MP, MCE Stand Accused  Over Ploy To Hound  Global All

Member of Parliament(MP) for Tarkwa-Nuaem in the Western region, Issah Salifu Taylor Member of Parliament for Tarkwa and the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Ebenezer Cobbinah, are under fire for allegedly working behind the scenes to frustrate Global All's operations by encouraging a section of the youth to demand the revocation of the company's legally acquired mining lease.

The claims have flared tempers over the future of mining on the Abosso Goldfields Limited concession, the Ghanaian company operating the Damang Mine, where traditional authorities and sections of the youth appear to be pulling in opposite directions.

Sources familiar with the dispute allege that while the protests are being presented as a grassroots campaign, they are being driven with the backing of influential political figures.

According to the sources, the MP and the MCE are allegedly using some youth groups as the public face of the campaign to pressure the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources into cancelling Global All's lease.

According to them, combining three small-scale mining concessions to create what effectively becomes a large-scale mining operation is contrary to Ghana's mining laws.

They further argue that the concession area is designated exclusively for small-scale mining and cannot lawfully be used for large-scale mining.

Neither the MP nor the MCE has publicly responded to the allegation.

At the heart of the dispute is a concession whose ownership has changed hands over the years.

The mining lease was originally held by Abosso Goldfields before it was transferred to Adudunfe and subsequently to Global All, which is now undertaking mining activities on the concession.

Supporters of the company insist every transfer followed the required legal and regulatory processes and that Global All is operating under a lease that was lawfully granted and subsequently ratified by Parliament.

That position was reportedly reinforced during a meeting with stakeholders when a resource person from the Minerals Commission explained that because the lease had been ratified by Parliament, it could not simply be revoked by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.

The youth group has continued to demand that the lease be revoked, insisting that Global All should not be allowed to continue operating on the concession.

Traditional authorities, however, are said to have thrown their weight behind the company, arguing that the investment promises jobs, business opportunities and wider economic benefits for communities in the area.

The growing standoff has exposed sharp divisions within Tarkwa, with chiefs backing the investment while sections of the youth continue to oppose it.

The controversy is also likely to raise broader questions about investor confidence and the sanctity of mining agreements in Ghana.

Industry observers warn that attempts to overturn mining leases that have gone through statutory processes could unsettle investors and undermine confidence in the country's legal and regulatory framework.

As the row intensifies, attention is now turning to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to see whether it will resist mounting political pressure or become drawn into a dispute that has already pitted local political leaders, traditional authorities and community groups against one another.

The Inquirer is would publish the response of the MP and the MCE as and when we received it.

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