Residents of Elmina in the Central Region have in a peaceful demonstration demanded for the handing over of the area's Salt Industry, alleged to have been sold by Nana Kodwo Conduah VI, Paramount Chief of the Edina Traditional Council.

Persons who joined in the demonstration, agitated of 26years of unrendered account on the industry to residents of Elmina who are said to own the factory betrothed to them by the Pan Brothers who hails from Greece upon a successful deal with leadership of the community in the 1900s.

The Salt Factory per information gathered by Sompa News is said to have been sold to M-YAK & Farouk Company Limited for an undisclosed amount of money by the Edina Traditional Council.

Report has it that the Elmina Salt Industry in August 1983, disassociated itself from the Panbros Salt Company (PSC) as leaders of Elmina wanted to manage the company for the betterment of its people. Something these demonstrators are yet to behold for years now.

The relatively peaceful demonstration which witnessed a handful of security presence, saw heads of the demonstrators petition leadership of the Salt Industry to swiftly handover operation of the factory to the community for proper administrative measures to be carried on the industry in a petition received by Kobina Badu, Projection Officer of the company.

Addressing the media in a bid to petition current leadership of the factory, John Quayson, popularly known as 'Manoma' admonished that no chief in Elmina owns the Salt Company to have the onus of even selling it.

He observed frustration over the fact that previous chiefs of the Edina Traditional Council all adhered in rendering account on the salt industry with the exception of Nana Kodwo Conduah VI who is yet to do so in his 26 years reign as chief of Elmina.

Some residents who also relayed their anguish, called on the traditional council for a refund of money to the new managers of the salt factory in other to have their company back to administer proper management on the company for generations yet unborn to benefit of it since the community stands to have recoup nothing of the industry for decades now.

Nana Nguando lV, Adontehene of the Edina Traditional Council and Chief of Simiw in a press briefing on behalf of Nana Kodwo Conduah VI, noted the salt factory to have rather been leased off for 40 years and not sold as speculated by the citizenry, having had the factory abandoned for eight (8) years and had started developing faults.

A factory the Edina Adontehene remarked to have a quantum of amount of arrears to settle, thus the need to have it operationalized to raise funds to pay off its accumulated neck breaking arrears.

He bemoaned the demonstrators undertaken action for not consulting the traditional council first, but in all echoed the Edina Traditional Council's open doors and readiness to have a round table discussion with the group to clear all doubts going forward.

Sompaonline.com/Eric Annan