Youth Of Kibi Asiakwa & Solar Mining Company Fight Over Mining Concession

BLOOD BATH LOOMS

…As Irate Youth Of Kibi Asiakwa & Solar Mining Company Fight Over Mining Concession

By Adovor Nutifafa

Trouble is simmering at Kibi Asiakwa, a rural community in the Eastern Region of Ghana and is about to explode into nasty confrontations of monumental proportions akin to conflict situation as irate youth of the town and Kibi Goldfields Limited and Solar Mining Company fight over access to a 49.59 hectare land said to be rich in gold deposit.

As a result of this disagreement, over 1,000 placard wielding unemployed youth engaged in surface mining in the area staged a massive demonstration against the above-mentioned mining outfit for denying them the right to practice their trade and earn a living.

The youth, whose only source of livelihood is surface mining, backed by their elders, are passionately calling for dialogue with the two mining entities in order to have access to 4,000 hectares out of the 49.59 hectares.

The latest stand-off was triggered by a court action taken by Kibi Goldfields Limited at the Koforidua High Court against, Mr. Michael Bugre; Mr. Roxle Owiredu, the Spokesperson of the youth and Managing Director of Rojokol Ventures intended to put perpetual injunction on the youth mining on the said land after the alleged persistent use of military personnel and land guards by the two mining companies to terrorize and brutalize the youth anytime they step foot on the disputed land failed.

Okyeame Atta, an opinion leader and Nana Barffour Boahene, the Oyokohene of Asiakwa, on behalf of the youth, are calling for a truce to facilitate the youth’s access to the land.

Okyeame Atta is calling on the Atta Mills led Government and the Eastern Regional Minister to intervene in the impasse to curb the impending blood bath that is looming in the area.

On his part, Nana Barffour Boahene called for dialogue with Kibi Goldfields and Atta Sammy, the Director of solar mining company for the youth to have unfettered access to the land since mining is the only source of livelihood in the area.

Mr. Yaw Osei Badu, one of the small scale miners, said when they were prevented from practicing their trade, they do not have anything to do, hence loiter about aimlessly. According to him, the last time surface mining came to an abrupt end on the said land, the menace of armed robbery, looting and pilfering of people’s property in the town increased owing to the fact that the youth were hungry.

The Citizen has gathered that Kibi Goldfields Limited acquired the land at the centre of the controversy 33 years ago for mining purposes after presenting schnapps and an undisclosed sum of money to the Chief of the area.

Mr. Nana Yaw Barima of the Retired Mine Workers Foundation (YIPROMA), a mining advocacy group who is at the fore front of streamlining surface mining and Galamsey activity in the country told this reporter that the mining concession has been lying fallow for the past 33 years but Kibi Goldfields Limited in clear contravention of the minerals laws of the country ceded the said land to Solar Mining Company without the knowledge and consent of the requisite stakeholders.

The minerals laws state that if a mining concession is not in operation for five to 10 years, it must be reverted back to its original owners.

The law also mandates that a publication must be made in the District Assembly for 21 days with tacit knowledge of the land owners, the District Chief Executive, Municipal Chief Executive, the Regional Minister as well as the Minerals Commission.

But this was not the case as Kibi Goldfields Limited have thrown the laws of the country to the pigs and trampled upon it with impunity and ceded the said land to Solar Mining Company.

When the youth got to know of the minerals laws, they went to the land to practice their trade. In order to prevent the youth from mining on the said land, Kibi Goldfields Limited and Solar Mining Company allegedly marshalled military personnel cum land guards to brutalize them.

The Citizen has learned that when the brutal repression scheme employed by the mining entities to crush the activities of the youth crumbled like Kejetia Royco cube, the two mining companies resorted to the use of the judicial process to restrain the youth from stepping foot on the disputed land.

The youth, this paper has found out, have served notice to the two mining companies that their latest action, which they described as desperate, will crush miserably.

According to the youth, the two mining firms who had engaged in an illegality are still engaging in illegality with impunity and therefore they will not allow them to use the judicial route to sustain their nefarious activity in pursuit of their parochial interest.

This paper has found out from sources close to the lawyers of Kibi Goldfields Limited that they are not in the know of the legal action taken by the mining outfit.

The Citizen is currently in possession of a purported writ of summons filed at Koforidua High Court on 21-02-2012 with suit number EI/ 63/2012.

Frantic efforts made by this paper to get Mr. Atta Sammy to react to the concerns of the youth as well as other pertinent issues proved futile as at the time of filing this report.

Source: The Citizen Newspaper (thecitizen.news@yahoo.com) +233 27 731 4655