AngloGold Ashanti renege on dialogue with Communities

Accra, Oct. 9, GNA - Mining Communities in Obuasi area have accused AngloGold Ashanti of using its financial and lobbying strength to disorganise their front and called on members of the communities to unite to fight for their rights.

A resolution passed at the end of a meeting to discuss a dialogue process between the Communities and AngloGold Ashanti, said the attitude of the Company had made them to lose confidence in the process. It said AngloGold Ashanti had failed to attend scheduled meetings and had not implemented decisions taken at the very few meetings it had attended.

The resolution said though AngloGold Ashanti committed itself to a dialogue process about two years ago to address problems faced by the Communities it had done very little towards the solution of their problems.

The problems included environmental degradation; pollution of streams; dumping of mine waste and creation of dams that had led to the increase in the number of mosquitoes and consequently, malaria. The others are shooting of small-scale miners and releasing of guard dogs on them; loss of livelihoods, arresting and torturing of suspected small-scale miners, and the operation of private cells.

The resolution called on all patriotic Ghanaians to support the Communities in their struggle to hold AngloGold Ashanti accountable and commended "the patriotism of the Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM) for remaining steadfast in its advocacy role. "The over hundred years of operations of Ashanti Goldfields Company now AngloGold Ashanti had inflicted pain and suffering on many people in the Adansi area;" the resolution said.