00:00So in Agambia, where I am from, the water in urban cities is generally safe to drink.
00:05But we do face salinity issues due to River Gambia.
00:09So the water supply through bow holes and taps is generally managed by the National Water and Electricity Company, NAWEC, to ensure quality.
00:18But generally, the water quality in sub-Saharan Africa is a story of contrast.
00:22Cities like Kigali, Accra, Cape Town have invested in water treatment facilities that are meant to deliver clean, safe water right to the household tap.
00:32But would you actually drink it?
00:35The truth is, water supply is very unpredictable.
00:39Ageing pipes, intermittent supply, and insufficient treatment mean that water can pick up harmful contaminants along the way,
00:46serving as breeding grounds for waterborne diseases like cholera, typhoid, and dysentery.
00:53So the irony is that this is often due to human mismanagement, not nature, that contaminates these precious resources.
01:00So at this moment, I want you to join me to talk to my colleague here, Michael Oti,
01:04who has all the idea and knowledge about water management and water supply in Ghana.
01:10Michael, how are you there?
01:11I'm doing very well, Patu. Nice to meet you.
01:14Nice to meet you too.
01:15Why are you walking around with a glass of water in your hand?
01:18So we're talking about water supply and water quality, and you're already working on a story on water there in Ghana.
01:24Tell me, where do you get the water supply from in Ghana?
01:28Well, there are several sources, mostly from the rivers.
01:32We've got also underground aquifers.
01:34We've got large water reservoirs.
01:37And so our water comes from very many different sources.
01:40So, that being said, is the water quality the same in all parts of the country?
01:46Unfortunately not.
01:47It depends on where you are in the country.
01:50In some areas, the water quality is much better than in other areas.
01:54And there are lots of reasons for this.
01:56Why is that?
01:56One of the very big reasons would be mining.
02:01The activities of mining pollutes water resources.
02:05And that coincidentally is the project that I'm working on currently.
02:09I'm working on a documentary for 77 Percentage, which is, by the way, coming up very, very soon.
02:15So look out for that.
02:16We are talking about illegal mining in Ghana and how that affects the quality of not just the environment,
02:22but also people's lives.
02:26Has anything been done about it?
02:28How is this issue being regulated?
02:31It's a very big challenge for Ghana at the moment.
02:34And by the way, not just Ghana.
02:35This is a problem that cuts across many West African states.
02:39And this is closely tied to the increase in gold prices on the international market.
02:45This means that a lot more people are getting into artisanal mining,
02:49which on the one hand is good for them.
02:52But on the other hand, we have consequences like what we are seeing right now on the screen.
02:57Water is getting destroyed.
02:59Water resources are getting destroyed.
03:02Rivers are turning turbid.
03:04And people are mostly interested.
03:07When I say people, I mean miners are mostly interested in getting the mineral resources out of the ground,
03:13but do not really care about how that impacts the rivers and also the water resources.
03:19But have they been sensitized about the consequences that's happening there in their various communities?
03:25It's a big challenge because illegal mining or what they would call small scale mining is a largely unregulated industry across many West African states.
03:34And so the government is not able to educate the people.
03:39First of all, it does not even know who is doing what.
03:42Exactly, yeah.
03:43And to give you some context, in some of the places where I've been for this story,
03:48there are people who are hiding in forest reserves.
03:52And it took me sometimes two hours to drive on a tricycle.
03:58Cars cannot access these forest reserves.
04:01So you need a small tricycle to travel two hours to get to the mining site.
04:06And this is happening on the blind side of the government.
04:10But the consequences affect everyone.
04:13And so, I mean, at every stage, they would argue, some of the miners argue that they dig their own wells.
04:20So they are not dependent on rivers or whatever.
04:23But what they do not acknowledge is that whatever well that they have dug, they are using the underground water resources.
04:32And when they are done with their process of finding gold, that water is poured out and it seeps, it percolates back into the ground.
04:42And so mercury, used on the surface, can find its way back into the underground water resources and still affect people.
04:50People, indeed.
04:51Interesting.
04:52Thank you so much, Micah.
04:53Thanks for coming.
04:54Yeah, and I look forward to sharing a lot more of what we found in our Digging Deep documentary on illegal mining with you and also all of our viewers.
05:05Pretty sure they will enjoy this particular piece by you.
05:10At the end of the day, the regions that invest in cleaner, more efficient water systems reap the benefits,
05:16while those caught in the grip of contamination and corruption face an uphill battle.
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