The past few days in Ghana have been completely amazing. We began a journey out of the city on Saturday, later arriving in Kakum National Park, which may be one of the places where I have sweat the most. Here, I got the chance to walk on a rope canopy walkway, suspended nearly 40 meters above the ground on giant trees, and later experience a hike through the forest with incredible plant and animal biodiversity. In a country with high deforestation rates, growing populations, and increasing pressures on its natural resources, Ghana has managed to protect one of its most unique treasures. In Kakum, rare and endangered species of mahogany and rare forest elephants find a home. It is definitely something not to be missed while in Ghana.
Today, we visited a small-scale gold mine in near Tarkwa in Western Ghana. According to the government, small-scale mines a operations that cover 25 acres of land or less. Here we met with workers who according to the government official earn 12 ghanaian cedis per day (the average wage in Ghana in 2 cedis per day), yet in reality the workers earn according to how much gold they can mine per day, as we found out later. The working conditions are unsafe, dangerous, unhealthy, and extremely environmentally destructive. In an area we there were wetlands, there is not pools of contaminated water and soil. Workers work in dark and unstable tunnels for more than 10 hours a day with little food, water, or air. With no safety equipment, workers use mercury to attract gold particles for the water and soil, and alter releasing it downstream. When the government official accompanying us was asked what the difference between illegal mines and small-scale mines sanctioned by the government was, he responded by saying that the mine were were in followed strict safety and environmental rules. Maybe we were looking at a different mine?
Later in the day we visited the chief of the Wassa people, whose territory encompasses Tarkwa. While waiting for our meeting, the chief and his council walked out of the room, and in a small ceremony, were presented with the keys to two brand new Range Rovers, courtesy of the Gold Field of Ghana Company, a corporation with a large stake in gold mining operations in the region. Was this a bribe for future land concessions? Payment for previous concessions? When asked what benefits mining had brought to the region, or if he preferred to deal with government officials or companies directly for land concessions, he avoided the question. In fact, every question our group asked today was either completely avoided, or was given a response that seemed to come from a script out of a propaganda brochure. Throughout these talks, the level of frustration was clear in all of us, as it was impossible to understand how this industry receives so much praise, while causing so much harm.
Towards the end of our meeting, a glimmer of hope appeared. The chief and his committee admitted that they are not happy about the way the government and the industry are treating their lands and people, and wish additional funds would flow to local communities. They mentioned that talks have been started to bring in more revenue and further protect the land and the people, but as always, bureaucracy was getting in the way. The chief also mentioned that he accepted the car to make transportation between sites easier, allowing him to inspect mining sites throughout the region. This response was plausible since he received a 4X4 vehicle, capable of traveling the poor roads in the Ghanaian countryside. That day I learned not to rush into judgement. Although I may not agree with the way things are done here in Ghana, we in the western world have not done any better to protect out environment and people, and it would be arrogant to come in here and tell these people what to do. They will manage their lands how they see fit. The only thing we can do is that may learn from our mistakes and not follow in our path. Our talks with the chief were enlightening and hopefully we can make some meaningful recommendations at the end of the program.
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