The CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, has fiercely denounced the latest xenophobic violence in South Africa, demanding a joint and firm African pushback against repeated assaults on foreigners.
His remarks land as Ghanaians argue whether to block the lease renewal of Gold Fields Ghana Limited, a South African firm in the country, as payback for attacks that have hit migrants, including Ghanaians. While some groups want retaliation via the lease process, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Ghana is pushing for wider resource nationalism across Ghana’s mining sector.
But Ing. Ashigbey says the moment calls for a tougher moral and political line from the continent, pressing African states to speak as one against xenophobia.
On Citi Prime News, he called the violence “shameful and regrettable,” especially given how Ghana and other African nations backed South Africa during the anti-Apartheid fight.
He also urged continental solidarity to tackle the problem, insisting on strong steps through regional bodies. He praised Ghana for taking the issue to the African Union, calling it the right channel for accountability and joint action.
“It is so shameful and regrettable that a country that Ghana and other countries have supported during the period of Apartheid would come to this,” he said.“I support the stance government has taken, going to the AU and now ensuring that this xenophobic attacks have been tabled at the AU so that we use those means to be able to ensure that we deal with this.
“We should send very clear messages to the South Africans that they should not let their actions put a spanner in the wheel of move for African unity and the African trade agreement,” he added.
