Farmers at Denyase in the Bekwai Municipality of the Ashanti region, which is steadily gaining notoriety for illegal mining have expressed concern over the way galamsey is having a toll on their farms and creeks in the area, especially Koni Yaw.
Since time immemorial, the Dankranho, which flows into Koni Yaw and subsequently joins the River Oda, at Anwia Nkwanta, has served as the main source of water for the people of Denyase and Dankranho.
However, illegal mining activities for the past one year have polluted the water body.As a result, large acreage of cocoa and vegetable farms are on the brink of destruction because of operations of the illegal miners.
This development, The Chronicle gathered, is threatening the livelihood of hundreds of youth who are farmers in the area.
Information available to this paper has is that illegal miners are having a field day, as authorities at Bekwai have failed to mitigate the growing challenge in the municipality.
Impeccable information available to The Chronicle has it that there is a growing sense of hopelessness among the masses at Denyase, Dankranho and other communities in Bekwai, since the authorities have failed to stop thegalamseyers.
Mr Kwaku Anan, a resident, told this reporter that their communities are dotted along the banks of Dankranho creek.
According to him, over the years, the creek has been their main source of water for farming activities, but because it has now been polluted their farming business has seriously been affected.
“We recorded bumper harvest in the years gone by. I could get seven to eight bags of cocoa from my three acre farm, but today, the harvest has been negative; I could barely get a single cocoa fruit on a cocoa tree,” he said.
He added that they cannot plant vegetables such as garden eggs, okra and eggplant among others. This development, according to him, has resulted in mass exodus of farmers from the communities to seek greener pastures elsewhere.
Asked about what they have done about the galamsey threat to their livelihoods, Kwaku Anan noted that they (Farmers)have been to the Bekwai Municipal Assembly on countless occasions with containers of polluted water from the Dankranho creek for the MCE , Kwaku Kyei Baffour, to see for himself, but very little has been done to address the challenge.
“We have been to the Municipal Chief Executive of Bekwai on several occasion with bucketful of polluted water from the Dankranho creek,but he does not give any assurance that the challenge would be addressed”, he claimed.
The worried cocoa farmer appealed to the MCE to confront the galamsey challenges in the area head-on,since Member of Parliament for Bekwai, Joseph Osei-Wusu, has condemned the activities of the illegal miners on the floor of Parliament.
He disclosed that sometimes the turbidity level of the creek improves, but that lasts for a short period.
“Years ago, people living at the Denyase–Dankranya communities used to fetch water from here, but today, you cannot do same. Today being a Sunday, you would have seen men and women gathered around the creek to wash their clothes, but the water is no more.”
The farmer lamented that, “Why should this happen? This should not have occurred, but that is the reality.
“They are destroying our water bodies. There is hopelessness in the leadership- no authority in Bekwai to confront galamsey when you report such issues to them.
“If you go, who are you going to see? We are pleading with the media and other stakeholders to come to our aid. We are struggling.”
Mr Anan disclosed that he did not get the opportunity to go to school to have an education and that he ekes a living by farming, but the water that he uses for his farming activities has been destroyed.
“Should I go for a gun or dagger to attack someone for a living”, he asked. He, however, noted that this cannot happen and that is the reason he is pleading with the authorities to help them fight the illegal miners.
“We do not want to fight them. If the New Patriotic Party (NPP) wants to break the eight, then Amansie natives will rise up seriously;Bekwai would not be part of it.
Another farmer, Kwaku Oppong, described the situation as very challenging. “To be honest with you, our source of water for cocoa farming has been destroyed by galamsey activities. This year the cocoa harvest has been poor because of the polluted water we used on our cocoa farms,” he told The Chronicle.
“We are pleading with the military to intervene, and also the President if he is serious with the fight against galamsey.When they arrest them, they should punish them severely so that it would serve as a deterrent to others.
“The situation has made our farming worktough. We are running at a loss in our farming business. Our cocoa could barely bear fruits and at the end of the year, we cannot make any profit. There is no financial assistance for us by the state. We do not have any bank which aims to help farmers in Ghana,” he told The Chronicle.
According to Mr Oppong, apart from the farming, they do not have any other work to do, adding that the Dankranhocreek serves as their main source of drinking water. Theyalsouse it to water their cocoa crops.
The third farmer who spoke on condition of anonymity, recalled that when President Nana Akufo Addo came into office, he denounced galamsey and Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu supported him.
However, Dankranho, which had been serving them for domestic and farming purpose since the time of their forefathers, has been rendered useless.
“Look at me, I am a young man who did not go to school and so farming is my only source of livelihood. Look at my hardened palm, but the water to use to irrigate my farm has turned into milky colour, owing to activities of illegal mining.”
“When it rains, the polluted creek overflows its banks because the channel has been blocked with mining sediments. This contaminated river finds its way onto our cocoa farms.”He subsequently pleaded with state authorities to come to their aid.
When contacted on phone, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Bekwai , Mr Kwaku Kyei Baffour said he was unaware that the Dankranho creek has been polluted and asked the affected farmers to report it to his office.
“Ideally, if something of that sort is going on at the place, have they reported it to me,” he asked.
When The Chronicle asked if he is complicit in the galamsey activities at Denyase and Dankranya, he vehemently denied the accusation.
According to him, the assembly has set up a committee that goes out periodically to check all galamsey issues.
“They have been going there anytime you come to me and complain, I refer it to the committee,” he told The Chronicle.
Kyei Baffour disclosed that some people arrested in the name of galamsey have been put before court.
Asked if he has been to the Danyase and Dankran communities to ascertain the reality on the ground, he responded in the negative,saying he has been away from office because of the demise of his daughter.
Kyei Baffour asked this reporter to call him on Tuesday to find out what has been done about the pollution of Dankranho creek.
In a telephone interaction with the Member of Parliament for Bekwai, Joseph Osei-Wusu, to find out if he is aware of the destruction of Dankranho and Koni Yaw creeks, he also said he was unaware.
“I am not aware the Queen of Danyase, whilst she was away in London, drew my attention ona similar development and I urged her to take her men there to sack them from the place which they did. That was about five months ago.I do not know whether they have come back,” the Bekwai MP said.
When The Chronicle asked if he was aware Bekwai is becoming galamsey headquarters, Joe Wise disputed such a claim. He argued that Bekwai does not come near Bosomtwe,Bosome Freho, Odotrobiri and Amansie.
“When it comes to Bekwai municipality, there is no illegal mining; Bekwai is at the receiving end. They mine at the Southern part and it flows down here. Koni Yaw is within Bekwai but the mining happens within the boundary behind Bosome Freho. However, because they share boundary with us, my constituency is at the receiving end of their conducts.”
Commenting on the previous statement he made, that those who pollute rivers must be shot, Joe Wise said that statement was made within a context.
“The same farmers have called me that when they stop the galamsey they would be able to farm because it is this same water they have been using to water their crops. Now they have started again and their vegetables are dying.”
“I went to a community called Eduam, along the Yamoransa road, where I first saw a heavy equipment inside the river with some Chinese people.”
According to him when he asked them if they have mining license , they responded that they rather have prospecting license ,but they were heavily mining in the water body .
This, Joe Wise told The Chronicle, was the basis for which he said those who mine in water bodies should be shot. “My position has not changed,” he added.
“The Ghanaian public have not demonstrated that they support the advocacy against illegal mining and me too I have kept quiet. Those of us who talk are the victims, spearheaded by you journalists. We are insulted and vilified by you journalists and bloggers.”
“I know what is happening there, but well, as an MP, all I can do is to talk about it in Parliament. The people who have responsibility to do anything about it are there being the police, ministry of environment, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the constitutional bodies are all there,” he said.
