WACAM Against Mining In Protected Areas

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday March 11, 2011
WACAM, an Environmental and Human Rights Non Governmental Organisation, which employs Rights-Based Advocacy (RBA) approaches to build the capacity of communities affected by mining, has made a passionate appeal to the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) not to allow mining in forest reserves and other protected areas.

“It is necessary to use the national constitution to protect the remaining forest reserves in Ghana. WACAM is thus proposing to the CRC to allow a clause in the constitution that would ban mining in forest reserves,” Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, Executive Director of WACAM said.

In a petition to the CRC as part of WACAM’s contribution towards the constitution review exercise, Mr. Owusu-Koranteng said mining lobby groups are desperately making attempts to push an agenda that there should be a provision in the national constitution to permit mining in forest reserves, adding that “it would be suicidal for the nation because mining has not yielded the needed benefits for the nation after years of destroying the environment.”

He said “there is widespread poverty in communities in mining areas. The people continue to be impoverished whilst these selfish companies continue to plunder our resources and send them abroad. Interestingly these companies would never be allowed to operate in the countries where they come from.”

“Multinational mining companies have targeted the mineral resources and that is why they want to push a provision in the constitution of Ghana to allow mining in forest reserves.

Even though the 1999 Land Policy does not promote mining in forest reserves the policy has been abused over the years due to the fact that it had little or no legal backing, adding, “If sovereignty resides in the people of Ghana, then the Constitution of Ghana should vest the natural wealth of the country, especially the minerals in the people to give meaning to the constitutional provision”.

“The level of control of the people of Ghana over decisions relating to mineral exploitation is indicative of the sovereignty of the country. The President of the Republic of Ghana would only act as a trustee for the natural wealth (including minerals) which should be vested in the people of Ghana.”

Mr. Owusu-Koranteng said WACAM has proposed a principle called ‘Free Prior and Informed Consent’ (FPIC) in the constitution to give practical meaning to vesting the mineral resources in the people and reduce the conflicts associated with mineral exploitation in Ghana.

“It is our belief that the FPIC would empower local communities in natural resource governance and give practical meaning to the Constitutional provision of vesting minerals in the people as a way of demonstrating that Ghana’s mineral resources are controlled by its people,” he added.

WACAM works with mining communities in Obuasi, Kenyase, Nzema, Tarkwa, Prestea, Akyem area and NGOs such as Center for Public Interest Law (CEPIL), Ibis, Oxfam America, G-RAP, Kasa and the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

In the course of its work, WACAM engages the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Minerals Commission, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the National Peace Council.