By Razak Baba
The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah has expressed shock about high-level of pollution of the Offin River perpetrated by illegal miners.
This Minister expressed shock when she led officials of the Ministry and Ghana Water Company Limited on a visit and experience at first hand the level of destruction caused by illegal miners to forest reserves at Abompeh in the Atwima Mponua District of Ashanti.
Razak Baba reports that the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah and her entourage viewed the highly polluted Offin River on a steel bridge leading to Abompe and adjoining Communities in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region.
The visit was occasioned by the recent arrest of illegal miners within that area by a task force put together by the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners in collaboration with the District Assembly.
The tasked force, during a two day operation seized and destroyed 300 Chanfans used by the illegal miners in their nefarious activities.
From the steel bridge, the Minister saw the level of destruction of the forest reserve close to the river and abandoned equipment used by the illegal miners.
At a mini-durbar at Bedabour, which was attended also by residents of adjoining Communities, the representative of the Chief of Bedabour, Nana Akwasi Yeboah commended the District Chief Executive and the taskforce for their swift response in apprehending the illegal miners for destroying water bodies, farmlands and forest reserves in the area.
The District Chief Executive for Atwima Mponua, Mr. Isaac Kofi Marfo, pledged to ensure that water bodies and forest reserves within his jurisdiction are protected and called for the support of the Communities.
The Managing Director of Ghana Water Company Limited, Ingineer Dr. Clifford Braimah said the activities of illegal miners, were a threat to “quality water production and supply from the Company’s water treatment plants due to the increasing turbidity level in the country’s water bodies”.
The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah said, “polluted water bodies cost the State huge sums of money to make it potable and called for effective collaboration among stakeholders to defeat the nation wreckers.”