MINING COMMUNITIES DESERVE BETTER (JUNE 8, 2009)

President J.E.A. Mills has challenged the Newmont Mining Corporation to ensure that communities within its areas of operation benefit from the returns on its investment.
Receiving a delegation from the company at the Castle, Osu, last Friday, the President did not mince words in telling the company to be highly responsible to its social responsibilities and address the challenges facing mining communities as a result of mining operations.
This is the second time in two months that the President has charged mining concerns to address the development challenges of mining communities. At a meeting with a delegation from Anglogold Ashanti at the Castle last April, President Mills expressed disquiet over the worsening level of deprivation in mining communities and urged mining concerns to do more to alleviate the suffering of the broad masses of the people.
For the President to make the same point on two different occasions goes to show the concern he has over the state of affairs in mining communities, vis-à-vis the revenue which is generated by mining companies from those areas.
Undoubtedly, the President’s concerns represent the frustration of not only the mining communities but the entire nation. Admittedly, mining has brought enormous economic benefits to the nation. In addition to creating about 36,000 jobs, the sector has contributed to the national kitty, accounting for as much as 38 per cent of export revenue.
But for mining companies, a sizeable portion of the nation’s wealth would have been buried in the belly of the earth and perhaps poverty, deprivation and squalor would have assumed different dimensions.
Notwithstanding the benefits, the Daily Graphic is equally worried about the impact of mining operations on mining communities.
Besides dislocating some communities, mining has destroyed the sources of their drinking water, as well as their agricultural activities, which are the main sources of livelihood.
We are certain that our leaders and mining communities would not complain if mining activities did not aggravate poverty and deprivation in mining communities, if substantial revenue generated from the mining sector was not kept outside the country but reinvested in the Ghanaian economy.
The Daily Graphic calls for joint efforts between players in the mining sector and the government to find lasting solutions to the concerns of the mining communities.
Maybe a review of the legal framework governing mining activities will be a major step towards reversing the status quo.
In the meantime, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should be more aggressive and hold mining companies to their environmental assessment programmes.
Additionally, we propose the establishment of a mining development fund, along the lines of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), specifically designed for the development of mining communities.
The problems of mining communities can be solved provided there is the will and commitment on the part of the stakeholders to deal with the challenges more resolutely.