National Coalition on Mining (NCOM) Ghana
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1 National Coalition on Mining (NCOM) Ghana C/O Third World Network Africa Legon, Accra Tel: /503816/ Post Office Box AN 19452, Accra; 9 Ollenu Street, East environment@twnafrica.org STATEMENT PRESENTED BY THE NATIONAL COALITION ON MINING (NCOM) AT THE 7 TH ANNUAL NATIONAL MINING FORUM HELD AT THE BLACK PARK, FORECOURT OF THE OBUASI LEN CLAY SPORTS STADIUM, OBUASI MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY, ASHANTI REGION, GHANA. Introduction The National Coalition on Mining (NCOM)*, held its annual forum under the theme Life After Mining: Avoiding a Repeat of Prestea in Obuasi on Wednesday, October 8, The theme was informed by the proposed 2-year closure of the Obuasi Mine to undertake Care and Maintenance. NCOM organises the forum annually in mining communities to offer communities affected by mining the platform to make their voices heard on the impact of mining on them and their livelihoods. The event also gives them the chance to press home demands for changes in the mining sector for sustainable and inclusive development. In 2002, the underground mine in Prestea was put under a similar care and maintenance for a period of two years. The mine has since not been returned to production, resulting in dire economic and environmental consequences for the people of Prestea. Thousands of jobs were cut and most of the lands there cannot support farming activities following decades of mining-related pollution which continues today because of ongoing (and widespread) surface mining. At the beginning of this year, AngloGold Ashanti Limited (AGA) announced its intention to shut down the Obuasi Mine for a period of about two years with the aim of undertaking Care and Maintenance at the mine. Over the past year or two, more than 1,000 workers have been laid off, despite ongoing discussions with the Government of Ghana for necessary approvals. Further the company intends to retrench the remaining workers (numbering about 5,000) after which about 500 workers will be re-employed to guard and protect the mine during the Care and Maintenance period. This proposal has raised substantial concern among various stakeholders in the mining sector. The youth in Obuasi direct employees of AGA, contractors or casuals of AGA and unemployed youth alike have expressed particular concern over the proposal. The Government of Ghana (GoG), which seems to have quietly welcomed the decision, also has cause to worry both at the central and local levels. Apart from dashed expectations that the mine was going to be re-equipped in order to allow for expansion in output (as required by a stability agreement between GoG and AGA), the shutdown will lead to a fall in foreign exchange earnings and deny the government taxes from workers and activities of the mine. There are also concerns that Obuasi is likely to die if the shutdown and accompanying retrenchment proposed by AGA is implemented as planned.
2 Merger between AngloGold and AGC: Essence, Concessions and Commitments In October, 2003 the Government of Ghana agreed to the terms of a business combination agreement or merger between AngloGold and AGC which led to the creation of AngloGold Ashanti Limited (AGA) to take over operations of the Obuasi mine. The coming of AngloGold was welcomed with expectations that the Obuasi Mine (existing at the time and proposed deeps) will be re-capitalized and re-equipped in order to expand output. The hyped expectations followed a huge propaganda war between AngloGold and Randgold (both South African multinationals interested in AGC at the time) which also involved flying seasoned journalists to South Africa. The choice of AngloGold (over Randgold) according to the then CEO of AGC (Mr. Sam Jonah) was informed by its superior operational experience in deep level mining, further fuelling expectations that the Obuasi Mine will be expanded below 50 Level, resulting in doubling of annual production and the creation of additional thousands of jobs. It was further understood that the rising environmental costs associated with the Obuasi Mine will be effectively mitigated and the economy of Obuasi transformed away from the dominant mining activity. At the heart of the transformation was an undertaking by AGA to establish Community Trust Fund in operational areas to finance development activities. It was under these circumstances that the first ever stability agreement in the mining sector, with sweeping benefits, was awarded to AGA. Among incentives offered was a 15-year freeze in tax instruments such as royalty (at 3 per cent) and corporate tax rate (at 30 per cent) and the permission to retain up to 80 per cent of foreign currencies obtained from the sale of gold in off-shore accounts. The Government of Ghana also agreed that AGA s operations will not be adversely affected by any new enactments or orders or by changes to the level of payments of any customs or other duties relating to mining operations, taxes, fees and other fiscal imposts or laws relating to exchange control, transfer of capital and dividend remittance for a period of 15 years after the completion of the business combination. These are clearly important fiscal and regulatory incentives that were given for the purposes of recapitalizing and re-equipping the Obuasi Mine to expand output, not a declaration of Care and Maintenance that can kill the mine. The Obuasi Mine under AGA It is a decade now since AGA took over the Obuasi Mine. AGA took over at the beginning of a decade of incredible upward surge in mineral prices and unprecedented profits for mining firms. The price of gold climbed steadily from around $400 an ounce in October 2003 to an all-time high of $1895 in September 2011 and has been hovering above $1200 since mid Following the takeover, production levels have consistently fallen, from around half a million ounces of gold in the year preceding the takeover to just around 200,000 ounces in This feat of overseeing the decline of a prized mine in a decade of rising prices brings into question the so-called superior operational experience in deep level mining of AGA that enabled it takeover the Obuasi Mine. Many Ghanaians, including members of NCOM, have expressed concerns over this performance and consistently asked if the terms for the takeover have been enforced, amidst little disclosure of relevant information by public institutions on general mining activities in Ghana. What were the representatives of the Government of Ghana on the board of AGA, the Minerals Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources saying and doing throughout these years of decline and failure to fulfill the promises made at the creation of AGA?
3 Over the period also, there have been concerns about payment of taxes by AGA. According to reports by the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) the Obuasi mine did not pay any corporate tax to the government of Ghana between 2004 and It is also uncertain if the Obuasi mine has made any payment to the Government of Ghana as corporate taxes beyond 2009 or not. Last year, the Ghana Revenue Authority submitted tax assessments to AGA for a number of years following audits they undertook for the 2006 to 2008 and 2009 to 2011 tax years. In these assessments, AGA was accused of not paying indirect taxes amounting to tens of millions of dollars over the assessment periods.aga claims that the assessments were not properly conducted. In the past, our authorities have reported similar non-payment of taxes (and in some cases tax evasion) with little or no information about whether these taxes were subsequently collected or not. It will be recalled that in the 2011 budget statement submitted to parliament the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning revealed that for a number of years the country had been losing US$36 million a year through transfer pricing (illicit financial transactions) in the mining sector. Yet till date no known efforts have been undertaken by the authorities to either collect these taxes or prosecute the offenders. In terms of contributing towards the development of communities affected by mining activities and transforming the economy of Obuasi away from mining, not much has been done. And a look at Obuasi Township and its surrounding communities will confirm this without any doubt. The establishment of Community Trust Funds to facilitate support to affected communities and diversification of the economy of Obuasi was delayed for eight long years, following the execution of the stability agreement in These funds were established in 2012 following the announcement by the Government of Ghana that it would renegotiate mining contracts, including AGA s stability agreement. While the stability agreement specifies that 1 per cent of profits generated be deposited in the funds, AGA has redefined that and claim to use 1 per cent of post-tax profits to ascertain transfers to the funds. The company reported having set aside relevant amounts with accrued interest since the agreement was signed without revealing how much they amounted to for each fund. The fund for the Bibiani mine (which was operated by AGA for two and a half years before it was sold to Central African Gold) appears to have been ignored altogether! These developments around the performance of AGA, tax obligations that have not been discharged, late establishment of community trust funds (and non-establishment in the case of Bibiani mine) and environmental impacts arising out of the Obuasi Mine raise questions that must be answered by public institutions such as Parliament, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency. There is a set of questions about the oversight and supervision of the undertakings made by AGA in its agreements with the Government of Ghana. Why did it take AGA eight long years before establishing the development funds and why two instead of three? Has Parliament been receiving periodic reports from AGA in accordance with its agreements with government? If yes what was the reaction, if not why? Similar (if not same) questions have to be asked of the Minerals Commission, the Ministries of Finance & Economic Planning and Lands & Natural Resources in relation to these developments around AGA and the Obuasi Mine.
4 Obuasi Closure: Concerns and Challenges The manner in which the proposed Care and Maintenance closure is being handled has raised a lot of concerns among stakeholders in the mining sector. One important concern is the fact that the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) along with health and educational benefits for workers and their dependents will be brought to an end. Bringing the CBA to an end has obvious concerns and challenges to labour, especially given the rise in casualization of labour in the mines and other sectors of the economy. The ending of the current CBA will be one of the great benefits that AGA will get from the planned closure because it will be free to try to negotiate new terms come re-opening and likely seek terms less beneficial to workers. Can the Ghana Mineworkers Union (GMWU) which has agreed redundancy terms with AGA for the proposed closure guarantee that future workers at AGA will not be faced with terms worse than the current CBA? There are reports that if and when the mine is re-opened, new workers (largely casuals) will be provided with monthly health allowance as opposed to the current access that workers and dependents have to health facilities of AGA. This could lead to a regime where workers and their dependents will access health services provided by AGA either by paying cash or possibly through an arrangement with the National Health Insurance Scheme. There are similar changes to the educational services offered by AGA to dependents of workers. The dangers of mining to the health of workers and dependents who usually live in close proximity to the mines have presented stakeholders with concerns about the mode of access to health services offered by AGA post care and maintenance. There are concerns that economic activities at Obuasi will be severely hampered by the closure and the fact that when the mine is returned to production it will be highly mechanized involving a small fraction of pre-closure workers. Some have expressed concerns that Obuasi is likely to die if AGA is allowed to go ahead with the proposed closure and plans for post closure mining. These concerns are informed in part by experiences of the past which is possible and indeed likely to repeat itself in Obuasi if major changes are not made to AGA s current proposals. In 2002 operators of the Prestea Mine (in Western Region of Ghana), Golden Star Resources, placed the underground mine under care and maintenance for a period of two years. It has been more than a decade since that decision yet the mine has not been returned to production. Residents are now of firm belief that the underground mine has probably died! Meanwhile Golden Star Resources continue to engage in several open pit mines with substantial environmental and health impacts to residents, especially pollution of nearby water bodies. In view of this, many people have asked about the chances of survival for the Obuasi Mine if placed under care and maintenance. The anxiety that the Obuasi Mine could die when put under care and maintenance must be considered by relevant public agencies in their discussions with AGA over their proposals. There is a widespread worry that workers who would be laid off may not find jobs in an economy that does not generate enough jobs. Consequently they face hardships and insecurity once they finish spending funds given them as part of their severance package.. Another related grave concern that stare many is the likelihood that unauthorized small-scale miners will attempt to take over the mines, provoking conflict. Even when the mine is in operation, AGA struggles to keep small scale miners out of their concession, notwithstanding the involvement of national security apparatus (including the military and police) to protect the assets. This concern is of particular importance given that AGA has taken the path of retrenching all its workers (over 5,000 in number). Besides that, others have also warned that the mine could be flooded. It must be recalled that even when the mine was in operation, a
5 flooding in July 2009 forced suspension in production. Are there sufficient mechanisms in place to address this? Our Demands On the basis of the above, we call on the Government to: 1. Publicly clarify its stance on AGA s closure plans. Has it agreed to them as seems implied by AGA s public posture? If it has Ghanaians need to understand why? Are they in negotiations over the plan? If so the government should disclose its stance and concerns in the negotiations over AGA s proposals to close the Obuasi Mine for two years. 2. Involve other relevant stakeholders, including civil society, in the discussions around AGA s proposals to close the Obuasi Mine, paying attention to issues raised above. 3. Make full disclosure about the extent to which AGA has met the terms under which the government agreed with the multinational to take over AGC. 4. Synchronize on-going efforts of the Government Negotiation Team to re-negotiate AGA s stability agreement with discussions and negotiations around AGA s proposals to close the Obuasi Mine. 5. Bring pressure to bear on AGA to discharge all its tax obligations. If the company has been setting aside 1 per cent of post-tax profits for the Obuasi Community Trust Fund since the agreement was signed then it must pay its profit taxes over the period. 6. Ensure that a Community Trust Fund is established for Bibiani to address the legacy of environmental and social decay as a result of past mining operations there. 7. Yield to legitimate demands by Artisanal and Small-scale Miners for a portion of the Obuasi Mine concession to be given to them as part of efforts to regularize their activities and create more jobs, especially as the Obuasi Mine is closing. Further, the government must support the organization of ASM operators including establishment and proper functioning of ASM associations or cooperatives for purposes of providing guidance, support and regulation for their activities. *The National Coalition on Mining (NCOM) is a grouping of non-governmental organizations, representative communities affected by mining and individuals engaged in extractive sector advocacy, in particular mining. It has over one hundred members across mining concessions in the country. Third World Network-Africa is the secretariat. For further information, contact the secretariat. environment@twnafrica.org Tel: /511189/ Fax:
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