The Chief of Nkroful in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region Nana Kwasi Kutuah V has expressed his utmost outrage against the District Chief Executive of Ellembelle Hon Wilmot Kwasi Bonzo over his comments relating to claims of distancing himself from the illegal mining activities at Nkroful and its environs.
According to Nana Kutuah V, Hon Kwasi Bonzo and his political cronies are complicit in all the illegal activities within the Nkroful environs, especially in the backyard of Nkroful Agricultural Senior High School, by approving one company, CIC Impex Mining Ltd, to mine on NASS land under the pretext of desilting the Subile River.
He accused the DCE of being a culprit in supervising indiscriminate illegal mining activities in Ellembelle District and could not hide his anger.
He called on the Office of the President to call the DCE to halt the devastation on most land in Nkroful and its environs.
Nana Kwasi Kutuah V made these assertions at a press conference held at his palace in Nkroful on Thursday 24 October 2024 mainly to rebut comments made by Hon Kwasi Bonzo, DCE for Ellembelle regarding issues of illegal mining at NASS backyard.
He indicated that the DCE in his press release to the media on Monday 21st October 2024 at Nkroful claimed a letter written to him by the Secretary of Nkroful Traditional Council requesting that the District Assembly engage CIC Impex Ltd (a small-scale mining company) to desilt river sible from Nkroful to Anwiah and reclaim NASS Land encouraged CIC Impex Mining Ltd to mine on NASS land.
In the view of Nana Kwasi Kutuah V, the truth of the matter regarding the desilting of river Suble and reclamation of lands at Nkroful were approved by the Ellembele District Assembly on 13th February 2024 in response to a clarion call by Nana Nkroful and his elders due to perennial flooding at Nkroful as a result of the activities of galamsey along river Sible.
The Nkroful chief added that the Ellembelle District Assembly assigned Nkroful Small Scale Mining Association led by CIC Impex Mining Limited as the contractor to dredge and reclaim approximately 1.2 kilometres, starting from behind the NASS wall and ending at around Kwame Nkrumah Museum, with the first phase of the work from Nkroful palace road bridge to the new site has been completed by CIC Impex Mining Ltd.
He added that the recent work done by CIC Impex Mining Ltd was to complete the second phase of the contract from Teleku-Bukazo cemetery to the palace road bridge at Nkroful.
Whiles in a letter referred to by Hon. Kwasi Bonzo written by the secretary of the chief was to request the authority of the District Assembly to incorporate NASS land and the other stretch of Sible River from Teleku-Bukazo to Anwiah and we are still waiting for approval from the District Assembly.
Due to the inability of the District Assembly to fund the desilting and reclamation, CIC Impex Mining Ltd was directed by the District Assembly to “wash” any fine gold-bearing materials from the reclaimed land and use the proceeds to buy diesel to aid the operation, where the District Assembly set up a six-member committee to supervise the operations of the desilting and reclamation of Nkroful lands. The committee comprises Hon. Assembly member of Nkroful Electoral Area, the Head of Works, Ellembelle District Assembly, Nkroful, District Director-NADMO, Nkroful, Ag Head EPA-Ellembelle District Assembly, District Physical Planing Officer-Ellembelle District Assembly, Nkroful and the Nkroful Small Scale Mining Association, Nkroful.
Challenges facing Nananom in attempt to fight galamsey:
He enumerated the challenges faced as a result of the illegal miners being heavily armed and continuing to fight against our Anti-Galamsey Task Force, where the galamsey operators are being aided by political actors as well as traditional leaders in the Ellembelle District.
Nana Kutuah V opined that there is less cooperation and unwillingness by the security apparatus to fight galamsey within the district and called on the security operatives comprised of the National Security, NIB, Ghana Police Service, Military, and other agencies should immediately halt all galamsey activities on Nkroful lands (including NASS land) and galamsey activities in Ellembelle District in general.
He called on the Assembly to put in place measures to fund the desilting and reclamation of the river Suble and Bruma to prevent flooding in Nkroful and its environs, adding that all galamsey activities at the upstream of river Suble and Bruma at Teleku-Bukazo and Anwiah must stop immediately by Ellembelle DISEC.