By Edmund Smith-Asante, PARLIAMENT HOUSE
The
Member of Parliament for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has said
sand-winning is destroying many arable lands in the country.
He called
Parliament’s attention to the destruction when he presented a statement on the
floor of the House.
“I wish
to draw the attention of this august house to the unprecedented level of
sand-winning on our land sites. Almost every corner of this country has some
negative story to tell about sand winning in recent times. Forests have been
pulled down, coastal soils massively scooped and savannah areas degraded
through sand-winning.
“Mr
Speaker, l have no doubt in my mind that attempts aimed at promoting food
production and security would be fruitless unless negative activities like
sand-winning on our arable lands are properly checked and managed,” he
said.
Beaches
and communities destroyed
Mr
Annoh-Dompreh also stated that “sand-winning has rendered many well-patronised
beaches, including the once famous Dansoman and Korle-Gonno beaches, useless
and dangerous because of the strength of the waves.
“What
makes the activities of the sand-mining disgusting is that they destroy the
farmlands. They [perpetrators] hardly give farmers prior notification. Immediately
they complete their contract agreement with the so-called land owners, they
quickly move to the site to initiate destruction,” he said.
Proposed
solutions
To deal
with the challenges of sand-winning, Mr Annoh-Dompreh asked for the enforcement
of the law on sand winning and the resourcing of the various districts,
municipals and metropolitan assemblies, the Ghana Police Service, Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), the ministries of Tourism and Lands and Natural
Resources and legally empowering them to prosecute illegal sand winners.
He
cautioned that Ghana’s resolve to mitigate the negative effects of climate
change may face serious hiccups if authorities continued to relax instead of
clamping down on sand-winning at unauthorised locations.
Praying
the House to summon the relevant sector ministries to brief Parliament on plans
put in place to fight the menace, Mr Annoh-Dompreh noted that it would be ideal
if the authorities could properly designate areas for sand-winning.
“They
must also ensure that prospective sand winners adequately complete all
processes regarding effective land use, evaluation and reclamation to allow for
the protection of other people’s welfare in the society,” he proposed.
Commenting
on the statement, the Member of Parliament for Keta, Mr Richard Mawuli
Quashigah, indicated that although his constituency continued to suffer the
ravages of the sea, the menace of sand-winning remained a nightmare as far as
efforts at promoting the area’s large tourism potential was concerned.
Writer’s
email: Edmund.Asante@graphic.com.gh
This was first published by the Daily Graphic on June 28, 2014
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