Gov’t to construct sea defense along Elmina beaches

The Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing in collaboration with other agencies will construct a sea defense system to prevent the activities of illegal sand winning along the beaches of Elmina in the Central Region.

Mr Jonny Kofi Osei, Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, said the activities of illegal sand winning along the coast was affecting the operations of the hospitality industry and that government was keen address the problem.

Mr Osei said this when he inspected sand winning and its effects on tidal waves at the Elmina Bay Resort.

He said the Ministry had contacted technical expertise such as the Hydrological Department of the Water Resources Commission and a consultant on sea defense to dialogue and chart the way forward in addressing this phenomenon within a short time.

The Minister said management of Elmina Bay Resort wrote to the Ministry that the activities of sand winning were affecting their operations and appealed for interventions to salvage the situation.

Mr Osei appealed to the security agencies to be proactive in their work and ensure that there was strict compliance to rules for peace and order.

He appealed to operators of sand winning to contact the correct authorities for certification and education on when it would be appropriate for winning sand, adding that there is sand deposit off the beach for sand winning.

GNA investigations revealed that National Security embarked on an operation to stop sand winning along portions of the coastline in the Central Region to stem the tide of environmental degradation of the beaches in 2011.

The operations involved the Police Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT), earth-moving equipment and trucks, the Human Security Department of the National Security to halt activities of sand winners.

But SWAT has not been seen again necessitating the return of the sand winners in recent times.

During the operation in 2011 security operatives swiftly moved to the Central Quarry near Komenda to collect some boulders which were dropped at the two most important access routes to the beaches of Mbofra Akyinim in Elmina.

Investors along the Elimina Beach GNA spoke to appealed to the Police Administration and the Central Regional Police Command, the Regional Security Coordinating Council to revamp SWAT to defend the coastlines of Ghana.