By Christopher Tetteh, GNA
Terchire, (Ahafo), Nov. 03, GNA-Aggrieved farmers within the Ahafo North mine’s catchment area of the Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL) in the Tano North Municipality of the Ahafo Region have called for the intervention of human rights organisations and activists for their compensations to paid.
The farmers, who are spread across Techire, Adrobaa, Afrisipakrom and Susuanso noted that they needed support from those organisations, alleging that the mine had failed to pay them compensations, covering their lands, crop, structures and other properties.
They alleged that those properties and structures were on the mine’s concession in the area.
Addressing a news conference at Techire, Mr John Mensah, the Chairman of the Concerned Framers Association, a group of farmers affected by the operations of the mine, noted that land compensation of about 84 of the farmers had not been paid.
He said the delay in payment of the compensation breached the Executive Instrument (E.I) 273 and 356, 2023, worrying that most of the affected farmers had gone through “unbearable hardship in the past four years”.
“Farmers whose lands and properties were compulsorily acquired under E.I 356 of 2023 have not received any compensation till now,” Mr Mensah said.
He said: “The government and Newmont abandoned the provisions in the minerals and mining Act and proceeded, and compulsory acquired selected lands under the Land Act 2020, Act 1036, for Newmont’s mining operations and related activities.”
Mr Yaw Adu, the Secretary of the Association also indicated that farmers received a letter dated June 9, June 2026 from the Lands Commission informing them that, “Newmont has submitted a petition claiming some structures belonging to 21 of the affected farmers should not be compensated because those structures were part of the speculative activities.”
Contrary to the claim in the petition, Mr Adu said: “Under the Land Act 1036, a property is described as speculative when improvements are made after the government publishes its notice to acquire the land.”
Mr Adu stated that the structures of the affected farmers were not speculative, and insisted that compensation ought to be paid for those structures and properties.
“Our structures aren’t speculative under either the mining Act and the Lands Act.” he said, adding that, “All those structures and properties existed long before even Newmont planned to extend its mining operations into our area.”
Mame Serwaa, 97 years’ old, and one of the affected farmers spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) worrying that mine allegedly took over about 155-acres of her farms.
She said the farms comprise cocoa, oil palm and teak plantations as well as some food crops.
“We have no means of feeding our families, paying our children’s school fees as well as paying our medical bills,” Maame Serwaa lamented.
GNA
Edited by Dennis Peprah/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Christopher Tetteh
Email address: [email protected]