President Akufo-Addo has said that the Akonta Mining Company Limited is not involved in any illegal mining.
The President made this statement at the 28th National and 16th Biennial Congress of the National Union of Ghana Catholic Diocesan Priests Association held in Koforidua on Wednesday, January 4, 2023.
There has been a lot of demand to take actions against the mining company and its owners, led by the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, for alleged illegal mining in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve in the Western North Region last year.
Nevertheless, the President in an event responded to the Chairperson, Ing. Ken Ashigbey’s question of why Chairman Wontumi continues to walk freely when he should be investigated and prosecuted.
According to him, the Akonta Mining is not engaged in any illegality.
“Let me respond briefly to the chairperson on the issue of illegal mining. I want to assure him and all of you that Akonta Mining is not engaged in any illegal mining anywhere in Ghana as we speak,” the president said.
“Further, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has through the agency of the Forestry Commission, with the assistance of the military, made the effort to cordon off all 294 sites of forest reserves in the country and rid them of illegal mining as we speak,” he added.
The Akonta Mining Company, was stopped from mining in the Tano Nimiri forest reserve in October 2022 by the Lands Ministry.
The Ministry said that, even though Akonta Mining Limited had a mining lease to undertake mining operations in some parts of Samreboi, outside the Forest Reserve, the company had no mineral right to do that in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve.
