Koidu City, Sierra Leone (June 20, 2023) Koidu and its surrounding communities could not hide their utter shock and dismay over a judgement announced on Monday June 19, 2023, in Abuja, Nigeria, by the ECOWAS Court of Justice, regarding gross human right abuses they have suffered at the hands of the Sierra Leonean government and Koidu Limited over the years.
The Court ruled that the community members had not adequately proven their case, despite the extensive testimony and documentation of violence and economic and environmental devastation that they submitted, and the fact that the Sierra Leone government neglected even to mount a defense or to deny the claims.
While the Sierra Leone courts have erected numerous roadblocks to justice, the communities had believed they could receive a fair hearing before the regional ECOWAS Court. This devastating judgment raises doubts that there is any forum in which they can obtain justice for the devastating consequences and various abuses caused by the mining operations of Koidu Limited, with the complicity of the Sierra Leonean government.
Details in a Press Release soon
Source: Public Interest Lawyering Initiative for West Africa (PILIWA)
Ahead of the execution of development projects under ACA’s community-driven development (CDD) module, beneficiary communities have held their third weekly meetings to further deliberate on their collective futures.
These communities, which include Abompe, Saaman, Bososo, Kplandey, Nsutam, Dome, Dwenease and Heman in Fanteakwa South District; and Asikam and Ahwenease in Abuakwa South Municipality, are threatened by extractive activities are poised to be in control of their own development.
ACA is giving them the tools to advocate for their own vision of the future in line with the Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP), which was developed and popularized in East Africa by ACA’s partner organization, Spark MicroGrants.
FCAP is a two-year program that encourages communities to create a common development vision and equips them with skills and financial resources – including a USD 9,000 microgrant – to pursue it.
Under FCAP, which is also called “Oman Yie Die” (an expression in Twi, a local Ghanaian language, which literally means community development), the beneficiary communities are expected to be holding weekly meetings for four months to adequately prepare for the final roll-out of the project, which is a partnership with local Municipal and District Assemblies.
The Municipal or District Assembly contribute a portion of the microgrant (20%) and are in turn trained to supervise and monitor FCAP initiatives while ACA comes in with 80% of the cost of each project implemented.
At the third meeting held simultaneously across the first batch of the communities under FCAP, attendees undertook Community Resource Mapping, through which they indicated the shape of their communities, detailing available resources and facilities/social amenities in the town.
This provided them the basis for arriving at priority projects to be factored into the local Assembly’s medium-term plan, a key prerequisite of FCAP.
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.6.6″ _module_preset=”default”]2022 was an amazing year, during which ACA’s internal investments increasingly paid off in terms of concrete results for communities and civil society partners across West Africa. [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.6.6″ _module_preset=”default”]At ACA, we help West African communities that are threatened by the destructive impacts of extractives-led development take control of their own development and use law and science to fight off threats to their chosen future. We are a laboratory for community-driven development and legal action, an incubator that helps our partners acquire the capacities to champion the interests of threatened communities, and a launch pad for new institutions that train and encourage lawyers, scientists, and development professionals to act in the interest of communities. [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.6.6″ _module_preset=”default”]In 2022, we made progress on all these fronts, and threatened communities are benefiting as a result. [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.6.6″ _module_preset=”default”]First, as always, we experimented and perfected innovative legal and community-driven development (CDD) tools to help communities seek remedies for abuses by powerful economic actors and build resilience to their impacts and attacks: [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.6.6″ _module_preset=”default”]
We piloted a CDD intervention for women who lost their livelihoods to a sprawling diamond mine in Koidu, Sierra Leone. The project has brought the women such hope that they are now the unshakable core of our legal strategy as well.
We helped Ghanaian citizens induce the suspension of a polluting mining company’s operating permit and the filling of abandoned mining pits through Citizens Committee Network (CiCoNet), a community-government interface group that we sponsored and trained to advocate on their communities’ behalf.
Our new case in Liberia, on behalf of villages whose land was stolen by the giant Salala Rubber Plantation, survived a Motion to Dismiss and seems headed to trial. If we win, the case will invalidate a massive, country-wide land grab that the Liberian state perpetrated against indigenous communities in 1956 and establish that compensation is due when indigenous land is given to foreign companies.
We crafted a strategy to use the French courts to enforce the judgment of the ECOWAS Court of Justice in the Zogota massacre case by seizing Guinean state assets. A case will be filed in the coming months to strike a blow against international crimes and deter corrupt leaders from stashing ill-gotten wealth.
ACA’s Science Adviser coordinated three citizen-science studies using ACA’s methodology for community-driven scientific analysis. The results will be used in litigation and to design additional community-led interventions to improve their living environment.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.6.6″ _module_preset=”default”]Second, we promoted partners’ capacity to use our most effective techniques, especially through the Public Interest Lawyering Initiative for West Africa (PILIWA): [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.6.6″ _module_preset=”default”]
With our coaching, our partner in Niger adapted a tool called compulsoire from a PILIWA member in Côte d’Ivoire. This led to the first successful legal action in Niger to compel pre-litigation disclosure of information, unblocking a major barrier to civil justice.
We launched a webinar series on innovations for justice in West African legal systems.
ACA began holding M&E and strategic planning seminars for key ACA partners.
And third, we are taking huge steps forward in building a foundation of public interest activists and organizers across West Africa through training institutions and programs:
ACA is scaling up from 7 to 107 CDD communities in Ghana, in partnership with local government authorities! By working with local District Assemblies, we will build a wide-reaching and lasting base of CDD-trained government authorities and civil society partners.
ACA’s Science Adviser is working with universities across West Africa and will begin training young scientists in our community-driven methodology in 2023.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.6.6″ _module_preset=”default”]Given all of these advances, 2023 is going to be a huge year. We’ll begin the massive scale-up of our CDD work in Ghana and launch a legal clinic in Nigeria. We’ll go to trial on cases in Ghana and Liberia, file transnational litigation arising out of Guinea and Nigeria in France and Italy, take a case on appeal in Sierra Leone, and launch litigation in Côte d’Ivoire and Niger. Our citizen-science studies in Senegal and Sierra Leone will be used for advocacy and, potentially, litigation.[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.6.6″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”]
Published October 5, 2022 in The Daily Statesman, pg 10
Above: Minerals Commission officials photograph an abandoned mining pit in Segyimase, Abuakwa South Municipality during an inspection in July
The devastating effects of mining in parts of Ghana continue to bring untold hardships and other forms of deprivation to those people in whose immediate surroundings these activities take place, as well as the country as a whole. In some instances, irreparable damage is caused to land as dangerous chemicals like mercury and cyanide, which are mainly used in processing gold and other minerals, find their way into the soil and water bodies. The deadly effects of these chemicals on human lives are scary in the medium to long term.
Even though governments over the years have taken some steps to control the negative impacts of mining activities – both small-scale and large-scale mining – not much has been achieved in that regard. Most of these mining companies fail to cover the open pits they create in their operations, leaving them as death-traps in most instances.
Tragedy
Earlier this year, two young men fell into one of these abandoned pits near Osino in the Eastern region which has culminated in a resolution by the various communities around Osino that three gold mining companies operating in the area should, as a matter of urgency, return abandoned mining sites to their original state after failing to cover hazardous mining pits.
These communities have come together under the Citizen Committee Network (CiCoNet) representing the villages of Juaso, Nsuapemso and Segyimase to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that all mining pits left open are refilled and restored for use again to save human lives and the environment.
The leadership of CiCoNet will be meeting officials of the Minerals Commission in Koforidua this week in a bid to ensure the full reclamation of 13 abandoned mining and excavation sites, especially as there have been reports that one of the companies who created a pit at Juaso has suspended its refilling work.
Mr. Appiah Gyekye Jr, Vice-Chairman CiCoNet is calling for work to be expedited on the issue; saying, “How many more lives we have to lose to see proper reclamation done in our communities by the mining companies?” He was referring to the deaths of two brothers in June, Larbi Grant, 23, and Domptey Bless, 21, of Nsuapemso who drowned in an uncovered pit that had filled with water. The pit was dug and left uncovered by Narawa Mining.
Petitions
CiCoNet delivered a petition in July to Narawa Mining Limited, Kibi Goldfields Limited, and Managing God’s Resources Limited (MGR) mining companies on behalf of the affected villages requesting the companies fill in all abandoned pits without delay.
Kibi Goldfields’ reply to CiCoNet’s petition on July 14 claimed it had requested its “service provider,” BSD Mining Services, to fill pits near Juaso, which it claimed BSD Mining had dug. Neither Narawa nor MGR acknowledged receipt of CiCoNet’s petition to fill their pits in Nsuapemso and Segyimase, respectively. Petitions were also delivered to the Minerals Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Fanteakwa South and Abuakwa South district police stations.
Mining companies are required by law to fill in excavation sites no longer in use through a process called “reclamation,” before they are permitted to begin excavation at new sites. Regulatory bodies such as the Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are often lax in enforcing reclamation laws unless placed under pressure from the affected communities.
Slight compliance
In the absence of institutional support, CiCoNet members have taken the lead and organized their own monitoring at the pit sites to check whether companies are restoring the land as promised. In the first week of September, CiCoNet noted two pits on Kibi Goldfields’ concession in Juaso had been filled in with heavy machinery, and a diverted waterway had been restored at a third pit, though the pit itself remained uncovered. By September 28th, however, residents reported seeing the same heavy machinery used to restore the pit sites now sitting idle in the town center, and CiCoNet has not noted any further reclaimed sites.
In response to the petition, three officials from the Minerals Commission, including the Assistant Chief Inspector of Mines, carried out a fact-finding mission on July 26. They were accompanied by CiCoNet members and representatives from a local non-governmental organization, Advocates for Community Alternatives, which has supported CiCoNet and the three villages since 2018. The group visited a total of 13 pits across the three villages, five owned by Kibi Goldfields in Juaso, two owned by Narawa in Nsuapemso, and six owned by MGR in Segyimase.
The Minerals Commission is expected to take photographs and note down the sites that appeared long-abandoned. At one MGR pit in Segyimase, it appeared mining activities had been carried out without prior approval from the Commission in violation of regulations. In Nsuapemso, the Commission visited the same Narawa pit where the two brothers had drowned a few weeks before, and noted its proximity to the village and water sources.
It is hoped that the Commission will order all three companies to properly restore the abandoned sites under threat of sanctions, and share correspondence with CiCoNet. According to CiCoNet leadership, the Commission has yet to share copies of the letters despite repeated inquiries. Most recently, in August, the Commission claimed it could not produce the letters because one of its employees was on leave.
Defiance
According to the Commission, the letters were sent and Narawa replied to acknowledge that it failed to cover pits, but refused to begin reclamation processes until after the rainy season. Neither the Commission nor the company elaborated on why reclamation was never completed during any of the dry seasons in the nearly ten years since Narawa dug the pits.
Uncovered pits present various safety hazards to nearby residents, especially during rainy seasons when pits fill with water, pollution, and refuse from run-off. Multiple people have died from falling into pits over the years. Mosquitos and other insects lay eggs in the standing water, which can contribute to increased illnesses such as malaria in the local population.
CiCoNet still remains resolute in taking collective action and seeking the knowledge of the communities’ legal rights to fight against institutional heel-dragging at the Minerals Commission and demand all land be restored to local farmers. The group will continue to work with relevant institutions to hold the mining companies accountable to their obligations to the communities and prevent future tragedies.
Notes from the Field: Liberian communities taking development into their own hands
In late March 2021, Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA) embarked on a field mission to rural Liberia to assess its programs, support partners, and build new collaborations. The findings were very encouraging: the partner communities are embracing community-driven development in a very remarkable way and are joyfully taking the initiative to remake their communities according to their own vision.
These field visits took place between March 20th and 31st, 2021 in Lofa county: a region in Liberia well known for producing rice. Focus was laid on communities which were undergoing the Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP) activities. The primary purpose of the visit was to assess the performance of the communities on the overall FCAP projects in the Wologizi Mountain communities, provide support and guidance to implementing partners on how to maintain good FCAP practices and build effective working relationships with them. This visit provided ACA with a unique opportunity to know the real impacts of the projects and the challenges therein.
The ACA team embarked on a capability building training for implementing partners on Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (M&EL) as well as on the use of Microsoft Excel. The desire to put in place systems that guarantee efficiency and improve the skills of participants necessitated these training sessions. At the end of the sessions with the implementing partners, a debriefing session was held to discuss the challenges that were encountered and propose solutions on how to tackle them.
ACA through Village Development Fund (VDF) and Green Advocates International (GAI) support four communities Karzah, Kpademai, Wobeyimeh and Betibah in Wologizi mountain in Lofa County. Although all the communities are making encouraging efforts to improve their communities through the FCAP process, it is worth sharing that, “Wobeyimeh”, one of the smallest communities that developed its vision to be a community with modern houses, has proven that words are powerful when supported with actions. It was observed that the community had built a community center with a sitting capacity of about 400 people which serves as a meeting place for everyone during community decision-making. It is also worth mentioning that Wobeyimeh, has gone further to build cement houses with painted and glass windows as a fulfilment of their vision. The community’s next objective is to build a rice factory which will aid in the processing of the harvested rice through the FCAP Microgrant.
The team then moved on to Margibi County. Popularly known for its rubber plantation, Margibi has the communities of Dokai, Jorkporlorsue, Bloume and Kolleh-Dapolo under its jurisdiction. The main objective for this visit was to assist in strengthening women to become economically independent and to be empowered on how to resist sexual violence. For this reason, ACA has advanced plans and has started carrying out baseline community assessment together with community leaders.
(Wobeyimeh Community rice factory project under construction)(Notes from Kpademai Planning phase)(Karzah in FCAP meeting discussing among peers )(A visit to Betibah community rice farm)Meeting with some women in SRC Communities.
LAND ENCROACHMENT AT JUASO, NWOASE, AND DONKRO NKWANTA.
Advocates for Community Alternatives(ACA) partner communities in Ghana are facing land challenges by powerful actors such as mining companies and traditional authorities. They are, however, mounting a courageous resistance to the land challenge using a number of strategies.
Juaso
Kibi Goldfields Ltd. (KGL) operates a gold mine in the Juaso community in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
BSD, a subsidiary of Kibi Goldfields, has mined 2 feet away from the stream which is identified to be a buffer zone and against the law. In March 2021, the natives in the community noticed that Kibi Goldfields had intentions of carrying out their mining activities in the stream which is their source of water for domestic use.
The community, realizing that mining in a watercourse could affect their health, decided to protest against the company.They gathered at the company premises clothed in red attires to show their displeasure and make their voices heard. This forced the company to withdraw from the illegal project.
Just a month after ceasing operations in the stream, Kibi Goldfields entered another part of the community, popularly referred to as “Old Cemetery,” and cleared approximately 17.5 acres of farmland to extend their mining activities. Once again, their activities were illegal because they failed to seek permission from the landowners
The natives of Kibi, reported to the District Chief Executive (DCE) and the District Police Commander and made their grievances known to them. The DCE intervened, and the company ceased its operations in the Old Cemetery area.
In April 2021, KGL extended operations to another piece of land at the outskirts of the community. Unfortunately, they also chose to clear roads through the villagers’ cocoa plantations to access their new mining site. In constructing the roads, some cocoa trees were destroyed without prior notice or compensation to the farm owners. Instead,the company only reached out to the community to call them for negotiations over compensation after cutting the trees. This is a clear violation of Regulation 14 of the Minerals and Mining (Compensation And Resettlement) Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2175).
Nwoase
Offspring of settlers from the northern region of Ghana have been living peacefully and farming for years alongside the indigenous population in the village of Nwaose, in the Bono East Region. The Nwoase’s traditional chief,Atekoanohene, has however, upset both settlers and indigenes, for which he sold nearly all the village’s farmland to outsiders. The villagers are losing their lands in which they have cultivated household crops and watermelons(main source of income) to another traditional ruler. Their cashew plantation lands have also been sold off to a group of soldiers.
Even though the chief’s unethical actions affected both settlers and indigenes, the settlers, also tenant farmers, are hurt deeply as they have nowhere else to go. This is because they did not keep ties with their ancestors’ original communities, and have always carried out their duties to the Atekoanohene as subjects of the stool.
This is not the first time that the Atekoahene has placed his own financial gain over the good of the residents of Nwoase. In past years, he has demanded tribute of goats for the privilege of continuing to farm the land or even for rearing animals within the village. He extorts hundreds of cedis from residents before allowing them to bury their deceased on village land and forbids them from growing crops with germination periods of longer than three months. Earlier this year, the chief struck back against the farmers’ decision to continue farming their land. Announcing that he would “replace the people with cattle,” he signed a deal with local ‘Fulani’ herders, inviting them to bring cows to graze on community farmland and even within the confines of the village itself.
The people believe their chief is engaging in human right violations by depriving them of their right to livelihood, as well as violating his constitutional duties to administer the land for the benefit of the subjects of the stool.
Most recently, the land caretaker, who sold land to the soldiers, cut down cashew trees on another piece of land and replanted new cashews. The community has complained to Ghana’s Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice and is awaiting the Commission’s recommendations.
Donkro Nkwanta
The community of Donkro Nkwanta is located in the Nkoranza South District of the Bono East Region, adjacent to Nwoase. About ten years ago, the people of Donkro Nkwanta successfully led a coalition of three other neighboring communities to reject the expansion of industrial gold extraction by U.S. mining giant Newmont. The residents remain united against any form of mining in the future.
This resolution, however, is now being tested, as the Nkoranzahemaa, the Queen Mother currently exercising traditional authority over the Nkoranza Paramount Chieftancy, has sold land belonging to Donkro Nkwanta to AnnG Farms, purportedly for the cultivation of cash crops. Although the people and king of Donkro Nkwanta have protested strongly, AnnG has already destroyed several acres of cashew trees belonging to community farmers.
Community members, fearing that the land will actually be used for mining, have taken their concerns to the Nkoranza South Municipal Security Committee, which recommended that the Donkro Nkwanta land be returned to its original owners. The community continues to stand firm with their king to insist that their right to land ownership should be respected.
(The Juaso stream after the illegal mining activities)
(A cleared piece of land in Juaso used by Kibi Goldfields two metres from the stream)
(BSD, a subsidiary of Kibi Gol(dfields mining two metres away from the Juaso stream)
(cocoa trees cut down by Kibi Goldfields at the Old Cemetery area)
(road created by Kibi Goldfields through individual cocoa farms at Old Cemetery)
It is a bright Wednesday morning with the sun’s rays glimmering in Segyimase, a small community within the Abuakwa South Municipality. Famous for its gold, Osino, capital of Fanteakwa South District is a town located in the Eastern Region of Ghana along the Accra-Kumasi highway and home to the people of Juaso and Nsuapemso. 19 May 2021 marks another eventful day for the people of these three communities. The people of Segyimase, Nsuapemso and Juaso have gathered for their monthly Citizen Committee Network (CiCoNet) meeting at the Methodist Church of Segyimase. The strong desire to develop their communities has brought together this group of determined people to deliberate on how to improve on their livelihood.
The main objective of CiCoNet is to build the capacities of 60 members from these three communities who would serve as intermediates and whose duty is to help advocate on behalf of communities to see development happening within their communities. Through these meetings, these members would be empowered and acquire knowledge and skills on how to address issues pertaining to the development of their communities, and how to present situations to their local governments when need be. Cognizant of the fact that they cannot rely completely on the Government or Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) for their survival, they have taken this bold step to harness the potential of their communities for progress and development.
Like all other meetings, they began by reminding themselves of their vision, mission and goals which they had initially developed. This reminder instills in them the strong desire to succeed and propels them towards working hard in achieving their goals. It is also a way of prompting them about their various roles and responsibilities in developing their community.
Figure 1: CICONet members participating in confidence building exercise.
Today’s session which recorded a total of 47 participants, focused on building self-confidence. Participants were engaged in confidence building activities, experience sharing and learning. They were divided into groups and given a task to carry out. To encourage participation, each participant presented the roles they played in ensuring that the exercise was completed. Each group chose a group representative who did the main presentation. Groups graded themselves based on their confidence levels. They also identified the challenges they faced and what they could have done better if they had a second chance.
Figure 2: Presentation of results by a group member
Participants were then given another opportunity to undertake the same activity and were asked to grade themselves again. It was observed,that the level of confidence of participants had improved.
When queried about what had changed, most participants attributed their improvement to the lessons learnt from the first trial and the desire to get better. Some referred to the slogan “Experience is the best teacher.”
After the exercise, participants were then taken through a talk by the Community Development Officer of ACA, Nana Ama. While making reference to the exercise they just completed, she explained to them the importance of building self-confidence and different ways in which it could be done. She concluded by encouraging them to assist each other as much as possible in this path.
Giving his impressions about the meeting, George Owusu Asante, Chairman of CICONet stated: “Today’s meeting has encouraged us to be bold and courageous. It has made us to feel more confident and has taught us about unity and love. Now, we have the courage to approach the authorities and present our problems.”
It is therefore very important for these communities to be aware of their rights as well as their roles and responsibilities and the need to hold their local authorities accountable, while honoring their responsibilities. This is a major step in ensuring responsiveness, mutual accountability and sustainable development.
ACA Legal Team Educates Juaso Victims on Mining Compensation Procedures as the Community’s Fight for Survival Continues.
The community of Juaso seem to be re-living one of their worst nightmares. Within the past few years, most of them have lost an immeasurable number of resources due to mining activities being carried out in the area by Kibi Goldfields Limited (KGL). Farmers have lost large tracts of land, depriving them of their major sources of income with little or no compensation. Many families have lost a greater part of their heritage to these miners. As a result, community members have become disillusioned as their complaints to local authorities to halt the menace and for compensations to be made, seem to be falling on deaf ears.
Figure SEQ Figure |* ARABIC 1: A cross section of Juaso Community members
Farmlands that were once fertile grounds for food crops have now been replaced by stony roads. The indigenes complain of the use of the military to intimidate them into accepting the conditions laid out to them. Community members reckon that they woke up one morning to the realization that activities such as cutting down of trees had been going on at night while they were asleep. Some attest to being told by KGL that the activities were carried out at night because they were conscious of the fact that the community would not approve of them.
KGL has been granted the permit by the government to mine in the area but have failed to follow proper consultation processes with the community and have also ignored the statutory compensation procedures according to Ghanaian law, thereby providing either meagre compensations or nothing at all to affected victims
It is saddening knowing that these people are being deprived of their major source of livelihood without proper compensation. As part of Advocates for Community Alternatives’ (ACA) role in ensuring that these communities sustain their livelihood, a partnership was formed with Centre for Public Interest Law (CEPIL). The goal of this partnership is to guide communities like Juaso to make informed decisions and take actions regarding issues related to mining and its impact on the community.
To that effect, the Executive Director of ACA, Jonathan Kaufman paid a visit to Juaso on Friday 21 May 2021 to have a clearer picture of the situation and to educate the people on their rights with respect to compensations. During the interactions, he clearly explained the legalities surrounding compensations with regards to areas affected by mining enshrined in the laws of Ghana. Mr. Kaufman also highlighted the fact that some of these laws were not in alignment with international laws.
Figure 3: ACA team interacting with some community members.
He educated the community on those areas which were excluded from mining procedures (forest reserves, water bodies) and those which were not (fields, homes, schools, roads). This was aimed at creating awareness on the long-term consequences these activities might have on them if proper measures were not taken.
The ACA team accompanied by four community members also visited the site to enhance the knowledge of the community on how compensation plans work. This included Francis, a 42-year-old farmer who had been greatly affected by these mining activities. Based on what he had lost, and with the guidance of a compensation template, the group was able to develop an estimate of what his compensation ought to have looked like. The difference in the methods of compensation plans per company was also taken into consideration. Community members felt cheated by the revelations of the findings. A template was provided to aid the community calculate the value of what they had lost.
It is worth noting that the initial mining site on which KGL was carrying out its activities had been abandoned in search of a new site. The big question here is “Is KGL giving the community members their rightful due after the destruction being caused?”
These and other thought-provoking questions are the drivers that prompt ACA to join forces with the community in seeking possible solutions towards ensuring that the people of Juaso are adequately compensated by these mining companies.
As Ghana – like the rest of the world – comes to grip with the COVID-19 pandemic, ACA is doing its part to help our partner communities in Nkoranza South prepare for impact.
In partnership with the Nkoranza South Municipal Health Directorate, we have supported the training fifty (50) community health volunteers on the origin and symptoms of COVID-19, and the measures that communities can take to stop the spread of the virus. These volunteers, who include several members of the Citizens Committee Network (CICONet) that ACA organized to form an interface between communities and local authorities, will educate the communities through the village public address system, help the Municipal Health Directorate identify people who enter the communities and target them for screening, and help with contact tracing if community members are found to be infected with the COVID-19 virus.
ACA has also set up and is assuring the equipment and maintenance of twenty hand-washing stations in Donkro Nkwanta, Kyeredeso, Nwoase, and Salamkrom as a first-line measure for preventing the spread of the virus. Items donated include Veronica buckets, wooden stands, soap, and hand washing bowls.
Despite limitations on public gatherings during the pandemic, all of ACA’s assistance and interventions are the product of consultation and direction from community leaders, public health experts, and – as much as possible – the population of the communities.
“We are very grateful to ACA for all the support given to us; we have benefited from the Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP) as well as legal services and now preventive equipment for COVID-19,” says Nana Kwabena Otoo, the Caretaker Chief of Nwoase Village.
In partnership with the Nkoranza South Municipal Health Directorate, we have supported the training fifty (50) community health volunteers on the origin and symptoms of COVID-19, and the measures that communities can take to stop the spread of the virus. These volunteers, who include several members of the Citizens Committee Network (CICONet) that ACA organized to form an interface between communities and local authorities, will educate the communities through the village public address system, help the Municipal Health Directorate identify people who enter the communities and target them for screening, and help with contact tracing if community members are found to be infected with the COVID-19 virus.