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Wa, Ghana – The Wa Constituency Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Ghana, Chairman Ali Kamara, has bemoaned the recent activities of Australia mining company Azuma Resources Limited which has been prospecting for gold in the Upper West Region for about seventeen years now.
The recent brutality meted out to illegal miners also known as galamsayers in the region has been a major concern for many including Mr. Kamara, as there is fear and panic among residents in the region.
There is increasing concern for a likely surge in crime rate as majority of the unemployed youth who were at the various mining sites have been beaten and chased out by soldiers through the ‘instructions’ of Mr. Azuma who claimed that the whole Upper West Region has been given to him as his concession.
Mr. Kamara said he is surprised to notice that, the military that were tormenting people at sites were not part of the Operation Vanguards team.
He stressed the need for the galamseyers to register and avail themselves for training but also challenged the leadership of the region as to where Azuma mining company get the authority to transport soldiers from Tamale in the Northern Region to torture and torment the galamseyers.
“Azuma sometime ago came to my house and showed me a map which indicates that the galamseyers were never around his concession, why should Azuma be chasing the guys with soldiers. If govt is chasing all galamseyers to restructure and regulate their activities why then should Azuma mining company be left on site” he said.
Meanwhile, some small scale miners in the Upper West Region on Tuesday October 23, 2018 declared their preparedness to comply with the new modalities government is putting in place to curb the menace caused by poor mining practices by some small scale miners and illegal miners.
The miners also challenged the leadership of the region to make known the duration Azuma needs to complete its prospecting and which part of the land the company is entitled to operate.
They accused the mining company of extorting the region as because they are not paying royalties to the chiefs and people of the jurisdiction the company is alleged to have been mining.
However, all attempts to reach out to officials of the Australia mining company, Azuma to respond to the issue proved fruitless.
Source: myradiowaa.com
