Galamsay threatening lives of fish consumers- EPA Boss  

The Ahafo Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Jackson Adiyaa Nyantakyi has said, the amount of mercury in fishes is a threat to human life.

He blamed the development on illegal mining in the country. 
He noted that the illegal miners use mercury in their activities and the remains that are deposited in the waters end up in the fishes human beings consume.
 "When these contaminated fishes are consumed, they tend to destroy the vital organs of the body such as the kidney and liver", he pointed out.
 He made this revelation when Newmont Ghana in partnership with the EPA and Minerals Commission of Ghana organized a media workshop for media houses in Bono, Ahafo, and Bono East on the ongoing Ahafo North Mine project to educate them on the progress of the project.
Sixty percent of Ghana's water bodies are now polluted, largely due to illegal mining activities.
 Ghana is the leading producer of gold in Africa and about 35% of it is extracted by small-scale miners, most of them operating illegally.
Galamsey operations over the years have destroyed most of our agricultural lands, as well as polluted many water bodies in Ghana.
This has subsequently led to water shortages in some parts of the country. 
The saddest part of this is that most of these illegal galamsey operations are carried out by Chinese nationals who use heavy machinery in their illegal activity. To add insult to injury, some of these Chinese galamsey operators have their own armed private security personnel who harass and intimidate locals. This poses a major risk for national security. The galamsey menace is, therefore, one that has to be ruthlessly dealt with.