A group calling itself concerned youth for Small Scale Miners Association in Bibiani on Wednesday demonstrated over inaccessible mining concession.
According to the youth, efforts made to get part of a mining concession belonging to Mensin Gold Limited, a defunct mining company in the area to enable them to engage in small scale mining has proved futile while poverty continues to cripple them as a result of unemployment.
The youth say they have registered and secured the necessary documents to engage in small scale mining however access to mining concession has been a major challenge even though Mensin Mining Company has large mining lease lying bare for the past eight years without any mining activity on it.
The youth say there is hardship in the community due to high unemployment, therefore, appealing to the Bibiani Ahwiaso Bekwai Municipal Assembly and the regulatory bodies to ensure that they get land to engage in community mining warning that failure to do so will lead to the insurgence of illegal Mining.
“We have mining land here which has not been mined for the past eight years. But Mensin Company is not willing to release part of the land to us to mine. This is bad, there is high youth unemployment here but we have registered for Community mining but no land to mine.so we are begging the authorities”. Some of the angry youth told Bryt FM Correspondent Hamza Mohammed.
Superintendent Seth Sewornu the Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai Divisional Crime Officer who led some armed Police officers to the scene of the demonstration advised the youth not to engage in any acts of violence rather channels their grievance in form of a petition to the appropriate authorities for redress.”
Scene and called on the demonstrators to calm down and put their grievances on a pepper.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Obed Ansah
