‘Galamsey,’ biggest challenge in Atiwa

The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Atiwa West Constituency in the Eastern Region, Mr Kwasi Amoako-Attah, has tagged the fight against illegal mining, “galamsey”, as the biggest challenge of his constituency in 2013.

Mr Amoako-Attah told the Ghana News Agency at Akyem-Awenare in the Atiwa District that he was not against mining since it was a source of employment for the youth.“I am against the wanton destruction of forests, pollution of water bodies such as the Birim River and land degradation through illegal gold mining…this is totally unacceptable,” he stated.

Mr Amoako-Attah, therefore, appealed to those engaged in the industry to operate through laid-down rules and regulations and ensure that all mined-out areas were covered since leaving them open made them death traps.

He stated that his major preoccupation since he became the MP in the area had been to build a strong and united community where both indigenes and settlers saw one another as one people to promote the growth of the constituency.

Mr Amoako-Attah said this year, he would continue to lobby for the rehabilitation of the road network in the area which he described as very bad; citing the 12-kilometre Anyinam to Kwabeng, the district capital and to Sankubease as examples.

Another area he would vigorously pursue would be the construction of more Community-based Health and Planning Services (CHPS) compounds to bring healthcare to the doorsteps of the people, the provision of refrigerators and electric generators in health facilities to assist in the storage of essential drugs and the improvement of sanitation.

Mr Amoako-Atta disclosed that he had associated himself with the district health directorate’s position of “zero tolerance for maternal mortality” and had, therefore, constructed an ultra-modern maternity ward at the Kwabeng Health Centre, which he would inaugurate next month.

On education, he said he would continue with the provision of laptops and books to schools in the area and hinted that even though Moseaso was outside his constituency, in February 2014, he would inaugurate a six-unit classroom block for the Methodist Junior High School which he started before Atiwa was divided into East and West in 2012.

In order to allow more children from the area to access high school education, Mr Amoako- Attah stated that he had acquired a 10-acre plot of land from the chief of Abomosu for a community day senior high school to be built in the town. “ Another dream I have is to construct a college of education to be sited at Akyem-Akropng, ” he said

Lobbying for the mobile telephony companies to extend and cover majority of the communities in the constituency, he said, would also engage his attention in this year