A Divisional Chief at Asante Akyem Ntototoe in the Agogo Traditional Area, who also doubles as a Director and 100 percent (%) share owner of Volta Resources Limited, Nana Sarfo Prempeh, has accused En Huang, aka Aisha Huang, of impeding his company’s chances to mine.
He said although his company has been granted prospecting mining certificate by the Minerals Commission, the accused illegal activities on the company’s concession had hampered its operations.
Testifying as the Attorney-General’s third Prosecution witness (PW3), Nana Sarfo told an Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo yesterday that: “Volta Resources Limited does not engage in mining activities, either small scale or large scale. The operations of the company are limited to prospecting for minerals, for which the licence was issued.
“However, due to the activities of encroachers like the accused herein, Volta Resources is unable to conduct effective exploration.”
He said the operations of the company were affected by the activities of the accused because his concession cut through Homachem, Kronko, Nimbreso, Subima, Gyaaman and Bepotenten, all in the Ashanti region.
According to him, the cadastral map of the area in question covers about 70.89sqkm.
Accroding to him, he knows En Huang through her illegal activities at Bepotenten, which falls within Volta Resources Limited’s concession. The witness added that the accused commenced her illegal mining operation on his company’s concession somewhere in 2015, at Gyaaman, before moving to Bepotenten in 2017.
The court was informed that all efforts to evict the Chinese national from the land proved futile, and for which he reported the matter to the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), chiefs and traditional leaders of Bekwai for resolution.
He added that the actions he took against En Huang also included a suit filed at the Bekwai Circuit Court, where he succeeded in securing an injunction against the accused, as well as a publication in the media of encroachment and the devastating effect of illegal mining activities, been spearheaded by Aisha Huang on the host communities.
“Eventually, when En Huang was arrested, Volta Resources Limited wrote to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) in June 2017, complaining about the failure of the arresting officers to seize the mining equipment of the accused, which were in use at the time of the arrest of her Chinese employees at Bepotenten,” he disclosed.
Nana Sarfo Prempeh added that the activities of the accused has caused tremendous devastation to his company’s concession and has rendered its exploration programme untenable, particularly in areas that she has her footprints.
Aisha, who is being accused of facilitating the participation of persons engaged in mining operations and illegal employment of foreign nationals has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The case has been adjourned to 21st November, 2022.
