Statement By Wacam On The Attempt By Newmont To Take Credit For Government Project In Kenyasi

Statement By WACAM on the attempt by Newmont to take credit for government project in Kenyasi

8th March 2006

Community acceptance of surface mining projects is based on the notion that mining would lead to the accelerated development of the communities. Many people in Kenyasi and its environs were hopeful that the presence of Newmont in area would help provide sustainable employment and other benefits to the people in the area. This hope is gradually turning into an unrealisable dream

Newmont has been operating in the Kenyasi area for more than two years where it is constructing its Ahafo mine. Even at the construction stage, the affected communities are faced with many problems that have worsened their living conditions.

Some of the problems of Kenyasi and its environs include but not limited to the following:

• Increased unemployment rate and loss of livelihood resulting displacement of farming communities and payment of low compensation to farmers. Newmont paid 63,000 cedis(equivalent of $7) as compensation for a Cocoa tree

• Reduction in the number of rooms by the company for resettled community people under an agreement that Newmont termed “space for space”. Community people with three rooms in some instances had only one room

• The construction of a dam on River Subri has exposed the affected communities to danger. The dam has cut off communities like Dokyikrom, and Osei. Tutukrom. Newmont had refused to either relocate or resettle these affected communities despite numerous petitions by the community people to Newmont and CHRAJ. School children who cannot cross over the dam to school have dropped out of school. Two people got drowned in the dam in 2005.

• In February 2006, the over flow of water from the tailings containment polluted River Apensu and destroyed harvested crops of farmers in nearby villages especially Yaro Grumah No 1 and No2 villages

• The company’s drivers drive recklessly in disregard of human lives. Accidents involving company vehicles and residents have been steadily increasing, with a number of deaths.

• The company constructed a facility that directed the faecal matter from Newmont’s camp site into River Asuopre, a drinking stream of farmers around Kenyasi and Ntotroso. Newmont paid ridiculous compensation to the communities that drank the water polluted with faecal matter.

These are serious problems worth the attention of Newmont. Instead of resolving these problems, Newmont uses its strong Public Relations to create the impression that the community problems are not real. Newmont’s public stand on the community problems is that, NGOs like WACAM have no legitimate right to talk about these important problems affecting the lives of the communities.

As part of Newmont’s attempt to hype up the impression that its presence in Kenyasi area has led to infrastructural development, the company prepared a calendar with the development projects it had undertaken in the Kenyasi area and included photographs of the government constructed road from Kenyasi to Hwidiem among its projects.

WACAM is aware that some Assembly members and people in the Asutifi District have expressed disappointment with the attempt by Newmont to take credit for development projects of government.

Newmont’s calendar which was widely distributed has become an issue of public condemnation in Kenyasi and the company yesterday(7th March 2006) used a van with public address system to appeal to the people in Kenyasi in possession of copies of the calendar to submit them to Newmont for a fee of 20,000 cedis (about $2 ) .

WACAM wishes to condemn this act as a dishonest and deliberate attempt by Newmont to take credit for a road project that had been constructed by the government of Ghana with the taxpayers’ money and call on all well-meaning Ghanaians to add their voice to the condemnation of attempts by some mining companies to exaggerate the projects they have undertaken in mining communities.

WACAM demands an apology from Newmont to the people and the government of Ghana for attempting to use dishonest means to take credit for a project which has been constructed from the sweat of Ghanaians and the vision of its government.

WACAM once again calls on Newmont to have the courage to resolve the community problems instead of using Public Relations gimmicks to sweep the problems under the carpet.

DANIEL OWUSU-KORANTENG
(EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF WACAM, GHANA)