Maame Ama Serwaa, a 97-year-old farmer at Techire, whose farms and properties were affected by the Newmont Ahafo North mine operations in the Tano North Municipality of the Ahafo Region, says life remains uncomfortable for her now.
She said she found it difficult to pay her medical bills and cater for her family, alleging that the mine had failed to pay her compensation after destroying her farms.
Maame Serwaa appealed for President John Dramani Mahama’s intervention so that the mine would do the needful and pay her compensation, which covered 155 acres of farmland.
She shared her sentiments in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Terchire on the sidelines of a news conference, organized by the Concerned Farmers Association in the area.
The nonagenarian said her affected farms comprised oil palm and teak plantations as well as some food crops.
The association comprised farmers whose farms and properties had been affected by operations at the Newmont Ahafo mine.
They are spread across Terchire, Adrobaa, Afrisipakrom, and Susuanso, all of which are mining communities in the area.
Another aggrieved farmer, only known as Asibi, shared similar sentiments, alleging that the mine had failed to pay compensation for her poultry farm.
Earlier, at the news conference, Mr. Bismark Oduro Mensah, the Chairman of the Concerned Farmers Association, lamented that about 84 of the affected farmers had not received compensation for their land and other property.
He was worried that the communities were now feeling the impacts of the mine operations, saying that the mine’s operations in the area had deprived the majority of community members of their livelihoods.
Mr. Mensah called on human rights organizations and actors to ensure that the mining company paid the due compensation to the affected farmers.
Source: GNA
