Following an expository documentary released by Fafaa FM’s “Duamenefa” Social Intervention program on the activities of the Seven Seas Salt Mining Company in the Keta lagoon which is alleged to have claimed several lives and destroyed livelihoods, the company and its associate stakeholders has finally bowed to public pressure and opened a canal to divert the water around its alleged “killer dykes” along the unapproved Adafienu enclave to its approved Adina concession.
Canal built to divert waters to Adina
It would be recalled that last year 2022 alone, seven people were tragically drowned in the lagoon within the perimeters of the alleged illegal dykes constructed by the salt company. This includes a family of four, a mother and her three children, while their father looked on helplessly as his family sank in the water.
The unfortunate incident sparked widespread backlash from the youth of Ketu South who staged a demonstration in support of the bereaved families and to register their displeasure over the operations of Seven Seas.
The youth later petitioned the President, His Excellency Nana Addo through the Ketu South Municipal Chief Executive, Maxwell Kofi Lugudor calling among other things the halting of the operations of the salt mining company which they described as destructive and illegal. They also accused the company of not possessing the requisite documents to back their operations adding that the activities of the company were depriving the local people of their lives and livelihoods, warning of further class action should the authorities fail to stop the company from continuing with their operations.
Fafaa FM’s “Duamenefa” Intervention program took the initiative to launch a thorough investigation into the operations of the company culminating in the aforementioned expose documentary dubbed “Salt Mining, Political Power and Chieftaincy”
The expository documentary, coupled with the tragic death of the seventh victim of 2022, compelled the district security council to place a ban on the operations of the Seven Seas Company within the areas in contention and to construct a canal to divert the water appropriately.
The Ketu South Municipal Security Council in a bid to restore sanity to the area also banned fishing and other human activities on the lagoon.
They have also constituted a working committee made up of all stakeholders to look into the operations of the company and to submit report to the assembly so as to find a lasting solution to the issue once and for all.
Assemblyman for Adafienu electoral area, David Anani in an interview said the people of Adafienu welcome the move by the company, but added that they were reliably informed that the company had not been given Adafienu as a concession and so had no business whatsoever operating in that part of the lagoon.
He said although the Municipal Security Council was doing its best in ensuring the safety and security of the people by placing a ban on the operations of the company within the area and also on fishing and other human activities in the lagoon, that move was not in the interest of the people as the lagoon was a major source of livelihood for the people of the adjoining communities and the move was adversely affecting their living conditions.
Mr. Emmanuel Ketaman Evortepe, the Executive President of Duamenefa Foundation and CEO of Fafaa 100.3 Fm, and his team of interventionists were lauded by the ardent listeners of the radio station for making use of their prayers, time, talent and treasures to intervene and save the people of Ketu South.
Source: Duamenefa Foundation