Reserve, noting that the entry permit was granted illegally.
They said the foreigner, who from all indications doesn’t respect the laws of the state, had turned his nefarious activities to the Jacobu Forest in the Ashanti Region – which is also under serious threat.
“We wish to draw the attention of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to as a matter of urgency, send the Operation Vanguard team to the Jacobu Forest Reserve to clear all his excavators,” Mr Amponsah declared.
He also petitioned the Ashanti Regional Security Council ((REGSEC) to seize and evacuate mining equipment of the man “so that he will not destroy Jacobu Forest as he has done in the Western Region.”
Kofi Amponsah also reminded the Minerals Commission that the mining company of the foreigner had been operating illegally.
From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi