Presidential Staffer and Head of the Utility Review Hearing Committee, Nana Yaa Jantuah, has warned that Ghana could be forced to import water in the near future if illegal mining, popularly called galamsey, is not brought under control.
She cautioned that uncontrolled galamsey activities are severely polluting major water bodies, posing a direct threat to both domestic water supply and industrial use.
Speaking at a public hearing on utility tariff proposals in Accra, Nana Yaa Jantuah stressed that the situation, if unchecked, would expose consumers and businesses to high costs in accessing clean water.
“We have an issue at hand, and everybody knows what it is, and that is Galamsey. Because of Galamsey, the Ghana Water Company has a lot of issues with the water that they have to process for us to use. Yesterday I said that in no time Ghana would be water poor,” she said.
She further explained that “Water is poor where water might be imported, and in that stead will create vulnerability for the vulnerable because the poor can not buy from the pump.
Adding, “As the media, I think it is time for us to come together and remove the politics from the fight against galamsey so that together we will make it ok for everybody.”
