When the Arsonist Lectures the Firefighter — China’s Galamsey Advice to Ghana

The recent statement by the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, urging the government and citizens to take the fight against galamsey more seriously, has landed not as helpful diplomacy but as a national embarrassment. It comes across as a painful mockery of President John Dramani Mahama, of Ghanaian institutions, and of a people whose land and rivers are being destroyed daily, often with foreign complicity.

No Ghanaian denies that galamsey is a grave national crisis. Our forests are bleeding, our rivers are poisoned, and future generations are being robbed in plain sight.

What is offensive, however, is the moral posture being assumed by a representative of a country whose nationals have been repeatedly named, arrested, filmed, and reported as deeply embedded in the galamsey value chain.

This is not a secret whispered in dark corners. It is common knowledge. From excavators imported and operated by foreign hands, to illegal concessions financed and protected by networks involving some Chinese nationals and compromised Ghanaian officials, the footprint is visible. Against this backdrop, for a Chinese ambassador to caution Ghana that it is “not doing enough” feels less like partnership and more like provocation.

Diplomacy must be grounded in humility and honesty. When a key actor in a problem lectures the victim on seriousness, it insults intelligence and undermines trust.

President Mahama must see this moment not as a slight to be ignored, but as a wake-up call to assert leadership with clarity and courage. The fight against galamsey cannot be polite. It cannot be selective. It must be ruthless.

Ruthless with foreign nationals, Chinese or otherwise who violate Ghana’s laws and destroy our environment.

Ruthless with politicians who provide cover, protection, or silence in exchange for money.

Ruthless with chiefs, security officers, party financiers, and civil servants who profit while the nation burns.

No one should be untouchable.
It is unwise, and frankly unacceptable, for an ambassador from China to publicly caution a Ghanaian president on commitment to galamsey when

Ghana has, time and again, arrested Chinese nationals for illegal mining only to see diplomatic pressure, weak prosecution, or quiet deportations follow. If China is truly committed to supporting Ghana, the first proof must be strict discipline of its own citizens and full cooperation without excuses.

President Mahama must reclaim the narrative and the authority of his office. Ghana does not need lectures; Ghana needs action. And that action must send a clear message: our sovereignty is not negotiable, our environment is not for sale, and our future will not be sacrificed for gold.

History will not judge this administration by speeches or committees, but by whether the rivers run clear again , and whether those who destroyed them, local or foreign, were made to face the full force of the law.

Kofi Marfo (Sir Richie)- London