For communities which host mining activities across the country, this year’s general elections are welcoming news. The electioneering process has been all about issues and even though education has dominated discussions, the poll is equally about mining.
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| Pollution of water bodies is a common ill of mining in many communities |
The position paper was developed out of several months of consultations with community members, representatives of political parties, chiefs, CSOs, media and staff of municipal/district assemblies in the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality, Prestea Huni Valley District (both in Western Region), Obuasi Municipality (Ashanti Region), Asutifi North District (Brong Ahafo Region), and Talensi and Nabdam districts (Upper East Region).
The consultations were jointly led by the Centre for Environmental Impact Analysis (CEIA), Humanity Focus Foundation (HFF) and Gender and Environmental Monitoring Advocates (GEMA) under a project funded by STAR-Ghana.
The paper analyses the challenges facing mining communities and concludes that there is the need for the next political administration to undertake reforms, particularly amending the provisions of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) in order to address existing gaps.
It urges the Manifesto Committees “of all the political parties to adopt and to support the changes proposed in this position paper, specifically those pertaining to the fiscal policy on mining, as well as to environmental and social protection, and the economic evaluation of mining projects with the view of protecting human health and the environment.”
Comparing the position paper, described herein as “People’s Manifesto,” with those of political parties, Mr Samuel Obiri of the CEIA makes particular mention of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the largest opposition party, New Patriotic Party (NPP), for having an appreciation of the mining problem in view of the manner in which they have partly incorporated aspects of the manifesto into their own party manifestos.
Summary of People’s Manifesto
The People’s Manifesto on mining summarises the demands into 13 points. These are:
• There should be “No go Zones” to protect communities and national landmarks
• The law is silent on cyanide spillages and chemical pollution of water bodies. There is therefore the need to incorporate the “Polluter Pays Principle” into the legal framework.
• There should be clear demarcation of active mining operations from communities, water bodies and protected areas of the country and government must outlaw the practice whereby surface mining companies use water heads for mining activities.
• The distance between a community/settlement or town and an active mine pit has to be defined legally to avoid conflicts. The law must provide for a “Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)” to ensure the consent of mining communities is sought prior to the release of an area for mining. The FPIC principle is an internationally accepted principle which protects the rights of indigenous people and it is found in the ECOWAS Directive ratified by the government of Ghana.
• Land should be seen as capital asset owned by communities and could be used by community people to have equity stake in private investment in mining.
• The Act must make reference to all UN Conventions, ECOWAS Protocols and treaties especially the ECOWAS Directive on the Harmonisation of Guidelines and Principles in the Mining Sector that government has signed onto and internalise them in the Minerals and Mining Act.
• The Minerals and Mining Act should provide for human rights audits and reporting in mining
• The Minerals Commission as part of conflict resolution mechanisms in mining should develop benchmarks for human rights accounting and reporting by mining companies.
• Reform the framework for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) by developing specific minimum indicators for community participation as well as benchmarks for the reclamation of mined -out areas and distance between mining projects, installations and human settlements.
• Institute progressive royalty rate payment to discourage mining companies from increasing their rate of mining and develop guidelines for the distribution of royalty payment to District Assemblies, Traditional Councils and Stools and Skins.
• Formulate appropriate policies and laws to back the generation and distribution of revenue from the exploitation of natural resources and reform the existing modalities for revenue sharing from the sector by evolving and legislating meaningful and judicious formula for revenue and benefits sharing.
• Government should remove the Stability and Development agreement provisions from the 703 and introduce windfall profit tax.
Response by parties
So how do political parties respond to these demands? The Progressive People’s Party (PPP), led by Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, makes no comment on mining in its 10-Point agenda, which is its main document for the 2012 elections.
Similarly, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) under the leadership of Dr Michael Abu Sakara Foster makes no reference to mining in its abridged manifesto that has been made available.
Unlike the pair, Mr Hassan Ayariga’s People’s National Convention (PNC) dedicates two paragraphs of its manifesto proposal for lands and natural resource management to mining. The key commitments are that a PNC administration will:
• Put in new mining reforms to regulate mining proceeds going to foreign mining companies as well as inhabitants of mining communities so as to ensure that the costs and benefits of mining are equitably shared.
• Regulate the indigenous mining system popularly called “galamsey” in a friendly way by easing the huge legal and administrative constraints that keep them underground. “Our Government shall support them with mining equipment, capital, as well as protection from unfair external competitions.”
On the other hand, the NPP, led by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, approaches the issue of mining in a generic manner when treating environmental issues in chapter three of its manifesto. Unlike its treatment of other sectors, the NPP does not make any proposal for mining-specific interventions.
And so, we arrive in the camp of the ruling NDC, which is led by President John Dramani Mahama. The party treats mining under its second general theme of a strong and resilient economy, devoting about three-quarters of a page to treat mining and related issues. The NDC proposes to:
• Complete the amendment of the Minerals and Mining Act and implement it to reflect the principle of polluter pays as well as UN Conventions and ECOWAS Protocols on mining and the ECOWAS directive on the harmonisation of the guiding principles and policies in the Mining Sector;
• Provide a platform for a transparent engagement of major stakeholders to increase harmony in the sector;
• Implement the regulations for the payment of compensations and guidelines for the use of unutilised mining concessions;
• Continually review the investment regime in the mining sector in order to maximise returns to the state;
• Develop other industrial minerals to reduce overdependence on the few traditional minerals and promotion of greater value addition;
• Provide legislative backing for the Minerals Development Fund and review of the royalties’ distribution formula to address the concerns of communities, chiefs and District Assemblies;
• Complete geological exploration in identified areas for small scale miners to reduce the incidence of illegal small scale mining “galamsey”;
• Ensure transparency in the management of payments, receipts, disbursements and utilisation of extractive sector resources in compliance with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI);
• Aggressively continue the exercise started by Government to flush out foreigners who have invaded the small-scale mining sector since the sector is reserved for Ghanaians and will continue to be reserved for Ghanaians.
This is an article I wrote for the column "My Manifesto" which was published in the November 30, 2012 edition of the Public Agenda newspaper.
Great work done Bro! Kudos!
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