Tema, Ghana – Secretary General of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), Abraham Koomson, has strongly rejected the Interior Minister’s decision to deport foreigners involved in illegal activities rather than prosecute them in Ghanaian courts.
Mr. Koomson argues that it is unacceptable to prosecute local workers who merely assist in such operations while allowing the foreign masterminds to evade justice through deportation.
His remarks follow a recent statement by Interior Minister Muntaka Mubarak, who announced a new policy direction to deport foreign nationals found engaging in illegal mining, fraud, and other illicit activities, instead of pursuing criminal charges against them in Ghana.
Speaking during an engagement with the Ashanti Regional Police Command, the Interior Minister emphasized that the policy seeks to swiftly remove foreign nationals involved in ‘galamsey’ (illegal mining) and cyber fraud, which have caused significant environmental and social harm across the country.
This announcement comes on the heels of a recent deportation operation involving 107 foreign nationals, who were arrested for destroying forest reserves and polluting water bodies through illegal mining, as well as engaging in fraud-related offenses.
According to Mr. Mubarak, the policy is intended to curb the increasing influence of foreign nationals—especially Chinese nationals—in illegal economic activities.
He stated that consultations with the Attorney-General are ongoing to formalize and guide the implementation of this policy.
However, reacting on Ahotor FM’s “Yepe Ahunu” show hosted by Nana Dogbe, Mr. Koomson insisted that foreigners who commit crimes in Ghana must be prosecuted under Ghanaian law to serve as a strong deterrent.
“Prosecuting the Ghanaian laborers while deporting the big people behind the crimes is unacceptable,” he emphasized.
He further called for the complete abolishment of Legislative Instrument (LI) 2462, rather than merely amending it.
According to him, this would be a more effective step in the fight to protect Ghana’s lands and water bodies from the harmful impact of illegal mining.
He believes amendment of LI 2462 will still be exploited by the criminals to destroy the forest reserves, the farm lands, and water bodies hence his call for total abolishment of it.
Abraham Koomson’s stance reflects growing concerns among civil society groups and labour unions about the unequal application of justice and the need to ensure accountability across all levels of criminal operations, regardless of nationality.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites
) / Ahotoronline.com | Ghana 
