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At Parish Tree Planting Event, Catholic Society Appeals for End to Illegal Mining in Ghana

A poster announcing the Green Ghana Project. credit: Courtesy Photo

By Evans Kipkura

Cape Coast, 17 June, 2021 / 8:11 pm (ACI Africa).

At a tree planting event in a Ghanaian Parish, the leadership of a Catholic Society has urged citizens of the West African nation to fully support the government in its quest to clamp down on illegal mining activities in the country.  

In a Tuesday, May 15 report, the President of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Society in Ghana’s Cape Coast Archdiocese, Dr. Augusta Adjei Frimpong has been quoted as saying, “The menace is the government's priority because the mining activities have led to depletion of forests reserves, soil erosion and dried water bodies in the country.”

“The populace must fully support and rally behind the government in its aggressive approach towards ending illegal mining so as to protect our lands and water bodies from further destruction,” said the President of the Catholic Society.

Dr. Frimpong made the call in an interview on the sidelines of the tree planting exercise at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Agona Swedru, Central Ghana, a Parish of Cape Coast Archdiocese.

The tree planting project forms part of the larger Green Ghana Project that was initiated by the Ghanaian government through the Ministry of Lands and Natural resources to rally people into planting more trees to protect the West African country’s forest cover.

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The war against destructive mining is way too big for the government to single-handedly manage, Dr. Frimpong said, and called upon all Ghanaians to take personal responsibility to work toward ending all illegal mining across the country.  

“As a nation, we cannot sit on the fence and allow the environment being built for the benefit of future generations to be destroyed by some Ghanaians and foreign nationals through galamsey (illegal mining),” she said.

She went on to “call upon all Ghanaians engaged in the activity to put it to an end because they attract more foreign mining investors and subsequently more environmental destruction.”

It is unfortunate for local Ghanaians to entertain illegal foreign miners without recourse to its effects on the environment, the lecturer at the University of Cape Coast lamented, and urged the government to intensify crackdown for the illegal miners.

She advocated for harsh penalties for those who will be caught, to serve as an example to the rest.

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Dr. Frimpong however opposed the repatriation of foreign nationals who will be apprehended for engaging in illegal mining since, according to her, this would “embolden them since they know that they would after all be sent back to their countries if they are caught.”

She lauded President Nana Akufo-Addo for initiating the Green Ghana Project saying the initiative will help the country regain its lost forest cover.

Galamsey, a common term for illegal mining in Ghana, has lately become government concern due to the destruction it causes to the environment.

The Ghanaian government has started using its national army to crack down on illegal miners along river banks across the country.

Earlier this month, Catholic Bishops in Ghana launched a one million tree planting exercise to mark the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si’ and in support of the government's GREEN GHANA project.

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“We wish to reiterate the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference commitment to plant One Million trees during this year’s rainy season as announced during our Plenary Assembly in early May,” GCBC members said in a June 7 collective statement.

They encourage all Catholic Church institutions in the West African nation, including Parishes, to take part in the tree planting exercise so that the one million trees target is achieved.