Correspondence from Eastern Region

‎Officers from the Abuakwa South Municipal office of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) have sounded the alarm after a monitoring tour revealed extensive environmental degradation and severe safety hazards caused by illegal mining activities (galamsey) across the municipality.
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‎The inspection, conducted on November 5, 2025, and led by Municipal Director Aikins Ofori, exposed a range of destructive practices, including the wholesale diversion of major waterways and excavations dangerously close to critical infrastructure.


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‎The NADMO team visited several heavily impacted communities, including Kyebi Akwadum, Potrase, Akyem Apedwa, and Akyem Asafo, documenting the scale of the menace.
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‎Waterways blocked, infrastructure endangered
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‎During the tour, NADMO officials observed that numerous miners had intentionally blocked or diverted river courses to facilitate their operations, drastically altering the natural flow of water and increasing flood risks in surrounding areas.
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‎However, the team reported particularly alarming scenes at Potrase.

Miners there were found to have dug deep pits directly beneath high-tension electricity transmission poles.

Furthermore, pits were scattered across vital access roads leading to farmlands and nearby villages, severely disrupting movement and creating a significant risk of fatal accidents.


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‎The indiscriminate destruction of infrastructure has crippled local livelihoods, especially for farmers dependent on functional access routes.
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‎Lamenting the devastation, a local farmer identified as Nana Yaw shared his plight with the NADMO team and the media.

"We can no longer transport our farm produce to the market because the roads are destroyed by these pits," he explained.

"This is leading to severe post-harvest losses. We appeal to the authorities to intervene urgently to protect our livelihoods."
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‎Urgent call for security intervention

‎Speaking to Ghanaweb journalist Eric Obeng Boateng, following the sobering assessment, Municipal Director Aikins Ofori expressed grave concern over the extent of the environmental damage and the immediate danger posed to community members.
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‎"What we have witnessed today confirms that these illegal activities are not only poisoning our water bodies but are actively endangering public safety by undermining high-tension power lines and destroying essential community infrastructure," Aikins Ofori stated.
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‎He stressed that the situation requires immediate, high-level intervention before it spirals out of control.
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‎Aikins Ofori called emphatically on state security agencies, particularly the National Anti-Illegal Mining Secretariat (NAIMOS), to take swift and decisive action. He urged them to deploy resources to the affected communities to halt the illegal operations, prosecute offenders, and begin the process of reclaiming the degraded lands.