Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr. Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah, has mounted pressure on traditional authorities and metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) in gold mining communities to ensure that they protect water bodies and farmlands from being destroyed by illegal mining activities of Ghanaian and Chinese illegal miners.
“I am appealing to traditional authorities and MMDAs to wake up from their slumber to protect our natural resources (water bodies and farmlands) from destruction by human activities. I want them to end the age-long problem of galamsey which devastating effects were damaging water bodies and farmlands in the country, Dr. Agyemang-Mensah advised.
Fuming with anger, Dr. Agyemang-Mensah stressed the urgent need for Ghanaians to desist from activities that destroy the country’s natural resources, particularly farmlands and water bodies.
According to him, the recent acute shortage of water that has hit parts of the country is as a result of drought and human activities including illegal mining, farming and various pollutions along the water bodies.
The minister argued that galamsey (illegal mining) pollutes and blocks river courses, which makes it extremely difficult for the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to supply water, because they have to buy more chemicals to treat the water.
According to the sector minister, it is the wish of President John Dramani Mahama to have every home supplied with potable water by 2025.
Dr. Agyemang-Mensah was speaking in an interview with journalists when he visited the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Water Treatment Plant recently as part of his tour of the Eastern and Ashanti regions to inspect water projects underway.
He indicated that when the shortage of water hit Nsawam-Adoagyiri, he was tasked by President Mahama to ensure that the situation was brought to under control.
He noted that GWCL and National Security came together to drill boreholes and provide tankers, and also dredge the Densu River to get more water pumped into the system.
According to him, as part of proactive measures to safeguard the problem, government has provided water tankers to supply water to more critical institutions such as hospitals and schools.
Dr. Agyemang-Mensah disclosed to the journalists that he was on his way to Kwahu Kotosu, Kumawu and Konongo in the Eastern and Ashanti regions to inspect ongoing projects christened; “The three case,” at the cost of about USSD$236,000,000, which will be commissioned by the end of 2016.
He thus called on Ghanaians to take responsibility to preserve water bodies and farmlands, so that “we will always have access to good drinking water, because water is life.”
Dr. Agyemang-Mensah revealed that currently, his outfit was producing 500,000 gallons of water daily, although it cannot be compared to the 1,000,000 the GWCL used to produce daily.
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