Policy to deport foreigners engaged in galamsey terrible, very low — Manasseh Azure
Ghanaian investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has condemned the new policy introduced by Interior Minister Muntaka Mubarak to deport foreigners engaged in criminal activities, including illegal mining, instead of prosecuting them.
Speaking in Accra on Friday, April 4, the minister explained that the policy aims to swiftly remove foreign nationals who cause environmental destruction and other crimes in the country.
“When we arrest any foreigner, we are not interested in prosecuting. Our first option is to take them to their country. I have officially written to the Attorney General,” he said.
He added that individuals deported under this policy would be placed on a stop list, barring them from re-entering Ghana.
However, in an interview on Accra-based JoyNews on Friday, April 4, Manasseh Azure questioned why Ghanaians engaged in illegal mining are prosecuted while their foreign counterparts are simply deported.
He argued that such individuals should be punished rather than allowed to leave and enjoy the wealth they may have acquired through illegal activities.
“I think this is one of the lowest policies in our history as a people. And if someone else had done this to us, we would call it racism.
“I don’t understand why Ghanaians who are arrested for engaging in fraud, illegal mining, and the destruction of our lands, forest reserves, and water bodies are prosecuted and jailed, yet foreigners who come here, destroy our land, and worsen our poverty are treated as special. All we do is say, ‘Well, you are so special. Just go back in peace to your country and enjoy whatever money you have made from destroying our lands,’” he said.
The investigative journalist further described the policy as unfortunate, urging the government to reconsider its stance.
“I think this is very unfortunate, and I’m hoping that in the coming days, the President and the government of the Republic will step up and give us a policy that we can tolerate as a people because this is really terrible,” he added.