Pipo for Ghana don vex once again ova illegal mining wey dem call ‘galamsey’ for di kontri.
Individuals and companies bin dey mine gold and oda minerals for many towns across di kontri.
But as dem dey do di mining (galamsey), dem also dey pollute water bodies.
For di kontri today, almost all di rivers and streams don turn chocolate colour sake of illegal mining.
Some of di miners don dey mine on top di water bodies – some too bin dey mine close to di rivers.
For odas wey dey mine inside forest reserves, dis miners bin dey channel di waste water wit all di mercury and oda chemicals into di rivers and streams.
Na so all di rivers don contaminate.
Di water resources commission as at 2017, don tok say “ova 60% of dis water bodies dey contaminated, mostly for di south-western part of di kontri wia illegal mining don dey happun all ova di place.”
Goment launch fight against galamsey in 2017
President Nana Akufo-Addo bin tok at di time say im dey put im presidency on di line to fight illegal mining.
Im tok at di time say goment gatz to do “di right tin”.
“I don tok for cabinet wia I for tok am here for di first time say I dey put my presidency on di line for dis mata,” di president tok for one workshop on galamsey wit traditional rulers from across di kontri.
Di lands and natural resources ministry as well as di environment ministry now launch wetin dey call #operationVangard and #operationGalamstop.
Dis na operation wia soldiers and security personnel dey involve wey dey gat to go into communities and stop illegal mining.
Ova di period, dis task force don arrest some illegal miners including foreigners wey dey also destroy mining equipment dem dey seize for dia operations.
But dis neva stop illegal mining as many pipo wey dey engage for di practice na big men and oda politicians.
Politicians and oda big pipo dey accused of illegal mining
Minister for environment at di time Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng wey be di chairman of di interministerial committee on illegal mining (IMCIM), don write one report wey show say goment pipo bin dey involved for di illegal act.
Inside dat 36-page report wia im title, “report on di work of di interministerial committee on illegal mining – di way forward”, di former minister allege say some officials, party pipo and private citizens bin dey involved.
Im also mention say some of di pipo also dey di seat of goment.
Di minister don present di report to di president but afta one year, di president neva take action, wey im appoint anoda minister to take ova di environment ministry.
Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng in March 2023, tok say dey remove am from im position sake of dis mata.
“Pipo inside di party and goment bin plan di scheme to remove me from goment, na so afta I comot dat ministry, di illegal miners don return to di forest and waterbodies,” di former environment minister tok for one interview wit di state broadcaster.
Afta di report wia im present to di president don leak for public and environment groups and oda pipo bash di presidency say dem dey condone illegal mining, di president refer di report to di police CID say make dey investigate.
Afta more pressure from civil society groups, di attorney general don write to di police CID say di presidency don “dismiss di galamsey report as hearsay”.
“Di allegations wey di former minister bin make na bare without basis for any criminal charge against di pipo wia im name for dat report,” di attorney general Godfred Dame tok.
Di attorney general now instruct di police say make dey discharge all di goment officials wey professor Frimpong-Boateng been mention inside im report.
Ova time, di Ashanti king Otumfuo Osei Tutu II don para some goment officials and politicians wey don dey engage for illegal mining.
Only last week, di king don de-stool three chiefs for di Ashanti region say dem don engage diaserf for illegal mining wey pollute di waterbodies and forests.
On 26 August, im tok say di traditional council don find say di three chiefs, Nana Awua Gyau, Nana Osei Kwadwo and Nana Tabiri Gyandah dey guilty.
“You don destroy di town wit di illegal mining una dey (allegedly) dey do. I even report una to di national investigation bureau three months ago wia dem confam say you pipo destroy di town,” di Ashanti king tok.
Im add say “if I allow una to stay, you go completely destroy di town.”
Di king tok say im go make di police arrest oda chiefs wia still dey involved for illegal gold mining.
Pipo bin praise di king say im don dey take action unlike di goment.
In 2019 goment bin deport one Chinese businesswoman wey bin dey involved in illegal gold mining for Ghana.
Im name na Aisha Huang.
Many pipo and groups don blast goment say im deport di woman instead say dey go prosecute am for court.
Pipo at di time allege say Aisha Huang bin dey collaborate wit pipo for goment to do di illegal mining.
Afta dey don deport am; Aisha Huang in 2022, don sneak enta di kontri again from one neighbouring kontri thru land border, according to immigration officials.
But afta dey arrest am again together wit oda Chinese illegal miners, goment decide say dey now go prosecute am.
Ma so afta trial, di court don finally jail am for four years for illegal mining.
Di court also bin fine am $4,000.
Impact of ‘galamsey’
According to research wey di chemistry department of di university of cape coast don do, many of di kontri river bodies dey polluted wit heavy metals sake of illegal mining.
Professor DK Essuman wey bin lead di research for di department tok say di “current water treatment system fit to only pump, chlorinate and distribute water but im neva fit to deal wit di heavy metals wey dey inside di water; dis na ogbonge health risk.”
Associate professor for di Kwame Nkrumah University of science and technology, Paul Sampene Ossei tok say dem don dey find say pickins wey dey born for areas wey galamsey dey happun dey get deformities.
Common metals wey di miners dey use for dis areas na mercury, cyanide, lead and odas wia dis tins dey enta di blood stream of di miners and di residents for dis communities.
Professor Ossei wey also be consultant pathologist for di Komfo Anokye teaching hospital explain say “we don dey find say some places, di babies wey dey born gat dia legs forming around dia chest, neck and stomach.”
“If pregnant woman dey live for galamsey area, im pickin go definitely get deformities if dey born am.”
At di moment, di Ghana water company wey gat to process water from river bodies and supply to homes across di kontri, don dey suffer to purify di water.
Some of di equipment don scatter wey di company now require plenty moni to buy alum, chlorine and oda chemicals to treat di water sake of di illegal mining don pollute di rivers well well.
For di central region for example, di water company don cut down dia supply to residents for cape coast, elimina and oda areas by 30%.
According to dem, “di pumps for Sekyere Hemang and Daboase for di central region and western region no fit to pump water from di Pra river for treatment sake of plenty sand don enta di water from illegal gold mining.”
Also sake of di turbidity of di water don rise, di Ghana water company dey go beyond say de go use aluminium sulphate (alum) wey dey now dey use chemicals wey strong well well, like polymer, dis dey increase di cost of treatment.
According to di water company, between 2008 and 2023, dey don spend GH¢4m ($257k) to replace pumps wia suppose last 25 years.
Ghana fit import water by 2030
For di western region, di main water bodies wey don dey polluted by illegal gold mining na river Pra, river Daboase and river Ankabra.
For di Eastern region, di main water body wey dey call di Birim river also dey contaminated.
For di greater Accra region, di Densu river wey carry water for di western part of Accra also don dey contaminated wit industrial waste and farming activities.
Di black Volta for di Upper west region also dey polluted; wey im force di Ghana water company to get new treatment plant to produce safe water for pipo to drink.
Di public relations manager for di water company bin tok say for di Ashanti region, di Enu river wia don dey serve residents for Konongo dey polluted wit galamsey activities.
For di Northern region, wetin dey contaminate di Nawumi river, na sand winning activities, wey e don change di colour of di water.
Di situation according to oga Stanley Martey dey worse for di Bono Ahafo region wia residents don “block di channel of di river for some places wey di water no fit flow to some areas.”
“All di tributaries into di Volta region dey polluted – di black Volta, di white Volta all don dey polluted sake of alluvial mining.”
Di only water body wey dey ‘less contaminated’ according to di Ghana water company na di Volta river.
“Even di Volta river, pipo don dey do fish farming on top of di water wit organic feed and droplets wey don dey breed water hyacinths and oda aquatic weeds wey don dey change di colour of di water,” oga Stanley tok for one interview on local station, TV3.
Wit all dis water bodies wey don spoil, and di increase in di cost of equipment and chemicals to treat dem, sabi pipo tok say Ghana fit to run out of safe water, soon.
Oga Stanley Martey don add say “research don show say wit di rate of di contamination of our water bodies from illegal mining and oda tins, if tins no change, we go dey import water into Ghana.”
Sabi pipo also tok say Ghana dey far from achieving di sustainable development goal (SDG) goal 6 wey dey provide say all kontris gat to supply dia pipo wit clean and affordable water by 2030.
