Former Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, has raised concerns over the government’s plan to deploy water guards to illegal mining sites as part of the Blue Water Initiative under the broader Reset Ghana Agenda.

The initiative, which is a key component of the government’s strategy to combat illegal mining and water pollution, aims to train and deploy 2,000 personnel nationwide to monitor the health of rivers, detect and report illegal mining activities, and collaborate with local communities and traditional authorities to protect water bodies from further degradation.

The Blue Water Initiative is designed to address the rampant pollution of water bodies, largely caused by illegal mining, also known as galamsey.

The government has identified water pollution as a significant environmental and public health issue, with many rivers and streams across the country being heavily contaminated by harmful chemicals such as mercury and cyanide.

The government believes that by strengthening monitoring and enforcement measures, it can curb the destruction of Ghana’s water resources.

However, during the Parliamentary debate on the 2025 budget on Wednesday, March 19, Dominic Nitiwul issued a caution to the government regarding the potential security risks associated with sending unarmed personnel into high-risk areas where illegal mining operations are prevalent.

He warned that illegal miners, often well-armed and operating with impunity, could pose a severe threat to the safety of the water guards.

“I want to just caution the minister that be careful what you say because the questions are, will those boys [water guards] be armed or not? If they are not armed, how are you going to tell them who are going to face illegal miners who are armed?

“The minister should be careful what he is doing, otherwise we may be having a bigger problem down the line on our arms.”