EBUBUNKO RESIDENTS NOT HAPPY WITH SAND-WINNING OPERATION

By: Kwamina Bamfo-Agyei

Residents of Ebubunko in the Cape Coast North Constituency have expressed displeasure on the activity of Dugun Enterprise that deals in surface mining in the community.
They noted that due to the heavy trucks that use the road it vibrates their buildings causing structural cracks on the buildings including the school building. The mining of the sand is close to the Kakum river which according to the residents it is illegal to mine closer to the river bank. They appealed to the contractor to create a different access to his site and to follow the guidelines of sand winning.

Kwamina Bamfo-Agyei of Central Press spoke to the Manager of the Enterprise Dugun, noted that he has been given permission by the Mineral Commission and Environmental Protection Agency to engage in surface mining. He pledged to donate bags of cement to repair the school and other buildings that have been affected by the company's operation. He said the sand wining that he does is purposefully for the construction of the Stadium, Kotokuraba market and the hostel. He indicated that after the operation they make sure to reclaim the land. Pumping the water into the river he says it is part of conserving water. 

Meanwhile due to the activities of the sand winning of the sand the impact of the vibrating equiptment has affected the buildings around the area including the basic school with acute structural cracks on them.

Farmers in the area have been affected and they have lost their livelihood since their farmlands have been destroyed and have not received any compensation.
The vicious cycle of poverty and hunger would continue to thrive among the residents in the community, should illegal sand winning remain unchecked. Already, farmers have myriads of mishaps to battle with. There are natural, socio-economic, cultural, religious and even political factors militating against farmers’ production fortunes.

Unfortunately, sand winning, in modern times, seems to have brought some imbalances to the agricultural production sector. Areas once noted for good vegetation and topography have turned into savannah grasslands, with their own attendant consequences on food production.
A recent expedition to parts of the Cape Coast North has given me an opportunity to fully appreciate some negative effects of sand winning.

According to Anthony Kwaku Amoah noted that what makes the activities of sand winners so disturbing is the way they destroy farm lands. The winners do not usually give farmers prior notification. Immediately they complete their contract agreements with the so-called land owners, they quickly move to the sites to initiate work. With the aid of bulldozers and excavators, these sand winners vandalise crops with impunity. The affected farmers are not compensated.
Lands are perpetually damaged and rendered unproductive. Aside destroying crops and lands, sand winning activities also pose some threats to human health. Moving trucks emit excessive noise and dust, causing pollution, and gullies created at these sites close to homes become breeding grounds for mosquitoes during rainy seasons.