Regional News of Friday, 21 October 2016

Source: Boateng, Emmanuel Agyemfra

Obuasi: MCE Clash with Obuasi West MP on ‘Galamsey’ Demo.

By Emmanuel Agyemfra Boateng/Obuasitoday.com

It was a tensed morning earlier today on Obuasi based Shaft FM 98.1 when the Member of Parliament for Obuasi West, Mr. Kwaku Kwarteng Agyemang asked Ghanaians to point fingers at the Municipal Chief Executive and the Ashanti Regional Minster for the cause of the violent disturbances that occurred yesterday in the Municipality.
According to Mr. Kwarteng, the Government is known for promising the small scale miners of gold rich concessions in order to garner votes come December 7th, so decided to allow the informal miners work on the operational concessions of AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi mine.

“I will blame the Municipal Chief Executive and Ashanti Regional Minister for being the root cause of these entire catastrophe befalling the city, they promised them concessions they knew won’t last and now trying to go against their promise”, Mr. Kwarteng stated.

Mr. Kwaku Kwarteng said,”Because the government has been taken to the International Court of Arbitration by AngloGold Ashanti, they now want to pull the boys out with force.

Mr. kwaku Kwarteng ending his submission called the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi, a failure.
Why were the boys allowed to work at Cote Dor when they knew it wouldn’t be a permanent site for them”
Kwaku Kwarteng is Ignorant.
Responding to the assertions made by the Member of Parliament, the Hon Municipal Chief Executive who was also on the other telephone debunked the notion of the government been the brain behind the small scale miners but rather said the NPP is soliciting for votes by calling for a revamp of AGA and small scale mining.
“The NDC or government have never than politics with the issue of ‘Galamsey ‘or AGA,it has always been the doing of the NPP

Kwaku Kwarteng has on his banner the logo of AGA and that of the NPP with inscription ‘Vote NPP...Vote AGA…Vote NPP. ..Vote Galamsey”, he stressed.
According to him, Hon Member of Parliament was very ignorant about issues going on in Obuasi and needs to be sat down and schooled properly.

Mr. Agyemang Boadi added that “I am not a failure, the Minerals Commission never informed me of they bringing in th military and also as we speak I have not gotten a copy of the Roadmap document that was worked on by the Movement Committee”
The violent demonstration of the small scale miners saw them breaking into the premises of the Obuasi Municipal Assembly, destroying the reception and also pelting stones into other offices.