Galamsey: China angry over biased reportage,treatment of nationals

The China mission in Ghana is upset with the barrage of media reportage citing Chinese nationals as complicit in Ghana’s soaring challenge of illegal small-scale mining popularly called galamsey.

The mission has expressed reservations about the manner in which the West African country is treating Chinese engaged in illegal small-scale mining (galamsey).

The concerns of the China mission comes on the heels of the Akufo-Addo government relentless war against galamsey activities.

The debilitating effects of the activities of illegal mining has reached alarming levels in the West African nation.

At the national level, the Lands and Natural Resources Minister has issued a three-week ultimatum to illegal miners to halt their activities as government steps up the fight against illegal miners.

John Peter Amewu has warned that all illegal miners who fail to stop their activities would face harsh penalties for breaking the laws.

However, a correspondence forwarded to the ministry by the China mission expressed concerns about “a number of distorted or biased reports and stories on Chinese people, especially some reports and cartoons that are defaming Chinese leaders and senior officials.”

The letter sighted by this website noted: “The Chinese side is very concerned about this unhealthy tendency,” adding: “We hope the Ghanaian government will pay due attention to this situation, take necessary action to stop such things from happening.”

It continued:”The Chinese government attaches great importance to the illegal mining issue. The position of the Chinese government on this issue is consistent and clear-cut. The Chinese is firmly opposed to the involvement of Chinese citizens in illegal mining in Ghana and supports the efforts taken by the Ghanaian government to tackle the illegal mining issue within the legal framework.

“We sincerely hope that the Ghanaian government shall take responsibility of guiding the media and requesting them not to publicise such defamatory reports or stories against Chinese leaders, officials and the Chinese government. This will help create a sound environment for our joint efforts to address this issue and the continuous development of our bilateral relations.”