Gov’t must prosecute people diverting Birim River for galamsey — Groups

A Rocha Ghana, the Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey, and the Concerned Citizens of Atewa Landscape, have called on government to urgently prosecute individuals behind the attempted diversion of the Birim River at Apapam in the Eastern Region.

According to them, the act, carried out by a mining firm said to belong to one Emmanuel Gamah, represents not only an assault on Ghana’s natural heritage but also a blatant breach of mining and environmental laws.

The company is reported to have dug trenches and constructed a channel to divert the river at the point where it flows out of the Atewa Forest Reserve.

In a statement dated August 18, the groups said the activity has already destroyed a three-year-old ecological restoration project, including indigenous trees such as mahogany, emire, and ofram.

According to them, officials from the Water Resources Commission, the Minerals Commission, and the National Intelligence Bureau have visited the site and picked up an operative of the mining company for questioning.

“We demand that the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the EPA, the Water Resources Commission, and the Minerals Commission move beyond suspension. Apprehend Mr. Emmanuel Gamah and all involved, and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law for illegal mining, environmental destruction, and cultural desecration,” the groups stressed.

They further want the perpetrators compelled to restore the damaged site, cover all trenches, and face a full-scale investigation into possible complicity of other actors.

“We cannot build a sustainable future with this kind of escalating destruction of all our life-supporting systems like rivers and forests, as exhibited by this egregious action,” the statement added.