One town, Wassa Akropong, has been nicknamed ‘Chinatown’ because of the influx of Chinese nationals. There were changfan (a popular prospecting machine) warehouses, casinos, restaurants and even a China Mall, all less than 1km from the town’s police station.

Cocoa farmlands have been uprooted in some regions and so many rivers polluted that in Dunkwa-on-Offin, one person told us the river was now « like Milo » (the chocolate beverage). Local activists say they are being arrested by the police for any opposition to the galamseyers.