Danger Looms in Gomoa East; As Illegal Sand Mining at the Coast Threatens lives
By GEORGINA APPIAH
Illegal sand mining activities at the beach front of the Gomoa East District in the Central Region of Ghana, threaten the lives of residents, as almost all the natural buffers have been mined, causing an artificial sea erosion along the coast.
Expert say any major tidal wave might wash the remaining land, which occupy estate bungalows amongst other facilities into the sea.
A caution has however been sent to the perpetrators to halt the activity or face the law.
The Central Regional Director for the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Emmanuel Kwesi Dawood Mensah was alarmed at the devastation caused by the perennial sand winning activities, during a visit to the area on Tuesday.
He stressed that the phenomenon, if not addressed, would have a dire consequence on the environment.
Mr Kwesi Dawood Called on particularly chiefs of Gomoa Fetteh and Yesukrom, Millennium City landlords association members and the security agencies in Gomoa East and Awuku Senya East to join forces with the NADMO team in the region to bring the situation to a halt.
He described the phenomenon as a ticking time bomb and commissioned stakeholders to be disaster volunteers to help arrest the canker, describing it as disaster in waiting.
The District Chief Executive for Gomoa East, Margaret Naana Ackon in an interview with the media warned that anyone caught mining sand illegally would not be spared, irrespective of their political affiliation.
She assured that her outfit would engage the security agencies in the area to patrol the seaside everyday, in order to fish out the perpetrators to face the law.
The DCE therefore called on traditional authorities in the area to help clamp down on illegal sand mining activities in Gomoa East to avert any future disaster.
