Cocoa Farmers raise Red Flag over Exploration activities by Adio Mabas Ghana Ltd and Perseus Mining

There is a looming clash between farmers and workers of Adio Mabas Ghana Limited and Perseus Mining Ghana Company Limited at Denkyira-
Breman, a cocoa growing community in the Upper Denkyira West District of the Central Region Soireenews can report.

This worrying situation requires the urgent attention of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo to impress upon the Minister of National Security and the Central Regional Security Council to intervene to bring lasting peace between the workers and aggrieved residents in the area.

The situation, which portends danger, Soireenews has gathered, followed what hundreds of residents who are predominantly farmers in Denkyira- Bremang consider as the use of brute force by Adio Mabas Ghana Limited to fiercely ensure the drilling and exploration works of its employee, Perseus Mining Ghana Company Limited.

According to the farmers, indications were clear that the company, with tacit support from the Dunkwa Police Division of the Ghana Police Service, were bent on going ahead with its exploration activities without the consent of the farmland owners, contrary to mining and exploration rules of engagement.

"We have not entered into any agreement with the so-called Adio Mabas Ghana Limited which is currently claiming to be the concession owner of our farmlands that offer us a reliable source of livelihood.

"We the people in Breman are farmers who usually engage in the production of food crops such as maize, cocoyam, cassava and cocoa, but we are saying the company has hired Perseus Mining Ghana Limited to forcibly enter into our farmlands and constructed roads through our lands to drill and explore the lands for gold which activities were threatening our natural resources and vast arable lands.

"In Breman, cocoa farming is our business. We are able to finance our children's education from the sale of cocoa and cash crops like oil palm. We are an agricultural community and we want to remain as farmers, hence Bremang opposes gold mining even if the company is issued with the necessary mining permit," they asserted.

"Our President, we are calling on you to intervene in this matter because there are ongoing exploration activities on our farmlands by workers of Perseus Mining Ghana Company Limited who are being hired by Adio Mabas Ghana Limited.

"We are currently appealing to our President because our countless petitions made to the Central Regional security regulatory institutions and personalities including the Central Regional Minister, Member of Parliament (MP) for Upper Denkyira West constituency, Diaso District Police Commander and the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Upper Denkyira West District among others to call on the company to order, have not yielded any positive result, hence our call on you as our President," the affected farmers in a meeting with Soireenews.com said.

The farmers further appealed to the President to ask the acting Inspector General Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, to immediately call to order the Dunkwa Divisional Police Commander, accusing the senior police officer of imposing the company on them.

And under the guise of exploration, the farmers reported that the company has allegedly been using the police to unjustifiably harass locals of the community.

They cited the current threat being issued on their lives by the senior police officer on Friday, October I, 2021, when the officer invited them to Dunkwa Divisional Police station for a meeting to find out about their response to the exploration activities being carried out by the company on their farmlands at Breman.

At the said meeting, the farmers stated that the police officer made it clear to them by saying that "we would find every means and ways to ensure that the company mines gold on your farmlands even when you (the farmers and the residents) do not agree with the company."

However, a recent fact-finding mission to Denkyira-Breman, by Soireenews established that the Adio Mabas Ghana Limited entered into a contractual agreement with Perseus Mining Ghana Company Limited to start drilling and exploration activities by placing red banners and pegs on the farmers' lands.

That development, the paper discovered, incurred the wrath of the farmers on the workers of the mining company where the agitated farmers questioned the illegalities of the acquisition of their farmlands by Adio Mabas Ghana Limited, adding that they inherited the lands from their ancestors and that it was the only farmlands bequeathed to them to make ends meet.

According to them, some unauthorised persons who have styled themselves as owners of Bremang lands were using very coercive approaches to deceive and give their ancestors fertile farmlands to gold mining companies without their consent.

One of such companies, Adio Mabas Ghana Limited, the farmers noted, ignored their decision that they were not ready to give out their only fertile agricultural lands to them to mine gold. Instead, the company, through some clandestine means, entered into their lands and started doing exploration.

They stated that the action of the company was completely a breach of the provision of the Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703).

"We are saying that we are not ready to give our lands to any mining company to mine gold. Although this company, together with one Tweneboah Kwabena, have entered into our farmlands to prospect for gold, we the majority of Bremang farmers are saying a big no to any gold mining activities.”

When the paper reached the management of Adio Mabas Ghana Limited, our reporter was conducted around the company’s ongoing exploration activities.

This was led by the Administrator of Adio Mabas Ghana Limited, Mr George Okine, together with the Senior Community Relations Officer of Perseus Mining Ghana Company Limited, Mr Emmanuel Armah, and the Senior Exploration Geologist of Perseus Mining Ghana Company Limited, Mr Charles Kofi Adu.

They briefed our reporter on how the company had taken a drone coverage of the structure of the land in question before embarking on the exploration project.

They also gave details of the devastating effects of illegal small-scale mining activities on the lands of the farmers prior to their entry.

Our reporter observed that the company did its exploration by way of constructing roads through the farmlands of the farmers who only agreed on the grounds that they would be paid adequate compensation for the damage of their crops.

However, it was not clear whether the company’s activities did not cause any destruction to the crops on the farmlands of the farmers who did not consent to the company undertaking exploration on their farmlands.

Responding further, the management of Adio Mabas Ghana Limited denied the assertion that they forcibly entered into the farmlands of the farmers.

Freeman Koryekpor Awlesu