Accra, May 25, GNA – The National African Peer Review Mechanism Governing Council (NAPRM-GC) has called on the Government to take “decisive, sustained, and corruption-free action” against illegal mining to safeguard the country’s water bodies and future water security.
The Council said the destruction of rivers and forests through galamsey had become a national governance crisis that required urgent and coordinated action beyond periodic enforcement exercises.
In a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency to mark Africa Day 2026, the Council warned that Ghana risked severe water scarcity if pollution of rivers and streams continued unchecked.
The statement, titled: “Africa Day 2026: When Gold Costs Us Our Water,” said more than 60 per cent of Ghana’s water bodies had suffered pollution from illegal small-scale mining as of September 2024.
It said the Ghana Water Company Limited had already recorded turbidity levels of 14,000 NTU in some water bodies, far above the 2,000 NTU required for adequate treatment.
“A nation that exports gold may soon be forced to import water. The irony is as bitter as it is tragic,” it said.
The Council called for water body protection to be treated as a matter of national security and urged the authorities to strengthen legal and institutional frameworks governing small-scale mining.
It also advocated stronger enforcement insulated from political interference and sanctions against persons responsible for the destruction of rivers regardless of their status or connections.
The statement urged the Government to invest in alternative livelihoods for communities dependent on illegal mining to prevent the anti-galamsey fight from worsening poverty.
The Council said illegal mining had evolved from a localised regulatory challenge into a nationwide emergency affecting public health, agriculture, education and the rights of women and children.
It noted that polluted water bodies had been linked to chronic diseases, including kidney failure, birth defects, and cancer in some mining communities.
The statement also referenced concerns raised by the Chairman of the The Church of Pentecost that water pollution in mining communities had affected traditional baptism practices, forcing some congregations to use synthetic rubber pools.
“As the National African Peer Review Mechanism Governing Council, we exist to do something that is often politically uncomfortable: to hold a mirror to our nation’s governance and demand honest answers,” it said.
The statement called for water governance to become a central issue in Ghana’s second-generation African Peer Review Mechanism assessment.
It appealed to traditional authorities, civil society organisations, religious bodies, the media and citizens to support efforts to protect rivers and other water bodies.
The African Union’s 2026 theme: “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063,” should serve as a binding commitment for Ghana to prioritise water security and environmental protection, the statement said.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
25 May 2026
Reporter: Edward Acquah