‘Review ElectroChem Project, Implement Master Plan’-Songor Lagoon inhabitants to Gov’t
Story by: Akesi Duncan
The cheifs, elders and youth of villages along the Ada Songor Lagoon have demanded with a matter of urgency the need for government to review the terms of the ElectroChem Project and implement a development approach in the vision of the Master Plan which was developed under the PNDC Law 287.
Addressing a press briefing in Accra held by concerned members living in and around the Songor Lagoon whose human rights have been abused by military and police officers, Mr Bright Wayo a member of the legal team(Opoku & associates) disclosed that there had been a series of clashes between the local people and members of the military and police in which the local people have been brutalized in an attempt to deprive them of their means of livelihood.
Review ElectroChem Project, Implement Master Plan’-Songor Lagoon inhabitants to Gov’t
This he said is as a result of the fact that government have granted monopoly over the Lagoon to ElectroChem Ghana Ltd late last year that decision according to him has generated different opinions between supporters and opponents of the project.
To give clearer understanding on their demands, he outlined the Master Plan among other things such as
-develop the maximum potential of Songor Lagoon for the salt industry
-support the application of modern technology for salt production by all
-reconcile the interests of the large scale and local small scale salt producers and to eliminate the contractions that provoke conflicts among them.
Review ElectroChem Project, Implement Master Plan’-Songor Lagoon inhabitants to Gov’t
However the failure of successive governments to implement the Master Plan alongside the absence of a clear policy for the management and use of the lagoon has had damaging effects on the livelihood of the communities, it’s shore and the health of the lagoon.
According to the lawyers, it is obvious that the use of the military and police to brutalise and coerce the communities along the Songor Lagoon is to put fear in them to forgo their economic rights of their livelihood dependent on the lagoon.
‘It is their resistance that has generated clashes with the military and the police leading to their arrest, detention and trial at the law court’, he noted.
Review ElectroChem Project, Implement Master Plan’-Songor Lagoon inhabitants to Gov’t
Therefore used the occasion on behalf of the communities to call on government to as a matter of urgency ensure the following:
– Halt the use of military and police to intimidate the people
-review the terms of the ElectroChem Project and the implementation of a development approach in vision of the Master Plan which legally,
-accommodate the economic interests, including the right to salt production by the local people.
They also demand government, security forces and supporters of the ElectroChem project to support the rights of those who oppose the project to express themselves as they are mandated under Article 37 of the Constitution of Ghana the right to organize to defend their interest in the development process.
Source: www.thenewindependentonline.com
