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Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and stakeholders have called on the government to cancel existing contractors in the mining sector.
At the closing session of a two-day validation workshop in Sunyani, they recommended new negotiations and agreements for the nation to derive the optimum benefits from mining. Comprising environmentalists, traditional authorities, human rights activists and civil society actors and industry experts, the stakeholders said the nation must at least benefited 40 percent of her gold and other mineral deposits.
The Center for Public Interest Law (CEPIL), an in collaboration with Wacam, the Media Foundation for West Africa, CSOs, with support from Oxfam Ghana, organised the workshop to validate a study on human right violations.
Oxfam Ghana commissioned the CSOs to conduct the study within the within the Newmont Akyem mine and Newmont Ahafo mine. Their call for the cancellation and renegotiation of contracts in the extractive sector comes at the wake of growing concerns on the socio-economic and environmental impacts of mining activities in the country.
The stakeholders observed that there were loopholes in the nation’s contractual frameworks which favoured mining companies, citing that those gaps were responsible for the recurring human rights abuses, environmental degradation, and payment of inadequate compensation to persons and communities directly or indirectly affected by mining.
“Those contracts were negotiated at a time when the dynamic was different. Today, we need agreements that reflect the current realities and aspirations of Ghanaians,” Mr Raphael Godlove Ahenu, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Global Media Foundation, (GloMeF), a CSO stated. “The nation must assert more control over her resources and to ensure that the benefits are equitably shared,” he stated.
Mr Yakubu Adusa, an environmental activist and the Executive Director of Form Foundation and Environment, another CSO, highlighted the need for sustainable mining practices in the country, saying “we can’t continue to sacrifice our environment and the health of people for short-term gains”.
“Renegotiating those contracts is a step forwards towards ensuring that mining activities don’t come at the expense of our future,” he stated, arguing that increasing the nation’s percentage share would not only improve revenue, but also enhance the government’s ability to enforce environmental and social standards.
Earlier, Dr Samuel Obiri, the Executive Director of Centre for Environmental Impact Analysis (CEIA), and a Researcher noted that tackling human rights abuses and violations in mining communities required a multifaceted approach.
That includes stricter enforcement of mining regulations, fair compensation, and resettlement for displaced communities, as well as sustainable mining practices. Dr Obiri expressed concern about the widespread illegal mining activities, causing extensive destruction to cocoa farms, water bodies, and forest resources, and thereby undermining livelihoods of people.
Source: GNA
