Pro-Exton Cubic demo to hit Akufo-Addo in New York

A group called Ashanti Youth for Development has said it will organise a demonstration against President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in New York when he attends the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly from 12 – 15 September 2017.

According to the group, the demonstration is to register their displeasure at government’s unfair treatment of Exton Cubic Company Limited in their quest to mine bauxite at Nyinahini.

Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, John Peter Amewu, who had earlier said the company had the permit to carry out prospecting activities at the concession, later told journalists at a press conference in Accra on Monday 4 September that the government had revoked the company’s mining lease citing Exton Cubic's failure to obtain an environmental permit and operational permit for exploration and some statutory infractions for the decision.

Reacting to the development, Communications officer of Ashanti Youth for Development, Kwaku Asafo Agyei, told Valentina Ofori Afriyie on Class91.3FM’s 505 news programme on Monday that they will not sit aloof for government to frustrate local companies while foreign ones thrive.

“I can tell you as we speak, we are organising a demonstration … in New York to demonstrate to the whole world and the international community to know what this government is doing to our natural resources. We know the president will be going for his first UN General Assembly meeting and plans are far advanced in the United States of America for that demonstration,” he stated.

“We’ll stage another demonstration, too, locally in Ghana but we want to stage the American one first and then we’ll proceed from there. …We are funding the demonstration as Ghanaians who support indigenous companies and we won’t sit down for local companies to collapse for foreign companies to survive,” he added.