“People who are engaged in illegal mining are worse than arm robbers”—Sammy Gyamfi
National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Sammy Gyamfi has said, people who are engaged in illegal mining are worse than arm robbers, because what they do is to satisfy their greed and selfishness. Apexnewsgh.com reports Mr. Gyamfi, made the pronouncement on the TV3 morning programme monitored by Apexnewsgh.com on Friday, April 28, 2023, when discussing Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng’s controversial reports “People who are engaged in illegal mining are worse than arm robbers, because what they do is to satisfy their greed and selfishness. They destroy water bodies we rely on for our very sustenance. You know water is life, so if destroy our waters bodies, our forest reserve just to satisfy your insensible greed and self-interest like these appointees have shamelessly done, you are a murderer, you are a criminal and you deserve to be defended”. He said According to Mr. Gyamfi, the report also captured that party functionaries and the Chinese were all in the forest reserve destroying water bodies without no mercy for Ghanaians “Frimpong Boateng’s report also talked about the fact that right from the National executive level of the NPP to the Unit Committee level, Regional Executives they all engage in indiscriminate galamsey with the Chinese destroying our water bodies. This is not the gospel according to NDC or Sammy Gyamfi. If the Aligator comes from the water to tell you that the crocodile is dead, you don’t argue it, the man was at the helm of affairs in charge of the fight and this is his verdict”. Meanwhile, the report also said, a Member of Parliament Hon. Albert Joseph Quarm obtained a lot of mining concessions which he sold to whooping( Ghc 2 billion) Two Billion old Ghana Cedis. I will be glad if they go to court. Because Prof. Frimpong Boateng anytime he is challenged forcefully has come out with better particulars with even more evidence to substantiate the claims he made in the report. He stated Source: Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana For publication please kindly contact us on 0256336062 or Email apexnewsgh@gmail.com
“Prof. Frimpong Boateng report is the obituary of Nana Addo’s fraudulent fight against galamsey”—Sammy Gyamfi
National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Sammy Gyamfi has described Prof. Frimpong Boateng’s report as the obituary of Nana Addo’s fraudulent fight against Galamsey. Apexnewsgh report According to Mr. Gyamfi, the report by Prof. Boateng settled the issue or not whether President Akufo- Addo is committed to the fight against Galamsey once and for all. “Any reasonable objective-minded persons who read that report authored by a well-trained Cardiothoracic surgeon, former Minister for Environment, science and technology, and Chairman for the inter-ministerial committee against illegal mining, will come to the inevitable conclusion that Nana Addo proclaimed fight against galamsey was a sham. It was a scam, it was a chared and the real intention as some of us have always maintained is that, he just wanted to kick out legal Ghanaian small-scale miners from the mining industry and help his government and party functionaries to take over the illicit galamsey menace with their Chinese and other foreign collaborators and nothing more. And that is what the Frimpong Boateng report shows”. He stressed This he said, is the reason some of the people implicated in the reports are fighting so hard to discredit the astute Prof. Boateng “That is why our brothers are jumping over themselves very desperately to discredit the report, discredit Prof. Frimpong Boateng and that is why they are insulting him and calling him names. Of course, Hon. Titus Glover has not done that, he sounded a bit patriotic on the matter calling for investigations indicating that the evidence is strong enough for investigation and that is commendable. But if you listen to the other surrogates of the NPP and spokespersons, clearly you can see that they are not comfortable to that fact that Frimpong Boateng report has exposed the duplicity, the hypocrisy, the dishonesty of President Akufo-Addo”. Mr. Gyamfi said Mr. Gyamfi further stated, that despite banning Small Scale Mining for One year and Three months, burning excavators belonging to legal Ghanaian Small Scale Miners, and killing some in the process all in the name of fighting galamsey, President Akufo-Addo ended up making galamsey a free for all enterprise to his party members and government officials. “Prof. Frimpong Boateng in this report said, after President Akufo-Addo banned Small Scale Mining for One year and Three months, burned excavators belonging to legal Ghanaian Small Scale Miners, and killed some in the process all in the name of fighting galamsey, President Akufo-Addo ended up making galamsey a free for all enterprise to his party members and government officials. Frimpong Boateng’s report says the Jubilee House is the head Quarters of Galamsey in Ghana. That some Presidential staffers like Charles Tegoe, the personal assistant to the Chief of Staff, to the director of operations at the Presidency Lord Commey all actively involved in the galamsey and the man just didn’t talk, he provided further and better particulars to support that claim. I am happy that Titus Glover did not try to defend those people because those people have to be defended”. He stressed Mr. Gyamfi made the pronouncement on TV3 morning programme monitored by Apexnewsgh.com Source: Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana For publication please kindly contact us on 0256336062 or Email apexnewsgh@gmail.com
Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng is man of integrity, he saved Ghana US$88.24million Contentious Judgment Debt–Okudzeto Ablakwa
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has openly thrown his support to show the world Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation is a man of integrity. Apexnewsgh.com reports He further gave a strong example of how Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng saved the country US$88.24million Contentious Judgment Debt, insisting that his credibility cannot be impeached & a clarion call on Ghanaians to continue Prof.’s patriotic example. He gave detailed examples below: How Prof. Frimpong-Boateng Saved Ghanaians from a US$88.24million Contentious Judgment Debt, Why His Credibility Cannot Be Impeached & A Clarion Call On Ghanaians To Continue Prof.’s Patriotic Example Since the release of Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng’s cataclysmic galamsey report by Kevin Taylor, I have observed a relentless and really despicable campaign targeted at the credibility of the internationally acclaimed heart surgeon. The Akufo-Addo presidency has led the charge describing Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s shocking revelations as mere “hearsay” and a “catalogue of personal grievances.” Other officials at the presidency such as Lord Commey have even questioned the Professor’s “state of mind” when he authored the report. The President’s cousin and sidekick Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko has had his own version of choice words for the Professor describing him as a man with a “weak understanding of his ministerial position.” Majority Group Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu joined the fray questioning why Prof. Frimpong-Boateng did not present the report to cabinet— a rather lame proposition considering that the Frimpong-Boateng 36-page report had indicted a number of his colleague Cabinet Ministers. Then there have been other NPP functionaries on the extreme fringes such as Chairman Wontumi and Charles Bissiw who have gone as far as to directly accuse Prof. Frimpong-Boateng of equally being guilty as those his report exposed — discredited claims in the face of the recent CHRAJ exoneration of Prof. Frimpong-Boateng. Having observed the ongoing vicious, atrocious and well-orchestrated campaign of calumny by a powerful but wounded NPP galamsey cartel seeking to damage the credibility of Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, raise questions about his true motives and dent his patriotic credentials; I decided to embark on an independent assessment of the Professor’s tenure as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation. An objective review of piles of documents I have intercepted from multiple sources brings me to an irresistible conclusion that Prof. Frimpong-Boateng served his country with the highest grade of integrity. The desperate bombardments on his credibility by a complicit NPP galamsey gang are therefore unpatriotic, unwise and a clear case of organized crime fighting back. I can today reveal that it is to the credit of Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng’s exemplary integrity and commendable vigilance that the Ghanaian taxpayer was saved from paying a staggering US$88.24million in a controversial judgment debt to a company known as Apex Pollution Control Company Limited (APCCL) in 2020. Volumes of intercepted documents show that Ghana’s Attorney-General reached the controversial settlement in President Akufo-Addo’s first term after arbitration with Apex Pollution Control Company Limited. The Attorney General subsequently requested the Ministry of Finance to pay the entire US$88,247,246.63 to APCCL in a letter dated April 16, 2020. Strangely, though Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation was the supervising ministry for the abortive Apex deal, he wasn’t consulted or made to provide any input by his colleagues in government throughout the various stages until the 6th of July, 2020 when Prof. was presented with a fait accompli by a letter from the Chief Director of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Patrick Nomo confirming that the records of the Ministry of Finance “indicate that no request was received from the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation” and that the Attorney General’s request of US$88,247,246.63 should be validated and certified by the Internal Audit Unit of Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s ministry. (See evidence of letter attached). Impressively, and in the utmost interest of Ghana, upon receipt of the Finance Ministry’s letter requesting validation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng promptly sent a brutally frank and no holds barred memorandum to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo dated July 21, 2020. In the Professor’s memo, he exposed how the US$88.24million settlement was reached on his blind side soon after the change of power, the irregularities of the transaction, how NDC Ministers before him could not implement the project and most importantly how he was not in the position to approve the transaction. (See Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s nationalistic Memo to Akufo-Addo attached). Similar to how President Akufo-Addo treated Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s galamsey report, this memo was totally ignored by the President. The memo remains contemptuously ignored almost three years on. My ever reliable deep throat sources at the Presidency have narrated how numerous follow-ups and emails to the President’s Secretary from Prof. Frimpong-Boateng on this matter didn’t receive the much needed presidential attention. The stash of documents in my possession further reveal that after Prof. Frimpong-Boateng successfully blocked the US$88.24million payment when he served as Minister from 2017-2021 by refusing to carry out the requested validation, there is now renewed interest and fresh appetite to revive the deal seeing that Prof., who had acted as a formidable obstacle is no more in the way after President Akufo-Addo left him out of his second term. It remains a mystery how a minister who remarkably helped the President protect the public purse in line with Akufo-Addo’s own pledge to Ghanaians couldn’t find favour with the President. Probably, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng took his boss’s public assurances too seriously. From more intercepted official communication on the US$88.24million Apex Judgment Debt, it is obvious the current Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie has departed from Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s position when one reads his 21st June, 2021 letter to the Minister for Finance. Strikingly, despite the concerns Prof. Frimpong-Boateng expressed boldly on this matter, there has been no shift in position by the Office of the Attorney-General on their US$88.24million demand from the Finance Ministry. It’s quite ironic when the Chief State Attorney, Mrs. Dorothy Afriyie-Ansah had stated in her arbitration response dated June
President will not countenance interference in the galamsey fight—Lands Minister
Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has rejected that suggest President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is meddling in the fight against illegal mining, insisting it would be outrageous for him to do that. “The President will not countenance interference in the galamsey fight,” The Lands Minister stressed. Mr. Jinapor said that in an interview with the media at the National Youth Conference on natural resources and environmental governance in regard to a 37-page report compiled by Professor Kwabena-Frimpong-Boateng, the former Chairman of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), which he presented to the Chief of Staff on March 19, 2021. According to the Minister, it is not in his place to pass judgment on his predecessors’ work in combating galamsey issues. “I have no moral right to pass judgment on my predecessors. The good people of Ghana are in a better position to judge and all stakeholders… I don’t want to be drawn into this”. However, Mr. Jinapor denied having knowledge of any involvement of Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Information Minister, in galamsey, describing him as a “decent gentleman who has been discharging his duties with candor.” Source: Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana For publication please kindly contact us on 0256336062 or Email apexnewsgh@gmail.com
Full statement: NDC MoT Presser on Gold Mafia and Galamsey Report
A PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY COMRADE SAMMY GYAMFI ESQ., NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS. 25th April, 2023 SPECIAL PROSECUTOR AND PARLIAMENT MUST PROBE FRIMPONG BOATENG’S “GALAMSEY” REPORT AND ALLEGATIONS OF MONEY LAUNDERING INVOLVING PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO IN THE LATEST “GOLD MAFIA” UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION BY AL JAZEERA. AL JAZEERA’S GOLD MAFIA INVESTIGATION Good morning to you, our media partners here present, in the sixteen regions of Ghana and across the world. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has sighted an undercover investigative work that was recently broadcast by international news network, Al Jazeera. The said documentary forms part of a fourpart investigation by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit), which uncovered an international Gold Smuggling mafia and Money Laundering racket operating in various parts of Africa. Friends from the media, of particular concern to us and indeed, the people of Ghana, is the reference to a relationship between the deadly racket and the President of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and other high-ranking officials of the ruling NPP government. In the One-hour, thirteen-minute video documentary, one Alistair Mathias who has gained notoriety for designing money laundering schemes for corrupt African Leaders, could be seen boasting about his close relationship with President Akufo-Addo and other high-profile African leaders. In the particular portion of this new investigative documentary that has got many tongues wagging, the said Alistair Mathias who is described as a Canadian citizen and a financial architect operating a gold smuggling syndicate in Ghana called Guldrest, confided in Al Jazeera undercover reporters who posed as Chinese Businessmen, about his constant dealings with President Akufo-Addo. Some of the underhand dealings this shady character revealed include how the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government for instance can award his company, Mathias Holdings an inflated contract worth $100 million, which he in turn subcontracts to another company for a value of about $80 million, thereby making a staggering profit of $20 million on the contract. Friends from the media, the mastermind of these crimes further revealed how the padded amount on such deals is then shared among the parties – corrupt officials in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government on the one hand, and Mathias Holdings on the other hand. Under this criminal scheme, Mathias further undertakes to bank the share of his corrupt collaborators in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government in offshore accounts until such a time that the money is needed by them. This is how grand corruption is created by elements in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, who inflate contracts and then deposit the stolen funds in the form of “commissions” with this devious individual whose operations span across other African countries. And by the way, commissions in this gold smuggling, money laundering and illicit business context simply means bribe. As if the above dealings were not scandalous enough, we further gleaned from the documentary how supply and procurement contracts are awarded to this knavish partner of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia Presidency, who constantly returns kickbacks from these inflated contracts through their elaborate corrupt network at the expense of value for money and the good people of Ghana. Ladies and gentlemen, the nefarious Alistair Mathias further confessed to how he manages to smuggle one ton of gold with a face value of $40 million from Ghana, every month, with the active collusion of high-ups in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government and in collaboration with one Kamlesh Pattni, an Indian man domiciled in Kenya, who is described as the grandmaster of the Gold Mafia. This development, my fellow countrymen and women, adds to a litany of similar acts of grand corruption and collusion involving President Akufo-Addo, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and other high-ranking NPP government officials. Ghanaians have not forgotten about the Number #12 documentary by ace Investigative Journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, in which former President of the Ghana Football Association, Kwesi Nyantakyi was nabbed in similar fashion negotiating kickbacks from supposed investors for President Akufo-Addo and other government officials. Again, and of very recent memory is the “Galamsey Economy” undercover investigation by the same Anas Aremeyaw Anas, in which a serving Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen is captured on video negotiating bribes and “Appearance Fees” to the tune of $250,000 from supposed investors for and on behalf of the Vice President, Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia. The question every objective Ghanaian should be asking, is how come the names of the President and his Vice, keep popping up in such shady deals and corruption scandals? Why always them? It could neither be mere speculation nor influence peddling any longer. This trend that has now received such unenviable global publicity, must worry every well-meaning Ghanaian. We in the National Democratic Congress are deeply concerned about the damning revelations about our President in this latest documentary by Al Jazeera. The continuous naming of the President and his Vice in all manner of bribe-taking syndicates, must be a cause for concern for every patriotic Ghanaian who cares about the image of the Presidency. Ladies and gentlemen of the media, Al Jazeera’s earth-shaking findings also give currency to the justifiable concerns raised about government’s opaque Gold-for-Oil deal which many experts, civil society organizations and the NDC have had legitimate grounds to criticize and demand transparency and accountability. Never in the history of our country has the Presidency been reduced to a criminal Mafia as we are witnessing today. As has become standard practice under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government, the Presidency has kept a deafening silence on this matter in the wake of the damning revelations contained in the Al Jazeera documentary. Given the record and penchant of this government to coverup graft, Ghanaians cannot and must not accept silence or the usual flippant denials emanating from the Presidency or government corridors on this matter. It is against this backdrop that the NDC hereby calls on the Special Prosecutor to take keen interest in this matter and launch a full-scale investigation into this matter with the aim of prosecuting anyone found culpable. Given the considerable public interest in this
The resources expended on the fight against galamsey is amounted to a financial loss to the state—Vitus Azeem
An Anti-Corruption Crusader, Vitus Azeem has said, government expenditure on the so-called fight against galamsey is a good example of causing financial loss to the State. The anti-corruption crusader was responding to the report released by Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng. The former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation Profession Kwabena Frimpong Boateng in his report has mentioned some names within the corridor of power who has contributed in making the fight against galamsey unsuccessful during his time as a minister. Meanwhile, speaking about the controversial excavator issue, the Minister said, there was a calculated scheme even within the NPP party in government to get him out of office. Responding to the report, Mr. Vitus Azeem told Apexnewsgh.com in an Interview that “When you appoint people into very important positions of State and they seem to be thinking more of themselves than the State then definitely, you don’t expect anything good to our so-called fight against galamsey. The people mentioned are an indictment on the whole government not just on those individuals and because of that, am looking at the past experience because we are not likely to come out with any serious actions against those involved in these allegations”. He believes: “We are not fighting galamsey, we are talking about galamsey, nobody is fighting galamsey, and like I always say about corruption we just talk about it. The people who are supposed to be fighting the galamsey themselves are involved in galamsey as the report shows. So, how can we be claiming of fighting galamsey. There is a wide gap between what we say and what we do and that is very unfortunate for us as a country”. “Why should we pump resources in human and financial resources in something we call fighting galamsey and those we spend the resources on them for the fight against galamsey are implicated in the fight. We send soldiers there, when you send soldiers out to the field the amount of money you spend feeding them and other things is quite a huge amount of money, then you get impound some bulldozers and they will vanish. We need bulldozers on our roads and yet they vanish. How can we be talking about galamsey when that effort is been done? We are causing financial loss to the state and this is endorsed by the people we have elected to manage the resources we have generated as a country. He stressed Source: Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana For publication please kindly contact us on 0256336062 or Email apexnewsgh@gmail.com
Talensi Assembly members hints of demonstrating against Earl International (Gold) GH Ltd over their adamant on road construction
Talensi Assembly members have hinted they will be hitting the street of Talensi District of the Upper East Region to demonstrate against Shaanxi Mining now rebranded to Earl International (Gold) GH Ltd. According to the Assembly members, their planned demonstration is scheduled to commence from Sheaga on Friday, April 28, 2023, to the Earl International (Gold) GH Ltd entrance gate. The Talensi Presiding member and the Assembly for Gari/Gbani electoral area John Millim, told Apexnewsgh.com that “there is this road that links from Tongo to the mining area and since they came, they have used the road and most of the culverts have broken down as a result of their heavy-duty machines. We resolved last year at the assembly and asked them to work on the road they agree to do it and later on, we send them reminders in a written form and they haven’t done what we asked them to do. So, we think demonstration is the only language they understand”. he stressed However, when Apexnewsgh.com contacted Earl International Public Relations Officer Ebenezer Bognaab, he confirmed the demand made by members of the Talensi District Assembly. He described the demand for the road construction as a ‘genuine concern’ raised by the Assembly members. “These are genuine concerns they are expressing”. Earl International PRO admits He told Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen during an interview that, the company has seen the construction of the road as part of their cooperate responsibility to the Talensi people. Insisting that the company Earl International is considering such a demand. “So, as a mining company as part of our cooperate responsibility for the fact that we also used the same road. When they wrote to us, we responded, they send a resolution and we responded to the resolution and they send a reminder. So, we have been engaging the district assembly over this issue, and is a genuine issue and management is currently considering it”. Responding to the aggrieve assembly members who were of the view that the company isn’t cooperating with them on their demand, the PRO said: “It is not true that we are not cooperating, we had a meeting with the DCE in his office, we had a discussion with him on this issue and we are always ready for engagement. You know, it has to do with roads and road construction is not as easy as you know. So, as a company, we have to organize ourselves because we have also some other plans too. So, as I said earlier, we are considering it. Very soon we will start work on the road”. He reacted Roads in Talensi are so deplorable to the extent, people easily questioned the contribution of a mining firm such as Shaanxi now Earl International since its operation in the Talensi district. The company has always been in the news for not performing its responsibility as a mining company that has migrated from small-scale mining and now operating as a large-scale mining company. Most citizens from the Talensi District living in both home and abroad have pointed hands on their leaders and more especially those in authority for their district’s underdeveloped predicaments. The Assembly members want the mining company to consider constructing the road from Tongo Hospital junction straight to Sheaga, Gbani, and across Datoko. Source: Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana For publication please kindly contact us on 0256336062 or Email apexnewsgh@gmail.com
UER: Chief narrates how he rejected a mining Company that offered him a Tundra pickup, a mechanic workshop etc
The Paramount Chief of the Nabdam Traditional Area Nangonaab, Kosom Asaga Yelzoya II, The Na-Pariyoung of Nabroug has narrated how he rejected a mining company that offered him a Tundra pick up, a Mechanic workshop for repairs, and a hotel to stay with family. The chief narrates, “When I become a chief, companies came to mine and one company called ‘DOLLAR’ came to my palace, they gave me their cola but I didn’t accept it because I asked for their documents and their document didn’t seem right. I rejected their cola which traditionally is not done. But I didn’t want to initiate a relationship with lawless people”. Another company came and this company was very friendly with me, they initially gave me a very powerful pickup to be using, they gave me a Mechanical workshop where I could repair my vehicle in Accra and they told me, anytime you had a problem just come and pack the car and go what will be done will be done, even if it demands buying an engine it will be done. They were building a facility and they were going to give me an office in that facility. I was given a hotel in Kumasi where I could come and stay with my family and I used it a couple of times”. “But my people wrote to me a very long letter indicating how the mining was going to be done within the community and how it was polluting water”. “Am telling you exactly what my pain is this morning. The mining company I rejected had promised a lot of good things to the community as part of their social responsibility and then, they gave me all the things I was talking about. My people complained even to the extent the Tundra that was given to me, they said it was a hummer of course, the rumor carried it as a hummer”. “Well, I wanted to be sure that am not been controlled or led by my selfish gain even though I was in full agreement with my people. I thought it was a source of employment which I care so much and worry so much for those who know me would agree with me. For me, I thought, they could resettle the people and mine because we are compelled. There is no employment, serious unemployment everywhere, poverty all over, the widows were weeping, the orphan everybody is a poor person for which reason I cannot consistently stay within my jurisdiction. So, I thought they will benefit from the good opportunity but because I have taken these things, I also thought I could be influenced by these things”. “So, in public and in Nangode, I declared that we didn’t want to have anything to do with them and they should pack. When I made that great statement, my people were so excited I woke after the meeting and they followed me and was hailing me and that was the end and I gave them back every item, every facility”. Ladies and gentlemen, are the people of this region only looking for the faults of Chief? When we do the good things no body hails us. The Na-Pariyoung of Nabroug asked Source: Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana For publication please kindly contact us on 0256336062 or Email apexnewsgh@gmail.com
NABDAM: “For about 4 years now, I don’t know where my royalties are–Nabdam Chief laments
The Paramount Chief of the Nabdam Traditional Area Nangonaab, Kosom Asaga Yelzoya II, The Na-Pariyoung of Nabroug has lamented that for about 4 years he doesn’t know where his royalties are following the mining activities going on in his jurisdiction. “For about 4 years now, I don’t know where my royalties are” The Chief laments According to the aggrieved chief, following up on such development, he has gone to the Mineral Commission and Lands Commission to trash issues out but unfortunately, anytime he went to the officials, they will promise visiting him at the palace to sort out the issues. He said, unfortunately, upon such numerous promises by the officials, he will end up not seeing them at his palace. “ I have gone to all these institutions. I have gone to Land Commission, Mineral Commission, I go there myself and they will just me, your Majesty we will be visiting your palace, you just go back. And am like, I am here and I have come to solve the problem, tell me what is happening, solve the problem and nothing is happening”. “All kinds of mining is taking place within my jurisdiction. Sanding whining is going on uncontrollably without any regard, gravel is been mined and I know nothing about it. I don’t know who give these people permission and based on what law, very unconstitutional activities. I have complained, I have gone to Mineral Commission and Land Commission and I have seen nothing”. He stressed However, the Chief also expressed dissatisfaction with the activities of the Mineral Commission in its jurisdiction without his notice. Source: Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana For publication please kindly contact us on 0256336062 or Email apexnewsgh@gmail.com
If Ghana had two of the likes of his Lordship Alexander Graham in every region, the justice system will…–SRAN
Savanna Research and Advocacy Network (SRAN), in a press release has said, they appreciate the principled judicial position taken by His Lordship Justice Alexander Graham on not meeting interested people in the mining cases before him. According to SRAN, if Ghana had two of the likes of his Lordship Alexander Graham in every region, the justice system would regain its reputation as a beacon of hope for the rule of law. Read the full release below: PRESS RELEASE JUSTICE AT LAST! BOLGA, 27TH MARCH, 2023 Ladies and gentlemen of the media and civil society, we are grateful to you for keeping faith with us through thick and thin. We appreciate the principled judicial position taken by His Lordship Justice Alexander Graham on not meeting interested people in the mining cases before him. It gives us the hope and confidence that there can be justice in this our judicial system. That despite the rough, influence buying and nepotism in this country there are few people in our state institutions who can rise above these ills in our society that are dragging us to Armageddon. If Ghana had two of the likes of his Lordship Alexander Graham in every region, the justice system would regain its reputation as a beacon of hope for the rule of law. In the absence of judges like His Lordship Justice Alexander Graham, many have suffered a great deal of oppression, humiliation and even lost their lives. Kudos to civil society organizations in the region such as National Patriots Against Injustice & Corruption (NAPAIC), Talensi Mining Communities Initiative (TAMCI), Savannah Research & Advocacy Network (SRAN), etc. for their vigilance and prompt action whenever their surveillance trackers discover injustice against the people, especially in the mining communities. You would recollect that in 2019, the Concerned Citizens of Talensi, a pressure group that emerged to advocate for community development, equity and responsible mining that protects life, property and the environment, raised concerns about the purported behaviour of the Paramount Chief of Talensi Traditional Council. The group accused him of interfering and using his power as the Paramount Chief to abuse land owners, other traditional authorities who don’t agree with him, and claiming to have supervisory jurisdiction of lands, water bodies and trees in Talensi. You would also recollect in the famous Edward Adeti Expose’ that former Regional Minister and Minister of State in Charge of Special Duties, Mr. Rockson Bukari, at the presidency was caught on tape saying that the Paramount Chief of Talensi had asked him to kill the story of an investigative journalist because it would implicate Shaanxi. Here is a clear case of a state official wanting to kill a story that is unfavourable against a foreign mining company that is engaged in unsavoury exploitation of our mineral resources. What happened last Friday, 10th March 2023, is testament in support of the Concerned Citizens of Talensi that they have been making the right calls all these many years, for justice, responsible and sustainable mining in Talensi. We call on the Minerals Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Talensi Traditional Council, the District Assembly and all stakeholders to come together and unite the community to ensure that mining is done responsibly and beneficial to the community and the people of Talensi. This press release is not to go over what NAPAIC has already recounted but to reinstate what we have been advocating for all these years. That we are not against mining, but we want to ensure that mining is done responsibly and benefits communities where it is undertaken. That the state must have a share, in fact hold some shares in the mining companies in order to generate income for Ghana as a whole and Talensi land in particular. That health and safety needs of miners are guaranteed and miners allowed joining trade unions to fight for their interest and miners must be paid decent wages. So far our experience of large scale mining in our communities has shown that our communities have not benefited from mining. Shaanxi/Earl International has been operating for years and we are yet to see what benefits have come to our people. What has been the benefit of local content? Roads are destroyed, water bodies are diverted, farmlands confiscated, livelihoods displaced, the environment degraded, and lives lost. All in the name of mining that does not uphold the values and cultures of communities. Mining that does not respect the dignity of the people whose resources are being taken away. Cardinal/Shandong is preparing to begin large scale mining operations in Talensi. They are also prospecting for gold all over the Upper East region of Ghana. The local content, for example employment for people who are suffering from loss of their livelihoods has been hardly addressed. We are fighting to ensure that our people and Ghana as a whole benefit from mining. In this light we are calling for transparency and accountability in mining. We encourage government to make licenses, agreements, MOUs, bonds etc. with mining companies publicly accessible. This will enable us to monitor their activities and ensure that they are doing the right thing. We want to reiterate our demands. That Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Shaanxi/Earl International and Cardinal/Shandong should be made available for us to study and ensure that mining does not make our lands desolate. That the government and Minerals Commission should make it public the percentage of shares that the Ghana government holds in these mining concessions and including the amount of royalties that the two major mining companies are paying. That the Minerals Commission and EPA must ensure that health and safety of employees of these mining companies is secured and that they are monitoring these companies to comply with the laws governing mining in the country. That the Minerals Commission and the EPA work together to ensure that tailings dams are well constructed and the reclamation bonds of all companies are up to date. In the saga of the potential bribery and influence by