The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Tong Defa, has pushed back against the widespread perception that Chinese nationals are the primary culprits behind illegal small-scale mining, known as galamsey, in the country. In a media address on June 20, Ambassador Defa argued that the issue of illegal mining in Ghana did not originate from China and that Chinese nationals involved are often migrant workers brought in by Ghanaians.
According to Ambassador Defa, Chinese individuals do not have the legal capacity to acquire mining licenses on their own and are typically invited into the country by Ghanaians who facilitate their participation in the illegal mining trade. He emphasized that a national, long-term policy framework is needed to address the issue and its environmental consequences.
“We should work for a long-term policy on how to solve the problem to eliminate this pollution in waterbodies and in the forests,” he said. “To my understanding, you can never eliminate those small mines. These small mines have illegal activities involved in them.”
The Ambassador called for a more nuanced approach to tackling the issue, stressing that reactive, short-term measures will not solve the problem. He added, “I do not know the reason why, when people say galamsey, they normally equate that to the Chinese. But actually, it is not Chinese. The issue does not originate from the Chinese… The Chinese who are caught red-handed are just migrant workers who have come here and make a living.”
