Story by: News Desk
In efforts to halt illegal mining in the various water bodies in the country, the Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Dr. Clifford Braimah on government to equip and retool the Water Resources Commission to play it’s critical role in the fight against ‘galamsy‘ in the country.
According to him, the Water Resources Commission is a critical agency, whose mandate cannot be ignored in the country’s quest to tackle the numerous ‘galamsy’ in our water bodies.
Therefore there is the need to engage the Water Resources Commission in the process of licensing small scale mining in the country to streamline and regulate mining especially in the water bodies.
Dr. Braimah made this call in an interview with Samson Lardy Anyenini on NewsFile on Saturday, 17th September, 2022.
This he said has not been possible because the Commission is currently under-resourced, hence the need for it to be retooled.
indicating that, “for us in Ghana Water Company, we take the resource itself to produce water for citizens. But we do not have the role or the power to monitor the water bodies. It is the Water Resources Commission.
In all these activities that we’re carrying out, at what position have we placed the Water Resources Commission? Have you gone to the Water Resources Commission to look at even the offices they work in?”, Dr Braimah quizzed.
He therefore advocated the involvement of the Water Resources Commission in the fight against illegal mining in Ghana.
The involvement of the Water Resources Commission he explained will strengthen the inter-agency efforts being employed to deal with the menace.
“I think that for us to be able to fight this menace, Water Resources Commission must be strengthened adequately to give them the necessary power to do what they have to do, and then resource them adequately”, he emphasized.
The call by the GWCL boss adds to the recent recommendations from stakeholders on how to deal with ‘galamsey’ in the country.
Over the last couple of weeks, the menace of ‘galamsey’ has been a topical issue, following the re-emergence of galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang.
The Chinese lady, who was reportedly deported from Ghana in 2018, was rearrested in Kumasi on September 5.
Her latest arrest rekindled the conversation about illegal mining and the complicity of government officials in the act.
But reacting to these rife allegations, government has consistently debunked them, insisting that it is committed to dealing with the menace.
Meanwhile, the ‘galamsey’ queen, Aisha Huang, is currently in prison custody, after she and her accomplices were denied bail on Thursday, September 15.
Source: www.thenewindpendentonline.com
