Okyenhene Threatens To Seize Lands That Have Been Devastated By Illegal Miners
- The Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, said landowners who fail to reclaim their lands devastated by illegal miners would lose said land
- He said his traditional council would put together resources to repair and reclaim those lands and hand them over to the Ofori Panin Stool
- He said the Akyem Abuakwa people should be concerned about the devastation of their lands and fight against it
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The Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, has announced severe sanctions for persons who give away their lands to illegal miners to operate on.
The overlord of Akyem Abuakwa State stated that any landowner found to have given away his or her land to illegal miners would lose all rights to the land in perpetuity if they did not repair it.
Source: UGC
He said the Ofori Panin stool shall reclaim and restore all lands mined and abandoned with open pits.
Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin made the announcement at a durbar of chiefs and people of the Gyaase division in the Akyem Abuakwa State.
The durbar was part of activities marking the Okyenehene's silver jubilee celebration since his ascension to the Ofori Panin stool.
According to him, the activities of illegal miners in the area, the open pits they abandon, and their effects on the community are a health risk that needs to be eradicated.
He warned that landowners who failed to reclaim their mined lands would have their lands seized for life, and there would be nothing the landowner or anyone else would be able to do about it.
The Okyenhene also expressed grave worry about the effects of galamsey on the health of his subjects.
He bemoaned the poisoning of the land and water bodies and its effects on particularly pregnant women and their infants.
“People come here to mine, destroy our lands and leave to their hometown and enjoy, and you sit here as a land owner and continue to release your land for illegal miners? It's unthinkable," he said.
Okyenhene tours traditional area
The Okyenhene visited the Gyaase division as part of his tour of all five divisions in Akyem Abuakwa state.
The Okyenhene intends to touch base with his subjects and interact with them on matters that concern them and the state.
The divisional durbar commenced in the Adonten division at Kukurantumi, then the Benkum division in Begoro, Nifa in Asiakwa, Oseawuo in Wenchi and finally, the Gyaase division in Kwaben.
The Grand Silver Jubilee Durbar will be held in Kyebi, the capital of the Akyem Abuakwa State, on October 12, 2024.
Okyenhene destools galamsey chief
In 2022, YEN.com.gh reported that in an unprecedented move, Okyenhene Amoatia Ofori Panin destooled one of his chiefs for engaging in illegal mining.
The Benkumhene of Asamang-Tamfoe, Nana Boakye Darkwa, was destooled after some concerned citizens filed a petition against him.
After a series of proceedings by the Akyem Abuakwa Judicial Council that the Okyenhene chaired, the Benkumhene was stripped of his title.
Proofread by Edwina N.K Quarcoo, journalist and copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
