Illegal Mining: 3,877 Chinese Repatriated

The Ghana Immigration Service has said it has repatriated almost 4000 Chinese to their country due to efforts to end illegal mining known as galamsey. This includes voluntary and forceful repatriation. The Public Affairs Director of the Ghana Immigration Service, Francis Palmdeti told Citi News the mass repatriation should serve as a relief for residents living in mining communities in the country. �The departures we have between 1st June and 25th June is a significant number. So far 3, 877 have left between 1st June and 25th June however, we cannot say that all those who have left are people engaging in small scale mining activities but is the total number of Chinese that have left from the 1st to the 25th of June,� he stated. Mr. Palmdeti further mentioned, �This period, compared to previous years, has been a significant movement by just one nationality and we believe that a sizeable chunk of that number are those engaging in illegal activity and have decided to leave.� Citi News has also gathered that many of these Chinese are auctioning their equipment, trucks and other properties as they prepare to leave.