“The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources hereby directs persons and/or companies engaged in reconnaissance and/or prospecting in Forest Reserves, with or without legal authorization, to suspend such activities until further notice”. The Ministry also directed the Minerals Commission to suspend the issuance of licenses to companies or persons for prospecting in any forest reserve. “The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources has further directed the Minerals Commission, with immediate effect, not to accept, process and/or recommend the grant, including renewal and/or extension of reconnaissance and prospecting licences in Forest Reserves. The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources hereby directs persons and/or companies engaged in reconnaissance and/or prospecting in Forest Reserves, with or without legal authorization, to suspend such activities until further notice. SAMUEL A. JINAPOR, MP MINISTER FOR LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCESNotice is hereby duly served, this …21.. day of April, 2021.

Business News of Thursday, 22 April 2021Source: GNALMI Holdings, the Developer of the Dawa Industrial Zone, is to collaborate with government to build industrial parks across the country. Mr. Uriel Marquaye, the Business Development Manager, LMI Holdings, said they were in talks with the Ministry of Trade and Industry for the project during an industrial media tour of the Land Holdings and the Enclave Power Company of the Dawa Industrial Park. He said the 22,000-acre Dawa Industrial Zone was a privately-led complementary initiative to support the “Ghana Beyond Aid” agenda and industrialisation policy. He said the Zone had six companies and that the vision was to populate it just like the Tema Free Zone. She said the LMI Holdings had impacted significantly on the country's economy by providing services to attract both local and foreign investors into the industrial and manufacturing sectors of the country.

Ghana’s contribution to this fight was duly acknowledged by the family of George Floyd in their post-verdict speech. Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd disclosed that during the trial process, the family received calls and texts from some Ghanaians. Everybody, London, Italy, they are all saying the same thing that we would not be able to breathe until you are able to breathe again. George Floyd was gruesomely killed by then police officer Derek Chauvin who knelt on his neck for almost ten minutes on May 25, 2020. On Tuesday, April 21, 2021, a twelve-member jury found Chauvin guilty on charges of: second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.

Regional News of Thursday, 22 April 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comCorrespondence from Western Region:A 41-year-old farmer has been found dead in a galamsey pit at Wassa Kwagyansa in the Amenfi East Municipality of the Western Region. The farmer whose name was given as Kwame Manu had gone missing for the past three days. A search party began looking for Kwame Manu on Tuesday but could not find him. They continued on Wednesday where they saw his lifeless body in a ‘galamsey’ pit. Kwame Manu left behind a wife and five children.

Editor of digital news platform, Whatsup News became a victim of circumstance after he was arrested by Police personnel for publishing false news content about a government official in early April 2021. This would be the second time David Tamakloe has suffered same fate within the space of 6 months, having been picked up in October 2020. “...When my statement was being taken, I was told that I had published false news. “So, it was difficult to understand why anybody would arrest me or would charge me for publishing false news in that particular case. Watch him give vivid details of his ordeal with the National Security to Laud Adu-Asare on #SayItLoud:

The court however ordered the parties to file their responses to the substantive matter within seven days instead of 21 days to expedite action on the matter. However, the Board of Achimota School who is the first respondent in the matter has not filed any reply. Meanwhile, the court has ordered the parties to file their written submissions regarding the substantive case for hearing to be done on April 30, 2021. The court also ordered the Board of Achimota School to file their reply within four days from today after being served the court note. Speaking to GHOne TV after Court hearing, Waya Ghanamanti one of the lawyers of the applicant said they are surprised by the revelation and will research the laws which say th school can’t be sued.

Only last week, the CEO of Special Ice drinking water, Dr. Ernest Ofori Sarpong revealed that the owner of Peace FM, Osei Kwame Despite is not his biological brother as is widely perceived. It is a revelation that will come as a big shock to many people because for so long they have been referred to as brothers and rightly so. For years, mainstream Ghanaian media have referred to the two as brothers from the same mother and father. Speaking on Joy FM’s Personality Profile monitored by GhanaWeb, Dr. Ofori Sarpong said even though he and Kwame Despite share different parents, he will always refer to him as his brother. Asked by show host Lexis Bill about how the two met, Dr. Sarpong recounted with fond memories saying, “he used to trade with us, I mean he used to buy stuff from our shop (the family business).

Regional News of Thursday, 22 April 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comCorrespondence from Bono East:Drivers at the Chiraa Station in Sunyani in the Bono Region have complained about the deplorable nature of the main Sunyani-Techiman road. According to the drivers, the deplorable nature of the road which links Techiman and Wechi makes driving on the stretch very difficult and dangerous. Describing the road as a “death trap”, the drivers revealed that even though the road is an inter-regional road, it lacks road markings, road signs, has an uneven surface, and is full of potholes a situation that makes driving on the road at night unsafe. The road is full of curves and uneven surfaces so we are appealing for an immediate intervention by the authorities”, Star boy lamented. Independent checks by GhanaWeb reveal that the Sunyani-Techiman road was initially constructed as a timber road but has never been engineered up to date even though it now serves as a linking road to some major towns in the Bono and Bono East Regions.

General News of Thursday, 22 April 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comPresident Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been told to ‘sit up’ else he will be leaving a ‘tattered’ corruption legacy. Bridget Otoo, former TV3 reporter appeared on Starr FM’s Starr Chat programme and was asked by host Nana Aba to advice President Akufo-Addo with respect to the fight against corruption. Sit up, you are 76 and should leave a better legacy. “Transparency international is the yardstick and in their report Nana Addo’s best corruption result is best than Mahama worst. Put Nana Addo there, Amidu and Domelevo and Ghanaians will pick the two of them over Nana Addo.

General News of Thursday, 22 April 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comWhen it comes to fashion style, Ghana’s former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings has got it! Many say that Nana Konadu never grows old as she continues to serve fashion inspiration in all her public appearances. Mrs Rawlings receiving an honourary award at the Glitz Women of the Year Honours in April 2019, noted that it was her wish to live up to 120 years. I have told my husband that I am not living less than 120 years." Mrs. Rawlings attended Achimota School where she met the man who later becomes her husband, Jerry John Rawlings.

General News of Thursday, 22 April 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comThe Member of Parliament for La Dadekotopon Constituency, Hon. Rita Naa Odoley Sowah has urged government agencies to engage with the Ghana Armed Forces and La residents to stop clashes between the two factions. Rita Naa Odoley Sowah condemned the physical assaults on both the media and the protestors. Rita Naa Odoley Sowah said, "The people of La are peaceful citizens and when we seat down and dialogue there's going to be peace because we have lived with them for all these years. "Whatever the negotiations are, the government should come clear on it to make sure we have peace within our walls."

Manasseh is of the view that while the canker continues to be perpetuated, the government continues to dabble in its ‘usual rhetoric’. Our president is fighting "galamsey" with the usual rhetoric. For now, let's share the photos of our ministers who make their faces "mmɔbɔ mmɔbɔ" for the cameras and continue...,” he posted on Facebook. Cecilia Dapaah, who was the leader of the delegation said government and Ghanaians must at all cost protect the water bodies. “We must make sure that we keep our rivers and our water bodies clean so that the next generation will come and enjoy what God has given us.”

“Any time the light goes off, I curse my good friend, President John Mahama,” said Mrs Owusu-Ekuful. Read the full story originally published on August 28, 2015, on GhanawebThe New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Ablekuma West Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has revealed that she curses President John Mahama any time her lights go off. According to her, those who see parliament as a money-making venture end up regretting because it is “a place to serve”. Mrs Owusu-Ekuful advised prospective MPs to come to Parliament with an aim to serve the nation. She called on the government to speed up plans being implemented to solve the power crisis since it is affecting several businesses.

Benjamin Kunbuor, a former Defence Minister has reiterated calls for the party to address concerns of its supporters by furnishing them with the party’s collated figures from the election. John Mahama among other things stated that the figures obtained by Nana Akufo-Addo did not meet the threshold for declaring him president. But in a Joy News interview, Benjamin Kunbuor noted that the party owes it to the supporters to give them a breakdown of the figures they obtained in the elections. He lamented that the NDC is gradually moving from its foundation as a ‘social democratic’ party. I have heard some office holders of the party say they have the figures and I say it is a social democratic party.

General News of Thursday, 22 April 2021Source: www.ghanaweb.comMinister of Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful says a recently released report on the government’s handling of COVID-19 response will be as good as toilet paper unless its authors certify the contents. The Minister was specifically cited in the part of the report that alleged that a COVID-19 tracker app which government says was developed for free had actually cost the taxpayer around a million dollars. Ursula spoke on Joy News news programme on Wednesday, after she had tweeted dismissing the contents of the report as absolutely false and pure adulterated lies presented as facts. “Absolutely false, no contract has been awarded for that amount. She also vehemently challenged a portion of the report that suggested that two different entities were involved in the development of the app.