The Northern Sector Quarry Operators Association, has expressed concern about the encroachment of its members’ concessions.
It has meanwhile alerted the public to the risks associated with living close to quarrying sites.
Apart from the cracks caused to residential buildings from the blasting and explosions during quarrying, dust from the quarries caused respiratory problems for such residents, especially children, it said.
Speaking on Ghanakoma morning show on Akoma 87.9 FM in Kumasi with Sir John, on December 1,2025, the Chairman of the Northern Sector Quarry Operators Association, Adu Tutu, said stating close to quarry site is not good for our health.
He said, although residents were supposed to live half a kilometre away from stone quarries, people built so close to the sites that the slightest incident that happened at the quarries had an impact on them.
He said there were high incidents of encroachment on sites licensed for stone quarrying operations, explaining that the operators at such sites had licences and land title deeds from the Lands Commission to operate.
He stated that in view of the development, most members of the Association and residents were in court, battling over lands that had been licensed for stone quarrying.
The buffer zones created for quarrying operators seem not to be working, as encroachers had also penetrated those ‘danger zones,’ Mr Adu Tutu added.
On December 24, 2015, there was a heavy dynamite explosion at a quarry site at Paebo in the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipality in the Eastern Region, killing one person and injuring 10 others.
Following the explosion, more than 2,000 residents were displaced because the explosion damaged houses around and beyond the quarry.
He appealed to the District Assemblies to wage war against encroachment of quarry sites in the country.
This, he stated, is necessary to forestall fatal accidents that could result from the exploration of granite, thus protecting residents and the operations of quarry businesses in the country.
He underscored the important role of the quarry industry in Ghana’s economy, saying the continuous encroachment on quarry sites by unaccredited persons and institutions thwarts efforts of government raising revenue for the nation.
The Kwabre East MCE, Joseph Amankwah, who contributed to the show, tasked the Operators to adopt measures to secure their concessions.
He declared a war on encroachment of quarry sites in the area.
He warned that anybody or groups or institutions found to have acted in contravention of the laws and regulations will not be spared.
“It is really important for us to protect our natural resources. We are all yearning for development projects but how can we do it without our stones. If you encroach, how do we get them?
If the Assembly wants to build schools and you encroach, how do we resolve that. Where are we going to get stones,” he questioned.
By Benjamin Addo
