The chief and people of Wassa Nsadeiso in the Western region are readying themselves for a peaceful protest against a mining company in the town, Golden Star Wassa Mining Limited, on Wednesday April 27.

The demonstration has been planned following what the community says is the refusal of the firm to make some of its concession available to the locals for farming.

The chief of Nsadeiso, Nana Bogya Kwao I, who spoke to Accra News on Monday April 25, 2016, said 50 per cent of arable lands in the community was in the care of the Forestry Commission of Ghana, while the rest of the lands had been given to Golden Star Wassa Mining Limited by his late predecessor some twenty years ago.

But he said despite a promise by the company to offer employment to youth of the town once it started operations, the contrary had happened. Nana Kwao I said the mining company went back on its word with the excuse that most of the young men and women in the town were not well educated and lacked the relevant skills for the mining job, opting to bring in 200 miners from Bogoso to work on their fields instead.

“If you see the young men and women in my community, they are just idling. We do not have land to farm on to feed ourselves and families,” the traditional ruler stated.

“We offered them [the mining company] lands to undertake surface mining, but had now shifted to underground mining, yet there is no documentation covering that activity.”

According to the chief, they have had several discussions with the company for some parcel of land to be allotted the community for farming, which has been turned down. The company had also turned down their requests for compensation, saying it did not have enough money, yet pay their senior staff huge salaries with four-wheel drives at their disposal.

“So, we have asked that if they cannot pay us any money, they should give us some land so we undertake small-scale mining, but even that they say no,” Nana Kwao I lamented further, stating in addition that Golden Star Wassa Resources Mining Limited had employed more than 400 persons in underground mining, with only five from Nsadeiso.