Chiefs, principal kingmakers and accredited elders who are the allodia owners of the Gwira Traditional Stool Lands in the Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira Constituency in the Western Region are calling on the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Minerals Commission of Ghana, Mr Martin Kwaku Ayisi to, as a matter of urgency call Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Okoben Mining Company Limited, Nana Okoben Amponsah to order in what they described as “secret illegal mining activities” being undertaken by the company in its gold mining concession at Gwira Dominase which has destroyed River Akonbra.
The chiefs and other traditional office holders who clad in red armbands and attire accused Nana Okoben Amponsah for not respecting their chieftaincy authorities, stressing that the seasoned miner has taken the Gwira traditional authorities for granted although he is mining gold resources on their land at Gwira-Dominase.
The chiefs who were led by the Paramount Chief of Gwira Traditional Area, Awulae Angama Tu-Agyan II to the offices of Minerals Commission on August 31, 2023 to table their concerns and displeasure at the activities of Okoben Mining Company Limited, said the Minerals Commission has since not done anything to help the situation even though the CEO promised to ensure that the licence granted Okoben mine is revoked.
They added that the Commission failed to implement their concerns to ban Okoben Mining Company which has been mining illegally and unlawfully in the area for almost 25 years ago, violating the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006(ACT 703).
They enumerated that, they lodged a complaint against for the local gold mining company for engaging in illegal mining, and called on the Commission to probe their claims by establishing a committee which will look into the matter and subsequently ban Okoben from mining in the area.
However, they indicated that the CEO of the Minerals Commission has turned deaf ears to their demands, escalating the plights of the people in the area over the activities of Okoben Mine.
According to the chiefs, the recent flood in the communities was as a result of the mining activities by Okoben mine and other galamseyers.
They averred that this was not the first time they took such steps in drawing the attention of government to the developments in Gwira as regards Okoben mining activities.
They recalled that not long ago, they came to Accra to make similar appeal to the Commission and the Ministry for Lands and Natural Resources, but Okoben Mine was reported to have claimed that they halted operations.
Meanwhile, the chiefs aid their investigations have revealed that Okoben Mine is secretly engaging in illegal mining and has invaded other concessions in the catchment areas; these concessions they said were not part of the concession granted Okoben mine yet they invaded those mines and continue to mine without regards to the warnings from the chiefs and accredited elders who are the allodial owners of the Gwira Traditional Stool lands.
The chiefs lamented the impact of alleged illegal mining activities of Okobeng Mining Company in the area, and noted that it was resolved that the communities ban Okobeng Mining from undertaking any activities in their areas and need the approval from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and Mineral Commission to enforce their decision.
They, however, stressed their position by calling on the Minerals Commission to ensure that the illegalities being carried out by Okoben Mining Company in their communities are stopped.
“It is a high time we call on our President, His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who is very passionate about fighting illegal mining activities in the country to set up a committee to investigate the mafia tactics of Nana Okoben,” the chiefs told some senior journalists after meeting.