Akwatia Mine workers wives cry for help

Akwatia, Aug. 12, GNA - The wives of the workers of the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds Limited (GCD) at Akwatia, have made a passionate appeal to the Akwatiahene, Osabarima Kofi III and the Kwaebibirem District Chief Executive, Mr Yaw Yiadom-Boakye to help rescue their families from the extreme hardships facing them. They said, as a result of the inability of the mine to pay their husbands their salaries for the past seven months, they and their children are passing through the most stressful situation in their lives.

Almost in tears, their spokesperson, Madam Lydia Sintim-Missah who led the group to the Akwatiahene's Palace said, they needed assistance very soon, else some of them would starve to death. She said as a result of the situation, their marriages were in danger, some of their children had dropped out of school and engaged in "galamsey," while some of their daughters have been forced into sexual relations at early ages.

Madam Sintim-Missah said some of her colleagues had been forced by the situation to leave their matrimonial homes to stay with their parents and relatives, adding, "some of our husbands sleep at their farms in order to run away from their daily responsibilities." She said recently, some of her colleagues and their husbands attempted to commit suicide by poisoning and others by hanging but were saved only through God's intervention and assistance from the authorities at the GCD hospital.

Madam Sintim-Missah said the businesses of many of her colleagues had collapsed because they had used all their capital to support their homes.

Osabarima Kofi promised to do all he could to help. The miners' wives had also sent a petition to the DCE on their plight.

The Chairman of the GCD Board of Directors, Dr. J. G. Amamoo said, it was only the divestiture of the mine which would offer any realistic hope of immediate relief to the workers and their families. He said, for that reason, he had been in constant contact with the secretary to the Divestiture Implementation Committee(DIC) on efforts being made to get investors to take over the mines.