Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Minister for Water and Sanitation has given a strong cautioned to those doing illegal mining activities along river bodies by pollution to shunned from the act and saves our waters and environment or face a punitive punishment in line with the laws of the country.
According to the minister, mining a long the river banks is an evil and a threat yo the lives and the future of the citizenry, hence must stop as a matter of urgency.
The Minister gives the cautioned at the weekends in the Ashanti region when she with Mr. Clifford Braimah, the Managing Director of Ghana Water Company tours some water bodies at the mining communities in the Atwima Mponua district of Ashanti region to have a first hand information of the state water to ascertain the level of destructions in the areas.
According to her, the president and for that matter government is the only custodian of our mineral resources, and for that matter its important every patriotic citizen help to protect our heritage which are the forest ,environment and water bodies.
She hinted that, there there would be a taskforce in every town and villages because the residents are very well aware of the whereabouts of the illegal miners, and could lead the various security agencies which include the Police, Military and National Security to arrest anyone finds culprit irrespective of your status being a foreigner of citizen of the country.
The minister was of the view that in protecting the water bodies the government would be able to provide clean water and environment to the citizenry towards achieving SDG goal 6.
Mr Clifford Braimah, the Managing Director of Ghana Water Company, stated that, the continuous destructions of water bodies through illegal mining adversely affecting the lives of the people and increase the cost of the treatment of clean water for the people because of the cost of Aluminum Sulphate use to undertaken the treatment.
He stated that the volume of water supply to the people reduced because about 50% of the water is throw out for high level of senility instead of the usual 5%
He stressed that managing of their machines also becomes a problem which always compelled them to stop and maintain them regularly.
He disclosed that, the cost of treatment is affecting them and reduce production, because anytime the machines are stop for maintenance people would not have water to drink while the cost is in multiple, and for that matter can not treat illegal mining as a joke.
