WACAM and YAG reply Ahafo Social Responsibility Forum

Accra, May 2, GNA - The Wassa Association Wassa of Communities Affected By Mining (WACAM) and Youth for Action Ghana (YAG) have responded to issues raised at a press conference held by Ahafo Social Responsibility Forum (ASRF) in Sunyani recently. The following is the full text:

"We wish to respond to the issues raised by the Ahafo Social Responsibility Forum (ASRF) at the Press Conference, which was reported on Radio Ghana's News bulletin of 27 April 2007 and published in the Ghanaian Chronicle, Ghanaian Times and other print media. "The press statement of ASRF mentioned that the forum, which is made up of representatives of communities in Newmont Gold Ghana Limited operational areas and officials of the company, had disassociated themselves from a petition to the Annual General Meeting of Newmont by WACAM and Youth for Action Ghana (YAG). "We find it strange that ASRF mentions that it had disassociated itself from the petition of WACAM and the Youth for Action Ghana especially when the ASRF was not mentioned as being part of the petition. Equally surprising is the fact that ASRF was used as a platform to attack our organizations when the issues presented to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Newmont's shareholders were purely about the problems of Newmont's operations in Ghana and had nothing to do with ASRF. We call to question the reason for ASRF to respond to community problems purely directed to the shareholders of Newmont when the management of Newmont Gold Ghana Limited is rather silent. Despite the officially claimed laudable objectives of ASRF, it has by this action, conducted itself in a manner that makes it a true propaganda wing of Newmont.

"We are aware that the ASRF is a structure created by Newmont to advance its interest and we do not expect the ASRF to act independently of Newmont.

"The ASRF engaged in mischief by stating that it had disassociated itself from the petition sent to the Annual General Meeting of shareholders Newmont. The press conference of ASRF stated that WACAM and Youth for Action Ghana had no mandate to speak on behalf of any community in Brong Ahafo.

"Our response to this is that, as advocacy organisations, we work with many communities and individuals who have been affected by Newmont's Ahafo mine and Newmont is aware that many of the people affected by its operations in Ahafo identify with our course. "It would be of help to state that we have had engagements with Newmont in Accra and Kenyase on behalf of communities and individuals in the Ahafo area. In 2004, we were able to generate over 1200 signatures from individuals and communities in the Ahafo area to support a petition to the Board of Directors of the International Finance Corporation on the problems of the affected communities which resulted in the review of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Newmont's Ahafo mine by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of United States of America. "The review of the EIA of Newmont's Ahafo mine by the EPA of USA revealed serious lapses, which Newmont has to address. When we were busy, working with the poor farmers affected by Newmont's operations whose lands have been taken away from them with paltry compensations paid and their rivers polluted with faecal matter by Newmont, some of the people in the ASRF who are asking us to shut up were busy pursuing business interest with Newmont as contractors and consultants. It is important to further state that the problems associated with Newmont's operations in Ahafo are issues of public concern and it is incumbent on every patriotic Ghanaian to be concerned about the apparent destruction of the productive potentials of the Ahafo area by Newmont's operations. "We want to cite a few examples of public concern, which formed the basis of our petition to the shareholders of Newmont as follows. "In 2005, Newmont developed a facility, which discharged its sewage from the plant site of its Ahafo mine into river Asuopre. When WACAM raised the issue in the public after two months of investigations, Newmont initially denied it as a wild allegation by WACAM but ended up paying compensation to the communities and individuals who drank from the faecal polluted stream. The Daily Graphic of 27th January 2006, reported that, Mr Randy Barnes, the External Affairs Manager of Newmont Ahafo Mine confirmed that Newmont had paid 115 residents who were victims of the faecal discharge identified downstream of river Asuopre, a compensation package of 135,000 cedis; one maxi bag of rice; one gallon and four tins of corned beef.

"Another issue raised in the petition to the Annual General Meeting of Newmont's shareholders was the payment of ridiculous compensation to farmers. Our petition stated that, Newmont had paid 70,000 cedis (about eight dollars) for a cocoa tree that is capable of yielding about 200,000 cedis (about 20 dollars) worth of cocoa beans per year during its economic life of 40 to 50 years. We are aware that many farmers in the Ahafo area and other parts of the country were able to educate their children to high places of learning with the assistance of the Cocoa Marketing Board (CMB) scholarships. Our major concern is that, the destruction of cocoa farms for paltry compensation would affect the education of many young people in the Ahafo area and this is an important national issue.

"Our petition also drew attention to the physical and economic displacement of thousands of farmers who would be affected by Newmont's Ahafo mine. From Newmont's own records, its first phase operation in the Ahafo mine had displaced close to 10,000 farmers. The second phase of the Ahafo mine would displace an equal number of farmers. If each of the about 20,000 affected farmers had an average family size of four, then the number of physically and economically displaced people by the Ahafo mine of Newmont could be imagined. "The petition of the Youth for Action Ghana and WACAM expressed concern about the Akyem project of Newmont where Newmont wants to mine in the Ajenua Bepo Forest reserve. We are aware that the Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana had refused to grant permit to Newmont because Newmont does not want to fully reclaim the huge pit of 2.5 km length; 0.9 km wide and 0.5 km deep.

"Unfortunately, the press statement of ASRF did not respond to any of the critical issues of national concern raised in our petition to the AGM of Newmont's shareholders.

"One of the moderators of ASRF who is a prominent citizen of Brong Ahafo Region described the compensation paid to the farmers as adequate. If a meager 70,000 cedis compensation for a cocoa tree that can earn a farmer about 10 million cedis in its economic life of 40 to 50 years is described as adequate by Ghanaians who know the economic and social value of cocoa, then we leave it to the good people of Ghana to judge what prompts such individuals to support Newmont as against the people whose interest they should serve at all times. We note that neither Newmont officials nor spokespersons of ASRF mustered courage to state how much the company paid for the crops it destroyed. "We wish to remind ASRF that if a company discharges faecal matter into the community drinking water and insults their dignity with a compensation of 135,000 cedis, one bag of rice, one gallon oil and four tins of corned beef, we consider it an issue of national concern and we do not need the mandate of ASRF or Newmont to talk about such an important national issue that affects the dignity of Ghanaians in general.

"Similarly, we cannot sit down for mining to be undertaken in forest reserves when we know that we are losing our forest cover at an alarming rate.

"Since the publication of the press statement of ASRF, many well meaning Ghanaians have expressed deep concern about the role of Professor Mireku Gyima, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) in the unwarranted attacks on our organizations for articulating community concerns to be presented to the shareholders of Newmont. The concerns of some people had been whether the Vice Chancellor of the only specialized institution of mining in Ghana acted in his private capacity as a consultant of Newmont or acted in his official capacity as the Vice Chancellor of UMaT. The expectation of most people was that, he could serve national interest better by taking on the concerns of mining communities as challenges of the current mining boom which could serve as the basis of research by his University instead of reducing the importance of his office to the level of a Public Relations Officer of Newmont. Our worry is how Newmont's operations are causing harm to the people in the Ahafo area and the country and still has the capacity to use our own structures against us. "We want to put it on record that, before our Peace March and petition, there had been a number of community protests against the operations of Newmont Ahafo. We wish to catalogue some of the community protests as follows;

"Demonstration against Newmont by the Youth of Kenyase No 1 and 2 on employment issues in 2004.

"Demonstration of the Ntotroso people against Newmont's Ahafo mine in 2006.

"Demonstration against Newmont by displaced people who had been resettled by Newmont in February 2007. "Demonstration by people of Kenyase against Newmont in July on the day of commissioning of the Ahafo mine. "These community protests are indicative of the fact that, the statement by ASRF that all is well in communities in Newmont's operational area does not reflect the views of the people affected by the operations of Newmont.

"The statement of ASRF asked our organization to work with the Forum. We find it difficult to be part of a Forum created and controlled by Newmont to advance its interest. "We wish to reaffirm our commitment and desire to live up to our civic responsibility of supporting vulnerable communities who have toiled to sustain the country and contributed to our education. That is our challenge.

"We call on religious bodies, faith-based organizations, mining communities, politicians and all well meaning Ghanaians to work to protect the rights and dignity of the affected communities (end Text). The statement was signed by James Kwabena Bomfeh Jnr for YAG and Mr Daniel Owusu-Koranteng for WACAM.