Mahama bemoans brutalities at Ada Songor Lagoon, assures to revisit the lease agreement

Former President and National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, has assured that the NDC will review the lease agreement covering the Ada Songor Lagoon concession, which resulted in major brutalities and a denial of press freedom in the country, if the party wins power in the 2024 general election.

The former president asserted this at a media engagement on Sunday, July 7, 2024, at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra about the party’s policies ahead of the 2024 general election.

Senior reporter of the Fourth Estate, Rebekah Awuah, posed the question to the flagbearer of the NDC during the open forum, saying: "Should you win the 2024 election, what measures will you put in place to ensure that the people of Ada get their livelihood back? I’m talking about the issues where a single investor has been given the lagoon and the people are deprived of their livelihood. The people have been brutalized, and the freedom of the press has been under attack. What would you do to protect our natural resources if you came to power?"

The reporter interpellated the flagbearer following recent fatalities and brutalities in the Ada Songor Lagoon enclave after claims that the Ada Traditional Council leased the Ada Songor Lagoon's 41,000 acres to Electrochem Ghana Limited, a McDan Group subsidiary.

Korletey Agormeda died on November 6, 2023, after a shooting incident at the lagoon. The locals have been protesting against the lagoon's monopoly, which has deprived them of a source of income, and have petitioned the government to investigate the deaths of indigenes; however, the government has been hesitant to respond.

According to the former president's address, he was informed about the occurrences in the Ada Songor Lagoon; however, he stated his lack of information about the processes adopted for the award of the concession.

"Ada Songor Lagoon, I don’t know the processes that were used for the award of the concession, but I think there is something worth looking at," he stated.

John Dramani Mahama also bemoaned the attack on Radio Ada by some unknown assailants and the death of the station’s deputy station coordinator, Noah Dameh, that emerged from court cases as a result of sensitizing the public on the Songor lease agreement.

He lamented: "I know there was resistance from the people, and a journalist at the local media station was brutalized and harassed, and I hear he eventually died."

Regarding the controversies surrounding the lease agreement and the NDC’s measures towards safeguarding the country’s natural resources, he emphasized: "It is something we should look at. What processes were used, and what is the effect on the livelihood of the people because that has been a controversial issue?"

John Mahama also referenced the commitment of the PNDC in a similar dispute between the old Vacuum Salt and the indigenes and pledged that the NDC would expedite steps to preserve peace in the surrounding area.

"I remember there was a company before, Vacuum Salt, that did the same thing. There were run-ins with the people, and eventually, the PNDC had to come in and streamline things. So, I really don’t know what has happened in this case, but of course, if we come, we will look at it and see what is possible in this regard," the former president assured.