Don’t Decide Our Future For Us– Huniso Youth Tell Wassa Fiase Traditional Council.
Some elders and youth of Huniso in the Prestea Huni Valley Municipality of the Western Region have cautioned the Wassa Fiase Traditional Council against interfering in matters concerning the renewal of Gold Fields Ghana Limited’s mining lease.
They insist that the council cannot make decisions on behalf of communities within the Apinto Traditional Area without consulting them, particularly on an issue they say has significant implications for their future development.
The caution follows reports that the Wassa Fiase Traditional Council has appealed to the government to take the Tarkwa Mine away from Gold Fields rather than renew the company’s mining lease.
Addressing a press conference at Huniso, the youth questioned the authority of the council to make such a demand on behalf of communities within the Apinto Traditional Area.
They argued that the council has no right to ask the government not to renew Gold Fields’ mining lease without adequately considering the views and interests of communities that directly benefit from the company’s operations.
According to them, the traditional council must recognise the contributions Gold Fields has made to the development of Huniso and other surrounding communities before taking a position on the future of the mining company.
Speaking at the press conference, the leader of the youth, who is also the Abakumaba of Huniso, Nana Kwasi Ansah, said those who spoke on behalf of the traditional council were not from the mining catchment area and therefore did not fully appreciate the benefits the community derives from Gold Fields.
The Ebusuapanyin of Huniso, Ebusuapanyin Kofi Twum, also defended the mining company’s contribution to the community, mentioning the construction of schools, a CHPS compound, roads and other development projects.
He maintained that the company’s contributions should be taken into consideration in any discussion about the renewal of its mining lease.
For his part, the Youth Representative of Gold Fields Tarkwa-Nsuaem, Paul Tonyeviade, a resident of Akoon, said his experience of the company’s operations had largely been one of development.
He argued that no mining company in Ghana could be compared with Gold Fields in terms of its contribution to community development, urging the government to renew the company’s mining lease to allow it to continue its development initiatives.
Story by Nana Fynn@W/R.
