The outspoken President of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs and Dormaahene, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, has said that his life would have to be spent before he would allow anybody, particularly the president, to mine any natural resource, should it be found in his area.
Speaking on the issue of Ghana’s natural resources and why he is unhappy with the fact that foreigners are the ones allowed to mine them, he said that the people who should have been doing that should rather be local business owners.
The Omanhene of the Dormaa Traditional Area stressed that if it is left to him, unless the opportunity is given to local business moguls to mine it, he would never allow anyone to drill, for instance, oil in his backyard.
“What about our oil? I’m on record to have said that if the oil were mainly to be found in Dormaa, president, unless you kill me. I won’t allow you to ever drill it, because why should you do it: all these rigs, and you are using foreign contractors.
“Where are the Kennedy Agyapongs? Where are the Kwame Despites? Where are the Ibrahim Mahamas? Where are they? Can’t we resource these Ghanaian people; can’t we help them, raise them, so that these very people will be in the gold business, they will be in the oil business?” he quizzed.
The Dormaahene told Daniel Oduro, the host of The Lowdown on GhanaWeb TV, that it is only with such a strategy that the country can begin to grow and expand economically because the profits made by these people will not be sent outside, but used locally.
You can also watch the latest episode of Everyday People on GhanaWeb TV below:
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