Don’t discriminate in the application of laws on illegal mining- Prez Mahama directs security agencies

President John Dramani Mahama has asked the security agencies not to stereotype or target any race in the arrest of illegal miners.

He said the country had laws against illegal mining and indicated that arrests should not be based on who the illegal miner was or his race.

"We have laws. We do not have to discriminate. It does not matter who it is or the race, whether a Nigerian or a Chinese," he said.

President Mahama was speaking during a courtesy call on him by members of the Ghana-China Friendship Association (GHACHIFA) at the Flagstaff House, Kanda in Accra yesterday.

A four-member delegation from China, led by the Head of GHACHIFA, Mr Xu Kaiyu, is in the country to deepen Ghana-China co-operation and explore areas of investment by Chinese investors.

The President acknowledged that in recent times some Chinese had been arrested for mining illegally in the country.

He said the arrests would not affect Ghana-China relations and indicated that "our relations remain on solid ground".

"We have enough space to resolve the issues," he said.

President Mahama said Ghana-China ties had gone up with visits to China by Ghana's former Presidents Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufuor and John Evans Atta Mills.

He said he himself visited China on three occasions in his capacity as the Vice-President, during which he witnessed the signing of a master agreement for the release of $200 million out of the $3 billion China Development Bank (CDB) loan for the gas processing plant in the Western Region.

The President said China was now Ghana's biggest trading partner in consumable goods.

He said Ghana had many investment opportunities in the areas of roads, health care and general infrastructure that China could explore and hinted that the government was reviewing the Investment Promotion Act, which was passed 10 years ago, to make it more responsive to the needs of the investor and ensure the transfer of knowledge and technology to Ghana.
He said when reviewed, the act "will make things clearer for the investor".

For his part, Mr Kaiyu said China wanted to partner Ghana to make it the trade and financial centre of Africa.

Therefore, more Chinese investors would come to Ghana to explore business opportunities in areas including infrastructure development and renewable energy.

Mr Kaiyu, therefore, urged the Ghana government to set up a technical committee to promote co-operation between the two countries.

Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru