Effutu Traditional Council urges traditional rulers in galamsey areas to join fight against the menace

The Effutu Traditional Council led by Neenyi Ghartey VII, Paramount Chief of Effutu State has emphasised the need for traditional authorities with illegal mining “galamsey” going on in their towns and villages to support government’s fight against galamsey.

Addressing the media at the Council's meeting at Akroful, a community in the Effutu Municipality, Neenyi Ghartey, described as “extremely alarming,” the massive destruction of plants and pollution of rivers and streams through galamsey.

“As Traditional rulers, we owe it a duty to ourselves and posterity to protect our forests and water bodies since government can not fight the menace alone without our involvement as custodians of our areas.”

He expressed concern about the use of mercury and cyanide by illegal miners in their operations, causing life-threatening health challenges to many people.

He said river bodies and streams were now rendered unfit for drinking and a typical example, according to him, was the River Ayensu flowing from Apepem in the Eastern Region through Agona Kwanyarko to Effutu which was their source of drinking water.

It was for this reason that the water treatment station at Agona Kwanyarko with high turbidity had been shut down, resulting in prolonged water shortage which was likely to disrupt academic activities of the University of Education, Winneba.

“The Ghana Water Company is doing all it could to ensure that we get potable and clean water for drinking and for other things; however, using more chemicals to treat the water will to a large extent have effect on us.”

"We are not happy about the ecological degradation by galamsey which is also linked to various adverse health defects including neurological disorders, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular issues and congenital defects.

GNA