Gov't Urged To Do Cost Analysis in Mining Areas

The Government was on Thursday urged to carry out a thorough cost-benefit analysis of the mining sector in the context of liberalisation to inform the citizens of its true impact.

Mr Abdulai Darimani, Environmental Programme Officer of the Third World Network-Africa said the analysis must include a thorough economic, environmental, social and community impacts of the mining sector.

He made the call on behalf of participants at the end of a two-day national workshop for communities affected by mining and some media personnel in Accra.

Mr Darimani said the renewed mining boom has brought untold hardships to local communities affected by mining while the perceived benefits of mining appear marginal at both the national and local levels.

"The economic benefits are not felt at both the national and local level, and there is a general lack of transparency on the quantum and use of revenues accruing to the state," he said.

The workshop was organised by Third World Network- Africa, an NGO for about 30 participants drawn from all the ten regions.

In a ten- point resolution, Mr Darimani called for a moratorium on surface mining in all forest reserves and sensitive ecological zones until a thorough cost-benefit analysis on mining is conducted to inform the citizens on policy direction.

He urged the government to create a platform for harmonising national policies on the extractive sector.

Participants at the workshop had learnt that some communities were ejected from their lands without compensations through the use of paramilitary machinery.

Mr Darimani said "forced eviction by the use of state and private security and all forms of inhuman treatment against communities affected by mining must cease forthwith".

Mining issues should be included in the national processes leading to the World Summit on Sustainable Development dubbed Rio + 10 scheduled to take place in 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa, he said.

"The current mining code review process must seek the involvement and the views of all categories of society particularly communities affected by mining operations and the civil society groups", Mr Darimani said.

He added that the current process where all these categories of society are lumped together in the name of participation is unacceptable.

Mr Darimani said the review process should address the creation of stronger environmental laws and quality standards to be managed by well-resourced national environmental protection institutions with powers for on the spot fines.

"It should also address compensation for different types of property, different interest groups and environmental costs", he said.

Mr Darimani said the size and redistribution of royalties should also be reviewed to ensure that traditional rulers who are recipients are accountable to the people so as to ensure maximum benefits to the communities.

"Clear guidelines for conflict resolution between small- scale and large scale mining as well as mining companies and communities affected by mining should be included in the new code", he said.