Tarkwa-Nsuaem residents threaten mayhem against promoters
The Herald has picked up reports that some residents of Tarkwa-Nsuaem are planning to shut down the activities of Akoon Community Mining which has been linked to the Deputy Minister of Lands, Forestry and Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker, who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tarkwa-Nsuaem Constituency.
This, follows his denial that the company, which has also been linked to the Western Regional Minister, Dr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, belongs to him and others, including the Municipal Chief and Executive of Tarkwa-Nsuaem, Benjamin Kessie.
Pressure started mounting on the MP as a result of his comment on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo Monrning Show that, he is not into mining and not involve in the management of the Akoon Community Mining which was taken from another company; Tarsk Mining, which was involved in underground mining within Tarkwa township.
Akoon Community Mining, is sometimes called Tarkwa Community Mining, but reports are that the chiefs and people in the town, insist they don’t know anything about it, and do not receive royalties from the company as expected.
The denial of their MP, Mr Duker that he does not own the company has, therefore emboldened them to kick out everyone operating at the site which used to belong to Goldfields, in years past. They are expecting Mr Duker to join them in kicking the people out of the site.
One Zakaria Yaba, identied as the ruling New Patriotic Party’s Nasara Coordinator in Tarkwa-Nsuaem Constituency and one Kofi Zong, the NPP Coordinator for the Cyanide Electoral Area, and one other operative of the NPP, have been mentioned as very instrumental in the activities of Akoon Community Mining.
Insiders at the Tarkwa-Nsuaem municipality, have also hinted to The Herald that, no revenue is coming to the Assembly from Akoon Community Mining, as they also do not have any responsibility over its activities and the other community mines in the area.
This paper’s sources, have informed it that already, Akoon Community Mining’s billboards which hitherto are dotted all over the main Takoradi to Tarkwa road, are being pulling down in the nights. Those at Dompim-Pepesa are already down.
The billboards, The Herald learnt, were been used as a decoy to sway observers from suspicions that illegal mining was going on in the Dompim-Pepesa Forest, which a chief recently spoke against and have since been dragged to court.
There are reports that promoters of Akoon Community Mining, had mounted several of these billboards at Simpa, Wassa Agona, Ahwetiaso, Akyimpim among other town in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem municipality with inscription Community Mining, but most of these places are galamsey sites with vast vegetation destroyed.
In the case of Simpa, the illegal mining is mainly done by Chinese nationals. They have stormed the Neug Forest and depleted about 128 football fields with excavators and other huge machines. They are said to be permanently resident in a hotel called Praba Hotel, and widely known to be paying huge sums of money to the government local authorities.
These deceptive billboards showcasing the community mining, were mounted on the roadside for months and were very visible to all road users.
They had pictures of George Mireku Duker, the Minister of Lands and Forestry, Samuel Abu Jonapo and the President, Nana Akufo-Addo.
In some of the towns, The Herald is informed that some of the youth after the meeting, have started receiving death threats to stop talking about the ” community mining ” or else they will be killed.
In other towns, it has since emerged that some community leaders are taking percentage from the “alleged community mining”.
