The Chinese galamsey operators who are in the hot arms of the Ghana government may miss a number of things including the special treat they had from Ghanaian landlords, especially those at Dunkwa-on-Offin in the Central Region.
Landlords in this town have resorted to renting houses to �only Chinese� nationals involved in the detested galamsey activities.
The inscription �House for rent, for only Chinese� is common in the galamsey-inundated area in the Central Region of Ghana.
The reason is simple. The landlords want to serve the interest of Chinese �galamseyers� who do not want any evasion of privacy by Ghanaian tenants, considering the delicate nature of their jobs. In addition to that, these foreign nationals pay high for the accommodation property.
�As compared with the indigenes here, the Chinese don�t mind paying huge sums as rent. The Ghanaians like bargaining too much, while the Chinese, knowing the lucrative nature of their jobs are ok with the charges. We, the landlords have no choice�, Naana Attah, a landlady told The Independent.
The accommodation ranges from two bedrooms self-contain to �boys quarters�. Depending on the accommodation size, the Chinese sometimes paid as much as GHc30, 000 as rents for two years and they renewed it as soon as it ended, while the local folks paid as low as GHc200 yearly which they usually did not renew.
�The Chinese even hire lands from us and in about three months they build houses on it�, Madam Naana Attah added.
One interesting thing found by The Independent investigation was the fact that the Chinese always rented accommodation in groups. It was rare to hear or see a single Chinese renting a room alone.
Some of the landlords told this paper that, though the Chinese �are sometimes dirty�, they (landlords) were not bothered that much, because money was the bottom line.
The Ghanaian landlords believe that the Chinese �galamseyers� will leave Ghana in no time so if they offered their lands and houses to them, when they (the Chinese) leave Ghana, the situation would turn to their advantage.
Chinese here�Chinese there
This situation has gradually forced landlords to eject tenants who stay in the houses even when their contract had not expired. They landlords have been ejecting them with the notion that the Chinese come for them and pay big.
According to Madam Naana Attah although the situation has created accommodation shortage for Ghanaians living at Dunkwa-on-Offin, they (the landlords) are making huge profits and enjoying what they are doing.
Another landlord by name Agya Armah told The Independent, although some landlords did not put ward-off inscriptions on houses, they refused prospecting Ghanaian tenants, telling them there was no accommodation only to rent to the Chinese.
The situation has been frustrating a lot of families in the area but they had no choice. Those who could pay competitive amounts were given accommodation to rent.
Running from the taskforce
The Independent investigation revealed, though the Chinese did not want the local folks to stay with them, they still preferred to stay among the indigenes, in order to escape the hot chase of the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce currently on rampage.
On different occasions in recent times, the taskforce has succeeded in arresting and deporting hundreds of Chinese from the shores of gold-rich Ghana � a situation that has triggered some diplomatic makeshift between the People�s Republic of China and Ghana.
Information available to The Independent say, as has been their custom, some of the Chinese still lurking in the gold-rich areas like Dunkwa-on-Offin, prefer to live alone but within the community.
In an interview, a landlord by name Agya Armah further hinted, though prices for hotel rooms in Dunkwa-on-Offin ranged between GHc 150 and GHc700, the Chinese preferred to live in houses within the community because the taskforce chased them from the hotels in the area.
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