Ambassador Tong Defa Re Echo The Former Ambassador Shi Ting Wang's Frustration. Why Are We Angry?

Ghanaians must be concern about how some foreign Ambassadors are not adapting diplomacy in venting out their disagreement to issues they are not happy with, and they go to the press to admonished the State without recourse to diplomatic engagement.

Most Ghanaians are not happy with this trends of development, and it appears we have allowed lawlessness, indiscipline and greed to undermine our cultures and the traditional values.

The weaknesses in the enforcement of our laws, could be the reason for the tension between some foreigners and the citizenry. Therefore let find an appropriate steps to diffuse the tension and build the confidence of the enforcement agencies.

Due to the breakdown of Ghanaian values, most of the citizens have compromised on our values and have allowed others to take advantage of it, and abuse it with impunity, therefore let us re-examine our conducts that have made it possible for some foreigners nationals to disrespect and undermine our hospitality. Let us all blame ourselves as Ghanaians for allowing unscrupulous people to violate our laws with impunity.

Ghanaians must also accept criticism from the foreign envoys on issues they are not comfortable with, and that should be the best way to strengthened and consolidate the diplomatic ties with the foreign counterparts.

A former Chinese Ambassador Mr Shi Ting Wang made it clear to Ghanaians that no Chinese national could have identified gold concessions without the support of locals, it is the local people that provides protection for the Chinese Nationals and they can not survive without the protection of the local people.

The former Ambassador admonished the Ghanaian law enforcement agencies to punish Chinese nationals found culpable of breaching laws in Ghana, because President Xi Jumping of the People's Republic of China urged President Nana Akufo Addo to sternly deal with Chinese nationals caught in the web of illegal mining known as galamsey.

H E Excellency Shi Ting Wang was frustrated because the enforcement of the law was very abysmal, and we turned round to blame the Chinese for crimes some Ghanaians are the enablers. He said Chinese national are not doing illegal mining (galamsey) in South Africa where there is also a lot of gold, because the locals do not support such illegalities. He made this bold statement at a lecture organized on environmental devastation caused by galamsey at Confucius Institute, University of Cape Coast (UCC) in the year 2019.

He also chastised Ghanaians as culprits that engaged the Chinese nationals in the galamsey business, therefore it does not make sense why we solely blame the Chinese nationals for the environmental degradation caused by illegal mining.

Ghanaians must be angry with our own failures, for lack of enforcement of the laws against illegal mining. The current Chinese Ambassador Mr.Tong Defa only re echoed what the former Ambassador said far back in 2019.

Is it not surprising we arrest illegal miners and released them back into the country without communication with their embassies. We all heard the justification Mr Osafo Maafo the Senior Minister gave in defence of Aisha Huang's criminal conduct. Sadly recently we also saw the harrowing and grueling experience Dr Hanna Louisa Bissiw the Administrator of the Minerals Development Fund was subjected to by some criminal elements at the illegal mining site at Bui Sobinso in the Ashanti region.

It appears the statement " Party Hia Sika" to wit the party needs money made during the previous NPP Government had emboldened some criminal elements to engage in illegal mining (galamsey) destroying the forest and the water bodies with impunity. This heinous conduct sanctioned by the New Patriotic Party government, it implies they prioritized wealth over and above the health and welfare of the Ghanaian citizens.

Surprising the current Interior Minister Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka also wanted to purse a similar trajectory which was not deterrent of enough. Therefore deporting foreign nationals caught in the web of illegal mining is slap on the their wrist. With all these revelations why chastised the Chinese Ambassador for being frank.

Mike Kalley
Sociopolitical Analyst.