Surface Mining Companies In Fresh Trouble

Wacam, Centre for Environmental Impact Analysis (CEIA) and Centre for Public Interest Law (CEPIL) have called on the government of  Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Addo-Addo, to immediately place a moratorium on the granting of mining leases and environmental permits for all the surface mining operations in Ghana.

According to the three groups, their call on the government to do so has become very necessary because "we engage in cost-benefit analysis which takes into consideration the social, economic, cultural and environmental costs of mining.

The groups stressed that "it is our view that affected mining communities must be empowered under the international best practice of Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

The groups insisted that government should gen incorporate the concept of FPIC in the National Land Policy and all laws regulating land and its usage.

Besides, they stressed the urgent need for government and Civil Society Organisations to work together to raise awareness on the principles of FPIC in respect of all stakeholders, particularly for women, physically challenged and other vulnerable groups.

They asserted that the FPIC grants the power to the people in the mining-affected communities to determine their economic and livelihood choices as against imposition of mining activities.

Speaking in an interview with Soireenew.com, the Associate Executive Director of Wacam, Mrs Hannah Owusu-Koranteng, Executive Director for CEIA, Dr Samuel Obiri and Executive Director for CEPIL, Mr Augustine Niber jointly stressed the need for the current government to initiate the process of making FPIC part of our domestic laws.  

"Our government must take immediate steps to begin the process of incorporating Free Prior Informed Consent clauses into Ghana's mining laws. Because we believe strongly that the addition of those clauses will protect mining communities from the many of the violations they suffer as a result of mining activities," they stressed.

They were of the view that the FPIC will also equip the mining communities to protect their rights to ownership of land and rights to livelihood.

Free Prior Informed Consent is a principle that requires that project-affected communities be adequately informed in a timely manner about development projects that affect them and be given the opportunity to approve (or reject) a project prior to the commencement of operations.

International law establishes FPIC as a basic right for indigenous peoples derived from the rights to self-determination and participation.

  Freeman Koryekpor Awlesu