Thousands of Effutu residents on Tuesday, December 5 took to the streets of Winneba to demonstrate against the reported lease of some portions of the forest reserve in the area to a mining firm, Green Metals Resources Limited.
It was a solidarity procession for the calls by the traditional councils of Effutu and Gomoa against the purported agreement.
The 3-hour-long demonstration began from the Sankor Junction, went through the entire Old Winneba town with leaders pouring libation to invoke the gods of Effutu against those behind what they described as raw deals.
There was a halt in the march midway as leadership picked intel that some people were planning to infiltrate the protest and foment trouble.
Ten persons including a female were arrested at the Effutu Municipal Assembly, where a petition was read by Dr James Kofi Annan.
This was after a rival group popped up at the Assembly with Schnapps and insisted on pouring libation as part of their demonstration.
Some unknown persons started pelting stones at the headoffice of the Assembly and the police.
Those arrested were later taken to the Winneba Divisional Police Headquarters for investigations and prosecution.
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has denied that such an agreement has been reached.
“I simply want to state that this allegation is false, it is never true and in fact, the Minerals Commission, two years ago issued a statement to the effect that such an application has not even been received by them let alone approved for a company to mine lithium in that sacred forest where we haunt for dear during the Aboakyir Festival,” he told journalists on Tuesday, December 5.
“I just want to set the record straight that there is no such thing. I will therefore want to urge my colleagues in the NDC to focus on the real changes facing our people so that we engage in an issue rather than polluting the minds of people, misinforming, and lying. such a practice does not help in democracy.”
