Deploying unarmed water guards could endanger lives – Nitiwul warns

Former Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, has raised concerns about the government’s plan to deploy water guards to illegal mining sites under the Blue Water Initiative, part of the broader Reset Ghana Agenda.

The initiative aims to train and deploy 2,000 personnel nationwide to:

• Monitor river health
• Detect and report illegal mining activities
• Collaborate with local communities and traditional authorities to protect water bodies

1. The program seeks to combat water pollution caused by illegal mining (galamsey), which has left many rivers heavily contaminated with mercury and cyanide.

During a Parliamentary debate on the 2025 budget on March 19, Nitiwul cautioned that sending unarmed personnel into illegal mining hotspots could be dangerous, as many illegal miners are well-armed and operate with impunity.

“I want to just caution the minister that be careful what you say because the questions are, will those boys [water guards] be armed or not? If they are not armed, how are you going to tell them who are going to face illegal miners who are armed?

“The minister should be careful what he is doing, otherwise we may be having a bigger problem down the line on our arms.”