A Ghanaian American-based preacher, Bishop Adonteng Boateng, has called on all stakeholders, including members of the clergy, to adopt a concerted approach in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey. Reacting to a recent viral video where members of the clergy, during a fact-finding mission, were seen praying at the bank of a river polluted by galamsey, Bishop Adonteng Boateng called for pragmatic efforts instead of fasting and prayers in battling galamsey. “Prayers cannot stop galamsey and no amount of fasting can stop galamsey. My prayer is that the leadership of the country will rather make a concerted effort to help the people because at the end it is only a few people who benefit from galamsey at the expense of the larger population,” he told Oman Channel in an interview monitored by GhanaWeb. He emphasised that while the pastors may have had a clear motive in praying at the river bank, there is however the need for practicality to be used in curbing the galamsey menace. “I don’t know the motive with which the pastors went to pray at the river bank. It was probably to bring attention to the effects of galamsey and so I wouldn’t want to criticise them. Most of them are my fathers whom I hold in high regard,” he stated. Several of Ghana’s water and river bodies are currently under threat from the effects of illegal mining activities. This has led to various public calls on the government to take drastic measures in fighting the menace. Meanwhile, the Christian Council has declared Monday, October 24, 2022, to Sunday, October 30, 2022, as ‘National Week of Fasting and Prayers Against Galamsey’. In a release dated Monday, October 17, 2022, the council said “For many years now, our sovereign country Ghana has been witnessing under our very naked eyes, the saddest "environmental coup d'éta" ever unleashed upon our nation, heralding a programmed and complete "ecological disaster" or destruction. “We are calling for a week of fasting and prayers to pray for change of heart and for God's mercy upon our nation for the destruction we have caused the environment 2. We call for the IMMEDIATE BAN of all small-scale mining,” it added. Watch the interview below: You can also watch this episode of People & Places on GhanaWeb TV: IB/DA