[ 2017-04-06 ]

Ing (Mrs) Carlien Bou-Chedid speaking at the event

‘GhIE will partner government, agencies to fight galamsey’
The Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE) has
pledged to work closely with the government and
relevant agencies to deal with the menace of
illegal mining, popularly known as
“galamsey”.

The institution said it supported the
government’s moves to protect water bodies for
both domestic and industrial use, as well as
helping the country to achieve the targets in the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In a communiqué issued at the end of its annual
general meeting in Sunyani, the institute appealed
to the government to get the various regulatory
bodies, security agencies and the district
security apparatus in the affected areas to act
decisively on galamsey activities.

The communiqué, which was read by the President
of the GhIE, Ing. Mrs Carlien Bou-Chedid, further
called on all the stakeholders, public engineering
organisations, the private sector, civil society
and the citizenry to play their expected roles in
ensuring that the natural resources of the country
were managed in a manner that would not impact
negatively on future generations.

Programme

The week-long conference was on the theme:
“Ghana’s Natural Resources and Sustainable
Development – The Role of the Engineer.”

It brought together 300 participants mainly from
the GhIE who worked in government institutions and
the metropolitan, municipal and district
assemblies (MMDAs), the private sector, academia
and development partners.

There was also representation from federations of
African engineering organisations and sister
engineering organisations in Nigeria,
Sierra-Leone, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

The communiqué called for the necessary steps to
stop the illegal felling of trees and galamsey
which were impacting negatively on the
environment. It also emphasised the need for the
government, industries and companies to be
sensitised and encouraged to prepare corporate
carbon footprint management programmes in
accordance with the National Climate Change Policy
(NCCP).

It suggested to the government to adopt
environmental and social safeguards, equity and
social inclusiveness principles in water,
sanitation and hygiene implementation to ensure
sustainability.

Transportation

The communiqué urged the government to ensure
that the needed resources were made available to
the road sector agencies and for the maintenance
of bridges across the country.

It said excess axle loads were hazardous and put
huge economic burden on the transportation sector.
It therefore, suggested that fines must be
instituted for drivers who exceeded axle loads and
they must be commensurate with the cost of
repairing the damage caused to the roads.

On the provision of engineering solutions, the
communiqué advised that researchers should not
only consider the suitability of new materials,
but also ensure safety and competitive cost.

Source - Graphic.com.gh

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