VIOLENCE REDUCES …In Mining Communities, Says WACAM

The Executive Director of the Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining, WACAM, Daniel Owusu Koranteng, has noted that since the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) issued its report on the state of human rights in mining communities in Ghana, mining-related violence in these communities have reduced.

According to him, “this is so because these communities now feel that there is a state agency, CHRAJ, which cares and is sensitive to their plights. Consequently, they now know that if you use the right approach, it works, instead of resorting to violence. ”

CHRAJ in March 2008 issued a report on the state of human rights in mining communities in Ghana. Specific areas the report touched on included assessment of the human rights situation in the mining communities. It also examined the extent of pollution of water bodies and causes of environmental degradation, whilst promoting cordial relations between mining companies and mining communities.

The report was described as the first wide-spread state investigation of human rights abuses in mining community in Africa.

Continuing, Mr. Owusu Koranteng explained that, hitherto, these communities, most of the time, resort to violence to defend for their rights and livelihoods, when the mining companies refuse to address them by being defiant. He further explained that “CHRAJs report validated a lot of things that WACAM and these communities have been saying and agitating for over the years, noting, “this has strengthened our hands.”

The WACAM Boss pointed out that, although Ghana has been successful in attracting many mining companies, the country has failed to regulate them and this has led to environmental problems, loss of livelihood, displacement of people and so forth.

He appealed to government to do a cost benefit analysis to know whether the benefits the country derive from mining is worth its associated problems.

On her part, the Director for Training and Research, Hannah Owusu Koranteng, indicated that CHRAJ’s recommendation on the Environmental Protection Agency is a fair assessment and a re-awakening of the agency.

She said the EPA offices in the regions lack the institutional capacity to monitor the mining companies and needed to be strengthened. To her, “This is an indictment and a reflection of government’s unpreparedness to protect the environment.” She observed that the EPA has a big responsibility, which seems to overwhelm them in their present logistical constraints.

Mrs Owusu Koranteng, however, was full of praise for the EPA for their recent handling of the Newmont cyanide spillage. “It seems they are now finding their feet. It is a good deviation from the norm and a step in the right direction. We recommend them to do more,” she said.

She also appealed to the EPA to be at the forefront of advocating for laws to protect surface mining in the country.

In the CHRAJ report, investigations show that the state institutions with regulatory and monitoring responsibility for the mining sector have not performed optimally due to capacity constraints. The EPA, for instance, has amply demonstrated lack of capacity, in the human and financial resource to hold mining companies accountable for their environmental stewardship, as required by law. The lack of capacity has been demonstrated in the increasing record number of reported cases of cyanide spillages from the number of mining companies, polluted community water sources, threat to communities’ health of inappropriate siting of mine waste facilities and uncovers mine pits and trenches. Communities have expressed little confidence in the ability of the agency, in particular to protect their environment against the activities of miners.