Effect of mining pollution on the people of Wassa West District of Ghana Akuoko Kofi Osei*, Bour Kwame B.** *Department of Sociology and Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences, College of Art and Social Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana **Mphil., Jamasi Senior High School, Jamasi-Ashanti, Ghana Online published on 20 June, 2013. Abstract Mining has been an indigenous profession for the people of Ghana for a long time. However, they lost this traditional occupation with the introduction of industrial mining which pushed most of them into what is popularly known as “galamsey operation” (illegal mining). It was for this reason that the government of Ghana adopted economic policies which attracted foreign investors into the mining sectors. They were quick to identify the benefits of mining but did not appreciate the negative consequences of mining such as pollution. They study was an attempt to find out the effects mining pollution had brought on the life of the people of Ghana especially the people of Wassa West District. Both the quantitative and the qualitative methods of data collection were used. The survey revealed that mining had not only polluted the environment but also affected the general life of the people. The social life had been equally affected by mining pollution. The study therefore called for circumspection in the granting of mining rights and that positive action must be taken to mitigate the effects of mining pollution in the communities. Top Keywords Mining Pollution, Environment, Galamsey, Political Economy, Treadmill of Production. Top |