Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, issued the caution following protests by youth from the Amansie South District community.

The group had marched to the Regional Coordinating Council demanding the evacuation of the military, who have been deployed to secure the concession from illegal miners.

The gold-rich area of Tontokrom has been at the centre of a long-standing dispute between the community and Asanko Gold Mining Company, with both parties claiming rights to the land.

Tensions have intensified in recent months, as some local youth reportedly resumed illegal mining activities on the site.

According to the protestors, Asanko Gold has yet to properly gazette the disputed concession, and therefore lacks legitimate ownership.

The situation has led to occasional clashes between the youth and private security personnel guarding the concession on behalf of the company.

But Dr. Amoakohene says the military presence will remain in place while investigations into the rightful ownership of the concession continue. He urged the community to exercise restraint and halt any operations in the area to prevent further conflict.

“The security is there to protect the concession while legal processes are ongoing,” the Minister said. “We will engage the military leadership to ensure their operations do not escalate tensions, but we will not allow unlawful activities to continue.”

The Regional Minister assured the youth of further dialogue but insisted that due process must guide the resolution of the dispute.

Source: Nana Yaw Gyimah | Adom News

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This is after a refusal to demands to evacuate the military who are tasked to protect the concession from illegal miners.

The Tontokrom community is fighting Asanko Gold Mining Company over ownership of a gold mining concession.

But the Regional Minister has said until investigations into the ownership of the concession is concluded, the youth should cease operations at the area to avoid any confrontation as the military remains at post.

“Pending the conclusion of investigations, I don’t want the youth to go back to the concessions to avert any confrontation,” he stated.

Dr. Amoakohene emphasized his office will engage the military team to ensure there are no confrontations with the people of the area.

On Friday, the youth of the area marched to the Regional Coordinating Council demanding withdrawal of the military from the concession among others.

Frank Owusu who led the youth to present the petition explains that since the return of the military, people in the area are unable to go about their duties.

“The presence of the military has disturbed the peace in the community. People are left in their rooms because the military keeps threatening their lives,” he said.

The gold mining concession at Tontokrom has been a subject of controversy for many years between the community and Asanko Mines.

It is now being mined illegally by youth of the area which the mining company have tried to prevent with security men.

This has sometimes resulted in clashes.

According to the community, the Asanko Mines is yet to gazette the concessions, hence cannot claim ownership.

They also indicated the takeover by the large-scale miner will throw them out of business.

But the Regional Minister has directed the youth to halt mining in the area until resolution of the issues after they failed to produce documentation on the concession.

At a recent press conference by some residents, they had alleged the gold mining company has tasked the soldiers to frustrate them.

But the company is dismissing the allegations citing them as ‘inaccurate’ and ‘misleading’, urging the public to disregard these claims.

In a statement, management of the company noted the military presence in the town is part of ongoing state-mandated security initiatives by the Ghana Chamber of Mines to safeguard licensed mining companies across the country against threats posed by illegal mining operations.

“Illegal mining not only endangers lives and degrades the environment, but also significantly impacts state revenue, discourages legitimate investment, and creates unsafe conditions for both community members and Company personnel.

“In response to these risks, the government through the appropriate security agencies and in partnership with the Ghana Chamber of Mines has rolled out a standardized security intervention across all major legal mining operations in the country,” the statement signed by the Managing Director, Charles Amoah, noted.

According to them, the deployment was sanctioned by the Ghana Armed Forced, in collaboration with the Chamber of Mines – mandated to supervise and coordinate the operations of the mining industry.

It explains a consultative stakeholder dialogue chaired by the Security Councils of both the Amansie West and Amansie South districts was held, concluding on the deployment of the soldiers for the mine’s protection.

The company says the military deployment is not in any way to “punish” residents but rather ensure safety and conducive mining environment.

“It is essential to emphasize that this intervention is not punitive in nature, nor is it intended to intimidate or harass any individuals. On the contrary, its primary goal is to ensure safety, legal compliance, and a conducive environment for sustainable mining,” portion of the statement read.

At the said meeting, the stakeholders, including community leaders and local authorities, were also encouraged to assist in promoting peaceful self-evacuation from unauthorized mining sites.

The company says majority of the illegal miners in other adjoining communities have cooperated as it hopes similar situation could be realized in Tontokrom.

“We are hopeful that the same level of understanding and collaboration will be realized within the Tontokrom concession area,” the statement said.

The company says it remains commitment to respectful and beneficial relationship with all its host communities and is open for communication and genuine partnership to push development in the gold mining town.

Unit committee member, Kwabena Animounyam, says the community has been neglected by successive governments in terms of development projects, prompting them to mobilize local resources and communal labor to build the school.

The target is to complete the project within 12 months.

Kwabena Animounyam says the community will continue to press on the government to prioritize the development of Manso Tontokrom.

“We the people at Manso Tontokrom don’t have good roads, health and better educational infrastructures,” he noted.

He called for support to ensure the project’s success to improve the community’s educational infrastructure.

Some community members who spoke to Adom news expressed worry at the spate of deprivation over the years.

“Pregnant women are mostly carried on motorcycle to hospital at Manso Edubia due to poor health facilities in our community. Aside that, our children are not interested in education due to the nature of our school blocks,” said a resident.

The residents are hoping the NDC government will turn attention to the development of the area as promised them during election campaigning.

A resident was allegedly shot dead during a confrontation with the private security operatives on Saturday, March 2.

This infuriated the youth who launched a reprisal attack and lynched two of the alleged attackers.

Giving more details, a resident said; “We saw two branded Asanko Mines vehicles and four non-branded ones occupied by machomen in the community. Some of the youth went closer to the vehicles to hoot at the occupants and before we realized the machomen had started firing gunshots. One person was hit by a stray bullet and died on the spot.

“We were left with no choice but to also attack them. The vehicles sped off but two machomen fell on the ground. They were lynched”.

The altercation comes on the back of long-standing tensions between Tontokrom residents and Asanko Gold Mines over the latter’s concession security measures.

For years, the local youth, driven by rampant unemployment, have turned to illegal mining activities, which have encroached on some fringes of Asanko’s legitimate lands.

However, allegations of excessive force by military personnel and hired security to repel these incursions have worsened the situation.

Subsequently, the residents on Friday, March 1, 2024, staged a protest to demand the establishment of a Community Mining Scheme to end the banter.

The confrontation on Saturday, however, turned bloody between the residents and the private security personnel of Asanko Mines.

The bodies have since been conveyed by the police and deposited at the morgue.

Meanwhile, the District Security Council has scheduled a meeting with community leaders and Asanko Gold to outline measures in resolving the impasse.

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