Mrs. Hannah Owusu-Koranteng, Director of Training and Research, Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining, has expressed regret that surface mining was destroying the environment and the country's agricultural development. She said the activity was destroying farm lands, forests reserves and water bodies, which people depended on for their survival. Mrs. Owusu-koranteng was delivering a lecture on "Mining Development and National Investment," at a four-day national workshop on mining laws, prospects and impact of mining on development for media personnel and opinion leaders from the Wassa area, at Tarkwa. The workshop was aimed at strengthening the capacity of the participants to enable them to ensure that government safeguarded the rights people in mining communities and protected the environment. It was also ensure that media personnel and affected mining communities appreciated each other during mining investment Mrs. Owusu-Koranteng said she did not support the idea that surface mining should be sustained because it was creating jobs and noted that it was rather depriving people of their source of livelihood resulting in rural-urban drift and its social effects on the people. She said surface miners dumped rock waste in the communities and polluted water bodies with acid compelling some people to desert such areas with its socio-economic problems and the call for the affected persons to be resettled. Some of the participants sharing their experiences on surface mining said compensation paid to affected people by mining companies was insignificant citing that Newmont Ghana limited paid 79,000 cedis for every cocoa tree that was cut down. Others also suggested to government to sensitise the people on the prospects and impact of surface mining on development before allowing mining companies to operate on their lands.Source: GNA