'No illegal salt miners in Ada Songor Lagoon'- ASLA refutes Ada Traditional Council’s claim

The leadership of the Ada Songor Lagoon Association (ASLA) has debunked the Ada Traditional Council’s appeal to the government to clamp down on the activities of illegal salt miners in the Ada Songor Lagoon to protect the Ada Songor Salt Project.

Nene Abraham Kabu Akuaku III, the president of the Ada Traditional Council, is reported to have expressed worry over the activities of illegal salt miners whose operations are posing a danger to the lagoon.

The statement was made at a press conference organised by ASLA on June 15, 2023, at Koluedor, in the Ada West District, to respond to the innumerable claims made by the traditional against the group.

According to ASLA, the Ada Songor Lagoon for the past 400 years has served as a livelihood for the indigents and the main source of salt for consumption in Ghana and Ghana’s neighbouring countries hence the claim by the traditional council should be considered false.

The Deputy Secretary of ASLA, Ebenezer Adjaotor, who addressed the media unraveled that the move by the traditional council is purported to win the government’s support for the activities of ElectroChem Ghana Limited in the lagoon and to continue intimidating the indigents.

“How can an activity which we and our ancestors engage in for the past 400 years; and activity supplies about 90% of the salt consumed in Ghana, and also the main source for salt for exports to Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali suddenly becomes an illegal activity for the Paramount Chief of Ada to call on Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo to engage the security service to deal with us?”, he quizzes.

ASLA also exposed the fib made by Nana Adiki, that the lagoon has been dried for the past 40 years and McDan’s ElectroChem has resolved the challenge of water shortage in the lagoon, stating that there has been constant salt winning in the lagoon since the lease of the lagoon to McDan.

Ebenezer Adjaotor emphasised that Ghana and other African countries will be hit with a salt shortage if the Ada Lagoon has been dried for even a year, adding that the people of Ada are capable of producing salt in the lagoon to feed the growing population of Ghana and Africa, independent of McDan’s support.

The leadership of ASLA has therefore assured their subjects of their readiness to use all available legal means to attain victory in their fight to regain their possessions leased to ElectroChem Ghana Limited.