Religious leaders drawn from all religious groups in the country have advocated for an immediate ban on all small scale mining activities in the country as part of efforts to deal with ‘galamsey’.
The call for a ban follows the devastating effect the menace has had on the environment after the group visited some ‘galamsey’ sites over the weekend.
Speaking at a news conference in Accra on Monday on behalf of the religious leaders, the General Supt. of Assemblies of God Ghana, Prof. Paul Frimpong Manso said all small scale mining, whether legal or not legal must be banned.
“We call for the immediate ban of all small scale mining,” he declared.
Prof. Paul also urged the government to convene an immediate stakeholder dialogue under the auspices of religious leaders in order to engage political parties, technocrats, and the media, among others, to commit to a long-term nonpartisan strategy to address the threat.
On his part, the Spokesperson for the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu said Religious Leaders are appalled about the level of destruction of the environment, food and cash crops.
He cited recent threats by the European Union to ban agricultural products from Ghana including cocoa linked to ‘galamsey’.
