Do you know the state of water in your country? Fatou Ellika Muloshi speaks with the The 77 Percent's Michael Oti about his upcoming feature on galamsey or illegal mining in Ghana, and how the chemicals that leach into the soil and water are destroying Ghana's rivers and lakes.
00:00So in Agambia, where I am from, the water in urban cities is generally safe to drink.
00:05But we do face salinity issues due to River Gambia.
00:09So the water supply through bow holes and taps is generally managed by the National Water and Electricity Company, NAWEC, to ensure quality.
00:18But generally, the water quality in sub-Saharan Africa is a story of contrast.
00:22Cities like Kigali, Accra, Cape Town have invested in water treatment facilities that are meant to deliver clean, safe water right to the household tap.
00:32But would you actually drink it?
00:35The truth is, water supply is very unpredictable.
00:39Ageing pipes, intermittent supply, and insufficient treatment mean that water can pick up harmful contaminants along the way,
00:46serving as breeding grounds for waterborne diseases like cholera, typhoid, and dysentery.
00:53So the irony is that this is often due to human mismanagement, not nature, that contaminates these precious resources.
01:00So at this moment, I want you to join me to talk to my colleague here, Michael Oti,
01:04who has all the idea and knowledge about water management and water supply in Ghana.
01:10Michael, how are you there?
01:11I'm doing very well, Patu. Nice to meet you.
01:14Nice to meet you too.
01:15Why are you walking around with a glass of water in your hand?
01:18So we're talking about water supply and water quality, and you're already working on a story on water there in Ghana.
01:24Tell me, where do you get the water supply from in Ghana?
01:28Well, there are several sources, mostly from the rivers.
01:32We've got also underground aquifers.
01:34We've got large water reservoirs.
01:37And so our water comes from very many different sources.
01:40So, that being said, is the water quality the same in all parts of the country?
01:46Unfortunately not.
01:47It depends on where you are in the country.
01:50In some areas, the water quality is much better than in other areas.
01:54And there are lots of reasons for this.
01:56Why is that?
01:56One of the very big reasons would be mining.
02:01The activities of mining pollutes water resources.
02:05And that coincidentally is the project that I'm working on currently.
02:09I'm working on a documentary for 77 Percentage, which is, by the way, coming up very, very soon.
02:15So look out for that.
02:16We are talking about illegal mining in Ghana and how that affects the quality of not just the environment,
02:22but also people's lives.
02:26Has anything been done about it?
02:28How is this issue being regulated?
02:31It's a very big challenge for Ghana at the moment.
02:34And by the way, not just Ghana.
02:35This is a problem that cuts across many West African states.
02:39And this is closely tied to the increase in gold prices on the international market.
02:45This means that a lot more people are getting into artisanal mining,
02:49which on the one hand is good for them.
02:52But on the other hand, we have consequences like what we are seeing right now on the screen.
02:57Water is getting destroyed.
02:59Water resources are getting destroyed.
03:02Rivers are turning turbid.
03:04And people are mostly interested.
03:07When I say people, I mean miners are mostly interested in getting the mineral resources out of the ground,
03:13but do not really care about how that impacts the rivers and also the water resources.
03:19But have they been sensitized about the consequences that's happening there in their various communities?
03:25It's a big challenge because illegal mining or what they would call small scale mining is a largely unregulated industry across many West African states.
03:34And so the government is not able to educate the people.
03:39First of all, it does not even know who is doing what.
03:42Exactly, yeah.
03:43And to give you some context, in some of the places where I've been for this story,
03:48there are people who are hiding in forest reserves.
03:52And it took me sometimes two hours to drive on a tricycle.
03:58Cars cannot access these forest reserves.
04:01So you need a small tricycle to travel two hours to get to the mining site.
04:06And this is happening on the blind side of the government.
04:10But the consequences affect everyone.
04:13And so, I mean, at every stage, they would argue, some of the miners argue that they dig their own wells.
04:20So they are not dependent on rivers or whatever.
04:23But what they do not acknowledge is that whatever well that they have dug, they are using the underground water resources.
04:32And when they are done with their process of finding gold, that water is poured out and it seeps, it percolates back into the ground.
04:42And so mercury, used on the surface, can find its way back into the underground water resources and still affect people.
04:50People, indeed.
04:51Interesting.
04:52Thank you so much, Micah.
04:53Thanks for coming.
04:54Yeah, and I look forward to sharing a lot more of what we found in our Digging Deep documentary on illegal mining with you and also all of our viewers.
05:05Pretty sure they will enjoy this particular piece by you.
05:10At the end of the day, the regions that invest in cleaner, more efficient water systems reap the benefits,
05:16while those caught in the grip of contamination and corruption face an uphill battle.
