An Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra, Most Rev. John Kobina Louis, has stated that galamsey has become one of the greatest ecological, moral and spiritual crises in the country.
“Rivers once full of life— Ankobra, Ayensu, Birim, Offin, Pra, etc. —are now poisoned with mercury and sludge; forests once filled with beauty and biodiversity are now wastelands of death; children in mining areas are being born with deformities or into environments that are unsafe to live in; farmers are losing their lands. Fishermen cannot fish, and many farm produce and fish are unsafe for consumption,” he stated.
Delivering his homily at the St John Fisher Catholic Church, New Achimota in Accra on the theme: “The sin against Lazarus in Ghana today”, based on the readings: Amos 6:1,4-7/ 1 Timothy 6:11-16/ Luke 16:19–31, Most Rev. Louis likened galamsey to a festering wound on Lazarus’ body.
He said the Lazarus today was not just an individual but a symbol of the oppressed, the abandoned, the voiceless in our society.
“In Ghana, Lazarus lies at the gate of national governance, crying out in many forms: the unemployed graduate roaming the streets, the market woman who cannot afford basic health care; the child in a village whose classroom is a crumbling shed; the street and trafficked children and the youth who are disillusioned because of injustice and corruption,” he said.
Who suffers
Most Rev. Louis noted that the poor were drinking the polluted water; the poor farm the contaminated soil; the poor fall sick and die, “while the rich and powerful—both local and foreign—feast on the proceeds of destruction.
“This is a national sin against Lazarus. It is not just a policy failure; it is a moral collapse. And make no mistake: God sees!” he stated
He said the rich man in the parable was not condemned because he was rich, but because he saw Lazarus every day and did nothing.
Most Rev. Louis wondered why it was so hard to stop galamsey, why laws existed only on paper and not in action and who the beneficiaries were.
“We are becoming like the rich man—feasting while Lazarus dies at the gate of polluted rivers and poisoned soil,” he observed.
Stewardship, not exploitation
The Bishop pointed out that leaders were not elected to exploit national resources for personal gain but entrusted to protect the common good, defend the weak, and preserve creation for future generations.
“We need a new kind of leadership—one that fears God, loves justice and values people over profit.
“And we, the Church, must raise our voices—not only in prayer, but in prophetic action.
Like the prophet Amos, we must continue to call on the government to stop galamsey.
And we must not relent until we see the government take sustained courageous policy changes and enforcement, with tangible positive outcomes for the land God has given us,” he stated, adding, “As the conscience of the nation, let the leadership of the Church boycott all government or political functions, as long as the wounds of Lazarus are festering”.
