Samuel Atta Akyea should rescue himself as chairman of parliamentary committee on Ada Songor Lagoon killing - ASLA

Following the killing of Numo Korletey Agormeda, a resident of Salom in the Ada West District at Ada Songor Lagoon on November 6, 2023, the parliament of Ghana instituted a committee to probe the upheavals that emanated from the lease agreement that transferred the ownership of the 41,000acres of the Lagoon from the people of Ada to ElectroChem Ghana Limited.

On November 17, 2023, the committee visited the site of EectroChem Ghana Limited for a closed-door meeting with (ElectroChem’s) management. Later, it addressed the media on their initial findings while they had not visited the killing site and the communities.

Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy who also doubles as chairperson of the committee investigating the songor upheaval, Samuel Atta Akyea in his media address assured the management of ElectroChem of the government’s full support and cautioned alleged saboteurs to desist from attacking the project.

“I’m using this opportunity to sign a note of caution to those who believe that the economic conditions of the people of Ada should not improve when you have a committed investor seeking to improve the livelihoods of the people," he said.

“For the moment I’m very amazed that here is another undertaking that if given our full support would even rival what we are getting from Gold and Cocoa. We might not even have to go to the IMF seeking a bailout if we pay attention to the natural resource salt’’, Atta Akyea noted.

He also mentioned that what parliament does is to ensure business thrives so it is necessary to engage all the stakeholders to ensure a more peaceful business environment.

In this regard, Ada Songor Lagoon Association (ASLA) on behalf of all the Chiefs, elders, and people at the enclave of the Songor Lagoon Basin, and Damgbe East Salt Producers Association (DESPA) raised objections to Samuel Atta Akyea's comments as the chairperson of the Joint Committee to investigate the issues and requested that he recuses himself from taking part in the proceedings.

As a result, the Ada Songor Lagoon Association (ASLA) found the Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South Constituency as biased and partial since the committee was yet to visit the killing scene and engage communities subjected to maltreatment by some policemen and perceived land guards of ElectroChem.

ASLA’s response to the comments made by the MP argued that businessmen closely connected to the ruling government conspired to take the Lagoon Basin lands and livelihood that fed them for over a hundred years without considering their rights, hence, the MP’s comments describing the indigents as saboteurs is unacceptable.

According to ASLA, the people had never complained about unbearable economic conditions refuting Atta Akyea’s praise of ElectroChem as the sole company that can improve the economic conditions of the people but not the people themselves.

They argued that ElectroChem’s activities are adversely disrupting economic activities, and the well-being of the people and fueling persistent conflicts in the area.

Responding to the MP’s address on the country not going to the IMF seeking a bailout if the country pays attention to the natural resource salt, they said: “ElectroChem’s I,000,000 MT of salt would only fetch the country US$35,000,000.00 at most and Hon, Atta Akyea wants us to believe that this amount would enable Ghana to avoid going to the IMF. This is a classic case of throwing dust into the eyes of the uninformed.”

ASLA continued that if the MP is aware of Parliament's role to ensure businesses strive and engage all stakeholders for a peaceful business environment, then it is inappropriate for the MP to make remarks in favor of ElectroChem without inviting them to the initial meetings held in close door with ElectroChem.

Though the (parliamentary) committee is yet to conclude the investigation into the matter, ASLA noted that Samual Atta Akyea has demonstrated clearly that he cannot be impartial in dealing with the Songor Lagoon issues at hand hence, his involvement on the committee would be against the principles of natural justice and detrimental to the indigents whose fundamental rights are curtailed.