The Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, Dr. Kingsley Agyemang, has made an emotional appeal for urgent and decisive action to halt illegal gold mining, popularly known as galamsey, after severe pollution of the Birim River rendered thousands of residents without access to clean water.
Dr. Agyemang revealed that the Kyebi Water Treatment Plant, which supplies water to Kyebi and surrounding communities, has been shut down for over three months due to dangerously high turbidity levels in the river. He said recent assessments showed the Birim River’s turbidity had reached 64,000 NTU, making the water unsafe and untreatable.
“For months now, I have watched with deep sorrow as the soul of Abuakwa South bleeds. Thousands of my constituents have been left without clean water for over three months. And when water is life, the absence of it is the absence of life itself,” the MP lamented.
Dr. Agyemang described the ongoing environmental devastation as a national emergency, stressing that galamsey is destroying farmlands, crippling cocoa production, undermining public health, and disrupting education. He added that the illegal trade, often involving foreign nationals, has also fueled rising crime, drug abuse, and social instability within affected communities.
He called on all state institutions—especially the Police Service, the Office of the Attorney General, the Judiciary, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—to act decisively and enforce the law without political interference or favoritism.
“The law must bite, and it must bite hard. Those who profit from the destruction of our environment, whether local or foreign, must be made to face the full rigours of the law,” Dr. Agyemang stressed.
While commending the Abuakwa South Municipal Assembly and local security agencies for recent clampdowns on illegal mining operations, he cautioned against short-term interventions that fail to address the deeper environmental crisis. He insisted that success should be measured by the restoration of clean water sources, productive farmlands, and healthy communities.
Dr. Agyemang further urged traditional authorities, youth groups, churches, and ordinary citizens to rally behind the fight against galamsey, describing it as “a moral and existential battle.”
“The Birim River must live again. For without it, our land and our people cannot thrive,” he concluded.