Wacam, a non-governmental organization, has commended Mr. Isaac Osei, the Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for stating and reaffirming that Newmont Ahafo mine was negligent and careless for not keeping a regular check on its environmental control plant.
In a statement signed by the Executive Director of Wacam, Mr Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, he described: “This is a serious indictment on the company’s technical competence.”
According to him, the Public Relations strategy developed by Newmont Ahafo mine on the cyanide spillage of the company has put up contradictory accounts of the spillage and its impact.
In the estimation of Wacam, Mr. Osei has demonstrated boldness, independence of thought and professionalism which are qualities required of a mining regulatory agency.
“It is our hope that he would continue to exhibit such qualities in this difficult period”.
It is the expectation of Wacam that the management of EPA would provide the needed recognition, support and encouragement to Mr. Isaac Osei for his dedication to his work and environmental protection.
“Examples abound to show that Public Servants who dedicate themselves to their work are sometimes treated as villains instead of patriots”.
The same media release of Newmont Ahafo mine on the spillage contradicted the account of “a minor overflow that was contained and neutralised” when it stated that “the inhabitants of the impacted hamlets have been s supplied with alternative fresh water to use” and also “there was a short-term environmental impact of fish mortality which was also reported by people from the hamlets near the Mine,” the statement further added.
Mr Owusu-Koranteng observed that “These contradictory statements expose the cracks in the Newmont’s PR strategy for the cyanide spillage. To worsen the situation, Newmont’s Regional Manager for Communications stated that only two fishes died in the recent cyanide spillage by the company when she contributed to the discussion on the spillage by Happy FM, in Accra on 19th October 2009.
The Executive Director of Wacam affirmed that there is enough evidence from the communities, Assemblyman of the Electoral area, chiefs, our activists and others to debunk the claim of Newmont that the cyanide spillage affected only two fishes.
“People who visited the site of the spillage found many dead fishes floating on the river five days after the spillage when Newmont had engaged in massive cleaning of the river of dead fishes”.
The statement continued that in cyanide spillages, fish mortality is a good indicator of the magnitude of the spillage and that is why Newmont Ahafo mine put in every effort to put up the “two dead fishes” story after it had cleaned the dead fishes from the affected river.
Mr Owusu-Koranteng recalled that in 2001, when Goldfields Ghana Limited spilled cyanide into river Asuman, the company after cleaning the river of dead fishes, put up a story that only 50 fishes were found dead and later one additional fish was found dead at the banks of the river. This cyanide spillage of Goldfields Ghana Limited is sometimes referred to as “fifty plus one” cyanide spillage to ridicule the mining industry’s efforts to downplay the effects of cyanide spillages.
“Despite the efforts to clean the affected water bodies of the dead fishes as a way of downplaying the impact of the cyanide spillage, many dead fishes were still floating on the rivers 5 days after the detection of the cyanide spillage”.
