According to the former president of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, 5,000 illegal Chinese miners were deported while he was in office.
The NDC official made these assertions in an exclusive interview with TV3’s Alfred Ocansey. He also said that the Chinese government had deployed Boeing 747s at the time to transport its citizens back home.
According to John Mahama, although he deported 5,000 Chinese nationals that didn’t destroy Ghana’s relationship with China.
“When I was president, we valued the relations with China but if you are a Ghanaian and you go to China and you engage in illegality, they don’t say because of the good relation they have with Ghana, they are going to let you go scot-free.
“You are going to face the full rigours of the law in China, and I don’t doubt that there are some of our citizens in jail in China.”
“When I became President, I was faced with this same illegal gold mining.
“I deported almost 5,000 illegal Chinese miners. I didn’t say because of the good relationship we have with China, we should allow them to continue to engage in illicit activities we collaborated with the Chinese Embassies, they got 747s and they came and took their nationals away.
“It didn’t destroy our relationship.”
Following concerns expressed by some Ghanaians regarding the prosecution of well-known Chinese galamsey kingpin Aisha Huang, who is on trial at an Accra Circuit Court for indulging in illegal mining, John Mahama made his remarks.
Source: Mybrtytnewsroom.com/Joseph Asare
