Public Agenda (Accra)
E. Asiedu Acquah
5 November 2001
Accra — A human rights lawyer has blamed the social, economic and environmental problems associated with surface mining in the country on the law governing the mining sector. The lawyer, Augustine Niber of Center for Public Interest Law said the mining law has failed to address issues that are important to the survival and livelihood of communities where there are mining concessions.
"This state of affairs (mining-induced problems) stems from the unsatisfactory nature of the legal framework governing the extractive sector particularly the legislation governing minerals and mining operations in the country, the Minerals and Mining Law of 1986 (PNDCL 153)", Niber said at a presentation of a proposal on mining legislation review to the Ministry of Mines, Lands and Forestry, recently. The presentation programme was organized by the Ghana Coordination of FoodFirst Information and Action (FIAN) International, Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM and the League of Environmental Journalists (LEJ). The proposal is an input by the NGOs to the on going review of the mining law by the Mines Ministry.
Niber explained that the ineffectiveness of the PNDCL 153 to deal with the problems of surface mining is due to the fact that the law was passed at a time that surface mining in the country was not contemplated. Unfortunately, he said, long after the introduction of surface mining in Ghana, PNDCL 153 "is still the governing legislation in the extractive sector not withstanding its limitations". According to him, the law does not provide for a legislative determination of a pricing formula based upon market principles for the payment of compensation. This he said leads to the situation where mining communities with limited capacities have to pitch their negotiation strength against that of mining multinationals who are more resourceful and can engage the services of professionals.
The Coordinator of FIAN Ghana, Mike Doe Anane said the proposal by FIAN, WACAM and LEJ aims at identifying and removing the sources of mining induced problems and conflicts such as negative social, environmental and human rights impact. The proposal, according to him, was discussed in an open and independent forum by mining affected community groups, NGOs, academia and other concerned interests.
"It is our hope that our proposal which prioritizes people's genuine concerns such as ecological protection, economic equity, social justice and human rights, over narrow commercial mining interests will contribute to making mining less susceptible to abuse by profiteers and privileged minority groups", Anane said.
James Adjei, Technical Director of the Mines, Lands and Forestry Ministry, who represented the sector minister, said the proposal by NGOs would greatly help the review of the mining law. He noted that it was good the NGOs submitted the proposal instead of demonstrating streets.
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