News
Gov’t to deploy river guards, navy to fight galamsey – Lands Minister
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has disclosed that the government will soon announce some major interventions it will deploy in its attempts to fight illegal mining, commonly called galamsey.
Mr. Jinapor in an interview with Bernard Avle on the Citi Breakfast Show on Citi FM on Tuesday, October 8, said the government’s meeting with Organised Labour on its planned October 10 strike was “very productive and fruitful” and that the measures to curb the menace will commence with the repeal of LI 2462, a legislative instrument that currently permits mining in forest reserves.
He said, “Consensus was reached that the government will take steps to repeal LI 2462 when Parliament resumed and also ensure the expeditious trial of offenders. Be it as it may, the government took notice of the announcement [of Organised Labour] that went on yesterday [Monday] but there are some other interventions that we are working on and they will be made known in the coming days. River guards and the navy will be patrolling our river bodies, with other interventions.”
The minister also said agriculture is the leading driver of deforestation and not mining but the government is determined to fight the galamsey menace so the impression should not be created as though the fight against the destruction began with the pressure from Organised Labour weeks ago.
According to him, “The number one driver of deforestation is agriculture and that is not to suggest mining does not do the same. Mining on river bodies is banned and they are red zones mining is not permitted 100 meters away from our waterbodies and we are even planning to make it 200 meters small-scale mining is also not permitted in forest areas.”
“The impression should never be created that we are just waking up to take action against this menace. Operation Halt has been happening almost every fortnight and we are going to intensify that,” he concluded.
Source: Citinewsroom.com
News
Ghana Tourism Marketplace is good initiative – Alisa Asamoah
The immediate past President of the Tour Operators Union of Ghana (TOUGHA), Chief Executive of Riali Consult, Mrs. Alisa Osei Asamoah, has lauded the Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC) for its efforts to improve the viability of the sector through the Ghana Tourism Marketplace (GTM).
The GTM is an innovative platform that aggregates all tourism and hospitality vendors in Ghana, providing a unified platform for the distribution of their products and services.
The GTM is a shared economy model to benefit all stakeholders in the tourism ecosystem.
Speaking to the media after a stakeholder deliberation on GTM, Mrs.Asamoah said, this is what they are looking for. According to her, it is a good initiative by the GTDC.
“This is what we are all looking for. When you go to South Africa, and other countries, they have initiated the same thing,” he said.
She said this would positively impact the industry because that is where the private sector would exhibit their products, adding that it is going to be competitive.
Mrs.Asamoah concluded that this would increase trust between them and their clients, and from the presentation, the project would be very sustainable.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
Afenyo Markin criticises Police over handling of Abronye’s case
The Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo Markin has raised concerns about the handling of the arrest and detention of Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, also known as Abronye.
According to him, the police invited Abronye on Monday, September 8, and he honoured the invitation with his lawyers.
He said Abronye submitted himself to interrogation but, within an hour, was taken into the custody of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB).
The Minority Leader questioned why the police, who were investigating the case and had their own holding cells, decided to send someone being investigated for a misdemeanor to the NIB.
He intimated that checks confirmed that the NIB was not investigating or interrogating Abronye, but had only kept him because the police requested it.
He wondered whether the move was meant to punish Abronye, stressing that the police detained him the whole of Monday night and Tuesday morning, before presenting him to court on 9th September.
The Minority Leader added that in court, the police asked for Abronye to be remanded to allow further investigations, and the judge granted the request.
He however described it as unfortunate that the police handcuffed Abronye when he was leaving the court.
By: Jacob Aggrey
