Nyinahin residents angry, demand abrogation of lease for bauxite mining
Hundreds of irate youth from Nyinahin in the Atwima Mponua District in the Ashanti Region, dressed in red attire, on Wednesday took to the streets of the town to register their displeasure against the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr John Peter Amewu, and the Forestry Commission for allowing Exton Cubic, a private firm, to prospect for bauxite in the area.
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The demonstrators backed the decision by the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Simon Osei-Mensah, to confiscate the mining equipment belonging to Exton Cubic, said to be owned by Mr Ibrahim Mahama, a younger brother of former President John Dramani Mahama.
The protesters demanded the abrogation of the lease contract which the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources had granted to Exton Cubic on December 29, 2016, giving it authorisation to mine for bauxite in different concessions in the vicinity of the town for periods ranging from 18 to 21 years.
According to them, the people of Nyinahin ought to have been given the first prerogative of prospecting for the mineral as a way of giving jobs to the youth of the area.
The protestors, led by the Youth Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the area, Mr Bismark Obuobi, who also doubles as the Special Assistant to the Sports Minister, Mr Isaac Asiamah, the MP for the area, commended the regional minister for stopping the company from engaging in any mining activity in the area.
They demanded that the machinery and other property belonging to Exton Cubic be moved out of the town within 24 hours.
Mr Osei-Mensah had given Mr Amewu the ultimatum, which expired last Tuesday, to submit to him documents covering the mining contract or have the equipment moved to the offices of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) in Kumasi.
As of the time of filing this story, the company’s machines were still at Nyinahin.
Lease
Exton Cubic had apparently outsourced prospecting for the mineral to a company called Engineers and Planners (E&P), but the regional minister is alleged to have prevented drivers of the company from entering the area.
Visit
Mr Osei-Mensah led a team from the RCC to Nyinahin last Tuesday and confiscated five containers suspected to have been converted into offices by E&P. He also seized equipment that had been positioned in the centre of the town.
Chief
Early on, the Chief of Nyinahin, Nana Amanpene II, had descended heavily on the district assembly for mobilising the youth, upon instructions from the Ashanti Regional Minister.
The chief had said that Exton Cubic had the blessing of the traditional authority and was, therefore, not to be harassed by anyone.
Reason
As part of a clampdown on illegal mining, the RCC seized the equipment belonging Exton Cubic, saying that granting permission to the company could jeopardise the President’s move to stop illegal mining in the country.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has waded into Exton Cubic’s environmental permit status under its mining lease, saying the group had not obtained the required EPA permit under its mining lease.
According to the EPA, any attempt by the group to undertake any mining activity was illegal.
“The bottomline is that Exton Cubic Group Limited has not obtained the required EPA permit under its mining lease and, therefore, any attempt to enter the area for mining activity is illegal,” a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer, Mrs Angelina Mensah, EPA and issued in Accra on Wednesday.
It said on March 29, 2017, the group applied for three environmental permits from the EPA to undertake prospecting of bauxite on its Mpraeso, Kiriyaso and Kyekyewere concessions in the Ashanti Region, covering a total of 346.08 kilometres square.
The EPA, the statement said, granted the permits on June 7, 2016, saying the company, among other conditions, was to notify the EPA as soon as prospecting activities commenced.
Environmental assessment
It was also expected to submit within three months from the date of issuance of the permits, a liability estimate of environmental degradation to enable the posting of a reclamation bond, in line with Regulation 23 of the Environmental Assessment Regulation of 1999 (LI 1652).
The EPA noted that Exton Cubic, unfortunately, reneged on all those occasions, for which reason “the permits are, therefore, no longer valid.”
The statement went on to say that subsequently, Exton Cubic Group Limited acquired a mining lease on December 29, 2016 from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and that the new lease required a new EPA permit which had not been granted by the EPA.
The EPA’s discussion with the company and its consultants, according to the statement, had indicated that certain requirements for the issuance of a permit under the new mining lease were to be completed.
Invalid permit
The requirements, according to the EPA, included the submission of a “no objection” letter from the Cabinet, completion and submission of statutory environmental assessment form (EA2) and notification from the EPA to the company to conduct the environmental impact assessment which would have led to a broader public consultation and hearing within the relevant catchment communities, in line with Regulation 17 of the environmental assessment regulations.
The EPA was emphatic that the failure of the company to comply with the stated conditions as of the time of the issuance of this statement had rendered all environmental permits null and void.
“Again, the EPA wishes to state that any mining activity to be conducted by the Exton Cubic Group Limited within the concession areas, of which environmental permit is being sought is not consistent with the Environmental Assessment Procedures of the EPA, LI 1652 and is, therefore, illegal.”