Multiple award-winning investigative journalist with the Multimedia Group, Erastus Asare Donkor, has expressed deep concern over the worsening state of Ghana’s river bodies due to illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Delivering the keynote address at CDD-Ghana’s 20th Kronti Ne Akwamu lecture on Thursday, November 27, he said the condition of the country’s rivers reflects a collective national failure.
According to him, a tour across Ghana reveals the scale of devastation.
“When you travel across Ghana today, our rivers tell the story of our failure. The Pra, Offin, Ankobra, Birim, Tano, Densu, Ayensu, Butre, Ashyire, Offin, Oda, Bia, Bissi, Oweri, Atronsu – once sources of life – now flow like wounds across our conscience. They have turned brown, heavy, and lifeless,” he said.
He noted that although the contaminants in these rivers are well-known to researchers and policymakers, the crisis continues to deepen.
Recalling his investigative documentary Poisoned for Gold, Mr Donkor said samples collected from several polluted rivers and analysed at KNUST’s Health Laboratory revealed worrying levels of toxic heavy metals.
Arsenic, cadmium, chromium and lead were detected in quantities exceeding safe limits — in some cases recording over 200 per cent above World Health Organisation standards.
He added that numerous studies conducted by scientists from the University of Mines and Technology, the University of Energy and Natural Resources, and KNUST have consistently confirmed alarming contamination levels caused by irresponsible mining practices.
Mr Donkor stressed that these degraded rivers were once vital freshwater sources that supported farming, fishing, and livelihoods across the country, but today, they are dangerously compromised.
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