{"id":332545,"date":"2017-06-29T06:00:03","date_gmt":"2017-06-29T06:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=332545"},"modified":"2017-06-29T06:00:03","modified_gmt":"2017-06-29T06:00:03","slug":"bauxite-mortaging-5m-ghanaians-to-lose-access-to-potable-water-ngo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/06\/bauxite-mortaging-5m-ghanaians-to-lose-access-to-potable-water-ngo\/","title":{"rendered":"Bauxite ‘mortaging’: 5m Ghanaians to lose access to potable water – NGO"},"content":{"rendered":"
Ghana risks facing severe water crisis if it sacrifices its bauxite resources<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0 in the Atiwa Forest Reserve in Kyebi, to contract the $15 billion facility\u00a0from the People\u2019s Republic of China.<\/p>\n More than 5 million Ghanaians including residents in some parts of Accra may not have access to potable water when the move is initiated.<\/p>\n [contextly_sidebar id=”geJFPQSMjYnVGlrlwwexCt3Mh2bc18ID”]This is according to a report by A-Rocha Ghana, an environmental NGO in the country focused on the preservation of natural resources.<\/p>\n A member of the NGO, Darly Bosu, told Umaru Sanda Amadu on Eyewitness News<\/strong>\u00a0that many Ghanaians will lose access to potable water if the government goes ahead to\u00a0mine bauxite to repay the loan, while creating jobs out of it.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing for this bauxite area is something Ghana shouldn\u2019t think about at all. Certain implications come to face us as Ghanaians if we go ahead with this arrangement with the Chinese. We are foreseeing water supply to about 5 million people becoming impossible in about 5 years to come, immediately they start bauxite work in this area. It is something we cannot risk,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n It emerged on Tuesday that the government was looking at leveraging its natural resources especially bauxite to contract the $15 billion loan from the Chinese government.<\/p>\n According to the Economic Adviser to the Vice President, Dr. Gideon Boako, the government through the agreement will construct bauxite refineries which will generate enough income to settle the loan.<\/p>\n But according to Mr. Bosu, it is not economical to do so comparing the cost benefit analysis of keeping the forest intact and opting for mining.<\/p>\n He said besides the stress it will put on the country\u2019s water resources, some of the world\u2019s endangered animal species currently found in the Atiwa forest<\/strong><\/a><\/span> will be lost as a result of government\u2019s planned venture.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bauxite industry that we are talking about, if we really go for it, we can only have it for about 20 years. If you want to look at the long-term sustainability of a country you don\u2019t risk losing all your eggs today,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we want to really look in the future, we need to find ways of sustainably exploring the resources that we have without necessarily eroding the natural capital. Bauxite mining will completely destroy this forest reserve which is significant to biodiversity, water, and several other ecosystem services,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n