A Total of 453 Blue Water River Guards have passed-out after undergoing a four-week training at the Naval Forward Operation Base (FOB) at Ezinlibo, in the Jomoro municipality of the Western Region.
It is a module under the Blue Water Initiative launched by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to equip the youth with the skills and knowledge necessary for adequate and timely protection of the country’s rivers.
The ceremony, part of the first phase of the project, targets to train at least 2,000 Ghanaian youth, to enable them to restore water quality, which has been jeopardised by illegal mining activities.
The reviewing officer at the parade, and Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, described the event “as a new dawn in our relentless fight against illegal mining activities plaguing our water bodies.”
He noted that, the precision and discipline displayed by the River Guards were a testament to the rigorous training they underwent at the Naval Base.
The training, Mr Buah noted, had equipped the River Guards with the essential skills—physical endurance, basic arms handling, combat techniques, survival swimming, watermanship, and boat operations and asked the gathering to applaud their perseverance and dedication.
The minister explained that, the guards, drawn from riverine communities would be “the eyes, ears, and first line of defense, working alongside traditional leaders and local youth to protect our waters from the scourge of illegal mining.”
Mr Buah, cautioned the guards against direct engagement with illegal miners, stressing that their duty was to observe, report, and prevent any threats or confrontations to the Ghana Navy Riverine Command Centres expeditiously.
He indicated that, under the operational command of the Ghana Navy Riverine Units, the Blue Water Guards would serve as an early warning mechanism, reinforcing surveillance and deterrence efforts.
Additionally, Mr Buah said, temporary Operational Bases (TOBs) had been established along the Ankobra, Fia, Bonsa, and downstream Pra rivers to ensure rapid response, through coordinated boat patrols, road surveillance, and intelligence-sharing with other security agencies.
Further, he assured that, additional speedboats, patrol vehicles and motorbikes would be procured to ensure the extension of the programme to the Central, Eastern, Ashanti, Bono, and Savannah regions, to safeguard the environment, while creating 2,000 direct jobs and empowering Ghanaians to securing the natural heritage.
Mr Buah warned financiers and faceless individuals behind the destructive acts to desist immediately or face the full swift force of the law, stressing that, every Ghanaian had a role and should become a water guard volunteer, adding “Together, we can defeat this existential threat”.
Deputy Defence Minister, Ernest Brogya Genfi, also maintained that, illegal mining remained one of the greatest threats to Ghana’s national security, wreaking one of the gravest crimes against “our land and future.”
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Minerals Commission, Emmanuel Kwamena Anyimah, also described the event as a common fight against illegal mining and its devastating consequences, particularly the pollution of water bodies.
FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, EZINLIBO
