Residents of Akyem Anyinasin in the Abuakwa South Municipality are back on the streets… renewing protests against fresh attempts to mine in their community.
They say they will protect their farmlands, water bodies, and environment at all cost. Akyem Anyinasin is the only community yet to be affected by scourge if illegal mining.
However the residents say their chief who was leading the resistance says his hands are now tight and have been threatened by some powerful traditional forces.
The resistance against illegal mining is not new in Akyem Anyinasin . In 2020, two companies allegedly invaded the town to mine without due process and documentation.
Investigations later showed they only had exploratory licenses but were abusing them to carry out full-scale mining.
The Abuakwa North Assembly ordered them to stop, and in 2021, two excavators were burnt on the orders of the community’s chiefs during a violent protest.
But residents say the threat has returned.
According to them, their chief, Nana Appiakorang Agyei II, has told them he can no longer resist the miners after receiving threats from powerful forces within the Abuakwa Traditional Council.
Convener of the protest, William Boakye , is challenging the chief to name those behind the pressure.
Residents are now calling on the Okyenhene and President John Mahama to intervene.
Meanwhile, the pressure group Save the Nation for Future Leaders says illegal mining is not just a national problem but a global threat which the international leaders must be concerned.
For the people of Anyinasin, the message is simple: no mining on their lands, no compromise to save their farms.
Story by: Kojo Ansah
