Community Challenge Report: Angry Youths Accuse Kade Ceramics Company Limited For Causing Current Floods In Gwira Bamiakor
Freeman Koryekpor 
The KEDA Ceramics Company Limited, producers of Twyford Ceramic Tiles in the Shama District of the Western Region has been accused by the thousands of residents, particularly the youths staying at Bamiakor, a farming community in Gwira Traditional Area of the Nzema East municipality for causing the current floods in their areas.
According to the residents, they were blaming the company which is currently operating under the Government’s “One District One Factory” initiative (1D1F) as one of the causes of their current floods because the company has diverted the water resources in their area and indiscriminately mined clays and shales.
These activities of the KEDA Ceramics Company, located at Lower Inchabaan, the residents stated were some of contributing factors which caused the current floods which have destroyed properties and farms of the residents in Gwira Bamiakor and its adjoining communities.
"We are saying that the activities of the company is also one of the causes of our current floodings because the company mined clays and shales from Bamiakor and in the time of mining the mineral resources, the company diverts the water or stream and mined clays and shales from open pits, and these pits are located near the Bamiakor township.
"These activities have also caused the current floods in our communities anytime it rains," the aggrieved youths. What is very painful to us was was that when the flood water displayed us in our area, the issue was officially reported to the managers of the company.
"...but today that we are speaking to you (referring this journalists), non of the officials of the company have reached we the affected residents to sympathize with us," the aggrieved residents stated in an interview with Soireenews.com, when this journalist visited some of the hard hit flood communities in the Gwira Traditional Area to inspect and report on the extent of damage caused by the current floods.
The catastrophic floods in the fifteen (15) communities in Gwira Traditional Area of the Nzema East municipality in the Western Region have pushed these communities to the brink.
The fifteen worse hit communities are Kukuavele, Attakrom, Ajomoro Eshiem, Bamiankor, Bokro Dominase, Gwira, Akosuno, Gwira Ashiem, Ampansie, ,Wiawso, Awolozo Akango, Duala, Kakukrom, Anibil, all in the Nzema East municipality.
These floods follow, as a result of the heavy rainfalls which had caused Ankobra River to overflow its banks leaving lots of people homeless in the Nzema East municipality.
This was the most severe heatwave the municipality has faced in more than 60 years.
Across these 51areas, a total of 44,000 sq km (30,000 sq miles) of farmland were flooded. More than 80 percent of crops within the municipality were damaged, according to the investigations conducted by Soireenews.com.
This news outlet was reliably informed that thousands of hectares of standing food crops like rice, onions, tomatoes, cassava, maize, and other vegetables have been destroyed.
More roads and bridges have been damaged, causing significant disruptions to the transport of the food that has survived.
In a visit to some of the worse hit areas of the floods to do an assessment of the situation, this journalist found that more than 70 percent of individuals interviewed in these areas reported difficulty accessing any food, let alone nutritious food.
They lamented to this journalist that the roads of these communities, particularly in the Gwira Bamiankor were cut off as a result of the heavy rainfalls which had caused Ankobra River to overflow its banks.
They bemoaned that their cars, tricycles, television set, radio sets, mobile phones, monies, livestock and motorbikes submerged as the road of Gwira Bamiankor were completely taken over by the flood.
There have not been reports of any casualty, however, several houses submerged in the floods, causing destruction to properties.
The scores of the residents whose houses were completely submerged said all their properties have sunk in the flood water.
“Our everything is underwater now. My TV, sofas, bed, clothes, utensils, everything. Our entire houses are flooded and even collapsed. No the places were moved to settle, ten of us are sleeping in a single room ” some of the flood victims at Gwira Bamiankor told Soireenews.com.
In the Gwira Bamiankor, this journalist spotted many flood victims counting their losses and trying to seek shelter at safer places.
The journalist also saw the minors at the Anyinase who used locally manufactured canoes to dangerously cross the water which has flooded the road from the Anyinase to Bamiakor township which is the headquarters of the Gwira Traditional Area.
The situation is very risky since this journalist saw that the residents (passengers) who are crossing the water didn't did not wear the life jackets.
This was also very strange because the canoes of which the minors are using to cross the residents from Anyinase to Bamiakor were not safe.
The residents said it was time to take concerted action with the help of communities against illegal mining which they called a social crime.
“The activities of the ‘galamsey’ operators (as illegal mining is known in Ghana) have caused enough damage to lives and properties and we in Gwira Traditional Area in the municipality can no longer allow them to continue,” they said.
They said 7,100 people were displaced in fifteen 15 communities in Nzema East around a major Akonbra river which had broken its banks.
