The Chinese – Ghanaians Standoff: Call for Mutual Agreement

Published on 28th May 2013

About a month ago, Ghana’s Immigration authority announced the deportation of some 19 Chinese nationals who were allegedly engaged in illegal mining operations across various parts of Ghana. The deportation followed a concerted effort of the immigration service and other security agencies to curtail the activities of Chinese nationals some of whom are reported to be living in the country with false travel documents and are doing illegal mining.

The raid was not the first. In 2012, a number of similar operations by Ghanaian officials were conducted. There were also clashes between local residents and Chinese miners. For example, in July 2012, while the Fifth Ministerial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) meeting was underway in Beijing, some Chinese men mining in a town called Manso-Nsiana in the Ashanti region of Ghana fired warning shots when residents protested their presence in the community. The youth complained that the illegal small scale mining operations threatened their farm produce, rivers, and environment. The Chinese, apparently, in self defence and/or to scare away the advancing demonstrators fired gunshots. Some of the enraged youth returned gunfire but no one was hurt. Police officers had to rush in to save the situation from further deterioration.

These negative stories make (inter) national headlines and are extensively discussed on radio and television. While they can easily overshadow other legitimate and friendly interactions between Chinese and their Ghanaian host, they need to be highlighted as they constitute an important piece of the puzzle regarding China’s contemporary relations with Ghana.

These developments are new in a way as Chinese nationals have been living in Ghana since the 1950s with no report of illegal mining. In fact there is currently a large Chinese population in Ghana of not less than 40,000. Many are involved in legal businesses spanning manufacturing, construction, retail and restaurant sectors that employ a considerable number of Ghanaians. However, since the price of gold soared at the start of the global financial crisis, and more importantly following China’s expanding role in Ghana in the last decade, some Chinese nationals have taken advantage and travelled to Ghana, Africa's second-biggest gold producer, to engage in small scale mining.

Crucially, according to Ghanaian law, small-scale (artisanal) mining, galamsey, is reserved for Ghanaian nationals.  Foreigners can only provide goods and services to Ghanaian miners. However, this is not the case in many communities where Chinese nationals are actively digging for gold with bulldozers and other heavy equipment.

The story of illegal mining raises important questions about the role and capacity of Ghanaian officials and middlemen, such as Immigration Officers, Ghana police, Ghana's Mineral Commission, local farm owners and local chiefs. How does a foreigner enter a country, engage in illegal mining without a valid permit? How do they get access to land concessions? Who is responsible for ensuring the safety of local residents? Do the foreigners know that it’s illegal for them to engage in small scale mining? 

What is at stake is a delicate and complicated policy question that requires a framework of action that is anchored on collaboration between state institutions such as the Ghana Immigration Service, the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and the general citizenry. More importantly the situation requires that Ghanaian institutions engage their Chinese counterparts more effectively if lasting solutions can be found.

Ultimately, at the core of these developments lie the intricacies of China’s increasing economic, trade, diplomatic and political engagement with African countries in the last decade. This calls for mutual engagements between African governments and their Chinese counterparts that will find lasting solutions.

By Isaac Odoom
PhD Candidate, University of Alberta, Canada
Email: [email protected]


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