Accra, Dec. 21, - Mrs Hannah Owusu-Koranteng, the Associate
Executive Director of Wacam, has said it is wrong to assume that because the
large multinational mining companies are regulated, their activities do not
destroy the environment.
She said the scale of the
"Galamsey" menace should be regarded as part of the larger problem of
irresponsible mining which has engulfed the nation resulting in the pollution
of rivers, destruction of the environment and creating serious social,
environmental and economic legacies for mining communities in the country.
Mrs Owusu-Koranteng was speaking
at a workshop for journalists in Accra held under the theme: "Amplifying
Community Voices for Responsible Mining, the Role of the Media."
She said irresponsible mining
activities in the country over the past three decades have brought about
detrimental effects on the development of the country.
For this reason the forum seeks
to create an opportunity for media personnel and like-minded stakeholders to
influence the process of ensuring sanity in the mining sector by making
recommendations that would feed into government’s policy action for lasting
solutions.
She said the nation opened its
doors too wide to attract mining investment through generous incentives to
multinational mining companies to undertake surface mining operations without
developing strong laws to regulate mining operations.
The result had been loss of livelihood,
displacement of about 100,000 landlords, pollution of many rivers, the
exacerbation of poverty in mining communities, destruction of forest reserves
among others, she said.
She said it is important that
journalists broaden the scope of the fight against illegal mining operations to
cover the broad spectrum of issues in irresponsible mining.
She said the influx of
multinational mining companies was associated with large redundancies in the
existing underground mining operations and expressed solidarity with the Ghana
Mine Workers Union (GMWU) in matters relating to the redundancy of 1,700
workers of Gold Fields Ghana Limited.
Mrs Owusu-Koranteng said the
decision to declare 1,700 workers redundant in her opinion was motivated by the
desire of the company to reap super normal profit.
“We wish to remind Goldfields
Ghana Limited and all mining companies in the country that it has benefited
from the windfall profits for many years which has been repatriated to
shareholders outside Ghana.
“The company cannot use current
operational problems to justify the decision to declare the workers redundant,”
she said.
She urged Ghanaians to support
the struggle of the GMWU against the redundancy of the 1,700 workers who have
families and dependents to cater for.
Dr Doris Yaa Dartey, a
Communications Consultant, speaking at the event, said mining communities over
the years have experienced various challenges.
She said mining was a rootless
exercise and all investors who come to engage in this activity do not love the
country but rather want to take away the minerals just like the slave trade
regime.
She said God has blessed this
country abundantly with resources but until the right structures, policies,
laws and people were used and implemented, mining would not leave any positive
legacy in the respective communities and regions.
Dr Dartey said responsible mining
should be comprehensive and open, should respect the rights of all, ensure
multistakeholder engagement, must be environmentally friendly, free from human
health impacts, embrace best international practices, uphold rule of law and
its enforcement, should be safe for all.
She, therefore, urged journalists
to use their professional ethics to report on these issues as it was of major
concern to help comfort the afflicted in society.
GNA
No comments:
Post a Comment