Dr Ken Ashigbey, the CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines has stated that the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana Tong Defa cannot run away from the fact some Chinese are involved in galamsey.
Speaking on JOY News Ken Ashigbey stated, “He cannot run away from the fact that there are some Chinese individuals who are part of the illegality that is happening.
Meanwhile, they would not even dare think about some of the things that you know they are doing in Ghana in China. So, there’s a role that he [Chinese Ambassador] has to play as we [Ghanaians] also have to play,” he stated.
“Let me disappoint him. His Excellency, the President, the Minister for Lands and Natural resources and the IGP are bent on definitely winning the war against illegal mining and irresponsible mining, in which some of his kinsmen are sometimes complicit and involved; you will find out that if you look at the Operation Vangard data from all those days, the majority of the foreigners who are arrested are Chinese people,” he added.
His comments come on the back of the Tong Defa, the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana shockingly stated Ghana can never eliminate” illegal mining, known locally as galamsey.
According to Tong Defa, the government must find ways to rather manage galamseyers environmental impact.
He further blamed Ghanaians, and not Chinese nationals for the galamsey crisis.
The Chinese Ambassador asserted that Ghanaian locals are the ones facilitating the illegal activities.
Speaking to the media interaction held at his private residence in Accra, Tong Defa stated, “To my understanding, in this country, you can never eliminate those small mines. Those mines, you will have illegalities involved in them,” he said. “We need to find ways to solve this problem… The government needs to work on a policy to eliminate the pollution of waters and forests.”
“I don’t understand why when people say galamsey, they equate it to Chinese,” he stressed.
He added, “Actually, it is not Chinese. It didn’t originate from China. Chinese nationals cannot obtain licences or get permits. It is the Ghanaian people who throw the Chinese people over here.”
“Some of those who were caught red-handed are just migrant workers… I have a social media and when I post on X, people tag me with galamsey as if galamsey is caused by China. It is unfair to me. It is really unfair to me and to the majority of Chinese,” he lamented.
“A lot of your projects are built by Chinese companies. Your roads, your ports, etc., are built by Chinese companies. Do any normal Ghanaian people know about this?” he asked.
