Ada women go ‘Red Friday’ in fight against Atsiakpo
Red-clad members of the Ada Songhor Salt Women's Association (ASSWA) on Friday marched through the district capital, Sege, in furtherance of their protest against Atsiakpo, the local strand of illegal mining of gold, otherwise called galamsey.
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Atsiakpo is the local Dangme name for the illegal mining of salt in the Songor Lagoon, and the women joined in the national call for a Red-Friday by the media coalition against galamsey as a clarion call for realistic steps to stop the menace.
Atsiakpo has resulted in the balkanization of the lagoon into small pans (measuring approximately 30 to 40 feet square) which are illegally owned by individuals who prevent all others from accessing the communal resource.
Addressing the District Coordinating Director, the women said while the people of Ada do not have gold, they consider the salt as their gold.
They said they support the fight against galamsey in all forms especially Atsiakpo which is destroying their livelihoods.
They want the district assembly to stop the partitioning of the lagoon into smaller pans and the destruction of the lagoon base of rock-salt in order to restore the lagoon to its natural state and make it open and accessible to all.
The District Coordinating Director expressed gratitude for their peaceful undertaking and encouraged them to rewrite a petition to be sent to the new government.
He promised to discuss their plight with the assembly for a firm decision on the Lagoon.
