Oil spillage pollutes Ghana’s Axim coastline
A long stretch of the coastline at Axim in the Western Region has been inundated with heavy oil spillage, known as tar balls, as a result of the increase in vessel traffic in the country’s waters.
The substance is not the country’s sweet crude currently being produced offshore at the Jubilee Fields but heavy waste oil from vessels that supposedly visit the country’s ports for commercial or supply services.
At the moment, the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) is yet to identify the particular vessels that continuously discharge the waste oil into the country’s waters.
The inhabitants of three communities in the Axim municipality – Amanfukumam, Akyinim and Brawire – who are mainly fishermen cannot use their beaches as a result of the situation.
However, the Western Regional Manager of Zoomlion, Mr Gershon Sogbey, and a team from the Eco Brigade have moved in to clean portions of the beach to enable the fishermen and the community to use it.
Mr Sogbey told the Daily Graphic that the team had managed to clean most of the affected areas, especially the place the fisher folk could use for their trade.
He said his outfit was very vigilant and proactive and would ensure that the affected areas were cleared in order not to affect the activities of fishermen.
When contacted, officials of the Environmental Protection Agency said they had visited the area and taken samples of the substance for examination.
Source: Daily Graphic
God bless Zoomlion!
This is something not to bragg about at all, where is Ghana Environmental Protection Agency in all these as well as the National Security and the Navy not looking for those culprit who are involve in these kind of evironmental disaster or castrophic acts.
Oil spillage is not something to play with and I hope the government, Ghana Environmental, Navy as well as the security will bring this pepetrated to justice and punish them severely instead of a slap on the wrist.
Oil polute has to be handled on priority basis. it is disturbing our nature.