Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD Ghana), Professor H Kwasi Prempeh, has expressed an opposing view on a plan by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to spend an estimated $35 million to completely restore the Birim River, which has been severely polluted by illegal mining activities.
Prof Prempeh makes the point that the damage from galamsey must be repaired from assets and funds recovered from those who profit from it
“I would hate for my taxes to fund any of this, when we are making no credible effort to arrest and prosecute galamsey king/queen-pins and operators, enact and enforce new laws targeting their assets for forfeiture and recovery, and use the proceeds to fund ecological restoration.
“We cannot lose so much of our ecology to galamsey, then turn round to use our scarce tax resources to fix the damage. The damage from galamsey must be repaired from assets and funds recovered from those who profit from it. The “polluter pays principle” must be applied here.
“Government shouldn’t tax innocent citizens to repair the damage from galamsey, when the criminal-beneficiaries and their networks that have caused and profited from such untold damage are left to walk away with their loot in plain sight,” he wrote on Facebook.
His comments come after the Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Authority, Prof Nana Ama Brown Klutse, has revealed that an estimated $35 million will be required to completely restore the Birim River, which has been severely polluted by illegal mining activities.
Prof Klutse disclosed this in an interview during a pilot application of ionic nano copper technology at Kyebi-Adukrom in the Eastern Region on Tuesday, February 24, 2026.
She explained that while the pilot intervention has already produced visible improvements in treated sections of the river, extending the technology across the entire length of the Birim River would require significant financial investment.
According to her, it costs approximately $200,000 to procure enough ionic nano copper technology to clean one kilometre of a flowing river. Given that the Birim River spans about 175 kilometres, she said the total cost of restoration is estimated at $35 million.
“It took us about $200,000 to procure an amount that will clean one kilometre of every flowing river body. The Birim River is about 175 kilometres, so you can do the mathematics, we are talking about $35 million,” she stated in an interview with Accra-based Chanel One TV.
Prof Klutse noted that although the pilot project has delivered promising results within a short period, sustained funding will be critical to restoring the river to acceptable environmental standards.
The Birim River has suffered extensive degradation in recent years due to illegal mining, resulting in poor water quality, damage to aquatic ecosystems, and reduced access to safe water for communities along its banks.
She added that the use of ionic nano copper technology forms part of a broader national strategy to rehabilitate polluted water bodies and strengthen long-term water resource management across the country.
Source: 3news
