Beyond Galamsey – other worse environmental pollutants

We have undoubtedly made some progress as a nation in the fight against illegal mining, popularly called galamsey, and I have maintained that for 2017, my Minister of the Year is the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. John Peter Amewu and I are sure many of you would agree with me.

In fact, Mr. Amewu has really won the hearts of most Ghanaians for his yeoman’s role in halting galamsey activities which have resulted in the wanton destruction of the country’s forest, rivers and water bodies and the environment in general. Hon. Minister, I say bravo and I doff my hat for you.

It is refreshing to note that a few months after this gargantuan onslaught on galamsey activities, some rivers which had been polluted and virtually become undrinkable are gradually regaining their natural state while efforts are underway to reclaim the degraded areas.

From the momentum gathered since President Akufo-Addo assumed office on January 7, 2017, in ending illegal mining in Ghana, I have no doubt in my mind that most of the lands which have been destroyed and degraded would be reclaimed and used for afforestation, farming or for some other purposes which would be more useful to the people of Ghana.

While focusing our energies on ending galamsey once and for all, we should also be looking at the irreparable damage being caused by some large-scale mining companies operating in various parts of the country, and possibly put their operations on hold pending the outcome of thorough investigations on the impact of their operations on the environment, food security and the health of both their workers and people living around the mines.

People are dying from various ailments that could be attributed to the operations of some of these large-scale mining companies. For instance, two research studies carried in some communities around Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (Ahafo Mine) in the Asutifi North District of the Brong Ahafo Region paint a gloomy picture about the health of residents and workers of the company alike.

If one should ask any of the companies involved in large-scale mining companies about their social and economic impact on the communities in which they operate, they are most likely to respond by enumerating some projects they have undertaken under social responsibility.

These mining companies would easily tell you about schools and clinics and bungalows they have built for their host communities or some boreholes and scholarships being provided for the communities. They seem to create the impression that that so-called social responsibility stuff, which they keep trumpeting from the roof-top, are enough to take peoples’ minds off the severity of the damage they keep causing to the environment and to the lives of residents.

According to a research carried out in 2016 titled “Exposure to toxicants in environmental contaminants within Newmont Ghana Gold Limited – Ahafo Mine: Human Risk Assessment Approach” by Dr. Frederick A. Armah of the UCC and Mr. Samuel Obiri, a Senior Research Scientist of CSRI, all workers and residents are at risk of getting various kinds of diseases.

The research methodology involved the collection of a total of 70 water and 30 sediment samples from surface water bodies in some communities around Newmont Ahafo Mine. Also, 19 rainwater samples were randomly collected for analysis.

The results of all this show that all our water bodies have been seriously polluted by Newmont and that residents in the Asutifi North District, especially those living in Kenyase Number One, Kenyase Number Two, Ntotroso, Gyedu and Wamahinso and their surrounding communities, as well as workers of Newmont, are exposed to the risk of having cancerous and non-cancerous diseases.

It is clear from my interactions with some residents of these communities that management of Newmont Ahafo Mine should take the research study serious because of the long-term negative effects of their operations on the health of the innocent people of the area.

In an attempt to deny and rubbish the research, which had brought out the revelation of the levels of environmental pollution, Newmont Ahafo Mine, I learnt, contracted Dr. Kwaku Poku Asante of the Kintampo Health Research Centre to also conduct another research with the objective to counter the findings of the earlier study by Dr. Frederick A. Armah and Mr. Samuel Obiri.

Newmont again contracted, Dr. Michael Poku-Boansi, a Senior Lecturer of the Planning Faculty of Built Environment of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to conduct another study with the sole aim of (KNUST) rubbishing the claims in the report titled “Assessing the social and economic effects of mining on women affected by Newmont Ghana Limited’s operations” by Dr. Emmanuel Yamoah Tenkorang of the Institute of Development Studies.

Dr. Tenkorang’s study combined the use purposive and convenience sampling methods to sample key informants, adult women interviewees and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) as 94 interviews, two FGDs, and eight key informant interviews were conducted in the Asutifi North District.

I have been curiously going through the list of key informants submitted by Newmont’s counter-productive report and I clearly see the name of late Nana Adwoa Pokuaa, who was the Queen-mother of Kenyase Number Two. Nana Adwoa Pokuaa died on 15th September, 2014. How on earth can someone who died in 2015 resurrect and be interviewed in 2017?

In the wake of all these, I perfectly agree with Nana Kyei Bonsu, the Odikro of Tutuka, a farming community in the Asutifi North District of the Brong Ahafo Region, who is calling for independent, scientific and comprehensive laboratory test and analysis of underground water, surface water and all other water bodies in and around the area ( Chief calls for independent probe into water quality ).

Nana Kyei Bonsu believes that an independent, scientific and comprehensive assessment of the whole issue will put to rest all doubts surrounding the quality of water being used by his townsfolk as well as other communities in the area.

The Tutuka chief was interacting with over one hundred students of the University of Energy and Natural Resources, the Sunyani Technical University and St. Vitus Technical Institute who were at Tutuka somewhere in September 2017 as part of their Field Trip to some of the communities affected by the presence of Newmont Ghana Gold Limited. Other places visited were Ananekrom and Kenyase Number Two.

Residents of all the places visited could not hide their discontentment about what they consider as "maltreatment" being meted out to them by the authorities of Newmont.

27-year Paul Anto Boadu of Tutuka said contrary to the promises made to them by Newmont officials at the start of their operations that their lives would be better off in future, the reverse is the case as their plight has even worsened.

He said they had lost confidence in the paramount chiefs of the area because the chiefs had miserably failed to help find solutions to their concerns but were rather interested in securing contracts with the company.

All the women who interacted with the students complained bitterly about the poor quality water from the boreholes provided for them by Newmont, and which are suspected to have traces of cyanide and high concentration of arsenic, mercury, cadmium, manganese, and lead.

This situation, according to the women has greatly contributed to the increased rate of irregular menstrual flow, stillbirth, neonatal death and other diseases such as skin rashes and stomach aches which were all uncommon in the area until the advent of Newmont in Ahafo.

According to them, their main sources of water now which are boreholes provided by Newmont are believed to have traces of cyanide and other dangerous chemicals while their streams which they used to rely on have all been polluted but nothing seems to be done about their predicament.

"Anytime officials of Newmont come here, we see them holding Voltic Mineral water and would never drink from the borehole they have provided us. We have no option than to continue drinking from the borehole because we can't afford to buy Voltic Mineral Water all the time and so we are really suffering!", they said.

Kofi Yeboah of Ananekrom said the Tailings facility of Newmont had been leaking into the Subri stream, which serves many communities.

An Elderly woman, also of Ananekrom, Ama Nyarko narrated the ordeal his 15-year old son, Isaac Ofori, went through in 2015 when his testicles started enlarging strangely.

"I took him to the Regional Hospital in Sunyani and upon lab tests, the disease was traced to the poor quality of water that we have been drinking here at Ananekom", she recounted.

One of the best ways out, in my opinion, is for government to temporarily halt the operations of some of these large-scale mining firms pending thorough investigations into the irreparable damage they are causing to humanity and the environment, just as it was done to galamseyers and small-scale miners alike.

I am sure my Minister of the Year, John Peter Amewu has taken note and will act swiftly. Hon, you can count on my support and the support of millions of people out there if you are able to take bold and courageous actions in this direction.

The writer is a Media/Public Relations Practitioner, [email protected])