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Is Offin & Co Dead or Dying?

Feature Article Is Offin  Co Dead or Dying?
FEB 23, 2017 LISTEN

They are dead. The Rivers are dead. There’s no fish in them. A cardiac specialist now an environment minister made the diagnosis. It may sound like a fairytale but that’s the reality on the ground as some of Ghana’s major water bodies---Offin, Ankobra, Pra, Oda, Tano face imminent extinction.

About seventy per cent of the earth’s surface is covered by water. But it appears Man’s reckless activities are having a toll on these water bodies---causing them to die.

Currently, the world has 10 known dead water bodies. Four of them are in the United States, two in Africa (Lake Kivu in DRC and Rivers in Johannesburg South Africa), while, Russia, Spain, Indonesia and Dominica have one respectively. They are dead because of human activities which include waste and rubbish dumped in them, acids and mercury used by factories and illegal mining operators (also known as Galamsey) that line the rivers or sited along their banks.

In short they’re dead because of pollution or contamination caused by human activities.

The good news is that none of the 10 dead rivers or waters is in Ghana, albeit I think the Korle Lagoon could rival Lake Kivu in Democratic Republic of Congo.

But the bad news is it seems we are getting closer to the war zone, health wise. The reason is that most communities in Ghana depend largely on water these bodies. And the people who live along them use these waters for bathing, drinking and cooking.

Now you have to ask yourselves this poignant question: Are we safe?

And I can tell you without a flinch: No we are not safe. We can’t drink them, we can’t swim in them, and we can’t grow food with them.

On Monday the Minister of Environment Science and Technology Dr. Frimpong Boateng kind of raised the threat level. Whilst meeting staff of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) during a working a visit in Accra Dr. Boateng hinted that our water bodies were under siege. He said the country risk losing the very existence of these precious water bodies if radical steps are not taken to resuscitate their lives.

“We know that our rivers are dead, some of them …Some of the rivers are dead—Offin, Ankobra, Pra, Oda, there’s no fish in them, in most part of the rivers. And when you find animals and fish dying from our empty forests and dead rivers it is only a question of time that it will reach the human beings,” Dr. Boateng said.

According to the sector minister if we don’t change our negative practices we would literally kill these rivers prematurely. “We have to change our attitudes, there must be a change like President Akufo-Addo said, we should not be spectators but be active participants.”

“If you look at what is happening to the environment, it is something like a self-inflicted injury

What do they say?
When the last tree dies the .last man dies. And I think it’s about time governments, traditional rulers, opinion leaders, civil society groups as well as the citizenry joined hands to help save our environment from dying.

I’m inclined to think that abuse of environment is equal to abuse of humanity. This is because Man’s survivability largely depends on the environment, which includes fauna and flora, the water bodies, the air etc.

Already the man who spent decades resuscitating and fixing the hearts of Men at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Cardiac Centre in Accra Ghana and elsewhere, has begun the battle to test the pauses and check the heartbeats of these rivers deemed dying.

According to him all the surface and ground water were drying up, thus affecting the survival of the citizens in the surrounding communities. He blamed the trend on the negative attitudes of people, for instance through mining, illegal logging, deforestation, erection of unauthorized masts, had led to many of the challenges facing the country today.

Another issue of concern he pointed out was the use gas and gas stations plus how gas cylinders were used and kept at homes. He suggested that more education would need to be done. Sensitization programmes needed to be carried out among the citizenry on the proper use and handling of products to avoid disaster at homes and within the communities.

“I must stress that the problem is not the gas station alone, it is also about attitude towards safety and improper handling of gas facilities in our homes,” he explained.

He reminded EPA officials that they had a major role to play in leading the crusade of keeping a safe environment.

On his part the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mr. John Pwamang said the agency was set to collaborate with the government to improve the environment through partnership with stakeholders such as the Ghana Standards Authority and Town and Country Planning.

Mr. Pwamang also hinted that the agency was ready to develop five years strategic plan of activities as it awaited the first State of the Nation Address by the President which would give the direction as to how the country would move towards its general development.

Well, I monitored the presidents ‘speech on Tuesday and I don’t think he mentioned anything concerning the environment. Maybe that direction would be given somewhere next week when the budget statement is read.

But the ball is in our court. We have to be mindful of the way we treat out water bodies, we can’t live without them. When we save them we in effect improve our health status and our wellbeing is guaranteed. We will live longer and healthier. This should be a shared responsibility and one must not look up to the governments and agencies to do everything. Enforcement is important. We need our forests, our animals and our environment so let’s protect them.

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