Africa-Press – Ghana. The Most Reverend Professor Johnson Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, says the fight against illegal mining (galamsey) requires a bipartisan approach.
He emphasised that politicising important an issue such as the galamsey menace would not help any country to develop.
Most Rev. Prof. Asamoah-Gyadu said this in Tarkwa during his five-day working visit to the Tarkwa Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana.
In an engagement with journalists the cleric said: “During my visit the extent of devastation galamsey has caused in some communities grieve my heart. How can we ensure a decent living without protecting the environment”.
According to the Presiding Bishop, “the way we balance this issue will determine whether our government is effective or not. I expect that with all our complaints about galamsey a way to deal with it will be found.”
He pointed out that galamsey cannot be discussed without blaming politicians who promised solutions but don’t deliver, especially the two political parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who have governed this country since 1992.
“I am looking for a day when a cross-party committee will deal with galamsey for the future of the country and our children,”, Most Rev. Prof. Asamoah-Gyadu stated.
He indicated that as a church, its goal was to nurture members spiritually, while addressing their material needs.
“I have talked about galamsey’s impact on the environment; clean water is hard to come by. Also, personal and communal hygiene are very important for growth and development of any community,” he said.
The Presiding Bishop commended Right Reverend Dr Samuel Dua Dodd, the Bishop of Tarkwa Diocese and his team for prioritising water production project in the diocese.
He said their initiative to produce sachet, and bottled water would provide a reliable source of clean drinking water for citizens and generate revenue for other projects in the diocese.
“We also break ground for children’s service building and by nurturing these young once in faith with basic necessities like clean water, we are laying the foundation for a strong nation,” he added.
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