Aggrieved farmers appeal for security intervention, as Chinese miners destroy Bisi River, crops   

Some aggrieved farmers and stakeholders in the Tano North Municipality of the Ahafo Region have expressed their displeasure about the wanton pollution and destruction of the ‘Bisi’ River course by some alleged Chinese illegal miners, operating in the area.

They called on the security agencies to be expeditious and stem the activities of the miners to create a safe living environment for them and also protect the water body, their farms and other properties.

During a visit to the area, the visibly angry farmers insisted that if nothing was done immediately, they would take the law into their hands, stem their operations and drive the miners away from the area.

The Ghana News Agency (GNA) sighted an excavator machine, and some mining tools, equipment and implements at the illegal mining site at Bisi, a farming community.

Though the miners were not seen on site, they had also cleared large portions of farms apparently to extend their illegal mining activities.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Nana Antwi Bosiako, the Chief of the Krofrom,  said illegal miners began their activities last Monday 29, September 2025, saying since then the Bisi river, a tributary of the River Tano had changed, turning brownish in colour.

He noted that the river remained the only and major source of water supply for the communities saying the people of Krofrom, Besi, Mankran, Adrobaa and Subriso and Sukuumo Number Two largely depended on that river for their survival.

Nana Bosiako said “polluting and destroying the river is more like making us lifeless,” and called for the intervention of the security services and the government.

Nana Kumi Yeboah, the Nifahene (sub-chief) of Mankran, another worst affected community in the area also told the GNA the illegal miners had also caused extensive damage to their farms and the vegetative cover.

Commenting, Dr Freda Prempeh, the former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tano North Constituency told the GNA that: “If the turbidity levels of the Bisi and Tano Rivers go high, then the local farmers are to suffer a lot.”

“We can’t allow those Chinese miners to destroy our crops, farmlands, forest and vegetative covers and thereby worsen the plight of our poor farmers who largely survive on peasant farming,” she stated.

Dr Prempeh called on the traditional authorities, Assembly Members and opinion leaders in the affected communities to do more to ensure that they lived in a safe community.

She emphasised that: “It’s a collective responsibility, and as a parent and former MP and former Minister of Water and Sanitation, I am scared, sad, and want to add my voice to the persistent calls on the government to stop galamsey in our dear nation.”

Meanwhile, the Duayaw Nkwanta Traditional Council in the area had also condemned the alleged illegal mining activities in the area.

Nana Boakye Bonsu, the Acting President of the Traditional Council told the GNA that “We are strongly against illegal mining here and we don’t give room for those galamsey activities.”

He called on the Tano North Municipal Security Committee (MISEC) to investigate the matter and clamp down on the illegal miners to the law to deal with them.

Nana Bonsu stated the people had preserved the Bisi River for years because of its historical relevance and its purpose of providing potable drinking water to the local communities.

Mr Pius Sampson Opoku, the Tano North Municipal Chief Executive refuted the illegal mining activities in the area, justifying that the Chinese miners had license.

He told the media that two small-scale mining companies including the Chinese miners had acquired concessions in the Municipality to undertake their mining activities, saying it was untrue that their activities were polluting and destroying the Bisi and Tano Rivers.

Source: GNA