The Densu River, stretching 116 km from the Atiwa Forest to the Weija Dam, is facing severe degradation due to intensified irresponsible mining activities in several communities. A built-up of illegal mining in areas such as Potrase, Odumase, and Apedwa Obuase within the Abuakwa South Municipality has devastated the vital waterways, which support approximately three million residents from Accra through the Weija Dam. The Densu River, which flows through Potrase, Nankese, Abisim, Apedwa, Nsawam, and Adeiso before emptying into the Weija Dam in Accra, has been severely impacted and transformed into a milky sludge devoid of life, posing a significant threat to both human and aquatic ecosystems. From an aerial perspective, during a mission visit by the Environment Report, it was also discovered that, extensive cocoa farmlands have also been destroyed while the buffer zone surrounding the Densu River has been obliterated, with illegal miners wreaking havoc across arable land equivalent to 15 football fields, all while operating without accountability. During our Mission Visit to Potrase, it was discovered that, even though illegal mining was ongoing in the area, one miner who is heavily polluting the Densu River through its illegal mining activities is Suro-nim to wit “no fears”. Thus, unlike the other illegal miners who were mostly using shovel and pick axe to carry out their illegality, Suro-nim had acquired heavy duty equipment to mine in the area. George Akrasi, a resident of Potrase told the Environment Report in an interview that, the miner is polluting the river upstream and that is the reason why the Densu River is being polluted. “Here at Potrase, there is a river called Anku and this river is a tributary of the Densu river but it is heavily polluted by the work of Suro-nim thereby polluting the Densu river”, he revealed. He said the sediments from the illegal mining upstream has also shrunk the Anku river and might be completely wiped out if the mining persist. “The illegal mining by Suro-nim is causing havoc to the residents of Potrase community 1, 2, 3 and 4 as our only source of drinking water is polluted and almost gone”, he said. Our checks revealed that, residents now have to trek for more than 30 minutes to get water from nearby communities while others continue to drink the polluted one. “My health condition is not the best so I am not able to trek far for water and the only option I have is to fetch the polluted Anku river and use it for my household chores” Adwoa Eunice, a 30 year old mother of four told the Environment Report during the Mission Visit. She has therefore made a passionate appeal to the government to clamp down on the activities of the illegal miners in the area to enable them recover their water back. Residents flee In August this year, an attempt by some residents of the area to stop the wanton destruction of the Anku river and their cocoa farms were met with stiff resistance by the illegal miner, Suro-nim who allegedly hired landguards to beat them up. The Police at Kibi were also allegedly bribed to chase out the unsuspecting residents with the threats of arrest.
Mining pit abandoned by Suro-nim at Potrase
Kojo Nyarko, a member of the Okyeman Taskforce recounted how a land guard nearly cut-off his left hand when he confronted Suro-nim over his illegal mining activities in the area. “When we attempted to stop the illegality being perpetrated by Suro-nim on our land, forests and water, he brought in landguards and the Police to chase us away and even though my intension was to save my community, I can no longer stay in my community as the Police has put me on their wanted list for no reason”, he said. According to Nyarko, since the incident in August, he has been sleeping in hotels to avoid the arrest by the Police which has been instigated by Suro-nim, the illegal miner. All attempts by the Environment Report to get the Police to react to the allegation of bribery has proved futile. The Assembly woman of the area, Madam Akosua Dansoa also refused to show up for an interview after several unsuccessful attempts. According to the residents, they are now helpless as any attempt to stand against the ongoing illegality is met with stiff resistance by the Police. They have therefore called on President Akufo Addo to come to their aid by sending the military to stop the illegality.
EPA demands action
Pointing out on the growing threat in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Koforidua, Mr. Felix Addo Okyireh, the Eastern Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, said that no license would be given to miners to operate close to water bodies. He said that his outfit has found that increasing mining activities near the river body tended to remove the vegetative cover of the river, exacerbating the degradation. “If the community, chiefs, opinion leaders, non-governmental organisations, and the government don’t take action to stop the galamseyers [illegal miners], eventually we will lose the Densu River entirely,” he said.
The shrunk Anko River at Potrase
He added: “When the vegetative cover is depleted, we expose the river to the whims of the weather, and if it happens …during the dry season where evaporation becomes high, the river that serves about three million people will eventually dry up, which is why there’s a need for pragmatic actions to stop the menace.” Mr. Okyireh stated that combating illegal mining activities was a national security matter, as the illegal miners who destroy arable lands are often fully armed at the sites, while EPA officials are not trained to handle arms or control them. He also stated that combating illegal mining activities was a national security matter, as illegal miners who destroy arable lands often fully armed at their sites, while EPA officials are not trained to handle arms or control these gangsters. “We haven’t been trained to hold a gun or how to shoot, and because illegal mining is a national security matter and should be addressed as such, if we don’t address it…we will end up losing all our water bodies” he added. He noted that the young people involved in illegal mining appear to be impoverished, and cannot even afford to rent an excavator, suggesting that high-profile individuals are behind the galamsey. He suggested that the law should be amended to allow for the investigation and prosecution of those financing these illegal activities. Mr Okyireh stressed that the continuous excavation of the watershed, bamboos, fauna, and other tree species that protect and provide canopy to the river body has been cut down.  In a separate interview with the GNA, Mr. Kaba Abakeh, Assistant Basin Officer at the Water Resources Commission in Koforidua, also shared concerns about the Densu River. He reported that the turbidity level upstream at Potrase exceeds 1,000 NTU, an indication of significant pollution linked to illegal mining activities. He emphasized that illegal miners have altered the Densu River’s natural flow by installing water pumping changfan machines, which significantly contribute to severe pollution. He also noted that the Birim River faces even greater pollution problems than the Densu and other water bodies in the Eastern Region. At Osino in the Eastern Region, the treatment plant of the Ghana Water Company Limited often struggles to treat and pump water to consumers because illegal mining activities in the Birim River are causing problems, according to company officials. To mitigate the impact, Mr. Abakeh noted that the commission is engaging with communities where illegal mining activities are ongoing to sensitize the people about the dangers and devastating effects of their activities on human life and the aquatic ecosystem.