A renowned evangelist, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Tetteh, has described Ghana’s fight against the illegal small scale mining (also known as galamsey) as a joke, considering how pretentiously everyone has been handling it.

According to him, there is no secret to the people engaged in the trade, as well as how they are able to even get by freely flouting the country’s laws.

Speaking in a short clip taken from the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation’s Breakfast Show, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Tetteh described how he personally witnessed the extent of damage that galamsey has caused to the environment.

“I have had the chance to go to Tarkwa, with my team as a form of excursion and curiosity, got to see galamsey sites. We advanced to see some in Obuasi and I think it’s a joke if we make talks that we’re fighting galamsey,” he said.

The respected Man of God further stated that authorities in the country know very well the genesis of galamsey and why it has become such an emboldened sector, but are refusing to tackle it head on.

“Everybody knows where galamsey is. Everybody knows the perpetrators… how does the equipment get to Ghana? The equipment don’t fly straight from China. The equipment don’t fly straight from Japan. The equipment don’t come straight from other parts straight; it goes through our ports of entry. Who monitors them?

“I think that it’s about time as a nation, we walk the talk and stop limiting ourselves to very trivial things. Galamsey is destroying our water bodies, it has destroyed our nation,” he added.

The Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government has been on a relentless campaign to completely stop galamsey in the country but it has continuously been met with many challenges.