By Albert Allotey
Accra, Oct. 09, GNA – The Our Water Our Right Coalition (OWORAC), a civil society organisation has called on Ghanaian authorities, to take decisive actions on ending illegal mining activities, locally known as ‘galamsey’ in the country.
It said, “OWORAC stands in solidarity with Ghanaians in protesting the devastating impact of illegal mining activities on water bodies, farmlands, aquatic and marine life, and human health.
“We particularly affirm that access to clean and safe drinking water is an internationally recognised human right, therefore, we call on the Ghanaian authorities, to take decisive actions to end this ecological assault”.
The CSO made the call in a joint statement signed by 10 representatives from civil society organisations from Ghana, Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, and Senegal.
They are Geoffrey Kabutey Ocansey, from Revenue Mobilisation Africa (Ghana), Omeme Gaslin, Génération Eau Claire (Gabon), Akinbode Oluwafemi, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (Nigeria), Betty Abah, Centre for Children’s Health Education, Orientation and Protection (Nigeria), and Pascal Bekono for the African Centre for Advocacy (Cameroon).
The rest are Anne Maine, Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya, Chief Ewuokem Godson, SYNATEEC SYNDICATE (Cameroon), Sani Baba, Citizens Free Service Forum (Nigeria), Amaka Nweke, Network of Water Rights Initiative (Nigeria), and Oumar Ba, Confédération de Syndicats Autonomes du Sénégal.
The statement said it was no news that illegal mining operations utilised dangerous chemicals like mercury and cyanide, which contaminated water systems and farming soils, posing a grave danger to public health.
However, there were increasing sad stories of suffering in the news of Ghanaians affected by the consequences of “this reckless extractivism,” it said.
The statement pointed out that water sources such as the Densu, Birim, Pra, Ankobra, and Tano rivers, which previously served as important sustaining utilities for many frontline communities and households, are now toxic streams, exposing helpless people who had no choice but to continue drinking from them to dire health consequences.
“The pollution of these rivers has destroyed aquatic life and rendered soils infertile, stripping local fish and crop farmers of their livelihoods and slashing agricultural productivity,” it stated.
“Pathetically in the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai District, an illegal mining hub in Western Ghana, medical experts have established a connection between the menace and troubling reproductive health issues after conducting investigations that detected the presence of heavy metals such as cyanide and mercury in the placentas of pregnant women, resulting in congenital disabilities in their newborns,” the statement said.
It noted that; “So pervasive is the trouble of ‘galamsey’ that the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) had to shut down some of its water treatment plants that supply potable water to communities, leading to increased water scarcity and hardship”.
It said the unfortunate situation had affected water tariffs upwardly, while experts’ analyses of the situation predicted a grim future, where Ghana might face the need to import water by 2030 if ‘galamsey’ persisted unchecked”.
Yet, despite the troubling outlook, the state’s response was repression rather than resolution.
The statement urged the Government of Ghana to declare a state of emergency on all mining activities in and around water bodies as directed by the constitution of the Republic, instead of criminalising people for speaking up against the threat of ‘galamsey’ to their lives.
“We insist on immediate, responsible action to halt the ongoing poisoning of public health and collapse of the source of livelihood for the many people who live in communities around these water bodies,” it added.
The OWORAC called on Ghanaian authorities to commence remediation of impacted waters and lands and to enforce stringent regulations that would compel mining actors to adopt sustainable and responsible practices.
It also urged environmental authorities to hold those responsible for the menace accountable, saying these steps were crucial for safeguarding the human rights of communities and ensuring an adequate standard of living, health, and well-being for every Ghanaian, as they rightly deserve.
GNA