NGOs Criticise Gov't Handling of Cyanide Spillage

A coalition of Environmental NGOs has described government action over the recent cyanide saga in Abekuase in the Western Region as an instance of the marginalisation and trivialisation of the concerns of local communities by the Government.

The coalition comprising the Third World Network- Africa (TWN), Centre for Public Interest Law (CEPIL), League of Environmental Journalists (LEJ) and the WASSA Association of Communities Affected By Mining (WACAM), stated that the government seems to have shown sympathy for the mining company without expressing same for the communities.

In a statement issued yesterday, the coalition noted that the government's refusal to show concern for the communities was evident when the Hon.

Minister for Environment and Science, Prof. Dominic Fobih, was quoted as saying that the damage caused by the cyanide spillage was blown out of proportion by the media.

According to the statement, which was read by Mr. Abdulai Darimani, Environmental Programme Officer of TWN-Africa, the Minister also went on to add that there has not been any destruction of food crops, plants, birds and crabs and that only fifty fishes were discovered dead within 100-200 metres of sites of the leakage and detoxification that occurred at Abekuase.

It would be recalled that for the past two to three weeks Abekuase, a small village in the concession area of Tarkwa Goldfields, has been in the news following the spillage of cyanide, a poisonous chemical separating gold from sand into the Huni River, which is a source of drinking water for the people of the village.

Since this news broke out the mining company and those acting as spokesmen for the communities have been issuing claims and counter-claims to back what they believe to be the true picture of the situation.

But the coalition rather blamed the government for its slow response in the formulation of a regulatory framework to adequately manage the environmental impacts of mining activities in the country that would have averted such situations.

The coalition also maintained that what was so alarming about this cyanide saga was the famous water quality test by the Water Resource Commission (WRC).

They claim that the test was unprofessional because the method adopted defies basic scientific logic as it is based on a dubious theoretical foundation.

According to the coalition, it is common knowledge that the water does not constitute credible sampling medium for the cyanide unless taken immediately due to the photo degradability of the cyanide (it breaks down naturally when exposed to sunlight or acidic conditions).

Continuing, the coalition lamented that under the circumstances, credible sampling media would have been fishes and sediments among others and wondered why the WRC ignored this basic theoretical principle on the chemistry of cyanide and went in for only water sample six clear days after the spillage.

They also believed that the sampling medium used by the WRC was deliberately chosen to confirm the Minister's prejudgement in order to protect the company, which presupposes that the community does not matter in this case.

Meanwhile, it has been disclosed that the communities are asking for a total resettlement and not compensation alone.