Two legal practitioners have petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) over the pollution of the Tano River, which serves as the only source of drinking water for residents in the Sunyani Municipality, and other parts of Brong-Ahafo.
According to the petitioners, Messrs Eric Ansah Ankomah, the Brong-Ahafo Regional President of the Ghana Bar Association, and Foster Akwasi Asante of the Enso Nyameye Chambers in Sunyani, the river’s quality, and its existence are under serious threat, due to the illegal mining activities by some Chinese nationals at Tanoso in the Tano North District.
A copy of the petition, made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), expressed dismay that the Brong-Ahafo Regional Coordinating Council, Tano North District Assembly, the Police, Environmental Protection Agency, House of Chiefs and the Regent of the Tanoso Stool had neglected their legal and traditional duty in stopping these illegal mining activities.
The petition, however, appealed to the CHRAJ, to as a matter of urgency, investigate the matter, move the illegal miners from the area and protect the River to avert disaster.
“We could have gone to court without reference to you but because the pollution of the river has affected our right to good drinking water and for the fact that the right to water is guaranteed under the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the laws of Ghana”, it explained.