<<Print>>

Political authorities in the country, unable to create the requisite number of jobs annually through sound policy, are necked-deep in coaxing foot-soldiers into communities where regular mining takes place, and using local political champions, to twist the hands of Chief Executives of these mining companies to cede concessions to these youth activists who mask under the guise of being youth associations fighting for the interest of the youth.

Covert-and-overt investigations conducted by this paper last fortnight, revealed that the latest in the twist of such skullduggery is erupting in Bibiani, in the Western Region, where the District Chief Executive (DCE), after failing on his sweet-talks to get the youth into the Police Service, Military, and Prison Service, is allegedly hiding behind a trumped-up  youth group whose identity is fraught with question marks to claim a 2 acre land from the South Hill section of Bibiani Gold Mines, now Mensin Gold Biniani Limited, for small scale mining, referred to in the local parlance as galamsey.

If allowed to invade portions of the mines, as has happened elsewhere in the same region and seem to be the wind blowing in other regions, one of which incident resulted in the death of the former public relations officer for Anglogold, John Owusu, in Obuasi in the Asante region, the paper gathered the galamseyers actions have the potential to undermine the recommencement strategy for the Bibiani Gold mine project.

That aside, our checks revealed that the main Bibiani Goaso road stand in danger of collapse if the galamseyers bulldoze their way into the mines with the tactic support of the DCE.

Worst still, this trumped-up youth group do not have any documentation to buttress their claim-not even a petition.

It all began when, our paper discovered, the DCE, Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai District Chief Executive, Mr. Jacob Oware, stormed the office of the Goldmine to meet the Managing Director over claims that some youth group, under the name Bibiani Youth Association had gone to see him (DCE) with a site plan of the mining area, requesting that since the mine had gone into care and maintenance mood, the company should cede portions of its concession to the hungry youth to operate galamsey so they could make ends meet.

Mr. Jacob Oware, our investigations revealed, followed up his meeting with the mines boss with an emergency DISEC meeting, where all the ringleaders of the youth group (names withheld for now), led by one John Kuffour, spoke for the group and went further to say that they already had a financier on standby and ready to moves to site.

However, days after the DISEC meeting, the real owners of the registered entity called Bibiani Youth Association, under the chairmanship of Emmanuel Aidoo have issued a disclaimer, dissociating themselves from the trumped-up association.

Read the disclaimer, signed by Emmanuel Aidoo and dated15 May 2016:

It has come to the notice of the Bibiani Youth Association (BYA) that a group of persons unknown to BYA has used our name in a purported small scale mining operation proposed to be undertaken in Bibiani on a land that is already leased to MENSIN GOLD BIBIANI LTD, a private incorporated mining company in Ghana wholly owned by Resolute Mining Ltd incorporated in Australia.

The public should take notice and notice is hereby served that the Bibiani Youth Association is a registered Community -based organization with the Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai District Assembly that engages in community volunteering services and environmental sustainability advocacy. We thus surprised that the DCE, Western Key and others are leading such venture to mastermind such illegality in our name.

We do not and have never intended any small scale mining operation anywhere on the planet earth.

We thus entreat all and sundry especially government institutions to disregard any unscrupulous persons purporting to use our corporate name to perpetrate illegal business.

We are investigating the issue and will come out with all the facts and findings per our investigation.

We remain committed to serving the good people of Bibiani and its environs in a way and manner that promotes and facilitates generational equity.

Thank you

Mr. Emmanuel Aidoo

Chairman 0244 808092

Meanwhile, when this paper spoke to the DCE via telephone to respond to the allegations, he said “Indeed when they brought the site plan, DISEC followed up on to the land and I think it was hundred metres away from the main Goaso road. You know this is a very dicey situation so have to handle it with care”.

Prodded to find out how the association got the site plan of the mines, he retorted that that he did not know how they got the site plan from the Assembly and that it could have been given to the galamseyers by some of the security details of the mining company.

According to Mr. Jacob Oware, he went to see the mining company as a result of the pressure that was piling on him by the association.

The company has however, declined to comment on the issue for now saying that it is waiting for the decision of DISEC.

Stay tuned as this paper goes into the wild to fish out the name of the man bankrolling and inciting the youth across the country to, in a Hollywood robbery function, invade legitimate mining concessions the country over. Also, read how from his Konongo-base, he is able to work the youth to ignore proper procedure to bulldoze their ways into mining sites at will whilst state security authorities look on.