A case of wild polio has emerged in Africa for the first time in five years, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. Malawian health authorities have declared an outbreak of wild poliovirus type 1 after a case was detected in the capital Lilongwe, the WHO said. The poliovirus paralyzed a three-year-old girl. A laboratory test found the strain to be the same as one circulating in Pakistan, the health authorities said. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries where wild polio is endemic. The last known case of wild polio in Africa occurred in 2016 in Borno state, Nigeria. The continent was declared free of indigenous wild polio in 2020. Polio is a highly infectious disease. The virus invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis within hours. Source: BBC

The Ashanti Region Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Andrews Nana Akwasi, wants the party’s representatives in Parliament to stay in the House to stop the passage of the controversial Electronic Transfer Levy Bill. He said he would not hesitate to organise party supporters and work on their behalf at the constituency level. “I am going to organise my executives and party supporters to visit constituencies where we control so our representatives can stay focus in Parliament and stop the passage of the e-levy,” he told Akoma FM. The e-levy hangs in the balance as government continues to embark on regional engagements to convince the public to accept the policy. By William Evans-Nkum

Accra Hearts of Oak Legend, Bernard Don Bortey wants midfielder, Sulley Muntari to guide young players in the Phobian team ahead of the Super Clash against rivals Asante Kotoko on Sunday, February 20, 2022. The Phobians will play host to the Porcupine Warriors in an outstanding Ghana Premier League encounter at the Accra Sports stadium. Hearts trails Kotoko with 12 points going into the Super Clash and have the chance to reduce the gap. In an interview with Sylvester Ntim of Koforidua-based Bryt FM, Don Bortey advised the former AC Milan star to play a leadership role in Hearts' clash against Kotoko. “I believe in Sulley Muntari, he is my colleague but I have not been able to talk to him since he joined Hearts of Oak but if he is listening to me, he should guide the young players in the team and calm them down going into the Kotoko game.” Kotoko sit top of the table with 36 points whereas Hearts occupies 8th position with 24 points. Meanwhile, Charles Taylor has predicted a win for Asante Kotoko in the upcoming Super Clash. Source: footballghana.com

Information reaching Thinknewsonline.com indicates that Continental Club Masters, Accra Hearts and Asante Kotoko have been cleared to play full capacity at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday 20th February, 2022. According to a communique signed by the Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Prof. Peter Twumasi, all attendees must strictly wear facemasks and observe social distancing. In the letter dated 18th February, 2022, Prof. Peter Twumasi said "Per consultation of Governing Board of the Authority with the Ghana Health Service/Covid-19 taskforce, I have been directed to officially inform you that as the clubs receive clearance to play full capacity at the Accra Sports Stadium during the match between Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko on Sunday 20th February, 2022, all attendees must strictly wear facemasks and observe social distancing" He further advised the clubs to work closely with the Authority's Management, Covid-19 Taskforce and other stakeholders to enforce the directive. The communique also mentioned that the Ghana Health Service will also mount vaccination centres to offer free Covid-19 vaccination to spectators and the general public. Below is a copy of the release: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Ahead of Sunday’s blockbuster encounter between Accra Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko in the Ghana Premier League (GPL) Match Week 7 outstanding match at the Accra sports stadium, Asante Kotoko revered legend Stephen Oduro has urged the club not to accept any black magic or ‘juju’ that may be given to the team by any supporters wing of the club, nor attempt to rely on black magic as means to defeat Accra Hearts of Oak. The legendary midfielder spent a total of 16 years at Asante Kotoko in his playing days, and is highly revered as one of most important legends the Kumasi based club has produced in recent years. Oduro, having earlier played for Real Tamale United after beginning his career with Cornerstones Babies finally left Asante Kotoko at the end of the 2016/2017 football season since joining the club in the year 2000, retiring from football at the age of 33. The iconic former number 4 shirt man has been narrating how the use of black magic [juju] by Asante Kotoko over the years and during his days with the club during matches against Accra Hearts of Oak backfired and ended up rather costing the Porcupines to lose important matches against their bitterest rivals. According to Oduro, Accra Hearts of Oak are more experts when it comes to consulting the oracle and using superstitious means to win a football match than Asante Kotoko, and that any time the Porcupines tries it on the Phobians they ended up losing the match. “Hearts of Oak is a team that if you rely on black magic to play against them, you will lose”, Oduro told ghanasportspage.com in an exclusive interview. "So I will plead with the players [of Asante Kotoko] that for this match they should all go down on their knees and pray, or all of them should meet in camp and have a devotion and fellowship [with God] every morning or before they go to bed. They should rely on God and ask for grace from God”, he advised. Adding to his advice, Oduro cautioned the Kotoko players not to fall for any superstitious suggestions that may come from any club official or leadership of the supporters wing. He said, this is the time some officials may bring superstitious things to the players as a means to beat Hearts of Oak, but it must be noted that any time Asante Kotoko resorted to the use of superstitions or black magic to face the Phobians, they ended up losers instead. “When it comes to that time [of playing against Hearts of Oak], that is when you will see some officials of the club and some Circles [the supporters wing the the club] leaders coming to give this or that to the players, and that is where you see players arriving on the pitch looking very heavy. You can see that you are not of yourself”, he outlined. He narrated for the purposes of example, one particular occasion when, during his time at the club, the Asante Kotoko players were given certain objects to be bound around their wrists, believed to be a black magic to power them beat Hearts of Oak, but it rather affected them until they removed them before they won the game 3-1 against Hearts of Oak in Kumasi. “There was a time in a match against Hearts, before we arrived on the pitch they had given us some objects which we bound around our wrists, when we started the game with 10 to 20 minutes, Hearts dominated the game to the extend that even the players couldn’t run on the pitch. So there was a command that we remove the things from our wrists and everyone of us removed theirs, and we beat Hearts 3-1 in Kumasi. We were left with one goal to revenge that 4-0 they once beat us with, we were even leading them 3-0 until the dying embers when we all went attacking including our defenders in search for that one goal [to equal the 4-00] then they got a counter attack to score a consolation to end the game 3-1" “Truly when we removed those things we become free and were able to even take a 3-0 lead against Hearts of Oak, I used that as an example”, Oduro narrated. The America based Asante Kotoko legend made a passionate appeal to coach Prosper Narteh Ogum to stand his grounds and resist any superstitious suggestions that may come from any official, and urged the team to solely rely on God going into the match against Hearts of Oak. “If I were in Ghana I would have gone to the camp to share that experience with the players or tell the coach to stand his grounds and resist anything anybody may bring to the team as catalyst to go and play the match. Their God on whom they had relied to play all their previous [16] matches for which they lie first on the league log, they should use that same God”, he appealed. Asante Kotoko will take on Accra Hearts of Oak at the Accra sports stadium in the GPL outstanding match week 7 encounter at 3:00pm on Sunday. Story by: Stephen Tetteh

One of Liberia's gifted female musicians Raquel Hage has teamed up with fast-rising Nigerian rapper Magnito for her new single. The duo linked up perfectly on the new single titled: 'Dance'. 'Dance' was released on major streaming platforms including YouTube a few days ago and forms part of Raquel's efforts aimed at promoting the Liberian music industry to the rest of Africa and the world. https://youtu.be/aQ_u6g3f_-A Raquel already has about 10 great songs to her credit and continue to work hard to advance her career. She is one of the artists that is flying the flag of Liberia high on the African music scene. The beautiful songstress is currently in Nigeria working on coming out with an album. Recently, Raquel received an invitation from President George Weah to sing the National Anthem of Liberia during the country’s Bicentennial celebration at the SKD Stadium in Monrovia. Raquel understands that to really make it in music, she has to move out of her comfort zone and as such she is one of the few Liberian artists who are tirelessly working to form strategic collaborations with artists in Nigeria and Ghana. Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Two suspects have been arrested for possessing 88 parcels of suspected narcotic drugs by the Koforidua District Police of the Eastern Regional Police Command. Information from the officer in charge D/C Inspector Edwin Tetteh indicates that the arrest was made at Friday dawn by the night patrol team. The police report says the two suspects were spotted in a Toyota Camry with registration number AC 660-21 at Ada- Koforidua township in the New Juaben South municipality of the Eastern Region. The suspects were stopped and arrested by the police on suspicion that thier vehicle could be a stolen one. A search conducted in the vehicle revealed 88 parcels of suspected dried narcotics packaged in yellow covering and labelled ‘MTN’. The suspects claimed ownership of the suspected packaged narcotics substance. They narrated to the police that the vehicle belonged to a friend at Obuasi. They added that the 88 ceased suspected narcotic packages labelled ‘MTN’ was delivered from Dzemene in the Volta Region for onward delivery to Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. The police have detained the two suspects as they make efforts to access the documents of the car. Story by: Yvonne Neequaye

The Minerals Commission has developed a system to trace all gold mined in Ghana and exported, Hon. George Mireku Duker, the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resource has disclosed. Hon. Mireku Duker made the disclosure on Friday 18th February, 2022 during the inauguration of the Tarkwa Nsuaem District Mining committee held in Tarkwa of the Western Region. Speaking on behalf of the Sector Minister, Hon. Mireku Duker stated that a traceability system has been put in place by the Minerals Commission to help stop the smuggling of gold by miners to neighbouring countries. He noted that the new system is part of best practices aimed at curbing gold smuggling and securing the nation’s interest in the mining sector. Hon. Duker said the Precious Mineral Marketing Company is the only firm mandated by law to assay gold and that anyone found to have circumvent the laid down protocols will be dealt with in accordance with the law. He said the main mandate of the District Mining committee is to ensure that Mining is done responsibly and in accordance with the Minamata Convention. The Minamata Convention on Mercury, he espoused is an International treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compound. The Deputy Minister charged the committee to ensure that Mining in the communities are made attractive to local investors thereby creating multinational companies out of the community Mining. Hon Duker who doubles as the MP for Tarkwa Nsuaem also appealed to large scale mining companies to cede part of their concessions to the communities for community mining. The MCE for Tarkwa-Nsuaem, Hon. Benjamin Kesse said the committee will work closely with the Ministry to engage the large-scale mining companies to cede off part of their concessions for the community mining programme for the larger benefits of the locals. He welcomed the challenge handed them as a committee and promised to discharge their duties with perfection. Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. George Mireku Duker has called on Ghanaians to help the government fight illegal mining and protect the country’s waterbodies. Hon. Duker averred during the inauguration of the District Mining Committee for Prestea Huni Valley Municipality that the strive to protect the country’s resources is a national duty and that all Ghanaians must join forces with the government to attain that feat. He reiterated that the Akufo-Addo government has bold initiatives that will ensure safety and sustainable mining aimed at bringing the needed development and improvement to mining communities. He added that these laudable policies are being threatened by illegal mining and gold smuggling hence the need for all Ghanaians to contribute and demonstrate enough patriotism to the fight. Hon. Duker reported with excitement that some major waterbodies in the country are beginning to regain their turbidity levels. “Illegal mining has been the bane of this country. It’s a canker that collectively we must all fight. It’s a struggle that we must get out of our way. People are finding ways and means to have money at all cost without taking into consideration the future of this country, he maintained. “People are mining in our river bodies without any recourse to the heritage of this country. We call on Nananom and everybody to help fight these recalcitrant. If care is not taken, we may import water going forward and as a country we must try to deal with that. I am reliably informed that River Pra is getting better as far the turbidity level is concerned. Let’s fight to bring back Ankobra, Birim, Offin”. The Tarkwa-Nsuaem MP clarified that the government is focused on revamping the Natural resources sector to make it more profitable to Ghanaians. He dismissed notions that the Akufo-Addo administration is seeking to collapse the small-scale mining sector. Hon. Duker relayed the congratulatory message of the sector Minister to the committee members and admonished them to help the government achieve its objectives. He commended the MCE of the area for showing examplary leadership in the unfortunate incident at Appiatse. “This committee will go a long way in regularizing the mining sector in the municipality. The sector Minister Hon. Samuel A Jinapor extends his congratulatory message to you. You have been sworn-in as key pillars in streamlining the mining sector in the municipality. The MCE has shown leadership as far as the Appiastse incident is concerned”. The chairman of the committee who is also the MCE of the Prestea-Huni Valley, Dr. Isaac Dasmani thanked government for the opportunity given them to serve and promised to work harder. The members of the committee are Isaac Dasmani who is the chairman, Francis Asmah, Nana Kwesi Sompey, Moses Kpebu, Isaac Mwinbelle and Bright Arko. Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Ellembele District Mining Committee has been charged to promote ‘sustainable, responsible and viable’ mining practise in the district. Hon. George Mireku Duker, the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Mining who inaugurated the committee on Thursday, February 17, 2020 stated the two main purposes for which the committee was set up. He disclosed that the committee was set up primarily to fight illegal mining and also create an enabling environment for the growth and expansion of Ghanaian-owned mining companies in the district. He noted that the government deems mining to be revenue-generating outlet for the country and wants the committee to be on the same page. He added that government has an ambition of empowering Ghanaian investors in the mining sector to reach global status and that the Community Mining Scheme is the first step in attaining the objective. Hon. Duker said that the Ministry has procured 300 mercury-free machines for the Community Mining Scheme as part of its plans of ensuring that the environment suffers no harm from mining activities. He mentioned that the Ministry will keep close tabs on the committee and urged them to submit periodic report to the Lands Commission. “I will charge you to work assiduously to ensure that mining in this district becomes responsible, viable and sustainable. You must present period report to the Minerals Commission". Your mandate is not only to clampdown on illegal mining but also to create a viable concessions to create job for teeming youth. We must not see mining as an illegality. We must see mining as an entity where we can generate better revenue from it. We can create future out it. “We must ensure that large scale miners have serene environment. It is your responsibility to ensure that large scale firms are protected,” he said. The Deputy Minister tasked the committee to implement measures to solve gold-smuggling in the district. He said it is the responsibility of the committee members to ensure that all gold sales go through the Precious Mining Marketing Company. Mr. Kwasi Bonzoh, the MCE of Ellembele who doubles as the chairman of the committee welcomed the task handed them and promised to assist government deal with issues in the mining firm. He indicated that Ellembele is blessed with mineral resources which has impacted hugely on the district, adding that the committee will not tolerate any form of illegality as far as mining in the district is concerned. He revealed a lofty ambition of making Ellembele the mining hub of the country and creating jobs from the activities. The other members of the six-member committee are Douglas Asuako-Ferkah Arhinkorah, Francis Apeni, Isaac Mwinbelle, Bright Arko and a representative from the Traditional Council. Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources who doubles as the Chairman of the Appiatse Reconstruction Committee, Benito Owusu- Bio has donated an amount of Five Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHc5,000) to the Appiatse Support Fund. Hon. Benito said he is happy to give his donations as a way of emulating the steps of his sector Minister, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor. He took the opportunity to call on his colleague Deputy Ministers of State and Parliamentarians to also donate to the fund for the reconstruction of Appiatse. The Chairperson of the Appiatse Support fund Committee, Dr. Joyce Aryee commended the Deputy Minister for his exemplary act while encouraging individuals and institutions to follow suit. Hon Benito's donations comes at the back of the recent donation of 20,000 Ghana Cedi by the sector Minister. Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Goeson Sculpture and Construction Company, Mr. Joe Kusi Mensah also presented 1000.00 Ghana Cedi cash to the Appiatse support fund as his contribution for the reconstruction of Appiatse. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo has described the Appiatse Explosion as a huge tragedy that has troubled all Ghanaians. The First Lady made these known after she donated an amount of Fifty Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHc50,000) to support the Appiatse Support Fund. Speaking at a presentation at her office in Accra, the First Lady said “The Appiatse Explosion as a huge tragedy that has troubled all Ghanaians. I invited you here to give you my donation. I am happy to give my donation” The First Lady also used the opportunity to appeal to all to throw their support by donating something to the Appiatse Support Fund. Receiving the cheque, the Chairperson of the Appiatse Support Fund, Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee thanked the First Lady for her kind gesture. She said “You have a good heart and I know your contribution will go beyond material things considering your soft spot for women and children" Rev. Dr. Aryee also called on others to emulate the kind gesture of the First Lady. Thinknewsonline.com has gathered that the First Lady few days after the disaster donated some relief items to the victims of Appiatse Explosion. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith