An issue that either our authorities have turned a blind eye on is the activities of sand winners. These sand winners are often seen at the beaches winning sand.
The fact is that if their activities are not checked has the potential of drying up our water bodies. A report in the state-owned Daily Graphic yesterday [Monday, December 1, 2017] indicated that the Northern Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has given a one-week ultimatum to sand winners at the Nawuni Raw Water intake area to vacate the area or face the full width of the law.
The ultimatum comes on the back of dangers being posed to the water body by the operations of the sand winners. According to the Chairman of the REGSEC, Mr Salifu Saeed, the measure was aimed at preventing a looming water crisis in the Tamale metropolis and its surrounding communities.
This story is not different along the coastal areas of the Central Region. The development has seen some hotel owners along the coastal areas reporting these sand winners.
But the question Today wants to ask is: why is sand winning still ongoing at our beaches and close to water bodies? The answer is simple—our regulatory bodies have gone to sleep. And this obviously has given operators of sand winning the field day to go about their destructive activities along the beaches and close to water bodies.
We must state that we are not in any way against sand winning but the fact of the matter is that it must be done appropriately without causing any harm to water bodies or the environment. It is in this regard that we are charging the powers-that-be to do all that is necessary to prevent activities of sand winners along our water bodies and beaches.
And one way of dealing with the issue is constant monitoring to ensure that these sand winners do not operate along our beaches and water bodies. It also means that we set up a task force with the mandate to apprehend sand winners who operate close to water bodies and the beaches.
This approach, Today believes, will help ward off sand winners from our beaches and water bodies.
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