The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources says it has not found empirical evidence that personnel deployed under the Blue Water Guards initiative are involved in illegal mining, despite allegations that some members of the team may have been compromised.
Spokesperson for the Ministry, Mahmud Kabore, said the allegations are being taken seriously and mechanisms have been put in place to monitor the activities of personnel deployed to protect Ghana’s rivers from illegal mining.
Speaking on Radio Gold, Mr Kabore acknowledged competing concerns surrounding the allegations. While some believe the accusations are being deliberately circulated to undermine the morale of the guards and weaken enforcement on water bodies, others argue that the claims warrant proper investigation.
He said the Ministry would not dismiss public concerns simply because no member of the team had so far been caught engaging in illegal activity.
“At this point, we’ve not had any empirical evidence” showing that a Blue Water Guard has been caught engaging in illegality, he said.
According to Mr Kabore, the Lands Minister has consequently directed the team supervising the programme to strengthen monitoring systems to provide an additional layer of oversight over the activities of the guards.
He assured the public that any personnel found abusing their position or collaborating with illegal miners would be identified and dealt with, stressing that safeguards have been introduced to weed out potential “bad nuts” within the programme.
Despite the allegations, Mr Kabore defended the overall performance of the Blue Water Guards, saying their deployment has produced noticeable results in areas previously characterised by open mining activities along riverbanks and water bodies.
He said illegal miners who once operated on rivers with little concern for enforcement are no longer as visible in some areas, arguing that the presence of the guards has become a deterrent to illegal mining activities.
Mr Kabore, however, cautioned against expecting polluted rivers to recover immediately. He explained that improvements in water turbidity would take time, even as authorities work to stop fresh pollution and encroachment.
He maintained that the programme would continue to be assessed as it progresses, with shortcomings addressed as they emerge.
“We’ll chalk some successes, we identify some challenges, we’ll fix them as we go ahead,” he said.
The Blue Water Guards initiative forms part of government’s broader campaign against illegal mining, with personnel deployed along selected rivers and water bodies to prevent miners from returning to areas targeted for protection and restoration.
