Four persons suspected to be illegal miners have been arrested by the Twifo Atti Mokwa District Assembly in the Central Region in a clamp down on illegal mining activities on the River Pra at Twifo Praso.

The exercise was in collaboration with the Police Command and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) last Tuesday.

The team, led by the Police and the District Chief Executive, Robert Agyemang Nyantakyi, burnt five changfan machines, five boats and seized other mining equipment being used by the miners on the River Pra.

Impact

This was in response to the devastating effects of their activities on the River Pra and the environment.

Last week, a two-and-a-half-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, tragically lost their lives after falling into an abandoned galamsey pit full of water.

The incident occurred at Mokwa, a farming community near Twifo Praso.

The incident, according to residents, was one of several in recent years caused by uncovered galamsey pits in the district.

The impact of the illegal mining activities on the river had also negatively affected the activities of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in the Central Region.

The GWCL, in a statement to the media, said the pollution of the Pra River, especially at the catchment area at the water intake points, was at its barest minimum.

It said about 60 per cent of the catchment capacity was silted as a result of illegal mining activities, compromising water quality.

“We are currently recording an average turbidity of 14,000 NTU instead of 2000 NTU designed for adequate treatment,” it stated.

It further indicated that the company’s plant at Sekyere Hemang was producing  only 1.650 million gallons of water a day which was a quarter of its installed capacity, causing severe inconvenience to customers around Cape Coast, Elmina and other surrounding communities.

The newly built bridge which is yet to be commissioned is already being impacted negatively by the activities of illegal miners who are now mining close to the base of the bridge.

Mr Agyemang said while the assembly was committed to the fight, it was constrained by inadequate logistics.

He said adequate boats, divers and life jackets were needed if the fight against the menace was to make any meaningful impact on the activities of the galamsayers.

He called for logistical support to sustain the fight and the support  of residents in the communities to support their effort.

The Twifo Atti Morkwa District NADMO Coordinator, Richmond Addai Marfo, stated that the fight had become challenging considering that the illegal miners operated at night.

He said the devastation and the impact on the environment and the health of residents were enormous, and called on all communities experiencing illegal mining activities to join in the fight.