By
William Yaw Owusu
Tuesday,
September 05, 2017
The
much-talked-about multi-billion cedi bauxite concession granted to Ibrahim
Mahama’s company at the tail end of his brother, John Dramani Mahama’s
presidency, has been revoked by the current government.
John Peter Amewu,
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, who made the announcement at a news
conference in Accra yesterday, said Exton Cubic Group Limited could not meet
all the legal requirements to prospect for
bauxite at Nyinahini in the Tano Offin Forest Reserve; and therefore the
lease cannot hold, cancelling the earlier directive for the company to move to
the Nyinahin forest for the mining of bauxite.
Act 703
The minister said
the government was acting in accordance with Section 87 of Act 703 of the
Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 to cancel the concession granted Mr Ibrahim
Mahama.
“The failure to
obtain an Environmental Permit, Operational Permit, as well as the various
statutory infractions, leading to the purported grant of the three Mining
Leases to the company, render the purported leases invalid and of no effect,”
he stated.
According to Mr.
Amewu, who has earlier been accused of allowing Ibrahim’s company into the Nyinahin Forest Reserve in the Atwima Mponua District
of the Ashanti Region to start exploratory activities, “The company was
supposed to provide an Exploration Operating Permit for the year 2017, an
Exploration Operating Plan to the Minerals Commission. None of the above was
fulfilled.”
Gazette Publication
“The absence of
publication in the Gazette of a notice of the pendency of the company’s
applications and service of the notice on the various entities specified in the
law is contrary to both Section 13(2) of Act 703 and Regulation 177 of L.I
2176,” he noted.
The minister said
that the three mining leases included Kyekyewere (56.64 sq.km), Mpasaso (22.46
sq.km) and Kyirayaso (32.68 sq.km), adding that his attention was drawn to an
attempt by the company to enter the concession on August 20 and therefore
decided to investigate that information.
He said it was after
he had investigated the claims of Exton Cubic Group Limited that he came to the
conclusion that the company had not complied with the mandatory laid-down
procedures required to enter the concession.
Adding
his voice at the press conference, Prof. Frimpong Boateng, Minister of
Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, stated, “Every government
wants to promote indigenous Ghanaian businesses.”
A number of infractions were noted by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources with regards to Exton Cubic’s operations; and Prof. Frimpong-Boateng maintained that “The laws are laws. This is not a political thing. This government works with the law and infractions are infractions.
“Nobody can say that this is a political witch-hunt. The minister mentioned a lot of infractions… so you can go through and you will know that we are not after any individuals. I will be the last person, and I am sure the president will be the last person to hunt Ghanaian business people.”
Controversial Lease
A number of infractions were noted by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources with regards to Exton Cubic’s operations; and Prof. Frimpong-Boateng maintained that “The laws are laws. This is not a political thing. This government works with the law and infractions are infractions.
“Nobody can say that this is a political witch-hunt. The minister mentioned a lot of infractions… so you can go through and you will know that we are not after any individuals. I will be the last person, and I am sure the president will be the last person to hunt Ghanaian business people.”
Controversial Lease
Exton Cubic Group Limited was
controversially granted a long lease concession by the Mahama-led National
Democratic Congress (NDC) administration on December 29, 2016 when the NDC had
lost the December 7 general elections miserably and was on its way out of
office.
The company moved heavy-duty
machines into the forest near Nyinahin recently with intent to start
exploratory activities but was stopped by both the district and regional
authorities.
In the ensuing tussle between the
youth of Nyinahin on one side and the private firm on the other over whether
Ibrahim had the right to enter the Nyinahin Forest Reserve, Peter Abum
Sarkodie, Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
issued a statement saying that the company had not obtained the required permit
to enable it to mine bauxite in the area.
Public Interest
“The
attention of the EPA has been drawn to a situation that has arisen regarding an
attempt by Exton Cubic Group Limited to enter the Nyinahin bauxite deposit area
for the purpose of undertaking mining activities. As a result of the public
interest in the matter, the EPA would like to clarify the position of Exton
Cubic Group Limited’s Environmental Permit status under its mining lease (that
is a necessary condition for any mining activity).
“The bottom line is that Exton Cubic Group
Limited has not obtained the required EPA Permit under its mining lease and
therefore any attempt to enter the area for mining activity is illegal.”
According to the EPA, the company,
which is owned by former President John Dramani Mahama’s younger brother
Ibrahim, with his wife Oona Maxwell, his brother Michael Mahama, as well as a
certain Kweku Pobee as directors, would be acting illegally if it went ahead
with its activities without recourse to the environmental regulator.
Turf War
The controversial
bauxite mining concession granted to Exton Cubic appeared to have pitched two
ministers in the Akufo-Addo-led administration against each other.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon
Osei-Mensah, expressed regret that the Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Mr.
Amewu, was encouraging Ibrahim to move his equipment to the
Nyinahin bauxite site for mining when there is a ban on mining in the
region.
Ibrahim Mahama moved his Engineers and
Planners (E&P) heavy-duty equipment to the site on behalf of Exton Cubic
Group Limited but were prevented by the residents and the DCE of the area.
The vehicles were later confiscated at
Nyinahin and some of the company’s officers allegedly detained.
Later, Exton Cubic Group
accused Mr. Osei-Mensah and the District Chief Executive of the Atwima Mponua, Williams Darko, of unlawfully impounding E&P’s vehicles and
detaining its officers.
Amewu’s Response
In the heat of the tug of war, Mr. Amewu had
confirmed that his ministry granted Exton Cubic Group Limited an entry permit
into the Nyinahin bauxite concession in the Tano Offin Forest Reserve to
prospect for bauxite.
“This
project commenced somewhere in 2013. They began the due diligence processes
through which they were granted the prospective lease in 2015. They have the
entry permit from the Forestry Commission and the necessary EIA was done during
the exploration period,” he had said.
Exton Cubic’s Fears
Exton Cubic, however, expressed worry that the challenges faced by its exploration at the Nyinahin bauxite concession might be a witch-hunt against it.
The company said the recent developments concerning the legality of operations in the Nyinahin bauxite concession gave it a reason to be concerned.
Vehicles belonging to Exton Cubic’s sub-contractor, Ibrahim Mahama’s Engineers and Planners (E&P) were impounded in the Nyinahin township on the orders of the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, following suspicions that the mining company was operating illegally.
Exton Cubic, however, expressed worry that the challenges faced by its exploration at the Nyinahin bauxite concession might be a witch-hunt against it.
The company said the recent developments concerning the legality of operations in the Nyinahin bauxite concession gave it a reason to be concerned.
Vehicles belonging to Exton Cubic’s sub-contractor, Ibrahim Mahama’s Engineers and Planners (E&P) were impounded in the Nyinahin township on the orders of the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, following suspicions that the mining company was operating illegally.
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