Some residents of Anyinam, a mining community in the Obuasi Municipality are up in arms with AngloGold Ashanti, over the mining company’s decision to put up a modern 24-unit classroom block in the community.
Mr Eric Amaning, a youth leader of the community, while addressing the media explained that AngloGold Ashanti failed to engage the community for approval, for the appropriate site for the project.
The youth leader accused one Richard Cudjoe, the Assembleman for the area and a few members of the communities, of misleading AGA to site the project at the Anyinam Methodist ‘A’ close to the Kwesi Mensah mining Shaft, without recourse to the views of the community.
He disclosed that AngloGold Ashanti has lined up a plethora of educational intervention programme, including building of educational infrastructure in its operational area under its
10-year Socio-Economic Development Plan.
Accordingly, the company decided to demolish both the Anyinam Methodist ‘A’ and ‘B’ schools to put up a magnificent 24-unit classroom block at the site of the Methodist ‘A’ school.
But some community members expressed their displeasure over the proposed site citing the small size of land that it cannot accommodate the 24-unit classroom block as well as football pitch and volley ball court, which were available at the Methodist B school earmarked for demolition.
According to Mr. Amaning, they cannot understand why AGA wants to demolish the school which was sitting on a 14 acre land with football pitch and volley ball court to put up a new structure on a 3-acre land without a football pitch and a volley ball court that serve the whole Anyinam community.
Mr. Amaning lamented that the intended site may deny the community any recreational center or playing field.
He explained that the community is not opposed to the intention to build a new school for them, but they are surprised how a 3-acre land can accommodate a project as huge as a 24-unit classroom block besides the fact that the proposed project is closer to the Kwesi Mensah mining Shaft, which is believed to disrupt academic activities because of the excessive noise emanating from the shaft.
The residents have a appealed to AGA to abandon any plan of building the school at the Anyinam Methodist A site or ‘Anyinam fie’ and go back to the negotiation table with the residents of the community to determine the appropriate site for the new school block.
