Press zooms in on Minister’s appeal to end violence against alleged witches, others

APA – Accra (Ghana)
The appeal by the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Lariba Zuweira Abudu, to traditional rulers in the north to help put an end to mistreatment meted out to persons accused of witchcraft is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Lariba Zuweira Abudu, has appealed to traditional rulers in the north to help put an end to mistreatment meted out to persons accused of witchcraft.
She said as traditional authorities who were revered and played important roles in their respective communities, they should lead the campaign to stop the growing incidence of violence against alleged witches in the area.
The minister described the attacks and killings of individuals, particularly elderly women accused of witchcraft as barbaric and, therefore, must end now.
Hajia Lariba made the appeal when she paid a courtesy call on the Overlord of Mamprugu, Nayiri Naa Bohagu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, at Nalerigu, as part of her working visit to the North East Region.
Her visit was to court the support of traditional authorities, as well as interact with some victims of the attacks.
According to the minister, the government was committed to protecting the rights of victims and also ending the menace.
She said her outfit had introduced a new tracking app that would enable individuals to report such incidents directly to the ministry for swift and decisive action.
Hajia Lariba added that an anti-Witchcraft Bill, a private member’s bill aimed at safeguarding individuals accused of witchcraft, would soon be passed into law.
The law, when passed, would criminalise witchcraft accusations and anyone who would be found guilty of such acts would be prosecuted.
The newspaper says that 86 illegal miners who entered the underground of Obuasi Mine of Anglogold Ashanti in Ghana have been arrested by the police.
They were all picked up when they exited the underground through one of the main shafts of the mining company into the waiting arms of the police and security personnel of the biggest gold mining company in Ghana.
The suspects are currently in police custody being processed for court.
They reportedly entered the underground using unapproved routes.
However, the mining company reportedly sealed the unapproved routes and so the illegal miners had no option than to exit through the main shaft.
Three of them managed to escape arrest, according to the police.
About 38 of them came out first and they were arrested.
It first started with seven illegal miners who exited a shaft on Monday (May 29, 2023) and were arrested.
The rest did not want to come out so they sent out an alarm that they have been trapped in the underground.
This resulted in tension in the gold mining town of Obuasi and resulted in family members of the said suspects massing up in town and staging a protest.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the former president of Ghana, Mr John Dramani Mahama, has urged the Republic of Korea to leverage its unique advancements to partner Ghana and Africa to shore up development in various sectors, such as housing, technology and the growth of economies.
This, he said, could only be achieved with the fundamental shifts in how African economies function and run.
He said this at the 2023 Korea-Africa Business Summit in Korea, Seoul, last Thursday.
The two-day summit provided a “valuable venue for enabling rich and in-depth discussion” around several key issues, including Finance 4.0, Innovation and Youth Entrepreneurship, Trade, Industrialisation, Energy and Resources.
“Sound economic management, founded on broad and far-reaching governance and economic reforms, must take root in African countries. Monetary policy should be geared towards sustainable growth, and this should come with equitable distribution of the proceeds of that growth,” he said.
He noted that Ghana, as well as Africa, would obtain experience from South Korea through partnership, as they were categorised as economic giants globally in terms of industrialisation, innovation, science and technology.
The former president stated that Africa produced three to four million jobs annually, which was not enough for the number of young Africans that enter the labour market.
“About twelve million young Africans enter the labour market every year, unfortunately, only three and four million jobs are created annually in Africa. Africa needs to double its job creation ca¬pacity to keep up with the growing youth bulge, or it will turn into a ticking time bomb,” he said.
The newspaper says that the Ambassador of the Republic of Lebanon, Mr. Maher Kheir, has been appointed as the new Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Ghana.
His appointment comes after his predecessor Mr Pingrenoma Zagre, Ambassador of Burkina Faso, ended his tenure as Dean.
The announcement was made at a colourful farewell ceremony for the outgoing Dean in the presence of Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mrs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Chief of Protocol at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Mr Henry Tachie-Menson, Senior Officials, Heads of Missions, and Members of the Diplomatic Corps.
In his remarks, Mr Kheir lauded the Minister for going above and beyond to strengthen relations with the diplomatic corp.
“I thank the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mrs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey for the opportunity and for her great efforts to promote friendly relations with the diplomatic corp. This has helped to facilitate our duties as Ambassadors of our countries to Ghana. We are really grateful,” he said.
He thanked his predecessor for his remarkable work during his tenure as Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and wished him continuous success in his future endeavours.
Mr Kheir, who was grateful for the opportunity to serve as dean pledged to work with all necessary stakeholders, drawing lessons from past deans, to achieve the goals of the Diplomatic Community.
“For my fellow ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps, I look forward to doing my best to achieve our aspirations,” he stressed.
He called for the support of the ministry and Ghanaian authorities to assist him to execute his mandate successfully.
GIK/APA