Talensi: Youth petition Akufo-Addo over two mining companies

Some concerned youth of Talensi in the Upper East Region have petitioned President Akufo Addo, asking for the revocation of the licenses permitting the presence and operations of two mining companies in the area.

The two mining companies, Shaanxi Mining Company Limited and Yenyeya Mining Group, have among other things been accused by the concerned youth group of operating in Talensi without the requisite licenses as is demanded of every mining firm.

However, the group, which has expressed dissatisfaction in the illegal operations of the companies  have called on President Akufo-Addo to annul their licenses and set up an investigative committee to look into all their mining activities.

They also demanded an investigation into the cause of death of some miners who recently lost their lives as a result of the blasting of “unannounced” explosives by Shaanxi Mines at a mining site in Gbane.

In addition, the frustrated citizens of Talensi also appealed to President Akufo-Addo to disregard calls for the shutdown of pits belonging to small scale miners in the area.

“We are also pleading with our president to cause the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources to disregard the dangerous counsel from certain selfish individuals who have on their own platforms called for the shutting down of these small scale mining pits at the area in question. We also demand a withdrawal of a directive seemingly emanating from the office of the sector minister for the closure of these mining pits since such an action will be a recipe for guerilla warfare”.  

Presenting their petition to the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council on Thursday, when the concerned youth, in their hundreds, took to roads within Tongo in a major demonstration to register their frustrations, Robert Tampoore, a member of the group pleaded with President Akufo-Addo to act swiftly in finding lasting solutions to the issue that is gradually drawing Talensi into the path of destruction.

He said that,“in our Talensi land, the Tindaamas are for the lands. The Tindaamas are for the people. That is why we have written this petition to be given to the minister and be sent to the president to tell him that what has been happening in this area, we are not happy and we want the president to find a lasting solution to it."

“We here, are we not his children? Don’t we belong to Ghana? Or this is Burkina Faso? We want his excellency the president to wake up and find solutions before the problems gets out of hand,” Mr. Tampoore added.

 

Ghana| Atinkaonline.com | Castro Senyalah

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