Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, has set the ball rolling in his quest to fight and win the war against illegal mining activities in the country.
On Monday, March 17, the “Action Man”, nicknamed by his admirers launched the popular manifesto pledge of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) dubbed the “Blue Water Initiative”.
This flagship program, is dedicated to restoring the health of Ghana’s rivers and water bodies, which have been severely impacted by constant pollution and serious environmental degradation.
The Blue Water Initiative, was launched by the Minister at the Forward Operating Base of Naval Command at Ezinlibo in the Jomoro Municipality of Western Region.
A region which has become an obvious target of illegal miners, whose activities continue to threaten farm lands, the vegetative cover, food crops, commercial mining businesses among other genuine sources of livelihoods.
The first batch of four hundred and sixty (460) Ghanaian youth, largely individuals drawn from Western and Western North Regions, have been recruited to undergo a one month-long training session before assuming the role of River Guards to protect the country’s water bodies.
These trainees, will play a crucial role in safeguarding Ghana’s water bodies and ensuring sustainability of the initiative.
Addressing the hundreds of beneficiaries assembled at the launch of the program, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah indicated that the exercise forms part of government’s effort to combat illegal mining activities in Ghana and ultimately address pressing issues such as river pollution, land degradation, and unsustainable water usage in the country.
“The imperative for urgent action, has never been more pressing. There is a term they use , they call it urgency of now. People don’t want us to say it, but this is crisis of our life time”.
The Blue Water Initiative, he underscored, has several key objectives, including restoring river health and biodiversity, rehabilitating degraded riverine habitats and ecosystems to promote biodiversity, promoting sustainable water management and encouraging sustainable water use and conservation practices through community-based initiatives.
“At the heart of why we are here is the Blue Water Initiative and at the heart of this initiative lies the Blue Water program which aims to train this year alone 2000 dedicated individuals across the country to protect our valuable water bodies. The water guards will serve as the front line defenders for our rivers, ensuring that water resources remain a source of life, livelihood, prosperity for generations to come”
The initiative, he revealed, comprises of four main components of specialized task force, detailed to monitor and protect riverine ecosystems, efforts to rehabilitate degraded riverine habitats and ecosystems, collaborative projects with local communities to promote sustainable water use and conservation practices and scientific studies and innovation to inform policy and practice in river management.
“The responsibilities of the Blue Water Guards are paramount in the fight against illegal mining especially for our water bodies.
The focus will be, monitoring river health. They will identify areas of concern and report illegal activities for timely intervention. They will help our established institutions to fight and prevent pollution, collaborating with our communities.
They will work hand in hand with local communities, traditional authorities and stakeholders to ensure the success of these vital initiatives. Let us reflect on the alarming termedity levels of our rivers”
Western Regional Minister Joseph Nelson, who delivered an address, expressed disquiet about the unfortunate growing phenomenon of illegal mining activities in the region.
“The Western Region holds one of the three (3) water systems in the country and has the highest concentration of water polluted by illegal small scale mining activities.
The Ghana Water Company Limited has had to shut down its Bonsar water treatment site in Tarkwa due to heavy pollution of bodies due to illegal mining activities”
According to him, “The plant, which produces seventy five percent (75%) of water for Tarkwa and the surrounding communities was forced to shut down operations after efforts to treat the heavily polluted water were practically impossible”
Meanwhile the Forward Operating Base at Ezinlibo where the Blue Water Initiative was launched, is the largest Naval Base in Ghana, strategically located at Jomoro to protect the country’s oil installations scattered in the area, bolster Ghana’s naval capacity to combat piracy, illegal fishing among other transnational crimes within the subregion of West Africa.
By: Zambaga Rufai Saminu | Metrotvonline.com | Ghana
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