Nii Annan Adjor II, the Ashiaman regent, has complained about the rising level of pollution of the Ashiaman irrigation dam reservoir by encroachers of the scheme’s farmlands.

Nii Adjor said people had built close to the reservoir and channelled their waste water into the reservoir, creating health risks to the people.

He made the complaint at a groundbreaking ceremony by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, in collaboration with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), for the rehabilitation of the scheme.

He questioned how Ashaiman could feed the nation and the municipality when the dam to be used for crop irrigation was getting polluted, explaining that “this rubbish comes into the canal and mixes with the water that we use to irrigate our crops.”

Nii Adjor said he wrote to the Ministry to report the issue some years back, but nothing had been done and that the situation was getting worse.

He indicated that before the outbreak of the COVID-19, he organised cleanup exercises to weed the area and stop people from dumping refuse into the dam, but

“Since I stopped, the authorities too have stopped.

“I am urging the management that the people of Ashaiman have such an irrigation scheme, while some are begging people to build this irrigation scheme, so let’s protect the scheme and the water so that people who use this scheme for their livelihood will benefit from it,” he said

Nii Adjor called on the authorities to form a task force to protect the water and help stop the pollution, especially on the right bank side, which was heavily encroached.

He said although the dam could have been used for aquaculture, at its current state it was unfit for that purpose and appealed to stakeholder collaboration in finding a lasting solution to protect the water.

The Chief suggested the planting of trees along the banks of the dam to protect it from the filth and further, the installation of filters to ensure that any water that passed into the dam was treated before it was allowed to enter.

“When we were young, we had tilapia, mudfish, oysters, and other fish from here, but we do not have them now because of the pollution in the water.”

Nii Adjor cautioned farmers participating in the scheme to refrain from allocating portions of their land for the construction of wooden structures, which they rented out to others.

He also called on the management of the scheme to acknowledge the traditional leader, stating that in all places where irrigation schemes were operated, the custodians of the land had been keenly involved, but it was surprising that they people of Ashaiman had shown indifferece, distancing themselves from the scheme.

“This scheme is there for all of us as Ghanaians, and we, the custodians of this opportunity, should not have it taken away from us. As I speak, Ashaiman Division does not have even a portion of land in the scheme, compared to what pertains in other regions, where the chiefs are part of the scheme.”

The Ashaiman irrigation scheme, which was constructed many decades ago, serves as farmland for hundreds of farmers cultivating vegetables, maize, and rice.

It has, however, seen heavy encroachment over the years, a growing concern that affects the smooth operation of the place and reduces the agricultural potential of the area.