Man ‘weeps’ in court over Aglogold cash

A young man who has allegedly been carrying himself as the chairman of victims of the Pompora Treatment Plant (PTP) in Obuasi came under a barrage of threats of curses and verbal assault when he appeared at the High Court (Human Rights Division) in Kumasi last Monday to seek for an out of court settlement of the case between Anglogold Ashanti and the complainants.

Frank Adjei Danso, who pleaded to be heard by the court as soon as the case was called, indicated that Anglogold Ashanti was still dialoguing with the victims and hence the matter should be halted by the court to allow for an amicable settlement.

However, this infuriated the horde of victims who were at the court and were only restrained by the fear of being in contempt of the court.

The victims alleged to this paper later that Mr. Adjei Danso took between GHC150 and GHC250 from all the victims under the pretext of seeking a legal aid for them to be duly compensated but has since (three years ago) not heard anything from him and his accomplices.

They noted that he has also been using their association as bait to demand money from Anglogold but never reaches them.

Anglogold Ashanti has been sued by some residents in some parts of Obuasi who are suffering from various degrees of illnesses due to what they think is as a result of negligence on the part of the multinational mining company.

Abdul Waliyu and some 152 others in their statement of claim to the court stated that from the 1990s, the Anglo gold Ashanti Ghana limited in the regular course of its mineral explorations has operated an arsenic precipitation plant commonly referred to as Pompora Treatment Plant (PTP).

The operations of this plant also include the applications of industrial quantities of Sodium cyanide which generates large volumes of acidic and arsenic fumes whose escape into the atmosphere pervaded the air in those communities.

The residents stated that Anglo gold Ashanti has through its activities caused arsenic trioxide above permissible levels to be released into their lands which has had harmful effects on both human and plant life in the affected areas.

The presiding Judge Justice Richardson who could not make the head or tail of the submission of the supposed chairman asked both counsels whether they were aware of an on-going peace talks between the two sides.

Even though counsel for the defendants was aware, that of the complainants was aware the agenda of Mr. AdjeiDanso who had already allegedly contacted Anglogold Ashanti that he could help them.

The victims alleged that quite recently, Mr. AdjeiDanso was given GHC300 to send the other leaders of the association to Accra for a meeting with Anglod Ashanti but none of them was informed until later when he had allegedly squandered the money.

What irked them the more, according to them, was the fact that a great number of their loved ones are suffering from various degrees of illnesses which have rendered them incapacitated to the extent that even Anglogold Ashanti is unwilling to employ them, and the fact that only one ‘greedy bastard’ would want everything for himself.

“When over two thousand people are suffering because of Anglogold’s negligence, just one person because of greed has betrayed us all and gone to tell them that he is representing us even when we have decided not to use him any longer. H will never have peace so long as we and our people are suffering”, Antie Aisha, an old woman among them told this paper.

Meanwhile, Frank AdjeiDanso the supposed chairman of the PTP (AGA) in defense of himself said the “these people do not know what they are doing, I want to help them but they are rather fighting me”.

Even though he admitted some huge amounts were taken from the miserable victims, it was his accomplice who took those amounts whiles he was fired when he could not account for all the ones collected.

The victims who are coming from areas like Tutuka, Kokotuasua, Sampsonkrom and Anyimadukrom with about 90 percent of the residents being victims of various skin, heart and lung diseases as a result, have re-echoed their plea to the court to grant them justice.

They are also praying the court to grant an injunction restraining the defendant by itself, its servants or agents or otherwise from repeating or continuing the said nuisance of a like and or the said adverse physical and psychological effects on the plaintiff.

They also wanted the court to grant general, special and punitive damages for medical treatment and for failing to disclose to the plaintiff the true extent of their health status as well as the serious effects of the escape of hazardous chemicals and fumes from defendant’s land.

The case has been adjourned sine dine pending the outcome of a meeting between the two counsels as to whether they would agree on an out of court settlement.