GEAG and A Rocha Ghana petition Chief Justice and Others

 

 

Our Group, the Ghana Environmental Advocacy Group and A Rocha Ghana have petitioned the Chief Justice, the Interior Minister and the IGP, copying the Speaker of Parliament to account for missing foreign nationals arrested for breaking Ghana’s mining laws.

The groups penned the joint petition following a report by The Fourth Estate on July 20, 2022. The report detailed how, of the number of people jailed for breaking Ghana’s mining laws, only two of them were Chinese nationals. This is in spite of the hundreds arrested over the period.

In the petition, the two groups expressed concern over the development, noting

“That the kind of Galamsey engaged in by most foreign nationals causes some of the worst environmental damage to our country’s rivers, lands and forests is known by all. This is because of the level of sophistication and the type of heavy machinery used by them.”

“The case of En (Aisha) Huang who gained notoriety as a Galamsey Queen is a case in point. Since her arrest and very controversial deportation there has been other countless, highly publicized arrests with pictures showing disturbing environmental degradation arising from the actions of these culprits.
To read that those arrested end up quietly deported to their home countries with their loot without any further consequences while the state and local communities are left to reel under the weight of the environmental degradation they leave behind is both unconscionable and irresponsible.”

The groups demanded of the bodies petitioned to, as a matter of urgency:

a. Share with Ghanaians the number of foreign nationals arrested for engaging in illegal mining in Ghana and their nationalities.
b. Number of those arrested that are currently in jail
c. Number of those who have been released and for what reason (s)
d. Number of those deported and under what conditions
e. Number of such deportees who have returned and
f. Measures that have been put in place to ensure that new people coming do not engage in illegal mining in Ghana.

“The environmental cost of illegal and irresponsible mining has been enormous on the country, and any loopholes in our system that encourages the breaking of the law, especially by foreign nationals should be of concern to all, especially those of you entrusted with this responsibility.” They added.

In another development, Aisha Huang has been re-arrested in Ghana days after our petition was delivered. This has brought a new focus on the state of our country and the need for urgent answers to the questions raised in our petition.