Inhabitants of Tarkwa-Nsuaem happy with the  lifting of the ban on small scale mining

The Chiefs and people of Apinto Divisional Area in the Western Region have celebrated the 'AMANKUMA' festival over the weekend at Tarkwa and Aboso (TNA) Park in Tarkwa.

In a durbar, thousands of people from all walks of life trooped to the venue to catch a glimpse of the beautiful and rich culture of Apintoman at display.

In attendance were high Government appointees, Members of Parliament, traditional Chiefs and the media.

In a speech read on behalf of the Apinto Divisional Council, the Gyasehene of Apinto and Chief of Kotokyere, Nana (Dr) Adarkwa Bediako III said this year's theme for the festival, "The Ban on Small Scale Mining-The Way Forward" is indeed apt and thankful to the Government for lifting the ban.

"We are thankful to the Government of Ghana, the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo

-Addo's Government for its continuous efforts to provide jobs, security and improved education for the people of Ghana", he said.

He continued "We are happy for the good work done by the Government in trying to resuscitate the railway transport system in Ghana".

He commended the Minister for Railway Development, Mr. Joe Ghartey, in getting the Tarkwa-Takoradi Railway line back on track.

He praised the Government for introducing Free SHS which has enabled many children to benefit.

"The ban on Small Scale Mining has been a thorny issue for the entire country and APINTOMAN particularly and we understand and appreciate the Government's effort in trying to curb the menace of illegal mining and its antecedents", he praised.

The Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, who was the Special Guest of Honour who represented President Nana Akufo-Addo, advised illegal miners popularly called galamseyers to take advantage of the Community Mining which will soon be rolled out.

He bemoaned the activities of these illegal miners which has degraded and polluted the Forest Reserves and water bodies.

He commended the Municipal Chief Executive of Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal, Hon. Gilbert Ken Asmah for raising 50,000 Cocoa seedlings, 100, 000 Oil Palm seedlings and 50,000 Coconut seedlings FREE to some of the illegal miners who want to diversify into farming as an alternative livelihood and encourage him to work hard to achieve his target of two million seedlings next year (37,000 Cocoa seedlings have been distributed earlier).

The Minister for Railway Development, Hon. Joe Ghartey revealed that very soon the construction of rail line will be completed for easy transportation.

The members of parliament for Tarkwa-Nsuaem and Prestea- Huni Valley Constituencies, George Mireku Duker and Barbara Oteng-Gyasi commended the Government and the Mining companies for their contributions in the development of these constituencies .

The Vice President of Goldfields West Africa LTD Mr Alfred Baku, outlined developmental projects being undertaken by the company to improve the life of the people and revealed that Goldfields Ghana LTD Tarkwa as part of it's corporate social responsibility is constructing a 10,000 capacity stadium in Tarkwa to enhance sports infrastructure in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality.

In an interview with Odikro of BRAHABEBOM, Nana Kwasi Ansah, he commended the NPP Government for lifting the ban and also praised Goldfields Ghana LTD for the massive developmental projects they have undertaken in Apinto Divisional Area including BRAHABEBOM and hope they will do more next year.

He was grateful to all the dignitaries that were present and wished them a successful Christmas.

Source: Daniel Kaku