File photo of a galamsey site
Eco-Conscious Citizens, a leading environmental advocacy group, has called on Interior Minister Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka to reconsider his decision to deport foreigners involved in illegal mining (galamsey) without trial.
During an engagement with the Ashanti Regional Police Command, the Minister announced that the government would deport such individuals instead of prosecuting them, citing the need to protect the environment and save the country money.
“We have resolved, as a new policy, that for two things—whether you’re involved in galamsey or cutting down our trees unlawfully, or engaging in fraudulent activities, whether through computer fraud or other means—when we arrest any foreigner, we are not interested in prosecuting them. Our first option is to take them back to their country,” the minister stated.
“The prosecutors within the police have officially written to the Attorney General. We are not interested in prosecuting people who are destroying our environment or defrauding people across the globe. What we want is to take them back to their country and put them on the stop list, ensuring they can never return to our country.”
Reacting to this on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, the Coordinator for Eco-Conscious Citizens, Awula Serwah, disagreed with the policy, arguing that it would create an avenue for more foreigners to engage in galamsey.
She believes that punishment before deportation is necessary to serve as a deterrent.
She said, “If someone is involved in environmental terrorism, destroying our forest reserves and poisoning the water bodies, and what you’re saying is that they can come to Ghana, engage in these activities, and when we catch them, we just pay for their fare to return to their country without prosecution, no jail time, and no restitution—then that’s not a deterrent. We all know how porous our borders are, and the case of Aisha Huang shows that people can return under a different name or identity. I struggle to understand what kind of deterrent this will be.”
Serwah questioned the effectiveness of the policy, citing the case of Aisha Huang, who managed to return to Ghana despite being previously deported.
“We know the facts about how Aisha Huang managed to come back. If you want a deterrent, there needs to be something so severe that they will not contemplate coming back. But with this policy, the worst-case scenario is that if they are caught, they’ll just be sent back to their country. So, where is the deterrent? People believe they can make a lot of money from mining gold, which is why there’s a rush to engage in galamsey. Ghanaians themselves are involved and competent in it.”
She emphasised the need for robust action, including prosecution and imprisonment, to discourage foreigners from engaging in galamsey.
“So if you want to stop it, I keep saying I struggle to understand how merely deporting them will help. It’s also going against the law because the Lands and Minerals Act clearly states that those caught should be prosecuted.
“The idea that we won’t prosecute them to save money doesn’t stand scrutiny. You need to deal with them robustly to discourage them from coming. You need to prosecute and imprison them, and then after they’ve served their sentences, they can return to their country.”