Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources
Plans are far advanced by the government to dredge the Owabi and Barekese Rivers in the Atwima Nwabiagya South District, Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has disclosed.
According to her, the dredging works will commence with Owabi as she explained that this has become necessary because of siltation.
“What was left was the feasibility studies, and fortunately for us the studies are ready. The report is coming out in a week or two and then we will hit the road.”
“As you know it was constructed with a depth of 22.5 feet and now we have 6 feet. So dangerously dredging is needed immediately so we are going to have it done,” she said.
Mrs Dapaah made the disclosure while speaking to journalists after paying a working visit to the Owabi and Barekese Dams which construction dates back to the 1960s.
The visit was part of her four-day tour of water bodies and treatment plants in the Eastern and Ashanti Regions.
Earlier, the minister visited the Oda river in Odaso in the Ashanti Region where she lamented the fact that about 140,000 people were being deprived of safe potable water in Obuasi Municipality and its surroundings due to illegal mining activities also known as 'galamsey'.
She attributed the worrying situation to galamsey on river Oda in Odaso of the Obuasi Municipality, which was not making it impossible for the Ghana Water Company's treatment plant to operate at full capacity.
“Looking at the fact that the capacity of the water treatment plant is four (4) million gallons of safe water a day, but instead it is doing one (1) million gallons for the whole of Obuasi and its surroundings due to galamsey on the river Oda is rather sad and worrying,” she bemoaned.
“We have all seen the state of the Oda river and it is not only bad but a very worrying spectacle also,” she lamented.
According to her, due to the unhealthy state of the river, the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) whose water treatment plant, sited at Odaso, incurs a huge cost in treating the water for consumption.
“As a result of galamsey which has polluted the Oda river, the treatment plant of GWCL in Odaso does cleansing of the water on a monthly basis, which hitherto was done once in a year. And this comes at a huge cost to the water company,” she expressed.
Consequently, Madam Dapaah emphasised that the destructive nature of 'galamsey' should encourage every citizen to speak out against it and support the President’s war on 'galamsey'.
“We must not sit down but all of with one voice must speak against 'galamsey' which continues to destroy our water bodies,” she stated.
She said her interactions with residents of Odaso indicated that they were constantly being threatened with machetes and locally manufactured guns by the 'galamseyers' if they spoke out against the canker.
She therefore, lashed out at the 'galamseyers' for arrogating onto themselves powers to even threaten law-abiding citizens who spoke against their evil deeds.
“In fact, the residents were not the only ones threatened by the 'galamseyers' but also GWCL officials who also complain are threatened with matches and guns by the illegal miners,” the minister revealed.
