Farmers at Hweakwae refuse to negotiate for payment of compensation

Hweakwae (E/R), Aug. 24, GNA - Farmers at Hweakwae, a farming community near New Abirem in the Birim North District, have refused to send their representatives to the Newmont Akyem Project crops compensation review committee, for the payment of compensation for their crops that will be destroyed during the operations of the mining company this year.

The farmers' boycotted two meetings organized by officials of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), to educate them on the need to elect representatives to the committee, with the explanation that the compensation paid to them in 2007 and last year were inadequate.

The Newmont Akyem project, a gold prospecting company, have been paying compensation for crops destroyed since it commenced operation in the area four years ago.

A cross section of farmers and opinion leaders in the community that the GNA spoke to said, some of the farmers were not satisfied with the compensation being paid to them, and wanted individual negotiation instead of electing representatives to negotiate on their behalf. Opanyin Kofi Amoako, a member of last year's committee, said though the crops compensation had been reviewed upwards, some of the farmers were not happy with the payment of GHC 310 per acre for oil palm and GHC 570 for an acre of cocoa.

He said instead of Newmont paying for the compensation before destroying the crops, the company rather destroyed the crops first them before negotiating with the farmers. The Kyidomhene of the town, Nana Dwamena Akenten, said the town had been electing representatives to the committee for the past two years, but did not understand why the farmers were this time round refusing to send representatives.

He said the company had been consulting with all the nine affected communities and providing them with social amenities such as basic school blocks, places of convenience, bore holes and employment of the youth in the communities.

When the Communication Manager of the Newmont Akyem project, Mr Oduro Kwarteng-Marfo, was contacted, he said all the nine affected communities had been co-operating with the company. He said at the last review committee meeting, members deliberated for a longer period during their negotiations, before arriving at acceptable rates for the compensation to be paid. Mr Kwarteng-Marfo said farmers who were not satisfied with the rates could petition the Minister for Lands and Forestry and the Land Valuation Board for a review.

The Communication Manager said seven out the nine affected communities had representation on the committee with the exception of Ntronang and Hweakwae.

He said efforts were being made to convince the two towns to negotiate for acceptable compensation to be paid to them. Mr Kwarteng-Marfo advised the farmers to exercise restraint and to elect representatives to the committee, to dialogue and negotiate for acceptable compensation of their crops that would be destroyed during the company's operations. 24 Aug. 09