Destructive: AngloGold, Red Back, Newmont, et al.
Minerals and Mining Bill Under Scrutiny
Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)
October 14, 2005
Posted to the web October 14, 2005
Joseph Coomson
Seventy representatives from across all mining areas in the country are outraged at the way Members of Parliament (MPs) from the areas have remained silent about their plights in the promulgation of the Mining and Minerals bill into law.
Expressing their concerns about the bill, which has been designated as one of the emergency bills to be passed when parliament resumes, community representatives revealed that, but for the advocacy campaign of the National Coalition on Mining (NCOM), they would not have known that the mineral and mining bill existed.
These came to the fore on the first day of a two-day National Conference of communities affected by mining activities organized by the Third World Network and the Coalition on Mining in Accra yesterday.
They called on parliament to consider the views of ordinary people who were living in mining communities in the process of promulgating the bill, as it had not received the desired contribution from them.
A representative, Richard Alima from Obuasi did not understand that after over a hundred years of mining, the town had nothing to show for it except poverty, cyanide-infested crops, abuse of human rights, the destruction of property as well as environmental degradation.
He appealed to parliament and the drafters to inculcate into the bill, the human right aspect that life is more important than mining when it comes to conflict between mining and human rights.
Mr. Alima called on the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate the incident in which an illegal miner was hurt at the AngloGold Ashanti's Obuasi mine.
He was however disappointed with the MP of the areas, as he had not educated his constituents on the bill and done nothing for the Obuasi Community.
Gibson Asante, from the Sefwi Ahiaso/ Bibiani area said AngloGold Ashanti, Bibiani Limited, Chirano Gold and the Ghana Bauxite Company Limited had been polluting the environment of the area. He said frequent blastings by the companies had cracked buildings in the area but inadequate compensations were paid for properties destroyed.
He accused Chirano also of creating dams that bred mosquitoes.
Mr. Asante called on parliament to come to his area to explain the bill to them.
Richard Adjei-Poku, on his part, said the women in the Kenyasi area where Newmont Ghana operates do not respect men who do not work with Newmont because men who do not work for Newmont are classified as poor people because Newmont pays their workers well. Mr. Adjei-Poku noted that the youth of the area have been employed for only the menial jobs.
He complained as well of high rent in the area as more people enter the town.
Kwesi Blay, who represented the Himan and Prestea area, blame the poor state of the town on assemblymen and District Chief Executives (DCEs) who have sided with mining companies by soliciting for contracts. "Hospitals have been designated for the dumping of waste products from their mines."
Mr. J.A. Osei from Tarkwa further asked, "Should we leave cocoa which fetches the country 60% of the country's foreign exchange earning to go waste in favour of surface mining?"
He was of the view that surface mining came to kill people of the mining communities. Mr. Osei noted also that only 5% of profit from the mining industry is retained, leaving Ghana nothing for development.
Opening the conference, Dr. Yao Graham, Coordinator of the Third World Network said the bill should not be left in the hands of politicians and the minerals commission but to the people who live in the communities where mining coys operate.
He said the undemocratic processing of the bill is bad, as no dissenting views were included, especially Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the people in mining areas.
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AI
