By Isaac Arkoh
Cape Coast, May 24, GNA – The Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) has empowered communities affected by Atlantic Lithium Company’s exploration in the Central Region to prioritise social accountability, transparency and equity.
The ISODEC advocates for equitable natural resource governance and transparency in Ghana, focusing on empowering marginalised groups to claim their rights, especially where resource exploitation threatens livelihoods and social equity.
The forum, supported by Star Ghana, brought together community leaders from Ewoyaa, Afrangua, Krofu, Abonko, Ansadzie, Krampakrom and Abura Dunkwa.
Community representatives highlighted pressing social challenges, including health, education, employment, roads, community centres and parks.
For nearly a decade of Atlantic Lithium Company’s attempts for explorations, the affected communities had faced disruptions such as land cordoning, crop destruction and restricted access to ancestral lands and buildings without fair compensation or clear resettlement plans.
Many people in the affected areas have raised concerns about environmental impacts like water depletion, pollution, loss of biodiversity, destruction of sacred sites and disruption of traditional livelihoods.
For others, the lack of a clear-cut communication channels and transparency from local leaders regarding social justice and compensation had exacerbated mistrust.
To remedy that, the forum aimed to give affected communities a stronger voice in negotiations, ensure access to accurate information and advocate for fair compensation to prevent exploitation and mistrust.
Participants such as Perpetual Aikins from Ewoyaa and Joshua Arhin from Krampakrom expressed concerns that the lithium project threatened their way of life, risking displacement of over 400 residents and loss of ancestral lands without any clear information about the company’s future.
They reported that land cordoning and environmental damage have stalled home construction, farming and hunting, with many crops destroyed without timely compensation.
Some communities’ representatives also feared the erosion of the power of traditional authority, and social cohesion due to opaque negotiations and alleged withholding of information by some leaders.
That, they said, was fuelling mistrust overcompensation and resettlement plans without clear communication about relocation sites or social amenities.
2 / 2
Mr Bernard Anaba, ISODEC’s Programmes and Policy Lead, emphasised the importance of social accountability as crucial for fairness in Atlantic Lithium’s activities.
He noted that ISODEC’s commitment to educating residents about their rights and promoting transparency from both the mining company and government would help prevent worsening inequalities and protect essential services like schools and healthcare.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey/Benjamin Mensah