Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Tong Defa, has pushed back strongly against persistent accusations linking his country to illegal small-scale mining, locally known as galamsey.
The diplomat says it is unjust to associate China and its citizens with a crisis that, according to him, is rooted in Ghana’s own internal failures.
Speaking at a media engagement at his residence in Accra on Thursday, June 19, Ambassador Defa dismissed claims that Chinese nationals are the principal actors in the illegal mining business. He argued instead that local actors are the ones enabling and perpetuating the crisis.
“I don’t understand why when people say galamsey, they equate it to Chinese,” he stated. “Actually, it is not Chinese. It didn’t originate from China. Chinese nationals cannot obtain licences or get permits. It is the Ghanaian people who throw the Chinese people over here.”
He expressed personal frustration with what he described as a social media campaign that wrongly brands him and other Chinese nationals as the face of the galamsey problem in Ghana. “Some of those who were caught red-handed are just migrant workers… I have a social media and when I post on X, people tag me with galamsey as if galamsey is caused by China. It is unfair to me. It is really unfair to me and to the majority of Chinese,” he added.
Ambassador Defa argued that the solution to galamsey lies not in finger-pointing but in shifting Ghana’s national strategy. He called for comprehensive, long-term policies that prioritize environmental protection over superficial crackdowns.
“To my understanding, in this country, you can never eliminate those small mines. Those mines, you will have illegalities involved in them,” he observed.
He continued, “We need to find ways to solve this problem… The government needs to work on a policy to eliminate the pollution of waters and forests.”
His comments come at a time when the fight against illegal mining continues to dominate national discourse, with many Ghanaians expressing disappointment over the inability of successive governments to contain the environmental and social devastation galamsey causes.
The Ambassador’s remarks are likely to stir further debate, especially among critics who view foreign involvement, particularly Chinese, as central to the crisis. However, Defa insists that the role of local actors cannot be downplayed, and until Ghana addresses its internal regulatory gaps and political complicity, the problem will persist.
