China's cash donation to Ghana's Attorney General stokes harsh reaction

Ghanaians on social media are expressing surprise at a donation by the Chinese Embassy to the Attorney General’s office.

Their skepticism is hinged on the fact that the government is engaged in a war against illegal mining – with the predominant number of foreigners involved being Chinese.

Some are accusing the Chinese of attempting to induce the government to soften their stance on illegal mining which continues to ravage farm and water bodies in parts of the countries. Others also cautioned the government against accepting such paltry overtures by the Chinese.

The government has continued to state that it was not backing down on the fight against illegal mining locally referred to as, ‘galamsey.’ A number of Chinese nationals have been arrested and are on trial.

The Ghana News Agency (GNA) reported on Wednesday that the Chinese ambassador donated items including desktop computers, printers and a cash amount of 10,000 Ghana cedis ($2,200) to the office of Ghana’s chief law officer.

The Ambassador, Sun-Baohong, said during the donation that relations between the two countries continued to flourish and that they continue to educate nationals to respect laws of Ghana. The Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo, thanked the Chinese envoy for the gesture.

“We support the new government of Ghana to carry out anti-corruption campaigns, and expect to strengthen our cooperation and exchanges on both domestic and international combat against corruption,” she said.

Below are some of the reactions on Facebook: