‘Limping’ Ghana Manganese Meddling In Politics, Allegedly Sponsoring Its Manager & NDC Candidate To Unseat MP?

The Ghana Manganese Company (GMC), which until recently was struggling to survive and got shutdown temporarily in 2019, is alleged to be sponsoring one of its top managers as a parliamentary candidate for the 2024 general election, to unseat the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for the area.

The Anchor is informed, the Nsuta-based company, is clandestinely backing one Mr Issah Salifu Taylor, who is currently the Ports Manager of GMC and 2024 parliamentary candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the Tarkwa-Nsuaem constituency in the Western Region.

According to workers, Issah Taylor, is still at post as manager and receiving massive support, whiles managers of the company, have persistently failed to get him to resigned, as he moves about throwing mud at the government and the incumbent MP, George Mireku Duker, at every least opportunity.

The development, is said to be creating division and heightened tension among workers, with petty politics gradually taking a center stage in the company, presently led by Mr Jurgen Eijgendaal, as its Managing Director.

Many believe, the apparent failure by management of Ghana Manganese Company to compel the NDC parliamentary candidate to resign, but rather kept him at post, was a tacit endorsement of his candidature by the company.

Though reasons behind the company’s action are sketchy, sources say Issah Taylor, who was a former Commercial Manager of GMC and spent significant number of years at the company, is being allegedly sponsored to dislodge the MP, because of certain oversight responsibilities he recently performed as Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources at the company, which did not go down well with management.

According to insiders, the company is uncomfortable with how Mr Duker, acting as Deputy Minister in-charge of Mining not long ago, whipped management of GMC to enforce its Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) to the level of other companies operating in the area like Goldfieds, Anglogold Ashanti, among others.

Additionally, this paper is informed how leadership of the company, is also not happy with how the MP as a former Board Member the company, ensures that workers are properly compensated, while ensuring local content and participation is upheld at all times.

The Anchor has gathered that, while the entire GMC workforce are happy with the best practices the MP is pushing to guarantee their welfare, those at the helm of affairs on the other hand, are said to be uncomfortable, hence their alleged resolve to support one of their own to get Mireku Duker ousted.

Background of GMC

GMC is 90 percent owned by the Consmin Group, with the remainder 10 percent being the carried interest of the State. The company, which has been running since 1914, happened to be one of the oldest mines in the country.

Between 2019 and 2020, the mine was shut for about six months due to several reasons, but for the interventions of the MP.

According to the then sector Minister, Mr Kwaku Asoma-Cheremeh, the company was shut down for allegedly causing revenue loss of about $360 million (GH¢1.94 billion) to the State, between 2010 and 2017.

According to him, the country lost $12.8 million in royalties, $79 million in corporate taxes and $6.1 million in dividends.

However, the Chief Operating Officer of the Company, Benjamin Atsu Quashie, according to graphic business report, denied the allegations, saying that the company paid $31 million as corporate tax and $17 million as royalties before December 31, 2018.

Political implication

But the current turnaround of the company, since the return of operations, has been quick and very focused.

Some workers who spoke with the newspaper on condition of anonymity, have expressed worry that, the political activities the company is attempting to meddle itself in, could have implications and cause dissatisfaction among the workforce and the people of Tarkwa-Nsuaem, if not stopped immediately.

Source: Anchorghana.com