Chinese miners pay GHC700,000 to Assembly for the release of seized excavators

Information available to Abusuafmonline.com indicates that, some Chinese miners whose excavators were seized in the Atwima Kwanwoma District in the Ashanti Region have paid Seven Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis GHS700, 000 to the District Assembly for the release of their confiscated excavators.

A deep throat source at the District Assembly who spoke to Abusua Fm’s Osei Kwadwo on condition of anonymity confirmed that, somewhere in January this year the Atwima Kwawoma District Assembly seized 12 excavators from some illegal Chinese miners in the area and conveyed them into the district assembly.

According to the source, just some few days ago, he realized that the Chinese miners have paid an amount of Seven Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis GHS700, 000 to the assembly for the release of the confiscated excavators.

”Some Assembly members had a meeting with the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Atwima Kwanwoma District, Nana Okyere Tawiah Antwi, Coordinating Director and District Financial Officer (DFO) and they took the said money from them’’.

‘’The Chinese Miners paid Seven Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHC700, 000) before the excavators were released to them that I can tell you’’.

The source, however, revealed that the illegal Chinese miners immediately conveyed the excavators back to their various mining sites in constituencies such as Nweneso No 1 and 2 and have started mining despite government’s ban on galamsey.

Nana Okyere Tawiah Antwi, District Chief Executive for the Atwima Kwanwoma District when contacted however admitted his outfit has indeed released the 12 excavators which were detained months ago to the Chinese Miners.

He indicated it became necessary for the confiscated excavators to be released to the owners following the recent clash between residents of Foase and the over a district capital relocation from Foase to Twedie.

He claimed the assembly hurriedly released the excavators allay fear of being set ablaze by the irate Foase residents but admitted that the District Assembly collected an undisclosed amount of money from the Chinse as ‘’penalty’’,

Speaking to some residents of the Nweneso community, they disclosed that some Chinese Miners are still in their community doing mining seriously despite the ban against galamsey by President Akufo Addo.

According to them, some excavators came to the community this month with police escort to their various mining sites.

“We are appealing to Operation Vanguard, government to be more proactive in the fight against galamsey because we know there are some Chinese who are still operating in our community destroying our lands and rivers”.