WACAM Suggests Review Of Ghana's Weak Mining Law

Mrs. Owusu-Koranteng

Human rights and mining advocacy non-governmental organisation, WACAM, has called for a review of Ghana’s mining law, because of its unfavourable nature towards the country’s economic development and the promotion of human rights.

According to WACAM, the current law gives too much freedom and opportunities to mining companies, allowing them to engage in impunity, take undue advantage of mining communities as well as government in the payment of taxes and royalties. 

At a Tamale forum recently, WACAM Associate Director Mrs. Hannah Owusu-Koranteng, presented a sample of a mining bill developed by WACAM and other organizations to stakeholders working in Ghana’s environment and extractive sector for validation. 

The aim for developing this sample mining bill was to mobilise Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), mining communities and other stakeholders in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions of Ghana, to influence legal reforms in our mining sector so as to reflect the guiding principles and policies of the ECOWAS Directives on mining. 

The forum also accorded stakeholders the opportunity to influence reforms in addressing the limitations in the country’s mining law by contributing towards the development of the sample mining bill. 

The objectives of the forum were among other things, to review the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 Act 703; share with stakeholders the content of the sample mining bill; and collate views from participants on the sample bill.

Discussions on mining have always been around revenues with little mention of environmental pollution, human rights abuses and the potential loss of livelihoods associated with the mineral exploitation. Most mining communities are limited in participating effectively in the decisions of natural resource exploitation. Outbreak of violent conflicts often lead to brutalities meted out by security agencies against host mining communities. 

A miner engaged in environmental degradation

“These conflicts have resulted because of the huge gaps in the mining law, Minerals and Mining Act, Act 703, 2006 that protects mining investment interest in line with the concept of extractivism as against sovereign interest”, Mrs. Owusu-Koranteng claims.

These perceptions or otherwise, being held by the WACAM Associate Director and other CSOs in the sub region, led to the adoption of the ECOWAS directives on the guiding principles and policies in the mining sector in 2009. 

The Directives have important provisions such as the Free Prior and Informed Consent Principle and the Polluter Pays Principle which that compels mining companies to respect community rights and to improve the management of natural resources of states if governments internalise the provisions in the directives.

Thus, WACAM in collaboration with the Centre for Public Interest Law and Centre for Environmental Impact Analysis and with support from IBIS, Care Ghana and Ford Foundation are developing a sample mining bill to influence legal reforms in Ghana’s mining sector to reflect the guiding principles and policies of the ECOWAS Directives on mining. 

The sample bill would be forwarded to government later on for further dialogue and consideration, and when it is eventually accepted, the bill would be sent to parliament to be passed into a new law.

WACAM is working in over seventy (70) mining communities in the Country. Between 2009 and 2013, WACAM trained over 900 community people, 150 journalists and more than ten NGOs in the three regions of the North where new mining companies are locating. From 2009 to 2013, mining stories as reported by Journalists increased by 300 percent as against similar reports between 2004 and 2008.                     

NRGP/Nestle Train Farmers On Quality Grain Management

The Cultivation of poor quality seeds, lack of spacing, poor application of chemicals and poor harvesting and storage practices have been identified as factors affecting the quality of grains produced by smallholder farmers in the three Northern Regions of Ghana. 

The hardworking farmers invest much energy, time and resources into their business but mostly encounter loses due to their ignorance about good agronomic practices. 

As a result, the Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in collaboration with Nestle Ghana Limited has organized series of training and capacity building workshops for smallholder farmer groups in the area on “Quality Grain Management”. 

Nestle Ghana Limited and the NRGP have since 2011 taken the lead to promoting quality grain management to enable local farmers meet the quality standards of raw materials required by the various industries such as Nestle for the production of foods onto the market. 

Over 52,000 farmers have so far been trained to understand the health effects of poor quality grains which results in “mycotoxins” (dangerous substances that are produced by moulds or bacteria to contaminate foods especially cereals). An additional 1,125 agric extension officers and 158 aggregators of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) have also been trained to complement the efforts of the District Value Chain Committees whose responsibility is to sustain the programme thereafter.

Eating grains which are high in aflatoxins can lead to liver cancer, jaundice, stunted growth in children and sometimes deaths in human and livestock animals. Farmers across Ghana especially in the three Northern Regions have over the years failed to produce safe and good quality maize, sorghum, rice and millet for their personal consumption and for sale to industries which largely affect their income generation.

Officials of NRGP/Nestle At a Meeting with farmers

Speaking at one of the series of capacity building workshops at Gushie for farmers and agricultural extension officers, the Central and West Africa Zone Manager of Nestle in charge of Agric, Klutse Kudomor said that the company places farmers at the centre of their business operations since they are the source of their raw materials and also form part of the target consumers of their products. 

According to him, the involvement of Nestle Ghana Limited in the Quality Grain Management Project was to ensure that the farmers produce quality of grains which would be safe for their own personal consumption and could also meet quality standards of industries. 

“As a company, Nestle does not compromise on the safety and quality of raw materials used for our production because we produce for human consumption and when the customers are healthy and alive we can also continue to stay in business”.

He said that the company was also interested in helping the farmers to get more income out of their produce so that they could continue to patronize their products.

Mr. Kudomor indicated that Nestle was also interested in promoting local businesses by patronizing local raw materials for their daily productions. He noted that the NRGP and the company had adopted the Value Chain approach to ensure that the farmers got ready market after production and with a good price.

What are Mycotoxins?

Mycotoxins are dangerous chemical substances that are produced by Moulds to contaminate various agricultural commodities, either before or after harvest. The Moulds attack foodstuffs such as maize, sorghum, groundnuts, cowpea, dried fruits and spices. They discolour the grains, reduce the nutrient content and turn the grains into poisonous substances which become harmful to human health. Mycotoxins are not visible. They do not have a particular favour. Therefore it is not easy convince consumers about their existence in food.

How to manage or avoid Mycotoxins

Farmers are required to use good seed materials during planting, plant at the correct spacing to avoid overcrowding, control weeds early and harvest at maturity when the maize cobs have just dried up. They are also expected not to leave dry cobs on the field for a long time before harvesting, avoid harvesting in wet conditions, grains should be dried soon after harvest within 24-48 hours to below 14% moisture content and then dry further to a moisture content of 12% before storage and dry on black plastic sheets or mat not on bare floor. They must avoid breaking of grains during shelling, sort to discard poor quality products before storage, store in appropriate structure (improved granaries, silos and jute bags), storage facilities should be clean and dry and then prevent insect pest attacks to avoid spread of mould spores.

A Section of Smallholder Farmers At Meeting

The National Coordinator of the NRGP, Mr. Felix Darimani said that with the introduction of the Northern Rural Growth Programme, farmers in the three Northern Regions had had several opportunities to improve on their businesses. 

According to him, farmers were previously taught by Extension Officers on only how to plant in a role, how to use fertilizers and agro-chemicals to enable them produce the crops in large quantities. 

But the NRGP had introduced the farmers to the Value Chain approach which ensures that they (farmers) cultivate the correct variety of seeds with high quality which are on high demand by consumers or on the markets so that the farmers would not go through any difficulties in selling their produce and getting the correct prices. 

“With NRGP, farmers now produce exactly what the markets or consumers want and this has brought about our partnership with Nestle to purchase whatever the farmers produce. Farmers are already aware of the standards Nestle looks out for so there is that understanding between the two parties”.

Mr. Darimani said that the quality grain management project formed part of the NRGP and Nestles’ efforts at facilitating small holder farmer groups’ access to competitive and remunerative markets for their farm produce.

This, according to Felix Darimaani has since improved the expertise of the beneficiaries, change agents and MOFA staff on grain quality management using simple posters and Mycotoxin management guide.

For the NRGP, the grain quality management programme provides a good opportunity for its small holder farmers to have alternative market channels for their produce in addition to the other aggregators and marketers in the programme area.

The NRGP’s major priority is to provide a platform for mobilization of farmers and training of producers to ensure good quality grain fostering.

The ongoing training programme is one of the tailored series of training Nestle and the NRGP are collaboratively carrying out for its clients.

Civil Servant Mounts Protest Against Corruption in Ghana's Public Sector

Mr. Charles Ayuune Akurugu

An Assistant District Coordinating Director at Kumbungu, Charles Ayuune Akurugu is now leading a movement called “Progressive Public Servant for the Total Overhaul of the Public Sector (PPSTOPS)” to fight the ills in the public sector that had over the years retarded the growth of mother Ghana and promoted the interest of some few individuals.

Mr. Charles Akurugu, who claims to have drawn his inspirations from Martin Amidu (the renowned citizen vigilante), is demanding a reform and complete overhaul of the Ghana’s public sector to free the staff of the sector from being intimidated or forced to remain silent over deep corrupt practices by some key individuals.

Speaking at a Press Conference in Tamale recently, Mr. Charles Ayuune Akurugu stated emphatically that issues of bribery, corruption and other wrong doings had been pervasive in Ghana because the Public Servant had been cowed and forced to keep mute over the rots. 

The Public Servants he said had also been forced to become hypocrites, sycophants and hero-worshippers, due to constant intimidation and threats of losing their jobs or position by their autocratic leaders.

The PPSTOPS Leader did not comprehend why good and incorruptible men and women were being vilified whiles thieves were being celebrated in Ghana and Africa. According to him, he would not do the bid of individuals or succumb to intimidation and pressure from any person in the public sector to suppress the truth or keep mute over ill conducts, since he owed it a duty as a citizen of Ghana to promote the interest of the state.

Dr. Callistus Mahama, Head of Local Govt. Service

Mr. Charles Ayuune Akurugu said that most of his friends and relatives had advised him to refrain from his campaign before he loses his job, but he insisted “the job you are afraid I will loose, I do not want it anymore if things do not change because I have to steal to even survive and I do not want to be a thieve anymore”. 

He admonished all patriotic Ghanaians to rise against the ills in the public sector and save the nation’s economy from collapse. His assumptions are that working in the public sector of Ghana only makes people to become liars and corrupt, even sometimes against their will.

The PPSTOPS Leader alleged that “In my over 12 years of public service, I have learnt that there is debilitating greed in the public sector. I have learnt how the sector has become what it is today. Victimization and intimidation has cowed the public servant into diffidence and submissiveness. You will be sacked but you will be denied your duties for which you were employed because after all those benefiting from the system do not care about Ghana”. 

Mr. Charles Akurugu stressed that there had been several experienced and hardworking public servants who had lost their positions, or transferred to different places where they had been rendered useless or ineffective because small desks are created at a corner for them. 

He therefore emphasized that his Movement (PPSTOPS) would ensure that the corruption and indiscipline in the public sector was turned into a resource for national building. 

He hinted that his movement would soon come out with names of some individuals and institutions promoting corruption in the public sector and depriving the nation of her economic growth.

NDC Does Not Need State Funds To Run 2016 Elections

The Northern Regional Secretariat of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has stated emphatically that the party would not finance its 2016 electioneering campaign with state funds. 

According to the Northern Regional Director of Elections, Rashid Tanko Computer, the NDC as a social democratic party had had competent and experienced officers or executives at the National, Regional and Constituency levels, who innovatively mount up strategies to build the financial base of the party during every election, and would not fail the party in 2016 too. 

Speaking in an interview with Savannahnews in Tamale, Mr. Rashid Tanko Computer said that the NDC did not dip its hands into the state’s purse to win the 2008 and 2012 elections, and would thus not do that in the coming election. 

“NDC is a formidable party, with capable men and women who are also selfless and are ready to support the party at any times. We also know how we manage our meager resources to realize our aspirations. So it will be wrong for anybody to think that because we are the party in power we are going to use state funds to run our 2016 campaign. No! It will never happen,” Mr. Tanko Computer said.   

He said that the President, John Dramani Mahama as an anti-corruption campaigner who was bent on ridding the state of any corrupt practices would not meddle himself in such a corruptible act just because he wanted to remain in power. 

The Former Northern Regional Manager of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) insisted that the NDC would do all it could to legitimately secure the necessary resources for its campaign activities for another victory in 2016.

Meanwhile, the Northern Region NDC is currently over 1.1 billion old Ghana cedis  richer. This was realized from the just ended filing of nominations by the various parliamentary aspirants. 

Each of the 120 parliamentary aspirants of the party paid GHC10, 000 as filing fees but almost 11 of the aspirants could not go through the vetting process successfully. That notwithstanding, the Northern Region NDC has also registered over 400,000 supporters in the recent Biometric Registration exercise organized by the party. The NDC National Secretariat, according to the Mr. Tanko Computer is now doing the configuration of the membership ID Cards in Accra to determine the actual registered members and also determine how much each member would pay as dues.

On the other hand, Mr. Rashid Tanko Computer cautioned all the aspiring parliamentary candidates in the region to see the race as internal affair and desist from insults, personality attacks and any act that could affect the chances of the NDC in 2016.

He appealed to them to adhere to the party’s constitution and the guidelines or rules set out by the party for all candidates.

Mr. Tanko Computer who is also the Regional Treasurer of the NDC said that the party was sure of winning 30 out of the 31 parliamentary seats in the Northern Region. His prediction was based on what he described as the outstanding and unprecedented performance of President John Dramani Mahama in the last few years. 

According to him, the NDC had so much to show or testify about, as far as meeting the development aspirations of Ghanaians was concerned.

He therefore called for peace, unity and understanding in the NDC before, during and after the primaries schedule for November this years, 2015.