President Akufo-Addo has admitted that the deportation of the Chinese miner Aisha Huang who was arrested in Ghana for illegal mining by his government was a mistake.
The President’s admission comes after several government appointees defended the move which was first justified by the Senior Minister Osafo Maafo.
Speaking at Princeton University in the United States, the President said the government took the decision to avoid the cumbersome process of prosecution.
“I think the decision to deport Aisha Huang in hindsight was a mistake and that is why that process and procedure is being stopped,” he said.
Mr Osafo-Maafo during a town hall meeting abroad told a gathering that “So, when there are these kinds of arrangements, there are other things behind the scenes. Putting that lady [Aisha] in jail in Ghana is not going to solve your economic problems. It is not going to make you happy or me happy, that’s not important, the most important thing is that she has been deported from Ghana…”
“…I am saying that there are many other things beyond what we see in these matters and everybody is wide awake, the most important thing is that we have banned this, we have established regulations and we are protecting our environment. That is far more important than one Chinese woman who has been deported out of the country,” the Senior minister said at a town hall meeting.
After the comment, the Minister for Lands Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh dismissed fears that the popular Chinese kingpin of illegal mining was released in exchange for the $2 billion Sinohydro deal between Ghana and China.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM
