Assemblies Of God Hails Mahama's Galamsey Task Force

The General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church, Rev. Dr. Paul Frimpong Manso, has hailed President John Dramani Mahama for his recent appointment of a five-member inter-ministerial task force on illegal mining, popularly known in the local language as 'galamsey.'

According to Rev. Dr. Frimpong Manso, the move by the Ghanaian leader was a step in the right direction, since it would help curb the menace of illegal mining from the country.

The galamsey business, he noted, was interestingly, quite lucrative, but its adverse effects on the environment and human health were dangerous.

'What is even more worrying is that the galamsey activities have a track record of leaving behind huge volumes of waste and devastation of the environment in the catchment areas, lasting for decades.

'The damning consequences of galamsey in our dear country include pollution and destruction of our water bodies, with resultant health hazard to human life; destruction of farm lands and arable forests; destructive floods in certain parts of the country; frequent caving in of galamsey pits to bury illegal miners alive and so on,' noted Rev. Dr. Frimpong Manso.

The Assemblies of God Church leader made this observation in a letter he sent to The Chronicle, stating the church's position on the matter, while urging others to heed the call from the President, and help in diverse ways to nip the menace in the bud.

He said the increasing galamsey activities in the country had reached alarming proportions in recent times, and that it had, virtually, driven a lot of youth residing in the catchment areas into it as their source of livelihood.

This, he noted, had become an issue of national concern, and which needed the collective efforts of Ghanaians to address it.

From the biblical viewpoint, Rev. Dr. Frimpong Manso said God, after creating the earth, entrusted its management into the hands of mankind, which demands conscious efforts to tend and protect the environment from abuse and degradation.

'This developing [of] the earth's potential and conserving its fruitfulness are twin aspects of planetary stewardship. As stewards, the church has a divine mandate to ensure that the earth is not robbed of its life-giving and life-sustaining capacities,' he noted.