The Dormaahene Osaagyefo Oseadeeyo Dr. Agyemang Badu II, along with the Dormaa anti-galamsey task force and chiefs from the Dormaa Traditional Council, has conducted an operation at Dormaa-Akwamu, Akontanim, and Kobedi.
The operation was aimed at illegal mining (galamsey) activities in the area.
According to the report, during the operation, three individuals were arrested, and seven water pumping machines were seized.
The three galamseyers have since been handed over to the Ghana Police Service.
Dormaahene further issued a stern warning to anyone involved in illegal mining on Dormaa stool lands, ordering them to cease immediately or face consequences if apprehended.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has warned that the desecration of creation through illegal mining (galamsey) is a grave sin against God.
According to the Catholic Bishops’ in January and May 2025, they met President Mahama, but his response to their demand for a declaration of a state of emergency was unsatisfactory.
The Catholic Bishops cried out that once-pristine rivers such as the Pra, Ankobra, Birim, Offin, and Ayensu are now poisoned with mercury and toxic effluents.
They cited that turbidity levels in the Ayensu River have reached 32,000 NTU compared to the Ghana Water Company’s treatment threshold of 2,500 NTU, warning that purification is now impossible.
In a statement issued on Monday, September 15, 2025, the Catholic Bishops wrote, “Illegal and unregulated mining, commonly known as galamsey, has become one of the gravest afflictions of our time.
It ravages our rivers and forests, poisons our soil, endangers public health, corrupts governance, erodes our moral fibre, and extinguishes livelihoods.
This is not a routine challenge to be managed with half-measures; it is a national emergency requiring decisive, extraordinary response,” the bishops said.
The Bishop highlighted that the desecration of creation through galamsey is a grave sin against God.
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it. To desecrate creation through galamsey is not only an offence against neighbour; it is a grave sin against God Himself, the Creator and Owner of all,” they declared.
The Catholic Bishops statement added, “Farmers can no longer trust the land to sustain their families, and our capacity to feed the nation diminishes. Children, seduced by the mirage of quick riches, forsake school for perilous pits, many losing their lives in collapses that are both tragic and preventable.”
“This betrayal of trust cuts to the very marrow of our national identity. We call such leaders to repentance without delay.”
The Catholic Bishops further expressed dismay at President Mahama’s refusal to declare a state of emergency.
They added, “In both January and May 2025, delegations of our Conference raised these concerns directly with him, only to be met with unsatisfactory responses focused narrowly on economic gain.
“At his ‘Meet the Press’ session of 10 September 2025, he dismissed calls for a state of emergency. This is profoundly troubling. The hour is late. Delay is betrayal. Now, not tomorrow, not later, is the time to act.”
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, however, warned that declaring a state of emergency in galamsey-affected areas may be necessary, but it is not sufficient to address the full extent of the devastation.
“While urgent, a declaration is insufficient. Ghana requires a holistic, integrated national strategy”, the statement read.
According to the Bishops, the government must prosecute not only the poor but also the powerful.
“His government must prosecute not only the poor but also the powerful; not only the weak but also the well-connected. Without courage, no policy will stand, no law will hold, no declaration will succeed.”
“This struggle is not merely about law enforcement. It concerns the very soul of Ghana. It is about whether we choose life or death, blessing or curse. With God’s grace, let us choose life, for ourselves, for our children, and for generations yet unborn.”
Also, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, the acting Chief Justice, has said illegal mining has become worse.
The acting Chief Justice called for the government to take action.
