Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Okobeng Mining Company Limited Nana Okobeng Amponsah has denied media reports which went viral on local and social media platforms that he is involved in illegal mining activities, popularly known as galamsey operations which polluted the River Akonbra and caused environmental health hazards to the people in Prestea Huni Valley Municipality and Gwira Traditional Area.
After the Western Regional Health Directorate of Ghana Service (GHS) headed by Dr. Yaw Ofori Yeboah was directed by the Western Regional Minister, Mr. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah to write ill-fated letter on Thursday March 30, 2023 to revoke the partnership award given to Nana Okobeng Amponsah, he said he has respected the law of this country.
According to him, the actions being taken by the Minister and management of the Western Regional Health Directorate to revoke the award honoured him would not stop him from supporting the people and institutions in his gold mining host communities in the Western Region.
“I wish that the Western Regional Health Directorate led by its Western Regional Health Director of Ghana Health Service, Dr. Yaw Ofori Yeboah should have commissioned its full-scale investigations into the matter and do proper due diligence before it writes such letter to revoke the partnership award given to me on Tuesday March 28, 2023 at the public event held at the Akoma Plaza Hotel in Takoradi. And we should let the law work,” Nana Okobeng Amponsah said this in a strong worded press statement to respond to the revocation of the award presented to him by Western Regional Health Directorate.
Nana Okobeng Amponsah has also responded to the current speculation which has gone on viral local and social media platforms that he was arrested by the police for involving in illegal mining activities.
He stressed that “l want to tell the general public that l am not into illegal mining activities (galamsey operations). I have a large-scale mining company which is called Okoben Mining Company Limited and l have been mining in the Western Region for past 25 years now and that l respect water bodies and environment.”
Below is Press statement of Nana Okoben Amponsah
My attention has been drawn to an ill-fated letter dated Thursday, 30th of March, 2023, from the Western Regional Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service, signed by the Regional Director, Dr. Yaw Ofori Yeboah, and addressed to Nana Okobeng Amponsah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Okoben Mining Company Limited.
According to the letter, which is on the official letterhead of the Ghana Health Service, the Western Regional Health Directorate has revoked the Partnership Award given to me on Tuesday March 28, 2023 at the public event held at the Akoma Plaza Hotel in Takoradi.
The Western Regional Health Directorate made some unsubstantiated accusations against my person and company, Okoben Mining Company Limited in the letter, which has since gone viral on social media platforms.
The letter read in parts; “The Western Regional Health Directorate routinely honours individuals for their support to the health sector as part of our Annual Performance Review process. Your name was submitted among others for consideration this year.
“However, following the award presented to you on Tuesday March 28, 2023, we have received numerous complaints with copious evidence against you and the operations of your company, Okobeng Mining Company Limited.
“This includes environmental degradation which has significant implications for health. We have also cited petitions by chiefs and the youth of the area against your company for the acts that run counter to the principles behind our award.
“In view of the above revelations and misrepresentations made to the media, we hereby revoke the award presented to you on Tuesday March 28, 2023 and disassociate ourselves from the operations of your company,” the letter indicated.
I declare unequivocally and emphatically that I, Nana Okobeng Amponsah, have received an award from the Ghana Health Service in the Western Regional Health Directorate in Takoradi for my modest contributions to society in the area of health care development, particularly to the Western Region’s healthcare delivery system.
It is important to note that I was recognized and praised by the Health Directorate for my exceptional role in supporting healthcare delivery in the Western Region.
The Western Regional Health Directorate noted in the accompanying citation to the award, which was presented by the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, that I had been a pillar of support in the Prestea Huni Valley enclave for many years.
Out of my own generosity, my business finished the Bogoso Maternity Ward, as well as other social and infrastructure projects in the Prestea Huni Valley Municipality and the Gwira Traditional Area in the Western Region.
The Maternity ward, which can accommodate about 15 expectant moms, has a washroom for each bed, and provides a generator.
I also bought a brand-new Toyota Hilux for the Prestea Maternity Hospital and Prestea Senior High School.
In addition to the initiatives mentioned above, my company has extended a pipeline with water flowing to a maternity home, all these were borne out by my decision to give back to society.
“My company has also modestly contributed to road construction. When we saw that the roads within Bogoso had become unmotorable, we reshaped these roads, and these include Prestea-Kutokro road, Epo- Denranpong road, Aboso-Atwebona, Anyinase-Weoso-Mentu.
Saint Augustine Senior High School was not left out of my outfit’s benevolence.
I also assisted in the school to complete its dining hall, and built a science laboratory and administrative block for the Takwa Fiaseman Senior High School, my alma mater, in addition to the purchase of a Toyota Hilux pickup.
I can only praise God Almighty for the support to society
I see an attempt to defame me and my company as one man’s hatched job to court disaffection for me, hence, the revocation of the award amidst unfounded allegations.
Facts and evidence available to me indicate that the Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, masterminds the decision by the Western Regional Health Directorate to revoke the Partnership Award I received.
After presenting the award to me, the Minister quickly reverses his decision to direct the unlawful arrest of Nana Okoben Amponsah at the event.
I’d also like to stress that I was not arrested for engaging in illegal mining activities, as reported by the gutter press.
Our mining operations have not resulted in environmental degradation and the allegations levelled against the company by chiefs and youths were fabricated libellous stories.
I dare anyone who knows the concession to go and verify how my business conducts responsible gold mining activities and whether or not its mining activities are destroying water bodies, as my detractors say.
I obtained various licenses from the Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency to mine gold at Dominase, and the company works in accordance with the Minerals and Mining Act of 2006. (Act 703.)
I would like to say that the unlawful small-scale miners who are indiscriminately mining gold resources from communities such as Bamiankor, Ayinase, Amgbasea, Akango, Dualle, and Akosono in the Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira Municipality are polluting the Akonbra River and other water bodies.
I’m saying that the residents of these areas can attest that my company’s activities do not add to the pollution of the Akonbra River and other nearby streams and rivers.
