By Erica Apeatua Addo
Kyekyewere (W/R), November 24, GNA – The Community Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement Manager of Abosso Goldfields Limited (AGL), Mr Abdel-Razak Yakubu, has entreated residents in the host communities to minimise the use of plastics as it was contributing to environmental pollution.
“If you walk or drive along the 33-kilometer road constructed by Gold Fields from Bogoso Junction to Damang in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem and Prestea Huni-Valley Municipalities, you would be disappointed as it had been littered with all kinds of plastic materials.”
Addressing the Water and Sanitation Management Teams (WSMT) in the Mines catchment communities during the end of year meeting at Kyekyewere, Mr Yakubu said pollution of the environment with plastic waste was becoming another menace next to illegal mining.
The plastic waste would block drainage systems and cause flooding anytime it rained, he said, and that areas such as Damang, Kyekyewere, and Huni-Valley should not experience flooding but that was not the case.
Mr Yakubu appealed to the WSMTs at Damang, Nyamebekye, Subri, Aboso, Koduakrom, Mile 10, Kyekyewere, Enimilkrom, Huni-Valley, Amoanda, Togbe Junction and Bompieso communities to intensify education on the impact of plastics on the environment.
“If you don’t need a plastic bag when you go shopping don’t accept it, and those of us who have no choice but to use the plastic bags let us be mindful of how we dispose them off,” he advised.
He said the AGL, through the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation, established the host community WSMT to ensure sustainable access to potable water and sanitation facilities and promote proper waste management and hygiene practices.
Gold Fields has been providing host communities with small town water supply systems, boreholes and hand dug-out wells and tools and also trains them to maintain these facilities while undertaking cleanup exercises in their respective communities.
Mr Michael Appiah Acheampong from the Water and Sanitation Department, Bogoso, expressed appreciation to AGL and called on the Water and Sanitation Committee to continue its voluntary work to guarantee the safety of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene facilities in their communities.
Mr Anthony Kofi Owusu, the Assembly Member of Damang Electoral Area, and a member of the Committee, implored Ghanaians to be passionate about keeping the environment clean and safeguard it for the future generation.
GNA