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The Chief of Osino in the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area of the Eastern Region, Osabarima Otu Darko IV, has suggested to the government to fully involve traditional rulers in mining communities in the fight against illegal mining popularly called galamsey.

Any other measures without chiefs, he indicated, would be a total failure.

Osabarima Darko said this when the Deputy Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Amidu Issahaku Chinnia, called on him at his Palace at Osino last Friday.

The deputy minister was on a one-day working visit to the area to acquaint himself with the level of environmental degradation and pollution of water bodies due to the effects of illegal mining.

He visited the Osino Water Treatment Plant in the Fanteakwa South District and the Grunwater Fos System at Abomosu in the Atiwa West District where it provides water to 300 households.

He was accompanied by the Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Clifford Braimah, the Chief Executive Officer of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Dr Worlanyo Kwadjo Siabi, the Executive Director of Water Resources Commission, Adjoa Painstsil and the Chief Executives for Fanteakwa South and Atiwa West, Ernest Ofosu and Seth Asante respectively.

According to Osabarima Darko, although the government had taken various measures such as the involvement of the security agencies to fight the illegal miners, that could not hold water because traditional rulers, the custodians of the land, had not been actively involved.

Chiefs knew illegal miners

He explained that it was the chiefs in the mining areas who knew the illegal miners staying among other people in the mining towns, communities, villages and even hamlet deep in the forest.

Such chiefs, Osabarima Darko stressed, could point out the illegal miners without fear for them to be apprehended to face the full rigours of the law.

He pointed out that even the chiefs were not contacted when mining licences were given to miners to operate in their communities and that had made the illegal miners to operate with impunity.

Miners not covering pits

What was sad, he stated, was illegal miners not covering pits left behind resulting in innocent deaths.

"Although the government has all the resources and personnel such as the police and military to keep the illegal miners at bay, it never succeeded, but if chiefs are actively involved, the problem will be resolved", Osabarima Darko stated.

The Deputy Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Amidu Issahaku Chinnia, who expressed disgust at the level of environmental degradation and the pollution of water bodies said although they had been receiving reports about the situation, they had to visit the devastated areas for first hand information to see how best to collaborate with all relevant stakeholders to reverse the situation.

Water treatment rise

According to him, the level of pollution of water had made treatment to go up six times and the cost could not be passed on to consumers.

That, Mr Chinnia indicated, had financially affected GWCL as such it could not properly play its role by providing safe drinking water to other communities.

Collaboration
The deputy minister, therefore, said it was in that direction that the ministry had to collaborate with the chiefs and the security agencies to minimise the effects of the galamsey activities in order to protect water bodies.
He therefore appealed to traditional rulers, the people in the mining communities and security services to support government to fight illegal mining and eliminate illegal miners in those areas.
The Managing Director of GWCL, Clifford Braimah, said the current situation had made it necessary for the review of the cost of water treatment but that had to be put on hold for years and that had negatively affected GWCL.