GROUP PETITION GOVERNMENT OVER UNLAWFUL SALE OF ASSETS OF STATE GOLDMINING COMPANY AT UPPER DENKYIRA BY CHIEF OF DUNKWA, NANA OBENG NUAKOH III

A group of Denkyira citizens led by Mr. George Arthur-Caretaker of Continental Goldfields Limited Properties and Hon. Peter Kofi Owusu-Ashia Jnr, former Municipal Chief Executive for Upper Denkyira, wrote separate petitions to the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Lands and Natural Resources respectively for an immediate investigation into how properties of the State Goldmining Corporation, which was in the hands of the state from 2007 to 2018 but currently had been sold to some individuals citizens by the current chief of Dunkwa, Nana Obeng Nuakoh III.

They revealed that the government of Ghana gave the properties of the company to a company under the divestiture implementation program in 1995 to Continental Goldfields Limited, an Indian - Australia company to continue mining in the area. The company failed to abide by the rules and regulations of the agreement on the production development project. At the time of the revocation, the company was still owning Ghana government an amount of 700,000 US dollars.

The then Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Professor Dominic Fobin, took steps and withdrew their mining licenses and subsequently revoked their operations to mine for failing to go into goldmining and also not giving employment to the people of Ghana but rather engage in unrelated programs to the detriment of Ghana and the Ghanaian citizens.

In November 2008, a nursing school was established using part of the SGMC properties. The company didn’t agree to this. But the assembly with the support of the Denkyira Traditional Council moved on for the establishment of the college.

Later in 2010, the late Opanin Nana Kofi Ashia Snr. gave a parcel of land to the college. This was to enhance further development. This was done under the supervision of the Municipal Assembly, the Chief Executive Hon. Kofi Owusu-Ashia Jnr. with the support of the Denkyira Traditional Council. While all these was going, the company took the Chief Executive, the Municipal Assembly and the Denkyira Traditional Council to the High Court in Cape Coast.

A report was sent to the Office of Attorney General for further legal advice. And a visit by a team from Attorney General's Office in Accra came to Dunkwa on Offin and held a meeting with the Municipal Chief Executive. After the briefing from MCE, the state took over the matter from the assembly. A witness to the case was named, late Nana Otta Payin, the Dabinhene of Denkyira Traditional Council who represented Denkyirahene, Odeefuo Boa Amponsem III. Opanin Otta was a site engineer to the company, Continental Goldfields Limited so had a lot of support to governments goals in the litigation.

The case went to the International Arbitration Court in Hague in 2012. The litigation ended in 2015/2016 in favour of Ghana government. Government had the judgment currently at the Attorney General and Minister of Justice office in Accra.

While the workers were waiting for their entitlements with the CEO of the company, Mr. Christ Kapoor. SGMC came in to take over the properties under the leadership of late Nana Ottah and George Arthur.

The opined that the chief of Dunkwa organized a demonstration to take over the facility of the company from the official caretakers and workers and began to sell the properties of the facilities.

According to them the company left a lot of movable and immovable properties:

SGMC Office

Stock at stores were SGMC files, and documents, receipt books, tables and chairs, office cabinets, calculators, typewriters, etc.

Factory House Items:

At the factory house items includes 1000 mineral water production, motors, bottle refill machine, refill bottles,20-1000 gallons poly tanks, curve iron sheets (33), lot packing cases, 500 rolls rubbers for sachet water, 10 sealing machine and other items. 

Mining Yard Area:

There were 4 trailers with tyres, 4 concrete mixture, 2 bucket concrete, irrigation hoes on wheel with tyres, one 30 tons hyco crane with 4 tyres with chain and hock, 10 full tank hydraulic oil, without battery. 4 harrows with dics  lot size 8'" & 16"

Transport Area:

10 rice thrushes complete and incomplete, 5 field harrows and other items. One set light disc.

At the electrical shop:40 bundles of quality good cables and other items.

At the Workshop:

3 press hydraulic machine, 2 hammer machine one lathe machines with motor   one carpenters plan machine and one cut machine, 1 new tractor with tyres  complete and 1 old tractor with trailer with complete tyres, 2 new corm mill machines others, a cranes overhead.

Gold House: 

Items, overhead motor and tank a lot of quantity of gold waste.

 SGMC Stores:

380 rims a4 papers, 20 hps ac motors, electric pumps (11), diesel engines 80hp (20) diesel engines (4), Fena flex tyres sizes, 120 and 80 lot. Tractor parts lots, weights, 10ac motors small types, 20  drilling pipes, 50 starters,20 alternators, 10 new 17 plates batteries and assorted tractor parts and other items, welding set machines (2), quantities electrodes, 8 typewriters, bath sinks, bolt and nuts, washers vee belts(assorted) 50 packs hydrated lime, 10 pipes steel, 35 drums,6 weighing scale, 25 hospital beds, used diesel engine on thrashers and motor, 10 cassava washing table,12 tables and 12 chairs, 51 office books and a lot of office  files, a lot of way bill books, 63 students mattresses, 12 ash foam mattresses,  and 3 set of furniture. 102 spanners and 38 cutters, 15 rollers and 10 serving trays, and complete cassava flour plant with motors and heaters and dryers. One complete power plant and one transformer plant. 12 sets of glasses and 35 packed louvers blades, one office safes, 12guns and number of bullets.

Dunkwa structures: stores, transport department, electrical department, mechanical shop, gold house, security block, factory / club house, command center, powerhouse, guest house no 1& 2, main office, hospital, doctors' bungalows (2), dredge no 6. Railway oil site, senior and junior staff clubs, 28 bungalows (no 17 burnt) golf park, junior staff quarters, senior staff quarters, water tank reservoir, sick bay, market. Power line lands, lands.

Subin hill: stores, administration block, powerhouse, transport, electrical, workshop, 2 iron sheet quarters, nurse quarter, sick bay, junior staff quarters old & new (190). Senior and junior staff clubs, provision stores football park, dredge no 7. Senior staff bungalows, senior staff guest house.

Other Assets of SGMC:

Filling station = 2 machines, tanks 2 underground (2250 lts & 4450 lts) 100 damaged bags of soya beans, 200 bags of cassava flour, and 410 bags of gari. And a garage. SMGC workers social security pass books, pay rolls, service cards records, survey plans, site plans and building plans, all plans on SGMC.

Assets and lands that were within the Denkyira Traditional area, both Upper Denkyira East and West should be retrieved from those who have illegally takien over, and be given to the government for the establishment of the university campus.

The group revealed that the old workers that were left to supervise the place by the Divestiture Team and Minerals Commission and were forcibly sacked by the chief of Dunkwa, Nana Obeng Nuako III in 2018, should be invited to assist with the investigations and their entitlement paid to them.

According to them, the place is still usable for other developmental purposes. The University of Mines and Technology at Tarkwa and University of Environment and Natural resources had done some work there and had shown interest in having a campus established for their students.

They also alleged that the chief of Dunkwa had sold almost all the `properties of the company to indivial citizens for his personal gains.

The petitioners have written to the government through the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources and Office of Attorney General, as matter of urgency to investigate, retrieve the assets, and prosecute the chief, Nana Obeng Nuamah III, if found guilty.