[ 2011-08-29 ]

Mine workers angry over 0%
The Ghana Mineworkers’ Union (GMWU) of the
Trades Union Congress (TUC) Ghana is seething with
anger over information that began filtering
through last week that the state of Ghana no more
has a share in the gold mining conglomerate
currently degrading our landscape, and taking its
resources to enrich the Western nations.

In the words of General Secretary Prince William
Ankrah, the Union would campaign with other civil
society pressure groups to reduce the foreign
capital components in the existing ownerships, as
a means of ensuring that the legitimate owners of
the wealth benefit from its exploitation.

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor,
early this year, wrote a letter to the Attorney
General and Minister of Justice, complaining about
the way the state had lost its 10% shareholdings
in some of the mining companies in the country.

According to the Finance Minister, Ghana,
currently, holds zero percent (0%) shares in the
Newmont Ahafo and Akyem Projects, Noble Mineral
Resources Bibiani Project, AngloGold Ashanti,
Ashanti (Obuasi) and Iduaprim and Teberebie
projects.

According to Dr. Duffuor’s letter, this had
arisen because Parliament ratified some of the
agreements with the mining giants, contrary to the
Mining Law 1986 (PNDC law 153) and the Minerals
and Mining Act 206 (Act703), which mandate the
government to acquire ten percent (10%) rights and
obligations of minerals operations in Ghana.

The Finance Minister argued in the said letter
that though Article 268 of the Constitution grants
Parliament the authority to ratify agreements
relating to natural resources, nowhere in the
Constitution is Parliament given the added power
to ratify agreements that contradict the laws of
the country.

“In fact, Economic Objectives, Article 36 (4)
places an onus on the state to ensure that foreign
investments shall be encouraged within Ghana,
subject to any law for the time being in force
regulating investment in Ghana,” Duffuor noted
in his letter to the Attorney General, adding
“your opinion and advice on this matter will,
therefore, be greatly appreciated, particularly,
if the state can legally take steps to rectify the
current Status.”

Prince William Ankrah, who was speaking at the
10th Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the Union
in Sunyani on Wednesday, August 24, 2011, appears
to have supported the stance of the Finance
Minister, hinting that his outfit would do
everything possible to support civil society
organisations to ensure that the state of Ghana
derives maximum benefit from the precious mineral.


The General Secretary of the GMWU, commended the
government for implementing the Ghana Extractive
Industry Transparency Initiative (GEITI), but
urged her to resource the body to effectively
deliver its mandate, including the dicey issue of
capital flight.

On remuneration, Prince Ankrah disclosed that the
ratio between the layers was very questionable,
which leads to complete alienation, and thus
impacts negatively on accelerated and sustainable
business success.

According to him, it appears people were being
paid by virtue of their colour and not skill,
explaining that expatriates and Ghanaian nationals
who are on the same job grade and with same
qualifications have vast differentials in terms of
remuneration.

He stressed that the Union finds the system
questionable, and would continue to drum-up the
issue until rationality prevails, adding that the
concern regarding the glaring inequity in the
reward landscape in the mining industry, should
not be misconstrued to be the union’s dislike
for their expatriate colleagues.

Prince Ankrah indicated that the difference in
earnings between the highest paid top management
and the lowest paid employee was very
astronomical, and in many instances, compensation
committees are lured to make such recommendations,
but have had a backlash from shareholders, and are
occasionally made to overturn such levels of
unethical adjustments.

The General Secretary of the GMWU, regretted that
the mining industry had failed to cultivate a
trustful relationship with community leaders and
the indigenes, and that in many instances,
operating mines within some catchment areas had
failed to honour promises made regarding the
provision of certain infrastructural support.

He continued that these circumstances, coupled
with inadvertent occasional spillage of chemicals
into water bodies, had compounded the problem,
thus creating animosity and tension between
communities within the catchment areas, and the
mining companies concerned.

According to him, the situation required a quick
reversal on the part of mining houses concerned,
in line with 21st Century business ethics, and to
create the platform for business excellence.

Brother Ankrah further expressed the GMWU’s
misgivings regarding the poor rating of
environmental standards scored by almost all the
mining companies based on the judgment of the
Environmental Protection Agency.

“Overall, the union dares say that the
performance of the companies in the industry were
shameful,” he added.

He suggested that an internal peer review pressure
group be instituted to tease each other towards
excellence in this important area.

The GMWU also raised concerns on the issues of
health and safety. According to Ankrah, there
seemed to be lack of attention in relation to the
human equation, which is placing profit before
people, noting that many business entities had
neglected inputs from employees and how they
impact on business, adding, “this trend
obviously requires a reversal.”

Source - Ghanaian Chronicle

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