The move is expected to help end competing interests which often result in dispute among communities, protect the land and river bodies from illegal miners and guard the country’s international boundary line with its neighbour, Cote d’Ivoire.

The mineral resource-rich communities, originally known as Sindi, have now assumed the names ‘Dollar Power’, Dablaka and Dollar Power Accra, all located along the international boundary line between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

Due to their inaccessibility by road, parts of the communities and their environs within the Bui Wildlife Protection Zone (a forest reserve) have been destroyed by activities of illegal miners as the removal of boundary pillars and forest degradation have been the order of the day.

To reverse the trend and improve accessibility, construction works are underway on a 24-killometre feeder road from Ntreaso to Dollar Power following a report submitted by the Ghana Boundary Commission (GhBC) after its first visit to the communities in 2021.

With plans also far advanced to award the communities a licence to undertake responsible and sustainable mining, the government has pledged to initiate massive developmental projects within the communities to attract private investments.

Towards that end, a high-powered delegation led by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, with members including the Savannah Regional Minister, Saeed Muhazu Jibril; a Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Stephen Jalulah, the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Forests, Benito Owusu-Bio, the National Coordinator of the GhBC, Major General Dr Emmanuel Kotia: and other government officials last Wednesday visited the communities to assess their challenges and interact with residents.

The visit was also to inspect some key activities such as damaged or tempered boundary pillars, impact of illegal mining on the communities, destruction of forest reserves, as well as inspection of the feeder road under construction in the communities which is by the Ministry of Roads and Highways with the 48 Engineers Regiment as the contractors.

Promoting mining

Mr Jinapor, who interacted with the residents, stated that the government was not against mining because it was working to promote the mining industry in the country.

Through policies and programmes being implemented, he said currently, the country had overtaken South Africa as the leading producer of gold in Africa.

“And so if we can have a lot more gold output from this part of the country, we will be excited about it but what we are against is irresponsible and unsustainable mining which degrades the environment,” the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources said.

“Let me make it clear that river bodies such as the Black and the White Volta ,as well as the Akosombo Dam are red zones and no one should be allowed to mine within those areas,” he stressed.

He said the Savannah Regional Security Council was taking steps to implement measures that could clear river bodies of all forms of illegal mining.

Community licence

Mr Jinapor announced that plans were far advanced to grant community mining schemes to residents of the communities as part of measures to regulate small-scale mining within the three communities and their environs.

He said the government was determined to bring massive development in the form of hospitals, schools and other infrastructure to help lift the community.

He said a recent preliminary geological investigation conducted showed that the Dollar Power community and its environs were highly mineralised.

For that reason, the minister called on the private sector to partner the government to explore and manage the vast mineral resources in the form of large-scale mining operations.

Competing interest

For his part, Major General Dr Kotia stated that opening up the community for mining would lessen the competing interest between illegal miners from Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire which often increased destruction in the area.

He explained that because of such interests, some residents of both countries often took advantage to mine illegally within the community and that had resulted in destruction to the boundary lines.

“Fortunately, the Ghana Boundary Commission has managed to put a stop to the destruction of the boundary lines since 2021 and currently, we are collaborating with our counterparts in Cote d’Ivoire in this regard,” Major General Kotia said.

He explained that the feeder road being constructed from the Ntreaso to Dollar Power would enhance patrols and help protect the boundary lines because it was just 10 metres away from them, the National Coordinator of the Boundary Commission added.

Appreciation

The Secretary to the Chief of Dollar Power, Tahiru Mahama, in a speech read on behalf of the community, expressed appreciation to efforts made by the government to open up the area with the construction of an access road.

“However, as we celebrate this milestone, we are also faced with a pressing need for further infrastructure support.”

“Our community is currently hindered by the absence of a bridge across the Black Volta River, which poses a significant challenge to transportation and trade,” Mr Mahama said.

Background

The Dollar Power community, now with a population of about 5,000 people was popularised in 2005 by a businessman named Mohammed Seidu, also known as Dollar Power, and his team after realising that Ivorian rebels controlled the area and were mining gold on the land.

Recognising that the land is situated in Ghana and belongs to the Gonjas, Mr Seidu and his team stopped the Ivorian rebels from coming to the area to mine.

Bole, the nearest district capital, is located 20 Kilometres from the International Boundary Line.

Since 2008, small groups of Ghanaians from various parts of the country have settled and created a small community along the Black Volta, approximately one to five kilometres from the boundary line.