Don’t grant permit to mine bauxite in Atiwa forest reserve - WACAM

The government has been asked to refuse to grant license to any company to mine bauxite in the Atiwa Forest Reserve, because doing that, would be costly.

Mr. Boakye-Dankwa Boadi, Director of Communication and Advocacy of Wacam - a human rights, environmental and mining advocacy non-governmental organization, warned that mining right inside it would have disastrous consequences.

It was not the right thing to do and any such move, should be quickly abandoned, he added.

The reserve, which forms a major part of the last existing forest in South-Eastern Ghana according to studies, keeps Accra-Tema area smog-free.

The Densu and Brim Rivers also take their sources from this forest reserve.

Mr. Boadi, a former acting General Manager and Supervising Chief Editor of the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said it was therefore important that everything was done to protect it, adding that, this was in the best national interest.

He was interacting with a group of young journalists from various media houses in Kumasi.

The reserve has huge bauxite deposit and international companies are increasingly becoming eager to acquire license to mine the bauxite, using the open cast technology.

Mr. Boadi, however, said it would be a mistake to allow such a highly prized ecosystem with high species of diversity and hydrological value, to be destroyed through commercial bauxite exploitation.

He also revived the controversy over the actual number of football fans, who died in the May 09, Accra Sports Stadium disaster.

He put the real figure at 127 and said the 126 official deaths the people had been made to believe was incorrect.

“Ghanaians should accept to work together to protect the natural resources”.