The Minister for Defense, Dominic Nitiwul, has bemoaned that illegal miners popularly known as galamseyers have virtually killed off the tributaries of the Birim river.
He said they have diverted the river into ponds that they have created to wash their gold, leaving the river bed dried.
The Minister made this known at a press conference held at the Information Ministry in Accra on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.
He noted that a responsible mining company will sink boreholes.
He stated that mining companies should be able to construct boreholes for their communities and themselves.
Responding to concerns on the burning of Galamsey excavators, he said “Members of the Ghana Armed Forces don’t enjoy seeing equipment being destroyed.”
Today, he said, people who are living by water bodies are compelled to buy water to drink or wash their things.
If government doesn’t take proactive steps, the entire southern belt of Ghana will loose its water in the next three to five years because people have realized the craze for money is more important than human lives.
By Melvin Tarlue