The Ghanaian Embassy in China has issued a total of 931 Ghanaian visas to Chinese nationals from April to June 2022.
This, is according to information contained in the 2022-Second Quarter Performance Report from Ghana’s Embassy in China, disseminated by Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, via social media.
“Four travel certificates were also issued (majority of the TC’s were issued on gratis to our passports and required TC’s to facilitate their return home). Nine hundred (99) and thirty-one (31) visas were issued,” portions of the document dated July 21, 2022, read.
The embassy also noted that during the period under review, it processed and issued sixty-six (66) passports and thirty-two (32) authentications.
Mr Ablakwa, after sharing this information, expressed concern at the number of visas issued in such a short period.
He indicated that, “unimpeachable evidence available to” him “confirms that a good number of these visa applications are of dubious and fraudulent validity and should not have been entertained by” Ghana’s missions in Beijing.
The North Tongu legislator predicted that at this pace, a “staggering” four thousand (4,000) Ghanaian visas would have been issued to Chinese nationals by end of 2022.
Mr Ablakwa attributed the source of his worry to the number of foreigners, particularly Chinese, found engaging in illegal mining activities in the country.
In his post, he recalled the words of former Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Shi Ting Wang who famously remarked in April 2019 that “Ghanaians must acknowledge their role in the menace if the fight was to be successful. We don’t know where your gold is. We don’t issue visas too for the Chinese people coming to Ghana. Ghanaians issue the visas.”
“Ghanaians aid the Chinese to where they can find your gold. Why are Chinese not doing illegal mining in South Africa where there is also a lot of gold…because they cannot do that there and the locals don’t support such illegalities,” Mr Wang is quoted to have added.
Chinese national, Aisha Huang, known to be a galamsey kingpin, is currently in police custody with her several accomplices, the majority of them being Chinese, for allegedly engaging in illegal mining activities and the sale and purchase of minerals without a licence.
Aisha Huang was arrested and tried in 2017 for engaging in similar illegl mining activities.
Per recent reports, she was repatriated in 2018 and not deported as earlier reported by former Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo. Meanwhile, Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa has called on President Akufo-Addo and the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mrs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey to issue new policy directives streamlining visa approval processes for the strict compliance of consular officials in China.
“This ought to be a crucial intervention in the face of the current galamsey crisis,” he stressed.
Source: The Independent Ghana