The indigenous Ada Salt Farmers in the Greater Accra Region are in big danger as the Ada East District Assembly has issued an eviction notice to all of them to vacate their lands, with 31st December 2023, as the deadline. Nestled along the shores of the Songor Lagoon, more than 20 communities with over 10,000 indigenous salt farmers per the eviction notice by the District Assembly are going to lose their ancestral lands, which have sustained them for generations, with the threat coming from the Mcdan Electrochem Ghana, a multinational corporation seeking to develop the salt flats for industrial expansion. President Akufo-Addo commissioned the Electrochem Ghana Limited salt mining company in Ada on August 30 amid opposition from the residents of Ada and the surrounding communities, who indicated that the company’s operation in the area would deny them their livelihoods. Electrochem Gh, a subsidiary of the McDan Group of Companies, in October 2020 secured a leasehold by the Government of Ghana, a 41,000 acreage within the Songhor Salt Mining Lagoon. The company, which was granted a (15) fifteen-year mining lease to explore the salt resource in the Ada Songor, launched its operations in November 2020 with a target to produce one million (1,000,000) metric tons of salt per annum to supply to both the local and export markets. However, the large acquisition by the Company was met with stiff opposition from the indigenous communities who for centuries have lived in harmony on the land, practicing sustainable salt production methods passed down through the ages. To the indigenous people of Ada, the salt pans have been the source of livelihood and cultural identity, and have defined the rhythm of their lives and that of their communities. But, the threat of eviction now looms large as Mcdan Electrochem Ghana eyes the vast expanse of the salt flats for a lucrative industrial venture. A letter dated 14th December 2023, and signed by the Ada East District Coordinator, Peter Kwesi Wilson on behalf of the District Chief Executive to all indigenous salt farmers said, “As you are in no doubt aware, the Ada East Portion of the Songor Lagoon concession was released by the Minerals Commission on 29th October 2020 for a Restricted Mining Lease of Salt for 15 years which was subsequently ratified by the parliament of Ghana”. The letter further said “The Ada East District Assembly based on the above held many stakeholder engagements to educate, sensitize and deliberate on how to ensure a smooth operation of the Company. In view of the above, the District Assembly has received official notice from the company of its intentions to start operations in the District on the 3rd of January 2023”. “To this end, you are hereby informed to vacate from the land with all your machines to allow the company to start its operations. You are on this note given up to 31st December 2023 to finally leave the concession”, the letter sounded the final warning.
According to the District Assembly, it is ready to engage with all the relevant stakeholders to ensure peaceful co-existence with the Company in the District and urged the Salt Farmers to contact the Assembly on any issue on the subject matter.
You don’t need the whole Ada to harvest salt
Ghenvironment.com went on a Mission Visit to the Songor Lagoon area on Sunday, December 24, through to Monday, December 25, 2023, and witnessed the sun rising over the tranquil waters in most of the communities with people gathering to harvest salt in the festive season, using traditional methods that have been perfected over centuries. But, the salt flats, once a symbol of resilience and self-sufficiency, are now at the center of a David-and-Goliath struggle, pitting the indigenous salt farmers against the corporate behemoth. Speaking in an interview with Ghenvironment.com, Abraham Ahumah Karimu, one of the indigenous Salt Farmers who doubles as the Organiser and Spokesperson of the Ada Songor Lagoon Association (ASLA) expressed both defiance and sorrow. "This land has been our home and our sustenance for generations. We cannot simply stand by as it is taken away from us," he declared. He described the action to evict them as an abomination and shameful, saying they are not only fighting for their lands but also the recognition of their rights as custodians of a unique cultural heritage. He explained “All you need is the sunshine, the seawater, and land and you don’t need the whole Ada to harvest salt. You need just a portion and whatever amount, quality and quantity of salt that you are looking for, you will get it. So when they give a license to one person, 41,000 acres to mine salt and there is no salt within the soil, then what is the use”? “Now the person is claiming that all our villages and towns are for him and they have given us an eviction notice because Electrochem Ghana Ltd and Mac Dan are coming to take over. After all, the government, Parliament, and Minerals Commission have given the permit. So where should the indigenous go”, he asked.
Destruction already started
As part of our Mission Visit, it was discovered that some of the equipment used by the indigenous Salt Farmers is being destroyed by the security operatives even before the 31st December deadline. For instance, communities such as Bornikope and Toflokpo are witnessing the destruction of their salt pans and tarpaulins. The Songor Lagoon of that section has also been demarcated into smaller ones depriving the communities of their charge waters, all in the name of being operating illegally. “It is unfortunate for anyone to assume that we are operating illegally. How can an activity which we and our ancestors have been engaged in for the past 500 years, an activity which supplies about 90 percent of the salt consumed in Ghana, an activity which for so many years has been the main source of salt exports to Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali suddenly becomes an illegal activity?, he wondered.
Attacks and Parliamentary probe
There has been a series of violent incidents since the year 2020 when the permit was granted and the latest one was a feud between Electrochem Ghana Limited and residents of Ada on Monday, November 6, which resulted in a shooting incident at Toflokpo near Sege, leaving one person dead and several others injured. As a result, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu, directed the Committee on Lands and Forestry and Mines and Energy to conduct a probe into the leasehold agreement that authorized Electrochem Ghana to embark on salt mining in Ada. Reacting to a statement on the floor of Parliament by the MP for Sege, Christian Otuteye, the First Deputy Speaker said the investigation would help ascertain the need to amend the ratification for part of the concession to be ceded to indigenes of Ada. He said “I will direct the Minister of Interior to brief the house about the incident, how violence came to be perpetrated and who shot into the crowd; whether it is the police or the security of the private company, and the Minister of Interior should brief the House on that one. After that brief, if there is the need for the Committee on Defence and Interior to look further, we will give the appropriate directions. But I suggest that the Committee on Lands and Natural Resources should look at the lease document again and visit the site and advise the House on whether it is possible to renegotiate the contract.” In a surprise move however, Samuel Atta Akyea, Member of Parliament for Akim Abuakwa South Constituency and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy, who led the fact-finding mission on Friday, November 17, 2023, as directed by Parliament, was quoted by the media describing the indigenes of Ada fighting for their land as saboteurs. He therefore issued a final warning to all “feuding saboteurs” who according to him have sought to fuel unnecessary hatred, acrimony and inciting the Ada community against salt mining firm Electrochem Ghana Limited. The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy also issued a stern warning to such groups to take their war away from Ada if they do not wish that Ada and Ghana for that matter, will see development and progress. He assured the management of Electrochem Ghana Limited of the full support of the government in ensuring that Ghana reaps the full benefit of the Ada Songor Salt Mining Factory initiative.
Premature judgment
Abraham Ahumah Karimu, one of the indigenous Salt Farmers who doubles as the Organiser and Spokesperson of ASLA expressed shock to the comments made by Atta Akyea in an interview with ghenvironment.com.
Abraham Ahumah Karimu, one of the indigenous Salt Farmers pointing to the now demarcated lagoon
He noted that “As a leader of a fact-finding mission sent by parliament and by his position as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy, Mr Atta Akyea has demonstrated that he is not going to be fair in his mission and it is therefore imperative that, he rescues himself from the issue for a neutral person to take over” Karimu indicated that, Parliament has written to them on the matter and they have already responded, waiting for a date to appear personally before the Members of the House or the Committee to present their side of the story which he hoped would be made public for every Ghanaian to know the truth. “But Mr Atta Kyea cannot be part of this sitting because, even though he never visited us during his mission visit, he declared his unflinching support to Mc Dan and Electrochem describing us as saboteurs and we are disappointed by his comments”, he said. On the eviction notice, Karimu indicated that the indigenous people of Ada would resist any attempt to force them out of their lands. Environmentalists and human rights advocates have also argued that the consequences of evicting the indigenous people could be devastating, leading to the destruction of fragile ecosystems and the displacement of communities deeply connected to the land. Attempts to get the District Chief Executive of the Ada East to comment on the issue proved futile. Stay tuned for more on this.