Minister decries mining activities

Alhaji Issaku Saliah, Upper West Regional Minister of Ghana

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday July 3, 2011.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Alhaji Issaku Saliah has decried the spate of mining activities, particularly large-scale mining in the country which he says has not contributed meaningfully towards eradication of poverty.

“There are concerns, for example, that large-scale gold mining may has not contributed enough to poverty reduction and instead has had negative effects such as increase of social conflicts, displacement of population and reduction of employment and agriculture activity,” he said.

The minister was speaking at Wa, the regional capital at the opening of a forum on gold mining in the region aimed at developing common strategy to engage mining companies in their activities.

It was organized by the Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development (CIKOD) with sponsorship from the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) to sensitize the public, particularly chiefs on hazards of unregulated mining activities in the region where there are deposits of minerals including gold.

Alhaji Issaku said “despite the success of gold mining at a macro level it is less clear as to the benefits it has brought to local population.”

He said the time has come for all stakeholders to expose activities of mining companies operating irresponsibly because the negative effects associated with mining if not properly regulated.

“We should focus on the economic interactions between large and artisanal gold mines and the households located in the surrounding areas. I sincerely believe that therein lies some of the answers as to how resource wealth can be transformed into better living standards.’

He said “as a young upcoming region, we rejoice at the news of gold mining but we are also very cautious to ensure that this natural resource does not become a curse on us. We should do all we can to derive its maximum benefits.”

Bernard Guri, Executive Director of CIKOD, said recent study conducted by University of Texas showed that there was the lack of prior consultation and consent, corruption, inadequate compensation, unsafe living and working conditions, violence associated with mining activities as well as lack of access to justice.

He said “the Upper West Region is first and foremost an ecological fragile region, characterized by low and unpredictable rainfall pattern, low soil fertility, poor vegetation cover. We should all therefore engage comprehensively with these companies so that the environment is not abused.”

Dr. Isaac Owusu-Mensah, Senior Programmes Manager of KAS, called for enactment of stringent laws to prevent mining companies from destroying the environment indiscriminately and also maximizing the needed profit from mining.