With growing concerns about the activities of Aisha Huang, a notorious Chinese lady aka the ‘galamsey queen’ in Ghana, President Nana Akufo-Addo says he is unsure she was initially deported from the country.
According to him, her re-emergence raises concerns about whether she left Ghana in the first place.
Speaking on a Ho-based radio station, as part of his tour of the Volta Region, he expressed reservation about the nefarious activities of Aisha Huang and affirmed his support for her prosecution.
“I’m not still sure whether she was in fact deported. Or whether she fled the country the first time and has now come back. There still seems to be some uncertainty about it.
“But whichever way it is, she’s become the sort of nickname for all that galamsey represents,” he said.
“We have concerted to work at it. We need to have the corporation of the courts. Until recently when I came, the punishment for people caught was relatively light. [But] we’ve changed the law to stiffen the punishment for people caught,” he added.
Commenting on the fight against galamsey, he also stated that compared to the past, the fight has become more popular in his regime.
In his view, efforts to clamp down on illegal mining have seen a massive improvement under his watch as President.
The President, therefore, urged Ghanaians to sustain the momentum in dealing with the menace.
“The efforts have brought a lot of fruits first of all. Galamsey is now a subject of national discussion. Everywhere you go, there’s this matter of galamsey. We’ve at least achieved this purpose of heightening consciousness about it as an evil.
“When I came, nobody was talking about galamsey. Since we came and focused on it, it is now the subject of discussions in homes, in offices, in meetings and all across Ghana. So that’s one positive development,” stressed.
