Unregulated Sand Mining from the Volta River by the People of Mepe, Battor, Torgorme and Other Places Must Be Stopped Immediately

Felicitations to you from my hamlet, Hon. Dan Botwe (Minister for Local Government and Rural Development) and Dr. Kwaku Afriyie (Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation). I hope this open letter gets to your attention and I hope you will take an expeditious remedial action pursuant to it.

On May 10, 2021, I published an article on www.modernghana.com about unregulated mining of sand from the Volta River at Battor.

Read More: The Unregulated River Sand Mining at Battor Can Pose Geological Challenges for the Community and Its Neighbours If Not Checked

I am drawing your collective attention to the menace because the North and Central Tongu District Assemblies have endorsed this dangerous and unregulated business venture, collecting revenues therefrom regardless of its negative effects on the environment.

North and Central Tongu District Assemblies’ Endorsement of the Unregulated River Sand Mining

Hons. Botwe and Afriyie, I gathered from readers especially those from Battor, Mepe and its environs that the unregulated river sand mining is getting widespread in the North and Central Tongu Districts. Allegedly, the indigenes started extracting sand from the Volta River when they heard that the VRA was planning to dredge the River.

I gathered to my dismay that apart from Battor, other towns such as Mepe, Aveyime, Devime and Torgorme are involved in this illegal and dangerous business venture. My checks also revealed that both the North and Central Tongu District Assemblies collect loading fees from the truck drivers conveying the sand to other places. It is interesting to discover that some of the Chiefs of the affected areas have also endorsed this dangerous business venture, which has negative geological cascading effects on the environment. The District Assemblies and the Chiefs are those allocating the concessions to the sand miners. The Chiefs involved also collect their proceeds from the venture.

My further checks also pointed to the fact that at a festival durbar at Battor sometime ago, Hon.Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa- North Tongu MP cautioned his constituents vehemently against the river sand mining business. However, those involved in the business were not happy with him. There are divided thoughts among members of the river sand mining communities. Whereas some find it a lucrative business venture, others find it as a dangerous geological activity, which has the tendency to destroy some of the settlements along the Volta River. It equally poses danger to aquatic life.

At Mepe, despite protests by a youth group called Adzigo Youth Association (AYA) led by Mr. Amaglo Gakpetor, the river sand mining continues vigorously with the bold endorsement of some Chiefs and the North Tongu District Assembly because of the monetary gains. I also learnt that the Mepe Development Association (MDA) Executives tried without success, to convince the Adzigo Clan of Mepe to stop the unregulated river sand mining.

Honourable Ministers, the river sand may be used to put up houses today in Tongu but later when the river starts to cave-in because of excessive sand extraction from it at different locations, those houses or structures may be submerged. There is the need to engage the District Assemblies, the VRA, the Chiefs, the landowners and the sand miners in the affected communities to put an end to the practice. It is tantamount to digging a grave to entrap and bury oneself in it alive. Perhaps if persuasion fails, force must be applied by dispatching the Marine Police to guard the River.

The Volta River sand mining is mostly done in Tongu even without EPA or VRA permits hence it is clear that the activity is unregulated and it is sadly getting widespread with the concession allocations at Mepe, Battor, Aveyime, Torgorme, Devime and other places outside Tongu such as Asutsuare and Dodi. It is also alleged that there are some Chinese nationals involved in the business and they work with their Ghanaian partners.

One wonders why the North and Central Tongu District Assemblies and some Chiefs would endorse an illegality and a dangerous business as that. I dare say that Volta River sand mining in Tongu and other places is a Galamsey that prospects for sand. You may call it Tongu Galamsey. Must the District Assemblies upon whom certain regulatory powers or duties are cast compromise their regulatory powers because of revenue collection from such a dangerous business? I ask accordingly, mustn’t Caesar’s wife be above suspicion? The endorsement by the District Assemblies and the Chiefs resonates with the Turkish adage that goes, “The forest was shrinking, but the Trees kept voting for the Axe, for the Axe cleverly convinced the Trees that because his handle was made of wood, he was one of them.”

Honourables Botwe and Afriyie, the conveyance of the river sand to different places has damaged badly, the Mepe-Sege Road and the Mepe- Dove Junction Road. Apart from the impact of the heavy weight of the loaded tipper trucks on the roads, water in the loaded sand drips onto the roads daily. This should prompt us that the river sand mining is causing more environmental havocs than the benefits therefrom. Certainly, it will have more destructive effects on the environment in future. The cost of any remedial action will be far more than the revenue the District Assemblies and the traditional authorities are collecting today from the venture. Sadly, other community members who are not involved are already enduring the resultant negative externalities.

I beseech you, therefore, to cause immediate stoppage of the sand mining in the Volta River in the North and North Tongu Districts as well as other places aforementioned.

~Asante Sana ~

Author: Philip Afeti Korto

Email: [email protected]