Erastus Asare Donkor, a broadcast journalist with Multimedia has shown the true state of one of Ghana’s major rivers, River Ankobra.
In the video, the journalist asked “so those of you who say or are jubilating over the clearing or supposed clearing of Ankobra, this is the true state”
Perhaps, having heard many say Ghana’s rivers are getting back to their clean state he quizzed. But in the video, the journalist showed how the river had been totally blocked by the miners.
On the site, the team met laborers and upon questioning, the supposed owner of the site was revealed as one “MAKITO”. The miners had totally blocked the source of the river making it impossible to flow.
River Ankobra, the ones vibrant river that served the people of Axim, Prestea, Wiawso, and Tarkwa.
Particularly, communities like Axim and Prestea rely on the river for fishing and irrigation, though these activities are declining due to contamination.
Erastus has dedicated his time to investigating and reporting on the impacts of illegal mining and climate change in Ghana.
Due to his hard work and dedication, he has won several awards : Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Journalist of the year 2022, PAV Ansah Communication Award, Communicator of the year 2023, Order of the Volta, Member, 2024
This has also certainly come with a lot of occupational hazards.
In October 2024, Erastus Asare Donkor and two other staff members of the Multimedia Group Limited were reportedly attacked by armed individuals at a mining site near Asumenya, close to Manso Nkran in the Ashanti region. The attackers allegedly claimed to be associated with Edelmetallum Resources Limited.
The Journalist however remains resolute in his dedication to maintaining oversight on Ghana’s water bodies.
