Oda (E/R)-Ghana, June 01, GNA – Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, says the Ministry would not relent in its efforts to protect water bodies against the activities of illegal miners.
The Government would play its part to clamp down on the menace since the pollution of water bodies had increased the cost of producing potable water at the treatment plants.
Madam Dapaah said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency when she led a high-powered delegation to visit the Ghana Water Company treatment plant at the Birim Central District at Akyem Oda in the Eastern Region.
She noted that the encroachment on water bodies’ catchment areas posed a serious threat to the survival of the Birim Dam, which provided drinking water for residents of Oda and its environs.
For the galamsey menace to be minimised or stopped totally, it would take collective effort and commitment of everyone to ensure its success by winning the fight against illegal mining.
Madam Dapaah re-affirmed the commitment of the Government to protecting the dam from further pollution.
As part of her visit, the Minister, accompanied by officials of the Birim Central Municipal Assembly, later visited the Oda Market and lorry station to interact with transport operators and traders.
She appealed to them to readily volunteer information to the police to fight the galamsey menace.
She cautioned that the continued presence of illegal miners could create a problem for the treatment plant and said when that happened the whole of the Birim Central District would live without water.
