Cancel ElectroChem limited sea salt mining lease

The Ada Songor Lagoon Association (ASLA) has appealed to the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to consider the lights of the people of Ada East and West over the activities of McDan's ElectroChem Limited.

According to the aggrieved resident's, for the president to allow his tenure to be plagued with massive human rights abuses in history making him as the worst President by acting on 'fallacies' from Nene Abram Kaku Akuaku III, the Ada Traditional Council and Daniel Mckorley.

This, according to the ASLA, will be the worst decision by the president who is believed to be a human rights activist. ASLA made the observation at a press conference on Wednesday,, August 23, 2023, in Toflokpo within the Ada West.

The group appealed to the president not to take sides as a lawyer and an acclaimed human rights activist but to listen to all the sides before throwing any kind of support. Mr. President, live the tenets of the profession you claimed to have once practiced.

The ASLA's appeal follows the president's move to launch the McDan's ElectroChem Ghana Limited Sea Salt Farming site against the calls of the over 35,000 residents.

But in response to the president's launch, ASLA observed that it is be the worst thing ever for a president to concur to the twisting of hands of indigenes of Ada Songor by giving out land of about 42 acres to one man.

The group made up of older persons and youth noted that "Mr. President, on your visit to the McDan Sea Salt Farming site, if you will honest, you saw the facade that has been erected there which in any way reveals and or address the iniquities and injustices that the whole of the leases granted ElectroChem has brought on us.

On the site, we hope you were shown superficial evidence that all is well in reality, all is not well. You were shown very clean white salt to prove that the company is producing good quality salt when the opposite holds.

That salt that you were shown is one that has been specially washed and prepared for your eyes only; to impress you".

The truth of the matter, ASLA indicated, was that salt produced by ElectroChem is so poor that for a long time, they could neither export nor sell on the local market until they reduced their prices drastically.

"You were shown earth moving machines and construction works at the site and other parts of the lagoon to convince you believe they are doing a good job but those activities do not address the human rights issues we have drawn your attention to in our petition which you are yet to respond to", excerpts of the statement read on behalf of ASLA by the Deputy Secretary, Ebenezer Adjaotor states.

"Whatever is happening at ElectroChem's site does not address the gross human rights abuses and violations that granting of the lease has brought about; these abuses and violations of our rights as citizens of Ghana; we have mentioned in our petition and many times at our press conference and demonstrations.

In your recent address at the Asafotufiami festival, you stated that you are happy the people of Ada have come to support ElectroChem's activities in Songor", but the group said the president has been misled.

The paramount chief in his address mentioned one Numo Aweh Sabunor, who hails from Agbedrafor Community, praising the so-called community sea salt farming pans that McDan is destructively constructing around the lagoon.

Mr. President, how can one person's view represent a vast majority of 35,000 residents of the Songor Lagoon?" ASLA queried.

"Mr. President, 5,000 out of 35,000 residents of the Songor Lagoon communities signed a petition to you requesting that you cancel the leases to McDan but only one person, one single uninformed naive individual from an insignificant and unimportant settlement in the Songor Lagoon catchment area, is all that the Paramount Chief of Ada, Nene Abram Kabu Akuaku III could cite as justification and demonstration of the people of Songor Lagoon and to misconstrue that all the people of Ada have agreed to the havoc and destruction that McDan is causing around the Lagoon, this is really a poor performance by the Paramount Chief, Nene Abram Kabu Akuaku III", ASLA stressed, "Mr. President, nothing can be further from the truth! The people of Ada Songor Lagoon Association cannot support activities that are meant to destroy their livelihood; we cannot support a company; a so-called investor who comes to our communities with soldiers, policemen and armed land guards to drive us away and grab our land".

ASLA observed that McDan came to their communities to forcibly grab their lands, contrary to the claim by the Ada chiefs that they only gave McDan 13,000 acres (52.60sq.Km) to this businessman whose business plan projects 63sq.km. Interestingly,when the mining licenses were granted, it came to light that 154sq.km (41,000 acres of Ada land,) the question is "how come these inconsistencies?", something the residents are against and are ready to fight for their livelihood anytime.

The group said, leaving their livelihood into the hands of a certain businessman will be the tallest order of abomination which they are not ready to do.

Adding her voice to the call, the Queenmother of Ada Terkperbiawe Clan, Her Royal Majesty Naana Korlekie Korley (I) bemoaned the practice of McDan and further appealed to the first Lady Madam Rebecca Akufo Addo to impress upon the husband, the president, to rescind his decision to support an illegally.

"It is only mothers who know what their children eat so if we allow the abomination to thrive, what will our children eat. Our ancestors will deal will us and I know everyone involved will not be left out ",she cautioned.

The Public Relations Officer, ASLA, Karim Ahumah Tetteh reiterated that they will not stop the fight for their livelihood bequeathed to them by their forebears until they claim their land.

He stressed"We will not trade our land for nothing. All we know is our land and nothing else, therefore the struggle for our land is sustained".