Ablakwa Alarmed By Ghana’s Issuance of 931 Visas To Chinese In 3 Months
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is alarmed by the rate at which Chinese nationals are granted visas into the country by the Ghanaian Mission in China.
In a statement he said, the latest Performance Report from Ghana’s Embassy in China covering the 2nd Quarter of 2022 reveals that a “massive” 931 Ghanaian visas were issued to the Chinese just between April and June this year.
According to him, “a good number of these visa applications are of dubious and fraudulent validity and should not have been entertained by our Missions in China”.
He forecasts that by the end of 2022, about 4,000 visas will be issued by the Embassy.
This alarms him due to the rate at which these foreigners assemble themselves in illegal mining in the country upon their arrival.
Referencing a statement by a former Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, he called on the President and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to institute a new policy to drive the issuance of visas by the Embassy.
“It was former Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Shi Ting Wang who famously remarked in April 2019: “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”.”
“May I reiterate my consistent appeals to Ghana’s President and our Foreign Minister to urgently 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.”
In 2017, Chinese galamsey kingpin Huang Ruixia, popularly known as Aisha Huang and four other Chinese nationals namely Gao Jin Chen, Lu Qi Jun, Haibin Gao and Zhang Zhipeng were arrested and charged for their involvement in illegal mining in the country.
They were eventually left off the hook with Aisha Huang reportedly repatriated in 2018.
Early in September this year, news broke that the Chinese galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang had been spotted and rearrested in the country.
This time she was rounded up together with three others-Jong Li Hua, Huang Jei and Huiad Hiahu- for allegedly engaging in the sale of minerals without a licence and mining without a licence.
On September 8, five Chinese-Shi Zhong Qix, Wei Lin Xi, Huang Qian Xi, Li Jian Wen and Huang Qian Sheng- were arrested at their hideout at Asiama in the Ellembelle District of the Western region.
Their arrestes were in connection with two excavators that went missing in Ellembelle.
Also, In the wee hours of September 9, three other Chinese nationals were arrested by the Police for engaging in illegal mining in the Western region.
Their arrests were effected during a police anti-galamsey operation in the Region.
Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini
