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Feature |
(September 7th, 2009) |
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Farmers demand farmland from Anglogold
A group of farmers from Akatakyieso, Amamom and Anyankyirem, all farming communities near Obuasi in the Ashanti Region, are demanding that mining giant Anglogold Ashanti returns to them land acquired for mining purposes but now turned "into pasture for the company's cattle."
In a press statement read for the "Concerned farmers" spokesperson Anthony Freeman Aikins noted that it is "illegal" for the company to have turned the land into a grazing field for cattle, while the "three communities that used to be the food basket of the Obuasi area now have to buy food from the Obuasi township." To buttress his point, Mr. Aikins quoted a Greek proverb that says that "you take away my life if you take away the means by which I live."
The group is thus calling on government and its agencies to "compel AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi mine to restore their lands to their original conditions and hand them over to the rightful owners. 'Government should ensure such violation of the rights of economic, social and cultural rights of Ghanaians never occur in this country again."
They are equally demanding that AngloGold Ashanti's concessions be made public to prevent the situation where poor, landless farmers are denied their means of livelihood on the excuse that whichever land they use belongs to the company. "Much as the company has a right to do business in accordance with the laws of the country, we also have a right to our livelihood. Under no circumstance are we prepared to give up our livelihoods to any company."
The acres of land in question were supposedly acquired in the 1980s by the then Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC) Ltd, before its merger with Anglogold, from the Amamom, Akatakyieso, Anyankyirem and Adaase communities to enable them expand their mining operations under the Ashanti Mine Expansion Project (AMEP).
"Under this project, the company extended its surface mining to these four communities in 1994 after doing exploration for a year. As a result of this, farmers who formerly were farming on this large expanse of land had to give up their livelihoods to make way for the project.
Apart from farmlands which we had to give up, all water bodies which we relied on for both domestic and recreational purposes were also destroyed. In return for all these sacrifices, the company could only manage a handshake of paltry compensation, insulting to say the least. As if to spite us, some of the people were given empty barrels as compensation for losing their farmlands."
The press statement further contended that since 1999 when the company officially ceased active mining, life in the three communities has been "a living hell."
"Without the needed education or technical skills which would have enabled us to take advantage of opportunities in mining and without the land that has sustained our livelihoods for centuries, we have been rendered paupers. To say that life has been difficult for us is understating our condition of life...
The bottom-line of these problems that we are facing today is the loss of land. As community people, we have a strong economic and spiritual attachment to our lands. Losing our lands is akin to losing our lives. This is because every economic activity that we undertake in these communities is tied to the availability of land. Non-availability of land therefore means that we do not have any livelihood."
Another concern for the farmers is the education of their children which they say has stalled. Many of their children, they say, have become drop outs since they lost their lands. "The consequence of this is that a lot of our youth have found themselves in the country's main cities selling dog chains and doing menial work to survive. Those who cannot migrate to the cities have found a permanent job sitting under trees and playing draught from morning till night, wasting away their youthfulness."
Still, the farmers are worried about the effects of mining explosions on their buildings, a lot of which, they contend, have been left with gaping cracks. "If you move round the communities, a lot of the buildings have been rendered inhabitable for humans. Residents living in such houses live in the perpetual fear of having the house collapse on them. We regret to report that some important buildings like the Amamom chief's palace and the Community Centre constructed from the labour of the people have been razed to the ground as a result of mining activities by AngloGold Ashanti."
Meanwhile, the farmers say they have been rendered helpless since several appeals to both the company and government to do right by them have fallen on deaf ears and that "the company continues to treat us with contempt and disdain."
Other demands of the Concerned Farmers include the following:
Steps should be taken by the company to do an assessment of the extent of damage done to buildings in the three communities so that appropriate compensation is paid to affected residents. We propose that the team that will do the assessment includes the accredited representative of the communities.
Government should speed up the preparation of the guidelines on blasting so that communities are protected against blasting by companies close to their places of residence.
We further call on CHRAJ to speed up investigations into allegations of houses which are collapsing as a result of the blasting of the company.
AngloGold Ashanti should open up genuine dialogue with residents of the three communities as a way of addressing these problems we have outlined. We are appalled at the "pick and choose" policy of the company in dealing with the people. Such a dialogue should include the Amansie Central District Assembly as the closest local government institution to the people in the three communities.
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