According to him, security personnel along the border must be quick in detecting any suspicious movements and report to inform the country’s response to the developments there.

[contextly_sidebar id=”lYOGlEsxtKouRKAutLoJMy3vk5ppxXej”]“The institutions along the borders must be a little bit more alert, send the report to Accra as quickly as possible and then the decision is taking as to the level of alertness that we need to put our security too, in order to get the job done,” Dr. Aning said.

In January this year, former rebels who had been integrated into the army’s ranks staged a mutiny over their demand for bonuses.

The troops, who are one-time rebels backing Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara and controlled the northern half of the country between 2002 and 2011, were demanding the government pay them 12 million CFA francs (€18,000) per soldier.

According to sources, they received five million francs (€7,500) in January and had been due to receive the rest this month, rebel sources say.

Some disgruntled soldiers resumed their revolt when one of their senior members on his own accord announced that they had given up their financial demands.

The angry soldiers w soldiers who expressed anger at the announcement blocked access roads in Abidjan, Bouake and other Ivorian cities.

An anti-mutiny attack was staged resulting in the injury of some persons.

Dr. Kwesi Aning said the developments in Cote d’Ivoire has major implications on Ghana however, the government must not attribute rising incidents of robbery and the proliferation of illegal small scale arms to the mutiny.

“The guns are in Ghana already, in abundance so I don’t want people to think that if there is the spate of armed robbery in the coming weeks then it is because there are heavy guns in Cote d’Ivoire. Our own study in Ghana last year demonstrated almost 1.2 million unregistered guns in Ghana so I think we need to be careful in disaggregating the kinds of threat that may impact Ghana because of the Ivorian crisis,” he noted in a Citi News interview.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Cote d’Ivoire mutiny: Strengthen Ghana’s borders – Kwesi Aning appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, galamsey has grown to become a major source of livelihood for many people, hence stakeholders must apply some tact in dealing with it.

[contextly_sidebar id=”YFY481Ng0ZWTODUtFZvnmTsU4RhIg0ZN”]Speaking on Eyewitness News on Tuesday, April 4, 2017, Dr. Aning said “I’ll plead with those who matter in the decision making that they should not be violent, because galamsey has become people’s livelihoods over twenty years, we need a dialogue kind of process and a bold attempt at finding alternative livelihood to let people change what they have been doing. Any attempt at using a violent intimidating means will end in some bloodshed and I think we’ve already heard, seen and experienced some.”

He noted that, the activities of galamsey operators was backed by a strong network of people within and outside the country, which makes dealing with it more complex than it appears.

“Since this menace has spread all over this country; it has some really strong network both domestic and international. I will argue that we need a conversation around changing the activity and replacing them with other less environmentally harmful activities.”

He said proper intelligence must be gathered to identify all the players in the galamsey ring and their mode of operation to make a fight against galamsey successful.

“In trying to come to grips with the galamsey, we need to use intelligent approaches to identify the network that underpins, supports, incentivize, purchase and smuggles this gold outside this country. This is a much bigger problem,” he said.

“Galamsey is an existential threat to Ghana and to our communities, but in dealing with this kind of particular existential threat, violence is not the first strategy that we need to use because the state of Ghana has not mapped out the problem in the first place,” he added.

The government is being confronted with the challenge of galamsey in the country, which has resulted in Ghana losing most of its fresh water bodies and fertile lands.

Many communities have been devastated by the lasting negative impact of illegal mining.

In spite of the fact that Ghana’s laws are clear on illegal mining, the activity has been allowed to continue for more than two decades.

Citi FM has been at the forefront of media advocacy for a decisive and firm action from the government in dealing with the menace with various inside and out-of-studio events.

Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has said his government is working to develop a policy that will deal with galamsey in the country.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post Don’t be violent in fighting galamsey – Kwesi Aning appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the continent must deal with Mr Jammeh in a straightforward manner.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, Dr Aning said more stringent measures should be taken since he has disregarded all the necessary diplomatic procedures extended to him.

“When former President Mahama visited Gambia, the psychological game there was that Mr Mahama sends a signal to Mr Jammeh that there was life after Presidency, but you see, it is not always that you can play a decent diplomatic game with a person who does not understand the basic laws and principles of diplomacy,” Kwesi Aning said.

“It has become necessary that the appropriate articles under ECOWAS’ protocols be invoked and if we need to fight to preserve the molecule of respect for ECOWAS,” he added.

There is a political stalemate in the West African country as the President, Yahya Jammeh has resolved not to step down

ECOWAS leaders have failed on two occasions to convince Mr Jammeh to step down.

Jammeh, days after conceding defeat in the elections, raised allegations of malpractices and filed a motion to challenge the results in the Supreme Court.

The country had been without a functional Supreme Court for two years, after Mr. Jammeh sacked some Supreme Court judges for ruling against his government in a case against affecting ex-military chiefs.

The country’s Chief Justice, Emmanuel Fagbenle, pulled out of the case filed by Jammeh, seeking to stop the inauguration of President-elect Adama Barrow.

Other senior officers in Mr. Jammeh’s government including the Ministers of Trade, Environment, Finance and recently Foreign Affairs, have all resigned, spelling more doom for Mr. Jammeh.

There are reports of many citizens and tourists fleeing the country ahead of Thursday’s inauguration of President-elect Adama Barrow who is currently in Senegal until the swearing-in.

‘Military intervention in Gambia’

Parliamentarians in Gambia on Monday, January 16, 2017, passed a resolution demanding that ECOWAS Heads of State Authority desist from using force to remove Mr. Jammeh from office.

The legislators say a peaceful means must be employed to settle the political stalemate, stating that the Gambia was a sovereign nation and its constitution must be respected.

‘State of emergency’

Yahya Jammeh, on Tuesday, declared a 90-day state of emergency in the West African country.

He did not give details for his declaration in the public announcement.

‘Parliamentarians extend President’s rule’

Meanwhile, the Parliament in Gambia has extended the rule of current President Yahya Jammeh by 90 days.

The House passed the resolution on Wednesday, January 18, 2017, a day before Mr Jammeh’s term in office, officially expires.

‘Adama Barrow’s swearing-in in limbo’

The inauguration of President-elect Adama Barrow is currently in limbo.

BBC Africa correspondent, Umaru Fofana told the Citi Breakfast Show currently in Gambia said Barrow’s inauguration might not happen. “To be honest everything seems to be up in the air, nobody is sure what will happen in the next minute… By midnight tonight, his [Jammeh’s] tenure should end, but Parliament extended his mandate yesterday, the legitimacy of that is being challenged. The opposition collation assured me that they will go ahead with their inauguration tomorrow but that was before the state of emergency declaration. Due to the emergency declaration, large gatherings will not be allowed and I honestly can’t see how an inauguration ceremony will go ahead tomorrow with a state of emergency,” he opined.

‘Nigeria’s warship’

There were reports that Nigeria has dispatched a warship to Gambia following the political crisis but Fofana said “at this moment, the Nigerian military source told the BBC that they were not coming to fire any shot at least for a start.”

“If there is cooperation it will end that way but we are not sure what is happening,” he added.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post Blame African leaders for Gambia crisis – Kwesi Aning appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.