Ruptly
"Salt miners from indigenous communities living near Accra's Songor Lagoon, one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest salt-producing sites, face mounting challenges from climate-driven underproduction and rising prices linked to the monopoly of state-owned companies. Footage captured on Tuesday shows workers scooping salt from boats, carrying it in buckets, and packing it for further transportation. "The lagoon you are seeing here is our life - it's our livelihood, our everything. All that we do in Ada comes from this lagoon," explained Nene Mailo Dadebom Anim II, chief of the local Toflokpo Village. Ghanaian authorities launched Electrochem's 15-year lease to mine salt at Songor Lagoon in 2021, promising major investment in the concession and supporting infrastructure. However, local artisanal miners argue that the deal has made it more difficult for them to access the lagoon and earn a living. "About two or three years ago, we started facing challenges here when the Electrochem company came. At that time, we couldn't work here anymore - they seized all the places where we had been mining and buying salt," a buyer claimed. "They are trying to make money, but they are not doing what is needed to generate proper revenue from this resource. They haven't properly studied the salt or conducted thorough investigations, so they can develop better plans to produce it on a commercial scale," added Chief Anim II. Salt extraction has also become more challenging as climate conditions, including sudden downpours, can wash away the crystals that help sustain local livelihoods. Songor Lagoon is one of Africa's largest high-quality salt sites, covering more than 41,000 acres and holding potential for millions of tonnes a year. It remains greatly underexploited, with about 50 communities and 70,000 people relying on small-scale mining that produces only about 250,000 metric tonnes annually, according to reports."
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