Concerned Citizens of Wassa Fiase cries over lack of development

A group calling itself as Concerned Citizens of Wassa Fiase is calling on the government to see to it that they get their share of the national cake.

The group, which claims that over 70 per cent of the nation’s natural resources (with the exception of oil) comes from their area, are of the view that they would advise themselves if the Akufo-Addo-led government does not see that their concerns are addressed.

This was expressed by Mr. Onyameba R. Atta-Kesson in Accra.

He recounted that for decades now after Prestea Sankofa Mine, Golden Star Resources Limited at Bogoso, Golden Star Resources, Wassa Mime and also at Akyempim, Gold Fields Limited, Damang Mime, Gold Fields Limited, Tarkwa Mime, Anglogold Ashanti, which is located at Iduapriem and Tarkwa Mime respectively, and the Ghana Manganese Company at Tarkwa, the Wassa State cannot point a finger at any good thing that has come as a result of the many minerals and resources taken from their land.

According to him, though all these huge mining companies are situated in their domain and doing business for years, their roads, education and health sectors, as well as the lives of the people, have not improved.

Mr. Atta-Kesson lamented that the indigenous people in the area are also into farming at the Benso Oil Palm Plantation, and have given a huge portion of their lands to the Ghana Rubber Estate Limited at Tarkwa Nsuaem, which is currently the nation’s biggest rubber plantation, but after they had occupied those large acres of land and paying huge revenues to the government in the country, they do not have anything situated in their area to show for their hard work and contribution.

“However, due to its great wealth, Wassa Fiase has been under siege for nearly two decades now. The State is in crisis.

“The destruction of royalty, the mass theft of royal funds, the neglect of the people by various governments, and the illusion of justice for her citizens have been the bane of the people of Wassa Fiase since 2002.”

The spokesperson also alleged that there were some characters with vested interests (including some political figures which this paper has not got their side of the story yet, top security personnel, and self-styled businessmen, among others) have purposely resorted to orchestrating chieftaincy conflicts to undermine the Wassahene (Omanhene) to prevent them from having the capacity and control of the financial resources of the Wassa Fiase State for its development.

“The deplorable state of affairs has created an absence of the Wassahene, and has led to a systematic decline of development and progress in the Wassa Fiase State,” Mr. Atta-Kesson lamented.

More so, the people in this area are on the side of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and have always voted massively for the party, and yet, there is nothing to show for their efforts in pushing the Gross Domestic Product and revenues the state has been raking.

They are also telling the government not to send the Minister in Charge of Chieftaincy to come to their jurisdiction to solve the chieftaincy dispute for they do not have any trust in him.

These citizens say the Minister has not been fair in the way and manner in which he is dealing with the chieftaincy disputes in their area, and so, in order not to awaken their anger, they do not need him in their dealings, and are urging the government to do something substantial for them before the youth go the extreme mile to show their anger.