Ahanta West District citizens want government policy on land

Tema, Nov 17, GNA - Participants from Ahanta West District in the Wester= n Region attending a workshop in Accra on Ghana's oil production, have call= ed on government to come out with a clear policy on the acquisition and usag= e of lands in the area.

They claimed that government had given portions of the Ahanta lands= to the Ghana Rubber Estate Limited (GREL), mining companies for surface mini= ng and oil companies for infrastructural development.

The participants made the call on Monday at Tema in the Greater Accra Region during the opening of a two-day capacity development workshop for communities likely to be affected by the oil production in the Western Region. The workshop organised by the Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM), was attended by 57 participants drawn from Ahanta West, Ellembele, Jomoro, Nzema East, and Shama Districts all in the Western Region.

Mr Joseph Daniel Dadson, a spokesperson for the participants, said apart=

from creating tension, which could lead to clashes in the area, the situation could also deprive the farming communities of their livelihood. According to him, the leasing of their lands to the rubber, mining and o= il companies, had prevented the people from expanding their communities, thu= s leading to people constructing their houses in swampy areas of the distri= ct. Mr Dadson said it was unfortunate that instead of politicians helping th= e poor in the society, they were rather buying their (poor) properties for their personal interests. Corroborating the allegation, Nana Arele Anyu II, Acting Chief of Chaven= e in the Ahanta West District, said portions of their lands have been given= to Newmont Gold Ghana Limited and other mining companies to do prospecting f= or licensing. She alleged that government gave out the lands without consulting the people of the area. This Nana Anyu II said would affect the livelihood of the people and therefore, pleaded with government to listen to their plea and address th= e issue. Mr Daniel Owusu Koranteng, Executive Director of WACAM said given Ghana's experiences in the mining sector, the workshop was organised to build the capacities of the communities that were likely to be affected d= ue to the oil find. He said it was also to sensitize then on the expected environmental, social, economic and civil rights challenges. Last but not the least, Mr Koranteng said, the workshop aims at forming a network of communities that would be affected by the oil find.