Irate youth of Atronie in the Sunyani Municipality has given illegal miners one-week ultimatum to remove their machines, mining equipment and vacate an illegal mining site in the area or face their wrath.
They threatened to burn excavators, mining equipment and implements at the site located at Jinijini, a forest fringe farming community, near the Atronie.
Nana Yaw Ampofo, spokesperson, and the Secretary to the Atronie Traditional Authority which owes allegiance to the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II gave the order in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
He insisted that chiefs and people of the area had resolved to disallow any mining activity being legal or illegal in the area, saying that: “We have learnt a great lesson from elsewhere and we will not allow any miner to operate on our land”.
Nana Ampofo said that the chiefs and people of the area informed the Police when they had information about the illegal miners, saying that: “We have even met with the Police”.
He said it was unfortunate that some illegal miners had defied consistent warnings from the government and were determined to undertake galamsey on the Atronie stool land to destroy the Amoma River, forest resources and fertile farmlands.
Nana Ampofo noted that the Amoma River remained the major source of drinking water for the Atronie Township and the about 30 adjoining farming communities and villages.
He alleged that due to the activities of the illegal miners and their private security guards around in the enclave could not go to their farms.
“If nobody is helping to protect our arable lands, cocoa farms and our forest cover, then we are determined to do so,” Nana Ampofo stated.
“We are therefore sending a strong warning through your media house that the illegal miners should expect that we are going to burn their machines if the one-week ultimatum expires,” Nana Ampofo added.
He also called on the government and relevant stakeholders’ intervention before the situation got out of hand, affirming that: “We aren’t lawless, but peaceful people trying to protect our lands, farms and natural resources”.
A visit by the GNA to the site, noticed seven excavators, two Chanfan machines and some tents pitched at the site, as well as some fully armed private security operatives.
The five armed men, who wore talismans and traditional regalia were positioned at strategic locations to protect the site as the miners undertake their illegal mining activities, popularly known as ‘galamsey’.
It was sighted that the illegal had also used earth moving machines to construct a road through farms to the site, destroying acres of crops.
