The Liaison Group (LG) formed to monitor mining operations within production forest reserves in Ghana will next week Friday pay a multi-sectorial verification visit to assess the level of impact of human activities, at the catchment of the Weija Ridge and Reservoir areas.
The visit is to help re-engage with all relevant stakeholders towards sustainable resolution of the looming catastrophic challenges at the place.
This was contained in a statement signed and issued by the Director of Corporate Affairs of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mrs Angelina Ama Tutuah Mensah, on behalf of the LG and copied to the Ghanaian Times in Accra on Monday.
Some of these activities included illegal quarry activities which had destabilised the Weija Ridge and could lead to a landslide in the event of a heavy rainfall, and having the tendency to drown properties and block a section of the Kasoa – Accra Highway.
Others were the inundation with sediments of the rock barrier constructed by the Ga South Municipal Assembly and as such, the needed re-engineering to ensure its effectiveness; deterioration of some sections of the Kasoa – Accra highway; and anthropogenic activities around Weija Reservoir area which have compromised the security and safety of the facility.
Mrs Mensah said heads of the LG member institutions had over the years directed the LG to leverage its multi-institutional expertise towards the resolution of the looming catastrophic challenge at the catchment of the Weija Ridge and Reservoir areas.
“The LG on December 10 and 22, 2014, visited the Weija Water Treatment Plant, Weija Ridge and the Weija Reservoir areas to assess the level of impact of human activities on same and recommend appropriate remedial actions.
In line with the recommendation of the LG, the National Security Secretariat in 2015 constructed a security post at the Weija Reservoir area and it had been in operation till date,” he added.
She indicated that the LG together with the media on it 2018 follow-up visit observed that, the conditions had deteriorated due to increase in construction of structures and destabilisation of the ridge face.
Mrs Mensah said majority of the challenges at the catchment of Weija Ridge and Reservoir, as identified by the LG in 2014, still persisted with some deteriorating over the period, “typically is the destabilisation of the ridge as a result of extensive gully erosion.”
She said it was for that reason that the LG, as part of its activities for the year, proposed to re-engage with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that the challenge was dealt with.
The LG as established comprises the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR); Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Minerals Commission (MC); Inspectorate Division of the Minerals Commission (IDMC); Forestry Commission (FC); Forest Services Division of the Forestry Commission (FSD); Water Resources Commission (WRC); Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM); and Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA).
BY TIMES REPORTER
