No Comment Necessary

IT has been said, in assessing the importance of the media in the modern world, that “one picture is worth a thousand words.”

The pictures on this page prove the truthfulness of that assertion.

PICTURE 1 shows the River Li in China. It flows beautifully down its course, attracting tourists who sail on its celestial waters, in luxurious boats.

PICTURE 2 shows the River Prah in Ghana. Galamsey operators, using excavators and chan-fang machines mainly imported from China and often working in collaboration with Chinese nationals, have reduced the once-mighty river into a flowing mud-pit, dangerous to man and fish alike. Figures from the Ghana Water Company Limited have revealed that the Western Region of Ghana is losing a total of 5.3 millions of gallons of water daily, due to the increased activities of illegal miners in the River.

REPORTING ON THE SITUATION FOR CITI FM, Reporter OBREMPONG AMPOFO wrote:

….OVER half of the Ghana Water Company's customer base of 31,327 are denied potable drinking water on a daily basis.

The two major water treatment plants serving the (Sekondi-Takoradi) Twin City have had to cut production due to low levels of water in the Prah River… The Western and Central Regions Communication Manager of the company, Nana Yaw Barnie, stated that “the Daboase Treatment plant has a production capacity of 5.5 million gallons of water per day, but as we speak, it has reduced to 3 million — , a loss of 2.5 million gallons…. Nchaaban head works, which is to augment the supply, has had to also cut down its size of 4 million gallons per day to 1.3 million gallons of water per day. As a result, we have had to ration water in order to sustain supplies….

“The … Water Company … has had all its sources for the Axim, Bonsaso, Daboase and Nchaaban polluted by the illegal miners. The turbidity levels of the Ankobra River which serves the Axim treatment plant, River Bonsa, which serves the Bonsaso Treatment Station, and Prah for the Daboase and Nchaaban stations, have increased substantially over the past few years, (necessitating) the application of more chemicals for treatment. Other minor rivers which supply small towns and villages in the middle belt of the region have also not been spared the pollution.

“It is projected that Ghana may be importing water by 2025 if the spate of pollution does not change.”

And what do the galamseyers have to say about this national disaster?

QUOTE: The Ghana National Association of Small Scale-Miners (GNSSM) says its members have so far lost over 551 million dollars following the prolonged ban on small-scale mining by the government. The government placed a six-month ban on small-scale mining as part of measures to curb illegal mining (galamsey) in 2017. However, the association told the press [on 21 February 2018] that the ban is terribly affecting its operations, resulting in huge losses. UNQUOTE

Dollars!….Dollars!…..Dollars!
That’s all that the galamseyers want, no?
Our drinking water can go to hell. Our children and their children can drink the “air” in a couple of decades time!

There is, really, no comment necessary on this galamsey situation.

There are certain situations that are obvious that we have to resort to traditional proverbs to cement our reaction to them. In this case, the proverb is, “Obi nnkyerƐ akƆdaa Nyame”. [No-one finds it necessary to point to the sky and tell a child, “Look, that’s the sky!”]

By CAMERON DUODU