Tuesday, 1st July, 2025
Hon Ida Adjoa Asiedu
Ayensuano
Mr Speaker, I am most grateful for the opportunity given me to deliver a Statement on the floor of this august House on dangers posed by sand winning in Ghana.
Mr Speaker, sand winning, also known as sand mining, involves the extraction of sand from the earth for construction and other purposes. This activity, which is often carried out in river channels, flood plains, along the slopes of highlands and on coastlands, produces sand used as raw material for construction of roads, bridges, houses, factories, schools, markets, offices and glassware.
Mr Speaker, sand is arguably the most mined substance worldwide due to its extensive use in the construction industry. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), about 50 billion tonnes of sand is extracted from lakes, riverbeds, coastlines and deltas each year. Mr Speaker, the versatility of sand and the rapidly increased human population have occasioned an upsurge in demands for construction-grade sand, leading to the multiplicity of players, including illegal ones, becoming engaged in the sand mining industry.
Mr Speaker, in Ghana, sand winning is regulated by law. The Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) provides the legal framework for sand mining. Miners are to procure licences to legalise their operations. However, it is a known fact that many sand miners use unapproved means to extract material in a way that threatens the sustainability of the product and the environment from which it is extracted.
Sand winning activities are scattered across the length and breadth of the country, from the coast to our northern borders. Special mention should be made of the Ayensuano Constituency where sand winning activities are causing serious havoc to many farmlands, and many places such as Coaltar, Kraboa, Otuase, Anfaso, Asuboi, Aye Kukuso, and many more areas. Sand winning activities have rendered most farmland infertile for crop cultivation in the Ayensuano district. The land cover is destroyed, rendering the land prone to erosion and degradation. In some cases, it has also left the ground pocked with open pits, which are filled up in rainy seasons, providing breeding ponds for diseasecarrying mosquitoes.
Mr Speaker, in other parts of the country, the effect is seen in biodiversity laws, reduction in both agricultural and coastal lands, lowering of the water table and pollution. There is also an increase in land conflicts occasioned by the inadequate compensation of land acquired from communities and individuals for sand winning purposes. Sand winning, again, poses an existential threat to livelihood through, among other things, water supply, food production, fisheries and the tourism industry.
Mr Speaker, research has identified unemployment, population pressure, and difficulties in the acquisition of sand for building and construction as some of the causes of sand winning in Ghana. Other causes include ineffective law enforcement, poor coastal surveillance and systemic corruption.
Mr Speaker, urgent action is needed to avoid a sand crisis in the foreseeable future. The various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must ensure the rigorous enforcement of mining laws, implement intervention for decent alternative livelihoods and fight systemic corruption while educating the public on the negative impact of the practice on environmental, social and economic sustainability. As a country, we may also learn from other countries like China and the United States of America (USA) who have already began producing crushed rock as an alternative to sand mining. We should encourage investments into this new area of sand production.
Mr Speaker, in conclusion, on 17th January, 2025, residents of Krabo in the Ayensuano Constituency witnessed a rather unfortunate incident where sand miners, accompanied by land guards, unleashed violence against farmers and landowners who were peacefully protesting the seizure and destruction of their farmlands. This sad incident led to the killing of two persons with several others injured.
Mr Speaker, our failure to urgently address the menace of sand winning may render the country incapable of handling extreme events such as drought, floods and storm surges. This would also hinder our collective effort towards achieving Goal 13 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on Climate Action.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
Hon EBENEZER PRINCE ARHIN
Mfantseman
Thank you Mr Speaker for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement ably made by my dear sister regarding sand winning.
This subject is really important to the extent that my constituency has suffered the damage of this sand winning. Yes, we know population has outgrown some of our developmental projects and thereby causing unemployment in the country. So, some youth resort to this kind of business for construction. But the area that really touches the soul of this country is that sand winning is sometimes geared towards galamsey river bodies.
Mr Speaker, if you come to Mfantseman Constituency where we depend solely on the Ochi River and because of galamsey activities, people try to mine sand from the river lines thereby creating a lot of potholes; big or gargantuan potholes. So, before the rain falls and water comes to where we gather and treat water in Mfantseman, it has to fill all the potholes before we gather them. A couple of months ago, it would interest this House to know that for almost two weeks, I was buying water worth GH₵2,000 per truck just to make sure I provide enough water for hospitals and schools because of galamsey activities. Sand winning is not only done to construct blocks. We have sand miners that will try and divert the river bodies where the flow of water is causing a lot of havoc to our riverfront.
Mr Speaker, I want to send an invitation to agencies like Environmental Protection Agency to look at the aspect of controlling those who fetch sand from our riverfront. I also call on all of us here to look at our behaviours. Looking at making profit out of sand winning is going to cause a lot of trouble for our future. Recently, we had children going to fetch water by our river body, but because of this dug-out pit, our innocent children who were just fetching water fell into the pit and valuable souls were lost.
Mr Speaker, I am calling on those of us here as Members of Parliament to come together and support this dream of the 24-Hour Economy. It is the only way we can redirect the attention of these youth to rather go back to the classroom and get valuable jobs to do. I am happy that in the recent allocation of the District Assemblies Common Fund, a lot of funds have been allocated towards construction of schools and it will pull our kids from mining sand in the riverfront into the classrooms.
Mr Speaker, on this note, I am calling on all the agencies and the regulatory bodies in the country that if we are serious about protecting the future of our river bodies, we should look at bringing the youth back to the classrooms and also encouraging them to stay in class, and going very hard on those who are encouraging these illegal activities in the country.
With these few words, I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this Statement ably made by my sister. Thank you.
Hon Dominic Bingab Aduna Nitiwul
Bimbilla
Thank you, Mr Speaker. First of all, let me congratulate my Colleague for making this very important Statement.
When I heard her speak, the type of impeccable English she spoke, her voice and control over the English language — She was reading and I could see that when there was a need for high pitch, she would do it. —When there was a need for low pitch, she would do it. Mr Speaker, not just that, her composure was exemplary.
Mr Speaker, the content itself was so rich and appetising that I was wondering if she was a first-timer? I was imagining that this is a fifth-timer So in my head, I was tempted to tell Mr Speaker to give her a standing ovation. Mr Speaker, the topic she chose is very important. If I have somebody from the other Side who does a similar thing, I will give the same accolade. Just deliver a similar Statement and I will say the same thing.
I had the occasion to as the Minister for Defence then to come and speak on sand winning when the military had to go and burn some tipper trucks and excavators in some part of the country where I would not want mention. It is an activity that if we do not regulate, in the next five years, it will be the same thing as galamsey. The reason is that all of us need to build houses and we need sand to build houses. But the difficulty is that we have just not regulated it and allowed it to be anybody’s game. So, somebody finds sand somewhere, it does not matter whether it is by the river, the stream or a water body, they just go and put excavator there and pollute the water and take the sand. There is no regulation; there is nothing. They just see the rural chief or the area chief and they are good to go.
But Mr Speaker, it is as dangerous and serious in water pollution as galamsey. It is unfortunate that in many places, it is difficult to get good drinking water unless water is taken from the soil. And there are some places where you can dig a borehole and not get water. Can you imagine people have to walk tens of kilometres to just get drinking water to drink? In many places, because it is regulated, sand winning is actually used to desilt rivers and clean the rivers up.
So, if we regulate it properly, Mr Speaker, we will not have the situation we have in the galamsey fields. But if we do not regulate it, we are going to end up like what has happened with galamsey, where it has become very lucrative and people are making a lot of money and it is difficult to stop. So, I want to congratulate the maker of the Statement for the fact that she has realised the good sides and the dangers of sand winning. There are good and bad things with sand winning. Let us tackle the bad part of sand winning and encourage and improve the good aspects of sand winning. As I have said, it is good because people need houses. But the question is, are we going to continue, especially in urban areas, to use it for block and mortar as we continue to do?
There are many places today that buildings are composed of only about 5 per cent of block and mortar because people are using steel to build. Within two months, they are able to build houses that can stand the test of time for hundreds of years. But today, we are still building 30- storey buildings, 40-storey buildings, 50 floors with block and mortar and so we need a lot of sand. But in many places, all these skyscrapers you see, all these undulating buildings, all these buildings that have all the stiles, folding and burning, it is still very high-quality steel that they use. You are not going to have a situation, Mr Speaker, where you are going to use block to build from head to toe; it is difficult. But unfortunately, that is what we have. If you show a structure to somebody and say, look, “I want to build it with steel”, Ghanaians do not like it. But I think that the regulators, the Government, that is supposed to provide the policies, must begin to see what we can do to reduce the use of sand winning.
Mr Speaker, the Northern Development Authority in those days also introduced this new brick system where they used local materials, the gravels, and were producing blocks that were even stronger than those made from sand.
Mr Speaker, the bricks that did not use sand, were even stronger than those made from sand. I think that is another area we should look at it, so that we could stop exploiting this sand, especially those around the river areas. I would say that areas such as water treatment plants should have a policy of some two or three kilometres of a no-go area for such areas, so that at least, people can get good drinking water to drink. If we do not have a policy like that we are going to have a problem. So, I would suggest that, yes, it is good to win sand, but we should win sand with regulations; we should win sand with policy. We should win sand in a very responsible manner.
If we do not do that, Mr Speaker, we are going to have a situation and the problems that we are currently having in the galamsey fields. Mr Speaker, Ghana used to have a huge forest reserve. We have virtually finished everything and if it is not raining, people do not understand why it is not raining. People do not appreciate that rain is linked to the forest cover you have and also the sea that you have. It is all linked together because those trees will have to produce carbon monoxide.
Mr Speaker, I have been told that there are many admirers of our lady who made the Statement. Not admirers in trying to woo her, but admirers in the way she made the Statement and they want to contribute to the Statement.
So, Mr Speaker, I will not want to take too much time because the Statement is just for one hour. I will end here by congratulating my Colleague from
Ayensuano and telling the people of Ayensuano that they have a very good Member of Parliament (MP). I want them to know that they have given us a good material; a very quality material. What I heard, I want her to speak more because if a first timer can speak like this, if a first timer can be composed like this, if a first timer can put this type of Statement together and stand up and read the way she did, and speak the way she spoke, I tell you, the sky can only be her limit and I pray that she stays here for about four or five times like me —
Mr Speaker, she stays here about four or five times like me to blow herself up because she is a very good material. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Hon Yusif Sulemana
Bole Bamboi
Mr Speaker, I do not intend to talk too much on this subject matter but I want to thank the maker of the Statement for bringing up this very important issue for discussion.
Mr Speaker, we are talking about the extraction of sand in its natural state for the purposes of building and construction. Mr Speaker, human activities account for some of these destructions of our environment.
Mr Speaker, it is not only the winning of the sand, but even before you win the sand, you have to clear the vegetation, you have to fall some trees and that is also a destruction in itself. Normally this takes place around the inland areas, around riverbeds, and around beaches. It also tells you that it has its effects even when it comes to tourism because beaches where we are supposed to beautify, to attract people to come and pay something to us, are all being depleted because of sand winning and it is also a very serious issue that we have to look at.
Mr Speaker, my senior Colleague who has just spoken made a passionate call for some policies, regulations and a legislation, if possible, to be made but even before we get there, I would want to appeal to the Local Government structures, the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), the District Assemblies, they can start with byelaws to ensure that people who go about exploiting and mining sand in a manner that does not help us are all checked and so that is where I want to start it from.
My Minister, a couple of days ago, also received some concerns about this sand winning and he is putting together a team to look at it so that we can come out with the appropriate laws and policies to be able to reduce the impact of sand winning and so once again, let me thank the maker of the Statement and to assure her that it is already on the table for discussion and that at appropriate time, we will invite her and invite those who have interest in this subject matter so that we are able to put together some policy guidelines to guide us in this direction.
Let me encourage her that it is not only about reading Statements that will keep her here for the number of years that they are proposing. You need to do more than that and to do more than that means that you must be able to distinguish between what is politics and what is not politics when it comes to the work of this Parliament. For instance, when we are passing a legislation, when we are passing a law, you should not just listen to your Side and go with them when you do not believe in what they are asking you to do.
Thank you.
Hon Frank Annoh-Dompreh
Nsawam/Adoagyiri
Mr Speaker, I heard my Colleagues on both Sides commending our good Friend and Member from Ayensuano, a proud easterner.
But what they failed to observe is that, Mr Speaker, you admitted the Statement at the very last hour by your benevolence. You admitted the Statement and they failed to acknowledge that.
Mr Speaker, let me commend you highly for admitting the Statement. Had it not been your action, we would not have witnessed this spirited and beautiful delivery by the Member.
Again, Mr Speaker, the Deputy Minister for Land and Natural Resources, well, maybe, I will stay clear. He is my friend. He was inviting me to other matters, Mr Speaker, this matter had come up before. I think during the Eighth Parliament, we had the opportunity to consider the same subject matter, sand winning. Ultimately, Parliament constituted an ad hoc Committee which I was privileged to Chair. We have travelled the length and breadth of this country and came out with a Report. So it was very surprising that sand winning was even taking place in the Volta Lake.
The Volta Lake had been subjected to sand-winning activities in the Eastern Region and other farming communities. Sand winning was being engaged in irresponsibly. I heard my senior Colleague, Hon Nitiwul, say that it is not being regulated. We have all the regulatory legal regimes. We have the Minerals Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the MMDCEs who are empowered to regulate these activities.
The enforcement of the existing regulation is a challenge. And the coordination between the EPA, the Minerals Commission, and the MMDCE has been the concern of the day. I hope we can deal with these matters. The EPA does not have branches all over the country because of the resource limitations they are confronted with. So the challenge cannot be left at the doorstep of the EPA alone because they do not have the wherewithal in terms of resources to be able to prosecute on these requirements. There should be coordinated activities between the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the EPA, the Minerals Commission, and the Ministry for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs because the MMDCEs come in the wake.
Mr Speaker, we have lamented enough about this challenge. I think it is time we take action as a House. And, Mr Speaker, you have said that you are not too enthused about consequential directives. I would have suggested that we take some action on these matters because of the attendant effect of food security. They are scooping away arable lands in droves. Sand winning is taking place within water bodies. And the food security concerns cannot just be wished away. Amidst all the legal regimes, this is happening in droves. And it is high time we pulled the brakes.
The EPA, as I said, cannot do it all by itself. I wish Parliament could have a role, and the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs and other relevant Committees could come in to follow up on this matter to its logical conclusion. A beautiful Statement read in a very beautiful way by a beautiful Member of Parliament. I did some rhyming back at secondary school, Bishop Herman College. A beautiful Statement delivered by a beautiful Member of Parliament for a constituency called Ayensuano Constituency, which is a beautiful constituency in a very beautiful region, the Eastern Region.
Mr Speaker, I pray your consequential directives on this matter. The Leader of the House has given a certain twist to all the outstanding matters which should be dealt with. We cannot leave this matter to die naturally. The conversation should go on and on until it is dealt with.
Mr Speaker, apparently, I share a border with the Member of Parliament. And the respected Minority Leader has a special interest in that Constituency. Osahen Afenyo-Markin has volunteered that he will be making a special visit to that Constituency. And we will be joined by the Majority Leader, who has been given unfettered access to our Side.—How? I am speaking in parables. So we will commend the Member who has delivered a very good Statement.
And I hope that this matter can be continued to its logical conclusion. I thank you for indulging me.
Hon Ayariga Mahama
Bawku Central
Mr Speaker, this is just to commend the maker of the Statement for a thought-provoking Statement on a matter that might be overlooked by many, but which, if not attended to, could have devastating environmental consequences for all of us.
Mr Speaker, I agree that sand winning is a matter that we need to pay attention to, except to say that there are clear regulations governing how to acquire licence for sand winning where sand can be mined, and the measures that can be taken to address the fallout in terms of the environmental consequences. So long as we want to build homes and we will use sand, there will be sand winning. So, it is a question of where and how, so I will call on MMDAs because, primarily, it is their responsibility to regulate these matters and also the Small-Scale Mining Division of the Minerals Commission. They are also responsible for regulating matters of sand winning. I do not believe that it has significant environmental pollution consequences.
Mr Speaker, scooping the sand and loading it to construction sites does not in any way pollute the environment. It is not like small-scale mining. With smallscale mining, the pollution component arises from the use of chemicals like mercury and other extractive chemicals. But in the case of sand winning, it is just a scooping of the sand and then the hauling of the sand to locations where they will be needed. I think the effect of erosion is what is a major issue and of course, most of it happens along the banks of rivers and the sea and those could have some consequences on settlements along the riverbanks and the coast. Those are the real dangers that relate to sand winning, but I believe that it is a matter that can easily be taken care of.
Mr Speaker, this being the first Statement she has made, let me commend her and encourage her to build confidence that will make life in this Chamber a very enjoyable one for herself as a first-timer and to encourage her to be in this House.
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