General News of Wednesday, 23 August 2017

Source: starrfmonline.com

Bauxite impasse: Nyinahini Youth threaten chief over Exton support

The youth claim the chief is responsible for the issuance of license for the company The youth claim the chief is responsible for the issuance of license for the company

Some angry Youth in Nyinahini in the Ashanti Region have vowed to chase out the Chief of the town for his alleged support for the embattled bauxite mining firm Exton Cubic.

The youth claim the chief is responsible for the issuance of license for the company through illegitimate means for selfish reasons.

They have warned him to abdicate the thrown or face their wrath. Nana Amanpene II has accused the DCE for the area Williams Darko for mobilizing the youth to stampede the activities of EXTON CUBIC LTD, creating unnecessary tension in the community.

Nana Amanpene added that the company has the backing of the community to engage in Bauxite prospecting within the Tano-Offin Forest Reserve because all the three stools, in whose traditional jurisdiction the bauxite concession is situated, are fully aware of the legal processes that commenced four years ago.

But the angry youth say the Chief must stay away from affairs of the community henceforth.

“We won’t agree, he must leave the town. We know the support he has been giving the company. If he dare comes out, he will meet us on the street and he will see what we will do to him. We know he has taken money from the company to sell out our resources,” one of the irate youth told Starr News during a demonstration in the town Wednesday.

Meanwhile, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has disclosed that the Exton Cubic Group is operating without environmental permit.

“The bottom line is that Exton Cubic Group Limited has not obtained the required EPA permit under its mining lease and therefore any attempt to enter the area for mining activity is illegal,” the EPA said in a statement Wednesday, August 23, 2017.