River Patrols to Start

Mr. Kwamena Bartels, Minister for Works and Housing, has announced that the government will soon purchase speedboats and a helicopter to patrol the Volta, Densu and other major rivers to check the pollution of water bodies.

He said the patrolling would be done along the banks of rivers to get farmers who farm close to the water bodies to desist from the practice which adversely affects plant and animal life in the river basins and often results in the rapid drop in the water levels.

Mr. Bartels was speaking at a forum on 'National Water Policy' that was organised under the auspices of the Water Resource Commission and the Ministry of Works and Housing Accra.

The Minister said due to lack of quorum in the last Parliament, regulations on water use, which was referred to them lapsed; therefore, his ministry would put a bill on water before Parliament.

Getting access to safe water is a basic human right that protects health, he stressed, adding that since life could not exist without water, every Ghanaian must be guaranteed access to it.

The ministry, he said, would ensure that every available resource would be put to proper use to avoid misuse. In that connection, Mr. Bartels said his ministry would carry out a concept of Integrated Water Resource Management for the implementation of a water policy.

To deal with the scarcity of fresh water, the Minister said the World Water Council and the Global Water Partnership have formulated a global vision to see to it that by the year 2025 water is available for all.

Mr. Kwamena Bartels said the government would initiate a permanent mechanism to coorporate with its neighbours, particularly Burkina Faso, on the development of river basins to ensure that the upstream developments do not harm Ghana's interest downstream.