Stakeholders in Nsawam-Adoagyiri must help save Densu River – Director 

Nsawam (E/R)-Ghana, Dec. 13, GNA – Mr. Emmanuel Kwafo Mintah, the Project Director of Ark Development Organization called on stakeholders in the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipality to improve sanitation around the Densu River to save it from pollution.
He said the majority of the people in the municipality depended on the river, but it has rather been polluted through human activities like the sitting of landfill at Fotobi.
Also, domestic and institutional sewage are discharged into it.
“Apart from direct dumping of refuse into the river, toxic substances are washed into the river when it rains, rendering the water from river unsafe for consumption,”  Mr Mintah said.
Mr Mintah made the call when he addressed chiefs, queen mothers, assembly members and government officials at a stakeholders’ meeting, held at the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipal Assembly Hall.
The meeting,  organised by the Ark Development Organisation under the project “Soccer for Sanitation Change” was supported by the National Lottery Authority (NLA).
Mr Mintah noted that Ghana is blessed with the abundance of water bodies and vast water resources – the sea, rivers, lakes, lagoons, streams, ponds, dams, underground water, and rainfall- but human activities have made most of the water sources unsafe.
He said: “We all know that the Densu River is a strategic asset to the municipality and the country as a whole and must be protected at all costs. It serves as the water source for many residents in the municipality.”
The Project Director said Ark Development Organisation was deeply concerned about the prevention of the pollution and the improvement of the water quality of the river, hence the call on all stakeholders to come together to deal with the problem before it got out of hand.
“Ark Development Organization is a people centred development-oriented organization which is much concerned about sustaining livelihoods by empowering the people and sustaining the resources they depend on,” Mr Mintah stated.
Mr Jeremiah Amoafo Agyekum, the Coordinating Director of the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipality admonished the people to put an end to dumping of rubbish into River Densu while desisting from farming along its banks and the use of weedicides.
He encouraged them to plant more trees along the banks of the river to protect it and to make it safe for consumption.
Mr Agyekum commended the NGO for organizing the meeting and gave the assurance that the Assembly would monitor the activities of the residents to keep the municipality clean and to curb the pollution of the river.