The Intelligence Department of the Ghana Cocoa Board(COCOBOD) has arrested two Chinese illegal miners for mining COCOBOD’s seed garden in Wassa Saman in the Western region.
The two Chinese, Li Wen Qieng 28, and Mo Sin Shan 35 were arrested for excavating the land in the night for gold, destroying the cocoa seedlings.
Confirming the development to Citi Business News, the Public Relations Officer at COCOBOD Noah Amenyah said that the two Chinese are in police custody assisting in investigations.
Recounting how the Chinese had access to the land, Mr. Amenyah stated that the two Chinese illegal miners through a Ghanaian, named only as Wonder introduced the Chinese miners to the land through his company, Wonder Mining Company Limited.
Mr. Amenyah stated that the Chinese started mining 2 to 3 acres of the land with the help of the Ghanaian, called Wonder.
“A security guard of the of the Seed Production Department of COCOBOD spotted two huge bulldozers with erected canopies mining on the land and drew the attention of the Intelligence Department of COCOBOD to the operation,” he said.
“After investigations, the culprits were arrested with the assistance of the Ghana Police at Wassa Saman but were granted bail on the same day due to lack of communication,” he added.
According to Mr. Amenyah the Chinese illegal miners went back to mine the garden the same day after they were granted bail on 0ctober 23, 2016.
Mr. Amenyah bemoaned the upsurge of galamsey activities in the area as cocoa farmers are willing to sell their farms to illegal miners in Wassa Saman in the Western South Cocoa region.
Galamsey threatens cocoa production
The Managing Director for cocoa and chocolate producer Barry Callebaut, Ghana, Charity Sackitey, recently warned that the proliferation of illegal mining is negatively affecting the cocoa production.
Crop production for the 2015/16 growing season, which spans October to September, reached 690,000 tonnes, although this fell short of the 850,000-tonne projection made by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), the state promotion and oversight agency.
Yields from both the main harvest and the secondary harvest, which began in late June, were impacted by a prolonged and particularly severe harmattan, a dry wind that blows in from the Sahara Desert, as well as by low rainfall at critical times during the growing cycle.
While most of Ghana’s agricultural output is rain-fed, with the drought impacting production across the sector more broadly, cocoa is particularly vulnerable to the harmattan, which dries seeds and erodes yields.
Source: The New Statesman
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we were young and read the story of tetteh quarshie and how he brought the seed of this preciuos cash crop to this country.the suffering and pain he went through at seychelles shouldn't have been overlooked and that should have ensured a special L.I enacted in the laws of our land to protect this and many other IMPORTANT resouces. But subsequent Governments has plunged the citizens of this country into poverty and greed thereby making our fathers to forget about the future.They are only thinking about what they will eat today and die tommorrow without that of their children and grand children. Tetteh Quarshie will never forgive Ghanaians if we are unable to harvest cococa in the distant future. NOW THE PREAMBLE GOD BLESSED THE FERTILE LAND COCOA GROWN AND BECOMES THE BACKBONE OF THE COUNTRYS ECONOMY SAME COCOA LAND IS ENRICHED WITH PRECIOUS MINERALS DOUBLE BLESSING BY THE ALMIGHTY THE DARK SIDE GOVERNMENT SUBDUE LOCALS TO HUNGER AND WORKFORCE ESPECIALLY FARMERS ARE NO MORE INTERESTED IN FARMING. CRAVE FOR RICHES AND THE GOODNESS OF LIFE DESTROYS ONCE FERTILE LANDS FOR THE PRECIOUS MINERAL TO AMASS WEALTH INSTEAD OF CURTAILING. GOVERNMENTS TURN A BLIND EYE JUST TO AMASS ELECTORATE VOTES DURING ELECTION IRONY OF THE GENESIS CITIZENS NOW READY TO GET RICH OR DIE TRYING TO ALLEVIATE THEMSELVES FROM POVERTY THERBY INDISCRIMINATELY ENTERS PARTNERSHIPS WITH FOREIGNERS WHO HAVE NO LEGAL RIGHTS TO MINE AND THEN THE LAND IS DESTROY. CORRUPT SECURITY AGENCIES SO NOTHING IS RECTIFIED ABOUT SITUATION. PRESIDENT UNCONCERN ABOUT EVENTS COS HE BELIEVES HE'S WORKING. COMRADES GHANA WILL FALL LIKE BABYLON UNDER KING BARSHASHA REPLICA.
WHY IS THE NDC ALLOWING THESE CHINESE TO COME AND MINE ILLEGALLY IN GHANA? BECAUSE MOST OF THESE CHINESE ARE MINING WITH NDC MEN AS PARTNERS. GOD WILL KILL MAHAMAH BEFORE HE RETIRES TO GO AND ENJOY HIS LOOT. HE WILL GET SICK AND SUFFER IN BED BEFORE HE DIES. GOD IS GREAT.
Ghana haven't seen any thing yet cocoa production will go down the way our farmers are selling their lands left right center .I will put the blame straight at the door steps of the government and our chiefs the future will be very bad because these lands are not reclaimed Ghana is siting on dangerous times if nothing is done about this situation
which corrupt police officer gave these illegal chinese miners bail? the officer must be fired!