Do The Benefits of Mining, Offset The Destruction It Causes?

A report on mining abuses in Ghana has called for the government to hold mining companies accountable for human
rights violations to address abuses and improve the well-being of mining communities.
The report, launched in Accra by Dr. Frank Baffour Ata, a lecturer at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology, urged policymakers to strictly enforce existing regulations and establish regular monitoring
mechanisms to ensure compliance.
The study, conducted by Livelihood and Environment Ghana (LEG) with support from Oxfam Novib, involved 631
respondents from seven regions in mining communities.
Its aim was to investigate the extent and impact of corporate human rights abuses in these areas.
The report stressed the importance of environmental protection, urging the government to enforce regulations that
minimize mining-related environmental damage.
It also called on mining companies to rehabilitate mined areas and adopt sustainable practices like reforestation,
water conservation, and pollution control.
Additionally, the report recommended that civil society organizations advocate for community rights, provide legal
support, build community capacity, and monitor abuses in the mining sector.
It highlighted how both large-scale and artisanal mining activities have led to forced displacement, loss of
livelihoods, health issues, and gender disparities.
It also revealed that residents in mining areas suffer from respiratory problems, skin diseases, and other health issues
linked to exposure to toxic substances.
Many residents were reportedly forced to leave their homes without adequate compensation to make way for mining
operations.
Mr. Richard Adjei-Poku, Executive Director, LEG, noted that Ghana remained Africa's largest gold producer and
ranked sixth globally, with 2023 gold production reaching 4 million ounces, contributing 7 per cent to the country's
GDP.
He called for a shift in mining operations to promote local economic development, sustainable livelihoods,
environmental sustainability, and respect for community rights.
Victims of human rights abuses in mining communities have detailed instances of assault, wrongful dismissal, and a
shooting incident that left many with lasting health effects.
They expressed their frustration over the lack of compensation and appealed to the authorities for urgent
intervention.
Against the background of the litany of tragedies, the Daily Searchlight must pose the question whether the benefits
we gain from mining, outweigh the waste and destruction it leaves in its wake.
True it is the mining brings in valuable foreign exchange. The fact remains, however, that a more significant amount
of the wealth gained from mining, travel remain outside Ghana. It is also a fact that the last place we experience the
benefits of mining, are the communities we destroy to allow mining to thrive.
The Daily Searchlight continues to believe, in quantitative terms, that the communities, and the nation, would be
better off, if the mineral wealth were allowed to remain in the ground. In the long run, we believe that if a degree of
imagination were to be brought to bear, Ghana would gain more, from agriculture, for instance, than mining.
It is a destructive industry, with no redeeming features, and the sooner we realized this as a people, the better.
(Editorial of the Daily Searchlight of 22 nd November, 2024).