The Bono Regional House of Chiefs and Dormaahene, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, has stated that he would not permit anyone, especially the president, to exploit any natural resource in his region unless it benefits local business owners.
He expressed his dissatisfaction with foreigners being the primary beneficiaries of Ghana’s natural resources.
Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, the Omanhene of the Dormaa Traditional Area, emphasized that if he had a say, he would only allow local business moguls to extract these resources, such as oil, from his region.
“What about our oil? I’m on record to have said that if the oil were mainly to be found in Dormaa, president, unless you kill me. I won’t allow you to ever drill it, because why should you do it: all these rigs, and you are using foreign contractors.
“Where are the Kennedy Agyapongs? Where are the Kwame Despites? Where are the Ibrahim Mahamas? Where are they? Can’t we resource these Ghanaian people; can’t we help them, raise them, so that these very people will be in the gold business, they will be in the oil business?” he quizzed.
He questioned why foreign contractors were predominantly involved in these endeavors and advocated for supporting and empowering Ghanaian entrepreneurs like Kennedy Agyapong, Kwame Despite, and Ibrahim Mahama to participate in industries like gold and oil.
He emphasized that this approach would contribute to the country’s economic growth and development, as profits generated by these local entrepreneurs would be reinvested locally rather than being sent abroad.