Hon. Collins Adomako-Mensah, the Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Energy Committee and Member of Parliament for Afigya Kwabre North, has voiced a critical demand for the state to classify the rising tide of illegal mining near the Bui Power Plant as a national emergency.
His call for action follows alarming revelations which detailed how illicit mining operations have entrenched themselves along the banks of the critical hydroelectric facility, threatening the structural and operational integrity of Ghana’s second-largest power station.
His appeal emphasized that the encroachment of illegal miners into the Bui Generating Station’s catchment area has escalated into a direct assault on the country’s energy infrastructure and ecological stability.
“I am saying that this must be treated as a national emergency and as quickly as possible. All the institutions involved in the fight against galamsey must move to Bui as a matter of urgency. It has gone beyond just water to drink; now, it is affecting our energy security.”
Hon. Collins Adomako-Mensah
By calling for an immediate mobilization of all regulatory and security institutions, Adomako-Mensah highlights a shift from environmental degradation to a systemic risk that could destabilize the national grid.
He argued that the proximity of these activities to the dam’s intake and sensitive riparian zones necessitates a swift, multi-agency intervention to prevent irreversible damage to the $622 million asset.
The Technical Erosion of Energy Security
From an extractive and engineering perspective, the presence of galamsey along the Black Volta is not merely a surface-level nuisance; it is a precursor to technical failure.
Illegal mining introduces massive quantities of silt and suspended solids into the reservoir, leading to accelerated siltation.
For a Francis turbine system like the one at Bui, high turbidity is catastrophic. Silt particles act as an abrasive medium, causing “silt erosion” on turbine blades and guide vanes.
This mechanical wear reduces the efficiency of the generators and necessitates frequent, costly shutdowns for maintenance.
If left unchecked, the accumulation of sediment near the intake towers could eventually lead to a total operational halt, plunging the nation into a severe power deficit.
Furthermore, the chemicals used in these illegal operations, particularly mercury and cyanide, pose a corrosive threat to the underwater steel structures and cooling systems of the plant.
The cost of remediating a silted-on reservoir far exceeds the investment required for proactive protection. As the MP rightly noted, the crisis has “gone beyond just water to drink” and now sits at the heart of the nation’s industrial survival.
Without a consistent power supply from Bui to balance the peak loads of the National Interconnected Transmission System (NITS), Ghana faces the grim reality of erratic power supply, or “dumsor,” which would cripple the manufacturing sector.
Socio-Economic Fallout and Environmental Collapse
The emergency at Bui extends into the socio-economic fabric of the surrounding communities and the broader Ghanaian economy.
The Bui Power Authority (BPA) does not just generate electricity; it manages a complex ecosystem that supports irrigation for the Bui Cashew Project and various artisanal fisheries.
Galamsey activities destroy the water quality required for these agricultural ventures, effectively killing the “Tree for Life” initiatives and other green transition projects recently championed by the government.
When the river’s pH levels are altered and heavy metal concentrations rise, the local fishing industry a primary livelihood for resettled communities faces total collapse.
On a macro-level, the financial implications are staggering. Replacing the 400MW capacity of the Bui plant with thermal alternatives would require a significant increase in the importation of natural gas or light crude oil, placing additional pressure on the Ghana Cedi and increasing the national debt.
The Ranking Member’s assurance that the Minority in Parliament will “continue to engage” suggests that this is now a bipartisan concern.
The survival of the Bui Power Plant is synonymous with the survival of Ghana’s industrialization agenda. A failure to treat this as a national emergency today will inevitably lead to an era of energy poverty and environmental insolvency tomorrow.
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