The Department of Water and Sanitation, University of Cape Coast has celebrated this year’s World Water Day with a call on Ghanaians to protect and conserve water.
The Founder and CEO of the Centre of Awareness (COA) Research and Manufacturing Company Limited, Professor Samuel Ato Duncan, who made the call, added that activities of illegal miners posed a major threat to the future water supply to communities in particular and the nation as a whole.
The Founder and CEO of the Centre of Awareness (COA) Research and Manufacturing Company Limited, Professor Samuel Ato Duncan
"We can never talk about the preservation of water bodies without talking about the damaging effects of illegal mining (galamsey)" he said.
Prof. Duncan said globally, water had come under serious threats from increasing population, climate change, and human activities and as a result, a multi- stakeholder approach to fight the menace of water pollution was necessary.
He said understanding the importance of water would help achieve Goal Six of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6) which focuses on access to clean water and sanitation for all.
He said COA was ready to partner with stakeholders in the water and sanitation sector to address the canker of water pollution while calling on government to support agencies promoting water and sanitation in the country.
Keynoter for the event, Mr. Kwesi Brown, Head of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency also cautioned Ghanaians against the fast pace at which Ghana’s water resources were being depleted. He hinted of the imminent danger the country faced in the production of portable water and advised against illegal activities that threatened the achievement of clean water and sanitation for all.
Keynoter for the event, Mr. Kwesi Brown, Head of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency
He reiterated that achieving SDG 6 was hinged on the collective efforts of the ordinary Ghanaian and people placed in high offices. He added that winning the war waged against illegal mining in the country begged for total commitment and change in the mindset of persons engaged in the illegality.
A representative from the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Central Region, Nicholas Hene Ampong Okyere, re-echoed the need to preserve water as an essential commodity to life. In achieving that, he said the company was working with government to ensure that universal water coverage was met by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goal Six (SDG 6).
He, therefore, urged the public to desist from activities that pollute water bodies.
A representative from the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Mrs Ernestina Ohenewaa Benti, said the mandate of CWSA was the provision of safe water to rural communities and small towns as well as promote water related sanitation and hygiene practices.
She expressed commitment towards achieving its mandate and partnering with its stakeholders to deliver on its planned medium-term programmes and projects.
Head of the Department of Water and Sanitation-UCC, Ing Prof. Peter Appiah Obeng, in his remark, called on Ghanaians to conserve water bodies to project the nation’s socio-economic development.
He insisted on the need to fight against illegal mining and logging of trees, which destroyed water bodies for Ghanaians to get the full benefits of their water resources.
He observed that it was necessary to share and educate the populace about the implications of pollution of water bodies and wasteful use of water.
This year’s World Water Day celebration was on the theme, “Accelerating Change”.
Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC