An Immigration official explains repatriation formalities to the Chinese.
Two hundred and two Chinese engaged in illegal mining in the country have volunteered to return to their home country.They have, therefore, pleaded with the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) to process and repatriate them to China.
Their decision to return home stems from a clampdown on illegal mining activities by the authorities.
In response to their request, the GIS has scheduled to screen them to confirm their nationalities before allowing the Chinese Embassy to arrange for their departure from Ghana.
The Head of Public Affairs of the GIS, Mr Francis Palmdeti, told the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday that the Chinese were now being kept at immigration detention centres.
He said the screening process would enable the GIS to establish how the Chinese entered the country and where they carried out their illegal mining activities.
According to Mr Palmdeti, the Chinese first expressed their intention to return home to the Chinese Embassy, which arranged to convey them to the GIS for the necessary screening and documentation.
Illegal mining activities have intensified lately, resulting in considerable damage to the environment and some water bodies. Occasional clashes between some illegal Chinese miners and Ghanaians have led to the death of some Ghanaians.
Recently, two Ghanaians were allegedly shot dead by illegal Chinese miners over a disputed land at Mamiriwa in Obuasi in the Ashanti Region.
Following the incident, the police picked up two Chinese for interrogation.
The suspects, Li Wen Zhong and Li Shi Li, were said to be among a group of 14 illegal miners who opened fire on the defenceless Ghanaians, numbering 10, killing the two on the spot and critically injuring two others.
The other 12 Chinese suspects are said to be on the run.
It is estimated that 1,000 Chinese are engaged in illegal mining in the Ashanti Region alone.
In July 2012, violence erupted at an illegal goldmine at Manso-Nsiena in the Amansie West District in the Ashanti Region when some illegal Chinese miners went on the offensive with gunfire to ward off anti-illegal mining protests by the members of the community.
Not even the presence of the immediate overlord of the area, the Otumfuo’s Werempemhene, Nana Opia Mensah II, could make the Chinese stop firing, forcing three young men from the community to also fire back.
There were no casualties, but the firing went on for about 30 minutes before armed policemen arrived from Manso Nkwanta to save the situation from deteriorating.
Six groups of illegal Chinese miners were, as of that time, operating at Manso-Nsiena, a predominantly farming community of about 1,000 inhabitants.
Mr Palmdeti said some other Chinese had been detained, saying they had not expressed the willingness to return home.
He explained that that category would have to be documented separately to establish who they were in order to grant them bail, stressing that the GIS had intensified its effort at enforcing the regulation that debarred foreigners from participating in small-scale mining.
“We have to ensure that people engage in the business legitimately because small-scale mining is meant for Ghanaians only,” he said.
The Chinese government has already given its backing to the Government of Ghana to sanction Chinese companies and individuals whose actions contravened the laws and welfare of the citizens of their host country.
On June 8, 2013, about 60 foreigners were arrested for allegedly indulging in gold mining at Kyebi and in some parts of the Western Region.
Mr Palmdeti said their respective embassies had been invited to confirm their true nationalities and provide them with travel documents to return to their home countries.
President John Mahama, in April this year, inaugurated the Inter-Ministerial Task Force on Illegal Mining.
The task force is co-ordinating the work of the operations team, which includes staff of the National Security Council Secretariat, the GIS, personnel of the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces.
The team has the mandate to arrest and ensure the prosecution of all who are engaged in illegal mining.
By Sebastian Syme & Francesca Annicchiarico