The President of Small Scale Miners Association, Michael Kojo Preprah is alleging that Chinese ‘galamsey queen’, Huang Ruixia alias Aisha Huang Aisha has been in the country for the past two years.
His comment comes on the back of the re-arrest of Aisha Huang who has been arraigned for fresh charges after sneaking into the country five years after she was deported.
Aisha Huang has been charged together with three others for engaging in sales and purchases of minerals without a license.
She is also separately on a provisional charge of engaging in mining without a license.
However, speaking to Starr News, Mr. Prepah indicated that Ghanaians only knew about her presence in Ghana again when she was reported to by another Chinese man.
“As matter of fact, Aisha Huang has been in this country for the past two years. She has been going around her normal activities – supermarket and mining activities. We saw her in the Ashanti region and honestly speaking she was working in a forest called Numiri forest reserve at Saman-Boi.”
He explained that “she had a problem with a Chinese national and that has brought about her arrest. If it wasn’t that Chinese who had reported her, I don’t think she will be arrested and facing any charges from the State.”
According to the President, there are Chinese nationals who are mining in Ghana’s forest reserves under the protection of State security such as the military among others.
“There are thousand and one Chinese nationals and kingpins who are engaging in galamsey activities in this country with the supervision of the State security. Go to Odahu forest reserve, Asasaman forest reserve, go to Numiri in Sama-Boi you will meet these Chinese nationals who are mining with impunity.”
The President for Small Scale Miners said the galamsey menace can only come to a halt only by a political will from the government to fight it head-on.
He added that the Community Mining Scheme launched by the government is rather full of Chinese nationals as if it was launched for the Chinese Nationals.”
He advised that for the galamsey menace to end the government must “arrest all these Chinese nationals and miscreants who are destroying our forest reserves and water bodies. Aisha alone is not the only Chinese who is engaging in galamsey activity.”
