Ghana to use Chinese technology to clean rivers polluted by illegal gold miners
President John Dramani Mahama has announced that the government has initiated moves to use Chinese technology to clean rivers polluted by illegal gold miners (galamsey operators).
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Receiving the outgoing Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Gong Jianzhong, at the Flagstaff House yesterday, President Mahama said discussions to that effect were going on smoothly between Ghana and China.
Mr Gong is retiring from diplomatic service after about three-and-half years duty in Ghana.
The Chinese Ambassador was among three envoys who were at the Flagstaff House to bid farewell to the President after completing their duty tours in Ghana.
The others were the United Kingdom (UK) High Commissioner, Mr Peter Jones, and the United Nations Development Programme' s (UNDP) Resident Representative, Ms Ruby Sandhu-Rojon.
President Mahama said the decision to adopt Chinese technology was in line with the government's moves to bring sanity into the mining sector.
Chinese and illegal mining
Ghana has recently been troubled by illegal gold mining which has caused massive damage to land and water bodies, with the involvement of some foreign nationals.
In the last quarter of 2013, the President, in his determination to confront galamsey head-on, established the anti-ministerial task force on illegal mining that swooped on hundreds of sites in parts of the country.
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Many people, including Chinese nationals, were arrested, and eventually deported to their countries of origin.
But there are reports that there are some Chinese illegal miners still operating in the hinterlands.
Reclamation
President Mahama also mentioned the reclamation of land destroyed by illegal mining activities as another area where Chinese support was being sought.
The President said trade between the two countries had been phenomenal, standing currently at US$5.4 billion.
He was, however, concerned about the imbalance as China controlled US$4 billion out of the amount. " That is why we should look at balancing it," he said.
One area with strong potential for reducing the trade imbalance was the development of the oil and gas industry, which Mr Mahama said his government was determined to pursue with all seriousness with the support of China.
Mr Mahama again talked about value addition to Ghanaian products, and said China would be a good dissemination of such products.
Touching on the China Development Bank (CDB) loan, the President said the government was sending a delegation to engage their counterparts in China and expressed the hope that the disbursement would follow suit.
Evidence of China's support
President Mahama said evidence of China's support to Ghana abounded in the country, mentioning projects such as the Bui Dam, Ghana Gas Project, and the Ministry of Defence building, among others.
He expressed the hope that the bilateral relations would blossom deep into the future.
Outgoing ambassador
Mr Gong said he would never forget the fruitful years he had in the country.
"We are two important development countries of the world. We have made advances in development, and we have to continue to develop together," he said.
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He thanked President Mahama and the people of Ghana for the tremendous support they had given him and said, "Even as I retire, I will continue to promote Ghana, a great country I will always remember."
UK Envoy
At the meeting with Mr Jones, the UK envoy, who worked for about three years in Ghana, President Mahama said though his stay in Ghana was short, the High Commissioner made his mark in strengthening diplomatic relations between the two nations.
He mentioned his visit to the Number 10 Downing Street, and other high-level visits Ghana had made to UK, and said all of them had been beneficial.
The President expressed the hope that the UK would continue to stay behind Ghana in its attempt to come out of economic challenges.
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In the spirit of Ghanaian tradition, President Mahama presented gifts to the outgoing envoys and their spouses.
Mr Jones
For his part, Mr Jones said Ghana and the UK had shared history and would continue to strengthen diplomatic relations for their mutual benefits.
UNDP Envoy
The UNDP Resident Representative, Ms Ruby Sandhu-Rojon, and President Mahama held their discussions behind closed doors.