Story By: Nana Ama Sakyiabea Gyapong
River Tano, a river which flows for 400 kilometers from a town called Traa a suburb of Techiman the capital town of Bono East Region does not look like it is going to clear up anytime soon.
Earlier on the GTV’s Breakfast show, scenes from the Tano river indicate that mining activities are still ongoing, which makes the river unhealthy for consumption.
A narration by Kafui Dey said “it is an odd color of a brownish yellow, it is flowing quite rapidly and quite still up ahead”.
He added that looking at the state of the river, it is unhealthy for fishes to swim in there, not good for drinking, cooking or bathing either due to the galamsey activities that find its way into the river.
Galamsey, derived from the phrase “gather them and sell”, is a local Ghanaian term which means illegal small-scale gold mining in Ghana.
Illegal gold mining operations are criticized heavily throughout Ghana due to its detrimental environmental effects on the land and water bodies, which many believe outweigh any possible economic and cultural justifications.
A time will come in Ghana where the country would have to import or buy water due to the many illegal activities that have destroyed the land, hence affecting water bodies.
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