The Chairman of the Political Committee of the Conventions Peoples Party (CPP) has bemoaned the failure of the government to take action against the Chinese government for the illegalities of its citizens in Ghana.
Speaking in a 3news interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Kwame Jantuah said that he is surprised that the government is not considering actions against the Chinese government for the havoc its citizens are creating in Ghana.
Jantuah, who is a lawyer, added that the government must seriously consider sanctioning the Chinese government and its citizens for the destruction they are causing in Ghana with their illegal mining (galamsey) and lumbering activities.
"The elephant in the room we are not attacking. What are we doing with the Chinese government? Do you think if Ghanaians go to do this in China, they will go scot-free? Do you know the amount of redwood that was exported by Aisha Huang's apparent cousin? What have we done about it? Did it (the wood) not go to China?
"Have we taken the Chinese government on because of what its people are doing in our country? Have we been able to even sniff at them to show a little bit of how we also have sovereign power in our country?
"Have we decided that we are banning Chinese from coming into this country? Have we been able to do it? Our land is being destroyed and most of the culprits are from China. The ones who are bringing in the excavators (and) putting money in (for galamsey) are Chinese. And we are quiet; we are sitting there. Is that we are scared?" he questioned.
Jantuah said that criticism is not only against the current Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government but against all the governments Ghana has had in the fourth republic.
He added that Ghana would continue to suffer until all stakeholders in the country, including the political leaders, come together to develop a solution to stop the illegalities being perpetuated by foreigners in the country.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Ghana has reacted to recent arrests of some Chinese nationals engaged in illegal activities, including the menace of galamsey in the country.
According to the Embassy, it supports the Government of Ghana's decision to crack down on illegal mining activities in the country.
In official remarks by a spokesperson on the issue, as sighted by GhanaWeb, the Embassy said the Chinese government has always asked citizens overseas to abide by the laws and regulations of the host country.
"The Chinese government has always requested Chinese citizens overseas to abide by the laws and regulations of the host country, firmly opposes Chinese citizens to engage in any illegal activities in any country, and supports the Ghanaian government to fight against illegal mining according to the law," the remarks by the Spokesperson said.
"We respect the Ghanaian side to deal with the relevant case according to the law. We hope the Ghanaian side fully safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens," it added.
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Lawyer Kwame Jantuah