Agbozume tells Indian investors they want their lagoon
The chiefs and people of Agbozume in the Ketu South municipality in the Volta Region staged a protest at the weekend, accusing the government of taking their livelihood away from them by giving the Keta Lagoon to the Kesington Salt Factory to mine salt.
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Hundreds of people, including the elderly and children, led by the chiefs of Kpejakope, Nogokpo and surrounding villages joined the protest.
The protest — which also attracted the Volta Regional Security Co-ordinator, Lt Col David Dovlo, and dozens of police personnel — led by the Regional Police Commander, Mr O. I. Mensah, to the area, brought activities in the area to a halt.
The people claimed that without consulting them, the government decided to give the lagoon, on which their livelihoods depend, to the mining company.
They also said the activities of the mining company were denying them access to the lagoon, thereby increasing poverty in the area, exposing them to environmental danger, as well as making life unbearable.
According to Togbui Atsu Awuaba V of the Somey Traditional Area, in 2010, without consulting them, the government decided to assign the lagoon to Kesington to mine salt.
He said they woke up one day and saw earth-moving machines at the site and even though they had written several letters to various stakeholders including the Minerals Commission, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the municipal assembly, there had been no response but construction work was still ongoing at the site.
Togbui Awuaba said they understood that all minerals in the country belonged to the state, but it would have been appropriate if they were consulted so that arrangements could have been made for them to be given alternative livelihood opportunities.
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“From today, we will not sit down. They have power, and government is using its machinery but our power is people’s power. Once government has shown that whether we live or die, it is not concerned, we will also find a way of living.”
He added that the mining company could have even been assigned to the Edina side of the lagoon where the people had the sea as an alternative source of livelihood, unlike the Agbozome section where they rely solely on the lagoon.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to ask the company to stop its work and do the right thing.
The Keta Lagoon separates Agbozome and Edina, near Keta. It dries up during the dry season and the sediment, salt, is gathered by the locals and sold in the market.
During the rainy season, the land is flooded and there is a variety of fish including tilapia, mudfish, catfish and silverfish, and crabs, which the residents use as food and sell. They, however, claim that the salt factory, which began operations in 2010, had taken over the lagoon hence they no longer had access to the salt or the fishes.
They also lamented that the activities of the salt factory had exposed the communities to environmental dangers.
According to them, a crater that has been created by the factory as they scoop the sand which hitherto protected the banks of the lagoon and prevented flooding in the community to construct roads, pose a danger to them.
Last Saturday’s protest became intense when police officers arrived at the scene to ensure law and order. The presence of the police angered the protesters who alleged that the police had arrested three people from the community, after accusing them of vandalising the property of the salt factory.
But the Volta Regional Police Commander, Mr Mensah, assured them that the three people would be freed if police investigations vindicated them.
The Regional Security Co-ordinator, Lt. Col Dovlo, also gave an assurance that the demands of the people would be looked into to help ensure lasting peace in the area.
The Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Pascal Lamptey, whom the people had accused of ignoring their concerns, also assured them that immediate action would be taken on their concerns.
Meanwhile, the people say they are giving the relevant government agencies including the Minerals Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency and the municipal assembly the opportunity to do something now or they would resort to more unpleasant measures.
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