Electrochem Ghana Limited has refuted claims that one of its employees opened fire during a dispute with Sege residents, injuring multiple people as well as killing one.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, the operations manager of Electrochem Ghana Limited, Nene Odeopeor Siada III, said: “What we do daily is build dykes and evaporators to store the seawater used to produce the salt. After the rain, we faced challenges with the dyke and were working to rebuild it. Every time we go there, we go with policemen for protection. While we were on the field, we suddenly heard noises, which came from a large crowd in the town. We ensured the protection of our equipment and personnel. People began throwing stones at us.”
“I heard the chief of Toflokpo say the police were shooting, but I swear before man and God, there was no shooting. We were trying to protect our concession, and we had made announcements that they should vacate the area. No one went there to shoot because our security personnel don’t even carry guns. We never fired a gun, not even a warning shot.”
“We gladly welcome anyone else interested in the salt business with us. We have been granted fifteen years to mine salt at Ada, and this has been approved by traditional authorities and Parliament, making it a legal venture. Some individuals are engaged in illegal mining there. We have conducted over ninety-five community engagements, and we continue to engage with the community. So I don’t understand why someone would claim that we’ve never engaged with the community,” he added.
A renewed feud between the residents of Sege, in the Greater Accra Region, and Electrochem resulted in one person being killed and several others injured after a shooting incident.
“They [Electrochem] are employing force. Five people were injured. We are not opposed to development, but we will not be prevented from continuing what we have been doing for years,” he stated.
According to Nene Mayilo Dadebom II, Chief of Toflokpo, in an interview with Eyewitness News, five people have been injured thus far, and he also claimed that the salt firm had hired a landguard named Alhassan to terrorize the residents of Toflokpo.