The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has raised the alarm that illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, is eating deep into the very fabric of the nation.
In a strongly worded statement signed by its President, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, the Bishops described galamsey as a “cancer in our national soul” that is destroying rivers, forests, farmlands, and the moral fibre of the country.
They warned that once-pristine rivers such as the Pra, Ankobra, Birim, Offin, and Ayensu are now heavily polluted with mercury and toxic effluents, leaving the Ghana Water Company struggling to make water even barely potable.
According to the statement, the Ayensu River now records turbidity levels of 32,000 NTU, compared to the company’s maximum treatment capacity of 2,500 NTU.
The Bishops stressed that beyond environmental destruction, the health of millions is at risk, with toxins entering the food chain and causing cancers, skin diseases, kidney failure, and neurological disorders.
They lamented that children are abandoning schools for mining pits, often dying in preventable accidents while chasing “mirages of quick wealth.”
The GCBC added that the consequences of galamsey extend beyond ecology and health, eroding governance, fuelling lawlessness, and deepening violent conflicts in mining areas.
They called for urgent and extraordinary interventions, warning that the situation amounts to a national emergency that cannot be managed with “half-hearted measures.”
