The question we must ponder over is: Has the time not come for some of the billions of dollars sloshing around the big business that global NGO-based forest conservation represents, to be given directly to empower those in fringe-forest communities, who daily risk their lives protecting Africa's remaining forests? Haaba.
Take the example of my family's 14-square mile upland evergreen rainforest property at the Akyem Juaso section of the Atewa Mountains, in Ghana's Eastern Region. Gallant young volunteers, led by Ben Awuku and his brothers, risk their lives protecting it, by going on regular night patrols. It is a very dangerous thing to do - as the super-ruthless illegal gold miners and illegal loggers kill all those who cross them, and try to stop them from mining. Sadly, they are not paid. Incredible, but true.
The land in question, is in an area of the Atewa Range designated a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA), by Conservation International, in 2006, after a rapid assessment survey paid for by Alcoa, the U. S. aluminium giant (results available online at RAP Bulletin No.47), and is incredibly beautiful.
No one who sees it will fail to be awed by its significance and magnificence. Etelle Higonette, the fearless campaign director of the Washington DC-based global environmental NGO, Mighty Earth, fell in love with it when she paid a visit to it, a few years ago.
Yet, vile and corrupt officials sitting in air-conditioned offices in Accra, obliged politicians fed up with articles written by me criticising them for being corrupt, and, at their bidding, arbitrarily carved out what is the new cloak for illegal gold mining in Ghana - an artisinal community gold mining concession - out of what is our private freehold legally registered (in 1921 and 1926) forest property with covering documentation from the colonial era, without once consulting us, the actual lawful owners. Amazing.
Although impossible to prove, the real motive for that traversty and abomination, I do know for a fact, was cooked up by corrupt high-level Minerals Commission officials, led by a genius-idiot, known as Mr. Aboagye.
Yet, vile and corrupt officials sitting in air-conditioned offices in Accra, obliged politicians fed up with articles written by me criticising them for being corrupt, and, at their bidding, arbitrarily carved out what is the new cloak for illegal gold mining in Ghana - an artisinal community gold mining concession - out of what is our private freehold legally registered (in 1921 and 1926) forest property with covering documentation from the colonial era, without once consulting us, the actual lawful owners. Amazing.
Although impossible to prove, the real motive for that traversty and abomination, I do know for a fact, was cooked up by corrupt high-level Minerals Commission officials, led by a genius-idiot, known as Mr. Aboagye.
And, please note that I am not ashamed to tell the world that when I say my daily prayers, I always ask God Almighty to ensure that that genius-moron, Mr. Aboagye, will roast in the hottest part of hell, when he dies the miserable death awaiting him - for, he it is, whom I hold personally responsible for that egregious crime against humanity, that the unlawful seizure and giving out of our privately-owned forest property (to wealthy criminals, led by the promoters of Oheneba Mining Enterprise, and their partners-in-crime, Hagnela Mining Company, and its promoter, Rasta, and his assigns, as well as the crooked politicians backing them by stealth, from the shadows, to mine gold in), represents. Unpardonable. Unspeakable. Abominable.
Naturally, they have felled hundreds of trees for the bushcut lumber sold regularly to fund their operations (including paying hefty bribes to all officials sent from sundry regulatory bodies to investigate them). Chief amongst the illegal gold miners usIng community artisinal gold mining as legal cover to gang-rape our Akyem Juaso land, is the sly-criminal-and-master-bribe-giver, called Rasta. Big fool.
That bloody fool, is in league with my family clan's so-called Abusuapanin, a Mr. Bampoe, who apparently works with the Atomic Energy Commission, at Kwabenya; and my thoroughly dishonest and morally-bankrupt second cousin, Kwame Thompson (a good-for-nothing who should be super-rich but is always hard up!), who has a substantial stake in Esenkede House, a combination of three commercial properties adjacent to the Greater Accra Regional Police Headquarters' Tudu MTTU office, and opposite what used to be the headquarters office building of SIC Insurance, at Tudu, with a massive internal courtyard that he has given out to scores of table-top spare parts dealers, to rent space in. The sod.
So, my dear online nature-loving Cameroonian friends, let us collaborate to set up a pan-African fringe-forest communities' association as soon as practicable, to be able to get some carbon sequestration cash too: to enable us purchase drones; pay youth in our communities' handsomely to protect what is left of Africa's natural heritage, and enable them to also live well too for a change, in so doing. No? Let me have your considered views, on all the above, as soon as practicable, please. I salute you, and all your hardworking team members, Sir!
Sent from Samsung tablet.
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