The combined youth of Akyem Hemang, Dome and Gyampomani in the Fanteakwa South District in the eastern region said they will not entertain any form of what they described as ”irresponsible” mining activities in their communities.
The group, in a Press statement to indicate their displeasure at some ongoing development, stated that if efforts are not taken by government and the necessary authorities to stop persons from carrying out irresponsible mining, they (residents of the three communities) will do so.
“If you don’t stop them, we’ll stop them, we have the men,” Johnson Appiah, Convener to the group and his colleague leaders stated in the statement.
According to them the Mining Act 703 and Act 206 outlines ways by which minerals including gold should be mined, saying that” we the people of Hemang and surrounding areas will go accordingly for the betterment of the country’. It is better they go to their towns to mine,” they suggested.
The group vehemently revealed that the irresponsible ongoing mining activities might endanger water bodies that serve the town and two other nearby towns.
They stressed some of the negative impacts of the mining companies have on the people during of the other two communities, enumerating flood as a major result.
They pointed out that, given the spate at which companies are trooping into the communities to mine illegally, stakeholders in the mining sector are not ensuring proper mining but seem to e allowing the companies to carry on the destruction on the communities.
”We invited the Environmental Protection Agency, Water Resources Commission and other authorities of concern and they issued cautions to the companies involved but all fell on deaf ears,” they indicated, stressing “If you don’t stop the mining, we will protect our water bodies.”
Source : PROSPER AGBENYEGA