[6:08 AM, 3/18/2024] Hummingbird: Members of the Concerned Farmers Association-Breman in the Upper Denkyira West District, Central Region have reinforced that they will not give out their lands to any mining company.
According to them, no amount of mouth-watering compensations would entice them to give out their lands to Perseus Mining Ghana Limited (PMGL) or any other mining company operating in the area.
The visibly livid farmers made the statement during a media engagement forum in Breman on Thursday, March 14, 2024.
The media encounter was organised by Wacam, a human rights and environmental mining advocacy NGO, with support from its partners, Oxfam in Ghana under the Fair for All project.
The meeting highlighted the plights and ever-increasing human rights abuses against the farmers through the operations of PMGL, and to get the attention of the powers-that-be to address them.
Addressing the journalists, the Chief Farmer of the Concerned Framers Association-Breman, Emmanuel Boampong (aka Bojers), made it clear that they are happy with their farming activities, and that were not ready to lease out their lands to Perseus.
“We have suffered and continue to suffer human rights abuses at the hands of Perseus Mining. These have included destruction of our farmlands, cash crops, arbitrary arrests of our members, all through the orchestration of the company among others,” he alleged.
But in the face of the above, the chief farmer emphasised that members of the Association remained resolute and committed to protect every inch of their farmlands.
He used the medium to lash out at their traditional leaders, accusing them of always jumping to the aid of the mining company and neglecting them.
Earlier, the Communications Officer of Wacam, Dennis A. Keelson, in a presentation christened: ‘Engagement with Media on Issues Affecting Locals, Farmers in Breman’ shared with the journalists some of the stories of human rights abuses against the farmers that have come into the media space.
He appealed to the media to give space to issues affecting the farmers in Breman to enable those at the helm of affairs address them with a sense of urgency.
According to him, it was sad that members of the Association continue to suffer human rights abuses in their effort to fend for their families through farming.
In attendance was the Associate Executive Director of Wacam, Mrs Hannah Owusu-Koranteng, together with the Technical Director, Wacam, Lawyer Kwaku Afari, and two Zonal Officers, Madam Joana Manu and Dominic Nyame.
[6:08 AM, 3/18/2024] Hummingbird: Is Ghana selling her sovereignty?
By Kwasi Ogyampa
The United States is reportedly seeking to set up military drones bases along the West African coast in an urgent effort to stop the spread of Islamist militants, counter the Chinese influence in the region, and support the development and democracy of its African allies.
According to Wall Street Journal, Washington is holding preliminary talks with Ghana, Ivory Coast and Benin to allow American unarmed reconnaissance drones to use airfields in these countries on the Atlantic Ocean.
Relatively stable and prosperous, the three coastal countries, along with Togo, now find themselves threatened by Al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants that have plagued neighbouring Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in the Sahel region.
The plan to station reconnaissance aircraft in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Benin may thus signal a shifting of US strategy of retrenchment from these coup-hit and conflict-torn Sahel states. The recent coup in Niger has reportedly prompted the United States and France to announce last October that they were actively exploring alternative countries to host their drone bases for counter-terrorism and surveillance missions.
According to a security expert, by establishing drone bases closer to the Atlantic Ocean, the US hopes to enhance its ability to monitor and respond to the activities of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates and also to deter and disrupt the plans of China, which is seeking to establish its first permanent naval base on the Atlantic coast, in Equatorial Guinea.
If what the Wall Street Journal is saying is correct, then it does not augur well for Ghana to support the US in this direction.
As it stands, the deployment of the US drone base in Ghana would make Ghanaian territory a priority target from the Sahel region as Niger wants to get rid of the same base. Examples abound when jihadist groups stroke a blow on American military bases in Jordan, Iraq and Syria and Ghana does not want to become a victim of terrorist attack because of US policy.
The enlargement of cooperation with the US military will also lead to a new neo-colonial period in Ghana which is what the country had strived over the period to avoid.
Again, the deployment of the US military infrastructure will substantially increase the presence of Washington in the country and raise criticisms from neighbouring countries that are fighting against neo-colonial practices in the world.
It can also result in the fact that US linked politicians can come to power and destroy the hopes and aspirations of millions of Ghanaians who want to diversify the economy and become a strong and independent state.
Moreover, such a decision would be used by the opposition NDC to fight for power in the 2024 elections, showing that NPP wants to sell Ghanaian sovereignty to the US and betray Nkrumah’s political heritage.
As we speak, Ghana is headed by the son of a nationalist whom, in peoples opinion, collaborated with the CIA in the 1966 overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah, the country’s first post-independence leader, who envisioned an independent and unified African continent that could resist Western neocolonialism through development of an All-African army and security force.
Nkrumah would today, be horrified that a leader of Ghana would allow the U.S. to establish a drone base on Ghanaian soil. Nkrumah noted that neocolonialism seeks to fragment Africa, weaken African state institutions, prevent African unity and sovereignty, and thereby assert its power to subordinate the aspirations of the continent for pan-African consolidation
He would also recognise that the official security pretexts mask the underlying aim of keeping Africa weak, divided and impoverished so the U.S. could gain an edge over geopolitical rivals like China and better exploit Africa economically.