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The people of Gwirabanso, a small mining community in Evalue Gwira in the Western Region of Ghana have risen up against the Chief of the town, Nana Gyan Nboamah for allowing illegal Chinese miners on their land bringing untold hardships and unprecedented deaths to the people.

The chief, Nana Nboamah is under intense pressure to sack all Chinese miners from the town or face the wrath of the people who are armed to the teeth to stage an attack if the chief fails to listen to their demands.

Nana Gyan Nboamah who, residents in the area say has brought in the Chinese to mine in the community, is benefiting greatly from the activities of the Chinese hence his inability to take any concrete action against them.

Information gathered from the area indicates that, Nana Gyan Nboamah is alleged to have been paid 15% of all the proceeds these Chinese make in their mining activities in the area.

This alleged 15% ‘royalty’ is indeed boosting Nana Gyan Nboamah’s confidence in ensuring that the Chinese miners continue to stay in the town and not paying attention to the people and the effects the mining activities are having on the people and their existence.

Speaking to the angry youth of the town, they mentioned that they have sent several complaints to the Minerals Commission in the District and Western Region as well as the Police but all complaints were treated with kids-gloves.

They averred that the behavior of the Minerals Commission and the police in the area as far as complaints against the activities of the Chinese miners were concerned, showed that these bodies were in bed with the Chief who is the brain behind the invasion of the Chinese in the community.


The people also noted that the community had suffered hugely in the hands of the Chinese miners who left their pits uncovered resulting in the deaths of majority of people including, children.


The residents mentioned that the land have been degraded and no attempt was being made by the miners to restore the land making it difficult for them (residents) to use the land for other productive ventures so as to improve upon their livelihood.


They have also lamented over the destruction of lands for cultivation of cocoa, rubber and palm oil.

The news of the two kids who have been retrieved after they fell into a pit dug for such mining activities in the Adansi North district of the Ashanti region, has given cause to the people to fear, hence their action to ensure that the Chief sacks all Chinese miners from the town.

This paper’s checks have revealed that the Chinese miners have taken over the region and mostly operate in the northern part of the region where there are substantial reserves of gold deposits, usually within the environs of the larger mining companies.

However, residents of Gwirabanso enumerated that illegal mining activities pose a major security threat to the their town and region since they have regretted that the operations of illegal miners in the region had considerably damaged the environment and polluted major rivers such as Ankobra, Bonsa and other water bodies which serve as sources of drinking water.

The angry community people are determined to ensure that all Chinese miners in the community are sent out. They said they were ready to resort to any means to ensure that the illegal mining activities are stopped in the area.