The Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM) is calling for clarity on the mandate of the government’s newly constituted Blue Water Guards, a task force set up to tackle the pollution of river bodies caused by illegal mining activities.
Earlier this week, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, launched the Blue Water Initiative, a nationwide program designed to combat illegal mining and restore Ghana’s polluted rivers.
As part of the initiative, 460 recruits, known as the Blue Water Guards, are currently undergoing specialized training at the Ghana Navy Forward Operating Base in Ezilebo, Jomoro District. These personnel will serve as frontline defenders of Ghana’s water bodies, ensuring their protection and long-term sustainability.
While welcoming the initiative as a positive step toward protecting Ghana’s water resources, Lawyer Kwaku Afari, Technical Director of WACAM urged the minister to provide further clarity on the mandate of the guards. He stressed the need to avoid repeating past measures that yielded little to no results.
“We welcome and support any approach that enforces the law. However, with the introduction of these guards, I think it would be proper for the government to provide citizens with clarity and accountability on how this group will operate differently from those in the past,” he stated.
He further questioned the scope of the guards’ operations.
“Are they going to protect water bodies or concessions already allocated for mining? Will they prevent mining activities, or will they only target illegal operations? The issue is not just about legal or illegal mining; it also involves all forms of irresponsible mining, even by licensed companies.”
Amid ongoing discussions on how to end illegal mining, some have proposed radical approaches. However, Lawyer Afari distanced himself from such views, emphasizing that the real issue is the state’s commitment to enforcing existing regulations.
“I don’t believe the solution is about being radical. The real question is: how committed are we to addressing the problem? If the commitment is there, we already have the necessary laws though some may be weak.
“For example, when you look at the issue of Section 17 of the minerals the mining Act is that 17 gives mining companies when they are given the necessary permits by the Water Resources Commission to other divert , to impound or to use water within their position in their concession for any in any manner that the law permits. So these are some of the reasons why you would find that a licensed mining company may be diverting its wastewater into another stream, and may not be held liable for that. So I believe that the commitment to address it is not just the radical approach of just using the security let’s also look at the laws as well.”
