The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Tong Defa, has asked Chinese residents in Ghana to stay away from illegal mining activities in the country popularly called (galamsey)
The envoy also urged the Ghanaian government to deal with Chinese nationals engaged in illegal mining activities in Ghana, to serve as deterrent to others.
According to him, the law must take its full course on any Chinese who disrespect the laws of Ghana by involving in the destruction of water bodies and vegetative cover of the country.
Mr Defa told journalists in Accra that the Chinese government discouraged its citizens from undertaking illegal mining activities in Ghana and that there was a Chinese company doing legitimate mining business under strict environmental mining laws in the Upper East Region of Ghana.
“We support rule of law and so we discourage Chinese nationals from breaking the law,” he said.
The Ghanaian Times report quoted the ambassador as saying that not all Chinese in Ghana engage in illegal mining and that in 2018, President Xi Jinping urged President Akufo-Addo to punish those who engage in illegal mining.
Mr Dame said that 76 persons, including 18 foreigners had so far been convicted from August 2021 to date.
He said the convicts, who were serving various sentences in prisons nationwide, include the acclaimed Chinese galamsey queen, En Huang, also known as Aisha Huang, who was convicted on December, 4, 2023 of offences committed between 2014 and 2016.
The A-G and Minister of Justice noted that most of the convicts were sentenced under the new law – Act 995 to a minimum of 15 years plus a heavy fine in the case of a Ghanaian and a minimum of 20 years plus a hefty fine for a non-Ghanaian.
He said currently, over 140 cases of illegal mining involving more than 850 accused were being prosecuted in courts in the Western, Eastern, Ashanti, Greater Accra and Upper East regions of Ghana with some nearing conclusion.
According to the report by The Ghanaian Times on Monday, Ghana is currently grappling with the menace of illegal mining, as calls for its outright ban intensifies.
Apart from the destruction to the environment, including the pollution of rivers and other water bodies, which served as sources of drinking water, the chemicals used in illegal mining poses serious health threats such as kidney diseases, and increased number of mothers in some mining communities giving birth to children with disabilities.
GIK/APA