I can connect
Nothing with nothing
(THE WASTELAND- T.S. ELLIOT)
A friend’s invitation to his wedding afforded me the rare opportunity to see a town that is renowned for its colossal deposit of quality gold. What my eyes beheld upon entering the town was a stark contrast to the beauty every mining town I know presents. What whetted my curiosity aside my friend’s wedding were the testimonies of school mates that painted an impressive portrait of this golden town. In short, I was greatly disappointed when I saw Obuasi in its present state.
My first spell of disappointment arose from the bad nature of the main road that linked Anwiankwanta junction with Obuasi. There were so many deep potholes filled dirty water that make one wonder whether the road is part of a concession earmarked for surface mining. That stretch of road is so narrow and out of shape as a result erosion at the shoulders of the road.
When I got to Obuasi, I came to the realisation that the terrible state of the road that ushers one into Obuasi is really a perfect summary of the Obuasi township. Personally, there was nothing impressive or glamorous about this so called golden city. It is in fact an apology of a well planned and developed mining city.
The only showpiece of Obuasi I think the inhabitants can pride themselves with is the workers’ flats for the miners. The rest is dryness and filth. The only thought that consumed my mind was the inexplicable developmental deprivation of the town that sits on gold.
It was at that juncture of mental criss-crossing that I came to the realisation it is about time that the government and major stakeholders in the mining sector came up with a comprehensive policy aimed at developing mining communities in terms of infrastructure to boost economic boom.
Despite the existence of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, one can hardly feel or notice its impact. Yes, the leaders of the Chamber claim they have helped in formulating laws to regulate mining in Ghana. However, if one takes a careful look at mining communities in Ghana, the appalling state of affairs in these areas are worth discussing if not appreciated.
In a bid to cover their exploitative tendencies, mining companies in Ghana have resorted to promoting corporate social responsibilities that do not reduce poverty. They sink boreholes, construct classroom blocks, and offer compensations that could best be described as paltry and we have government functionaries extolling these inimical investments.
Now with government still grappling with the never ending illegal Chinese mining menace, one wonders when positive steps will be taken to cut better deals for mining communities that will be gravely affected by mining activities. It appears these foreign mining companies appear on the scene, extract our precious minerals, and deplete our natural resources with little or no effort by the government to secure the supreme interest of Ghanaians.
The worst aspect of this situation is the involvement of some government officials, immigration personnel, military officers and other unscrupulous powerful individuals who connive with illegal miners to breach mining regulations. Pathetically, we have some traditional rulers who for the sake of their bellies accept financial handouts which in no way can compensate for the environmental degradation of the lands they release to illegal miners.
In fact, I left Obuasi an uncomfortable man wondering where our beloved nation is crawling to. The phenomenon where the citizenry of a particular community do not benefit fully from natural deposits bequeath to them was painfully and sharply all evident. I have never been to Prestea, Tarkwa and other mining towns but I can without a shred of doubt say that these mining towns are no different from Obuasi.
If caution is thrown to the pigs and the gravity of the implications of our careless conducts in the mining sector are gleefully not taken seriously, then, it stands to reason that posterity stands saddled with misfortunes of greater proportions. Are we going to shepherd foreigners to act with impunity in siphoning our mineral wealth to develop their economies? So I dare ask, for how long will our very own kith and kin continue to donate our birthright to strangers?
In a country where our sage leaders from the various recognised political parties blatantly refuse to drink from a common national policy, it seems there is little we can do to frame a common national policy to tackle challenges confronting the mining sector and communities where mining is active.
Small wonder it has become extremely difficult for any government to find a lasting antedote to the galamsey nightmare. I am yet to be informed of any unregulated small scale mining activity in a country like South Africa. Illegal miners thrive in regions where there is lawlessness or the laws of that particular country refuse to bite effectively.
The next time you hear some Ghanaian ‘galamseyers’ are trapped in a pit fatally or some illegal Chinese miners in the country are destroying our water bodies, be rest assured that you can confidently start mining illegally in a forest without the requisite authorisation, recoup your investment before you will be threatened to stop your nefarious activities.
What am I saying? Were we not in this country when a white boy from USA came into the country, mined for gold and eventually made a documentary captioned, ‘Jungle Gold’? Then all that we heard from Inusah Fuseini was government’s commitment to arrest the horse after it has bolted.
This experience from Obuasi has revealed to me the seemingly non-existent relation between natural resources and their proper application to national development. We have more but we possess less. Foreigners harness our wealth at the detriment of our existence. The government must act swiftly to save our sorry state or we perish in penury because Obuasi anywhere is Obuasi everywhere.
AUTHOR’S NAME: OKOFO-DARTEY SAMUEL
E-MAIL: sodesq2000@yahoo.com
