Christian Council of Ghana leaders at a galamsey site
THE CHRISTIAN Council of Ghana (CCG) has called on government to ban small-scale mining with immediate effect.
According to the Christian Council, the rate at which many companies hide behind legal licences to wreak havoc on the environment, called for an immediate ban of their activities, to arrest the damage caused by illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, to Ghana’s environment.
The religious bodies, at a press conference in Accra yesterday, bemoaned the devastating impacts of illegal mining and its associated negative health and socio-economic effects on the country.
They said that though they appreciated President Akufo-Addo’s efforts in ending the galamsey menace, more needed to be done to stop it, and this required drastic measures.
“We call for the immediate ban of all small-scale mining. We have taken notice that many groups and companies hide behind a legal licence to wreak havoc on the environment. To that end, we call for an immediate ban of 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,” it stressed.
The council further gave an ultimatum to all metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) to ensure that all water bodies polluted due to illegal mining were cleaned by June 30, 2023, failure to comply with that may force them to resort to the court.
“We give an ultimatum to MMDCEs 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. The religious leaders in the country are ready to mobilise our legal teams to go to court on this matter and have MMDCEs who have allowed such menace in their jurisdiction to be removed from office,” part of the release stated.
According to the council, apart from the devastation caused by these illegal mining activities on forest resources, water and river bodies, chemicals used by these miners such as mercury, chlorine and cyanide have also led to increased cases of diseases such as cervical and uterus cancers, amongst others.
“Our people are drinking dangerously polluted water (some of our mission hospitals are recording increased strange diseases. Some women are reportedly being treated for increased cases of cervical and uterus cancers, others, including men and children are being diagnosed with kidney diseases, the rate of stillbirths is on the high,” they said.
They also asked traditional leaders to desist from this illegality and use their authority to ban galamsey in their jurisdictions, to avoid further destruction of Ghana’s natural resources.
It noted, “As custodians of our lands and cultural heritage, they are spiritually bound to protect the lands inherited from their predecessors. Unfortunately, some traditional leaders are also responsible for allowing such ecological destructions in their jurisdictions.”
They, however, commended chiefs who have courageously resisted galamsey practices in their territories.
The religious bodies, who described the situation as an “environmental coup d’état” ever unleashed upon the nation, admonished individuals, civil society, religious and traditional institutions and all other well-meaning Ghanaians, to stand up to the challenge and work to preserve Ghana’s environment from the menace of galamsey.
Most Rev. Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo
BY Ebenezer K. Amponsah