Prophet Emmanuel Badu Kobi has called for small-scale miners to be taught how to restore land after mining, arguing that efforts to protect the environment should go hand in hand with the need for people to earn a living.
The founder and general overseer of Glorious Wave Church International made the point while explaining why he now agrees with Ghana Gold Board CEO Sammy Gyamfi’s position that unlicensed small-scale miners operating outside protected areas could be registered and formalised.
Badu Kobi said mining activities in forests and river bodies should not be accepted, but argued that miners working in areas outside those restrictions should be considered for formalisation rather than automatically prevented from working.
He said the next step after allowing mining in permitted locations should be to ensure that operators take responsibility for restoring the land.
“After they work, they must teach them how to reclaim,” he said in a video sighted by MyNewsGh.
The preacher also called for practical measures to make mined areas productive and attractive again, including planting vegetation.
“Things to plant to make the place look good. That’s all,” he added.
Badu Kobi’s comments suggest that the response to small-scale mining should involve both regulation and rehabilitation, rather than focusing solely on stopping miners from working. Under his proposed approach, miners would be allowed to earn a living in areas where mining is permitted and would then be taught how to restore the land.
He also defended the need to consider the economic circumstances of people involved in small-scale mining, particularly young men in rural communities who depend on the activity for their livelihoods.
“The young men in that village, they must work and eat,” he said.
Badu Kobi acknowledged that he had previously spoken against galamsey but said the livelihoods tied to the activity had influenced his thinking about how the issue should be addressed.
“Why was I speaking against galamsey years ago? You are touching galamsey. That’s their livelihood,” he said.
He maintained that the law must be respected in areas where mining is prohibited, while activities outside those restrictions should be considered differently.
“So what the law says about galamsey must be kept, but what the law doesn’t say about galamsey must not be kept and people must work and eat,” he stated.
