Public Agenda (Accra)
21 April 2008
Accra — This is the story of how a Norwegian biofuel company took advantage of Africa's traditional system of communal land ownership and current climate and economic pressure to claim and deforest large tracts of land in the Kusawgu Traditional Area of Northern Ghana; with the intention of creating "the largest jatropha plantation in the world".
By passing official development authorization and using methods that hark back to the darkest days of colonialism, this investor claimed legal ownership of these lands by deceiving an illiterate chief to sign away 38,000 hectares with his thumb print. This is contained in a report titled "Biofuel land grabbing in Northern Ghana" written by Bakari Nyari, Vice Chairman of Regional Advisory and Information Network Systems (RAINS), Ghana and African Biodiversity Network Steering Committee member.
In November 2007, a team from RAINS discovered massive destruction of vegetation cover over a large stretch of land near a village called Alipe within the White Volta River basin about 30 kilometres from Tamale, the capital town of the Northern region of Ghana. Heavy agricultural machinery were systematically pulling down trees, most importantly sheanut trees and decimating the area a few metres south of the village.
Enquiries revealed that the site was to be the beginning of a large jatropha plantation developed by a Norwegian biofuel company called BioFuel Africa - a subsidiary of Bio Fuel Norway (www.biofuel.no). At a public engagement session in Kusawgu, the traditional capital of the Kusawgu Division of the Gonja Traditional Council, Mr. Finn Byberg, Director of Land Acquisition for BioFuel Africa, unashamedly confessed that the land was being stripped for biofuel production.
The discovery of the cleared land brought the realization that the battle against land grabbing and community disempowerment was no longer just happening in other countries, but also in Ghana. In collaboration with the Central Gonja District Assembly and the Environmental Protection Agency, work was suspended on the development site, but not before 2, 600 hectares of land had been deforested.
The facts began to emerge - a big fish in government was promoting the project and had deployed his business associates in the region to front for him.
This front man was immediately employed as the Local Manager of BioFuel Africa. The EPA then insisted that they must go through the processes of having an Environmental Impact Assessment made. During a public consultative forum in the community the team had a face-to-face confrontation Mr. Finn Byberg, Director of Land Acquisition for BioFuel Africa in the village square in front of the Chief's palace on the illegal acquisition of land in pour communities.
Rural communities who are desperate for incomes are enticed by developers who promise them a "better future" under the guise of jobs with the argument that they are currently only just surviving from the "unproductive land" and that they stand to earn a regular income if they give up the land for development. In its April 4 edition titled "Afram Plains Sold to Foreign Investor", Public Agenda raised the alarm over the sale of large tracks of farm land to a foreign investor, who sacked the farmers. It has just been confirmed that the investor intends to use the land for cultivating Biofeul to the detriment of food production.
The acquisition the so-called 'unproductive lands' fails to appreciate the African view of the meaning of the land to the community. While the initial temptation to give up the land to earn a wage is great, it portends an ominous future where the community's sovereignty, identity and their sense of community is lost because of the fragmentation that the community will suffer.
According to the report, the strategy for the acquisition of the land often takes the following course: The imaginations of a few influential leaders in the community are captured. They are told about prospects for the community due to the project and they are swayed with promises of positions in the company or with monetary inducements.
The idea is that these people do the necessary "footwork" in the villages where they spread the word about job opportunities. A document is then prepared, essentially a contract, to lease the land to the company. In the event of problems the developer can press their claim by enforcing the 'contract' or agreement. When the legality of the process is not adequately scrutinized, the developers have their way but, subject to proper scrutiny, it emerges that these contracts are not legally binding as they have not gone through the correct legal channels.
This is what happened in this particular case in the Alipe area.
RAINS immediately contacted the District Chief Executive (DCE), the political head of the District to inquire about the project. Neither he nor the District
Assembly had any information about it. He had noticed the work on the site and was in the process of finding the "culprits" because they did not have any planning permission to undertake the development.
The DCE was advised to use the planning powers conferred on the District Assembly under the Local Government Act 1993 Act 462 to stop the destruction of the vegetation.
Under this law nobody can undertake any development of land without seeking the prior approval of the District Assembly of the area. In this particular case the Assembly could not stop them owing perhaps to the highly politicized nature of the Assembly process and the vulnerability of the personnel there.
Eventually, using the Environmental Assessment Regulations LI 1652, we managed to get them to stop the destruction but not before more than 2 600 hectares of land had been stripped of its natural vegetation cover.
On the 28th January 2008 when the RAINS team met in the chief's palace to discuss other issues pertaining to the acquisition of land, it became clear to all present that BioFuel Africa's promises were really a hoax. With the level of community engagements that we made in the villages, it was obvious to the local communities that the development would cause more danger to the survival of the community than any benefits that would arise from it. The communities understood the impact that such a project would have on their lives individually and on the community in general. But how long will this hold as they sit idle for the rest of the year until the rains come in April? There was conviction that the promises of jobs and a new improved life would not materialize because Mr Finn Byberg, the Chairman of BioFuel Africa confessed, during his presentation that he could not state categorically what commitments the company would make. He said, "Commitments are not very easy and so when I am required to make these, I need to be very careful. I do not want to be caught for not keeping my word.". This was incorporated in the argument that his company was still learning. This made it clear that our land is being used for experimentation. Mr Byberg's promise of jobs, shared prosperity and improved livelihoods - the Company's main benefit to the community - were not really commitments for which the community could hold him to, but were mere campaign gimmicks.
Unmasking the hoax of the jatropha project.
Most vocal indeed were the women at the session. Looking Mr Finn Byberg in the face a women asked, "Look at all the sheanut trees you have cut down already and considering the fact that the nuts that I collect in a year give me cloth for the year and also a little capital. I can invest my petty income in the form of a ram and sometimes in a good year, I can buy a cow. Now you have destroyed the trees and you are promising me something you do not want to commit yourself to. Where then do you want me to go? What do you want me to do?"
The response from Mr Byberg was to express regret and a promise not to repeat it.
This was the tone in which the session ended.
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This is in respond to an article pasted on the allAfrican web on 21st April 2008 by one Mr.Nyari whom I met once at the Kusawgu site of BioFuel Company (the company in concern).The article concerns a story of a Norwegian biofuel company intending to go into a large Jatropha plantation in the Northern Region of the country. The writer made claims which I strongly disapprove. He said the company are taking advantage of the traditional method of land acquisition of communal land and the climatic and the economic pressure in Africa to claim lands and deforest large track in the Kusawgu Traditional Area in the Northern region of Ghana.The writer of the said article I think is up to nothing but to ascertain some kind of selfish interest which I think is only known to him.Initial when the company approaches the chiefs and the people of the Area, they went into a negotiation table on which a contract of mutual benefit was signed and a track of land virgin was lease to the company to undertake this Jatropha production. This dissembler, in the person of Mr.Nyari was consulted by his people and so he decided to visit the site after which he said no to the company on the bases that the company is destroying his old men farms forgetting that, the lease track of land is not under any cultivation for many years as the people of Kusawgu said. Mr.Bakari Nyari changes his bases by saying that the company is destroying the sheanut trees. Mr. Nyari on behalf of the community met the company and he even proposes the extension of the land lease to the company all because he wants to for fill his personal interest but not the interest of his community and its people. Mr.Nyari, selected members of the community, biofuel representatives and I(a contracted digital gps controller) went to the site to make the extension and peak the coordinates of the boundaries of the proposed extended site, this indecision suffering man(Mr.Nyari) was very happy and assured the company that, they are now free to carry on. Mr.Nyari later went to his people and told them to say no to the company but his people remain silent because they have come to release that, their man is up to for filling his desire and insisted on the company to start work on the site and the company did with the permission of Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) and are having their permit number of CA002080104 and the registration number CA 2080104 issued on the 28th of February, 2008.I am very sorry to the shameful act of Mr.Nyari whom I mistook to be a real man fighting for his people.I am again much disappointed at this dishonoured man of creating fallacy that the company has already stumped about 2,600 hectares of land which is never true because the land cleared is not even up to 300 hectares. Laws are laws, rules are rules and contracts are contract, Mr. Nyari claims the company is having a big fish in government who is influencing all this action and I tell him that this big fish can never change the laws of the Kusawgu Traditional area not alone the entire nation . Mr. Nyari, the man who is trying to be voluptuary at the detriment of his community and its people should have fish this big fish out of the government for the public to be free from such dishonoured leaders rather than to be making his people unnerve and confusing himself the more. I am assuring you that Ghana is about to reach its climax stage of democracy and therefore fishing out the big fish would not do you any harm but rather benefit you and the country as a whole as the country would be free law breaker and would never become a state of anarchy.Mr.Nyari shamefully astonish me by complementing his dissemble status by secretly writing a mail to the world land contracting manager of biofuel falsely condemning the authorities of the biofuel company in Northern Region simply because he is not given the chance to manage this BioFuel Norwegian Company in the Region.I was sorry to hear that, after Mr. Nyari the so-called dragon tried his own mothers land (Gonja Land) and could not for fill his personal interest, he visited the company site in the Yendi District with Action Aid Ghana and again his selfish desire was not ascertain and now he thought the only way out for him to for fill this desire is to create fallacies against the company and attack individual personnel’s of the company
REPORT ON MEETING HELD BETWEEN MR. NYARI, ACTION AID OFFICIALS AND THE PEOPLE OF KPACHAAOn the 21st day of April 2008,a team led by one Mr. Nyari visited the Kpachaa community on the issue of “land grabbing”. They came to enquire from the people of Kpachaa community what the project of Jatropha plantation in their community was all about the benefits and the prospects of the project in terms of economic, social, political and so on. On the question of what benefits the people of Kpachaa and its environment were benefiting from the project, we mention such benefits as employment which is currently going on with both men and women being inclusive. Our responds to this question was buttressed by the fall that some of the workers from the community, men and women were still in their wallenting boots after work at the meeting. We also mention some other benefits as the construction of dams, beehives for honey collection and so on. In response to a question Mr. Nyari as to how soon these promises would be fulfilled, we told them we just had a meeting to deliberate as to where the dam would be located therefore construction would start at any moment from now. On the issue of farm lands, the term wanted to know what we will be doing to enhance our live hood once we had opened out our lands to the company. We told them there are other places we could still farm at and also that the incomes that would be earned from the employment will supplement what we will be getting from our farms. The issue of micro finance and other benefits were also mentioned.One statement made by Mr. Nyari that almost every body marvelled at was that the land cleared at Kpachaa was 10miles squared, mean while even a blind person who would be taken around the site would truthly conclude that the site is not even up to 4miles squared.All we want to tell Mr. Nyari is that we know his intentions of doing all these. He claims he wants to sensitise as to fight for our rights. But the ultimate goal Mr.Nyari wants to achieve is to drive away the company from our communities so that the benefits attached would all go untapped. Besides, the people did not just come to work on the land but had undergone some procedures such as the EPA the district assembly, the chief and people of the area. It is therefore in appropriate for an individual to take it up on himself and say he is going to fight for his ancestral land at central Gonja and Yendi district.He is not the only elite who is so concern about the people and their welfare in the whole Northern Region of Ghana. More so there are agencies and institutions that are responsibly for human rights as well as environmental protection. Is Mr.Nyari saying that all these offices are not doing their work, including our chiefs, are they so uncivilized that, they do not know what they should do or not when it comes to land issues? This will be a great insult to our chief and opinion leaders and we advice that it must be stop immediately. We know where we are heading to and why.We have civilised people among us who can embark on massive education of the public against many things that they think will be detrimental to the lives of the people. The people of the community have undergone through education on the benefits and prospects of the project.Commitees have been set at various communities and a central committee involving two people each from each community committee. This committee are to see to the welfare of the people and also to help implement the benefits such as the micro financing among others. We therefore advice that Mr.Nyari should stop underrating our chiefs and opinion leaders. They know what is good for their people and they also have spokes persons who will speak on their behalf on issues of this nature.Mr.Nyari is a spokes person for Kusawgu Wura and not a universal spokes person for all chiefs.Tijo Naa has his spokes person and many other people who will not watch his land being taken away on false promises. He has not sold out the land to them but rather lease it on terms that would make all to benefit from what ever will come out from it, in consultations with his elders and other opinion leaders. The land can be reclaimed if the company fails to leave up to expectation without and he can easily do this without seeking any external support.Infact,the unity that the communities are currently enjoying as the result of the coming of the company alone is a great achievement. Now the people of Jimle, kpachaa, Tuya and Jaashee are now having common meeting, sharing common ideas and making collective decisions which seldom happened before. We hope Mr.Nyari will heed to this advice so that we can have the full benefit that company is bring to our door steps. We appreciate your effort sensitize us on the pros and cons of the company but we are telling you that we have had enough education and understanding on that already.This is joint release of the secretaries of committees of Jimle, Tuya,Jaashee and Kpachaa-
I am writing to express my profound pleasure and gratitude to the chairman of biofuel for making it possible to extend their project into the Northern part of the country. I hope that the character and attitude of we the Africans, our relationship to each other should not be strange to him and therefore must not scared or discourage of any article written to him trying to condemn his management, particular his local management. I as an under grate and prominent native of Tijo will not recoil into my shell for someone from no where trying to chase away an opportunity that has befallen on us. Just recently an article was written to you trying to tarnish the image of the local management my making a lot of nasty commence contained in the article pasted on the allAfrican web which is not true and emphatically wrong but rather a clear sabotage to the local management. Even though I am not an employee of biofuel Africa I hope I could be an employee tomorrow and for that matter I must not leave any stone unturn by reacting direct to what is contained in the article. Before the company come down we heared of them as a courageous person, I have being monitoring all their activities in all durbars. I was a participant during the public consultation meeting at Tijo when you delivered a wonderful and inspiring speech on behalf the company.Infact your submission was clear and your local management have taken the same steps relying on what you have mention in speech to synthesize the people in the communities. I believe even I did not make commence on some of his sabotage your conscious would not accept it.On the issue of illegal acquisition land is mystery and ambiguous. What is he trying to say that when the company had passed through the right channel to acquire the in a form of leasing it them by chief in collaboration with people of the community who have their farms on the site. The only thing that brought the work to stand still was their inability to inform right organisation before clearing the land .At a point in time they were stop by environmental protection Agency EPA and advice them to process environmental accessory impact before they can continue. Fortunately they complied and subsequently began with the process and were given permission to continue whilst in the process of the documents. I wish if given the opportunity to personal contact with Mr. Nyaari I would have challenge him verbal about this sovereignty and identity. What do you still expect the company to do to satisfy you about this very issue. During the tour of the consultant to the various communities to make their research later developed an argument that, neither EPA nor should biofuel staff move with the consultant. Both sides decided that a neutral person must move with them for interpretation and clarification. I was likely to chosen as part of the neutral team to take them round the various communities. I witnessed an instance where the consultant tries to find out their traditional hideout, their cemeteries and shrines so that the company will stay away from them for the prevailing peace to persist the communities. The fact that future leaders in the communities are captured by the company can be disputed. How many leaders in the communities are captured by the company, I must say is only non skilled labour that are with them for the start. The company never promise leaders positions or help. I hope he will have no evidence to substantiate his point. Under no circumstance the company thought of offering positions and help to leaders of the communities but only made a few proposals on what to do to the communities involves when progress.For the job opportunities, the company stands the chance of offering the youth jobs. Just for start, the company have offered jobs a good number of the youth and they still continue engaging them therefore the facts remains obvious. I could remember when an alarm was raised by an international body UN to put blame on Biofuel on the issue of global food crisis but an instantaneous counter reaction was made by the president of Brazil Lula Da Silva saying that Biofuel are blameless. As already stated about the attitude of we Africans, his criticisms are nothing else but rather complete sabotage. He is saying this for his own personal interest not for the interest of the people. But he should not forget that he is driven away an opportunity for his own people in the community and can not extend this to our community, Tijo. We the intellectuals will not set on the fence and allow this to happen. Thank youA CONCERN CITIZENOSMAN ADAM ISSAHUNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIESFACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCENAVRONGO CAMPUS.
This is in respond to an article pasted on the allAfrican web on 21st April 2008 by one Mr.Nyari whom I met once at the Kusawgu site of BioFuel Company (the company in concern).
The article concerns a story of a Norwegian biofuel company intending to go into a large Jatropha plantation in the Northern Region of the country.
The writer made claims which I strongly disapprove. He said the company are taking advantage of the traditional method of land acquisition of communal land and the climatic and the economic pressure in Africa to claim lands and deforest large track in the Kusawgu Traditional Area in the Northern region of Ghana.
The writer of the said article I think is up to nothing but to ascertain some kind of selfish interest which I think is only known to him.
Initial when the company approaches the chiefs and the people of the Area, they went into a negotiation table on which a contract of mutual benefit was signed and a track of land virgin was lease to the company to undertake this Jatropha production. This dissembler, in the person of Mr.Nyari was consulted by his people and so he decided to visit the site after which he said no to the company on the bases that the company is destroying his old men farms forgetting that, the lease track of land is not under any cultivation for many years as the people of Kusawgu said. Mr.Bakari Nyari changes his bases by saying that the company is destroying the sheanut trees. Mr. Nyari on behalf of the community met the company and he even proposes the extension of the land lease to the company all because he wants to for fill his personal interest but not the interest of his community and its people.
Mr.Nyari, selected members of the community, biofuel representatives and I(a contracted digital gps controller) went to the site to make the extension and peak the coordinates of the boundaries of the proposed extended site, this indecision suffering man(Mr.Nyari) was very happy and assured the company that, they are now free to carry on. Mr.Nyari later went to his people and told them to say no to the company but his people remain silent because they have come to release that, their man is up to for filling his desire and insisted on the company to start work on the site and the company did with the permission of Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) and are having their permit number of CA002080104 and the registration number CA 2080104 issued on the 28th of February, 2008.
I am very sorry to the shameful act of Mr.Nyari whom I mistook to be a real man fighting for his people.
I am again much disappointed at this dishonoured man of creating fallacy that the company has already stumped about 2,600 hectares of land which is never true because the land cleared is not even up to 300 hectares.
Laws are laws, rules are rules and contracts are contract, Mr. Nyari claims the company is having a big fish in government who is influencing all this action and I tell him that this big fish can never change the laws of the Kusawgu Traditional area not alone the entire nation . Mr. Nyari, the man who is trying to be voluptuary at the detriment of his community and its people should have fish this big fish out of the government for the public to be free from such dishonoured leaders rather than to be making his people unnerve and confusing himself the more. I am assuring you that Ghana is about to reach its climax stage of democracy and therefore fishing out the big fish would not do you any harm but rather benefit you and the country as a whole as the country would be free law breaker and would never become a state of anarchy.
Mr.Nyari shamefully astonish me by complementing his dissemble status by secretly writing a mail to the world land contracting manager of biofuel falsely condemning the authorities of the biofuel company in Northern Region simply because he is not given the chance to manage this BioFuel Norwegian Company in the Region.
I was sorry to hear that, after Mr. Nyari the so-called dragon tried his own mothers land (Gonja Land) and could not for fill his personal interest, he visited the company site in the Yendi District with Action Aid Ghana and again his selfish desire was not ascertain and now he thought the only way out for him to for fill this desire is to create fallacies against the company and attack individual company.
This is in respond to an article pasted on the allAfrican web on 21st April 2008 by one Mr.Nyari whom I met once at the Kusawgu site of BioFuel Company (the company in concern).
The article concerns a story of a Norwegian biofuel company intending to go into a large Jatropha plantation in the Northern Region of the country.
The writer made claims which I strongly disapprove. He said the company are taking advantage of the traditional method of land acquisition of communal land and the climatic and the economic pressure in Africa to claim lands and deforest large track in the Kusawgu Traditional Area in the Northern region of Ghana.
The writer of the said article I think is up to nothing but to ascertain some kind of selfish interest which I think is only known to him.
Initial when the company approaches the chiefs and the people of the Area, they went into a negotiation table on which a contract of mutual benefit was signed and a track of land virgin was lease to the company to undertake this Jatropha production. This dissembler, in the person of Mr.Nyari was consulted by his people and so he decided to visit the site after which he said no to the company on the bases that the company is destroying his old men farms forgetting that, the lease track of land is not under any cultivation for many years as the people of Kusawgu said. Mr.Bakari Nyari changes his bases by saying that the company is destroying the sheanut trees. Mr. Nyari on behalf of the community met the company and he even proposes the extension of the land lease to the company all because he wants to for fill his personal interest but not the interest of his community and its people.
Mr.Nyari, selected members of the community, biofuel representatives and I(a contracted digital gps controller) went to the site to make the extension and peak the coordinates of the boundaries of the proposed extended site, this indecision suffering man(Mr.Nyari) was very happy and assured the company that, they are now free to carry on. Mr.Nyari later went to his people and told them to say no to the company but his people remain silent because they have come to release that, their man is up to for filling his desire and insisted on the company to start work on the site and the company did with the permission of Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) and are having their permit number of CA002080104 and the registration number CA 2080104 issued on the 28th of February, 2008.
I am very sorry to the shameful act of Mr.Nyari whom I mistook to be a real man fighting for his people.
I am again much disappointed at this dishonoured man of creating fallacy that the company has already stumped about 2,600 hectares of land which is never true because the land cleared is not even up to 300 hectares.
Laws are laws, rules are rules and contracts are contract, Mr. Nyari claims the company is having a big fish in government who is influencing all this action and I tell him that this big fish can never change the laws of the Kusawgu Traditional area not alone the entire nation . Mr. Nyari, the man who is trying to be voluptuary at the detriment of his community and its people should have fish this big fish out of the government for the public to be free from such dishonoured leaders rather than to be making his people unnerve and confusing himself the more. I am assuring you that Ghana is about to reach its climax stage of democracy and therefore fishing out the big fish would not do you any harm but rather benefit you and the country as a whole as the country would be free law breaker and would never become a state of anarchy.
Mr.Nyari shamefully astonish me by complementing his dissemble status by secretly writing a mail to the world land contracting manager of biofuel falsely condemning the authorities of the biofuel company in Northern Region simply because he is not given the chance to manage this BioFuel Norwegian Company in the Region.
I was sorry to hear that, after Mr. Nyari the so-called dragon tried his own mothers land (Gonja Land) and could not for fill his personal interest, he visited the company site in the Yendi District with Action Aid Ghana and again his selfish desire was not ascertain and now he thought the only way out for him to for fill this desire is to create fallacies against the company and attack individual personnel’s of the company.
This is in respond to an article pasted on the allAfrican web on 21st April 2008 by one Mr.Nyari whom I met once at the Kusawgu site of BioFuel Company (the company in concern).The article concerns a story of a Norwegian biofuel company intending to go into a large Jatropha plantation in the Northern Region of the country. The writer made claims which I strongly disapprove. He said the company are taking advantage of the traditional method of land acquisition of communal land and the climatic and the economic pressure in Africa to claim lands and deforest large track in the Kusawgu Traditional Area in the Northern region of Ghana.The writer of the said article I think is up to nothing but to ascertain some kind of selfish interest which I think is only known to him.Initial when the company approaches the chiefs and the people of the Area, they went into a negotiation table on which a contract of mutual benefit was signed and a track of land virgin was lease to the company to undertake this Jatropha production. This dissembler, in the person of Mr.Nyari was consulted by his people and so he decided to visit the site after which he said no to the company on the bases that the company is destroying his old men farms forgetting that, the lease track of land is not under any cultivation for many years as the people of Kusawgu said. Mr.Bakari Nyari changes his bases by saying that the company is destroying the sheanut trees. Mr. Nyari on behalf of the community met the company and he even proposes the extension of the land lease to the company all because he wants to for fill his personal interest but not the interest of his community and its people. Mr.Nyari, selected members of the community, biofuel representatives and I(a contracted digital gps controller) went to the site to make the extension and peak the coordinates of the boundaries of the proposed extended site, this indecision suffering man(Mr.Nyari) was very happy and assured the company that, they are now free to carry on. Mr.Nyari later went to his people and told them to say no to the company but his people remain silent because they have come to release that, their man is up to for filling his desire and insisted on the company to start work on the site and the company did with the permission of Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) and are having their permit number of CA002080104 and the registration number CA 2080104 issued on the 28th of February, 2008.I am very sorry to the shameful act of Mr.Nyari whom I mistook to be a real man fighting for his people.I am again much disappointed at this dishonoured man of creating fallacy that the company has already stumped about 2,600 hectares of land which is never true because the land cleared is not even up to 300 hectares. Laws are laws, rules are rules and contracts are contract, Mr. Nyari claims the company is having a big fish in government who is influencing all this action and I tell him that this big fish can never change the laws of the Kusawgu Traditional area not alone the entire nation . Mr. Nyari, the man who is trying to be voluptuary at the detriment of his community and its people should have fish this big fish out of the government for the public to be free from such dishonoured leaders rather than to be making his people unnerve and confusing himself the more. I am assuring you that Ghana is about to reach its climax stage of democracy and therefore fishing out the big fish would not do you any harm but rather benefit you and the country as a whole as the country would be free law breaker and would never become a state of anarchy.Mr.Nyari shamefully astonish me by complementing his dissemble status by secretly writing a mail to the world land contracting manager of biofuel falsely condemning the authorities of the biofuel company in Northern Region simply because he is not given the chance to manage this BioFuel Norwegian Company in the Region.I was sorry to hear that, after Mr. Nyari the so-called dragon tried his own mothers land (Gonja Land) and could not for fill his personal interest, he visited the company site in the Yendi District with Action Aid Ghana and again his selfish desire was not ascertain and now he thought the only way out for him to for fill this desire is to create fallacies against the company and attack individual personnel’s of the company.
A REACTION TO MR. NYARI PUBLICATION
There are articles written by one Mr. Nyari, a native of Gonja land in the northern region of Ghana, against a Norwegian company Biofuel that operate in the region.
I am writing to inform all well meaning Ghanaians and foreigners who happen to come across any of his publications that Mr. Nyari has no course to pursue in this regard. He is only trying to blackmail the company on no good reason. Due to his conservative nature, several other beneficial companies could not work in the Gonja land. Even though there are vacant lands which could support their projects, examples of such companies is Ghana Cotton Co.Ltd., Nulux plantation Ltd.etc.
This man, from my observation prefer to have the land intact than to use it for any gainful investment for the people to benefit. Almost every body in this area are aware of his unnecessary controversies and retrogressiviness.There is vast areas of land that are not used for food production, yet nobody can invest on those lands. What is the use of the land if it is not put into gainful investment?
I simply want to state that Mr. Nyari wants to drag the name of the company in mud and the company should do all it can to avoid itself been entangled in his web of personal ambitions (selfish voluptuaries). A legal action should be taken by the company against him if he refuses to stop intimating the company. He would have referred the case to the relevant agencies if he is fighting the right cause and not trying to brand the company’s name via the net. This problem must be nipped in the bud. Thank
See all comments (10).
This is in respond to an article pasted on the allAfrican web on 21st April 2008 by one Mr.Nyari whom I met once at the Kusawgu site of BioFuel Company (the company in concern).
The article concerns a story of a Norwegian biofuel company intending to go into a large Jatropha plantation in the Northern Region of the country.
The writer made claims which I strongly disapprove. He said the company are taking advantage of the traditional method of land acquisition of communal land and the climatic and the economic pressure in Africa to claim lands and deforest large track in the Kusawgu Traditional Area in the Northern region of Ghana.
The writer of the said article I think is up to nothing but to ascertain some kind of selfish interest which I think is only known to him.
Initial when the company approaches the chiefs and the people of the Area, they went into a negotiation table on which a contract of mutual benefit was signed and a track of land virgin was lease to the company to undertake this Jatropha production. This dissembler, in the person of Mr.Nyari was consulted by his people and so he decided to visit the site after which he said no to the company on the bases that the company is destroying his old men farms forgetting that, the lease track of land is not under any cultivation for many years as the people of Kusawgu said. Mr.Bakari Nyari changes his bases by saying that the company is destroying the sheanut trees. Mr. Nyari on behalf of the community met the company and he even proposes the extension of the land lease to the company all because he wants to for fill his personal interest but not the interest of his community and its people.
Mr.Nyari, selected members of the community, biofuel representatives and I(a contracted digital gps controller) went to the site to make the extension and peak the coordinates of the boundaries of the proposed extended site, this indecision suffering man(Mr.Nyari) was very happy and assured the company that, they are now free to carry on. Mr.Nyari later went to his people and told them to say no to the company but his people remain silent because they have come to release that, their man is up to for filling his desire and insisted on the company to start work on the site and the company did with the permission of Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) and are having their permit number of CA002080104 and the registration number CA 2080104 issued on the 28th of February, 2008.
I am very sorry to the shameful act of Mr.Nyari whom I mistook to be a real man fighting for his people.
I am again much disappointed at this dishonoured man of creating fallacy that the company has already stumped about 2,600 hectares of land which is never true because the land cleared is not even up to 300 hectares.
Laws are laws, rules are rules and contracts are contract, Mr. Nyari claims the company is having a big fish in government who is influencing all this action and I tell him that this big fish can never change the laws of the Kusawgu Traditional area not alone the entire nation . Mr. Nyari, the man who is trying to be voluptuary at the detriment of his community and its people should have fish this big fish out of the government for the public to be free from such dishonoured leaders rather than to be making his people unnerve and confusing himself the more. I am assuring you that Ghana is about to reach its climax stage of democracy and therefore fishing out the big fish would not do you any harm but rather benefit you and the country as a whole as the country would be free law breaker and would never become a state of anarchy.
Mr.Nyari shamefully astonish me by complementing his dissemble status by secretly writing a mail to the world land contracting manager of biofuel falsely condemning the authorities of the biofuel company in Northern Region simply because he is not given the chance to manage this BioFuel Norwegian Company in the Region.
I was sorry to hear that, after Mr. Nyari the so-called dragon tried his own mothers land (Gonja Land) and could not for fill his personal interest, he visited the company site in the Yendi District with Action Aid Ghana and again his selfish desire was not ascertain and now he thought the only way out for him to for fill this desire is to create fallacies against the company and attack individual personnel’s of the company