Bernard Antwi Boasiako, a businessman, has refuted claims that his firm, Akonta Mining Limited, has been involved in illicit mining operations in the nation.
This comes after the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources ordered the mining company to stop working in the Tano Nimiri Forest due to claims that it was doing so unlawfully, or “galamsey.”
But in response to the news, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) said his organization had been given all the authorization it needed to operate in the region.
“I am appealing to them to use the law. They should do their investigations and we should let the law work. I have a large-scale company which Akonta mining is under…All the required documents I have them in my possession and I will make all available,” Chairman Wontumi said on his private television station Wontumi TV on Monday, October 3.
Touching on claims he was involved in galamsey-ridden activities, Chairman Wontumi insisted, “I want to tell the public that I am not into galamsey.”
Meanwhile, the Lands Ministry in a statement issued on September 30, 2022, said although Akonta Mining Limited has mining lease to undertake mining operations in some parts of Samreboi, outside the Forest Reserve, “the company has no mineral right to undertake any mining operations in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve”.
“Our records show that Akonta Mining Ltd, on August 25, 2022, applied for a Mining Lease to undertake mining operations in the said Forest Reserve. By a Ministerial Directive, all reconnaissance, prospecting and/or exploratory activities in Forest Reserves in the country are suspended, except in exceptional circumstances.
“Although this directive does not affect mining in Forest Reserves, Akonta Mining Limited’s application has not been determined. Accordingly, any alleged activity being undertaken by the company in the Forest Reserve is illegal”, the statement further said.