The Gyaasehene of Apinto Traditional Area, Nana Dr Adarkwa Bediako III has bemoaned the lack of tangible benefits for mining communities in the country after decades of mining.
Speaking during the presentation ceremony of the Goldfields Foundation for 325 beneficiaries of its scholarship scheme, Nana Dr Adarkwa Bediako the III said 5 per cent of the country’s GDP comes from the Tarkwa and its environs yet there’s no recognized government scholarship for people in mining communities.
He added that Tarkwa cannot continue to take care of the country with its land and resources for all these years without developing their own communities.
He said, “Our land has been bleeding for a very long with no tangible benefits that we can see. if people from Mampong traditional area say they don’t want to mine in their area, why Wassa?”
“As we can say now, 5 per cent of the country’s GDP is coming from Tarkwa and its environs. There is no government scholarship for people in the mining communities, there is no government scholarship for the development of roads in the mining communities, and there is no government effort to develop our communities but we are contributing 5 per cent of the country’s GDP every year, it’s a shame.”
