Not too long ago, the president of the West African nation of Ghana, Mr. J. A. Kufuor, met executives of the foreign mining companies, operating in the country, at an event, held to celebrate the 80th anniversary, of the establishment, of the Ghanaian mining industry's main industry body: the Ghana Chamber of Mines.
The symbolism of the nation's leader, honouring the members of an industry, which has poisoned vast swathes of the Ghanaian countryside over the years (and gotten away with it, successfully!), with his presence at the event, was not lost, on environmental activists, in Ghana.
For, as in all the nations of Africa, where they operate, the mining lobby is one of the most powerful, in the country - and it has used its clout and baleful influence, over Ghana's political elite, to enable the industry get away, with activities, which would shame and horrify, most of their Western shareholders: were they to become aware of them.
And for the rural poor across Africa (who suffer the consequences of the impunity of players in the industry), it is the same story: as their nations, blessed with gold and other mineral deposits - and desperate to attract foreign direct investment, to spur GDP growth and create much-needed jobs - put the blind pursuit of GDP growth, ahead of their quality of life: as if that too, was not a prime indicator, of a nation's prosperity and progress!
Saddled with a highly-educated ruling elite, whose main priority is the promotion of its self-interest, the poor, in the rural areas where mining activity takes place in Ghana (and other African nations like it), have been abandoned to their fate - by a system that has failed them, completely, and has left them impoverished: as their quality of life, has deteriorated steadily, over the years. They are the veritable victims, of today's globalization!
No longer having access to their farmlands (taken away from them, by the stroke of the pens of officialdom - at various levels of Ghana's ponderous machinery of state - who work and live in the comfort of their elitist air-conditioned cocoons, in far-away Accra, Ghana's capital city), those poor villagers (the weakest strata in modern Ghanaian society), are also the forgotten victims, of the so-called "Washington consensus".
That ideology, much favoured by Western neo-cons (and which largely underpins globalization), was the brain-child, of wealthy Western bankers and right-wing politicians, who did not have the nous, to understand, that there is a world of difference (in terms of the desired and expected results of free-market economic policies), between the matured markets of Western capitalism (which are fairly predictable), and that of the economically-impoverished environments, of the developing-world: which are not.
Thus, today, the erstwhile owners, of the aforementioned farmlands, in rural Ghana, which now form part of the mining concessions of powerful multinational mining companies, operating in the country - are worse off, materially, than they were, before the arrival of the surface mining companies: because it escaped the World Bank and the IMF (as they urged the military regime in power then - in the 1980's - to permit surface gold mining in the country, for the first time in Ghana's history), that the possible harm, which surface gold mining, could cause, to Ghana and its people, would be incalculable (in quality-of-life, terms).
The blind pursuit of GDP growth, and the combination of the class-interests of a largely self-serving ruling elite, and the unfathomable greed driving the search for profits, by the multinational gold mining companies, meant, that at the time, there was a meeting of minds (of all concerned in this crime against humanity), to the extent, that concern for the environmental impact, of the operations, of the surface gold mining companies, was simply not part of the equation: and was therefore a non-issue.
To avoid disasters, such as that which has befallen some farmers in rural Ghana, there is need for a push by those in Africa, who are concerned about preserving the biodiversity, of nations on the continent, for an increased use of income-generating strategies, such as the development of community-based eco-tourism destinations, to create wealth, in rural Africa - particularly at a time of global climate change.
For, such schemes would make poor African nations, less vulnerable, to the blandishments, of those, who seek to exchange worthless bric-a-brac, for access, to valuable gold deposits, in 21st century Africa.
And in the light of the discovery of large deposits of oil and natural gas, off the shores of Ghana, there is renewed hope, amongst environmental activists in Ghana, that the baleful influence, of the powerful mining lobby, can be curtailed - as yet other sources of revenue, open up, for the nation: and consequently weakens their hold, over those, who rule the country.
Hopefully, it will help bring about a situation, in which the nation need no longer depend on continued investment, in the Ghanaian economy, by the players in the gold mining sector - which in over 100 years of exploiting Ghana's gold deposits, has never created the Ghanaian equivalent, of a city, such as Johannesburg. And it speaks volumes about the predatory nature, of the motivation for their presence in Ghana.
Perhaps another key move to make surface gold mining companies in Ghana, become more responsible, environmentally, would be for the Ghanaian nation-state, to act to change the relevant clauses, in the articles of association, of Ghanaian surface gold mining companies: pertaining to those, which limit, the liability of shareholders, for the environmental damage, arising out of the impact of their operations, in the country.
It would immediately make those shareholders, a majority of whom are from the Western nations, take an active interest, in the daily activities, of those surface gold mining companies which they invest in, and operate in Ghana - lest they become personally liable, for the harm, done to the natural environment, in a faraway African nation: of which, they know virtually nothing, about!
And if environmental awareness amongst Ghana's politicians catches on, perhaps they could go on to prove their new-found concern for the natural environment here, yet further, by passing legislation (that would have retrospective effect!), making it mandatory for polluters to pay for the future cost of dealing with environmental damage, caused in the past, but which Ghana's official environmental agencies, are currently, unaware of - because such knowledge, is currently unavailable, to the international scientific research community.
That, dear reader, would definitely make the well-off Western shareholders (who, incidentally, would never dream of allowing surface gold mining, anywhere near where they lived!), take a keen interest, in the way those surface gold mining companies, operate here!
And justice, hopefully, will finally come, for those poor and hapless Ghanaian villagers (and others like them across Africa!), whose lives were turned upside down, when they lost their livelihoods as farmers (when their leaders caved in to pressure from the World Bank and the IMF to permit such an environmentally harmful industry, to operate in their country), and who, for decades now, have had to lead a miserable and wretched existence, akin to a hell on earth - simply to enable Ghana's surface mining companies, to continue piling up super profits: and distribute dividends, to happy (largely Western!) shareholders, year, after, golden year!
Perhaps, in the final analysis, if environmental activists in Africa, worked closely with their counterparts in the West, they might succeed in making the worst of the polluters in the surface gold mining industry (who, in the main, have invested in Africa, deliberately, in order to take advantage of the fact that most of the entities charged with protecting the continent's natural environment, are weak institutions), change their ways: by campaigning for tougher laws, to protect the natural environment, in Africa - a vital need, at a time when global climate change, is already having a negative impact, on much of the continent.
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