National director of ARG charges GIADEC for damaging a part of the Atewa forest by bauxite exploration

The Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) has been charged by the national director of A Rocha Ghana (ARG), Dr Seth Appiah-Kubi, for damaging a section of the Atewa forest through experimental bauxite mining. According to him, the mining carried out was illegal. This is his evidence in a case brought by an environmental NGO and 10 orders that aim to prevent the government from approving any mining operations in the Atewa forest.

"They (GIADEC) went ahead to commission a reconnaissance and exploration activity in the forest which was carried out without due legal processes, destroying a part of the forest and these activities are the pre-events for the actual mining," stated Dr Seth.

On Monday morning, Dr Appiah-Kubi testified as the first witness in the case. He testified before the court that GIADEC had previously made it known to the public that the Atewa forest was one of three places it wanted to mine bauxite. However, a lawyer for Leona Johnson-Abassah, Minister of Justice and Attorney General disputed the allegations of illegal mining. She characterised the claim as serious and unsupported by any evidence in the NGO's lawsuit.

"This is a serious allegation that should be supported by evidence," said the lawyer.

However, Dr Appiah Kubi informed the court that he could present communication between A Rocha, the Environmental Protection Agency, and GIADEC as proof that the law's obligation for an environmental impact assessment before such mining was not followed.

As a result, the State Attorney said that if such a document existed, it should have been included in the court filings. She consequently pleaded with the court to deny the request. But Martin Kpebu's attorneys, who represented A Rocha and the other 10, disagreed. According to Mr Kpebu, it is customary to allow witnesses to present pertinent material to support their responses when questioned.

"Depending on the findings of these activities such as low grade ore body, deep-seated ore body, refusal by Minerals Commission to grant mining lease, even in situations where the lease is granted and there is no parliamentary approval, a lease can be revoked and no mining activity can be undertaken by the person," the Attorney stated," added Dr Appiah-Kubi.

The court was uncertain whether they had obtained the relevant documents before bringing their case against the state. Mr Kpebu claimed that while they had it constantly, the plaintiffs did not have the legal training necessary to understand the significance of adding it to the testimony of their witnesses.

The court decided that Dr Appiah-Kubi could provide the court access to the documents. Then Mrs Johnson-Abassah questioned whether mining-related preparation work was the same as actual mining. Although they were not the same, pre-mining was a crucial stage, according to Dr Appiah-Kubi. Not all pre-mining operations result in mine, the state attorney said. They always result in mining, Dr Appiah-Kubi retorted, unless the individual engaging in the action chooses otherwise.