Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Freda Prempeh, has appealed to all traditional leaders as well as other key stakeholders in various communities across the country to double their efforts in the fight against galamsey.
She made this call during a press briefing in Accra on Friday, September 29, 2023.
According to her, foreigners who engage in galamsey activities in various communities could not do it without the help of the local people.
“I appeal to our traditional authorities, our major stakeholders, opinion leaders, our assemblies, to ensure that we have a cleaner environment. I believe that if a Chinese group of people come to my constituency, they do not know the area, so they use the traditional leaders and opinion leaders, who are the custodians of our land. So al, this galamsey fight, I believe that the traditional authorities really have a role to play and we should all come on board to support this fight against galamsey,” she stated.
She lamented the devastating impact of illegal mining on Ghana Water Company’s operations, pointing out that consumers would be affected as a result.
“Illegal mining also impacts negatively on the operations of water utility such as our own Ghana Water Company Limited. Significant volumes of raw water abstracted with energy for treatment are released to go to waste as a result of excessive pollution resulting in revenue loss to the company. High volumes of chemicals are needed to treat the polluted water and this has significantly increased the cost of treatment, which may also impact on the tariffs that are paid by consumers,” she said.
