As December 7th draws near, the political arena has turned into a carnival of faceless groups and activists, staging demonstrations with the ever-reliable galamsey as their trusty excuse.
And, oh, what a spectacle it has been! In one corner of this circus, we had the heavyweight showdown, Gyampo’s UTAG, flexing its academic muscles in a fierce brawl with what they, in all their scholarly wisdom, labeled as “disorganized labour.” Oh, the shade!
Meanwhile, I can’t shake the feeling that my ‘Lord’ Kpebu is quietly sharpening his judicial swords, preparing to unleash a legal drama that will soon sweep through the courts like a midday Accra traffic jam. Buckle up, folks. In my earlier writings, I noted how, in the golden heart of Ghana’s verdant landscapes, a shadow lurks an insidious threat that eats away at the very veins of our nation.
“Galamsey,” that local devil, preys on the earth, leaving trails of destruction on Ghana’s ‘premiere’ missionary group.
On Friday, October 11th, Ghana’s physical condition at Korlebu was no longer just an environmental issue, illegal mining has seeped into the very soul of Ghana, eroding the abandoned swimming pool of the National Cathedral and finally settling at the Pope’s annex, Christ the King Parish. The land, once a beacon of fertility and life, is now suffocated and gradually perishing beneath the weight of Labour Unions and the Media waiting for a state of emergency from the president.
The Catholic Church, in an unprecedented demonstration of spiritual and social responsibility, took to the streets, not merely for the salvation of souls, but for the redemption of the land itself. Clad in flowing white robes, rosaries clutched tightly in their hands, and prayers whispered fervently, the priests and faithfuls, led a procession through the heart of the capital.
Their purpose? To beseech divine intervention in the fight against galamsey. Perhaps the Gala’ menace has finally arrived “At the Mercy of the Pope”. When the church, a centuries-old bastion of spiritual and moral authority, steps into the arena of environmental justice, it signals that this is no longer merely a legal or political battle but a moral and existential one for the very soul of the nation. Maybe we can call it a National State of Emergency.
And what sight this must have been! The robes of the priests, fluttering like doves of peace, against the backdrop of a sky turned red by the bleeding earth. Their chants, rising not only to a distant God, but to the soul of a nation, ravaged by the greed of its own children. For is this not our doing? Is this galamsey not the offspring of our own neglect, our own avarice?
The church’s march was a call for collective reflection, invoking not just the mercy of the Pope, but the conscience of every Ghanaian. I was asking my good friend Kojo Asante, “the mercy they seek, is it for the miners who scrape away at the skin of Mother Ghana? Or mercy for the land itself, that has suffered long and bled enough?
Their prayers reflect the hope that, perhaps, divine grace can undo what human greed has wrought, Kojo posited. The answer lies in the symbolic weight of this march, where faith intersects with the collapse of the natural world, and the future of the land is at the mercy of more than just earthly powers.
Maybe “President Akua Donkor” was right to have been summoned by the EMT then for a prayer service to cause the Cedi to rise against the Dollar.
Indeed, Ghana finds itself kneeling in the dust of its once-green forests, praying for a salvation that has been delayed by the very hands of those entrusted with its protection. And yet, in the walk of faith led by the Catholic Church, there remains a symphony of hope, a belief that only through the combined powers of man and God can the fight for our environment be won.
If I may ask the gods, why are demonstrators interested in Accra than the galamsey areas?? Perhaps, that is the reason why the Pope and General Secretary of the GCBC, Father Clement Adjei, ESQ. has reaffirmed and reiterated during media interviews on JOY FM that the GCBC has never decided to go on GALAMSEY demonstration of any sort.
(Omankyeame, 2024)
