Weekly News Roundup: Confusion, Witches & Gold

Confusion in Nkrumah’s party, gold rush, 'witches' played up in Ghana media

A huge confusion in the party of Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, a gold rush in the coastal town of Elmina and tussle between the authorities and “witches” over plans to close down a “witches’ home” dominated the media in Ghana this week. The Convention People’s Party (CPP) is now led by Nkrumah’s daughter, Samia, whose assumption of the position after elections recently is seen as a big boost to reverse the fledgling fortunes of the party that dominated Ghana at independence in 1957 until 1966 when Nkrumah was ousted.

An off-shoot of the CPP, the People’s National Party, won the 1979 election and ruled Ghana until the 31 December, 1981, coup. But its popularity has slumped with many other pro-Nkrumah parties claiming his legacy.

“CPP will not be stampeded into early congress”, was the headline of the state-owned Graphic as demands for a congress this year to elect a flag bearer to contest the December 2012 polls have brought to the fore deep cracks that are threatening to sink the party.

The story in the Graphic said the Chairperson of the party, Ms Samia Yaba Nkrumah, had declared that the Party (CPP) would not be forced to hold an early congress to elect a presidential candidate.

According to the party’s Chairperson, the decision was to ensure that the party did not repeat its poor showing at the 2008 presidential and general elections when it won less than 2% of the votes.

“We will not be stampeded into taking actions that do not advance the interests of the party,’’ she told reporters.

Samia Nkrumah said the party would not tolerate any ’’negative campaign’’ from Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, the party’s aspiring flag bearer, in what she claimed were attempts to lure a minority of the National Executive Committee to force its national congress.

The state-owned Ghanaian Times headline said “CPP leadership furious with Dr. Kwesi Nduom”.

According to the story, the leadership of the CPP said it was elected to advance strategies that would make the party a credible political force and would therefore not be stampeded into taking actions that would not advance the interest of the party.

Samia said calculated attempts were being made to discredit the new leadership of the party.

“Prominent among these is the call by one section of the party, led by Paa Kwesi Nduom, our former flag bearer, for us to hold congress to elect our presidential candidate before the end of the year,” she said.

But Samia’s younger brother, Sekou, has descended heavily on her with the pro-opposition Daily Guide carrying the story under the headline “Sekou slams Samia.”

The story said Sekou Nkrumah, son of Ghana’s first president, appears to have jumped to the defence of Dr. Nduom who faces expulsion from the CPC, blaming his sister, Samia Nkrumah’s “immaturity” for her recent confrontation with Dr. Nduom.

According to Sekou, some people in the CPP were capitalising on Samia’s political immaturity to promote their selfish agenda, saying that her criticism of Nduom was too harsh.

“He said his sister hit below the belt when she described Dr. Nduom’s behavior as 'nonsense'.”

“I’ll sympathise with Dr. Nduom because he has made his intent to run for president. It looks like the party chair is taking sides. Her position to single out Dr. Nduom as somebody who is trying to create problem is most unfortunate,” he added.

The party eventually held a Central Committee meeting to announce a timetable for election of the presidential candidates from 4-27 January, 2012.

Nduom then called for “ceasefire in the CPP”, saying time will tell whether there will be a ceasefire.

The sudden discovery of gold on the beaches of Elmina in the Central Region attracted huge media coverage.

“Galamsey (illegal mining) at Elmina,” was the headline of the state-owned Graphic.

It said illegal mining activities had now moved from the forest belt, where mining operations had been carried out for years, to the coast.

The Graphic said for the past few weeks, most of the youth at Elmina had been washing the sand at the beach looking for gold.

The residents said they had been making good money and would resist attempts to stop them, especially as environmentalists are complaining that their activities were creating problems such as land degradation and poisoning of the sea through the use of mercury and other chemicals.

Fishermen have also abandoned fishing to join the illegal mining business which they say gives them more money than fishing.

“School children have not been left out as some have also joined the rush for gold on the beach in their school uniform,” the Graphic said.

The Geological Survey Department has said the area is not known to have gold and that the precious mineral was probably carried to the coast from up country by a river.

“It’s gold – Minerals Commission confirms Elmina find,” was the headline in the Graphic. It said the Commission had confirmed the discovery of gold at the Elmina Beach, which had attracted thousands of people to the area.

It said even though the Commission contended that the quantity was not much, the illegal miners continued to inundate the area with the hope of making a fortune.

The residents staged a demonstration to protest against the directive from the Minerals Commission to stop their illegal mining.

The Ghanaian Times said 'Witches say ‘no’ to ministry's offer” with the story saying some inmates of witch camps in the Northern Region had kicked against the calls for the camps to be disbanded.

Techina Mutaru of the Gambaga Witches Camp, who stated the position of the inmates, said they felt safer and more secure in the camps than living in their original communities.

According to her, some of them would lose their lives if they were reintegrated into their communities without a proper education and orientation for the community members.

Techina, vice president of the Alleged Witches Coalition, was speaking at the opening of a two-day conference organised by Action Aid-Ghana in collaboration with a local NGO, Songtaaba, to discuss issues affecting the alleged witches.

The Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, in concert with some NGOs, has been calling for the closure of witches camps in the country, but Madam Techina advised that the matter be treated with care and diplomacy.

She said though they would have wished to go back to their communities, but the environment was not safe for them to be reintegrated now.