“We have observed with satisfaction the efforts of His Excellency the President of the Republic and his government to protect our water bodies, farm lands, forest reserves, and their commitment to end illegal mining in the country,” the two bodies said.

This was in a communiqué issued at the end of the 2017 Annual Joint Meeting by the Council and the Conference in Accra on Saturday. The Communiqué was jointly signed by Reverend Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG), Rev. Fr. Lazarus Anondee, Secretary General of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC), Rev. Dr. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, Chairman of the CCG and the Most Rev. Philip Naameh, President of GCBC.

“We commend the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, the Media Coalition, religious bodies, traditional leaders, security agencies and all who have committed themselves to the fight against illegal mining in the nation,” it said.

It said illegal mining was destroying the livelihoods of ordinary Ghanaians and that, as a result, many of the youth had also abandoned the classroom to engage in the act leading to increase in illiteracy in the affected communities.

The communiqué, therefore, called on the Government to sustain the effort in the fight against galamsey to ensure that major river bodies like Birim, Prah, Ankobra and Densu become drinkable again.

It also called on pastors to join in the campaign against galamsey and use their pulpits to educate the people. It urged Christians to pray and commit themselves to the preservation of the environment and other natural resources at all times.Meanwhile, the annual meeting afforded the two bodies the opportunity to pray for the nation and discuss issues that were of interest to the church and country.