Speaking during an interaction with the media on Wednesday, he recalled that the Senior Minister, on an official visit to the Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, received some praise from people who said: “last year we [UAE] recorded $7 billion worth of Gold imports from Ghana.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”qZbH4UsB0GLmOfF2FfYJmDa68mjjCoTH”]But the President stated that “official records are talking about $2 billion. These are the facts.”

Responding to a question on the fight against illegal mining and resulting ban on small-scale mining, President Akufo-Addo said outstanding issues related to illegal mining, including this instance of suspected smuggling still needed to be addressed.

“I believe that the fight against galamsey is by no means won. We still have a long way to go… I am saying this because, at the same time, some of the outcomes of the galamsey menace in our country are not sufficiently addressed or articulated.”

“…So it is telling you that apart from the harm that this activity is doing to our country, much of the value that our nation should derive from these activities are also being criminally disposed off,” he added.

On the possible lifting of the ban on small-scale mining, which was extended after first being imposed in April 2017 for three months, President Akufo-Addo said he was yet to meet with advisers, and “decide when, and if the time is ready for the lifting of the ban. So a decision will not be ready until after that meeting of Cabinet next week.”

Revenue leaks in gold export

In September 2017, it emerged that the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), at the time, could not trace most of the companies involved in the export of $2.3 billion worth of gold in 2016, that did not result in the repatriation of foreign currency.

Indications were that the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service had begun a probe into the matter which is said to involve about 145 companies.

The PMMC is mandated to oversee the export of gold from the small-scale mining sector, and the law requires at least 80 percent of foreign currency earned from exports to be repatriated into the country

The PMMC’s operations cut across buying, selling, grading, valuing, and processing of precious minerals to include appointing licensed buyers for the purchase of minerals mined by small-scale miners.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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They say Qatar backs terrorist groups including Islamic State (IS).

The Saudi state news agency SPA said Riyadh had closed its borders, severing land, sea and air contact with Qatar and largely isolating it.

It cited officials as saying it was to “protect its national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism”.

The unprecedented move is being seen as the most serious split yet between powerful Gulf countries, who are also close US allies.

The row comes two weeks after the same four countries blocked Qatari news sites. Controversial comments by Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, appearing to criticise Saudi Arabia, appeared online.

The government in Doha dismissed the comments as fake, attributing the report to a “shameful cybercrime”.

In the latest developments:

• The United Arab Emirates has given Qatari diplomats 48 hours to leave the country. Abu Dhabi accuses Doha of “supporting, funding and embracing terrorism, extremism and sectarian organisations,” state news agency WAM said
• The UAE state airline Etihad Airways said it would suspend all flights to and from Doha from 02:45 local time on Tuesday
• Bahrain’s state news agency said the country was cutting ties with Qatar because Doha was “shaking the security and stability of Bahrain and meddling in its affairs”
• US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speaking in Sydney, urged the countries to resolve their differences through dialogue.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels also expelled Qatar from its alliance because of Doha’s “practices that strengthen terrorism” and its support to groups “including al-Qaeda and Daesh [also known as IS], as well as dealing with the rebel militias”, according to SPA.

Qatar has provided its warplanes to carry out air strikes against the Houthi rebels.

Qatar, which is due to host the football World Cup in 2022, has so far made no public comments on the latest developments.

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Source: BBC

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