The Member of Parliament for Bole Bamboi, Yusif Sulemana, has called on the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, to engage constituents in Bole Bamboi regarding the apportioning of lands to large-scale miners.

According to him, the clash between constituents and youth on June 20 could have been avoided if stakeholder consultations had been considered.

Speaking to GhanaWeb in an interview, he said “Bole Bamboi is full of mineral deposits, and we have some galamsey activities going on. The move was to regularize these small miners to protect the environment. Unfortunately, from February to date, the Ministry for Lands has allocated land to over seven large-scale miners, asking them to go and prospect. The problem is there were no proper stakeholder consultations. So, the youth are there, and they will see heavy equipment coming to take over what they are doing, and that is where the clash is coming from.

"Interestingly, it is only the NPP executives who are given the juicy places to mine, and that is what is reflecting.”

He explained that the clash, which has left some executives hospitalized, was caused by the presence of military men in the area who were to provide protection to some Chinese miners, which the youth resisted.

“As I speak to you, the NPP vice chairman and secretary for Bole Bamboi constituency are hospitalized because the military brutalized them last night. We are told that some minister asked the military to go and protect the Chinese who are there doing what they say is prospecting, but they are mining. The youth, including the NPP executives, said they have not been involved or told anything, and the little we are doing here is being taken away from us. That is where the resistance is coming from, and the military could not restrain themselves, so they ended up brutalizing the youth.”

He further emphasized the need for proper consultations.

“The bottom line is that the minister responsible for land and resources must tell us why he is apportioning the land to large-scale miners without stakeholder involvement. Nobody is saying he doesn’t have the right, but in doing so, we have laws that allow that with consultation," he said.

NAY/AE