The Association is accusing a majority of illegal miners, commonly known as “galamsey” operators, of being Chinese nationals.
According to the Association’s President, Mr. Michael Kojo Peprah, many of these Chinese miners began arriving in Ghana in 2008. He claims that after being hired to build stadiums for the CAN 2008 tournament, they discovered Ghana’s rich gold deposits and chose to stay.
Mr. Peprah further alleges that these Chinese miners informed others about the opportunities in Ghana, leading to a steady influx of foreigners involved in illegal mining activities.
In an interview on Frontline on Rainbow Road 87.5FM, Mr. Peprah criticized political leaders and state officials whom he accuses of facilitating the illegal activities. He blames the government’s inability to effectively tackle galamsey on a mix of poor judgment and greed.
He argues that those in charge of solving the galamsey issue are often the same individuals benefiting from the illegal mining operations, which undermines genuine efforts to address the problem.
“CAN 2008, Ghana needed stadia, so we contracted the Chinese to construct them for us. They came in with excavators for the stadia. So after they finished constructing the stadia, they realised Ghana was endowed with gold, so they started excavating through the mining towns in the Western Region with the support of some Ghanaians. So our water bodies started being destroyed from 2008 through 2010. So you look at the chronology, the pollution and destruction of our water bodies started when the Chinese started arriving in Ghana.”