Paramount Chief fines sub-chiefs facilitating illegal mining

Osagyefo Oseadeyo Agyemang Badu II, the Paramount Chief of the Dormaa Traditional Area on Wednesday imposed spot fines ranging between GH₵1,000 to GH₵1,800 on nine sub-chiefs in the area who are said to have flouted his order not to lease out parts of their stool lands for illegal mining (galamsey) operations.

The deterrent fines also come with four sheep and one carton of schnapps, to be provided by each errant chief.

The nine chiefs are the first to fall foul of the paramount chief’s recent edict warning to mete out punitive sanctions to traditional rulers who cede parts of their stool lands for that practice now gaining roots and destroying farmlands, food crops, water bodies and denuding forest lands.

They include the chief of Dormaa Akwamu, Kyeremasu, Wamanafo, Subinkrom, Kobedi and Yawbofokrom, Sabikrom, Gonokrom and Akyeremadie, all within the Dormaa East and Dormaa Central Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region.

Osagyefo Oseadeyo Agyemang Badu II, announced this at a meeting with the sub-chiefs at Abanpredease near Dormaa Ahenkro, after a team from the Palace had been detailed to investigate communities which hosted and permitted galamsey operations in their localities.

The paramount chief further warned to seize and set ablaze all equipment used to carry out the nefarious practice and entreated all and sundry to end the galamsey activities in the affected communities.

To further demonstrate his firm resolve to stamp out the practice from the area, the paramount chief has confiscated some excavators of galamsey operators.

It would be recalled that the paramount chief as part of decisive action to stem illegal mining in his area, about two week ago vowed to destool or impose draconian sanctions on traditional chiefs who gave out stool lands or permitted the illegal operations in their areas.

Source: GNA