The Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Adam Mutawakilu, has raised serious concerns about the deteriorating state of water bodies in the Eastern, Western, and Central Regions, attributing the situation to illegal mining activities.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with JoyNews, Mr. Mutawakilu explained that while some rivers have shown improvement in water quality, others continue to suffer from high levels of turbidity caused by galamsey operations.
“Take the Western, Eastern, Central, we have significant challenges with some of the rivers. But when you look at it, it’s mixed. While in some of the river bodies the turbidity is declining, others’ turbidity is going up, so it’s a mix,” he stated.
According to him, data collected between 2014 and 2015 paints a similar picture of uneven progress in water quality across various river systems.
“I did a comparison between 2014 and 2015. If you take River Densu in Nsawam, you realize that the turbidity has been dropping over the months. If you go up and take Kwanyako, then the turbidity has been going up, so the resource is mixed,” he said.
Mr. Mutawakilu revealed that the Kwanyako Water Treatment Plant in the Central Region is among the worst-affected facilities, forcing the company to take urgent steps to maintain operations.
“I visited Kwanyako; that plant has a challenge. We are working around the clock to dredge it and then find other alternatives to handle it,” he noted.
He said while some water treatment plants have been forced to shut down due to high pollution levels, others have been successfully revived to sustain supply.
“We have the Kyebi treatment plant—it was down some years ago, came back, and is down now. Daboase is operating, Bonsa is operating. It was down when I came, but we’ve revived it and it’s now operating. So there is a positive light at the end of the tunnel. We, Ghana Water, are working around to see how we have other ways of making sure that we continue to produce water irrespective of the challenges,” he added.
On calls for the declaration of a state of emergency in areas heavily affected by galamsey, the GWCL boss said such an approach would be counterproductive.
“The question is that, will a state of emergency solve the problem? Me, I don’t think so. The government has deployed so much action and continues to explore, but a state of emergency shouldn’t affect the communities within which the mining takes place. Businesses will come down, a lot of things will be crashed, and they need to survive as well,” he explained.
He insisted that strong government commitment and sustained enforcement were the surest ways to tackle the menace.
“For me, it’s not about a state of emergency. It’s the commitment the government, His Excellency John Mahama, is showing, and with his appointees, to fight in it. State of emergency will not be the solution to it,” Mr. Mutawakilu concluded.
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