Donkro Nkwanta youth rebel against chief

Some opinion leaders and the youth wait to listen to the chiefs and Newmont officials(left), Mr. Justice Adomako, an opinion leader, articulating the concerns of the community(right)

The people of Donkro Nkwanta,  a farming community in the Nkoranza South District of the Brong Ahafo Region, last Friday, chased the Paramount Chief of the Nkoranza Traditional Area, Okatakyie Agyemang Kodom IV, and officials of Newmont Ghana Gold Limited out of the community, when they went to there to apparently seek the community's consent on the company's intended exploration of gold in the area.

The Chronicle, after its visit to the community last month, reported that the people of Donkro Nkwanta had vowed to employ all legitimate means to protect their farm investments and properties against the intended mining operations of Newmont Ghana Gold Limited in the community and its environs.

The people of the community had maintained that they had been able to provide the needs of their families, especially, the education of their children, with income from their farming activities in the past, and believe that their land would be able to support them and future generations.

'If we lose our ancestral lands, which we inherited from generations before us, to mining, no amount of compensation, whether cash or in kind, can adequately replace the loss of the land,' they stated in a petition against Newmont's intended mining operations.

Clad in red, the people, especially, the youth, who were chanting war songs and dirges, took to the principal road of the town, and later converged at the durbar grounds, a short distance from the chief's palace, while officials of Newmont and chiefs, including the chief of the community, Nana Owusu Achiaw Brempong II, were observing the traditional protocol before meeting the entire community.

But, the youth, after waiting for several hours, thronged the palace to satisfy their curiosity, amidst chanting of war songs, while the chiefs were still interacting with officials of Newmont in the palace.

Assessing the tension in the community after several hours of meeting between Newmont officials and Okatakyie Kodom IV and his elders at the Donkro Nkwanta palace, the chiefs and officials of Newmont resolved to postpone the meeting between them and the community.

But, officials of Newmont and Okatakyie Kodom IV and his entourage were not spared hooting and insults from the youth and children in the community, when they were leaving the community.

The community's action, according to some opinion leaders, was a clear signal to the government, Newmont, the chiefs and everyone or group who have interest in the intended mining operation, to back off.

The demonstration, dubbed 'Yån nte aseå' (We do not understand), was patronised by mostly the youth and children. Their message to Okatakyie Kodom IV and the Chief of Donkro Nkwanta, Nana Owusu Akyiaw Brempong II, was laconically captured on one of the placards, 'Nana allow us to fight for our future,' and to Newmont was simply, 'Yån nte aseå.'

Other placards read, 'Yån mma åkom nku yån', 'Nana mmofra yi daakye nhia wo?', 'Nana wo båyå yån abro' and Yån ani abre, yån ani abre koo.'

In the course of the interaction between the chiefs and officials of Newmont at the palace, Okatakyie Kodom IV expressed the view that the youth should, at least, listen to whatever message the officials of Newmont had for the community, but that was after the youth had waited patiently at the meeting grounds for over four hours, when they had been told to wait for just a while to allow traditional protocols to be observed.

Okatakyie Kodom, who is the immediate past President of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs, could not fathom why the community people should dress in red and demonstrate against him, his elders and Newmont, indicating that he and his elders had not committed themselves in any way as a sign of agreement to the intended operations of Newmont.

What seemed to upset him most was the active involvement of the children during school hours, and threatened to take appropriate action against school authorities and teachers in the community.

But, a teacher in the community, who pleaded anonymity, explained that it was the first week of reopening, and that the pupils were doing grounds work to ensure that their surroundings were cleared and clean, to prepare them for effective academic work the following week, therefore, it was difficult to control them, when they suddenly rushed to the community square to join their parents in the demonstration.

The women in the community threatened to go naked if the powers that be decide to turn deaf ears to the concerns of the people, and attempt to push down their throat, what they described as 'a deadly potion that will leave this generation and generations yet unborn in permanent destitution.'

The people of Donkro Nkwanta are predominantly farmers, who cultivate mainly food crops such as maize, plantain, yam, and cassava, with a few of them into cash crop farming, particularly cashew and cocoa.

Donkro Nkwanta is the leading maize producer in the Nkoranza South District, but if Newmont gains access to the area for its intended mining operations, the community risks losing its pride of feeding the Brong Ahafo Region and the country at large with maize, an important grain with a very high consumption ratre in Ghana.

Available statistics indicate that from January to the end of August this year, the community has exported 480,000 bags of maize and 800,000 tubers of yams to Kumasi and Accra.

They noted that the story of mining communities in Ghana had been that of misery, and the example of Kenyasi, Ntotoroso, Obuasi, Tarkwa, and Prestea were lessons to learn, indicating that posterity would never forgive them if they fail to learn from what surface mining had done to many communities, and allow Newmont to undertake its mining operations in the community.

They challenged Newmont, the government and the chiefs to cite an example in Ghana where surface mining operations had improved the living conditions of the affected people.

The people, consequently, called on the government to revoke the exploration license of Newmont if already given, or stop, if it had not been issued yet, 'because, we are prepared to resist it at every stage of the operations.'