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  • ACA supports Abuakwa South Assembly to render accounts to residents

    The Abuakwa South Municipal Assembly in the Eastern region of Ghana has held its annual Town Hall Meeting at Kyebi to render accounts to the citizenry.

    The program was organized in partnership with Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA), a non-profit-making organization, as part of efforts to ensure transparency, accountability and deepen local governance.

    The Abuakwa South Municipal Chief Executive, Akosua Asabea Annoh, commended ACA for collaborating with the Assembly to execute community-driven projects in some towns in the area and called for the inclusion of more communities to further spread development among the towns.

    She gave the assurance that the assembly will continue to partner with ACA to bring development to the doorsteps of the people and further appealed to the NGO to expand its operations to more communities in the area.

    The Municipal Planning Officer, Aaron Addo Yirenkyi, made a presentation on the various infrastructural projects and other interventions by the assembly, the central government and other partners like ACA in the past year.

    Most of the projects mentioned were in the areas of infrastructural development, economic empowerment, agriculture, health, education, sanitation and support to the physically challenged, among others.

    The Municipal Budget Officer, Prince Kwame Agyapong, also explained the various sources of income to the assembly and expenditures made during the period.

    ACA’s Project Manager, Godfred Osei Nimako emphasized the importance of community members’ involvement in sustainable development initiatives as it is cost-effective and elicits a deep sense of community ownership and cooperation among the people.

    He said the Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP) is the main tool being used by ACA to execute projects with its partner local authorities in Ghana.

    He said following its successful piloting in seven communities in Bono East and Eastern regions, FCAP is being rolled out in a hundred more communities, with 55 beneficiary communities at various stages of completion of their selected projects.

    Mr. Osei Nimako said in addition to Asikam and Ahwenease, 15 more communities in Abuakwa South have been selected to implement FCAP this year.

    “I will urge each of us to deeply get involved in the FCAP process at the community level while ACA and the assembly also contribute their part in its implementation”, he emphasised.

    The Project Manager was worried about the inability of some community members to meet periodically as required under the FCAP implementation process and called for a renewed commitment by such people for the mutual benefit of all, saying: “There is strength in unity and so if we come together as one people there is a lot we can achieve for ourselves.”

  • ACA’s community advocacy yields positive results as George Asante is fully compensated by Kibi Goldfields

    Mr. George Owusu Asante of Akyem Juaso, the National Vice-President of the Citizens Committee Network (CiCoNet), was in a state of disbelief when ACA’s Legal Officer, Mustapha Mahamah, broke the news to him that Kibi Goldfields Ltd (KGL) have finally fully compensated him for his lost lands, which were taken about two and half years ago by Kibi’s sub-contractor, BSD Mining Services.

    “I’m speechless, and I don’t even know what to say except to thank God and ACA for the relentless fight for my rights all these years. The advocacy mounted by the Citizens Committee Network (CiCoNet) has really paid off, and I’m so grateful”, Mr Asante said.

    Mr. Asante is among several people in Juaso and nearby communities, such as Sagyemase and Nsuapemso, who lost their farmlands to mining companies in the past few years. In most of the cases, several of the affected landowners were paid only a small fraction of the replacement cost of their land and crops as compensation, and the mining companies failed to respect the procedures for acquiring land as set out in Ghana’s Minerals and Mining Act 2006, Act 703.  The loss of land without adequate compensation has deprived entire households of their main sources of livelihood.

    Background

    On behalf of the people of Juaso, Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA) addressed petitions to the Minerals Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources in July 2022, complaining that KGL and its subsidiaries and sub-contractors had repeatedly violated laws and regulations relating to the public disclosure of mining plans on community land, as well as the prior negotiation and adequate compensation of those whose surface rights are disturbed by new mining operations.  The Ministry responded with a promise to hold KGL and other mining companies to account but has yet to take concrete action.

    In 2023, the CiCoNet of Juaso and the nearby communities of Sagyimase and Nsuapemso filed a complaint with the Minerals Commission about mining companies’ unfilled mining pits.  The Minerals Commission undertook a tour of the affected sites and ordered KGL and others to remediate them.

    Media campaign

    In July 2023, CiCoNet led a team of Ghanaian journalists to some mining areas in Juaso and Nsuapemso to witness the devastating effects of mining activities in these areas, especially with regard to the havoc created by uncovered mining pits, diversion of water bodies, the destruction of farmlands and mining activities close to settlements.

    This elicited immediate response from the Minerals Commission, which then began engaging ACA, CiCoNet and the mining companies on the way forward. BSD Mining Services initially agreed to fully compensate Mr George Owusu Asante for taking over his farmlands for mining activities, but the company ultimately closed its operations and left the site without fulfilling this promise.

    ACA’s legal team then reached out to Kibi Goldfields, which is ultimately responsible for compliance with all laws – including on compensation – within its concession.  On Tuesday April 2, 2024, Kibi officially issued the cheque to ACA’s Legal Officer, Mustapha Mahamah, who in turn presented it to Mr. George Owusu Asante, the following day.

    ACA is an Accra-based non-profit-making organization that supports West African communities threatened by extractive activities by multinational entities to take control of their own development and give them the tools to advocate for their own vision of the future.

  • Training on air quality for CiCoNet members ends at Asiakwa

    It was a mixture of education and entertainment as about 90 members of the Citizens Committee Network (CiCoNet) in Fanteakwa South, Abuakwa South and Atiwa West districts of the Eastern region were taken through a day’s training program on the basics of air quality.

    CiCoNet members from Juaso, Nsuapemso, Sagyemase, Abompe, Dwenase, Hemang, Dome, Saamang, Nsutam, Kplandey, Bososo, Ahwenease and Asikam converged at Asiakwa for the training organized by Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA), an Accra-based non-profit-making organisation that supports West African communities threatened by extractive activities by multinational entities to take control of their own development and give them the tools to advocate for their own vision of the future.

    ACA’s Science Advisor, Dr. Kwabina Ibrahim, took the participants through topics such as Conventional Air Pollutants, Climate Pollutants and Health Effects of Air Pollution, among others.

    He explained that some human activities have adverse impacts on the ozone layer thereby contributing to the much talked about climate change.

    Sharing what she learnt from the workshop, Madam Gladys Adwoa Aso of Nsutam CiCoNet noted that the program had taught her that poor air quality has adverse health implications on crops and rainwater.

    “I learnt that the quality of rainwater has changed over time due to the change in the environment and so going forward, I won’t be drinking rainwater as I used to do due to is associated the health implications.”

    Another participant, Juliet Konama of Sagyemase CiCoNet, described the workshop as an eye opener as she learnt a lot about how various household activities contribute to air pollution.

    “I do set fire on my refuse every day, and I’ve learnt today that the smoke emanating from such fires do contribute to air pollution and so I need to figure out better ways of disposing off my refuse. Even if I should continue setting fire on my refuse, I must wear nose-mask to protect myself against any infections”, she explained.

    For her part, Miss Gertrude Oppong of Asikam CiCoNet said she had learnt to report any organisation or an individual that engages in activities which pollute the environment to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the appropriate action to be taken.

    About CiCoNet

    Citizens’ Committee Network (CiCoNet) is ACA’s answer to the threat that our partner communities face from powerful economic interests.  Whereas FCAP gives communities hope for a better economic future, CiCoNet is an interface group of concerned citizens who help protect the communities’ development vision.  CiCoNet members are trained to speak with government officials and other stakeholders on behalf of their communities, raising concerns in ways that allow local authorities to help resolve key community concerns.

    Through CiCoNet, our communities have won key victories, such as prompting the suspension of a highly polluting mining company’s operating permit and inducing companies to fill abandoned pits that endangered the welfare of children and livestock.

  • Community-Based Facilitators in Nkoranza South share lessons learnt after training

    Community-Based Facilitators (CBFs) play a lead role in the implementation of the Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP), which aims at strengthening local participation in the implementation of the medium-term development plans of some selected district and municipal assemblies in Ghana.

    These CBFs are responsible for mobilizing their communities and monitoring projects being implemented under FCAP, otherwise known as “Oman yie die.”

    They usually undergo a week-long training prior to the implementation of the FCAP in their respective communities. One of such training programmes has taken place at Nkoranza in the Bono East region for some staff of the Nkoranza South Municipal Assembly and CBFs from Asuano, Barnofour, Abountem, Akuma, Brahoho, Nkwabeng, Akumsa Domase, Bonso and Bredi, all in Nkoranza South as well as Akwabuoso and Ekorso Akwadum in the Atiwa West district of the Eastern region.

    The training was organised by the Community-Driven Development (CDD) department of Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA), a non-profit-making organisation which supports West African communities facing threats to their human rights at the hands of multinational corporations.

    There were presentations, focused-group discussions, role-plays and field visits to selected communities which have successfully implemented FCAP, among others. At the end of the training session, some of the participants shared their views about the lessons they had learnt. We bring you excerpts of views shared by some of the participants after the training program in Nkoranza.

     

    Gifty Acheampong, Assistant Planning Officer, Nkoranza South Municipal Assembly

    This training has taught me that we can implement projects by paying less when we involve the community members because when they are being involved, they own the project and can support us in so many ways that we cannot even quantify in monetary terms to undertake the project as we want it to look like.

     

    John Tuffuor, Community-Based Facilitator, Akuma, Nkoranza South, Bono East

    If for nothing at all, I have learnt to be bold when leading a group of people and as the CBF for my community, this would help me in my daily work. Also, I noticed that community-driven projects undertaken through FCAP is cost-effective as compared to similar projects executed by the government so I will recommend to the government to critically study this concept and replicate it in the various districts. I think government can collaborate with ACA to make this happen. This concept of community development carries the entire community along, with community members assisting with communal labour so it’s helpful.

     

    Kwame Bonsu, Community-Based Facilitator, Baanofour, Nkoranza South, Bono East

    Before coming to this training session, I didn’t know how to speak at a gathering. I always found it difficult speak out in public but today I can boldly speak and express myself anywhere I find myself, thanks to this training by ACA. So, for me, that is one of the main benefits I have derived from the training program.

     

    Eric Owusu, Community-Based Facilitator, Akumsa Domase, Nkoranza South, Bono East

    Through this training, I have learnt that even as an individual, I should be able to mobilize and organize my community for development. I have learnt how to lead discussions about development initiatives in my community and I’m positive that I’m going to live up to expectation and help push the development of my community forward.

     

    Peter Donkor, Community-Based Facilitator, Bredi No.1, Nkoranza South, Bono East

    One thing I have picked up from this training is that there is power in unity. If a community comes together with one accord, there is a lot they can do to turn their fortunes round.

     

    Abraham Ayisa, Community-Based Facilitator, Ekorso Akwadum, Atiwa West district (Eastern Region)

    The need to encourage women’s participation in decision-making at the community level was key at the training programme. In view of this, there is the need to deeply involve women in all the discussions about the planning, execution, monitoring and completion of the project.

     

    Felicity Acquah, Community-Based Facilitator, Akwabuoso, Atiwa West district (Eastern Region)

    Through this training, I have come to the realization that if the local government authority would allow communities to have a say in project identification and implementation, it would go a long way to galvanize more support and enthusiasm from the people in the process. This will also ensure that the community members will embrace the project and support its execution whole-heartedly.

     

    Prince Kwabena Owusu, Community-Based Facilitator, Nkwabeng, Nkoranza South, Bono East

    This training has had enormous benefits in us as participants. First of all, it has instilled in us the spirit of communalism and also engendered networking among people from other communities, which will help us a lot, going forward. I have learnt that once there is unity of purpose among us as a community, devoid of divisive tendencies, we can really achieve a lot.

     

    Benjamin Opoku, Community-Based Facilitator, Brahoho, Nkoranza South, Bono East

    ACA has really supported several communities to take control of their futures and I am of the conviction that my community will soon be able to reach that level of development when we also start the implementation of FCAP.

     

    Seth Owusu Boadi, Unit Head, Community Development, Nkoranza South Municipal Assembly

    This training reminds me of a quote by Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, that: “The black man is capable of managing his own affairs.” What this this means to us is that the communities can take their destinies into their own hands, have a common vision and pursue it to their own benefit without necessarily waiting for the government. One lesson here is that, when the community initiates and leads in the implementation of a project, that project becomes very successful and very useful.

  • Government asked to adopt FCAP for accelerated development

    Government has been asked to adopt the Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP) as the most effective tool in planning and executing development projects in the various district, municipal and metropolitan areas in the country.

    The call was made by Community-Based Facilitators (CBFs) after they had undergone a week-long training at Nkoranza in the Bono East region as part of preparations towards the implementation of FCAP in parts of the Nkoranza South municipality and the Atiwa West district of the Eastern region.

    Also called “Oman yie die”, FCAP aims at strengthening local participation in the implementation of the medium-term development plans of beneficiary districts in Ghana through the active involvement of the community members and is currently being implemented in Fanteakwa South, Abuakwa South, Atiwa West and Nkoranza South by Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA), a non-profit-making organization which supports West African communities facing threats to their human rights at the hands of multinational corporations.

    FCAP is a community-driven tool that keeps decision-making and community development in the hands of the local community members. It is a tool widely used by Spark Micro-grant, ACA’s partner NGO, in countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Congo to stimulate and accelerate community development initiatives.

    The main goal of this initiative is to have it replicated in all districts in the country in the long-term.

    The Community-Based Facilitators (CBFs) play a lead role in the implementation of FCAP and are responsible for mobilizing their communities and monitoring projects being implemented.

    Cost-effective

    In an interview, the Community-Based Facilitator (CBF) for Akuma near Nkoranza, John Tuffuor, called on the government to collaborate with ACA to replicate FCAP in the rest of the country.

    “I noticed that community-driven projects undertaken through FCAP is cost-effective as compared to similar projects executed by the government so I will recommend to the government to critically study this concept and replicate it in the various districts”, he said.

    He added: “I think government can collaborate with ACA to make this happen. This concept of community development carries the entire community along, with community members assisting with communal labour so it’s helpful.”

    Community ownership

    Another participant, Gifty Acheampong, the Assistant Planning Officer of the Nkoranza South Municipal Assembly, noted that FCAP ensures that communities own the project and thus provide all the needed support required for its implementation.

    “This training has taught me that we can implement projects by paying less when we involve the community members because when they are being involved, they own the project and can support us in so many ways that we cannot even quantify in monetary terms to undertake the project as we want it to look like”, she said.

    “I have come to the realization that if the local government authority would allow communities to have a say in project identification and implementation, it would go a long way to galvanize more support and enthusiasm in the process. This will also ensure that the community members will embrace the project and support its execution whole-heartedly”, Felicity Acquah, the CBF for Akwabuoso in the Atiwa West district of the Eastern region also said.

    The participants were drawn from Asuano, Barnofour, Abountem, Akuma, Brahoho, Nkwabeng, Akumsa Domase, Bonso and Bredi, all in Nkoranza South of the Bono East region as well as Akwabuoso and Ekorso Akwadum in the Atiwa West district of the Eastern region.

  • ACA team meets Similimi community over ECOWAS Court ruling amidst rich cultural display

    Similimi Community welcomed Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA) staff for a combination of jubilation and serious discussions on the outcome of a recent ruling by the ECOWAS Court of Justice, which condemned the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire for failing to halt the negative impacts of manganese mining in the area.

    African culture was at its best.  Jonathan G. Kaufman, the Executive Director of ACA, and Lalla Toure, ACA’s Legal Coordinator, were treated to a rich cultural display and mouth-watering local dishes as the community celebrated the Court’s decision of November 30, 2023 in Adou Kouame and 14 others v. Côte d’Ivoire, which validated the claims of 14 representative inhabitants of Similimi, along with a communal self-help organization.  Festivities included dancing, drumming, and a todjo, a traditional meal prepared by men in the bush.

    The court found the Ivorian government culpable of human rights violations in connection with destructive mineral extraction on their traditional lands by Bondoukou Manganese Ltd, an Indian-owned mining company. The government was ordered to pay 20 million CFA Francs to eleven individual plaintiffs, repair environmental damage, resettle the community, and prosecute the authors of the environmental destruction at Similimi.

    The ACA team was joined by representatives of Groupe de Recherche et de Plaidoyer sur les Industries extractives (GRPIE), a non-profit organization that advocates for democratic, transparent, and responsible management of natural resources for sustainable socio-economic development in Côte d’Ivoire and globally.  GRPIE has been working on behalf of Similimi and other communities affected by the operations of Bondoukou Manganese for over a decade.

    The Hopeful Path Ahead

    Celebration aside, ACA’s visit to Similimi was an opportunity to explain the decision of the Court to Adou Kouamé, a key figure in the matter and his people, and to discuss the way forward in the matter.

    The team commended the entire community of Similimi for their tireless efforts at pursuing the case to its conclusion and encouraged them to remain united towards their common good.  Given the constant delays that many successful claimants face in executing ECOWAS Court decisions, however, they should not anticipate that the 20 million CFA Francs awarded by the court to each of the eleven individual plaintiffs and the order to repair the environmental damage caused by the mining project will be honored immediately.

    ACA, GRPIE, and community members all agreed that the Court’s award to the eleven claimants should be managed in a way that benefits the entire community.

    The Fight for Justice

    14 representative inhabitants of Similimi, along with a communal self-help organization, filed a complaint in the ECOWAS Court of Justice in April 2020. The communities were supported by ACA and GRPIE in their capacity as members of the Public Interest Lawyering Initiative for West Africa (PILIWA). The plaintiffs accused the Côte d’Ivoire of illegal expropriation, non-compliance with the rules of due diligence, and complicity in environmental, economic, and cultural damage.

    The Court’s November 30 ruling determined that the State was responsible for violations of Similimi residents’ rights to a healthy environment, to health, to an adequate standard of living, to private and family life, and to freedom of worship and religion. The Court dismissed the Applicants’ claim that their right to property was violated, for lack of sufficient evidence of ownership.  “Even if the Court did not recognize our proprietary right to our ancestral lands, we are indeed happy that our voices were heard by a regional tribunal and that the suffering that we have endured over the years has not been in vain,” said Adou Kouamé, one of the complainants.

  • Njala University in Sierra Leone benefits from ACA’s Community Science training

    About 50 students and faculty members of Njala University in Sierra Leone have benefitted from a day’s training on Community Science facilitated by Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA), Ghana-based NGO which supports West African communities facing threats to their human rights at the hands of multinational corporations.

    The primary goal of the training was to introduce the participants to the concept of community science so they could practice it in communities they find themselves.

    ACA’s Science Lead, Dr Kwabina Ibrahim, introduced the concept of community science to the participants during which he explained the various relevant aspects of the concept, especially with regards to the involvement community members in the design of sampling protocols, the need to discuss and present technical data to communities, and the importance of validating results with local communities to ensure accuracy and uptake.

    He expressed his organization’s commitment to collaborating with scientists to assist communities with scientific knowledge.

    “Community participation in the production of scientific knowledge about their land, soil, and water is key to ensuring that they are in control of their own future, especially when they come under threat from extractive activities,” said Dr. Ibrahim.  “ACA is thankful to the students and staff of the Njala University for helping to ensure that young scientists are prepared to involve communities in their fieldwork.”

    In his remarks, the Head of the Chemistry Department, Dr. Yahaya Kudush Kawa, expressed his appreciation to ACA for the training which, according to him, has enhanced the capacity of the participants as scientists, adding that it will go a long way to enable them to initiate their own community science projects in future.

    Dr Kawa was of the view that the training would greatly enrich research activities of the university, going forward, and appealed to ACA to routinely hold such sessions in the university owing to its enormous benefits to the students.

    Professor Juana Paul Moiwo, the Director of Research of Njala University, who assisted in moderating the training session, described ACA’s Community Science concept as “science for everybody” saying: “it allows both professional scientists and community members to work together for the good of the community.”

    He was also of the view that this concept is an opportunity for scientists to collaborate with communities to enhance their research works, especially with regards to making their research findings acceptable to community.

    Some participants, who shared their views about the training were very excited about content and acknowledged that it had greatly enhanced their knowledge in community science.

  • Sierra Leone Court of Appeal to hear Koidu Community’s human rights claims

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    Sierra Leone Court of Appeal to hear Koidu Community’s human rights claims

    Freetown, Sierra Leone

    Thursday, February 29, 2024

    Koidu Community’s human rights claims will be heard by the Sierra Leone Court of Appeal, thanks to a ruling today that struck out preliminary objections filed by the defendant mining company, Koidu Limited, and scheduled the case for hearing on 16th April 2024.  This appeal will determine whether the community plaintiffs can legally take on a multinational diamond mining company for harm to their livelihoods, their health, and their traditional lands.

    While today’s ruling is technical, it breathes new life into the Koidu plaintiffs’ case, which was dismissed by the High Court in Makeni on 27th October 2022, on the basis that the plaintiffs were not qualified to press their claims in court.  The dismissal order also ruled that the plaintiffs should have used a non-judicial grievance mechanism before going to court, despite also recognizing that the grievance mechanism did not actually exist.

    “The ruling today is a sign of hope, and it has occasioned an opportunity for our clients’ grievances to be heard on the merits,” said Dr. Chernor Mamoud Benedict Jalloh, Esq., the Lead Counsel for the plaintiffs.

    “The outcome of this matter sets important precedent on issues like whether rural people in traditional villages are even allowed to go to court to protect their land rights, and whether companies can stop communities from going to court to protect their rights by signing community development agreements that set up a kind of private arbitration system.”

    Brief background

    Koidu Limited is a diamond mining company that operates in Sierra Leone and is privately owned by BSG Resources Limited (BSGR) through its subsidiary, Octéa Limited. The company is accused of degrading the living conditions of people living near its mining operations and failing to properly relocate them or compensate them for their losses.

    Residents who have not been relocated find it increasingly difficult to farm because waste rock and rubble from Koidu Ltd.’s operations have covered much of their farmland. “Koidu Limited has destroyed our lives,” said Mr. Prince Boima, Chairman of the Marginalized Affected Property Owners Association. “We used to farm and live in peace, but now our lands and water sources are poisoned and covered in rubble. Our homes are shaken by explosives every day.”

    Residents also report that their health has suffered. Dust from the mining operations often covers the community and causes headaches, difficulty breathing, and a burning sensation in the residents’ eyes. The operations have also contaminated the water, and many residents develop skin rashes and digestive problems they did not previously experience. High stress from living with frequent blasting further causes headaches, high blood pressure, heart palpitations, and respiratory problems in the community.

    Despite promising to properly relocate affected community members in advance of expanding its mining operations, Koidu Ltd. has left the people to suffer.  Many community members have neither been relocated, nor compensated for the damage to their properties, health, and livelihoods.  Others have been relocated to a new area, but the conditions of relocation have been incommensurate with what they lost.

    The community is supported in its fight for justice by Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA), a Ghana-based human rights organization, and Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD), a Sierra Leonean civil society organization that organizes communities for a more just society in the face of natural resource extraction.

    The legal journey thus far

    • In April 2019, Koidu resident Aiah Fengai and 73 others filed a class-action lawsuit against Koidu Ltd., five of its parent companies and affiliates, and their Managing Directors, alleging property damage, environmental and health impacts, land and livelihoods loss, and breach of the company’s Community Development Agreement. Before filing, they sought and received permission to serve the parent companies and affiliates in Sierra Leone, even though those entities were formally registered in the British Virgin Islands.
    • In August 2019, an association composed of Koidu residents affected by the diamond mine’s operations filed a lawsuit in the ECOWAS Court of Justice against the Republic of Sierra Leone, accusing the state of violating their human rights by violently repressing the 2007 and 2012 protests and allowing the mining company to destroy their livelihoods, health, and natural environment. The Republic of Sierra Leone never responded to the ECOWAS lawsuit.
    • In February 2020, Koidu resident Morie Momoh and several others filed a second class-action lawsuit, this time in the High Court in Koidu itself. In August 2020, having learned that Octea’s parent company was undergoing a bankruptcy process that had revealed widespread efforts to conceal and dissipate the Group’s assets, the plaintiffs petitioned for orders freezing the defendants’ assets. This order was granted on an interim basis but was vacated when the court dismissed the class-action suit entirely on the basis that the Kono High Court was not a proper venue to launch a civil suit.
    • The plaintiffs refiled their class-action suit in the Makeni High Court in October 2020 and again requested freezing orders. The request was briefly granted but then lifted when the defendants claimed that the previous freezing order had cost them over $6 million and threatened to go to court to enforce their right to collect that sum from the indigent plaintiffs.
    • In June 2021, the class-action lawsuits and individual lawsuits were consolidated before the High Court in Makeni.  After a series of administrative delays, the first arguments were heard in Makeni in March 2022.
    • In October 2022, the High Court upheld the defendants’ jurisdictional objections and dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims, ruling that plaintiffs did not have the legal capacity to file claims relating to customary land rights, to uphold the terms of a Community Benefit Agreement, or to enforce clauses of national legislation that are meant to provide benefits to mining-affected communities.  The Court also ruled that the plaintiffs should have taken their case to a non-judicial grievance committee before coming to court, despite also ruling that the grievance committee had never actually been created.
    • In November 2022, the plaintiffs sought leave of the High Court to appeal the dismissal of their claims.  Leave was eventually granted in November 2023.
    • On Monday June 19, 2023, in Abuja, Nigeria, the ECOWAS Court of Justice 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.

    END

    Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA) – ACA helps West African communities that are threatened by the destructive impacts of extractives-led development to take control of their own futures. ACA works directly with communities to design their own sustainable development plans and advocate to achieve those plans, and it builds and supports networks of lawyers and other professionals that will serve communities in need. ACA is providing strategic legal support to NMJD as part of their participation in the Public Interest Lawyering Network for West Africa (PILIWA), which ACA coordinates.

    The Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD) is a Sierra Leonean civil society organization that engages in advocacy and strengthens the capacity of civil society organizations to effectively engage women, men, children, communities, government and other actors for the transformation of society. NMJD’s vision is of a just and self-reliant society (Sierra Leone) where women, men, children and communities are conscientized and live in dignity without fear and discrimination, especially on ground of sex, race, faith, socio-economic and political status.

    Media Contacts

    1. Abu A. Brima, Executive Director, NMDJ – abu.brima@nmjd.org, +232 88 645314
    2. Dr. Chernor Mamoud Benedict Jalloh – benedictcmj@gmail.com,  +232 76 901637
    3. Daniel Fofanah – danielgfofanah001@gmail.com, +232 76 724066 ACA
    4. Jonathan G. Kaufman, Executive Director, ACA – jonathan@advocatesforalternatives.org, +1(617) 645-4069
    5. Lalla Touré – lalla@advocatesforalternatives.org, +233 50 985 0018

  • Financiers warned of huge risks to communities and biodiversity as Rio Tinto approves world’s biggest mining project

    Simandou deposit, Guinea. Photo: Rio Tinto
    The Board of Directors of Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto is exposing Guinean communities and the company’s shareholders to grave risks by approving a $6.2 billion investment in the Simandou iron project without adequately studying and mitigating environmental and social risks, according to civil society organisations BankTrack and Advocates for Community Alternatives.

    The Simandou project involves four extensive mining blocks in a globally recognized biodiversity hotspot in southeastern Guinea, over 650 km of new rail lines traversing chimpanzee habitat and the territory of at least 450 communities, and a dedicated port facility in a coastal area where artisanal fishing comprises the main source of income and food security.  While the project is still under construction, local communities have already reported widespread land theft, destruction of farmlands, profanation of cultural sites, pollution of sacred springs and drinking water sources, and degradation of fish stocks and other sources of livelihoods. (1)

    Rio Tinto is one of the main developers of the project through its controlling stake in a local joint venture, Simfer S.A., that was granted rights to mine half the iron ore deposit.  While much of the infrastructure for the project has been built by the holder of the other half of the mineral rights, the Chinese-led Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS), Simfer is the joint owner of the railway and the port.

    “So far, Rio Tinto’s public commitments to strict social and environmental norms has been cold comfort to Guinean communities in the path of the Simandou project,” explained Jonathan Kaufman, Executive Director of Advocates for Community Alternatives.  “As co-owners of the rail and port facilities, they could have put a stop to the abuses and ensured that affected people receive a remedy for what they’ve suffered, but they’ve done nothing.”

    The project developers could mitigate the risks of the project if they properly studied and planned for them, but according to civil society advocates, both Simfer and WCS have failed to do so. (2)

    BankTrack, together with partners, first raised the alarm about the risks and impacts of this project last summer by publishing a Dodgy Deal profile. The banks financing Rio Tinto and the other project developers were also warned in a November 2023 letter, in which they were reminded of their responsibilities under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. (3)

    The pollution of waterways, failure to respect social and environmental commitments, and decision to start construction before environmental review was complete all constitute violations of Guinean law that could threaten Rio Tinto’s legal and social licenses to operate.  They are also violations of the Equator Principles and the IFC Performance Standards, to which many international financial institutions have pledged adherence in their funding decisions.  If the project results in an environmental and humanitarian disaster, as Human Rights Watch has warned it could, financiers that uncritically support Rio Tinto will find themselves complicit.

    Banks funding Rio Tinto should therefore engage the company to ensure that harms so far experienced by communities are addressed, further risks are mitigated, and with the active participation of local communities. Specifically, banks should insist that Rio Tinto publicly commit to adhering to the IFC Performance Standards, submit to an independent audit under the IRMA standards for responsible mining, apply the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent with respect to the affected communities, and publicly disclose key project documents, including impact assessments and audits and the project’s Environmental Compliance Certificates.  

    Notes to editors

    (1) More information about the Simandou project’s risks and impacts can be found on BankTrack’s Dodgy Deal profile, here: https://www.banktrack.org/project/simandou_iron_ore_project_guinea 

    The profile includes up-to-date maps showing the project’s impacts on communities, protected areas, biodiversity hotspots and chimpanzee habitats produced by EarthInsight.

    (2) WCS’s environmental and social impact assessments are dire; for example, they predict irreversible impacts to groundwater systems that supply local communities and flow into the headwaters of the Niger River, a lifeline to millions of people in several arid West African countries.  But they are also inadequate; expert reviews have shown that they are based on outdated and inapplicable data, fail to include key mitigation plans for biodiversity and management of effluents, and dedicate insufficient funds for the preservation of endangered species such as the West African chimpanzee, the forest elephant, and the pygmy hippopotamus.  

    Rio Tinto’s own record of due diligence is no better; the company’s original impact plan for preserving biodiversity relied on “physically removing or scaring away animals,” and its current assessments and plans have not been made public.  In fact, Rio Tinto began clearing land and building its own section of railroad before its impact studies had ever been considered by the Guinean government.

    (3) Letters were sent to 23 major financiers of Rio Tinto, for an example see here.

    For media enquiries please contact:

    1. Emyloïa Kpadonou, Communications Officer, Advocates for Community Alternatives: +233 50 037 5984
    2. Ryan Brightwell, Research & Communications Director, BankTrack:  +31 634 643 116

  • Newly trained Community-Based Facilitators poised for action

    In line with its resolve to continue impacting positively on communities, Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA) has trained 66 Community-Based Facilitators (CBFs) drawn from 19 communities in Atiwa West and Abuakwa South districts of the Eastern region of Ghana on the effective implementation of the Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP).

    Also called Oman yie die, FCAP is a partnership between ACA and partner the district assemblies as part of measures to strengthen local participation in the implementation of the Assemblies’ medium term development plans.

    The training program, which took place at Asiakwa, was also attended by 16 officials of the two district assemblies.

    The participants, which included 16 staff of the two partner district assemblies, were equipped with knowledge on participatory approach to development, conflict resolution and the need to accord maximum respect to their communities’ voices on pertinent issues affecting their welfare.

    ACA’s Director of Community-Driven Development (CDD), Nana Ama Nketia-Quaidoo led her team to take the participants through a number of presentations, role-plays and group discussions, among others.

    The CBFs were drawn from Ehiamankyene, Dadetsunya, Ahenkwa, Ahinkwa Sisi, Bepoase, Asedja, Nsuta, Nkankama, Subrima, Gyampomani, Awenare, Akropong, Pameng, Banso, Asunafo, Amonom, Akrofufu, Muoso, Akukuso, Akwaboaso and Asiakwa.

    The rest of the communities represented at the eight-day training programme were Adadientem, Apapam, Akwadum, Apedwa, Adortowa, Bonposo No. 1, Addonkwanta, Operko, Latemu, Agyapomaa, Amanfrom, Maase Payaase, Oboperkunya and Asafo.