Clergyman suggests harsh punishment for illegal miners

Prophet Dr Eric Amponsah, General Overseer of the Hope Generation Ministry International, on Wednesday appealed to the Government to severely punish anyone caught engaging in illegal mining, otherwise known as ‘galamsey’.

That would deter the people from engaging in the act to save the water bodies and the environment, he said.

Prophet Amponsah made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra.

He said: “Extreme behaviour must be met with extreme response. We are dealing with people who are determined at every point to make money without regards to human life and the environment.”

He said the total cost of equipment destroyed could not be compared to the lives negatively affected by the illegal activities of small scale miners and that stringent measures must be taken against them.

“Sometimes we need to be strong on wrongdoers. We have been pampering illegal miners for far too long and this is the time for Ghana to apply harsh measures to deter them from the act,” he said, and that burning of the excavators alone would not solve the problem.

“We should, therefore, stand by the military, operation vanguard and other stakeholders to ensure our water bodies are clean and safe,” he said.

Prophet Dr Aamponsah commended the Government for the efforts so far in dealing with the menace and urged Ghanaians to support it to win the fight.

“We should all join hands to fight the canker or we would end up importing water for baptism and other household chores,” he said.