Dr. Juliet Ohemeng-Ntiamoah, a US-based engineer, has revealed alarming findings that certain food exports from Ghana, including yams, are contaminated with dangerous levels of heavy metals.
These contaminants are believed to be linked to illegal mining activities (galamsey), raising concerns about food safety and the long-term impact on Ghana’s agricultural exports.
According to mobile.ghanaweb.com Ohemeng-Ntiamoah, said it is rather absurd for critics to say that people in Accra should not be worried about the impact of illegal mining since mining does not take place in Accra.
“Someone has told me before that, Juliet, you are US-based, so why are you talking about galamsey? I want to say and educate people that even the diaspora is not spared from the effects of galamsey. Why do I say so? The majority of us, and if you are a picky eater like me, although I’ve been in the US for about ten years, I still eat Ghanaian food. So I go to the African market and I buy yam, I buy groceries from there. I was talking to a friend who works at the Ghana Standards Board recently, and she told me that they tested yams being exported and they had high levels of heavy metals.
“So this is a call to those in the diaspora who think that galamsey is only happening in Ghana. The effects of galamsey are coming to us even here in the US… So let alone you are in Accra and you think that galamsey is happening in the Western Region or Ashanti Region. For you, the effects are more prevalent than for those of us here,” she stated during a public discussion on galamsey on the Saturday, October 5, 2024, edition of Newsfile on Accra-based JoyNews.
She emphasised that the current water treatment regime in Ghana does not deal with heavy metal concentrations in water sources, hence the basis to be concerned about the use of chemicals such as mercury, lead, and arsenic in galamsey activities.
“This issue is bigger than the muddy water that we are seeing,” she noted.
Ghana is currently experiencing a civil campaign against illegal mining, which has turned several water sources across the country muddy and brown.
Recent weeks have seen several protests demanding the government’s immediate action against galamsey activities, with more in the offing.
Organised Labour has served notice to embark on a strike beginning October 10, 2024.
