The Branch Secretary of the Ghana Mine Workers’ Union at Heath Goldfields, Raymond Bimpong Boateng, has strongly pushed back against recent claims by private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu that the company is not operational.
In an emotional media address held to celebrate Heath Goldfields’ payment of all outstanding arrears to former workers of the Bogoso Prestea mines, Boateng set the record straight.
“What the legal practitioner said is not true,” Boateng stated. “The company’s plant has been working over the period they took over.”
Boateng traced the troubles back to the previous operator, Future Global Resources (FGR), which ran into deep financial trouble.
“FGR couldn’t pay their electricity bill, so they were taken off the national grid. That is how the whole thing started,” he explained. The company owed about $2.8 million to the Volta River Authority (VRA) and $1.5 million to GRIDCO. “They had to take them off to push them to pay – but the company couldn’t pay.”
That blackout, he said, marked the beginning of the mine’s downward spiral.
When Heath Goldfields stepped in, they made a clear promise: revive the mine and settle all dues owed to former FGR workers.
“And lo and behold, we’ve been able to honor every payment that is due to former workers,” Boateng said.
The union leader detailed the full list of cleared obligations:
· Eight months of salary arrears
· 40% severance pay – a total of over $9.5 million
· Pension fund contributions
· SSNIT payments
“Yeah, the FGR owed us pension funds, eight months’ salary, severance, and SSNIT – all have been honored,” Boateng confirmed.
For the former workers, gathered to show their appreciation, it was a moment of relief and gratitude.
Boateng painted a vivid picture of how the site has changed in just one year.
“When we first came here, the whole place was bushy. There wasn’t any light. The plant was corroded,” he recalled. “Now, Heath Goldfields has given the plant to contractors. It has been refurbished. The whole place is being tidied up.”
He added with visible pride: “Even at night, you see that this place has turned into Dubai – a very illuminated workplace.”
Employment is also bouncing back. According to Boateng, around 300 workers are now directly employed, and nearly 700 others are working indirectly through local contractors on site.
“Initially, over 1,000 workers and their dependents had nothing. There was no hope for us. But now there is hope,” he said.
That hope extends to the broader community. “The economy in Prestea, Bogoso, and other host communities will boost. All the youth are going to get work to do.”
Boateng made clear that Heath Goldfields is not stopping here. “We want to see the company level with the likes of Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti, and Damang Mines,” he said. One of the company’s plants is currently down, but expansion plans are underway. “We hope that by a year from now, we will be at that level.”
Addressing the company’s Managing Director directly, Boateng expressed heartfelt thanks.
“Today, former workers are very happy that all our toil wasn’t in vain. Heath Goldfields has honored its promise. We are indeed overwhelmed,” he said.
“MD, we thank you. We promise to work with you and your management to uplift Heath Goldfields. Please take us as your children. As a grandpa in the house, always be with us and hear our cry. Anytime we cry to you, you listen.”
He concluded: “MD, thank you – you and your management.”
For hundreds of mining families in Ghana’s Western Region, that promise kept is already changing lives.
In a brief but powerful address following the union’s comments, the Managing Director of Heath Goldfields, Patrick Appiah Mensah, expressed his own gratitude to the workforce – this time for their patience and trust during the company’s difficult turnaround.
“We had an arrangement with the Ghana Mine Workers’ Union, and we gave a road map governing the payment milestones,” Mensah said. “We are happy to report that today, we have satisfied and honored all the commitments.”
According to the MD, Heath Goldfields has so far paid over $22 million in worker entitlements that were left behind by the mine’s previous operators.
“We believe the rest of the workers who have to come and clear themselves – complete some documentation to receive their money – are on their way,” he added.
Mensah extended a direct invitation to any former employees who have not yet completed the process:
“We like to invite all of you to come. It is a great time to come and do the necessary documentation and then receive your money.”
He reaffirmed that Heath Goldfields remains fully committed to settling every legacy debt inherited from the former operator, and thanked the workers for standing with management through the journey to bounce back.
By Ebenezer Atiemo
