Ghana is on the verge of losing its renowned Cultural Heritage Site and Ramsar Site at Winneba in the Central Region following the pending application of a mineral rights in the area in accordance with L.I. 2176. Published by the Minerals Commission on 19th May, 2022, and awaiting the final approval, the permit when granted, will give Green Metals Resources Ltd the opportunity to carry out large scale mining concession in the Efutu area.
The plan of the proposed mining operation
The mining plan which is available to ghenvironment.com revealed that, the world-renowned traditional hunting ground and Efutu Aboakyer Festival will be affected including the internationally recognized Muni-Pomadze Ramsar site. The Yenku forest will also be affected.
Publication concealed from public
The Efutu Traditional Council in responding to the publication of the pending application by the Minerals Commission has rejected any mining plans in the area. A petition by Traditional Council wondered why a public notice would be concealed from the public view and not served the purpose it was intended for. According to the Traditional Council, it was just on Friday 17th June 2022, that it saw a copy of the document at the office of the Municipal Chief Executive where it has not been posted on its notice board. It said in the petition to the Minerals Commission “We in the Effutu Traditional area object to this proposed license application and hereby petition your office to stop working on the document”. Part of the of the petition reads “The area concerned if decimated by mining will completely bring to a halt the famous traditional festival on the African continent and the world over, the Aboakyer festival. If the application should succeed, it will deprive the indigenous people of Effutu and its environs their livelihood since it will have a negative impact on the Muni Lagoon and the Ramsar site at large”. The petition added “The area if decimated will also bring about the complete collapse of the agreement the government of Ghana has entered with the Ramsar Convention”.
Further details of the plan
The Traditional Council is therefore urging the Minerals Commission to halt any further development of the application or would be obliged to seek redress in any form appropriate to them. More on this developing story soon.