It stays to be seen, what steps the federal government will take after the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, publicly lamented that unlawful miners had overran a gold prospecting concession belonging to him.
He revealed that unauthorized mining was happening on the concession with out his information, elevating critical questions on who’s accountable for the environmental destruction from the unlawful mining operations which have devastated the banks of the Tano River.
“I’ve heard that the concession Ayisi [former chief executive of the Minerals Commission] granted me has been overrun by unlawful (galamsey) miners. However I don’t even know the place,” he mentioned on February 14, 2025, when the Minister of Lands and Pure Assets, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, visited him on the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi.
“The concession was given to me, and I supposed to develop it, solely to listen to that unlawful miners had taken over,” Otumfuo Osei Tutu mentioned. “If I’m accused of partaking in galamsey as a standard ruler, what can I say after I don’t even know the place the place is?”
His remarks have introduced The Fourth Property’s scrutiny to Bodukwan Holding Firm Restricted, the entity holding the concession, and its hyperlinks to the Manhyia Palace. Investigations by The Fourth Property recommend that regardless of having solely a prospecting license, in depth mining has taken place on the concession, elevating authorized and environmental considerations.
Bodukwan Holding Firm Restricted utilized for a prospecting license on June 2, 2023, to probe for gold in Moseaso, Odumase within the Western Area. Six months later, the Minister of Lands and Pure Assets permitted the request, granting the corporate three years to conduct exploration over an space the scale of 250 soccer pitches. A good portion of this concession overlaps with the Tano River, a key water supply for communities in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
Prospecting licenses permit corporations to conduct preliminary exploration however don’t allow mining actions. But, satellite tv for pc imagery reviewed by The Fourth Property reveals widespread mining on the concession – proof that unlawful operations are happening on the concession.
Environmental degradation and authorized violations
Ghana’s mining legal guidelines prohibit actions that degrade the setting, significantly close to water our bodies. Whereas the legislation doesn’t explicitly require a 100-meter buffer zone, each the Minerals Fee and Water Assets Fee have suggested that mining shouldn’t happen inside this vary to stop air pollution. In 2021, the federal government declared riverbanks no-go areas for mining, a directive emphasised by then-President Nana Akufo-Addo and former Lands Minister, Samuel Jinapor.
Regardless of these restrictions, The Fourth Property discovered that Bodukwan Holding lacks key regulatory approvals, together with an Environmental Safety Company (EPA) allow and a Water Use Allow from the Water Assets Fee (WRC). The Minerals Fee has additionally refused to offer an inventory of corporations with working permits, making it tough to confirm Bodukwan’s compliance standing.
Who owns Bodukwan Holding?
Incorporation data from the Workplace of the Registrar of Firms present that Bodukwan Holding is carefully linked to Manhyia Palace. The corporate’s helpful proprietor, Nana Duah Bonsu, serves as a co-director alongside Mujeeb Rahman Ahmed, a lawyer for Manhyia Palace, and Julia Ama Adwapa Amaning, extensively often called Girl Julia, the spouse of the Asantehene.
Past its mining pursuits, Bodukwan Holding can be the guardian firm of the Bodukwan Multifruit Processing Manufacturing unit, which processes mangoes from its farms within the Nkoranza North District.
When contacted, Mujeeb Rahman Ahmed denied any involvement in unlawful mining. He insisted that Bodukwan Holding had not begun operations at its website close to Bibiani, not to mention engaged in mining. This was earlier than the Asantehene’s latest public remarks concerning the invasion of unlawful miners on the concession.
“If anybody is there, we have to take care of them,” Mr. Rahman informed The Fourth Property. “Now we have no information of any such exercise. If somebody is mining in our title, it’s mistaken. We’re not conscious of it.”
Who may very well be accountable?
Environmental activists argue that after an organization obtains a concession, it’s legally accountable for defending it from unlawful mining. Kwaku Afriyie, Technical Director of WACAM, an environmental advocacy group, maintains that if mining is happening on a concession with solely a prospecting lease, then the corporate is in breach of the legislation. He burdened that corporations are required to report unlawful actions to the Minerals Fee and safety companies and are accountable for securing their very own land.
Below Article 18 of the Structure, Mr. Afriyie famous, each particular person has the fitting to guard their property. He additionally identified that if an organization stays silent whereas its land is used for unlawful mining, it raises questions on whether or not it’s benefiting from the exercise or is just being negligent.
His considerations had been echoed by Sandow Ali, Director of Mining on the EPA, who emphasised that corporations can not function with out securing 4 important permits: a license from the Minister of Lands and Pure Assets, an EPA allow, an working allow from the Minerals Fee, and a water use allow from the Water Assets Fee. He made it clear that getting a ministerial license alone doesn’t grant the fitting to start mining and that any exercise with out the total set of approvals is illegitimate.
Will the federal government intervene?
With clear proof of mining exercise on Bodukwan’s concession and an absence of regulatory compliance, the query stays: will the federal government take motion? The Asantehene’s frustration highlights the broader problem of unlawful mining in a rustic the place even high-profile concessions should not spared from galamsey operations.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Feedback, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform don’t essentially signify the views or coverage of Multimedia Group Restricted.
Source link
