Brakwaline demonstrates against BGL

Bogoso (W/R) Aug. 21 GNA - The people of Brakwaline, a farming community in Bogoso Gold Limited (BGLs), a subsidiary of Golden Star Resource, operational area, on Monday embarked on a four-hour peaceful demonstration at BGL's plant sites to impress upon the Mine to address issues affecting the community.

Nana Kwasi Amponsah, Chief of Brakwaline, told Ghana News Agency that, the community was there before BGL was established but it was unfortunate that, the Mine had neglected solving some problems emanating from its operations.

He said there was a pipe bust in 1995 and effluent was discharged into a stream, which was serving the community and employees of the Mine, and they were compelled not to use the stream; but the Mine had failed to provide them with reliable water supply even though pipelines had been extended to the community.

He said the Mine had constructed roster and the smoke, which it emitted, caused their crops to wither.

Nana Amponsah said the Mines Security had been preventing the citizens of the town from walking through the Mine after 1900 hours, adding "we have been kept indirectly under curfew". He said, in spite of all these problems, the Mine had not employed anybody from the village, not even one.

The Bogoso Area Council Chairman, Mr Stephen Kwame Asante said Brakwaline was about 50 metres from BGL's residential area. He said the children in the village walked four miles to school and pleaded with the Mine to help them by way of giving them lift to and from school.

Nana Richard Hagan, Manager Community Affairs and Sustainable Development, interacting with the press, said after a meeting between the Management of BGL and Brakwaline Community Leaders they identified three main concerns, which were water supply, provision of jobs and a bus, which would carry their children to and from school. He said BGL had laid a pipeline from its residential area to take water to Brakwaline and would assess the possibility of extending it to some hamlets nearby or sink a borehole for them.

With regard to sending children to school and back, Nana Hagan said, the Mine had no policy on that but the alternative was that, Golden Star Resources (GSR) had Launched Community Endowment Fund and the village could apply through the Consultative Committee to buy a bus, which would be managed by the community itself.

Touching on employment, he said, there was now employment policy document for inhabitants in the Mine operational area, which would consider first the people in the communities for certain jobs and with the collaboration of Human Resources Department, the policy would be implemented. Nana Hagan said an oil palm plantation the Company would establish during the last quarter of 2006 would employ unskilled labourers from the area.