The CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr Ken Ashigbey, has responded to recent controversial remarks made by the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, HE Tong Defa, regarding the illegal mining menace in the country.
According to a myjoyonline.com report on June 21, 2025, Ashigbey's reaction follows, the Ambassador's suggestion that Ghanaians are primarily to blame for facilitating illegal mining not Chinese, stressing that the practice might be impossible to eliminate.
He sought to dissociate Chinese nationals from leading the menace that is fast depleting forest reserves and water bodies across the country.
However, Dr Ashigbey, a strong anti-galamsey advocate, has emphasised the need for accountability and collective action, cautioning against absolving foreign enablers in an interview on Joy FM on Friday, June 20. "He [Chinese Ambassador] cannot run away from the fact that there are some Chinese individuals who are part of the illegality that is happening.
