Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has bemoaned the worsening state of the Pra River as a result of the illegal activities of illegal miners.
The Pra River serves as a source of drinking water for residents of Sekondi-Takoradi.
The minister, who was shocked upon seeing the current state of the Pra River, remarked “Everybody who drinks water from this source should help fight the menace.”
She has, therefore, described illegal miners or galamsey operators undertaking their illegal activities in the Pra River and other river bodies as enemies to the country.
According to the minister, she is convinced that because of the activities of the illegal miners, the Pra River has been left without the presence of any aquatic life.
Madam Dapaah expressed her frustrations when she visited some water treatment plants in the Western Region as part of her two days working visit.
She indicated that the activities of illegal miners have increased the cost of treating water for domestic and industrial use.
“When this happens, it is the customers who have to pay more money as water bills,” she disclosed.
She, therefore, appealed to the leaders and residents of the communities along the rivers, particularly the Pra River, to complement government’s effort in fighting the menace.
She told the residents that the government is in total support of legal mining because it is an avenue for employment opportunities for the youth.
“Government is not against all legal mining which has been going on in the country for over 200 years,” she stated.
She noted, “Alluvial mining and community mining that are done underground are harmless to water bodies and this is what we should encourage.”
The Municipal Chief Executive of Prestea Huni Valley, Isaac Dasmani, also appealed to members of the various communities to collaborate with the municipal task force and mining committee members in their work to help protect the water bodies.
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