The ministry of land and Natural resources in collaboration with the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly has inaugurated the first 20 Blue water guards with the responsibility of protecting the water resources in the region with support from the security services.
In a bid to protect and restore the contaminated river bodies, the government’s flagship program, the blue water guards have since the start of its operations in the southern part of Ghana, yielded positive results with some rivers returning to their Normal color and density.
The Upper East Region is one of the regions of the North to receive the blue water guards program.
A 20 member blue water guard has been inaugurated in Bolgatanga Municipality but has the mandate to extend its operations to other districts. Nine water guards have also been recruited in the Eastern part of the region to protect the black Volta and other water resources.
The acting Regional head of the minerals commission, Denis Nii Odai Sowah pledges the commission’s support to the flagship program of offering technical advice and oversight responsibility to ensure the program sees the light of day.
“The government has taken this note to ensure that our river bodies are restored back to their natural state and then again the aquatic body or the aquatic life are also preserved. This morning the Minerals Commission pledges its full support to this flagship program to offer its technical advice and an oversight responsibility to ensure that this program sees the light of day and is highly successful in what it comes to do”, he said.
He added “Now the blue water guards are supposed to ensure that when we go to the river bodies we check and ascertain whether or not these ones have been given the requisite licenses and then the permits. But one thing for sure is that the minerals commission will never grant a license or a permit to anyone to win any mineral or to mine any mineral in any water body. If you look at our cadastral system the map we have buffers that gives us that requisite that you have a minimum of 100 meters before a minimum of 100 meters away from a river body or from any water source to do any mining activity. So the water guards are supposed to ensure that this is done.
We do not want to see anyone in any of our river bodies or any of our water bodies”.
The municipal Chief Executive for Bolgatanga Municipal, Roland Atanga assured the blue water guards for the Assembly’s support and collaboration to achieve their goals.
“To our chiefs, Opinion leaders, Miners and Winners and the general public, I appeal for your full cooperation with the Blue water guards. Protecting our water bodies is not the duty of the government alone, it is shared responsibility. We must all resolve today to stop practices that destroy our rivers and degrade our land”, Mr. Roland enumerated.
To ensure discipline and commitment to work by the blue water guards, the Bolgatanga district crime officer, DSP Edward Yaw Aante reminded the guards of their core mandate and responsibilities and the future of the water bodies on their shoulders and warned of any compromises and involvement in corruption related issues.
The Representative of the traditional rulers along the main water resources, Naba Johnson Ayine called for collaboration between all stakeholders including the blue water guards to endure effective operations.
The blue water guards have since begun work in areas that pose a threat to water contamination and illegal sand winning.