GOLD MINING IN GHANA-THE GENDER DIMENSION

1. GOLD MINING IN GHANA-THE GENDER DIMENSION By Hannah Owusu-Koranteng Director of Training and Research – WACAM At awid forum 2008 “the power of movements” in Cape town, south Africa 14th - 17th November 2008

2. Outline • Introduction • Mining effects on community livelihood • The gender factor • Conclusions AWID 14th November 2008

3. Introduction • Unlike other sources of wealth, natural resource wealth is a free gift of nature. There is no need for production before extraction. • Natural Resources are non-renewable. Economically, they are more of Assets (Capital) than a source of income • In Ghana, land as a natural resource is held in trust for the living, the dead and generations yet unborn. • The anti–colonial struggles involved the struggle to protect indigenous lands in Ghana from colonial control. AWID 14th November 2008

4. Introduction cont’d • The Colonial administration sought to annex Ghana lands, then Gold Coast to the colony with two Bills • The Crown Lands Bill of 1896 and • The Lands Bill of 1897. • To protect their lands, the Aborigines Rights Protection Society sent a delegation to London to protest against the Crown Lands Bill of 1896 and the Lands Bill of 1897. • Chiefs and Heads of Families exercise Trusteeship over land. The President exercises Trusteeship over minerals rights . AWID 14th November 2008

5. Introduction cont’d • Who takes decisions on land and natural resource? Should it be the owner or the trustee? • The constitution of Ghana vests the management of mineral resources in the President (government) and not ownership • Government exploit its trusteeship role and exclude indigenous people from decisions on Land and natural wealth AWID 14th November 2008

6. Mining effects on community livelihood • Non participation of citizens in governance leads to weak standards which help mining companies to • Prevent the owners from knowing how the operations of mining companies is affecting their lives e.g. In Ghana section 20 of the Mineral and Mining Law 2006 (Act 703) gives almost blanket confidentiality to information including effects of mining activities on communities • externalise socio-cultural and environmental cost which allow companies to maximise profits. • Capital flight and misery in developing countries AWID 14th November 2008

7. Mining effects on community livelihood cont’d • Environmental degradation • Degradation of the forest cover resulting in loss of fauna and flora • Land, soil, air and water pollution leading to death of some rivers • Abandoned mine pits and cyanide containment ponds • Acid mine drainage caused by exposed metals from mining • Mine rock waste /  mine waste disposal on fertile lands AWID 14th November 2008

8. Mining effects on community livelihood – Cont’d • Human Rights Violations • Arbitrary arrest and detention of suspects in some private cells of mining companies • Torture  and assault of ‘galamsey’ suspects through beatings and attacks by guard dogs • Shooting of peaceful demonstrators by security agencies acting on behalf of mining companies resulting in death or maiming; Figure 4: Koduakrom farmers in Tarkwa Police cells after being arrested for demonstrating to demand compensation for the destruction of their crops by Abosso Goldfields Limited - 10 09 99 AWID 14th November 2008

9. Mining effects on community livelihood – Cont’d • Human Rights cont’d • Violation of economic rights in contravention, notably, of the provisions of the 4th Republican Constitution • A community person who is a victim of gunshot in his hospital bed Yamfo and Kenyase community activists who were arrested by the Police in November 2006 upon the complaint from agents of Newmont Ghana Gold Limited for holding a community meeting AWID 14th November 2008

10. Mining effects on community livelihood – Cont’d • Human Rights Violations –Cont’d • Land issues which include mode of acquisition and non payment of compensation for land • Forced evictions leading to displacement of communities and disintegration of families • Compensation, including mode of assessment of compensation • Resettlement Problems • A borehole in Dokyiwa located below a tailings dam AWID 14th November 2008

11. Mining effects on community livelihood – Cont’d • Socio-cultural Problems • Low compensation regimes which leads to farmers subsidising the operations of mining e.g. Newmont is paying G Cedis 10 as one-off payment for a Cocoa tree that can earn a farmer about 20 G Cedis per year for an economic period of about 50 years. • Compensation regimes do not take into account the specific interest of women concerning loss of livelihoods for women • Unemployment especially of women workers. Women constituted 15% of the legalised segment of Ghanaian small-scale mining labour force. Women accounted for only 6 per cent of licensed gold buyers, 10 per cent of mining concession holders and 15–20 per cent of the sponsors of work groups, members of cooperatives or mining groups (ILO, 1999) • Women have a responsibility to take care of sick people in families. This relates to care for People Living HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Respiratory tract diseases, malnutrition AWID 14th November 2008

12. Mining effects on community livelihood – Cont’d • Socio-cultural Problems – cont’d • Conflicts and violence against mining communities by mining companies • Loss of livelihood with no alternative land/viable alternative income activities leading to worsening poverty in mining communities • Increased school dropout rate in mining communities • Communities are resettled without land and cemeteries • Broken homes and problems of single parents Schoolchildren from Badukrom / Wangarakrom on their way to school. The access road they were using had been blocked by the operations of AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem mine, thus prolonging the distance from 3Km to 21 Km AWID 14th November 2008

13. Mining effects on community livelihood – Cont’d • Gender and Mining • Women are doubly affected they face the general effects as well as the effects based on their roles in society as women • Pollution of streams increased the workload of women and children who walked long distances in search of potable water for household use. • Communities in Akyem area had protested against Newmont’s intended mining project in the Ajenua Bepo Forest Reserve because it would destroy their water sources AWID 14th November 2008

14. Mining effects on community livelihood – Cont’d • Gender and mining cont’d • Loss of income for women with the loss of forest. Women engage in the harvesting of fuel wood, oil palm fruits, spices and other non-timber products as their regular source of income. • Destruction of sacred /cultural sites of communities affects rites for women • Women do not gain compensation for the destruction of sources of income by mining operations Dumping of rock waste on community people’s farms and subsequent demonstration by affected people which was led by a woman AWID 14th November 2008

15. WACAM Research On Effects Of Gold Mining On Livelihoods: The Gender Component - 2006 by KOOMSON F. And AKONOR E. T. Research Fellows, UCC • Out of two hundred and ninety households, 250 said that gold mining operations had resulted in increased incidence of diseases. Medical experts say there is a link between this phenomenon and the mining operations that take place • Unemployment account for the major reason for peoples’ inability to earn a livelihood followed by reduction in trading activities. • The reason was that most people in the Prestea-Bogoso communities and its environs are farmers or depend on the land for their livelihood which they lost to mining. • About 65% of women in the study area are into agriculture and the taking over of lands from them had rendered most of them jobless • Most women in the study area are unable to meet their cost of living because of reduction in trading activities and food vendoring when galamsey people lost their lands to multinational mining companies AWID 14th November 2008

16. WACAM Research On Effects Of Gold Mining On Livelihoods: The Gender Component 2006 by KOOMSON F. And AKONOR E. T. Research Fellows, UCC – Cont’d • Majority of the respondents said that women have been deprived of their livelihoods and that gold mining activities had limited the capabilities of women to earn a good living. Males earned an average monthly income of G 135.14 as compared to G 82.75 for females • Most of the respondents were not happy with the level of compensation for Cocoa, palm fruits etc. For instance in 1997, the compensation paid by the mining companies for a mature cocoa tree was G9.00. • Only 3.1 % of women received monetary compensation for crops, ; other recipients were 45.3 % family heads, 35.9 % men and 4.7% were husband and wives. • It was evident from the study that females were responsible for fetching water, and since the mining companies were irregular in having the water containers filled, women waste a lot of time queuing for water. • One hundred and seventy four (174) said their cost of transacting business had increased because on mining operations AWID 14th November 2008

17. WACAM Research On Effects Of Gold Mining On Livelihoods: The Gender Component 2006 by KOOMSON F. And AKONOR E. T. Research Fellows, UCC – Cont’d • In Dumase, Prestea and Himan, opinion leaders revealed that the abode of the only god in the area had been changed and this has rendered the god ineffective. • Education: The study result indicated that more males were educated than females. The main reason was that as the income of parents dwindles, partly due to unemployment resulting from seizure of lands, farms, and farmlands without adequate compensation, the female education is sacrificed for the male education • Decision-making: Generally, women are excluded from the decision making process, particularly with issues relating to mining. • Marriage: Marital relationships have been strained because most of the men are unemployed resulting from redundancy, taking over of galamsey sites, farms and farmlands. This has resulted in their husbands not able to support their families leaving the women solely responsible for the up keep of the home AWID 14th November 2008

18. WACAM Research On Effects Of Gold Mining On Livelihoods: The Gender Component 2006 by KOOMSON F. And AKONOR E. T. Research Fellows, UCC – Cont’d • Regarding security and safety, about 65% of the respondents said their security and safety had been affected because of the following : • Fear of blasting / Buildings weakened • Increase in theft cases • Military/Police presence is intimidating. • Pollution / Foodstuffs poisoned • Unemployment • High cost of living • Land Seized • No health facility • Over speeding of mining vehicles in town • Fear for the future AWID 14th November 2008

19. Conclusions • An assessment of the performance of Mining in Ghana by the World Bank’s Operations Evaluation Department (OED) stated the following: “It is unclear what gold mining true benefits are to Ghana. Large scale mining by foreign companies has high import content and produces only modest amounts of net foreign exchange for Ghana after accounting for all its outflows. Similarly, its corporate tax payments are low due to various fiscal incentives necessary to attract and retain foreign investors. Employment creation is also modest given the highly capital intensive nature of modern surface mining techniques. Local communities affected by large scale mining have seen little benefits to date in the form of improved infrastructure or services provision because much of the rents from mining are used to finance recurrent , not capital expenditure. A broader cost-benefit analysis of large scale mining that factors in social and environmental costs and includes consultations with the affected communities needs to be undertaken before granting future production licences[1]” [1]http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servelt/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000094946_03081404004344 AWID 14th November 2008

20. Conclusions • Let the owner beware and act. • Never doubt the ability of small group of committed people to change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has ( Margaret Mead) • Thank you AWID 14th November 2008