By:Isaac Amoah/tntnewspapergh.com

Livelihood Environment Ghana(LEG), a Sunyani-based environmentally inclined Non-governmental Organisation, which is currently operating in over 46 communities in Seven regions,has held its 20th anniversary and Annual General Meeting(AGM) in Kumasi.

The event was held on Monday,30th December,2024 at Charleva hotel at Adoato-Adumanu in Kumasi.

It was on the theme “Reimagining nature, Livelihood and Community Rights”.

The vision of LEG is to see a diverse environment where there is equity, inclusiveness and decentralised decision-making,free from all forms of impunity and human rights abuses and offer equal opportunity for all class of people to enhance sustainable development”.
With the mission of empowering women,youth and the marginalized for active citizenship and engagement with policy-makers and duty-bearers to promote sustainable livelihood , environmental justice, community rights and improve minerals governance and policies through, policy proposals and Advocacy to enhance sustainable development”.

In his welcome statement,Mr Richard Adjei-Poku,the Executive director of LEG, recounted that,prior to the formation of LEG, an organization known as Guards of the Earth and the Vulnerable (GEV) was formed in 2001 by (Richard Adjei-Poku) and a group of farmers such as Thomas Oppong, Simobrass, Atta Nsiah, Seth Appiah Agyemang, Thomas Addai, Ataa Brini, Eric Addai the former District Chief Executive of Asutifi North District Assembly and others.
He explained that the cardinal reason for the formation of these organisations was to ensure fair and adequate payment of compensation for crops and other properties which were destroyed by the activities of the mining. GEV was initially known as the Ahafo Concerned Communities Affected by Mining (ACCAM).

Mr.Adjei said towards the end of the year 2001, ACCAM was changed to GEV following a revision of their objectives from the narrow compensation issue to include a border advocacy role, environmental sustainability and the protection of the rights and interest of the vulnerable.

Mr.Ruchard Adjei-Poku, Executive director of LEG

” In 2004, Newmont made an offer to GEV to serve as the community liaison tool.
This offer appeared to undermine the stated objectives and autonomy of GEV. Failure on the part of Mr. Eric Addai, the then Executive Director of GEV and majority of Board members of GEV to recognize the potential risks of the offer led to their acceptance of it from Newmont Ghana Gold Limited”.
The Executive director said as a result, after the meeting in Accra between Eric Addai, Richard Adjei-Poku and TWN-Africa proved futile, Adjei-Poku decided to break away from GEV and founded LEG in July 2004 which together with Atta Nsiah.

Professor (Mrs.) Mercy Afua Adutwumwaa Derkyi, chairperson of LEG Board

The moral and technical support in the formation of LEG came from Dr. Abdulai Darimani, then Environmental Program’s Officer and employee of the Third Word Network-Africa (TWN-Africa) who later became the Chairman of Board of Directors of LEG between the period of 2017 – 2021.
He further explained that,
LEG was formed to deal with the issues left behind by GEV after they,had become fragmented with Newmont and to response to other growing social, environmental, livelihood and human rights threats from the company, a US multinational mining corporation.
He said LEG began with only one community, Kenyasi No.2 without office space. “Meetings were held in Asutifi Educational Complex classroom.
The organization with support from Third Word Network-Africa (TWN-Africa) in 2005 conducted what we called “community film shows” using the Prestea and Tarkwa examples. The purpose of the film show was to educate the communities on both the positive and the negative effects of surface gold mining because the then Newmont and the government were preaching solely the good things about mining without the negative aspects.
Mining was a new thing to the people of Ahafo, therefore, the film show provided them with sufficient and useful information on surface gold mining which helped the communities in most of their decisions with the company”.
He recalled that, during the film show, some community members willingly offered themselves to work with the organization as community volunteer. The communities in where the film show took place include Kenyasi No.1, Kenyasi No.2, Ntotroso, Gyedu and Wamahinso all in the Ahafo South project of Newmont in the Asutifi North District. The other communities were Yamfo, Susanso, Tanoso, Afrisipa, Techire, Adrobaa, Bisi, Kromfrom, Subriso and Mosikrom in the Ahafo North project area of Newmont in the Tano North Municipality.
In 2006, the organization with support from TWN-Africa rented office accommodation, conducted election to appoint Board members and other officials including the Executive Director for the first time and acquired a legal status as an NGO through registration with the Registrar General’s Department, Accra on March 23rd, 2007.

The Executive director said in that same year that they received their first time Global Greengrants Fund (GGF) grant support which helped furnished the office with the necessary office equipment.

The Board of Directors of the organization with the late Adu Yaw Saliu as the chairman worked till December 2012 before new board members with Dr. Abdulai Darimani as chairman took over in January 2013 – December, 2017, followed by the third Board of Directors with Dr. John Adu Kumi,who is now an Associate professor took over from January, 2018 to December, 2021 and succeeded by the current Board with Professor (Mrs.) Mercy Afua Adutwumwaa Derkyi as chair and Dr. Erica Mac Granaham as vice chair, the first time two women occupying the positions of Chair and the Vice Chair.
According to Mr Richard Adjei-Poku,LEG has worked tirelessly through its community advocacy and sensitization programs, capacity building and training sessions, women economic empowerment, afforestation, community rights and litigation, engagement with corporate bodies, duty bearers and policymakers, networking and strengthened media engagements to enhance the living conditions of the poor and the marginalized in its 46 operational communities better and the mother earth a safe place to live.
He revealed that,over the past two decades,LEG has championed initiatives that empower marginalized groups, including women,youth, and persons with disabilities through skills training,seed funding,and support for alternative income-generating activities and soft loans.
“We have provided opportunities for communities to rebuild and thrive.
In the past nine years,we have trained 3,753 people in five mining affected communities (Yamfo,Susuanso,Afrioakrom,Terchire and Adrobea) and two nin-mining communitities(Bogyampa and Sunyani) on different sustainable skills and offered the basic business and financial management principles.
We have supported 2,017 women and 13 men(youth) within Yamfo, Susuanso, Afrioakrom,Terchire and Sunyani with an amount of Ghc 10,200,000.00 as soft loan through our program called “women economic empowerment”..

According to the Executive director, most of the beneficiaries have either set up of new businesses or expanded their existing businesses.Also, under this model, access to clean water has been made possible in some communities through the provision of mechanized boreholes”.