The Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) has investigated illegal mining sites and is pushing community mining as a key alternative to curb the galamsey menace.
The Council made the disclosure during the official launch and maiden broadcast of ‘The Voice Of The CCG’ held at the CCG Women’s Center in Osu, under the theme ‘The State of Ghana’s Environment’ to mark World Environment Day.
The Council says it visited galamsey sites to assess the situation firsthand and has since engaged state institutions to propose concrete solutions, including alternative livelihoods for mining communities.
General Secretary of the Council, Rev. Cyril Fayose, speaking at the event, explained the move after he was asked what steps the Council has taken against illegal mining, and whether chaplains in the security services have visited mining areas to preach alternatives.
“We went to visit the galamsey sites to see things for ourselves and came back and spoke to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources and the Minerals Commission,” Rev. Fayose said.
He said the Council’s visit was mischaracterized in the media as merely “praying at galamsey sites,” which made them a “laughing stock.”
“That wasn’t what we were doing. We were just all praying as men of faith. We always pray. But we actually went out there to investigate the issues and then come out with concrete solutions,” he stated.
Rev. Fayose described galamsey as a complex issue. “The illegal mining issue or the galamsey is a very complex one. It is not as simple as we usually see it,” he said.
He cited an instance where a pastor preached against galamsey and congregants threatened to stop giving offerings “because that’s how they get their money.”
“It’s a source of livelihood for some people even though it’s also destroying life. So how do we collectively clean it up such that people can still benefit from it without destroying the environment?”
To address this, the Council proposed community mining ventures involving chiefs, elders, and the youth.
“So it’s not individuals who are mining or just businesses who are mining just to make money for themselves, but the chiefs and the elders of the community come together with the youth so that they actually mine and mine responsibly,” Rev. Fayose explained.
