Let’s prioritise safety issues - Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stressed the need to make issues of safety a front burner of national discourse.

“There are a lot of things we are going to learn out of the incident at Bogoso Appiatse which will go to shape future regulations and measures that have to be taken in the area of safety at mines, including mining activities in the country.

“These things happen and we have to learn from them; it is tragic, but I hope we are going to take the right lessons from it so that we do not hear of such incidents again in the future.

“We are required to find new and more acceptable solutions to help ensure the safety of our population and our environment,” the President said.

He was speaking during a call on him by the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gold Fields Ghana, Mr Chris Griffiths, at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday.

The visit was for the new CEO to introduce himself to the President and also commiserate with the nation on the tragic incident at Appiatse, near Bogoso in the Western Region, which claimed about 17 lives and also destroyed property.

Goldfields is a globally diversified company operating in five countries, with Ghana contributing 35 per cent of its global production. Australia contributes 45 per cent, while South Africa, Peru and Chile make up the rest.

In Ghana, the company has the largest single mine in Tarkwa, which produces over 500,000 ounces of gold annually. It is also the largest mine in the country.

Concerns

“What has happened at Appiatse is something that, for me personally, is elucidating, and I still find it very difficult to accommodate what has taken place with the devastation,” President Akufo-Addo said.

He said the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, was working, in collaboration with other stakeholders, to get a hand on the incident to help build a better future for the people.

The President expressed appreciation to Goldfields Ghana for its support to the victims so far and for availing its expertise in the resettlement effort, adding that the government was working towards rebuilding the affected village.

“It is a sine qua non for me that we should be able to do that, so the little contribution you will make to that exercise will be well appreciated.

You are a very important partner of our country and one of the major players in the industry; what you are doing is very important to the country,” he added.

He said some proposals would be made for the development of the mining industry in a manner which would make the people benefit from the resources.

“The mining sector is very critical to our development; needless to say, issues of the environment are also very much on top of both the national and the global agenda,” he said.

On illegal mining (galamsey), President Akufo-Addo mentioned efforts the government was making in the fight against that activity, including ensuring sanity in the small-scale sector mining in the country.

“We want to have good relations with those who are playing positive roles in the development of the industry,” he said.

Restoring confidence

Mr Griffiths, for his part, described the explosion at Appiatse as a huge tragedy and gave an assurance that his outfit would work closely with other mining companies and the sector minister to restore confidence in the industry.

“We are a force for good and not a force for harm. We have had a fantastic relationship with the government of Ghana for the past 29 years and we certainly hope to be a part of the future of the country,” he said.

For his part, the acting Executive Vice-President and Head, Goldfields West Africa, Mr Joshua Mortoti, said the company had so far offered monetary support and expertise towards the resettlement support at Appiatse.