–Says company has no intent to deprive citizens’ birth rights
According to the company, it has no intent to relocate the entire people of Nkroful, the birth place of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana?s first President neither polluting nor degrading the Nkroful lands as reported in some media outlets.
In a statement issued and signed by its Vice President in charge of Sustainability, Mark Addo maintained that the company in its modus operandi in the Nzema over the five years in the area recognizes the importance of the cultural and historical heritage of Nkroful and has no intention to relocate the whole of Nkroful to a different location.
The statement maintained that the company is currently not engaged in any form of exploration or mining activity in or around the township of Nkroful as circulated by some section of the media.
?The Company respects the connection that local people have to the traditional lands where they live and use for their livelihoods and thus works to develop strong relationships with local communities and work with them in partnerships towards sustainable development? the statement added.
The company during weekend at a press conference held by the Chiefs under the sponsorship of the Small Scale Miners Association in Nkroful was accused of its ploy to use all means to dispose them of their land.
They group also accused the company of conniving with Western Regional Coordinating Council and the National Security to deprive them of their natural rights, adding they will not all the company to operate on the parcel of land which was acquired mainly for their mines.
Meanwhile, the company in setting the records straight maintained that its operations in the area is adhered by a responsible manner guided by environmental management systems with proven safe guard systems that are monitored and evaluated by key regulatory bodies including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Minerals Commission.
The Vice President recalled that the Company, in consultation with key stakeholders in the industry, was negotiating with the leadership of Nkroful for several years to find an amicable solution to the problem.
He stressed that on 17th December, 2012, the Company met with the leadership of Nkroful at the Western Regional Coordinating Council Office in Sekondi to lay out a framework to resolve the concerns of the community leaders and seek a way of developing the project; where a follow up meeting was later held on 13th March, 2013; where all parties agreed to the following directives: that ARL is the sole owner of the Nkroful Mining Lease (concession);
That the leadership of Nkroful effectively writes a letter to the Company to acknowledge the fact that ARL owns the mining lease within 7 days of the meeting; the company upon receipt of the letter will conduct environmental and social impact assessment on the concession and determine the extent of the degradation of the illegal mining activity and also determine the viability of ceding 25 acres of land for small scale mining requested by the community leaders as well as all parties agreed to a 30 day timeline to complete these activities unfortunately.
?Days after the meeting, the leadership of Nkroful choose to ignore the directive of the Western Regional Security Council (REGSEC) to stop the illegal mining activities at Nkroful and has rather taken to the airwaves with a media campaign tinged with lots of falsehood and innuendos; What is actually happening at Nkroful is an affront to the community and should be repudiated by all stakeholders that cherish and revere the town as a historical relevance in our heritage?
It rather cited the operations of the illegal mining operators as the major cause of the damages and pollutions in the area. ?Illegal mining activities in and around Nkroful has resulted in significant environmental degradation to the quality of water bodies and forest resources in the area.
It mentioned Local Rivers like the Broma, Subiri and Kodubaka as victims which has consistently recorded high Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and in some cases elevated arsenic levels due to the activities of these illegal miners.
The Koduabak stream which serves as a source of drinking water for communities downstream recorded arsenic concentration level of 0.38mg/l well above the regulatory limit of 0.1mg/l. Arsenic is carcinogenic if exposed at even at low levels can result in a range of symptoms because of the absorption and accumulation of the inorganic arsenic into the tissues and body fluids.
The statement urged the media to report all the facts when discussing this issue so as not to whip up negative stakeholder sentiments.
The company further reiterated it continues commitment to work with all key stakeholders at all levels to find amicable solutions to this impasse and ensure that the concerns of local stakeholders are addressed to help in the advancement of the project that will have significant benefits to the community as a whole.
ARL, however, has embarked on significant developmental activities in the area that has greatly benefitted local communities, including improved infrastructure maintenance of road networks, access to potable water and sanitation, support for education and health services, local training and capacity building, cultural heritage preservation and provided significant employment opportunities to the people.
ARL is the largest employer in the Elllembelle District with a total workforce of about 943 (including vendors) of which 99% are Ghanaians, and about 40% coming from the local communities.
Source:?Evans Osei
