By Michael Kofi Kenetey
The Chiefs, Assembly members, and opinion leaders of Boti, Obusumasua, Asiafo, Opersika, Akorwu-Bana, among others, in the Yilo Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region, have held a meeting to serve as a strong warning to nomadic herdsmen destroying their only source of drinking water, River Ponpon, and their farmlands to as a matter of urgency vacate their lands.
Boti, Obusumasua, Opersika, Asiafo, and Akorwu-Bana are some of the major farming communities in the Yilo Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region. A few weeks ago, GBC Sunrise FM received information that nomadic herdsmen have invaded the farmlands in these communities and destroyed their only source of drinking water and their farmlands.
During a visit to the area, our correspondent met the opinion leaders of the various communities and some community members who were having a meeting in order to find ways to evacuate the herdsmen from their area. A follow-up to the farmlands and the riverside found that the herdsmen and their cattle have destroyed the river to the extent that the water cannot be used for domestic purposes.
An interaction with one of the herdsmen revealed that some of the cattle belong to one Alhaji Braimah in Koforidua Zongo. The opinion leaders noted that they reported the issue to the Obawale and the Asesewa Police Station, but their efforts yielded no results.
They accused the nomadic herdsmen of setting ablaze their farmlands and the Boti forest. They also accused the police officers at Obawale and Asesewa of taking money from the said Alhaji Braimah and other cattle owners, adding that the police were in bed with the cattle owners, hence their refusal to act on the issue.
In an interview with GBC Sunrise FM, the Assembly Member of Boti Electoral Area, Abraham Narh, noted that if nothing is done about the issue, it will lead to the outbreak of waterborne diseases as the people have no other alternative but to use the polluted river for domestic purposes.
The Community Chief of Boti Kornya, Dadematsɛ, Stephen, Osei and some of the farmers pleaded with government through the MCE of Yilo Krobo, Eric Tetteh, and the MP for Yilo Krobo, Albert Tetteh Nyarkotey, to help them evacuate the animals and the herdsmen from their farmlands.
The Environmental Officer of Klo-Agogo in the Yilo Krobo Municipality, John Mensah Mordo, also spoke about the challenge the herdsmen and their cattle are giving to his work as an environmental officer and called for their immediate evacuation.
The Assistant Environmental Officer, Francis Joseph Aboagye, noted that it is the responsibility of every Ghanaian to protect the nation’s natural resources, such as rivers, forests, and lands, among others, and therefore they will not sit idle for one cattle owner to destroy people’s lives and livelihoods.