The Ho East Presbytery Synod Moderator, Rev. (CSP) G. Akuamoah Boateng (RTD) has admonished Ghanaians to take cognizance of the health implications of illegal mining and desist from it.

According to him, illegal small-scale mining, also known as 'galamsey' has not only left the forest bodies devastated but negatively impacted the water, sanitation, and health of residents in the affected stead.

Speaking at the 30th National Delegates Conference of the National Presbyters’ Union, he urged Ghanaians to obey God’s word and protect the environment.

He said there is an urgent call for action for the leaders to put their shoulders to the wheel and save the country from the menace, which also robbed Ghana of the first spot in the league of cocoa-producing countries.

“Our forests are being raped. We are depleting our forests left right centre, nobody’s business. Today you go to the cocoa-producing areas, especially in the Western and Eastern Regions, now we are prioritizing gold over our long-standing cocoa, where once upon a time we were the first in the world, now Cote d’Ivoire has pushed us to the second position. Because galamsey has taken over our forests to the extent that cocoa farmers are suffering. People will hijack their farms and just destroy them because they are looking for gold”, he lamented.

He stressed Ghana awaits a looming danger as the shorelines have become preferred sites for housing units.

“When the sea comes at us, flooding will be all over the place, and the places that at the buffer to prevent the sea from entering the land which are Ramsar sites, we have now occupied these places, filled those places. So, the flooding that we have in Accra and all over the country is as a result of our poor management of God’s word that he gave to us” he said.

He, there advocated for immense tree planting to mark all occasions to help restore and preserve the environment for a healthier citizenry.

The Volta Regional Coordinating Director, Augustus Kwaku Awity who delivered an address on behalf of the Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa entreated the presbyters to be examples in society in leading the campaign to protect the environment.

The 30the National Delegates Conference of the National Presbyters’ Union was on the theme “Care for God’s creation, the mission of the church, the role of the presbytery”