AngloGoldAshanti, second largest gold producer, has won the “2011 Public Eye Award” for being the most irresponsible company in the world. The award was conferred by Greenpeace and the Swiss-based Berne Declaration (BD), organisers of the 2011-Edition.
WACAM, a Ghanaian human rights and mining advocacy nongovernmental organisation (NGO), nominated AngloGoldAshanti. The award ceremony was held on Friday January 28, 2011 on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum - meeting of top business and political leaders in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
A citation accompanying the award said; “our Global Award winner for 2011, AngloGold/Ashanti, the South African company’s gold mining operation in Ghana contaminates soil and poisons people.
“To extract 30 kg (66 lb) of gold, 6,000 tons of rock are mined every day, then ground up and mixed with cyanide in tanks. The highly-toxic mining waste is kept in large storage ponds that contaminate rivers and wells, as well as all those who (must) drink from them.
“What was once arable land is today contaminated and can no longer be farmed. In addition, in the company’s own guard houses, several “suspicious individuals” have been tortured, and dogs were set on people; these acts resulted in a number of fatalities. In a recent industry comparison, the Ghanaian Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued AngloGold the worst possible rating for environmental and social standards.”
Presenting the reasons for nominating AngloGoldAshanti for the award, Mr Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, Executive Director of WACAM, cited the murder of Mr Clement Kofi Baffoh, a 27 year old man from Aduaneyede, near Obuasi on June 9, 2004 on the suspicion of engaging in “galamsey” activities on the mine’s concession.
WACAM recalled the shooting of Mr Awudu Mohammed on suspicion of trespassing on the concession of AngloGoldAshanti to undertake illegal mining operations by a security team made up of the security of AngloGoldAshanti and the Ghana Police on June 20, 2005 resulting in his intestines gushing out.
The NGO also narrated the shooting of four farmers including Anthony Baidoo by the Ghana Military acting on behalf of AngloGoldAshanti Iduaprim Mine at a rock waste dump at Teberebie on February 2, 2006
Mr Baidoo, who was shot in the waist, was hospitalised at the 37th Military Hospital for nine months. Currently Mr Baidoo cannot walk without clutches. He cannot undertake farming activities any longer and has not received compensation from the Company except that the Company bore the cost of his medical care.
WACAM also faulted AngloGoldAshanti Iduapriem Mine for polluting rivers that served as sources of drinking water for nearby communities with effluents from its tailings storage facilities, which made the EPA to order the closure of the facilities in February 2010.
Mr Owusu-Koranteng again cited the case of Mr James Sarpong, a prominent farmer in Teberebie, whose village was destroyed by AngloGoldAshanti Iduapriem Mine by exploiting a loophole in the Ghana Judicial System on June 26, 2009, and thus rendered him a destitute. Mr Sarpong now lived in one of the offices of WACAM and survived on a small stipend provided by the NGO.
Reacting to the award, AngloGold spokesman, Alan Fine said he did not know what criteria were behind the organisation’s selection, adding that the group never contacted AngloGold for its comment.