Pastor Predicts NPP's Doom in W/R

THE RESIDENT Pastor of Fountain of Life Mission in Prestea, Rev. Gershon Dankwa has predicted the doom of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Western Region come December 2008.

According to him, the NPP government has disappointed the people in Western Region by subjecting the Region to frequent military harassment and intimidation.

Speaking in an interview with journalists, Rev. Dankwa noted that the Prestea Township for instance "by kind courtesy of NPP government "is now under apartheid system of rule; we are in our own town but we don't have our freedom; the town is prowled by soldiers everyday."

He, however, explained that the military presence was as a result of the activities of artesanal miners popularly known as galamseyers on the concessionary area of Bogoso Gold Limited (BGL), a subsidiary of Golden Star Resources Limited and sometimes the people's protests against the negative impacts of BGL's activities.

But the Pastor was quick to add that the place where the galamseyers were working was voluntarily given out to them by BGL through the intervention of the former Regional Minister, as an offer to calm the youth down when they vehemently objected to the company's surface mining activities at the expense of the underground mine.

He also alleged that the Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, during the 2004 electioneering campaign on a political platform said, "No galamsey, no mining in Prestea because the galamsey people and mining companies are one."

Rev. Dankwa could not therefore fathom why the galamseyers should be chased out with soldiers.

"God in his wisdom saw that probably manufacturing industry will not thrive in Prestea that is why he deposited gold here but unfortunately the real owners are being impoverished because they cannot benefit from their bonafide natural gift", he preached.

According to him, but for the galamsey, most of the youth in the Region would have engaged in several forms of crime, given the lack of employment avenues for youth in the area.

He believed that if the underground mining had not been closed, nobody would have ever gone for galamsey in the area let alone complaining of unemployment because the underground mining could absorb all the galamseyers in Prestea.

Rev. Dankwa admitted that though the galamsey was risky, the galamseyers who were mainly bread winners must fend for themselves and their families.

He could not comprehend why countries with endowed with mineral resources like Ghana were going in and out of disgraceful agreements such as HIPC among others He said life had become unbearable in Prestea even though the area was endowed with mineral resources, they were not benefiting from those natural resource.

Rev. Dankwa concluded that as a Pastor, he was concerned because "my church members become assets when employed but liability to the church, the family and the society when jobless", adding, "One important thing a Christian needs after salvation is peace and good living."