The Chinese Speakers Association of Ghana (CSAG) has dismissed claims that, the courts often release Chinese nationals arrested for illegal mining, known as galamsey, due to the lack of interpreters.
The Deputy Greater Accra Regional Manager of the Forestry Commission, George Agbenowoshi, said these cases often linger in court and are eventually dismissed because of the language barrier.
But in an interview on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem Tuesday, the Co-founder of CSAG, Sylvester Damueyokor, said it may be the case that Mr Agbenowoshi is not aware that most universities in Ghana teach Chinese.
He said it is possible the Forestry Commission boss does he know about the existence of CSAG whose members are ready and available to offer their services if only called upon.
Mr. Agbenowoshi explained that, the government cannot use language barrier as an excuse in its prosecution when there are over 500 Chinese speakers who have been trained both home and abroad.
“We are willing to provide professional translation and interpretation services to the Forestry Commission to bridge the language gap between Chinese-speaking individuals and authorities in Ghana,” he said.