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Two youth groups, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) constituency Youth and the Stakeholders Coalition a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in the Prestea Huni-Valley District, have scheduled two demonstrations this month against the deplorable state of the road network and Golden Star Resources (RSR) over its mining operations. There are many posters advertising the demonstration which is said to have the backing of the Himan Traditional Council and the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area. The VOTOLEAF, Concerned Citizens, WACAM and Himan and Prestea Youth groups have slated their demonstration for January 28, 2014. In a letter to the Western Regional Police Command, the group is seeking protection for a demonstration slated for January 21, 2014 to protest the presence of the joint police/military task force in the town and the bad nature of roads. Support The posters indicate the support from key personalities of Prestea such as Nana Nteboah Prah IV, Member of Parliament (MP) Kwasi Blay Kwofie and Francis Nyame, who were members of a committee under the leadership of Mr Mireku-Gyimah which had earlier attempted to settle a dispute between the committee and Golden Star Resources. The committee had earlier signed an agreement that alternative dispute resolution mechanisms should first be used in resolving the dispute. When contacted, the NDC MP for the area, Mr Kwesi Blay, and the NDC regional executive confirmed they were aware of the intended demonstrations but had nothing to do with it. The Chief of Himan/Prestea, Nana Nteboah IV, who was named in one of the posters, denied ever consenting to the demonstration. He said the coalition had visited and informed the traditional council about the demonstration but they were advised to go according to the law. The Constituency Vice Chairman of the NDC, Mr Sulemana Alhassan, and the Constituency Youth Organiser, Mr Iddrisu Mohammed, confirmed to the Daily Graphic that the demonstration was long overdue. Mr Alhassan said the youth�s anger could result in tension in the Prestea Huni-Valley District which could explode, with rippling negative effects on the NDC. Campaign promises Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Mr Alhassan said the President had failed to honour promises made to them during the campaigns in 2008/2012. Asked what the campaign promises were, he said flag-bearers (2008/12) promised to construct the roads in the town and revamp the Prestea underground mines but that had not been done. Instead of fulfilling the promises, he said a joint military/police task force had been deployed to the town to �harass the citizenry�. Mr Iddrisu said several letters and correspondence had been sent to the seat of government, the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, as well as the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to intervene but so far, they had not received any response. Mr Alhasan said the disagreement between the people of Prestea and Golden Star dated back to the year 2002 when it laid off all the employees with a promise to recall them in two years after a proposed rehabilitation. However, the police claim the youth want the withdrawal of the joint police/military task force from the galamsey- endemic area to enable them to further degrade the environment. The presence of the security, it said, was making it difficult for them to continue their illegal and unfriendly environmental mining activities which were degrading and polluting surface and underground water. Golden Star reacts When contacted, the Executive Vice President and Chief Operation Officer of Golden Star Resources, Mr Daniel Owiredu said the company had not been able to recall the workers because of challenges facing the mining industry. He said �the company understands the situation in and around Prestea, it also understands how the drop in gold price has impacted employment in many jurisdictions around the world.� �GSR is also impacted similarly and have to remain disciplined to manage the low gold price environment. It�s our will and goal to develop Prestea�s underground mines with the support of the community,� he said. Mr Owiredu added: �For that reason, we have allocated a big portion of our available funds to this project. The whole industry is today considering how to keep their pipeline of projects opened with care and utmost responsibility toward safety environment and job creation.� That, he said, could only be achieved if the returns on investment were positive. �There is no guarantee that informal groups can sustain any mining activity over a long period of time for the benefit of our children, shareholders and governments,� he said. �It is in times like these that we should not become irresponsible and do the wrong things; we can only achieve success by being unified in doing things right, with sustainability in mind. It takes real leadership to understand and resolve the issue� he added.