Buffer Zone Regulations development Underway

*Ing. Dr. Clifford Briamah, M.D of GWCL limited 

delivering the address.  

Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources has announced that the Ministry with support from the World Bank is developing the Buffer Zone Regulations to strengthen the regulatory processes of watersheds in the country.

She called on Ghanaians to protect and preserve the vegetation along the banks of water bodies in order to safeguard the water resources. 

Madam Dapaah made the statement in a speech read on her behalf by Dr. Clifford Briamah, Managing Director of Ghana Water Company Limited, during the tree planting exercise along the Weija Dam Acquisition site, to mark this year’s Green Ghana Day.

She bemoaned the recalcitrance and impunity of some primary stakeholders in and around the Weija Dam Acquisition site and stressed the commitment of the ministry and the Water Resources Commission as well as the stakeholders to eradicate encroachment and water pollution activities to protect the dam and the water resources.

“We must bear in mind that the State compulsorily acquired this important buffer zone to conserve the water resources that serve as the source of water for over 5 million people within the Greater Accra and Central Regions” she stressed.

Highlighting the importance of the day, the Acting Executive Secretary for the Water Resources Commission, Mrs. Adwoa Dorcas Paintsil, noted the relevance of trees and vegetation and appealed to the people to support efforts of protecting the vegetation.

She said planting trees to protect and restore the vegetation around the buffer zones, was a vital exercise to preserve, protect and prevent the pollution of our water bodies.  

Since water was key to our survival, Madam Paintsil stressed the need for all to collaborate with the Water Resources Commission to protect the buffer zones from encroachers.

Mr. Stanley Martey, Chief Manager, Public Relations mentioned the essence of the day and called for efforts to preserve the trees and the vegetation around the water body.

Similarly, Naa Amakuma Otudom II, Queen Mother of Weija, who chaired the programme, stated that “when the last trees die the last man dies,” charged Ghanaians to inculcate the value of planting trees to conserve the forests.