The Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners is imploring the government to restrict the importation of changfa engines as part of solutions to halt mining in rivers.

The group believes that restricting the supply of the main component in boat building will restrict the dredging of river bodies for gold.

General Secretary of the association, Godwin Armah, says this should go alongside the deployment of security forces to rid rivers of illegality.

“They should restrict the importation of these changfa machines. You have one Chinese importing thousand into the country while we know over 90 per cent end up on our water bodies”, he said.

He added, “Once we restrict it, they will not have access to it and those who have the license to import them will do so. In every district, we can have two outlets so we can manage them properly”.

The conversation for the adoption of effective measures to protect the country’s rivers has heightened as some major rivers record higher turbidity levels from galamsey activities.

Aside from the washing of mining waste in rivers, some recalcitrant miners continue to dredge rivers for gold. In 2021, the government waged war on the dredgers with the inauguration of a task force to lead the charge.

Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker revealed steps being taken to stop the construction of changfa boats.

“We will make sure if you are assembling or manufacturing changfa boats you are apprehended”, he added.

Three years on, the machines continue to float on rivers, wreaking havoc.

The Ghana Water Company continues to record higher turbidity of some rivers, warning of potential water shortages. It has therefore become necessary for illegal mining activities destroying rivers to be halted.

The changfa engines which are imported from China are mainly used in the mining industry though it has other uses. The engines are sometimes used in the assembling of changfa boats which are mostly used by illegal miners to dredge water bodies.

The equipment mainly consists of barrels held together by steels which allow the wooden platform on which the engines are mounted to float on water. On top of the boat-like machine are compartments that aid the washing of the sand dredged from the river.

The waste from the sand dredged from the river is deposited back into the river, leading to pollution.

To the small-scale miners, the government’s success in minimizing illegal mining in water bodies is in their ability to regulate the importation of the changfa engines.