By Elsie Appiah-Osei
Accra, Aug. 28, GNA—Nana Kwesi Ansah, Huniso Abakomaba, on Thursday petitioned Mr Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, to intervene and appeal to President John Dramani Mahama to renew the mining lease of the GoldFields Ghana Limited.
Speaking to a section of the media on the sidelines, before the presentation in Parliament House, he said: “We are presenting this petition to the Speaker because the company has done a lot for our community, and we do not want its operations to end.”
According to him, the GoldFields Company Limited provides everything the community needs at the right time.
“GoldFields has done a lot for our community. Everything that we need GoldFields provides at the right time. We don’t struggle a lot,” Nana Ansah said.
He added: “So, we are holding a petition we are trying to submit to the Speaker of Parliament to speak for us. He should beg the President to renew their lease for them. That is all that we want from the Speaker.
The Traditional Ruler said: “We are living in peace. We are living in peace. We don’t need anything. We don’t even demonstrate. GoldFields is our mother. And GoldFields is our father. GoldFields is our life. We don’t want anybody to touch GoldFields.”
Responding to a question on what the company has done to warrant their support, Nana Ansah listed education, health and infrastructure support.
“GoldFields is taking care of our children. Their scholarships are full of scholarships. It’s not that they are paying half and let the parents also pay half. They are paying for a full university scholarship, and now we have doctors in our community. We have lecturers in our community, nurses,” he said.
“So, GoldFields has provided us with potable water. GoldFields is giving us a stadium.
“So, GoldFields has given us everything that we need. So if a company is behaving like this to people, how can we say that they should leave?” he queried.
The group also distanced itself from an earlier press conference calling for the exit of the company, describing that press conference as invalid.
The group said: “We are not the people who are saying that they should leave. It’s a few people who are saying that, but for us, what we know is that those that made that press conference, their press conference is invalid. Because there was no chief in that press conference. Our chief was not part of their press conference. So that press conference is invalid,” he stated.
“We are begging the President to have mercy on us and consider and keep the peace that we are enjoying, to maintain that peace. We don’t want any problem to come back to the old state.”
GNA
Reporter: Elsie Appiah-Osei, GNA
Reporter’s email address: [email protected]