Leaders of the various faith-based organisations in Ghana on Monday, 17th October 2022, met the press at the Assemblies of God headquarters to address them on the stance of religious bodies on illegal mining activities.
This move came after Members of the Christian Council went on a tour to some mining communities in the Eastern Region on Friday, October 14th, 2022.
“We wish to remind Ghanaians of our mandate to keep the environment and be responsible stewards of same, we therefore call on individuals, civil society, religious and traditional institutions and all other well-meaning Ghanaians to standup to the challenge to preserve our environment from the menace of galamsey.”
Religious Leaders
The Religious Leaders also intimated that they will present a petition to the President, Nana Akufo-Addo on the galamsey menace as well.
The Key Issues Raised
The Religious leaders mentioned that illegal mining has affected the Ghanaian society a great deal. They bemoaned water bodies, plants and animal livestock are being destroyed because of the activities of illegal miners.
The activities of illegal miners, according to them, endangers lives and destroys our societal and economic infrastructure.
“An annual average ability of rivers and other fresh water bodies affected by galamsey activities is very alarming. The deployment of water for galamsey activities has over the years caused high incidence and prevalence of buruli-ulcers in a number of mining areas.
The impact on our food and cash crops is so bad that some Countries like Japan requires extra testing of our cocoa product before they can be accepted on their markets. The European Union recently threatened to place an embargo on some of our agricultural products and we are not even certain about the future which already looks gloomy.”
Religious Leaders
As per the many threats of galamsey they enumerated, their description of Ghanaians as “living dead polluted walking Ghanaians,” was only fair.
They implied that, even though the average Ghanaian can be going about his daily activities energetically, it won’t be long for him or her to die if galamsey is not checked.
What the Religious Leaders Intend to Do
The Religious leaders called “for the immediate ban of all forms of small scale mining.”
Their call for a ban on small scale mining includes a ban on licensed small-scale mining as well. This is because, “many groups and companies hide behind license to wreck havoc to the environment.”
“We call for an immediate ban on all forms of small-scale mining whether licensed or not. Until a workable and satisfactory roadmap has been established to ensure thorough responsible mining in our country.”
Religious Leaders
Furthermore, the Religious leaders called “for an an immediate National stakeholders dialogue under the auspices of religious leaders while the ban is in place.”
The meeting according to them will be a platform to dialogue with all political parties, mining technocrats, the media, traditional leaders, and all stakeholders to commit to a non-partisan National strategy to sustainably deal with this National canker before we sink as a Nation.
Also, they called “on government to swiftly arrest and prosecute all those involved in galamsey activities in Ghana without fear or favour to serve as a deterent to others.”
According to to them, those who desire to be rich at the expense of the future of the Country should face the full rigours of the law.
The Religious Leaders also called for “the arrest and immediate prosecution of any Chief who permits galamsey activities within their jurisdiction for any reason.”
They didn’t leave MMDCE’s off the hook as they gave them a deadline within which they are to ensure that water bodies within their jurisdiction that have been polluted by the menace are purified.
“We give an ultimatum to MMDCE’s in the Country to ensure that water bodies that have been polluted because of illegal mining activities within their sphere of governance are clean by June 30, 2023,”
Religious Leaders
The Faith-based Leaders expressed their readiness to pursue legal actions against MMDCEs who allow illegal mining activities within their jurisdictions.
“The religious leaders in the Country are ready to mobilize legal teams to go to Court on this matter and have MMDCE’s who have allowed such menace in their jurisdictions to be removed from office.”
Religious Leaders
Additionally, they asked all well-meaning Ghanaians “to report any Child of school going age who is involved in galamsey activities in their communities to the appropriate authorities and also to their respective religious leaders.”
They also employed all their colleagues to stand vehemently against the menace and also use their platforms to preach against it.
Present at the meeting were leaders from the Christian Council of Ghana, the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC), the Office of the National Chief Imam, the Council for Independent Churches, the National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches and other Para-Church Organisations.
