Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) Vice President, George Afriyie, has led a team of Japanese Scientists- Atsushi Umeda, President of Trendy Science Company Limited, and Tomihisha Ohta, (Ph.D.) Professor Emeritus from the Kanazawa University in the fight to clean Galamsey Polluted Rivers in the country.
The duo spent one week in the West African nation after conducting research on the country’s polluted water bodies.
The team paid a courtesy call to the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to brief him about their methods of cleansing the polluted waters.
The Vice President expressed happiness about the initiative and pledged that the Government of the Republic of Ghana would rally behind them in their quest to restore the waters to their original state.
In 2017 and 2018, a Japan-based Ghanaian scholar Professor Kwasi Kyei Amoabeng met with President Akufo-Addo in Tokyo and briefed him on the water pollution caused by Galamsey activities after sending a report to Japan for research.
Consequently, the President gave him a listening ear and instructed him to go ahead with the initiative, and come out with findings.
However, the initiative was suspended midway, which prompted Ghanaian businessman and former Ghana Football Association (GFA) Vice President, Afriyie and his associate David Boateng to lead the Japanese team to visit Ghana for the first time.
The team met with the Minister of Water Resources Cecilia Dapaah, and Ghana Gas CEO Dr. Ben Asante, whose outfit was a victim of Galamsey activities which affected some of their laid pipes.
The team also met with the head of Noguchi Memorial Institute, Professor Dorothy Kyerewah Yeboah-Manu, Director of NMIMR, Deputy Director, Chief Research Scientist, Water Research Institute, CSIR -WRI, Dr. Anthony Yaw Karijari, and other stakeholders.
The team also visited places like Ada Volta Lake, Birim River, River Prah, and other sites.
They are expected to return to Ghana soon to begin work on the affected water bodies.