Set up fund to treat water bodies - Ansah Opoku urges government
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Mpraeso in the Eastern Region, Davis Ansah Opoku, has called on the government to establish a water fund to deal with the problems caused by illegal mining.
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He said the money generated from the fund should be used to treat water bodies affected by illegal mining activities.
Speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Ansah Opoku further proposed the establishment of the Ghana Water Guard to safeguard Ghana's water resources from pollution, degradation and misuse, particularly in the ongoing challenges of illegal mining and industrial pollution.
Water fund
Mr Ansah Opoku explained that the government needed to have more financial resources to tackle the issue of galamsey and its attendant pollution of the country’s water bodies.
He said the water fund would be valuable in restoring water bodies damaged by illegal mining.
“This initiative will demonstrate the government's commitment to protecting the environment and safeguarding communities from natural disasters,” he stressed.
“Everybody is talking about 'galamsey' and how it has destroyed our water bodies.
There's the need for a fund to be set aside so that monies deposited in this fund will be used to restore rivers, construct new water pumping stations for our people and ensure that the Ghanaian is assured of good drinking water," he emphasised.
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Touching on the economy, he said the Ghanaian economy was witnessing steady growth despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine War.
Mr Ansah Opoku urged Ghanaians to exercise patience with the government as it had put in pragmatic steps to revive the economy, stressing that “the NPP remains better managers of Ghana’s economy”.
He pointed to the drop in inflation and the strong performance of the Ghanaian currency against major trading currencies as indicators of growth.
"Despite an initial projection of 1.5 per cent growth, the economy experienced a notable surge, achieving an average growth of 3.2 per cent in the first two quarters of the year," he stated.