Two institutions, A Rocha Ghana and Flower Ghana and two private citizens, Awula Serwah and Oteng Adjei, have served a notice to the Attorney-General about their intention to sue the government unless the plan to mine the Atewa Forest is rescinded.
They want the Attorney-General, Gloria Akuffo, to advise the government against the intended plan to mine the forest or they proceed with the suit.
Leading their cause is respected legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, who has said although his clients are good citizens of Ghana and support government’s quest to raise funds to develop the country, they do not believe that government should exploit the Atewa Range Forest for bauxite reserves because there are far richer bauxite reserves.
The notice states that in view of the above, A Rocha Ghana, Flower Ghana, Awula Serwah and Oteng Adjei intend to bring the civil action against the government to protect and safeguard the environment pursuant to the constitutional duty imposed on them under article 41(k) of the Constitution of Ghana, 1992. In 2017, Ghana signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China to develop a bauxite industry in Ghana with Atewa Range Forest as one of the sources of raw materials.
Following this disclosure, A Rocha Ghana, Flower Ghana, Awula Serwah and Oteng Adjei and other institutions such as; Save the Frogs Ghana, Herp Ghana, Ghana Institute of Foresters, Ghana Wildlife Society, The Development Institute, Friends of the Earth Ghana, Tropenbos Ghana and Coalition of NGOs Against Mining Atewa embarked on a series of campaign against the decision to mine bauxite at the said location.
Joining them in the action are Christian Council of Ghana, Ghana Institute of Foresters, KASA Ghana, EcoCare Ghana, Amphibian Survival Alliance, Birdlife International, Global Wildlife Conservation, Rainforest Trust, RSPB and WWF.
Source:Fiilafmonline/JoyNews
