Hundreds of residents in the farming community of Besoro are seeking the intervention of President Akufo-Addo to call the management of Miro Forestry and Timber Products to order, failing which they will take the law into their own hands.
The residents in the Sekyere Kumawu District of the Ashanti Region say they have lost their farm jobs as several acres of their produce were destroyed by the international plywood manufacturing company.
Some of the inhabitants who took to the streets on Wednesday morning told dailymailgh.com that their livelihoods are under serious threat over the development.
34-year-old Afia Serwaa narrates how her husband was nearly attacked by the security detail of the company who are sometimes armed with guns.
“My husband owns a 20-acre plantain farm and so recently people came unnoticed destroying the crops”, the mother of three said. “They fired gunshots in the process forcing him to flee for safety. For now, times are now hard for us, and we just need an urgent intervention”.
“We have borrowed massively for our farming activities only for the company to destroy our goods. This is a very worrying situation, and it is time for us to strike”, another farmer who joined the protesters said.
Led by the Assemblyman for Besoro Sampson Amankwah, the protesters besieged the Sekyere Kumawu District Assembly to present a petition to the Chief Executive. Amankwah warns of dire consequences if the matter is not given the needed attention.
“Over a thousand acres of farmlands have been destroyed. Inhabitants have for the past three weeks abandoned their farmlands for fear of being attacked by forest guards.
This is the time for us to voice out because livelihoods are at stake. We are pleading with the President, the Vice President and the MP for this area to intervene or we will be forced to take matters into our own hands”, he warned.
Management of Miro Forestry and Timber Company has yet to respond to calls for comments.
SOURCE: DAILY MAIL GH
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