The National President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Professor Mamudu Akudugu, has taken issue with recent remarks by the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Tong Defa, regarding illegal mining, widely known as galamsey.

In a pointed response, Prof Akudugu questioned why Chinese nationals are frequently linked to galamsey activities in Ghana and urged the ambassador to reflect on the reasons behind this consistent association.

Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, the UTAG President and member of the Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey (GCAG) criticised the ambassador for portraying Chinese nationals as victims instead of acknowledging their involvement in illegal mining operations.

“The Chinese Ambassador is completely wrong to be crying victim instead of advising his people not to engage in illegal activities,” he asserted.

“It is not only Chinese who are in Ghana; we have different nationals. So why do we always associate Chinese with galamsey? That is what the Ambassador should be asking himself,” Prof Akudugu stated. “How many nationalities are always arrested when galamsey sites are raided? My response to him is that the Chinese are complicit and come to do illegal activities like galamsey in Ghana. That is why they are always mentioned and arrested.”

The comments come in response to a media interaction in Accra on Thursday, 19th June, where Ambassador Tong Defa suggested that Ghanaians were primarily responsible for facilitating galamsey operations and hinted that the practice might be impossible to eliminate entirely.

Prof Akudugu, however, dismissed this notion and described the ambassador’s remarks as a challenge to Ghanaian authorities to intensify their enforcement and regulatory efforts.

“The Ambassador’s comment is a challenge to our authorities to exude their power and do more,” he said. “We believe that galamsey can end when the right steps are taken.”

He further explained that the GCAG has presented proposals to the government on responsible and sustainable mining practices.

“We have made some proposals, and we believe that if the government follows through, we can stop galamsey because it is about responsible mining, not stopping mining altogether. We can transform galamsey into something more sustainable and responsible,” he noted.