Fighting galamsey in Amansie: Residents appeal to Asantehene to undertake planned tour

Residents of some communities in the Amansie enclave of the Ashanti Region have appealed to the Asantehene , Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to embark on his planned visit to the area to help stop the destruction being caused by galamsey operators.

They said even though the decision by the Asantehene to tour the areas affected by galamsey has sent fear into some chiefs, illegal mining activities especially on river bodies have reached unprecedented heights. They are of the conviction that the King’s tour would help restore normalcy to the environment.

Mercury
More than 30 people who spoke to The Thunder at Manso Keneago, Manso Asaman, Manso Datano, Manso Nkwanta and Manso Adubia this week said their biggest worry is the use of mercury in the illegal gold mining activities.

The development, they noted, have devastating effects on the rivers and people who use the water for domestic and commercial activities.

Otumfuo’s announcement
At the launch of the 2023 Green Ghana Day in Kumasi on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, Otumfuo expressed grave concern about the rate at which galamsey is causing havoc in the Amansie enclave and indicated that chiefs within such communities would have questions to answer .

“I’m not happy with chiefs in the Amansie area where galamsey has taken over the land and I say to them if you sit there and you think that you don’t know what is happening, then you are not fit to be a chief over there.
“ I have gotten reports about what is happening and all the chiefs in that area have to answer about what is happening in their area,” he said adding that he will take a drive around the areas affected by galamsey.

Authorities should act
At Manso Adubia in the Amansie South District, the people said the destruction caused by galamsey has reached alarming levels. “I will appeal to His Majesty to act with dispatch to save the situation,” a resident said.

Fena River
One of the affected rivers is the Fena River in the Amansie Central District. Experts have indicated that the river is heavy in metal pollution. The pollution exceeds the safe drinking water guidelines making the water generally unsafe for drinking and domestic purposes

Offin River
The Offin River has also suffered greatly from illegal miners using Chang Fan. The Ghana News Agency reported that residents of Datano and its environs in the Amansie area called for action to as a matter of urgency stop mining on the Offin River.

The activities of the miners have polluted the river, their source of water, resulting in continuous water shortages in the areas, they said.

Atta Yaw, a farmer, stated that farming had become unattractive in those areas due to lack of water for irrigation.
He explained that the miners drained the river bed to get access to the gold-bearing rocks and sand, creating water shortage in the process.

Also, the highly toxic chemicals like mercury used in the mining process rendered the water poisonous and unfit for human and animal consumption. Fishes in the river are dying as a result whiles the water cannot be used for farming.

GWCL concern
The Thunder reported recently that the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has indicated that all rivers on which the company’s treatment plants are sited have been polluted, especially by alluvial mining.

“What affects us most is alluvial mining, that is the one they do on river bodies. It comes at extra cost to the company which means the use of more chemicals, and also to find other ways of treating the water so that we can meet the standards of drinking water,” the head of public affairs of GWC, Stanley Martey said.