By Peter Agengre
Residents of the Talensi District in the Upper East Region on Friday morning staged a peaceful protest at the premises of Cardinal Namdini Mining Limited, preventing staff from accessing the company’s site. The demonstrators, made up mainly of women and youth, chanted songs, beat on metal containers, and displayed placards demanding the dismissal of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Mister Kofi Adusei.
The protesters accused the mining company of failing to improve the living conditions of communities in the district despite the area’s rich gold deposits. According to the Executive Secretary of the Talensi Mining Communities Initiative, TAMCI, Gilbert Laamdolba, many women in the affected communities have lost access to shea trees because of ongoing mining activities. He explained that the women traditionally depended on shea nut picking as a major source of income, but mining operations have taken over large portions of land where the trees are located.
“My mother paid my school fees from the shea nuts she picked and sold. Majority of the women here can no longer do that. Why? They have been denied their livelihood just because of Kofi Adusei.”
Mr. Laamdolba further alleged that although the activities of the mining company continue to affect livelihoods, local residents are yet to benefit from meaningful corporate social responsibility projects. Some of the protesting women also expressed concern over the loss of farmlands to mining activities.
“They don’t care about the people’s welfare. Just look at our roads. Is this what they can do best for us as indigenes of Talensi?” He queried.
Speaking to GBC News, one woman in her early fifties said families in the area are struggling because they can no longer access their farms to cultivate crops for survival. The protesters are therefore calling on Cardinal Namdini Mining Limited to employ more local residents as a form of compensation to affected families and communities.
Responding to the allegations, the Corporate Social Responsibility Manager of Cardinal Namdini Mining Limited, Mr. Kofi Adusei, denied claims that the company has neglected the communities. He explained that the company is still in its developmental stage and assured residents that it would fulfill its social responsibility commitments once gold production increases significantly.
“I do know that when you new mining companies in an area, people have high expectations. They feel that they need to receive more from the mining company. But we are ready to share whatever value we get here with the people.
Meanwhile, the Upper East Regional Police Commander, DCOP John Ferguson Dzineku, appealed to the protestors to suspend the demonstration temporarily. He indicated that arrangements were being made for a meeting between the protestors and the Regional Minister to address their concerns and seek a peaceful resolution to the dispute.
