General News of Wednesday, 19 May 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.com•The Ashanti Regional Minister has said there was no attempt from him and the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources to gag the Asantehene from naming and shaming government and NPP officials involved in galamsey. •The Minister says the alleged attempt to gag the Otumfuo was only a passive comment. “Yesterday when the Regional Minister and my son Jinapor came, they told me to read what’s in the speech. But speaking in an interview with Asempa FM monitored by GhanaWeb, the Ashanti Regional Minister emphasized that the alleged attempt to gag Otumfuo was only a suggestion which was to ensure the programme was not overly lengthy due to non-adherence to schedule. It was neither the Regional Minister nor the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources that prepared it,” he said.

General News of Wednesday, 19 May 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comGalamsey Action Group, an anti-galamsey group, has presented a petition to the National Chief Imam to add his voice to the call on the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to save Ghana from activities of illegal mining. According to the group, the communities where these water bodies are located, “have gained little to no benefit from these resources. Places like Nkroful, Telekubokazo, Awuku, Salma-Dominasi, Akango, Mempeasem, Wassa Dunkwa, Moseaso, Nzema Prestea, Nsuta Ahomkakrom and Ntobroso, (to name a few) are seeing irresponsible mining activities right in the middle of the communities. Children and adults alike have drowned in gullies left uncovered by these irresponsible activities. “It is an open secret that galamsey and irresponsible mining has become a normal business in Ghana today, especially for those with the right political and personal connections.

General News of Wednesday, 19 May 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.com• DCOP Opare Addo has named Captain (Rtd.) Budu Koomson allegedly sent the incumbent NPP vigilante group, Delta Force, to remove DCOP Opare Addo from office, claims Opare Addo himself. I called Budu Koomson himself and told him about this and I’ll talk about that later,” DCOP Opare Addo said. “He [Opare Addo] rather called for police reinforcement and got the team that had gone to mitigate the issues arrested and handcuffed, and not him Opare Addo. Major General Adu Amanfo (rtd) defended the forceful removal of DCOP Opare Addo from office.

Crime & Punishment of Wednesday, 19 May 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.com• The convict is a 46-year-old mechanic identified as Antaru Issaka• His brakes reportedly failed him while he was driving around the President's Nima residence on May 15, 2021• He rammed the Mercedes Benz into the fence wall of the President's wall to avoid running into other vehicles and pedestriansA 46-year-old mechanic, Antaru Issaka has been convicted to a fine of GH¢960 for destroying the fence wall of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s Nima residence. He is also said to have destroyed a telephone pole close to the residence of the president. He pleaded guilty to all the charges and was convicted on his own plea by a court presided over by Ms. Ama Admoako Kwakye. The prosecution said the convict, on reaching a section of the road close to the president’s private residence allegedly suffered a brake failure and rammed into the fence wall of the residence, causing damage to the wall and a telephone pole yet to be valued. The accused was subsequently found to be an unlicensed driver during the investigation while the vehicle involved had no valid insurance policy as well as a roadworthy certificate.

General News of Tuesday, 18 May 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.com• Re-registration of sim cards will curb impersonation, according to the Minister of Communication• Ursula Owusu-Ekuful disclosed that cyber fraud cases are becoming rampant in the country and need to stop• According to the Minister, re-registration will help the country to have standardized dataThe Minister of Communication, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has stated the initiative to embark on a national re-registration exercise is important to help curb the high rate of Cybercrimes being recorded in the country. Speaking on the sidelines of the 5th CEO summits held in Accra, the Minister said, it is imperative to carry out the exercise since it is the only option available to curb impersonation. “The need for re-registration of SIM cards is obvious. There are a lot of Cybercrimes being committed in the country. For security reasons, it is imperative that we register our SIM cards,” she said.

According to him, every little mishap or failure to execute a project is currently being blamed on COVID-19. Mr Baako noted that the impact of covid has become the "ultimate excuse used by authorities" who fail to execute a role "all in the name of Ghana not being in normal times". “In Africa as a whole and not just Ghana, everything that goes wrong is blamed on covid. “Explain to me what we weren’t experiencing in our country Ghana before the onset of covid. Increment of petrol existed before covid, the yearly increment of VAT existed before covid found its way into the country," he noted.

Speaking at the 5th Ghana CEO summit in Accra, Mr Attafuah noted that, the laws of the country permit foreign nationals to acquire Identity Cards (ID) which is mainly for foreigners. He said the ID cards are in categories and foreign nationals have an ID card which shows they are foreigners even though it has the NIA details on them. “The foreigners have a card which is termed as the Non-Ghanaian Identity card. It has the Ghana Card symbol and details but the only difference is, the foreigner's card has the Non-Citizen identity card on them which signifies that the person is a foreigner and not a Ghanaian, so there is no way you could say they have a Ghana card. Meanwhile, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has stated that the country will embark on a national re-registration of SIM cards beginning June 2021.

Business News of Tuesday, 18 May 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.com• The Ministry said it has no idea of the initiative and the public should disregard the claims• It also cautioned the public not to fall victim to their tricks• The Ministry also noted that the government has no such initiative going on at the momentThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has warned the general public to desist from applying for support from any group called the "Youth Enterprise Support Initiative 2021" under the guise of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration. In a press statement issued by the Ministry, and copied to GhanaWeb, it noted that Ministry has not established any form of support system for the public at the moment; therefore the public should disregard any initiative circulating and pretending to be from the government. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration wishes to categorically state that the Government of the Republic of Ghana has neither established a support initiative that goes by the name "Youth Enterprise Support Initiative 2021" nor has the President of the Republic, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo initiated any programme that provides the above-mentioned financial support,” it noted. Read the full statement below;

Politics of Wednesday, 19 May 2021Source: peacefmonline.comThe Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Madam Jean Mensa, has outlined some challenges faced by the Electoral Management Body during the 2020 election processes. And yet, they still recorded 314,901 rejected ballots. “One issue that confronted us as a nation was the phenomenon of rejected ballots. To date, in spite of the advances made in the design of the ballot, we have continued to witness a disturbing trend of a high number of rejected ballots,” she bemoaned. It is certainly not the Electoral Commission and its officials who cart illegal persons to the registration centres.

Entertainment of Tuesday, 18 May 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.com• Shatta Wale is back on social media after taking a break in April• Surfacing with a degree of pomp, the musician has been spotted in a Rolls Royce• It is however unknown if the posh car is his or notAlmost a month after announcing a break from social media, Shatta Wale has bounced back with a bang as he has flaunted a Rolls Royce Cullinan said to cost not less than US$330,000. The first video he shared on social media to announce his comeback hours ago, captured him in casual attire posing in front of the car. "Only you can congratulate yourself Shatta Wale All you pray for is progress and they don’t see it. While it is unclear whether he owns the vehicle or nor; and whether the footage is from a music video he has shot, one of the captions read: “Movie”. Shatta Wale on April 26, 2021, went off social media.

Dr. Prempeh, I challenge you to publish all the 40 PPAs you claimed have been cancelled and the 3 renegotiated PPAs from Take or Pay to Take and Pay. These lies must stop.’In a rebuttal, the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry, Mr. Kwasi Obeng-Fosu, refuted the claims ascribed to the Minister by Bawa and described them as 'assertions of his own creation'. Renegotiating the start date of a contract is not the same as renegotiating the core terms of the contract”, he added. However, he stated that government’s position, going forward, was that all new PPAs would be accepted only on Take and Pay basis. The PRO admonished the lawmaker for not being accurate with the facts and seeking to misrepresent the Minister’s submissions.

Manasseh's question comes on the back of the attempted abduction of the Regional Security Coordinator, DCOP (Rtd) Kweku Ayensu Opare-Addo on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. DCOP (Rtd) Kweku Ayensu Opare-Addo has revealed that four of the seven armed men who attacked him in his office were members of the allegedly disbanded vigilante group – Delta Force. Manasseh Azure Awuni in a Twitter post sighted by GhanaWeb questioned why members of the Delta Force are walking free despite causing several crimes in the country. He asked if President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is still at post at the Presidency when a group of people had attacked the court acting in his capacity as President and freed their members who were standing trial. Is Akufo-Addo at post?

General News of Tuesday, 18 May 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.com• Prof Kwesi Aning has asserted that the disbanded vigilante groups are now in the security services• He added that disbanded vigilante groups are now taxing agricultural products• His comment comes on the back of the reported attack of the DCOP (Rtd) Kweku Ayensu Opare-AddoDirector, Faculty of Academic Affairs at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Professor Emmanuel Kwesi Aning, has claimed that some vigilante groups have ventured into illegal mining ‘galamsey’ while others have been received in the various security services in Ghana. Vigilantism and their illegal acts have come up again after the attempted abduction of the Regional Security Coordinator, DCOP (Rtd) Kweku Ayensu Opare-Addo hit the airways. Adding his voice to the discussion on vigilantism in an interview on JoyNews' PM Express, Prof. Kwesi Aning stated that the disbanding of the vigilante groups was just a decoy as many of them now find themselves in the various law enforcement agencies while others continue to engage in other illegal activities like 'galamsey'. “Vigilante groups are now franchising the skill set that they have into law enforcement, mining, cattle rustling, logging of rosewood, and taxing agricultural goods particularly charcoal." Meanwhile, DCOP Opare-Addo while recounting his ordeal stated that four of the seven men who attacked him in his office with a buttstock of an AK-47 rifle were known associates of the supposedly disbanded vigilante group – Delta Force.

General News of Tuesday, 18 May 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comThe Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has dismissed allegations leveled against Minister Samuel Abu Jinapor regarding the issuance of mining of leases and licenses. “For the records, the Ministry wishes to state categorically that since the assumption of office by the Hon. After encountering some challenges in its first term, the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government has renewed its fight against the illegal small scale mining menace with the minister promising to save Ghana’s natural resources. “On behalf of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and myself, I reiterate our unwavering commitment to get on with this national crusade. Without fear or favour; blind to partisan colouration, blind to status in society and with an absolute dedication.

As the campaign continues, here is a list of five NPP members who have either been ALLEGED to be galamsey kingpins or accused of aiding in the menace. Meanwhile, XtraGold Mining Company, the mining company which has Kate Gyamfuah as its General Manager has denied allegations it is involved in galamsey. The involvement of Wontumi in galamsey was highlighted by then Minority lawmaker Adam Mutawakilu in a July 2018 press conference in parliament. But not too long just about two weeks, they [Sir John and Wontumi] began illegal mining activities." Charles BissueCharles Bissue who was then the secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining was implicated in an investigative documentary by Anas Aremeyaw Anas as an alleged enabler for galamsey.