It has become necessary and urgent at this point in
time to draw the attention of Ghanaians, especially the youth in mining communities
and more specifically Kenyasi, Ahafo in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana and its
environs affected by Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd (NGGL).
We all understand the fact that there would never
been mining operations without any negative effects on the communities.
However, the burden and the kind of problems this communities is facing is peculiar,
appalling, neck-breaking and in fact competing with human life of which
responsible agencies and bodies whose mouths hold water never mind .
It’s sad, very terrifying and appalling that the company (NGGL) is making
business at the expense of putting peoples’ lives in danger, bad health
Conditions, absolute poverty and unemployment etc. It is always the youth and young generations
that suffers most.
As part of our regular activities, we visited a
small farming communities, Dormaa Kantinka and Yaro-Gruma in the Asutifi North
District, Kenyasi in Brong Ahafo Region.
Residents are living in fear and panic due to the mining operations of
NGGL. Ongoing activities of NGGL is just
50 meters away from the community and had affected all water bodies serving as
a drinking source of water as a result of seeping of residual chemicals from
the dumped blast rocks of Newmont’s operations. Residents struggle for a normal respiration
due to a severe air pollution emitted dust and poisonous gasses into the atmosphere
which result to Health challenges such as hyper-respiration, diarrhea, asthma
and convulsion among children. Speaking
to some of the residents, homes are
always flooded during a heavy down pour since all water bodies from site streams down
into the community compelling them to move out of their rooms even in the
sleeping hours until the floods recedes with a server outbreak of malaria and
strange skin rashes among the residents especially children.
The most heart breaking aspect is that, after a
heavy rainfall, school children are forced to quit classes due to the ‘inaccessibility
of road’ linking to the community whilst NGGL never failed in picking up her
workers to and from work. How heartbreaking it is? How weak and wicked
Ghanaians opinion leaders are? What is District Assembly, Ghana Education Service
(G.E.S) doing having been exposed to this danger for over 5 years? Do the wards
have future? What are the civil society organizations doing to salvage this
situation? These questions and many others would be ringing and raining in any
minded person mind. The wards in this particular vicinity are really part of
Ghanaians and how can’t they enjoy the FREE and COMPULSORY BASIC EDUCATION
enshrined in our supreme constitution. Even in the normal bussing days, the
wards in these respective communities are never take part in the school’s
compulsory extra-classes both in the morning and evening section. What is so
disturbing is that some students who have been complaining for some years now
and relentlessly missing most school days and periods which had led to low
academic performance had stop schooling and many more are treating to stop. These
wards school was situated very closed to them and there were no side effect
like bussing and others and the business of Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd displaced
the school and now the wards are facing serious challenges and it’s never the
company’s concern and even responsible bodies and agencies’ who allowed the
company’s to resettle the school are not concerned. Some wards who are ‘serious’
foot for a road of an average distance of 8 kilometers. Why? Why?? Why???
The future of these children is being trample upon
and they have been denied the right to quality education as well. Do we all
want to raise armed robbers, and other social misfit citizens?
The above organization wants to draw the attention
of governmental Agencies Media houses, concerned groups, NGO’s, Associations as
well as the entire world to come to the aid of these communities from the
Brutality in the hands of this unconcern business corporation, NGGL.
Thank you.
Signed
Frank Kofi Adusei
(Public Relations Officer)
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