ROW OVER MINING (Front page) 11-05-09

Story: Kofi Yeboah, Elmina

CENTURIES after European concessionaires had imported heavy machinery into the country to engage in the gold trade, has mining been a blessing or a curse for Ghana?
This is the debate which some environmentalists and the anti-mining coalition in the country are urging the Ghana Chamber of Mines, which last week called for the promotion of mining as a growth pole for the national economy, to engage in.
Statistics indicate that the contribution of mining to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) has only increased from 1.3 per cent in 1991 to about five per cent lately.
Drawing attention to the destructive effects of mining on the environment, the group urged the government to institute a national forum to discuss the future of mining in the country.
Representatives of some mining communities and NGOs in the Central and Western regions made the call at a three-day workshop on, "Strengthening the capacities of communities in conflict management", held at Elmina in the Central Region at the weekend.
It was under the auspices of the National Peace Council (NPC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Present were some members of the NPC, including the Chairman and Catholic Bishop of Cape Coast, Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson; the Vice-Chairman and Ameer and Missionary in charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana, Maulvi Wahab Adam; the Catholic Bishop of Ho, the Most Reverend Francis Lodonu; a former General-Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Madam Georgina Baiden, and the President of the Ghana Historical Society, Prof Irene Odotei.
The growth pole theory suggests the promotion of one sector of the economy with the intention of making it a magnetic force from which other sectors of the economy will develop for overall national economic growth.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ms Joyce Aryee, is reported to have suggested the promotion of mining as a growth pole in view of the sector’s positive contribution to the country’s economy.
The mining industry has come under a barrage of criticisms for destroying the environment and the livelihoods of farmers, thereby deepening poverty in mining communities, as well as being a source of conflict in the communities.
Tebrebe and Teleku-Bokasu are two mining communities that have witnessed violent clashes in recent times, leading to the loss of lives and property.
Representatives of mining communities who attended the workshop reiterated their resolve to resist mining operations in their localities because they would deprive the people of their farmlands and livelihoods.
They claimed that efforts to seek redress to their grievances at various quarters had not yielded positive results and expressed their determination to protect their land and livelihoods from mining companies if the government failed to address their concerns.
The Executive Director of the Wassa Communities Against Mining (WACAM), Mr Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, dismissed the idea of making mining the growth pole of the economy on two grounds — that the growth pole theory was archaic and that even if the theory was relevant, mining could not be the ideal sector to promote as a growth pole.
He said mining companies operated with impunity because the law virtually sought to promote their operations.
He said there was no law, for instance, that stopped anybody from mining anywhere and so if a mining company found gold at the Castle in Osu and managed to convince the government about the benefits likely to be derived from the resource, it would bring down the Castle and mine.
Mr Owusu-Koranteng cited an instance in the past when Cabinet gave approval for some mining companies to mine in forest reserves, contrary to the law.
He said mining companies were so powerful and influential that they could always have their way, pointing out, however, that Ghanaians must not allow the companies to destroy the nation.
Bishop Lodonu, for his part, said it was important to address the harm mining activities and the extraction of other natural resources was causing to the environment in the interest of posterity.
"A time will come when we will not have any land to farm. We will dig the gold, dig the oil and die of hunger," he remarked.
Making a presentation on, "Natural resource conflict: An overview of the Ghanaian case", a lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Dr Kumi Ansa-Koi, said Africa was inundated with conflicts emanating from natural resources.
He said the extractive industry had been a major cause of the conflicts which had done more harm than good to the people, with women and children being the worst affected.
Dr Ansa-Koi identified poverty, over-concentration of power, bad governance and greed as some of the causes of natural resource-based conflicts and stressed the need to address them in order not to experience horrible situations, such as those in Nigeria.
Contributing to the topic as a lead discussant, a member of WACAM, Mrs Hannah Owusu-Koranteng, said although Ghana had not experienced natural resource-based conflicts on a large-scale, compared to what pertained in other African countries, signs pointing to that direction were very clear.
She stressed the need for good governance practices to address such conflicts, adding that the quest for foreign investment did not mean "we should disregard the rights of mining communities".
Mrs Owusu-Koranteng said it was wrong for mining companies to renege on the payment of compensation and royalties in lieu of their social corporate responsibility, indicating that the three obligations were separate and distinct.
In another presentation on the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of the Interior, Mr Edwin Barnes, said although conflicts were part of normal daily life, it was important to manage them well.
He said in any conflict situation there was the need for the two parties to co-operate to ensure a win-win situation.
The UN Peace Index ranks Ghana as the foremost peaceful country in Africa and, in the words of Maulvi Wahab Adam, "It’s important for us to maintain the peace in the country."