Adansi Chiefs Demand ?2.6 Billion Royalties

Over 2.6 billion cedis in mineral royalties due to be paid to the chiefs and people of Adansi and Amansie districts in Ashanti has been in arrears since April last year.

The Adansi Traditional Council said the royalties covering the periods

March-April and October-December 2000 and January to March this year represent 10 per cent of the total mineral royalties paid to the government.

In a letter to the Finance Minister dated July 5, 2001, the traditional council referred to a number of reminders and expressed the hope that the Minister is now in a position to give or have already given positive instructions for the release of not only royalties for April and October to December, 2000 but also for the period January to March, 2001, all totalling 2,634,020,271.33".

He said as a result of the delay, the beneficiary groups the district assemblies, traditional councils and the stools are facing a lot of problems in the implementation of their development programmes, especially financing of scholarship schemes they have instituted.