The chiefs and people of Prestea and Dumase in the Prestea-Huni Valley District in the Western Region have raised alarm over the abandoning of dozens of pits in the area by a mining company, saying that the situation is threatening their lives.

They alleged that between Bogoso and Prestea, a distance of about 9.2 kilometres, 45 pits had been abandoned by Golden Star Bogoso/Prestea Limited without reclamation.     
 
The inhabitants said in some instances, the mining company had only planted trees around the abandoned pits or converted them into fish ponds, adding that the abandoned pits posed a serious danger to farmers who used footpaths around those areas to their farms.     
 
They further alleged that the activities of the mining company had contaminated their sources of drinking water, destroyed their houses and other property and afflicted them with diseases.     
 
They expressed these concerns in a petition presented to the National Peace Council (NPC) and called on the government to come-to their aid.     
 
Officials of Golden Star, however, insisted that about 90 per cent of the allegations were unfounded and should be treated with disdain.     
 
Some members of the NPC undertook a fact-finding mission to the area to learn at firsthand factors that led to conflicts between mining communities and mining companies, with the view to finding an amicable solution to maintain the peace in the area.     
 
The NPC entourage was made up of its Vice-Chairman and Ameer and Missionary in charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana, Maulvi Wahab Adam; a senior lecturer at the Linguistics Department of the University of Ghana, Prof Kofi Agyekum, anda former President of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mrs Georgina Baiden.     
 
Others were the Executive Secretary of the NPC, Mr P. K. Opoku-Mensah; the Research Officer, Mr Emmanuel Sowatey; the Western Regional Peace Promotion Officer, Bishop Andrew Okoh, and the Chairman of the Western Regional Peace Advisory Council, Mr Augustine Kwesi Aggrey.     
 
The delegation visited River Apepre at Dumase, the only source of water for the people of the area, which the people claimed had been contaminated by the waste dump of the mining company.
 
At the time of the visit, the river was being dredged and, according to the people, before the dredging, any time there was rainfall the river overflowed its banks and havoc their homes.
 
The team also visited a pit at Dumase that had been converted into a fish pond.
 
While the community considered it to be dangerous to their lives, officials of Golden Star said it was in the interest of the community, as it was being used to train people who wished to go into fish farming.
 
According to the people, the blasting undertaken by the mining company had caused cracks in the walls of their houses but the company had turned deaf ears to several appeals for remedy.
 
They mentioned tuberculosis, which results from the smoke and dust emanating from the mine, the lack of employment and scholarship facilities for their children as some of the concerns the company had refused to address over the years.
 
At Prestea, the NPC delegation visited an abandoned pit which is at an early stage of reclamation by Gold Star to restore the land to its original state.
 
The Tufuhene of Hemang, Nana Abenaa Apee II, said, "For me, surface mining came to kill us, not to help us."
 
She said Gold Star had not lived up to its environmental responsibility in respect of its mining operation, noting that anytime the people sought to seek redress through demonstration, they were attacked and intimidated by military personnel.
 
Responding to some of the concerns raised by the people in a separate meeting with the management of Gold Star, its General Manager, Mr Nigel Tamlyn, said the company investigated every case reported from the communities, adding that invariably 90 per cent of the cases proved to be unfounded, while those with merit were addressed promptly.
 
He said the company established a Community Development Fund in 2006 to support development initiatives within its operational area, but made it clear that it "does not have a bottomless pit of cash to give out to the communities".
 
The Community Affairs and Sustainable Development Manager of Gold Star, Mr Rammy Oboro, said the company inherited a bad legacy from its predecessor, noting, however, that over the past six months cordiality between the company and the communities had improved.
According to him, Gold Star had employed about 400 people from the communities and provided 17 hand-pipes for them.

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