Chairman of the Ghana Extractives Transparency Initiative, Dr Steve Manteaw
The Chairman of the Ghana Extractives Transparency Initiative, Dr Steve Manteaw, has said he cannot fathom why workers of Gold Fields are complaining about job losses when there have been similar incidents in the past.
He said; “Gold Fields has been laying off workers but for those people who were laid off by Gold Fields, do their lives not matter? I’m just struggling to understand because the workers themselves are aware that, for some time now, Gold Fields has been laying off workers.”
The natural resource governance expert made these comments in an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb Business following statements by the Ghana Mine Workers’ Union that the government’s failure to renew Gold Fields’ Damang Mining Lease would result in job losses.
The union emphasised that many members risk losing their incomes and livelihoods if the lease is not renewed.
The General Secretary of the Ghana Mine Workers’ Union, Abdul-Moomin Gbana, cautioned that the union would have no choice but to organise a protest march to demand compensation for lost earnings.
The decision not to renew the mining lease coincides with the upcoming expiration of the current 30-year lease, initially granted on April 18, 1995 and set to end on April 18, 2025.
The government has explained that this decision aligns with its broader mission to reshape the nation’s economic landscape.
SA/MA
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