The Chinese government has directed the government of Ghana to deal with any Chinese national who is engaged in illegal mining, locally known as Galamsey.
In a recent interaction with journalists, the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Tong Defa, acknowledged that some Chinese nationals are involved in galamsey but reiterated that the Chinese government discourages such actions. "I know there are some Chinese involved in this illegal mining but we discourage them.
I accompanied President Akufo-Addo to Beijing.
When he met our president in 2018, our president said to him. 'If any Chinese commit any illegal sin in Ghana, you should do so according to your laws.' "We support that you act according to your law.
So, we discourage Chinese people from doing this illegal mining.
Actually, you have a lot of regulations for all the people including Ghanaians.
There are only a tiny fraction of Chinese doing this" he said in an interview with Joy News.
Illegal mining has recently become a menace with many calling for a temporary ban on small-scale mining.
Professional groups, associations and unions have all declared their intention to embark on a strike action if the government fails to act immediately to address it as soon as possible.
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