News:
March 13, 2018
Member of Parliament for Abirem, John Frimpong Osei is calling on government to put in place a holistic and pragmatic policy to address issues of the well-being of the people in the mining communities.
According to Mr. Osei Frimpong as the Nation benefit from mining, host communities lose their livelihoods; their waters bodies are polluted through seepage of arsenic substance, environmental degradation and there is social vices.
He further noted that enactment of the Minerals Development Fund (MDF) Act 912 of 2016 brought a great sigh of relief to the people in the mining areas in anticipation of interventions to ameliorate their hardship.
Again the Act provides a legislative backing for the allocation of 20 percent of mining royalties received by the government to mining communities for development.
In a statement on the floor of the House, the Abirem legislator noted that the MDF makes available financial resources for the direct benefit of mining communities, a holder of interest in land within a mining community.
“Mr. Speaker regrettable however, the implementation of the Act has been fraught with some delays” and called for the MDF Board to be constituted and a local management committee to manage the fund.
He added that until Act 912 (2016) is fully implemented people living in mining communities will continuously remain short changed without alternative livelihoods.
“It is disheartening to see the unemployed youth in Abirem constituency particularly those in the communities affected by mining desperately looking for non-existent job opportunities. Some limited jobs have been created for some of the youth, but the majority of the unemployed youth and active middle aged farmers whose land have been ceded to mining companies face unbearable realities of life.”
By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com