IMPROVE LIVES IN AREAS OF OPERATIONS (PAGE 19, JULY 6, 2010)

The Western Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, has advised investors to avoid making enormous gains without ensuring a corresponding improvement in the lives of the people and the development of social infrastructure in the communities where they operate.
He said local communities could react negatively if they found that their natural resources were being exploited without any direct benefit to them.
Speaking at a sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of 600 housing units for the people of Salman by Adamus Resources, operators of the Nzema gold project at Salman, Mr Aidoo said the payment of royalties to chiefs and taxes to the government was not enough, since the money did not usually benefit the people directly.
“It is unfortunate that many companies interested in the country’s resources engage in conflicts, one way or another, with communities in which they operate. These conflicts may be as a result of mistrust and misunderstanding that may exist between the stakeholders,” he said.
He said if investors wanted to exploit the country’s natural resources and ensure socio-industrial harmony, the needs of the communities should be taken into serious consideration.
“The people are well awake now. Therefore, if you pay tax to the district assemblies and royalties to the government and the people don’t see that, they will riot,” he said.
The regional minister urged the investor community to go beyond the payment of taxes and take their corporate social responsibilities seriously, adding that the government was ready to protect the interests of investors and the people in communities they operated.
Mr Aidoo said the investor community needed a peaceful environment to operate and so the combined effort of the government, the private sector and other stakeholders was the surest way to ensure the needed peace to fight the common enemy of poverty.
The resettlement manager of the company, Mr Steve Yirenkyi, said the 600 housing units, costing more than $23 million, would house the Salman community, which was likely to be affected by the operations of the company.