Traditional and community leaders from Ada have escalated their longstanding battle with Electrochem Ghana Limited (EGL) to Parliament.
The dispute centers around the leasing of 41,000 acres of the Songhor Lagoon to EGL, owned by Daniel McKorley, which led to violent clashes between residents and the company’s security operatives, resulting in fatalities.
Testifying to a joint parliamentary committee, Ada Terkerbiawe Divisional Queenmother, Naa Korleiki Korley I, and Abraham Tetteh Karim, spokesperson for the Ada Songhor Lagoon Association, highlighted the severe impact on local communities.
“When you look at the 41,000 acres that we are talking about, some of our villages, our farms, and even our cemeteries fall within the 41,000 acres of land,” they stated.
“Because you have rectified all 41,000 to Electrochem, Electrochem has taken possession of all our villages.”
The leaders stressed that the company’s actions have effectively displaced numerous indigenes, turning residents into trespassers on their own land.
“Whoever is living within that space becomes a trespasser, and that is why we are suffering the brutalities and the beatings,” they added.
This testimony shed light on the dire consequences faced by the community members due to the company’s operations.
Responding to the concerns, John Abdulai Jinapor, Ranking Member on the Mines and Energy Committee, assured the community leaders that Parliament is committed to addressing their grievances.
He acknowledged the inherent tensions in areas with valuable minerals, saying, “Wherever there is mineral, there is bound to be contention. We just have to find a way of dealing with it.”
Electrochem Ghana, however, denies displacing the indigenous people of the Ada Songhor basin.
The company, which aims to produce over a million metric tons of salt per year primarily for export, maintains that its operations will significantly benefit the Ada community through job creation and social impact.
Despite these claims, residents argue that the company’s presence has resulted in their worst nightmare, stripping them of their livelihoods and ability to support their families.
