Shama District Assembly has no EPA officer – Dr Marfo

The Shama District Assembly which hosts many quarry sites and ceramics manufacturing companies has no Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officer for effective monitoring and enforcement of environmental laws.

The district, which had issues with clay mining recently, also hosts the thermal power generation point within the Western Region.

This came to light when Dr Emmanuel Marfo, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Environment, with some of its members, visited the Anto Aboso quarry explosion site on Friday.

The explosion, which happened about a week ago, claimed the lives of five persons, with three still missing and four hospitalized.

"It is surprising that such a district with all these industries lacks an EPA officer, then who monitors to promote compliance?" Mr Marfo asked.

He expressed worry over the failure of other regulatory authorities with similar mandates like the Environmental Health Department of the Assembly to also function.

"One key deficiency in public sector management is the lack of coordination and collaborations between state agencies mandated to execute policies, programmes, and laws for the welfare of society," he said.

Since the incident, some 15 policemen have been commissioned to man the site to avoid intrusion by community members to ensure security.

He noted how the lack of compliance on environmental laws was causing grave damage to the environment, which presented health and economic challenges to the country and its people.

The Committee members interacted with Mr Erickson Abakah, the MP for Shama, Mr Ebenezer Dadzie, the Shama District Chief Executive, and Mr Owu-Ewie, the Assemblymember, Anto Aboso Electoral Area.