Ouagadogou, Brahabebome, Apuem, Nkontomire and Bonsamkro are five communities in the Nkawie Cocoa district where over 4,000 cocoa hectares have been earmarked for destruction due to illegal mining activities also know as ‘galamsey’.
Over 1,000 cocoa farmers are also going to be affected should those hectares of cocoa be destroyed. 170 hectares of these farms that are going to be destroyed are rehabilitated which will kotow for illegal mining.
Prof. Michael Kwarteng, head of the Anti-Illegal Mining Unit of COCOBOD who gave the statistics on Onua TV’s morning show Tuesday, April 23, 2024, said his outfit has petitioned the Minerals Commission to ascertain the veracity of the said concession, after which sanctions would be meted out to the mining company responsible for the destruction of those farms.
“There are five communities in the Nkawie Cocoa district [and] those five communities have gone for concession and we are investigating into that. Those five communities alone together constitute 4,345 hectares of cocoa that would be destroyed in their concession and that affect 1,088 farmers whose livelihoods would be destroyed. 170 hectares of rehabilitated farms would also be destroyed,” he noted.
“So, these five communities namely Ouagadogou, Brahabebome, Apuem, Nkontomire and Bonsamkro would be affected by the mining. So, we objected to this as COCOBOD and came out against it and the company –MIGOP Mining –wrote to COCOBOD that they want to engage us. We met on April 18. Our CEO, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, explained to them the implications of their deeds and as COCOBOD we work with rules so we have written to the Minerals Commission if there is any truth in it and we will ensure that they pay for any cocoa they have destroyed,” He disclosed.
