Report by Kingsley Nana Buadu
Some residents of Elmina in the Central region have embarked on a demonstration demanding that their salt industry, which has been sold to Edinaman Salt Industry by their chief, be handed over to the people with immediate effect.
According to them, the salt industry belongs to the people of Edina and is not a personal property of their chief, Nana Kwadwo Conduah the sixth, who they claim continues to sell the salt resources indiscriminately without recourse to the people.
They again contend that he has never accounted to them since ascending the throne about twenty years ago.
The demonstrators therefore sent a petition to the company requesting they stop operation immediately and hand over the industry to them.
Salt is one of the natural resources the people of Elmina and surrounding communities are endowed with.
Unfortunately, little do the people know of its contribution to the area’s development.
The Elmina salt industry is said to have been owned by Pan Brothers from Greece, who had an arrangement with the then leaders of Elmina years ago.
Per the arrangement, according to the demonstrator, the factory was handed back over back to the people after some time.
Report suggests that, currently, the factory has been sold to a company called M-YAK and Farouk Company Limited for an undisclosed amount of money by the Edina Traditional Council.
For the demonstrators, the lack of transparency and accountability from the traditional council all these years is unacceptable, and are calling on the company to handover to the people.
Speaking to the media before presenting the petition, the leader of the group, John Quayson, explained that the Omanhene of Elmina, Nana Kwadwo Conduah, has never accounted for the resource ever since ascending the throne, a practice his predecessors upheld.
According to him, the salt industry is not part of his personal properties but for the good people of Elmina, hence the need for transparency and accountability.
He called on the Omanhene to see the people of Elmina as the owners of the salt industry but not his personal property.
He therefore presented the petition on behalf of the protesters to the company’s representative at the mining site.
Some demonstrators who spoke with the media blamed their traditional leaders for being selfish.
“They don’t think about us,” some of them exclaimed.
The Adontenhen of Edina Traditional Council and chief of Simiw in response, said the salt factory is not sold but rather leased off for 40 years.
