Asantehene launches 153-hectare land reclamation project in Ashanti
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Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has launched a project to reclaim 153 hectares of land degraded by illegal mining across Obuasi East, Adansi Akrofuom and Adansi Asokwa, with AngloGold Ashanti and the Lands Ministry as partners.
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has launched the Jimi Land Reclamation and River Watercourse Rehabilitation Project at Tasliman in the Adansi Asokwa district, aimed at restoring land and waterways degraded by illegal small-scale mining. He planted a tree to mark the start of works last Wednesday.
The project will reclaim 153 hectares across the Obuasi East Municipality and the Adansi Akrofuom and Adansi Asokwa districts, focusing on mining-degraded areas around Gyimisokakraba, Ayease and Akwesi Ankromakrom. It is the flagship pilot of the Ashanti Green Initiative, following the Asantehene's advocacy against illegal mining at the Mining in Motion forum in Accra last year.
Illegal miners at Tasliman have diverted the course of the Jimi River with heaps of sand, causing heavy siltation and rising turbidity that has hit the Jimi Dam, the water intake plant for several communities. The Asantehene and his entourage, including the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, and the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, saw the discoloured dam during the visit. The delegation also included the Managing Director of AngloGold Obuasi Mines, Samuel Pobee, and the Adansihemaa, Nana Amoanimaa Dede II.
Partners in the project include the Manhyia Palace, AngloGold Ashanti, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Authority, which will support coordination, technical operations, enforcement and environmental monitoring. Reclamation works will involve filling abandoned mining pits, reshaping damaged terrain, addressing soil contamination, controlling erosion and improving soil quality, after which the land will be planted with kenaf, a commercial fibre crop chosen because of concerns about residual heavy metals in the soil. Water, soil, vegetation, biodiversity and community health will be monitored.
AngloGold Ashanti's director of engineering, Eric Broni, said the damage is already affecting water supply. "Last year we spent about $584,000 to treat water despite treating less," he said, warning that water abstraction could fall this year. The Lands Minister disclosed that about 8,000 hectares of 188 forest reserves have been impacted by galamsey, with only 150 hectares reclaimed so far. The initiative is expected to serve as a model for rehabilitating other lands and water bodies damaged by illegal mining across Ghana.