The Central Region’s Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has joined the chorus of voices urging the government to put a ban on small-scale mining in the nation. The business’s public relations officer, Nana Yaw Barima Barnie, claims that the high turbidity levels, which are higher than the system’s initial capability, are making it difficult for the company to purify water.
In an interview, he emphasised the necessity of putting a ban on these operations before the business is compelled to use more potent purifiers in order to render the water fit for human consumption. When asked if he agrees with the Ghana Medical Association’s demands that the President impose an absolute ban to end galamsey, he responds that he does, as the Ghana Water Company’s aims to raise awareness of the issue in order to completely eradicate galamsey on river bodies.
His remarks come in response to the Ghana Medical Association’s call for President Akufo-Addo to declare small-scale mining in its entirety to be immediately prohibited. The group—which included physicians, nurses, environmental health officers, and other allied health professionals—highlighted the concerning increase in respiratory and waterborne illnesses in mining villages in a joint statement.
Speaking about his early years spent in a community in the Ashanti Region, Mr. Barnie added that they could drink straight from the river during their visits to the farms because the water was pure and uncontaminated. Commenting on this, he said that the best way to make sure that no one crosses the rivers to mine is to outlaw all forms of illicit mining. The P.R.O. clarified that the river naturally regenerates and goes back to its clear, colourless form when the water is left undisturbed for a while.
SOURCE: https://dew360.net
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