Today in 2019: Ghanaians protect Chinese illegal miners – Chinese Ambassador

The Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Ghana, His Excellency Shi Ting Wang, in 2019 revealed that Chinese nationals who were involved in illegal mining in the country were receiving support and protection from Ghanaian nationals.

According to Ambassador Wang, some local people were protecting the Chinese to smoothly engage in Galamsey.

Speaking at a lecture organised by the Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), he noted that, the Chinese government was working with the Ghanaian government to end illegal mining.

“I believe some local people provide protection for the Chinese people. Otherwise, the Chinese people, when they came to Ghana, cannot survive without the protection of local people. We hope we can work together to find the brutal cause of Galamsey. We are working together with the Ghana government to stop illegal mining,” said Ambassador Wang.

Read the full story originally published on April 19, 2019, on Ghanaweb

The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Shi Ting Wang has said Chinese nationals who engage in illegal mining in Ghana popularly called galamsey do so with support and help of Ghanaians.

Ambassador Wang says Chinese nationals could not have identified gold concessions without the support of local people.

Speaking at a lecture organised by the Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), the Ambassador said the Chinese government will however not protect any of its citizens who breach the laws of Ghana.

“I believe some local people provide protection for the Chinese people. Otherwise, the Chinese people, when they came to Ghana, cannot survive without the protection of local people. We hope we can work together to find the brutal cause of Galamsey. We are working together with the Ghana government to stop illegal mining.”

His comments follow Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo’s justification of government’s decision to discontinue the prosecution of a Chinese national, Aisha Huang, who was being tried for engaging in illegal mining in the country.

According to him, jailing her in Ghana will not solve the country’s economic problems.

He made the comments at the government’s recent town hall meeting in the US in response to a question from a participant at the program who sought to know why the government deported the Chinese national instead of jailing her in accordance with Ghanaian laws.

Osafo Maafo in his response stressed Ghana’s diplomatic ties with China and the huge investments Chinese companies are making in developing the country’s infrastructure, citing the $2 billion Sinohydro deal.

“We have a very good relationship with China. Today, the main company that is helping develop the infrastructure system in Ghana is Sinohydro, it is a Chinese Company. It is the one that is going to help process our bauxite and provide about two billion dollars to us… So when there are these kinds of arrangements, there are other things behind the scenes,” the minister stressed.

“Putting that lady (Aisha) in jail in Ghana is not going to solve your economic problems. It is not going to make you happy or me happy, that’s not important, the most important thing is that she has been deported from Ghana,” added that.

Aisha and four of her Chinese employees were arraigned before the court on May 9, 2017, for engaging in illegal small-scale mining at Bepotenten in the Amansie Central District in the Ashanti Region.

She was charged with three counts of undertaking small-scale mining operations, contrary to Section 99 (1) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703); providing mining support services without valid registration with the Minerals Commission, contrary to the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), and the illegal employment of foreign nationals, contrary to the Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573).

The other four accused persons were charged with disobedience of directives given by or under the Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573).

The state’s decision to discontinue the case much later saw the court discharge the five accused persons.

Aisha Huang and the four others were subsequently deported to China in what some Ghanaians said was a betrayal especially as the government vowed to deal with illegal miners whose actions had destroyed the country’s land and water bodies.