The Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG) has donated One Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHC100,000) to the Appiatse Support Fund. According to the bank, the donation is to help in the reconstruction of the Appiatse community. During a presentation, the Managing Director of Consolidated Bank Ghana, Daniel Addo said "For us at CBG, the company believes that we have an obligation to extend a hand to communities and persons in need" "We delighted to be here this morning to add our contributions to the efforts in establishing the new township and it also speaks to our tag line which is CBG, we stand with you. We always stand with people of this country" "The donation reaffirms the bank's promise it makes and will continue to make" he added. On her part, the Chairperson for the Appiatse Support Fund, Rev'd Dr. Joyce Aryee thanked the Consolidated Bank Ghana for their kind gesture. She said "The funds we are raising is particularly for the people of Appiatse" She also mentioned that President Akufo-Addo wants to see a new Appiatse, a green and an environmentally friendly one which will serve as a model for developmental townships in Ghana. "I am sure, he will be happy to know that contributions are coming in" she noted. In other developments, the European Union (EU) also donated €80,000 to the fund. Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

A statement announcing the appointment of a new Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) that was released by the board, has revealed that the former Managing Director of the GACL Yaw Kwakwa resigned from his post and not sacked as was reported earlier. “Following an emergency meeting of the GACL board held on Wednesday February 16 Mr Yaw Kwakwa submitted his resignation as the Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Limited effective close of day February 17, 2022,” the board said in a statement dated February 16, 2022 while announcing Pamela Djamson-Tettey as the new Managing Director of the GACL. Ms Djamson-Tettey’s appointment takes effect tomorrow, Friday February 18, 2022. The decision was taken at an emergency meeting held on on Wednesday February 16, 2022. It was earlier reported that Mr Yaw Kwakwa was sacked as the MD of the GACL. But Mr Kwakwa has said he was unaware of the purported termination of his appointment by the President. “I don’t know what you are talking about, my appointment has not been terminated. I don’t know about it but when I get to that bridge I will cross it,” he told journalists while conducting members of the Roads and Transport Committee around on a fact finding mission of the Macdan Aviation. Announcing the termination of the appointment, the Transport Minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah in a letter said “His Excellency the President, per letter No. 0P S127/22/104, dated 31st January 2022, has directed the appointment of Mr Yaw Kwakwa as Managing Director of the Ghana Airport’s Company Limited be terminated,” This came at a time the GACL had earlier ordered McDan Aviation to suspend the use of the KIA Terminal 1 until further notice. “We refer to our earlier discussions and subsequent directive to suspend the inauguration of the private jet terminal at the Kotoka International Airport until all necessary operational requirements and obligations are met. “We note with concern your failure to comply with the directive despite the outstanding issues on the prior terms and conditions for the use and operations of Terminal 1 as a private Jet Terminal. “Management has subsequently directed the suspension of your use of Terminal 1 until further notice,” a statement signed by the Managing Director of the GACL Yaw Kwakwa said. The GACL later granted Mac Dan the permit to operationalize the Private Jet at the Terminal 1 at the KIA. A letter signed by Mr Kwakwa said “With Reference to our earlier letter referenced GACL/MD/FHS20/1/22on the above subject we wish to inform you that the GACL has delegated the Terminal 1 to MacDan aviation for private jet operations.” Below are some pictures: Story by: Laud Nartey

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has announced the release of senior high school placements for candidates who sat the 2021 Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE). According to the GES, the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) Secretariat has made the choices of schools available through bulk SMS as well as online for verification. “Parents, candidates and teachers are to be informed that a bulk SMS of the schools selected will be sent to the contact numbers provided by candidates during the school selection,” a press release issued on Tuesday, February 15 by Head of the Public Relations Unit of GES Cassandra Twum Ampofo said. Candidates have, therefore, been directed to check and immediately notify their school heads of any error “for corrections to be made”. This is supposed to be done from Wednesday, February 16 to Tuesday, February 22. “Candidates should note that this is not a new process of school selection and therefore schools cannot be changed except there is an error that needs to be rectified. “Parents, guardians, candidates and the general public are to take note and act accordingly.” Story by: Emmanuel Kwame Amoh

The Bono Regional Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe alias Abronye DC, has said he will continue to speak his mind despite his arrest and prosecution. Speaking for the first time after his arrest and subsequent bail for claiming that former President John Mahama was planning to stage a coup, he said “no amount of populist incarceration will injunct me from voicing out or speaking my mind.” According to him, he had some issues with the Inspector General of Police. “In the coming days, I will come out with some personal issues I have with the IGP,” he said to the press. He indicated that the police deliberately delayed the process so he could be detained. “As for today, I’ll take the advice of my lawyers so that while going home, I’ll advise myself properly. I’m happy with the bail… As indicated by my lawyers, this is not an offence that they will deny me bail. That is why the court granted me bail. It was not like the police were searching for me. I personally went to the regional police head office yesterday. They deliberately delayed me in order to keep me in custody. As a politician, I’m not afraid of things like this. This will not distract or worry me,” he added. Abronye DC was arrested and detained on Tuesday by the Accra Regional Command after he honoured their invitation over the said allegations. He was subsequently charged with the publication of false news and offensive conduct conducive to the breach of peace. Mr. Baffoe pleaded not guilty to all counts of these charges. He has been granted Ghc100,000 bail with two sureties. The court presided over by Her Honour Adelaide Abui Keddy has adjourned the case to March 9, 2022 for Case Management Conference. Credit: Modern Ghana

The La Concerned Youth has gnashed its teeth at the members of the La Traditional Council and called for the dissolution of the Council and resignation of the Akwashong tse and the Shikitele, Nii Adjei Kofeh for selling the La Aviation Land and Aviation park to Developers. Addressing a news Conference at La in Accra on Wednesday (February 16,2022), the Convenor of the Association Mr. Joe Ala Adjetey questioned why the aforementioned leadership would hurriedly take a decision to sell the La Aviation lands and Aviation park immediately the La Chief died. He further explained that 17 acres out of 60 acres of Land given to the La people by the government, the Traditional Council has gone ahead to even sell the only park which serves the youth of the La and about 17 first division football teams. He said such an act from the Traditional Council smacks of corruption, and acting against the interest of the La people but rather their parochial interest. “Why was the lease extended to 99 years when the new trend is now 50 years? Has the Mankralo and Shikitele got the capacity to release a stool land ? Mr. Ala Adjetey fumed. “…Why must the La Traditional Council hasten to support the creation of modern estate houses for aliens and strangers whilst creating Zongos for her own?”. Mr. Adjetey stressed that the leadership, having shown extreme incompetence, lack of foresight and insensitivity to the needs of the community during the transaction with government, “ we call on the Mankralo, Shikitele and Akwashontse to immediately resign their positions on the at the Traditional Council”. “…We are also calling for immediate dissolution of the La Traditional Council as the current members have brought the sacrosancy of the Council into disrepute and public ridicule. Indeed they represent their own interest and not that of the good people of La”. The group which expressed disgust at the government’s acquisition of the 60 acre Aviation land stressed that there is no existing reserved Lands to accommodate the growing population needs of the La people. The Group is therefore calling on government to re-engage the La stool for the renegotiation of the entire Aviation lease. “We are finally requesting government to explain the circumstance under which government and Civil Aviation Authority representatives on the negotiating table ended up being rewarded with various plots of the La Aviation lands”, Mr. Adjetey queried. Source:www.senaradioonline.com

In furtherance of the objectives of decentralizing the regulation of mining activities in the country, the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Mining, Hon. George Mireku Duker is inaugurating Mining Committees across all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the country. On Wednesday, February 16, 2022, Hon. George Mireku Duker outdoored the Wassa East District Mining Committee in the Western Region. Hon. Mireku Duker said the committee has been mandated to promote responsible, viable and safer mining methods. The Deputy Minister professed his belief in the competence and experience of the members of the committee to deliver on their mandate. He empowered the committee members to act in accordance with the dictates the law and not show any form of compromise or bias. “The composition is rich and I believe you are determined to believe that on your mandate, confidence is so high and I believed you’ll go by the tenet that establish the committee”, he stated. “If we are the leading gold producers in Africa then we must have something to show the people of Ghana and that is why the President is so committed to ensure that whatever we generated from the mining space must be used for the benefit of the citizenry”, he added. “We have commissioned this committee to ensure that more of the small-scale mining sector is streamlined and beneficial to the people of this district and Ghana as a whole. We want to use gold and our resource to develop the country,” he said. The Tarkwa Nsuaem lawmaker said government intends to use the Community Mining Scheme (CMS) to grow Ghanaian representation in the mining space and support them to grow into big mining firms. He, however, cautioned that these commendable ideas of government would be fruitless if activities such as gold-smuggling and illegal mining are not stopped. He, therefore, urged Ghanaians to help the government tackle the menace that is threatening the growth of the mining sector. The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Emmanuel Boakye who also doubles as the Chief Executive of Wassa East, in his acceptance speech said he is grateful to the government for the honor done him and other members of the committee and promised to “work assiduously to ensure that sanity prevails as far as community mining is concerned”. Other members of the committee are Nana Kwabena Ampomah, Jones Benjamin Tawiah, Moses Kpebu, Isaac Nwimbele and Bright Arko. Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Italy’s Justice Ministry has issued an international arrest warrant for former Man City and AC Milan forward Robinho after the country’s top court confirmed his conviction for rape. The ministry has asked the global police agency Interpol to enact the warrant. Robinho, whose full name is Robson de Souza, lives in Brazil. The South American country does not extradite its nationals, which means Robinho would only face arrest if he traveled abroad. A Milan court in 2017 found Robinho and five other Brazilians guilty of gang-raping a woman after playing her with alcohol in a nightclub. The conviction was confirmed by an appeals court in 2020 and validated by Italy’s Supreme Court last month. Robinho, 38, has always denied the charge. He was capped 100 times by Brazil and played for top European clubs Real Madrid and Manchester City as well as AC Milan. Robinho became the most expensive player in British football when he joined City from Real for £32.5m in 2008. However, he struggled to adapt to the Premier League and was sold to AC Milan for just £15m two years later after a loan spell at his hometown club Santos. Robinho spent four seasons at the San Siro, during which the offense took place, before moving to Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande in 2015. He spent just one season in China before moving back to Brazil with Atletico Mineiro in 2016. He then had spells at Turkish clubs Sivasspor and Istanbul Basaksehir but is yet to play since leaving Turkey in 2020. Source: Sky Sports

Manchester City underlined their status as Champions League favorites with a ruthless 5-0 thrashing of Sporting Lisbon to effectively book their place in the quarter-finals. City, runners-up last season, blew Sporting away with a rampant first-half display at the Jose Alvalade Stadium as they became the first side in the competition’s history to lead by four goals at the halfway point of a Champions League knockout game. The rout began when Riyad Mahrez turned home a Kevin De Bruyne cut-back (7), with VAR overturning the initial decision to rule the goal out for offside following a lengthy check. Bernardo Silva, one of four players in the City team to have previously played for Sporting’s bitter rivals Benfica, then doubled their lead with a stunning half-volleyed finish following a corner (17). The hosts, in the last 16 of the Champions League for only the second time in their history, could not get to grips with City’s speed and movement and the punishment continued when poor defending allowed Phil Foden to fire home from Mahrez’s low cross (32). Source: Sky Sports

Cristiano Ronaldo ended his six-game goal drought in sensational style as Manchester United beat 10-man Brighton at Old Trafford to move back into the Premier League’s top-four. Bruno Fernandes added a second as United broke from deep inside their own half in the final minute of injury-time. After a tepid opening period, Ronaldo struck six minutes into the second half. The Portuguese collected Scott McTominay’s pass before edging right of the Brighton defense and, with barely any backlift, sent a low shot curling beyond a static Robert Sanchez. Three minutes later, Brighton skipper Lewis Dunk was sent off after VAR sent referee Peter Bankes to review the defender’s foul on Anthony Elanga. Fernandes wasted a glorious chance when he failed to get past Sanchez with only the Brighton keeper to beat before Ronaldo nodded an excellent chance wide of the far post. It meant United breathed a sigh of relief when Jakub Moder’s speculative effort from the corner of the box bounced back off the bar with David de Gea beaten. Brighton was still trying to salvage something from the contest when Fernandes struck with virtually the final kick. Source: BBC Sports

Paris Saint-Germain forward, Kylian Mbappé says he is yet to decide on his future after scoring an incredible late winner against European giants, Real Madrid in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. The French star was the difference on Tuesday as PSG secured a narrow advantage against Los Blancos. Mbappé, who will be out of contract in the summer transfer window, has been heavily linked with a move away from the Parc des Princes. The game on Tuesday night was seen by football fanatics as an audition for the French World Cup winner and indeed, he impressed, saving the blushes of Lionel Messi who missed a 62nd-minute penalty. After scoring the late winner, the 23-year-old told Movistar TV that he is yet to decide his future at PSG and that he is fully committed to the project of the French club for the rest of the season. “I play for one of the best teams in the world. I’m going to give it my all for the remainder of the season. I haven’t decided on my future,” he said. Credit: Citi Sports

As part of efforts of reaching out and helping in the reconstruction of the Appiatse community, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor has donated GHc20,000 to the fund. According to Hon. Jinapor, he believes his contribution will help put smiles of the faces of victims who survived the explosion and also green the community. "I want to commend all those who have contributed to the Appiatse Support Fund. Most especially, my own boss the President of Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for setting the pace. He called on other MPs, Ministers, Ghanians living home and abroad to contribute their widow's mite. "I encourage all Ghanaians, residents and friends in Ghana to also contribute, just as the slogan of the fund demands" Obiatua bi". He also commended highly the members of the fund for their service to the nation. "I must commend the committee for their excellent national service to the nation. They've done a good job so far" Chairperson of the Appiatse Support Fund Committe, Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee said "The Minister has really shown leadership. It is exemplary and other ministers to follow his steps" She disclosed that the President who made a GHC100,000 pledge has redeemed it, stressing that "the money has hit our account and we are grateful" She assured the media that there is no scam and there will be no scam in the collection and disbursement of the funds. "this will be done as transparently as possible to cross out any questions and cynicism" She also encouraged the media to propagate the gospel of the collection to enable more people contribute towards the fund and more importantly help rebuild the model community. Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Ghana has also presented a cheque of GHC50,000 Ghana cedis to support the aim of the fund. Their donations makes them the first Embassy in Ghana to contribute towards the fund. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Dr. Kwaku Afriyie(MP) has launched the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining Project. According to him, the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining Project will be anchored on the achievements and lessons from previous projects implemented in the Savannah drylands and recently completed Sustainable Land and Water Management Project (SLWMP) and the ongoing Forest Investment Programme (FIP). Speaking at the virtual launch, Dr. Afriyie said "The project will strengthen the country’s systems for integrated natural resources management and increase the benefits to communities in targeted savannah and cocoa forest landscapes" He added that achieving a better quality of life for people is a fundamental goal of every country with Ghana as no exception. Dr. Afriyie said "This exemplified in the adoption and implementation of strategies for sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction and attainment of the SDGs" "To demonstrate our readiness to fully take off, necessary policy and institutional structures have been established in accordance with the project governance arrangements" "These are Inauguration the Joint Project Steering Committee and Approval of 2022 Work Plan and budgets by the Steering Committee and Establishment of an effective project management platform" he noted. On his part, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor said "Small scale mining, can, and must be done, in a responsible, sustainable and environmentally-sound manner" "Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small Scale Mining Project (GLRSSMP) is designed to build on these initiatives, to reverse land and forest degradation trends, through improved institutional and regulatory frameworks and integrated landscape management – with a focus on enhancing sustainable agricultural productivity, sustainable Small Scale Mining and sustainable forest and water resource management" The Minister added that the multi-sectoral approach of the project is an innovative and comprehensive way of dealing with the gamut of issues affecting the small scale mining sector, as well as reducing deforestation and improving agricultural management in Ghana. Hon. Jinapor stressed that the project will, for example, complement the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme, by supporting the efforts of the Ghana Geological Survey Authority, to geologically investigate designated areas to provide mineable areas for small-scale mining, and resource the Minerals Commission, to effectively regulate the sector. "It will also contribute to our reclamation efforts, to return degraded mined sites to viable agricultural lands, add green cover and provide employment and income for local communities. Hon. Minister, Mr. Country Director, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, improving natural resource management can contribute significantly towards enhancing rural development and local livelihoods, particularly, women in rural communities, who are the most reliant on natural resources for their livelihoods, and the most vulnerable to the repercussions of resource degradation" The Minister hinted that government is determined to make the legalisation of artisanal and small scale mining user and gender-friendly, and rid the sector of illegalities. He urged all implementing agencies, to continue to work in collaboration and in good faith, to ensure the success of the project. "Together we can, and we must, build and formalise our artisanal and small scale mining sector, to deliver a viable, responsible, sustainable and environmentally-sound small scale mining sector, that contributes to national development without destroying the environment" "Let me begin by thanking the World Bank Group, led by its affable Country Director, my good friend, Mr. Pierre Laporte, and the Government’s project team, for working tirelessly to see to the launch of this consequential project, the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small Scale Mining Project, aimed at strengthening integrated natural resource management and increasing benefits to communities in targeted savannah and cocoa forest landscapes" "Our country has seen rapid economic growth over the past two decades, with significant contributions from renewable and non-renewable natural resources. Gold, alone, provides approximately forty percent (40%) of our export earnings, and accounts for more than ninety percent (90%) of our gross mineral revenues, of which artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) accounts for one-third. This, however, comes at a cost; with mining competing with other sectors, like agriculture and forestry, for land. Indeed, the negative impact of artisanal and small scale mining on our environment has resulted in small scale mining being associated, sadly, with environmental degradation and water pollution" "We have resourced and retooled the Minerals Commission to effectively perform its regulatory functions, declared River Bodies and Forest Reserves as red zones for mining, launched Operation Halt II to rid the river bodies and Forest Reserves of illegal mining, suspended reconnaissance and prospecting activities in Forest Reserves across the country, and introduced a mercury free gold processing equipment, known as “the Gold Katcha.” Hon. Jinapor told the gathering that government has revamped Community Mining Scheme, as an alternative to illegal and irresponsible small scale mining, instituted a Small Scale Mining Award Scheme, to encourage and promote responsible, viable, and sustainable small scale mining practices, and launched the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP) to provide alternative sources of economic activities, to those who will be affected by our efforts to sanitise the small scale mining industry. Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith