The Community Relations Manager of Gold Fields Ghana Limited Tarkwa, Robert Siaw has called for a strict adherence to spatial planning in mining communities to ensure to realization of the benefits of mining in such communities.
Transforming resource wealth into well-being remains an important issue in Africa’s resource-abundant economies. Most benefits from extractives in Africa are likely to flow through national treasuries.
The niggling issue however is whether local communities like Tarkwa and surrounding towns situated close to extraction sites gain any additional benefits?
The issue of how to transform resource wealth into economic development and higher well-being continues to be compelling in various narratives as it is not uncommon to hear people asking why towns like Tarkwa, and Prestea, etc are not developed like the Durban, Johannesburg, etc.
Although most benefits from extractives in Africa are likely to be felt through revenues to the central government, there remains a growing interest in understanding the impact of the resource boom on communities living close to mining centers.
At a media engagement by Gold Fields Ghana, in Tarkwa, Robert Siaw “stated that development has to begin with the need for residents of mining towns abiding by various spatial plans since mining companies by themselves cannot influence spatial development .”
He further alluded to how the spatial plan for Cyanide, a community in Tarkwa has been extremely compromised so much so that it can hardly allow for any road expansion.
He is therefore imploring for a change of attitudes in order to optimize the dividends of mining.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Kobina Amuah
