The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, has strongly condemned the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa and called for a united African response to the growing problem.
His comments come at a time when public discussions in Ghana have intensified over whether the government should refuse to renew the lease of Gold Fields Ghana Limited, a South African mining company operating in the country.
Some groups believe Ghana should take retaliatory action in response to attacks on foreign nationals, including Ghanaians, living in South Africa.
The debate has also attracted the attention of policy experts. The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Ghana has suggested that the issue should be considered within a broader framework of resource nationalism in Ghana’s extractive industry.
However, Ing. Ashigbey believes the matter goes beyond business and economic interests. According to him, African countries must take a firm moral and political stand against xenophobia and work together to prevent such incidents from recurring.
Speaking on Friday, May 29, he described the attacks as “shameful and regrettable”.
He expressed disappointment that such incidents continue to occur in South Africa, especially considering the support Ghana and other African countries provided during the anti-Apartheid struggle.
“It is so shameful and regrettable that a country that Ghana and other countries have supported during the period of Apartheid would come to this,” he said.
Ing. Ashigbey praised the Ghanaian government for escalating the issue to the African Union (AU), describing the continental body as the right platform to address the problem and ensure accountability.
He noted that raising the matter at the AU would help African leaders develop a collective response and send a strong message against xenophobia.
“I support the stance government has taken, going to the AU and now ensuring that these xenophobic attacks have been tabled at the AU so that we use those means to be able to ensure that we deal with this,” he stated.
He further warned that continued xenophobic attacks could undermine efforts to strengthen African unity and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“We should send very clear messages to the South Africans that they should not let their actions put a spanner in the wheel of the move for African unity and the African trade agreement,” he added.
