Traditional Priest Says Galamsey Has Rendered River Deities Powerless, Urges Government To Act
- Okomfo Baffour Gyan, a traditional priest, has demanded that the government act swiftly to end the galamsey menace
- He said the activities of galamsey miners have rendered river deities powerless due to the destruction of their homes
- He said galamsey activities are a threat to traditional beliefs and ways of worship and appealed for swift intervention
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A traditional priest, Okomfo Baffour Gyau, has expressed concern about the adverse effects illegal mining, also known as galamsey, is having on traditional worship in Ghana.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 14th Yam Festival in Bibiani Old Town, Okomfo Gyan stated that many river deities have lost their powers due to the pollution of their homes.
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He said this has resulted in a steady increase in natural and man-made disasters afflicting the country.
He said the many road accidents, armed robberies and killings, among others, are because the gods have lost their power to protect community members.
Okomfo Gyau, who is based in Abofrem in the Ashanti Region, called on the government to quickly end the galamsey menace and restore the rivers to their old glories.
He said that galamsey was killing the water bodies and making their ways of worship extinct.
His sentiment is echoed by members of the Christian community who say the pollution of the river bodies has also affected the performance of certain sacred rites for new converts, among others.
SDA laments galamsey effect on soul-winning efforts
The Seventh-Day Adventist Church has also lamented the adverse impact of illegal mining on their soul-winning efforts.
Pastor Edward Nyarkoh, the Executive Secretary of the Northern Ghana Union of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, said the church was forced to build baptistries after streams and rivers used to baptise new converts had been affected by galamsey.
He told JoyNews that the increasing turbidity of the streams and rivers has made them unsafe for the baptismal services.
He added that the church was forced to move their baptismal services to baptistries to avoid contaminating new converts and officiating pastors.
Catholic Church to sanction illegal miners
YEN.com.gh also reported that the Catholic Church has warned it would take action against members of the church who engage in illegal mining activities.
The church said the first of such punitive actions is to refuse donations sourced from the proceeds of illegal mining, commonly called galamsey in Ghana.
The decision formed part of a broader set of church sanctions geared at deterring church members from engaging in harmful illegal mining activities.
Proofread by Bruce Douglas, senior copy editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh
