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Below are the major news headlines captured on the front pages of the Ahenkan Newspaper today.
Ahenkan Newspaper Producers: Kwaku Anim Kusi Boadum / Adwenpa-Hene Kofi Mensah / #Ahenkan FM Online Team
Below are the full details of today’s stories, Friday, August 9, 2024.
Akim Oda: Clash Between Timber Market Workers And Forestry Commission Staff Results In One Person Dead
There is tension in Akim Oda in the Birim Central Municipality of the Eastern Region following a clash between workers at the Akim Oda Timber Market and staff of the Forestry Commission.
According to the report the clash has resulted in the death of one person heightening tension in the area.
Kia drivers, traders, and timber merchants at the Akyem Oda timber market in the Birim Central Municipality of the Eastern Region have vandalized the Oda Forestry Commission office.
This unrest follows the alleged killing of a well-known timber merchant by the Oda Forestry Commission task force on Tuesday, August 13, 2024.
Kwame Asante, widely known as Ashabee, tragically lost his life when he and his team were reportedly pursued by the Akyem Oda Forestry Commission task force while in the forest.
They alleged that, the vehicle being used by the task force hit Asante, causing him to fall from his motorcycle and died on the spot.
The reports say that upon learning of the tragic incident, outraged workers from the timber market rushed to the Oda Forestry Commission office and vandalized the premises in protest.
The timber merchants claim that this is not the first time such a tragedy has occurred.
They alleged that, though they regularly pay fees to the forestry personnel for timber logs brought from the forest, incidents like this continue to happen.
In response to the unrest, the Akyem Oda Forestry Commission office is now under the control of military personnel from the Akyem Achiase Jungle Warfare Training School.
The Birim Central Municipal Security Council (MUSEC) and officials from the Forestry Commission are currently in a meeting, working to restore order.
It’s, however, unclear what resulted in the clash but personnel from the Akim Oda Divisional Police command have been deployed to the area to calm down nerves and mitigate the situation.
Ghana’s Cocoa Sector Will Collapse In 5 Years – Group Warns
The National Association of Cocoa Farmers has warned that if authorities fail to address the challenges facing the cocoa sector, it could face extinction within five to ten years.
President of the Association, Stephenson Anane Boateng, said that the practice of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, in cocoa-growing communities has created serious challenges for them with increased water pollution, competition for land, especially from illegal miners, and reduced cocoa production.
Cocoa farmers, he bemoaned, are having challenges managing aging cocoa trees, weeds, pests, diseases, and declining yields, which have had a negative impact on their income and livelihoods.
The 2022/23 season, per available data released by the COCOBOD, reported that there was a loss of approximately 150,000 metric tonnes of cocoa due to smuggling and illegal gold mining activities. Additionally, the cocoa-swollen shoot virus ravaged around 500,000 hectares of cocoa farmlands.
He highlighted that the leaders in this country have failed to roll out initiatives to address the challenges, wondering why the cocoa farmers are not empowered to help resolve the crisis.
Although the government says it has rolled out initiatives to address the production challenges, including a farm rehabilitation program and collaborative initiatives with security agencies to combat smuggling, the Association stated that successive governments have failed to address their challenges.
“All the various sectors get the needed support and resources to enhance their work. However, the cocoa sector has been ignored. The situation has made cocoa farming unattractive, and our young people are not interested in the sector. They accuse us of selling our lands to illegal miners, but that is false.
“The cocoa sector is no longer thriving. My prediction is that in the next five years, we will have no cocoa sector to boast of. If we are lucky, it will last for the next ten years.
“The youth of today have all joined galamsey activities. When we raise these issues, the CEO of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, will rubbish them. We have a crisis at hand, and it is our collective duty as Ghanaians to talk and have the issues addressed.”
On the investment of Ghc942 million on farms, he shot it down, stressing that “COCOBOD keeps making losses. Read the Auditor General’s report and let me know if, indeed, they have made any investments in farms, as he claimed.”
He added “Ghana now belongs to politicians, and so when you raise serious issues, they don’t address them.
“They come in to make money, and when they leave, they and their families enjoy themselves and create problems for us. But as Ghanaians, we have to rise and speak up and have them resolve these challenges.”
I Strongly Oppose Galamsey – Akyem Wenchi Chief Makes U-turn
The Chief of Akyem Wenchi, who also serves as the Oseawuohene, Daasebre Dr. Asumadu Appiah, has clarified his recent comments about galamsey in his community.
The chief has said there has been a miscommunication, stating his comment has been misunderstood.
Daasebere Appiah during a visit to the community by New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia acknowledged that the youth of Wenchi and its environs are unlikely to stop galamsey.
The chief explained that the Wenchi area lacks alternative employment opportunities, leaving illegal mining as the primary source of income for many.
But in an interview, Daasebere Appiah said he has never endorsed illegal mining or enjoyed its proceeds.
The chief has said he only sought to communicate the concerns of his people to Dr. Bawumia, hence further proposed a regulated community mining scheme.
“As the chief, I am supposed to protect the lands and water bodies left behind by our ancestors for future generations. So how can I say my people cannot stop Galamsey?
“From Akwatia, Asutsuare, Oda, and its surroundings, I’m known by indigenes and the Police as one of the chiefs fighting against Galamsey,” he stated.
Determined to institute community mining, Daasebere Appiah indicated he has begun processing documents to that effect.
Driver’s Licence extension: Bawumia baiting us for votes – Transport operators
The Transport Operators of Ghana have taken a swipe at the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia over his pledge to extend the renewal of driver’s licences from two years to 10 years.
The group in a statement on Tuesday, August 13, described Bawumia’s pledge as “another bait to just win the votes of drivers because he has in times past exhibited glaring lack of concern.”
Existing legislation directs that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) is mandated to ensure that all driver’s license holders must renew or validate their licenses every two (2) years from the date of issue of the license.
However, the NPP flagbearer believes that the current legislation is an inconvenience for drivers and must be extended to bring relief.
The transport operators in their statement admonished Bawumia to focus on removing the taxes his government placed on petroleum products and other challenging issues, including “reducing the acquisition cost of a driving license, roadworthy certificate and vehicle registration as well as honouring his 2020 pledge before gaslighting us with any new pledge.”
Below is the full statement.
Transport Operators of Ghana
13TH August, 2024
Press Statement for Immediate Release
Bawumia Cannot Be Trusted Over the Ten Year Renewal of Driver’s License
We have become aware of Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia’s promise to implement a policy that will allow for drivers license to be renewed only after ten years.
While we welcome the suggestion as a brilliant idea we have genuine cause to not just believe but to also state unequivocally that it is another bait to just win the votes of drivers because he has in times past exhibited a glaring lack of concern for the plight of drivers.
It is of public knowledge that drivers in the country, particularly, commercial drivers are in deep shackles of suffering as a result of policies instituted by the NPP and by the same Bawumia’s led Economic Management Team.
It is Bawumia’s government that introduced the Sanitation and Pollution Levy(SPL) on petroleum products and several other taxes that are contributing to the continuous increment in fuel prices.
Under the same Akufo Addo/Bawumia government, the cost of acquiring, renewing and replacing of driver’s licenses and road-worthy certificates have been increased astronomically.
It is also publicly known that prior to the 2020 elections, the same Bawumia pledged electric vehicles that would have been purchased under hire for drivers but his government’s tenure is almost ending and not even a single electric vehicle has been procured for any driver.
Even recently, Dr Bawumia at the GPRTU executives’ elections which was held in Kasoa pledged to have the situation where vehicle owners pay penalties for road-worthy certificate renewal for vehicles that went to the workshop dealt with swiftly. However, he appears to have completely forgotten the July 5 pledge.
The deception is stark and makes it obvious that he is only acting in a cunning manner to win the votes of drivers.
But just as the adage goes, ‘once bitten twice shy’ and so we wish to call on Bawumia to exercise his commitment by removing the taxes his government placed on petroleum products, reducing the acquisition cost of driving license, roadworthy certificates and vehicle registration as well as honouring his 2020 pledge before gaslighting us with any new pledge.
We call on divers to be more vigilant about these promises being churned out by the vice president who is now leading the NPP into the 2020 elections and not to be swayed by same.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu Drags Mahama To Assemblies of God Head Pastor Over Betting Tax
Former Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has criticized former President John Mahama‘s manifesto promise to scrap taxes on betting, calling it “unacceptable.”
Former President John Dramani Mahama has pledged to eliminate the betting tax and the Electronic Levy (E-Levy) if he wins the 2024 elections.
At a National Democratic Congress (NDC) Youth Townhall Meeting in Accra, Mahama outlined his plans to address significant economic challenges facing Ghanaians.
“You can also be assured that we will abolish the e-levy, remove the COVID Levy, and scrap the betting tax. I urge you to stand with us, stand for your dreams, and stand for a better Ghana.
“Together, we can build the Ghana we want, where every young Ghanaian can succeed. With these policy proposals, I invite Ghana’s youth to partner with Naana Jane and me in our shared commitment to restoring the nation’s potential for future generations,” he said.
The former MP for the Suame constituency argued that Mahama’s proposal is inappropriate, particularly for a country like Ghana, which he describes as a Christian nation.
According to Mensah Bonsu, betting is biblically unacceptable, and God frowns upon it as it is considered immoral.
He explained that the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) decision to impose taxes on betting was a deliberate move aligned with biblical principles.
“I do not support the idea of scrapping taxes on betting as proposed by Mahama. It is inappropriate and unacceptable according to biblical teachings. The NPP’s decision to tax betting winnings was guided by the doctrines of God,” he stated.
In his concluding remarks, Mensah Bonsu mentioned that both he and Mahama are members of the Assemblies of God church.
He expressed his intention to speak to a church elder to influence Mahama to reconsider his proposal.
“Mahama and I attend the same church. We share the same elders, and I will speak to one of them to persuade Mahama to change his mind,” he said.
