Ghana : Methodist bishop weeps over ‘galamsey’

The Methodist Bishop of Kumasi, Rt. Rev. Osei Safo-Kantanka has expressed grave concern about the spate of illegal mining, popularly called ‘galamsey’ in the country by Chinese nationals. He said that the environment and water bodies were being destroyed at an alarming rate by foreigners in search of precious minerals. Rt. Rev. Safo-Kantanka opined that authorized state agencies were not functioning well and this had contributed to the invasion of small-scale mining by foreigners. According to him, the problems could be addressed effectively if the authorized agencies gain the requisite knowledge. He revealed this while speaking at this year’s 52nd Synod of the Methodist church at Tepa in the Ashanti region. He also spoke on the contribution of Caleb to the success of Joshua, one of Israel’s greatest leaders in the Bible. Rt. Rev. Safo-Kantanka charged the people to upgrade their knowledge in all fields of endeavour. The acquisition of knowledge by the people, he said, would enable

them, particularly the youth, to address appropriately the socio-economic challenges. The Methodist Bishop also tasked government to invest more in the human resource base of the country, insisting that it was the surest way to tackle the challenges that confront the country. ‘You can only develop the country by investing in your human resources and also by institutionalizing long-term proactive economic measures,’ Rt. Rev. Safo-Kantanka emphasized. Touching on other pressing national issues, the Methodist Bishop blamed the current socio-economic challenges on President John Dramani Mahama. According to him, the inaction of the country’s past leaders had resulted in the myriad of challenges. continued