COMMUNIQUE

  

                                                                                                             Thurday 22nd January, 2016

COMMUNIQUE / OPEN LETTER FROM OMANBOTANTIM ASSOCIATION OF THE NEWMONT AHAFO MINE ON THE TRADITIONAL AUTHORITIES IN NEWMONT AHAFO COMMUNITIES BEEN INFLUENCE BY NEWMONT AND NEWMONT CONTRACTS.  

Addressed to the

NEWS EDITOR

The Omanbotantim association in the Ahafo Mine and People of the

Newmont Ahafo Mine Area disagree with Newmont and its foundation, Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation (NADeF), influences on Nananom with contract to coerce their people to accept any unlawful act and undue advantage over the good people of Ahafo.

WE, the undersigned members of Omanbotantim Association, do hereby register our greatest distaste and disagreement with Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd (NGGL) and the Chiefs of Ahafo mine communities, who are contractors to NGGL and Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation (NADeF)

 We, the Omanbotantim association and the people of Ahafo Mine commuinties are not against mining in Toto  rather we would support and encourage, and where necessary demand of, Newmont   to reduce all likely negative consequences of mining through fruitful engagement and partnerships

Ahafo mine communities are not so rural, uninformed and ignorant that we do not know what is good for us. However, our chiefs, who are almost all contractors to NGGL and NADeF, represents the communities barely on every committee, though the communities do not support their representation. The chiefs accept any decision, suggestion, direction the company want to go, without doing any assessment to know its immediate and long term impacts on the communities, even if they were very much aware, they accept the company position just because all of them are contractors to the company and would not like to do anything silly to lose their contract(s) or not be awarded the impending contract(s).

It will interest you to know that the Ahafo mine communities have dozen of graduates, skilled community members with requisite credentials rotten in the houses where NGGL continues to employs peoples outside mining communities even including unskilled labours. The only community members they employ are the chiefs’ sons, daughters, close family members and concubines

Nananom on the other hand receive royalties from the government through the mining company. In fact, this is such a fat money. No single omanhene in the ten mining communities especially Kenyasi 1, 2 and Ntotroso has ever use his royalty in the benefit of the community.

There is 12% of the entire NADeF fund allotted to nananom as cultural heritage. This is such a huge sum of money. Nananom do not use this money for anything beneficial to the community exception of their stomach.

On another more serious note, NGGL as sinister as they are, and nananom as they are always interested in their own parochial interest, have been given employment quota in order to always sign loose contracts with both NGGL and NADeF. Whenever NGGL does any employment, nananom given quota and employ the others from outside the affected communities though we have the requisite credentials. All this is because nananom are always satisfied with their quota to the neglect of the wellbeing of the masses in the communities.

With all the benefit above to nananom, almost every nana or Omanhene is a contractor. They take subcontracts from NGGL and NADeF which is the biggest influence on their decision making with the company and its foundation.

Nananom reviewing local employment percentage after five years downwards. It was in the Newmont Ahafo Local employment Agreement that the company should at least employs 35% of the total workforce in the first five years of operation and the percentage shall be increased to 50%. However, nananom as stated earlier on, negotiated the percentage from 35% to 24% instead of the initial agreement from 35% to 50% after the first 5 years. This is just 1% of what is going on in Ahafo communities.

May crave the indulgence to give you the list of few Omanhene, chiefs who are contractors to NGGL and its foundation NADeF:

1.    Nana Osei Kofi Abiri, Omanhene of Kenyasi 1Trational Area. He is into RECLAMATION and HIRING Of CARS

2.    Odeneho Nsiah Ababio , Omanhene of Kenyasi 2 Traditional Area. He owns Odeneho Construction Ltd, he is into BUILDING OF RESETTLEMENT HOUSES, RESETTLEMENT HOUSE, RECLAMATION,CLEANING WORKS

3.    Nana Twereko Ampem, Omanhene of Ntotroso Traditional Area. RECLAMATION, GENERAL WEEDING etc

4.    Nana Kontor Fofie, Krontenhene of Kenyasi 2 Traditional Area. He is into BUILDING OF RESETTLENMT HOUSES, RECLAMATION etc

5.    Owusu Ababio, Gyasihene of Ntotroso Traditional Area. He is into GRASSING, BUILDING OF RESETTLEMENT HOUSES

6.    Nana Agyei Twum, Chief of Wamahinso. He is into GRASSING

7.    Nana Boakye Boateng, Ankobia hene , Kenyasi 1 Traitional Authority. He is into

8.    Nana Adu Gyamfi, Atipemhene, Kenyasi 2 Tradional Area. BUILDING OF RESETTLEMENT HOUSES, RECLAMATION, GRASSING etc

9.    Nana Kofi Minta, mamahene, Kenyasi 1 Traditional Area. He is TREE FELLING

10. Nana Yaa Adutwumwaa, queen mother, Kenyasi 1 Traditional Area. She is into GRASSING and others.

What is dehumanizing is that the Kontihene of Kenyasi 2, NANA KONTOR FOFIE, who is a contractor and at same time the chairman of eligibility subcommittee, a committee under the resettlement negotiation committee (RNC), a committee that decides whether  an inhabitant who has been affected by the mining operation is qualified for resettlement or mere monetary compensation. This particular chief who is a contractor and atb the same time chief, does whatever Newmont asked him to do. He together with nana Yeaboah Asiamah (C.K Yeboah) who is a sub chief at Kenyasi 1 Traditional Area and a community relationship superintendent at Newmont is also a committee member. These two chiefs have denied and are denying thousands of inhabitants’ resettlement.

The president of Newmont is very much aware of this. The management and the government functionaries, the project coordinator and the executive secretary of NADeF is well known to what is mentioned above.

What is also so serious that needs attention the Asutifi North District Chief Executive, Hon. Eric Addae whose NGO (Guard of the Earth and Vulnerable) works with only Newmont and is making huge gains? He does say anything even if the activities of the company is having any level of impacts on the citizenry, especially on the pride of the satellite communities.

May be the omanhenes may affiliate the many sources of funds they receive  in building that giant palaces which could be used to established more than 5 different viable and sustainable cottage industries which would have created employment and generating of revenue to the communities.

Nananom are not aware that money that belongs to the traditional council belongs to the communities and as such the communities too henceforth prohibit them from taking contracts from the NGGL and its foundation, NADeF

What is very appalling is the all benefits from the mining are skewed toward the traditional authorities; taking contract, receiving royalties from the government through the mining, have percentage of NADeF fund allotted to culture heritage which goes directly to them, have employment protocol, take property rate, sells plot of building land for very high prices.

With these myriad of benefits which is all skewed to nananom which allows the company to do absolutely anything. Come and witness how reclamation is done in Ahafo. Even after the unreasonably reducing the percentage from 35% to 24%, the few workers from the communities are been rendered redundant relentlessly.

So why the chiefs not satisfied and think that the subjects or the masses are in great hardships? What single privileges are there for the masses?

Why the chiefs wouldn’t spent billions of Ghana cedi’s to build palaces which has no basics? The chief palaces in Kenyasi 1 and 2 have so far spent more than 1million Ghana cedis each, (11billion old currency each) but they have not yet completed the buildings.

Is it not insulting to the dignity of the people of Ghana and the intelligence of the people of the ahafo mine communities for our own chiefs to bury their respect for contract and always allow the NGGL and NADeF to achieve their much bigger and sinister agenda?

Why the DCE and Nananom do not intervene for the hardships the members of some Satellite communities like, Domaa Kantinka, Yarogrumah, Akolikrom, Nsonyameye, manushed, Amankonakrom and Dokyikrom are going through as the result of NGGL operations, excessive noise, vibration from blasting, interruption of pupils access to education, pollution of vegetable and some food stuff which makes it prohibitable to consume, water pollution, just to mention a few?

We envisage a serious disaster if NGGL and NADeF continue or make any attempt to award contracts to any nana, chief, and the District Chief Executive.

We are very much aware of NGGLand its attendant combative, cantankerous, barbaric, and monkey tactics. Our position is quite clear, we do not want any contract in any form or by any means to be awarded to the above mention bodies.

The contracts should be awarded to the community members who are contractors so that they would be empowered to employ the community members who are dying in the midst of this wealth. These organizations do not represent our interests, and cannot speak on our behalf, especially since their presentations are based, not on facts, but on lies and fabrications.

Thank you.

KENEDY ADU ADJEI

(Chairman-Omanbotantim Association)