Sekondi, June 3, GNA - Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, Western Regional Minister, on Thursday renewed calls to "galamsey" or small-scale miners to regularise their operations by registering with the Minerals Commission as small-scale mining companies.

He made the call when addressing a meeting of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) at Sekondi.

Mr Aidoo said this would make it possible for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to monitor their operations and offer the necessary assistance when disasters occur.

He said the activities of "galamsey" operators had been on the increase in recent times and their activities had caused considerable damage to the environment as well as the pollution of numerous water bodies in the Region. Mr Aidoo said environmental management was an integral part of development and should be given the attention it deserved. "The Dumping of all kinds of waste at the banks of rivers and streams and illegal logging and mining are all very disturbing issues". He said buildings were being constructed on water ways, thereby blocking the free flow of water with attendant problems and that if nothing serious was done to curb such activities, there was bound to be negative consequences.

Mr Aidoo said it was heart-warming that the National Health Insurance Scheme was being patronized but that its sustenance depended largely on the commitment of the people to ensure clean environment which would prevent diseases.

He called for regular and coordinated communal labour by communities and organizations, tree planting exercises, robust programmes in waste disposal, street naming and the preparation of layouts for communities. Mr Aidoo appealed to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to try to reactivate their Environmental Management Committees and form Environmental Clubs in their respective areas to help keep the environment clean.

He said the Region's potable water supply coverage was estimated at 26 per cent in 1996 and improved to 44.2 per cent by the end of 2009, as a result of a number of interventions. Mr Aidoo said it was, however, estimated that on the successful completion of some ongoing projects by the end of 2010, water coverage would increase to 56.7 per cent.

He said the Water and Sanitation Projects being implemented in 30 small towns would benefit 305,213 people by the close of the year, while the boreholes water supply projects were estimated to serve 78,000 people across the Region.

Mr Aidoo said the region had about 5,818 kilometres of identified feeder roads out of which about 3,011 kilometres were engineered, and about 418 kilometres partially engineered, with the remaining 2,366 kilometres un-engineered. He said only 86.8 kilometres of these roads representing 1.49 per cent had bitumen surface, while 3,143 kilometres representing 54.03 per cent were gravel- surfaced. The remaining 2,586 kilometres representing 49 per cent were earth- surfaced.

Mr Aidoo said since November 2008, a total of 501.2 kilometres of the feeder roads in the Region had been awarded on contract for re-shaping at a cost of GHc955,610.20. He said a total length of 470 kilometres had been completed to date, with total payment made standing at GHc680,817.81. Mr Aidoo said another 425.26 kilometres of cocoa roads had been awarded on contract for reshaping at a cost of GHc848,461.62, adding that most of these roads had been completed, and that an amount of GHc756,599.24 had so far been paid to contractors.

He said in view of the numerous potholes in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, three lots of contracts had been procured for quotations to have them patched and that a total of 69.12 kilometres of potholes had so far been patched at a total cost of GHc153,280.

Mr Aidoo said in all, 1,338,160 people out of the estimated population of 2,024,340 in the Region had been registered under the National Health Insurance Scheme.

He said the late release of funds to service providers was one of the major challenges facing the Scheme in the Region. Mr Aidoo said the Inland Valley Rice Development Project was currently on-going in nine districts in the Region, namely Shama, Mpohor Wassa East, Ellembelle, Tarkwa-Nsuaem, Wassa Amenfi West, Aowin Suaman, Sefwi Wiawso, Juabeso and Bia Districts.

He said the project was supporting farmers, rice millers and traders in various forms, including modern techniques of production, proper land development and good water management. Mr Aidoo said a team had been put in place to manage the Block Farming Programme in the Region during the 2010 farming season. He said the programme which was cheaper, more advanced and reliable, was an attempt by government to cut down on small scale subsistence farming practices prevailing in the country.

Mr Aidoo explained that the programme involved individual farmers coming together in a joint effort to produce crops and animals on a large scale for commercial purposes, under a structural management by the farmers themselves, with the supervision of an experienced technical team.