The Chiefs and people of Abutia Traditional Area in the Ho-West District of the Volta Region have appealed to the Mineral Commission to withdraw all licences issued to mining companies to mine in the Kalakpa Forest and Game Reserve.
According to the chiefs, on February 29, 2024, there was a publication in the media that a mining firm named X 10 Resources based in Kumasi in the Ashanti region had shown interest in mining lithium in the game reserve.
The Paramount Chief of the Abutia Traditional Area, Togbega Abutia Kodzo Gidi, who made the appeal at a press briefing at Abutia-Agorve, said the move by the Mineral Commission to grant permit for mining in the forest should be regarded as “an illegal act” and must be condemned.
Togbega Gidi, therefore, said he and his subjects would resist any attempt by any mining company to engage in mining activities in the reserve, which had been conserved over the years, and would not allow mining activities to destroy the forest.
He said the Abutia Traditional Council demanded immediate correction in all relevant documents which captured Kalakpa Reserve under the North Tongu District, thereby paving way for a mining firm to carry out mining activities in the reserve.
The Paramount Chief explained that even though the reserve shared boundary with the North Tongu District, no portion of the forest reserve belonged to anybody from the North Tongu area, which he stressed was not contestable.
Togbega Gidi said all stakeholders in the lithium mining project in the Kalakpa forest reserve should be aware that the Abutia area was “a no go area” for what he described as illegal mining activities and should stay away from the forest reserve.
He explained that the Kalakpa Game Reserve was given out to the government by his forefathers for conservation purposes and natural game reserve and not for mining and other illegal activities such as felling of timber and poaching of animals.
Togbega Gidi stressed that he and his subjects would not allow their ancestral land to be turned into mining instead of protecting and conserving the forest and the natural resources in it, and, therefore, any attempt by any mining company in the reserve would not be tolerated.
According to the Paramount Chief, mining did not only degrade the environment, destroy wildlife and water bodies, which put the residents in the catchment areas and beyond in danger, it also leads to abject poverty.
Togbega Gidi said the Kalakpa Forest and Game Reserve was conserved for the purposes of tourism, which would help promote the hospitality industry, and not for mining purposes and called on authorities to be mindful of protection of national forest and game reserves rather than paving way for mining in them, which would definitely destroy the environment.
FROM SAMUEL AGBEWODE, ABUTIA AGORVE