The Ghana Armed Forces has defended the deployment of some of its men to protect Geo Professional Services Company, a mining company in the Amansie West District in the Ashanti Region, found to be operating illegally.
According to the military, the deployment was made following a request by the Ashanti Regional Security Council.
[contextly_sidebar id=”NGe6SHaQcDruC1TgOwSMoW9kUfQHc06C”]The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, also confirmed this to Citi News, noting that their deployment was upon a request from the then Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, Joseph Yamin.
According to him, the soldiers were deployed after the Geo Professional Services (GPS) Company complained about attacks from illegal miners.
However, speaking to Citi News, the Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Armed Forces, Colonel Aggrey Quarshie, rejected any accusations of illegal deployment against the Army.
The military had come under heavy criticism after the Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Peter Amewu, discovered that some soldiers were protecting their mining concession in Tontokrom in the Amansie West District.
During the tour of the area, some 15 soldiers were seen protecting the activities of the miners which were described as illegal by Mr. Amewu.
The soldiers cited Lt.Col. Sebastian Abraham Arhin, Commanding Officer of the 4th Battalion of Infantry, as the one who instructed their deployment.
GPS did not warrant protection
But Mr. Amewu, commenting briefly on the military’s assertion, noted that, only companies under the Ghana Chamber of Mines’ umbrella, could benefit from military protection.
“[Deploying] Those soldiers were not part of the agreement. The agreement with the soldiers is an MOU [Memorandum of understanding] entered into companies that are collectively under the Chamber of Mines,” Mr. Amewu stated.
Since the concerns were raised by Mr. Amewu, military personnel have been recalled from all mining sites; according to the Ashanti Regional Minister
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By: Franklin Badu Jnr/citifmonline.com/Ghana