Ken Ashigbey, the Convener of the Anti-Galamsey Coalition, has expressed concerns regarding the effectiveness and urgency of the newly launched Blue Water Initiative.
He questions whether the deployment of Blue Water Guards should be prioritized at this time.
Speaking on Point Blank on Citi FM on Monday, March 17, he acknowledged that while the initiative is commendable, the immediate focus should be on reclaiming polluted water bodies and restoring degraded forest reserves before assigning personnel to monitor them.
Ashigbey also voiced skepticism about the guards’ ability to fulfill their assigned roles effectively, citing the lack of proper training to address such challenges. He stated, “To me, this is nice to have, but is it something we need to do immediately? I would say no. We have implemented a water guard initiative in the past. The difference now is that of the 2,000 guards to be deployed, only 460 have been deployed so far.”
He further questioned, “What training has been provided to these individuals? How long have these guards been trained? This is something that should be done after we have reclaimed our water bodies.”
His comments came after the launch of the Blue Water Initiative by Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, on the same day. The initiative aims to restore polluted water bodies and includes the deployment of 460 Blue Water Guards for round-the-clock monitoring, with plans to increase the total to 2,000 nationwide.
