Last Wednesday, MyNewsGh.com reported of how Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Marfo sought to justify the decision by an Accra High Court to free embattled Chinese galamsey queen Aisha Huang who was deported back to China, her home country in December last year.
This follows a question asked by a Ghanaian USA based Mining Engineer and former NPP-California Deputy Secretary, Mr. Solomon Owusu on the reason behind Aisha Huang’s nolle prosequi and her subsequent deportation without punishing her to serve as deterrent to other potential Chinese illegal miners invading in Ghana to degrade the environment.
In his response, the Senior Minister stated that the NPP government decided not to prosecute Aisha Huang, popularly known as galamsey queen, because prosecuting the Chinese national wouldn’t end galamsey and again, wouldn’t solve Ghana’s monetary problems. Majority of the attendees couldn’t grasp the government’s decision to discharge the Chinese illegal miner, after arresting her in the act of operating illegal mining in Ghana. The answer generated some level of confusion in the hall.
Read the full text of the response below;
“We have a very good relationship with China. Today, the main company that is helping develop the infrastructure system in Ghana is Sinohydro, it is a Chinese Company. It is the one that is going to help process our bauxite and provide about two billion dollars to us.”
“So when there are these kinds of arrangements, there are other things behind the scenes. Putting that lady (Aisha) in jail in Ghana is not going to solve your economic problems. It is not going to make you happy or me happy, that’s not important, the most important thing is that she has been deported from Ghana…”
“…I am saying that there are many other things beyond what we see in these matters and everybody is wide awake, the most important thing is that we have banned this, we have established regulations and we are protecting our environment. That is far more important than one Chinese woman who has been deported out of the country”.
Source:MyNewsGh.com
