Don’t blame mining companies for poverty, underdevelopment in mining areas – Kumi-Boateng

Dean of Planning and Quality Assurance at the University of Mines and Technology (UMat-Tarkwa), Professor Bernard Kumi-Boateng has said that mining firms in Ghana should not be blamed for the underdevelopment and poor standards of living in mining communities in the country.

On the concerns of the state of poverty in the mining communities and disparity in the living standards of the mining workers compared to local folks, Prof. Kumi-Boateng said “I don’t want us to blame the mining companies. They are doing business, they pay their royalties, and it is up to the state to use the royalties to develop the mining communities. Again, the chiefs are also getting their share, but they don’t use it to develop the community”.

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He explained on 3FM Sunrise Morning Show on Wednesday 21 June, 2023 that in most typical mining areas, you have about 70% of the workers coming from elsewhere who often take their monies back to where they came from instead of investing in the mining community where they work.
The Dean of Planning and Quality Assurance at UMat-Tarkwa, again said sometimes the government cannot be blamed for the underdevelopment in the mining communities because the gold there is in trust for the entire country, so government take the gold from the mining community and government needs the money to develop the whole country.

Prof Kumi-Boateng mentioned that some of the mining companies have introduced ‘Social Licensing’ and have constructed very commendable resettlement structures for the communities. He however entreats the government and chiefs to as much as possible use the royalties they receive from the mining companies to better the lives of the local people.

Source:3news.com