By George Agbenowoshi, Deputy Regional Manager of the Forestry Commission in Greater Accra, revealed that Chinese nationals, often arrested for illegal mining activities, commonly known as galamsey, are frequently released by the courts due to a shortage of interpreters.
He highlighted that these cases often experience prolonged court proceedings and are eventually dismissed due to the language barrier.
Addressing a small gathering organized by Parliament to commemorate the 2024 Green Ghana Day, Mr. Agbenowoshi expressed his concern over the myriad challenges confronting district Forestry offices nationwide.
He underscored the issue of delayed fund disbursement and highlighted the legal hurdles encountered by the Commission in prosecuting Chinese nationals.
“We have the challenge of timely release of funds for forestry-related activities including plantation activities in our sector and issues sent to court have been there for years without redress. Issues of mining activities involving Chinese that take an interpreter to translate are often thrown out of court as a result of the lack of an interpreter.”
Mr. Agbenowoshi also lamented the insufficient logistics, which he indicated is hindering the Commission’s efforts to combat forest offenses, including galamsey, illegal farming, and various other illicit activities.
“Logistics such as pickup vehicles and motorbikes for our field operations and activities at the various districts stations are challenging…and that makes it difficult to fight forest offences in our forest reserves.
“These offenses include illegal mining activities, illegal farming, bushfires, illegal lumbering, illegal logging and chainsaw activities across the country.
