I Have No Knowledge In Deployment Of Macho-Men To Guide Lands In Gwira--Okoben Mine Boss Exposes Biggest Lies Of Nana Dominle Mieza II & Nana Ette Akrade II

The Managing Director (MD) of Okoben Mining Company Limited Nana Okoben Amponsah, has denied allegation of deployment of the hundreds of mach-men to guide the various lands in Gwira Traditional Area in the Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira Municipality of the Western Region.

Consequently, Nana Okoben Amponsah rubbished the allegations leveled against him by the Chief of Gwira Banso, Nana Ette Akrade II and Chief of Gwira Abelebu, Nana Dominle Mieza II to the effect that he brought the gun weirdly macho-men and other security personnel to visit attacks on the citizens/ residents at their farm lands in Gwira Traditional Area.

The Ghanaian business tycoon  re-emphasized that it is not true that he has issued dud cheques to defraud elders and farmers in Gwira in payment of their compensation packages.

He pointed out his outfit has been contributed immersely to the livelihoods of the chiefs and elders in Gwira, stressing that he committed gross respect to the chiefs, queen-mothers and various other traditional office holders including the youths in the area.

The Ghanaian business mogul admitted of adopting security measures to protect his gold mining concession at Dominase in Gwira from invasion of illegal small scale miners miners but denied of using macho-men and other security personnel to attack residents on his mining concession in Gwira Traditional Area.

Nana Okoben Amponsah described as a completely fake news and libelous stories being paddled by the two chiefs on the Joy Television on Tuesday February 6, 2023 in Accra, saying that the deployment of the these macho-men were done by some top shots of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Western Region in the direct orders from the leadership of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

He explained that "The NPP top government officials were aware of who sent these macho-men to the lands in the area, so l have no hands in the deployment of these thugs to the lands at Gwira."

"I am challenging Nana Ette Akrade II who is a military officer and still in active service to use his influence to report this matter of invasion of the macho men on the lands of Gwira Traditional Area to the national security Minister to immediately deploy the team of the national security personnel to flush out these men on the lands if indeed they claimed that l, [Nana Okoben Amponsah] has brought the macho-men to guide the lands for me," Nana Okoben Amponsah fired back.

"And as l am talking to journalists today, the lands that Nana Ette Akrade II mentioned that the macho men were deployed to guide in Gwira, when you go there today you see about three hundreds mach-men there being deployed by some current NPP government appointees but not Nana Okoben Amponsah as claimed by Nana Dominle Mieza II and Nana Ette Akrade II who had made such fake statements on Joy Television in Accra on Tuesday February 6, 2023," he stressed.

On the issue of the environmental pollution which has the negative impacts on river Akonbra, Nana Okoben Amponsah stated that it is not true that the gold mining activities of his company have polluted River Akonbra, stressing that he has been mining gold on his concession at Dominase in Gwira for many years without violating Minerals and Mining Act.

The seasoned miner described the chief of Banso as a biggest liar in Ghana, stressing that the allegations leveled against him that his outfit is polluting River Akonbra are absolutely false, products of Nana Dominle Mieza II and Nana Ette Akrade II imagination to score their points.

He further stressed that the allegations were mischievously designed by the two chiefs and their paymasters to disparage him, stain his reputation, court public disaffection for him and to bring him into abhorrence in the eyes of right-thinking members of the public and the global community.

He maintained that his reputation has been “violently damaged” and called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and general public, particularly citizens of Gwira Traditional Area to disregard the publication made against him by these chiefs.

"I want to officially inform President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that l have done no wrong."Since l secured my concession at Dominase in Gwira and got the necessary legal license and permit from the state mining regulatory institutions including Minerals Commission and Environmental Protection Agency, l have been using legal means to work on my gold mining concession and put in place measures to fight galamseyers from destroying the river Akonbra and environment including the forest range reserves.

"I have followed all the terms and conditions in my contractual agreement l made to the elders of the Gwira Stool. There are documentary envidences which clearly shows that since l started mining in the area, l have been lawfully paying compensation packages to the farmers, particularly the cocoa growing ones. So there are no true that my company has deprived the affected cocoa farmers in payment of their compensation packages due them," he explained.

Nana Okoben Amponsah clarified that the  Akonbra river takes its source from the hills north of Basin dare (near Bibiani) and flows for about 260 km mostly due south before it enters the Gulf of Guinea at Asanta a few kilometres west of Axim.

"The sources of the river Akonbra started from the northern part of Sefwi Asawinso, Diaso, Wassa Jokwaa, Wassa Akropong, Hiawa Bekwai, Prestea, Pepoase, Gwira Wiaso Gwira Tumantu and down Gwira Banso and that the communities, particularly the Gwira Banso are illegal small scale mining prone communities within the Western Region.

"I am very shock to hear from the Chief of Gwira Banso, Nana Ette Akrade II on Joy Television on Tuesday February 6,2023 to publicly accuse my company [Okoben Mining Company Limited] of polluting river Akonbra and other water bodies,forgetting he [Nana Ette Akrade II] is noted as the kigpin of galamseyers in his Gwira Banso community," Nana Okoben Amponsah exposed Banso Chief.

Nana Okoben Amponsah accused Nana Ette Akrade II of supplying diesel fuel to the illegal small scale miners living in Banso who are actively engaging in the illegal small scale mining activities in Banso and its adjoining communities in Gwira Traditional Area.

"So when l listened to the statement of Chief of Gwira Banso, Nana Ette Akrade II on Joy Television and the chief publicly mentioned that it is the gold mining activities of Okoben Mining Company Limited which had polluted the river Akonbra, l have become surprise, because my company is the one which ends the River Akonbra to the Sea.

"From the concession of Okoben Mining Company Limited to the sea, it is just a stone throw, which means the River Akonbra has already polluted by the illegal miners from the communities such as Sefwi Asawinso, Diaso, Wassa Jokwaa, Wassa Akropong, Hiawa Bekwai, Prestea, Pepoase, Gwira Wiaso Gwira Tumantu and Gwira Banso," Nana Okoben Amponsah reaffirmed.

Nana Okoben Amponsah was responding to the fresh allegations leveled against him by Nana Dominle Mieza II and Nana Ette Akrade II on Joy Television on Tuesday February 6, 2023, for which the two chiefs accused Nana Okoben Amponsah of not allowing the elders and farmers to have access to their farm lands in the area.

Making these allegations on Joy Television, the two chiefs reiterated their earlier call on the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to withdraw any license granted to Okobeng Mining within fourteen (14) days.

According to them, because of the company illegal activities, its operational works have degraded their land and polluted it’s rivers such as River Ankobra, streams and other river bodies on the said concession.

They pointed out that  Mr. Amposah is using methods to intimidate Nananom and the people of Gwira Traditional Area with armed land guards with offensive weapons.

The two stated that the company has failed to compensate cocoa and other farmers whose farms have been destroyed depriving them their livelihood. When the elders demanded for land compensation, the company issued dull cheques to defraud us.

In a response, Nana Okoben Amponsah re-emphasized that the activities of his company not did polluted the River Akonbra as being claimed by Nana Ette Akrade II and Nana Dominle Mieza II on the Joy Television in Accra.

On the allegations of issuing of dub cheques to the chiefs to paying compensation to the farmers, Nana Okoben Amponsah noted that it is not true saying that there are documentary envidences that all the farmers who were affected as a result of the mining activities of his company were dully compensated.

He noted that he has become a prime target of attack by these chiefs including thousands of illegal small-scale miners, who are indiscriminately, adding that the illegal small scale mining activities of these galamseyers in these communities were rather destroying river Akonbra and other water bodies but not his company.

"I am saying that the people in these communities in the Gwira Traditional Area were aware that there are a lot of illegal small scale mining activities are ongoing in these communities by local including thousands of foreign nationals, particularly the Chinese illegal miners whose activities have polluted River Akonbra and not the activities of the Okoben Mining Company Limited," he reiterated.

He stated that "As l am speaking to you now, the Okoben Mining Company Limited has led the police from Axim to arrest a Chinese illegal miner and many Ghanaians within his concession at Dominase and now the case is being processed before the law court.