The Minister of Information, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has appealed to the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Sun Baohong, to call Chinese engaged in illegal small-scale mining in the country to order.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, shortly after his inauguration on 7 January, launched a massive campaign against galamsey with John Amewu, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, at the forefront. Some Chinese nationals have been arrested for engaging in the activity.
To this end, Mr Hamid, interacting with Ms Baohong when she paid a courtesy call on him in his office in Accra Tuesday 9 May, urged her to advise Chinese in the country to be law-abiding. “Do unto others what you want them to do unto you,” he said, adding: “Of course, China would not want Ghanaians to disrespect its laws and indulge in activities that have damning consequences on the country, and we expect same from Chinese in Ghana.”
Mr Hamid, however, added that the campaign against galamsey was not targeted at only Chinese but anybody engaged in it regardless of their nationality.
Mr Hamid expressed gratitude to China and Chinese businesses in Ghana for their tremendous contribution to Ghana’s economy. He noted that China was a major trading destination for Ghanaian businessmen and women and described that country as Ghana’s major development partner.
“China is a great example of how a modern economy should look like, so you would certainly be important stakeholders to us on how we model the local economy and we will be happy to collaborate with you for our mutual benefit,” he stated.
On her part, Ms Baohong said the Chinese government was ready to collaborate with Ghana to end illegal mining and deepen the cooperation between the two countries.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
