By The Asante Nation
Gold mining in Obuasi officially began in 1897. For more than a century, countless tonnes of gold have been extracted from its soil, yet the township itself stands as a painful reminder of neglect. Compare the sheer wealth pulled from its ground to the level of development in the community, and the imbalance is glaring.
During the Guggisberg era, gold, cocoa, and timber fueled the establishment of enduring institutions such as Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and Achimota School. But what equivalent institutions have been built in Obuasi to compensate for the livelihoods destroyed and the environment degraded by mining? The answer is bitter: almost none.
This is why the government’s plan to build a national gold refinery in Accra—a city that produces no gold—is not only unfair but insulting to mining communities. Obuasi, Ahafo, Tarkwa, and other mining towns deserve better. Why should the regions that bear the brunt of mining, land degradation, polluted water, and loss of livelihoods remain underdeveloped while their resources are used to build Accra?
This centralization of wealth is unsustainable. Ghana must revisit the question of federalism or at least create a fairer distribution system. Mining communities should not only receive royalties, which are often meager and poorly managed. They must have equity in mining operations so that future generations inherit more than scars in the land.
Look at Ahafo Newmont, currently the largest gold mine in Africa. The people there cannot be left with only promises of community development and token royalties. Their share must be structural, lasting, and wealth-creating. The same applies to Nyinahin and its vast bauxite reserves—we must resist the mistakes of the past before the first stone is extracted.
Our chiefs must rise above royalty negotiations and fight for true equity. Communities must be partners, not beggars, in resource exploitation.
To site a gold refinery in Accra is to once again strip mining communities of what rightfully belongs to them. It is not only unwise—it is unjust. Ghana is not only Accra. The refinery must be located in a gold-producing region, where it will create jobs, stimulate local economies, and serve as partial restitution for decades of exploitation.
This is not a matter for silence. We must protest against any attempt to relocate the refinery away from the very regions that produce the gold. If we fail to act now, the cycle of exploitation and underdevelopment will never be broken.
