Mining has become a curse to Ghanaians

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Mrs. Hannah-Owusu Koranteng
Mrs. Hannah-Owusu Koranteng
Mrs. Hannah-Owusu Koranteng
Mrs. Hannah-Owusu Koranteng

The Associate Executive Director of Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM), Mrs. Hannah Owusu Koranteng has said that natural resource is becoming a curse to Ghanaians because of the situation whereby the exploration of natural resources including minerals in the country lead to increased poverty, conflict, environmental and social problems.

According to her, mining in Ghana has done more harm than good taking into consideration the destruction of our farm lands, polluting our water bodies as well as its associated negative health implications among others.

She was of the opinion that Ghana possesses enormous agricultural potential which if properly developed would insulate the country from the global food crisis.

?WACAM had been concerned about the fact that large tracts of agricultural lands are currently under mining concession. As at 1998, government had granted more than two hundred mining leases resulting in mining companies holding 30 per cent of the country’s lands surface area in mining concessions? Mrs. Koranteng indicated.

She explained that even more worrying is the increasing mining activities in the important food producing areas in Ghana adding Multinational mining companies are mining in Western, Eastern, Ashanti and in the BrongAhafo Region and these are areas that constitute the food basket of the country.

Mrs. Koranteng averred that Multinational mining companies such as Anglogold Ashanti, Golden Star Resources, Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, Goldfields Ghana Limited and Chirano Gold Mines hold large tracts of agricultural lands as mining concessions which is dangerous for the country.

She further revealed that chemicals like mercury, cyanide, sulfuric acid, arsenic and methyl mercury are used in various stages of mining which are released into nearby water bodies thereby causing water pollution.

The Associate Executive Director admonished Ghanaians especially Chiefs and Elders not to encourage mining in their communities because the negative implications are very dangerous.

By Abigail Larbi/THE MOMENT

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