In a bid to add their voices to the alarming rate of illegal mining in the country, Religious Bodies in Ghana after visiting a number of affected “galamsey” communities and having seen the level of devastation that the practice had caused the country’s natural resources, are calling with immediate effect on all religious leaders in the country to wear red armband to show their deep concern for the destruction of environment.
In a release after a press conference October 17, the leadership of the Christian Ecumenical Bodies in Ghana made of the Christian Council of Ghana, Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Office of the National Chief Imam and Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Ghana, National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches and others penned down nine-point action plans to avert the menace.
“We are calling for a week of fasting and prayers to pray for change of hearts and for God’s mercy upon our nation for the destruction we have caused the environment,” said the release read by Catholic Archbishop Philip Naameh, Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu, Rev. Prof. Frimpong Manso and Emmanuel Baba Mahama.
The Religious leaders also called for the immediate ban of all small-scale mining, saying “We have taken notice that many groups or companies hide behind a legal license to wreak havoc to the environment.”
To that end, they called for an immediate ban on all forms of small-scale mining, whether licensed or not, until a workable and satisfactory road map has been established to ensure responsible mining in our country.
“We call for an immediate national stakeholder’s dialogue under the auspices of religious leaders (while the ban is in place) 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.”
The men of God called on government to swiftly arrest and prosecute all those involved in galamsey activities in Ghana without fear or favour, to serve as deterrent to others, indicating, “Those who desire to be rich at the expense of the future of our country should face the full rigors of the law.”
We call for the arrest and immediate prosecution of any chief who permits galamsey activities within his jurisdiction for any reason.
They gave an ultimatum to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in the country to ensure that water bodies that had been polluted because of illegal mining activities within their sphere of governance are clean by June 30, 2023.
“The Religious Leaders in the country are ready to mobilise our legal team to go to court on this matter and have MMDCEs who have allowed such menace in their jurisdiction to be removed from office,” they sent strong warning.
According to them “We have realised that “galamsey” is preventing the youth from going to school. Lamenting, they called on all well-meaning Ghanaians “to immediately 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.”
“We assure the citizenry of our nation that we are committed to leading a sustained national moral crusade and public education in partnership with all other stakeholders in our various Churches and Mosques across the country to appeal to the moral conscience of Ghanaians for a change of attitude towards the environment.”
Source: Newswatchgh.com
