MARK SANDOW

Government has said it will put in place an alternative livelihood programme for illegal miners who are expected to be out of work soon, following moves to end their activities. According to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, John Peter Amewu, the programme, labelled a five-year Multilateral Mining Integration Project (MMIP), will be put in place to absorb the affected miners. “So those people who are taken out of their mining concessions are going to be integrated into what we call the Multilateral Mining Integration Project within a period of about five years to see how we can absorb them into an area where they will work collectively as a group to achieve their objective,” he explained to Citi News . “It is important that we are not going to allow the mining near river bodies or mining in areas that are not acceptable; the degrading of the environment and cutting down of cocoa trees. Those ones, we will not allow it and I insist that it can no ...

Pope Francis has used his Easter address to condemn Saturday's deadly attack on a bus convoy in Syria. The Pope is leading celebrations in front of thousands of pilgrims who have gathered in St Peter's Square in the Vatican. In his "Urbi et Orbi" ("To the City and the World") message at St Peter's Basilica, he called the bombing, which killed more than 100 people, "ignoble". He also spoke against terrorism and corruption. "May [God] in a particular way sustain the efforts of those who are actively working to bring healing and comfort to the civilian population of Syria, the beloved and martyred Syria, who are victims of a war that does not cease to sow horror and death," he said. At an earlier vigil, he spoke of migrants' pain, and criticised "paralysing and barren bureaucracies that stand in the way of change". Easter was also marked in Coptic churches in Egypt, where attacks a week ago, claimed by ...

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah would have realised by watching Juventus’ 2-0 win at Pescara on Saturday which player to chase for an invitation back in the Black Stars ahead of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in June. Returning to the side after sitting out the Champions League victory against Barcelona, Kwadwo Asamoah held his mettle and got high ratings to prove why he could still play an important part in the Ghanaian national team while compatriot Sulley Muntari struggled to influence the game before being hauled off minutes into the second half. Gonzalo Higuain scored a brace for the visitors giving him the highest ratings of the game (8.70 according to WhoScored.com) but Asamoah, playing from the left side of the defence, got the second highest rating of 8.17 ahead of Juan Cuadrado’s 8.02. The 28-year-old Ghanaian had his team’s highest pass accuracy of 93.5 per cent from 71 touches of the ball and won one aerial challenge. In contrast, Muntari, 32, earn...

The deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Johnson Asiama, has urged financial institutions to see regulatory requirements key to improving the banking sector. According to him, these requirements and guidelines must be embraced to ensure that “we all operate and promote a safe and sound banking sector.” Dr. Asiama, was speaking at the recent Risk Summit Africa 2017 held in Accra. He called on players in the financial sector to develop proactive risk management practices that would help them compete in the global economy. He reiterated that strengthening financial service operations with risk management in the financial sector is a shared responsibility. “We, as regulators, will pursue our regulatory and supervisory functions by encouraging banks and other financial institutions to adopt and implement the Basel II and III, which seek to minimize systemic risk in the financial sector,” he said. Dr. Asiama hinted that the Central Bank would soon publish its sanctio...

Christians have been urged to emulate the example of Jesus Christ by cultivating the habit of forgiving without keeping records of the wrongs forgiven and occasionally refer to them each time a similar offence is committed. This way they will holistically manifest the proclamation of Jesus to non believers who may find it hard to forgive unlike Jesus Christ who pardoned the two criminals even at the point of death at Golgota. Metropolitan Archbishop of Tamale Most Reverend Philip Naameh in a Easter Homily advised Christians against seeking shortcuts to their problems but rather depend on God who works according to his own time. According to him, it was common among Christians of present to resort various unapproved means of having their challenges addressed noting that God in such times withdraw his presence. It is in this light the Catholic Bishop advised against scouting for God’s evidence before believing his capabilities explaining that he had all the power in ...

The National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons, has recommended a stronger collaboration between citizens and security agencies to halt the illicit flow of small arms in the country. According to the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Jones Applerh, this effort will provide intelligence that leads to the retrieval of small arms. His remarks follow clashes at the Agbogbloshie Yam Market at Old Fadama in Accra, where reports indicate that feuding factions are armed with a wide range of illicit arms. Speaking to Citi News on the matter, Mr. Applerh called for a concerted effort to arrest the spread of arms across the country, noting that effectively dealing with the proliferation of illicit arms will require that “the civil populace must get involved and they must volunteer information.” He also urged security agencies to have confidential informants who could help with policing. “When it comes to the requirements of the security agencies, it [combating t...

A combined team of Police and Military personnel will be deployed during the Easter period to maintain law and order during the festivities. The personnel will be situated at some public centers and security installations to guarantee public safety and security. Speaking to Citi News, the Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, ASP Effia Tenge, said enough preparations have been made to ensure public safety. “The Police is concerned about security at festivities of this nature and as such we have drawn up security strategies to handle the festivities. Talking about police presence, we have deployed, per our strategy, police personnel to certain areas that we feel need police attention. Some vital installations that we believe we need to provide security for would have it.” “Churches where we have a lot of religious people going about their religious activities; conventions and all, we also have to look at the gathering places especially the mal...

The body of a teenager believed to have been raped, murdered and dumped close to her home has thrown entire Jamasi township near Ejisu into mourning. Sophia Amma Ibrahim, a hair braider apprentice, did not return home when she left for work on Good Friday morning at Ejisu. Her lifeless half-naked body was later found about 50-meters away from her home in front of an uncompleted building faced upwards with her mouth foaming. Lying few meters from the body were her black shoes. Her underwear was also discovered inside the uncompleted house. Residents who thronged the scene early Saturday morning after the elder sister had raised an alarm wept uncontrollably. They believe that the deceased was raped and murdered. That suspicion is also shared by Ayishetu Ibrahim, her sister.           Ayishetu first found the body of her sister after informing a cousin of the deceased’s failure to return home the previou...

Barcelona kept within touching distance of Liga leaders Real Madrid ahead of next week’s Clasico, seeing out a nervy 3-2 win over a Real Sociedad side that probably deserved more at the Camp Nou. Lionel Messi gave the hosts the lead after 17 minutes, doubling their advantage after the half-hour mark. However, a flurry of goals towards the end of the first half saw Real Sociedad drag themselves back into contention, with 3-2 the scoreline heading into the break. The Catalans looked increasingly tired as the second half progressed, with their Champions League exerts against Juventus during the week having a real impact on their play, particularly at the back. Players of FC Barcelona celebrate after their teammate Lionel Messi scored the opening goal during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Real SociedadGetty Images But La Real couldn’t make the most of their second half pressure, with Barcelona holding on for a crucial three points, keeping them in ...