Properly treating arrested protesters by the Ghana Police is critical for upholding human rights, maintaining public trust in law enforcement, and strengthening the country’s democracy.
Accordingly, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu, has vehemently condemned the inhumane treatment and severe violations of the rights of lawful anti-galamsey protesters and innocent bystanders.
Hon. Ablakwa further asserted that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia-led national security apparatus should focus on pursuing those responsible for mass destruction by polluting waterbodies, devastating forests, contaminating the environment, and endangering lives.
He emphasized that patriotic, courageous, and law-abiding citizens, who are merely standing up against mass murderers, should not be the targets of reckless or overzealous security personnel.
“President Akufo-Addo’s complicity in this backward Gestapo arrests and his continuous deafening silence on the overwhelming demands from Ghanaians that he immediately bans all forms of mining is most unacceptable”.
“President Akufo-Addo must know that it is no longer a secret and that some of us are fully aware of the fact that the same business partners of his daughters implicated in the infamous ambulance scandal are also neck-deep in detrimental mining practices that have contributed to the current crisis”.
Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Ablakwa further mentioned that he has been closely following the mining activities of what he describes as the “presidential daughters’ ambulance cabal” as part of broader parliamentary oversight of Ghana’s mining crisis.
He pointed out that the company facilitating their mining operations is Elite Minerals Ghana Limited.
The MP stated that the directors of the company are Awo Mensah, a close business associate of the President’s daughter, Edwina Akufo-Addo, and Alvin Mensah.
He revealed that Awo Mensah and Edwina Akufo-Addo jointly own Nsuomnam Limited, which they established on August 6, 2020. Nsuomnam Limited runs the exclusive Nsuomnam restaurant in Cantonments.
Ablakwa highlighted that Alvin Mensah, the other director of Elite Minerals, is not only a longtime close associate of Edwina Akufo-Addo but also a key figure behind the ambulance heist.
He further noted that Alvin Mensah serves as a director of Service Ghana Auto Group Limited, a company that was implicated by Ghana’s Auditor-General.
“That company was at the helm of the hugely inflated and corrupt US$ 34.9 million ambulance spare parts scandal. My exposé has so far scuttled this transaction as the OSP looks into my petition”.
“Recall that another company owned by Alvin Mensah, BEFT Engineering Works Limited was involved in the additional US$ 54.3 million sleazy ambulance procurement”.
Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Ablakwa Reveals Elite Minerals Secures Three Mining Licenses
Furthermore, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa revealed that Alvin Mensah and Awo Mensah’s company, Elite Minerals, has successfully secured three mining licenses to date.
He noted that the most recent license, granted on March 22, 2024, is for gold mining in Kwaebibirem in the Eastern Region, with the license code RML/5/9Vol.2, set to expire in 2036.
Additionally, he mentioned that a second gold mining license was obtained on November 28, 2023, for a concession in Bonsa, Prestea, and Huni Valley in the Western Region, with the license code ML-2/240, expiring in 2053.
“The third license is for Ghana’s newly discovered lithium and gold prospecting secured on 11th July, 2023 for a concession in Gomoa Ngyiresi, Ekumfi and Gomoa West all in the Central Region. The license code is PL3/797 and it expires in 2026”.
“Elite Minerals almost secured a fourth license a few months ago to mine salt in the Volta Region but nationalistic and courageous chiefs from the Somé Traditional Council in the Ketu South Constituency issued a strongly worded petition to the Minerals Commission against their gazette notification and efforts to grant exclusive volta salt concessions to Elite Minerals”.
Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Ablakwa expressed concern that state capture clearly extends beyond ambulances and gold. He warned that the looting brigade would not hesitate to seize everything, including lithium, salt, land, forests, rivers, and gold for oil and hotels.
He reported that an undercover oversight visits to the Kwaebibirem mining site uncovered significant destruction of all water bodies.
He noted that Chiefs in the Akyem Takyiman area are particularly incensed by the devastation caused by Elite Minerals and other reckless miners.
The MP emphasized that the findings from the undercover visit corroborated what a former employee of Elite had told him: that he resigned because he could no longer bear the environmental destruction they were inflicting.
“Meanwhile, intercepted tax records of Elite Minerals reveal that whereas they have made revenues of an impressive GHC53,884,844.33 between 2021 and August 2024 from their mining operations, they have paid a paltry GHC132,000.00 in corporate income taxes to the state for all these years”.
Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Ablakwa asserted that Elite’s mining operations are clearly detrimental to the environment, and the national treasury is not gaining any benefits either.
He remarked that this further undermines the baseless assertions made by government supporters of galamsey that the economy is profiting from such activities.
The MP noted that many observers may now reasonably question whether President Akufo-Addo’s significant inability to combat galamsey stems from the strong familial and political ties that have left him powerless to address the issue.
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