From Ernest Best Anane
A recent heavy downpour hit residents of Abesua No. 1, a farming community in the Atwima Mponua District, rendering them homeless. They have been forced to relocate to neighbouring communities to put with friends and relations.
As a result, the only Primary School in the community has been closed down as a preventive measure to protect the lives of the children and teachers.
Mr. Simon Ofori, a teacher in the school, who spoke to Ashanti File during a visit, explained that the entire community was displaced by the flood, and pointed to activities of the illegal mining taking place all over, as degrading their lands, polluting water bodies, and hindering free flow of water in the water ways.
According to him, the situation posed a grave danger to the lives of residents in the area, as their sources of drinking water have been polluted, compelling them to resort to sachet water for their domestic activities.
Mr. Ofori pleaded with the government, through the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Samuel Sarpong to, as a matter of urgency, intervene and the halt activities of illegal miners in the district.
The Regional Minister, who was at the head of members of the Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) on a visit to check illegal mining operations in the Atwima Mponua District last Monday, assured the community that the Council was determined to complement efforts by concerned institutions to arrest the devastating activities of illegal mining (galamsey) in those areas.
Dr. Sarpong described the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Minerals Commission as not doing enough in the fight against illegal mining in the country. He said the two institutions, among others, were very weak in carrying out their core mandates.
He said the REGSEC would partner the security agencies to making sure that the EPA works to save the environment for future generations.
Dr. Sarpong bemoaned the involvement of some politicians and chiefs in illegal mining, and cautioned those who engage in the illegal mining operations to stop or face the full rigours of the law when caught.