Fiapre: About 60 percent of the nation's major rivers are highly polluted with heavy metals, with turbidity running into thousands, Mr. Erastus Asare Donkor, an investigative journalist and environmentalist has said. He attributed the cause of the pollution to the growing illegal mining activities in the country, saying, the menace had also denied many farmers accessing arable farmlands too.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Donkor described illegal mining as a serious environmental crime and human rights violation, stating that the activities of illegal miners are not only ravaging Ghana's forest and water bodies but also depriving communities of accessing clean water, arable lands, and healthy living conditions. He was speaking at the opening session of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the AI Ghana, underway at Fiapre, near Sunyani, themed 'Resilience in a Restricted Civic Space'.
The meeting saw attendance from Mrs. Easily Nemitz, the Board Chair, and Dr. Julia Duchrow, the Secretary General of AI, Germany, as well as representatives from AI chapters in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Cote D'Ivoire. Mr. Donkor noted that rivers in Ashanti, Western, and Eastern Regions were the worst affected with communities 'suffering in silence', adding that 'rivers used for fishing, drinking, and farming are now poisoned by mercury and cyanide.'
Mr. Donkor highlighted the dire consequences for local communities: 'Crops are failing, and entire livelihoods are disappearing. When residents raise their voices, they are often met with silence or, worse, force.' He recounted a poignant story of an elderly woman in the Amansie enclave of the Ashanti region, whose farm was encroached upon by an illegal miner. Despite her protests, local authorities did not intervene, and it was only through Mr. Donkor's intervention that the women involved were spared further injustice.
Expressing grave concern, Mr. Donkor alleged that in some cases, state forces meant to curb illegal mining have been implicated in extortion and brutality, emphasizing that the lack of accountability mechanisms within environmental governance structures creates a double injustice. He stressed that law enforcement remains the surest remedy to tackle illegal mining in the country, but noted that the gap between legislation and enforcement has widened, creating a justice vacuum where marginalized voices are drowned by power dynamics.
Mr. Francis Nyantakyi, the Board Chairman of AI Ghana, also expressed concern about the illegal mining activities, noting that it remains an urgent human rights issue and not just an environmental one. He stated that 'toxic rivers, poisoned food chains, destroyed farmlands, and collapsing health systems in affected communities expose a failure of leadership and enforcement'.
