With growing concerns about the activities of Aisha Huang, a notorious Chinese lady in Ghana, aka the ‘galamsey queen’, President Akufo-Addo says he is unsure she was initially deported from the country. According to him, her re-emergence raises concerns about whether she left Ghana in the first place. Speaking on a Ho-based radio station, as part of his tour of the Volta Region, he expressed reservation about the nefarious activities of Aisha Huang and affirmed his support for her prosecution. “I’m not still sure whether she was in fact deported. Or whether she fled the country the first time and has now come back. There still seems to be some uncertainty about it. “But whichever way it is, she’s become the sort of nickname for all that galamsey represents”, he said. “We have concerted to work at it. We need to have the coorporation of the courts. Until recently when I came, the punishment for people caught was relatively light. [But] we’ve changed the law to stiffen the punishment for people caught,” he added. Commenting on the fight against galamsey, he also stated that compared to the past, the fight has become more popular in his regime. In his view, efforts to clamp down on illegal mining have seen a massive improvement under his watch as President. The President, therefore, urged Ghanaians to sustain the momentum in dealing with the menace. “The efforts have brought a lot of fruits first of all. Galamsey is now a subject of national discussion. Everywhere you go, there’s this matter of galamsey. We’ve at least achieved this purpose of heightening consciousness about it as an evil. “When I came, nobody was talking about galamsey. Since we came and focused on it, it is now the subject of discussions in homes, in offices, in meetings and all across Ghana. So that’s one positive development”, stressed Meanwhile, the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has expressed his resolve to prosecute notorious ‘galamsey’ poster girl, Aisha Huang for her past and recent crimes.
Galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang
Aisha, whose nefarious activities came to light again was recently arrested and arraigned before court. Following this development, there have been rife public concerns about the activities of the Chinese lady in Ghana. But the Attorney General says his outfit will deal swiftly with the issue and bring her and all collaborators to book.
Mahama unhappy with how government is dealing with galamsey
Meanwhile former President John Dramani Mahama says any Chinese who breaks the laws of Ghana must be made to face their full rigours as same will happen to Ghanaians who break the law in China. He said he will not be surprised if there are some Ghanaians languishing in Chinese jails for breaking the laws of the Asian economic powerhouse.
Mr Mahama
Speaking in an exclusive interview with TV3‘s Alfred Ocansey, Mr Mahama said he had to deport almost 5,000 illegal Chinese miners and Boeing 747s were deployed by the Chinese government then to specially airlift its nationals back home. This, he stressed, did not affect the good relationship Ghana had 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.” The three-time Presidential Candidate continued: “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 relation we have with China, we should allow them to continue to engage in illicit activities and we collaborated with the Chinese Embassies, they got 747s and they came and took their nationals away. “It didn’t destroy our relationship.”