When I Became A Soldier At Akim Achiase ( Part II)

Continued........

Apart from knowing the Exercise we had come here for was a biennial one organized by the Army Training Command - (ATRAC) and coordinated by the Jungle Warfare School (JWS) to primarily test a cross-section of troops in patrol drills,navigation, watermanship, obstacle crossing,marksmanship,Platoon administration in the field,jungle craft, team spirit,endurance among others, the sequences and methodologies were unknown to me.

Snippets of information I had gathered that evening were enlightening.

Having heard that the Birim Central and South municipalities had become active with agitations and violent demonstrations since 2012, I became alarmed.

Easiest thing I remember asking myself aloud that evening was - what about?

Only a few hours ago, a section of the locals had lined up across the street to watch us jog past , amidst cheers and applause.

So what may have caused a community which is in agitation, to suddenly make a u-turn to cheer us on, I lamented.

It became clear that these agitations and violent demonstrations were because indigenes of the area including galamsey operators prospecting for diamonds claimed they were not consulted before an agreement was signed between the government and an Australian mining company Auxbeux INC, to exploit diamonds in the Birim Central and South Municipalities.

As if that was not enough - to add salt to injury,the company also discovered large deposits of uranium in the middle of 2012 and expressed interest in exploiting the uranium rather than the diamonds.

According to more available information, Consultations and negotiations with government for the company to exploit the deposits of uranium stalled in 2014 because the government was not sure of the company's intentions - I am pretty certain this excited the locals, but for how long would these negotiations stall I imagined?

About a few weeks on, the country renewed the negotiations as the government saw this as an opportunity to get the materials to resource the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) at Kwabenya to refine the uranium for the production of power to augment the country's energy stock in the face of the energy crisis.

In February 2014, however, not long after an agreement was reached and the company was given the go-ahead and started operations, the locals were up in arms.

Their reason was simple and their demands - aptly spelt out in clear terms. But their approach to the issue left many wondering if it was the most appropriate of approaches.

They were not going to allow the company operate until certain demands were met.

In the circumstances,they asked for 80 percent of all royalties that would accrue to government from the exploitation of uranium in the area to be paid to the traditional authorities for the development of the area.

They also demanded that 50 percent of the company's employees be from that area - demands their leaders described as genuine and progressive for the communities.

However, just as pressure groups in politics, a group known as the Birim Protection Forces emerged to champion the demands of the communities.

By the sound of that, I am comfortably sure you know how this "blockbuster" would unfold - if you don't , well sad news.

Unsurprisingly, we gathered the group was led by a disgruntled former Army major called Joshua Gyaesaa popularly known as Officer Toroo - who was sacked from the Army in the early 1980s for going on AWOL (a grave service offense which warrants very severe sanctions).

The group threatened that if their demands were not met within the shortest possible time, they would disrupt the activities of Auxbeux INC and make their stay unsustainable in the two municipalities.

In Spite of the opposition from this group, obviously because the company had the blessing of government, it continued its operations in its concessions as per the agreement between itself and the government.

As is expected, the decision did not sit down well with the Birim Protection Forces - whom true to their announced threats, began a series of sabotage activities against the Australian company.

A series of attacks were carefully planned and made ready for execution by the disgruntled bunch.

.......... to be continued!