The Office of the Libi Wornor (Salt Priest) of Ada, together with the Terkpebiawe Clan and several community organizations, has accused the Ada Traditional Council of aiding businessman Daniel McKorley’s company, ElectroChem Ghana Limited, in what they describe as an “orchestrated attempt” to seize the Songor Lagoon — the ancestral and economic lifeline of the Ada people.
At a well-attended press conference held at Lenobinya in Big Ada, representatives of the Libi Wornor, the Okor Priests (kingmakers of the Ada Paramount Stool), the Ada Songor Lagoon Association (ASLA), the Dangme East Salt Producers Association (DESPA), and residents of the Songor enclave communities expressed deep anger over what they termed as a systematic takeover of the lagoon with the backing of the Ada Traditional Council.
Speaking on the theme “Protest Against Ada Traditional Council’s Persistent Attempts in Supporting McDan’s ElectroChem to Snatch the Major Source of Livelihood of the People of Ada Songor Enclave Communities,” the groups said the Traditional Council’s alliance with the private company represents “a betrayal of the trust of the people” and “a desecration of Ada’s cultural heritage.”
The statement, read on behalf of the Libi Wornor by Hon. Ebenezer Adjaottor, alleged that the Songor Lagoon, which provides livelihood for more than 140,000 residents across 60 communities, has been handed over to ElectroChem under questionable circumstances.
According to the group, the lagoon, which has sustained Ada’s artisanal salt production for generations, is not just an economic resource but the “heartbeat and essence of the Ada people’s existence.”
The group recalled that similar attempts to monopolize salt production in the 1970s and 1980s under the then Progress Party government were resisted, leading to the promulgation of PNDC Law 287 in 1985 by late President Jerry John Rawlings to protect local salt producers through the Master Plan for Salt Development.
However, they claim the former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo “abused his powers” in 2019 by leasing the entire lagoon—from Sege Nakomkope to Elavanyo—to Mr. Daniel McKorley and his company, ElectroChem Ghana Limited. They described the move as “a deliberate attempt by powerful political and business interests to monopolize Ghana’s salt industry.”
The Libi Wornor’s Office further accused the Ada Traditional Council of “ignoring the plight of their own people” by aligning with ElectroChem for personal gain. They cited the council’s visit to the presidency in June 2023, where chiefs reportedly requested state security to clamp down on so-called “illegal miners,” referring to artisanal salt producers defending their rights to the lagoon.
The groups alleged that since ElectroChem began operations, violence and intimidation have become rampant in the Songor enclave. They cited the shooting death of Korletey Agormeda in November 2022 as a case in point, describing it as a result of state-backed suppression of community protests.
They also accused the council of sidelining dissenting traditional leaders, including Nene Korley IV, a gazetted divisional chief, for opposing the deal with ElectroChem.
While ElectroChem has publicly claimed to have created between 3,000 and 7,000 jobs for locals, the Songor groups dismissed the figures as “propaganda.”
According to them, less than 300 people were actually employed, many of whom were recently laid off without proper compensation. It reportedly took a 45-day protest before the company agreed to a payment schedule for redundancy packages, promising to settle the arrears in phases between October 2025 and March 2026.
They demanded transparency, calling on ElectroChem to publish tax and social security records of its alleged employees to prove the company’s employment claims.
The coalition called on the government to intervene immediately by enforcing the Master Plan for Salt Development and the recommendations of the Amissah Commission, which advocate an inclusive model allowing both local artisanal miners and large-scale investors to coexist.
They also questioned the credibility of a Parliamentary Committee report on the operations of ElectroChem, chaired by Hon. Samuel Atta Akyea, arguing that the Speaker of Parliament had declared the report insufficient and had set up three specialized subcommittees to conduct a more thorough investigation.
“We find it unjust, undemocratic, and untraditional that a communal resource should be placed in the hands of one company and a few elites,” the statement emphasized. “The Songor Lagoon belongs to the people of Ada, not to McDan or any political clique.”
The group issued a strong caution to the Ada Traditional Council against what they described as attempts to mislead former President John Dramani Mahama ahead of the 2024 elections. They vowed to resist any further effort to privatize the lagoon and announced plans to embark on peaceful demonstrations and picketing to defend their ancestral rights.
“We are not against investment or development,” they stated, “but development must come with dignity, inclusion, and justice for all, not the exploitation of our land for the enrichment of a few.”
“The Songor Lagoon is our heritage, our lifeline, and our future. It shall not be sold, seized, or surrendered — not today, not tomorrow.”
The Ada Songor Lagoon, Ghana’s largest natural salt lagoon, has been the center of a long-running ownership and management controversy spanning decades. ElectroChem Ghana Limited, part of the McDan Group, was granted a 15-year lease by government to revamp salt production. While supporters say the project will modernize the salt industry and boost exports, many locals accuse the company of displacing communities and destroying livelihoods that have existed for generations.
