The statement said: “It is unacceptable that the RCC takes direct responsibility from a private large-scale mining company, Earl International, by paying compensation on its behalf”. “This raises serious concerns about conflict of interest. The RCC represents the State; so, being in charge of Earl International’s disbursement of cash compensation is alarming”. This is according to a press conference held in Bolgatanga by Talensi Mining Communities’ Initiative (TAMCI). Apexnewsgh.com report TAMCI, a Civil Society Organisation operating in the Talensi District in the Upper East Region, with support from Savannah Research and Advocacy Network (SRAN) has said, they are reliably informed that funds released by Earl International for the compensation exercise of Small Scale Miners were lodged in one of the RCC accounts for onward disbursement to the concessionaires and that was organized in a take-or-leave manner under the supervision of the Upper East Regional Minister. However, some members of the Unique Mining Company who were present at the press conference also narrated how an amount of USD 150, 000.00 meant to compensate them for trespasses by Shaanxi (Earl International) into their concession was fraudulently paid to one Robert Boazor Tampoare by the Regional Minister. “As we speak now some aggrieved members of the Unique Mining Company have petitioned the Economic and Organized Crime Office – EOCO about how USD 150,000.00 meant to compensate them for trespasses by Shaanxi (Earl International) into their concession was fraudulently paid to Robert Boazor Tampoare by the Regional Minister”. Meanwhile, when Apexnewsgh.com contacted Robert Boazor Tampoare for his side of the story, he said: “Those who are talking about it, the convener and what and what, whatever they know about it, they should have their time to go about it. Me, I have nothing to say about anything, whatever they know about it and how they understand it, is up to them. So, they should about what they want to do. He hanged up. The Regional Minister said he intervened because, by the time he assumed office as the Upper East Regional Minister, they were already some existing problems that needs to be resolved between the small-scale miners and Earl International. However, responding to the claim by some group members of Unique Mining Company and Talensi Mining Communities’ Initiative (TAMCI) on the role he played by giving an amount of USD 150,000.00 meant for a company to an individual, the Minister said, when he met with the group for a meeting, some of the issues raised by Robert Tampore was that, the other aggrieved members were not contributing to the company. Adding that, “Indeed, if you have a partner and he has not even contributed at all, you should let him know what is going on and that was how we felt at the meeting and we thought that whatever it is, they should have sat down and discussed it. But you see, when they took the first Ghc 150,000 and they shared no one heard anything about it and we are talking about a year and a half going to two years”. The Minister told Apexnewsgh.com. Read the full statement below: PRESS CONFERENCE BYTALENSI MINING COMMUNITIES’ INITIATIVE (TAMCI)8TH DECEMBER, 2022.WE SHALL OVERCOME! VENCEREMOSINTRODUCTION Distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the media, members of civil society organizations present and all interested parties, we wish to welcome all of you to this very important press conference. We are very grateful to you for keeping faith with us from day one to date. It’s been a journey of lessons and reflections. We set out to fight for the development of our community. As the saying goes, the enemy is always within. We have been called names, dragged to court, physically assaulted, betrayed and remanded in police custody all in a vicious and desperate attempt to silence the only voice that thunders hope and advocates for development in Talensi. But the good Lord continues to hold our right hand so we will remain resolute in our convictions, steadfast in our forward match and bold in our approach. THE GENESISWe wish to bring to your attention that gold mining in Talenteng― particularly by Shaanxi now known as Earl International Group, Cardinal, and their partners ― has brought us hell. It saddens our hearts that in Talensi, these mining companies fail to comply with relevant laws and regulations of the Mining & Minerals Act 2006 (Act 703) on compensation, resettlement, safety, local content etc. to the disadvantage of the citizens whose gold is being stolen to enrich foreign lands. It also saddens us to note that Earl International and Cardinal Resources do not respect and adhere to the laws of this country because they have help from local traditional and political authorities. The reckless mining practices introduced by Shaanxi in our area has caused many tragedies which has claimed many lives. One such tragedy was when we lost 16 young and energetic men through one of their planned executions and recklessness. Earl International also recruits supervisors who are Chinese and who cannot communicate to any team in operation in the language members of the teams understand, which is a breach of Regulation 508 of LI 2182. This deadly lapse was revealed in a Minerals Commission report as one of the reasons the 16 young men died in 2019 in Talensi. We are sure that as you take a keen interest in listening to us, you will be shocked as we reveal the development of our predicament to you. THE BLOOD OF THE 16 WHO WERE MURDERED IN EARL INTERNATIONAL MINE IN 2019 IS CRYING FOR JUSTICE – TALENSI LIVES MATTER Shaanxi/Earl International’s continuous posturing that the sixteen young men they murdered in 2019 were illegal miners, is infuriating the community and has the tendency to ignite an uprising. We are very worried as we discuss with you today that the deaths of our 16 brothers were caused by Shaanxi and the minerals commission investigative report on the incident, proves our point that Shaanxi laced explosives with a lethal chemical called