The Chief of Dompem Pepesa, Nana Nyowah Panyin IV together with Good Governance Advocacy Group Ghana (GGAGG) are calling on President Akufo Addo to immediately, sack the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere-Darko Mensah, Hon.George Mireku Duker, MP, Tarkwa Nsuaem Constituency and Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and Hon.Benjamin Kesse, MCE for Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly. if he is indeed serious to fight against Galamsey.
This was made known at a press conference presented by the Executive Director for Good Governance Advocacy Group Ghana, Mr. Listowell Nana Poku on behalf of Nana Nyowah Panyin IV, Chief of Dompem Pepesa and the entire community in the Western Region.
“We further want to use this statement to call on the IGP to investigate the issues leading to the freeing of suspect who should have been prosecuted on the orders of a regional minister. We encourage the Ghana Police Service NOT to feel intimidated by the actions and tendencies of an unscrupulous Regional Minister whose aim is to make money unlawfully”.
According to Mr. Listowell, the continues occupancy of office by Hon.Kwabena Okyere-Darko Mensah as the Western Regional Minister makes government’s fight against Galamsey a charade in the Western Region of Ghana.
He disclosed that, early this year, Nana Nyowah Panyin IV, had a hint from some of his towners that some persons are mining in a forest area at Ngogoso which is one of Nana’s communities.
Mr. Opoku pointed out that, Nana Nyowah Panyin IV however sent some elders of his Palace to the place to ascertain the veracity of the report by the towners saying, when the elders went and came back to the Palace to corroborate the accounts of the towners, the Chief subsequently went together with the elders to witness the accounts of both the towners and the elders by himself.
“On Monday, February 6, 2023, Nana Nyowah Panyin IV went to report the incident to the Tarkwa Regional Command of the Ghana Police Service. On Friday, February 10, 2023, the police went in and effected the arrest of five (5) Ghanaians and two (2) Chinese and sent them to the Tarkwa Regional Police Command. On Sunday, February 12, 2023, a group of youth came to the Palace of Nana Nyowah Panyin IV to inform him that the same people the police arrested have come back to the site”.
He said, Nana Nyowah Panyin IV therefore, followed up to the Tarkwa Regional Command where he earlier on went to log the complaint to know the outcome of the case but shockingly, the police informed him that due to an older from above, they were compelled to let the suspects off the hook.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, it will shock you to know that upon further interrogation, the said order from above happened to have come from Kwabena Okyere-Darko Mensah, the Western Regional Minister. We find this action to be very unlawful as we believe same is an intimidatory and obstructive tendency that hinders progress as far as enforcement of laws, the duty of the police is concerned”.
Listowell Nana Poku stressed that,the Western Regional Minister have been using intimidatory action as an impediment in the way of the Ghana Police Service in the Region, making it difficult for them to operate as law enforcement agency especially as far as their functional duty of protecting lives and properties is concerned.
