Evangelical Church supports anti-galamsey movement
The Evangelical Church of Ghana (ECG) has joined the anti-galamsey campaign with a call for effective collaboration between the state and non-state actors to deal with the menace.
Advertisement
Addressing the Old Fadama branch of the church last Sunday, the National Treasurer of the church, Reverend Maxwell K. K. Liwangul, said the fight against illegal mining could only be won if it was considered as a top national security priority for which a multi-faceted approach should be adopted to tackle the menace at the root.
“The church does not exist to meet only the spiritual needs of its members but to also ensure that God’s creation is protected from destruction. The church exists in a country and so whatever affects the nation affects the church as well,” he stated.
Rev. Liwangul stressed that the galamsey operators were satisfying their personal interests to the detriment of the welfare of the masses.
“Our rivers have been polluted, agricultural lands have been lost, and human lives are getting lost as well. So, we support the effort by the media, the Christian Council of Ghana and other civil society organisations to clamp down on the activities of these galamsey operators,” he stated.
Anti-galamsey coalition
The ECG’s position comes at the back of calls by the General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG), Rev. Dr Kwabena Opuni Frimpong, for churches and the clergy to join the fight against galamsey at the launch of an anti-galamsey crusade by the Media Coalition Against Galamsey in Accra last Tuesday.
The initiative is being spearheaded by media organisations such as the Graphic Communication Group Limited (GCGL), New Times Corporation, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), and the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA).
The coalition is seeking to gather a million signatures to petition the President, the Speaker of Parliament, and the Chief Justice to take pragmatic steps to clamp down on the galamsey operators, whose operations are depleting the country’s land and water resources.
Divine call
Rev. Liwagul urged the leadership of churches to see the crusade against galamsey as a divine call to duty, stressing that they ought to make public declarations of their support for the initiative and also use the pulpit to educate the public on the dangers galamsey posed to the country.
Rev. Liwangul lauded the media initiative to garner public support to find a lasting solution to the menace.
He urged state institutions that had oversight responsibility over national security and national resources to act decisively to save the country.
Provide information
He further urged members of the church and the public to provide useful information on galamsey operators to the security agencies for prompt action to be taken, adding that parents who allowed their children to participate in the hazardous activity should tell them to stop.
"I don't think Jesus and his disciples would have been remembered today, if they were engaged in galamsey. Let us expose the perpetrators to save our country from getting into serious crisis,” he added,” he said.
