PURC urges chiefs to help fight galamsey polluting water bodies

Dr Shafic Suleman, the Executive Secretary of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), has appealed to traditional authorities in Kyebi to urgently intervene to stop illegal mining activities polluting water bodies and threatening safe drinking water supplies.

He said illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, near water catchment areas was degrading the environment and compromising the quality of water available for treatment and distribution to residents.

Dr Suleman appealed for a media engagement in Koforidua following a working tour of utility facilities in the Eastern Region, including offices of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), and the Kyebi Water Treatment Plant.

He explained that the plant’s main intake source, a mountain spring located about seven kilometres from active illegal mining sites, had been heavily polluted, resulting in high turbidity and iron levels that overwhelmed the treatment facility.

He said addressing the situation required collective action, particularly community participation and the commitment of traditional authorities to protect water bodies from further degradation.

On electricity supply, Dr Suleman said power fluctuations, particularly during peak hours between 19:00 hours and 20:00 hours, disrupted water treatment and distribution in Koforidua and Kyebi.

He said the Commission had engaged ECG management to prioritise power supply management in the Eastern Region during the evening peak period to improve operational stability.

The Executive Secretary also outlined regulatory interventions undertaken to address electricity distribution challenges in parts of the region.

He said persistent low-voltage problems in Akim Oda, caused by overloaded transformers and deteriorating distribution lines, prompted PURC to intervene through the Energy Commission to improve supply stability in Ofoase, Amantia and Akokoaso.

The intervention, he said, had benefited about 8,000 electricity consumers.

He added that overloaded and faulty transformers in seven communities, including Asenanu, Asaman -Tamfoe and Asamankese, had been replaced and upgraded by PURC and ECG to meet increasing electricity demand.

Reviewing the Commission’s performance over the past year, Dr Suleman said it had received approximately 1,330 complaints from consumers in the region and 1,303 were resolved.

He said the complaints largely concerned service delivery challenges, including erratic electricity supply, low voltage, billing discrepancies and metering problems.