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Today’s Europa League Semi-finals Fixtures

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West Ham United coach, David Moyes

West Ham welcome Frankfurt to the London Stadium

West Ham United prepare for their first European semi-final in over 40 years as they welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to the London Stadium in the first-leg. The Irons will be eager to have the advantage before heading to the Deutsche Bank Park as they seek to secure their first European final since 1976.

 

Oliver Glasner, Frankfurt coach

West Ham United and Eintracht Frankfurt will look to take a step closer to Europa League glory when they square off in the first leg of their semi-final tie on Thursday evening.

West Ham United

While some clubs on the continent view this competition as a hindrance, that has never been the case with West Ham as David Moyes, his players and their supporters dare to dream of European glory.

Ensuring European football for next season by any means necessary is the goal and the Hammers have work to do in the Premier League, but the main focus is on lifting this trophy, West Ham’s chances improving significantly now that Barcelona have now been eliminated.

Given the European credentials of their opponents, West Ham were arguably underdogs to defeat each of Sevilla and Lyon, although they performed like an established continental outfit in each of those ties.

The 3-0 demolition of Lyon in France earlier this month stands out above the rest, a goal glut either side of half time blowing their hosts away and leaving the Premier League outfit being tipped to go all the way.

However, four defeats in seven top-flight fixtures, the latest coming at Chelsea on Sunday, means that the East Londoners head into this contest not necessarily full of confidence.

Eintracht Frankfurt 

The same can be said of opponents Frankfurt, who have prevailed in just one of their most recent nine matches in all competitions.

Remarkably, that success came versus Barcelona at Camp Nou, the visitors going 3-0 ahead before having to withstand a late comeback from their more illustrious hosts to earn a famous victory in Spain.

Frankfurt has not had the desired effect in the Bundesliga, they have relished their tag of dark horses in the Europa League.

Although five draws have been recorded along the way, SGE are undefeated in 10 matches in this competition, highlighting the size of the task which awaits West Ham on Thursday.

Frankfurt are no strangers to making visits to London, only losing out to Chelsea in a penalty shootout at Stamford Bridge in the 2018-19 semi-finals before ending 2019 with a 2-1 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Prediction

Given the magnitude of this fixture for both clubs, we do not expect either side to go out all-guns-blazing in the first leg. The two sides will be perfectly content with remaining on level terms ahead of the return fixture in Germany, leading us to predict a low-scoring draw at the London Stadium.

Starting Line-up

West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Johnson, Dawson, Cresswell; Coufal, Soucek, Rice, Masuaku; Fornals, Bowen; Antonio

Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Tuta, Hinteregger, Hasebe; Knauff, Sow, Rode, Kostic; Kamada, Lindstrom; Borre

Leipzig have edge against Rangers

Domenico Tedesco, Leipzig coach

Rangers begin a pivotal week with a trip to RB Leipzig on Thursday.

RB Leipzig and Rangers will look to take the next step towards winning the Europa League on Thursday night when they meet in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.

Rangers

With Rangers looking like they are going to concede the league title to Celtic, there is an argument that Giovanni van Bronckhorst is yet to fully convince since replacing Steven Gerrard in November.

However, having reached this stage of the Europa League and with a Scottish Cup final to come, criticism of the Dutchman lacks substance, and the Gers boss will have every confidence that his players can continue their heroics from earlier in this competition.

Although the success over Borussia Dortmund naturally set the tone, the manner of their victories over Red Star Belgrade and Braga have also been impressive. Rangers head into this contest on a four-match winning streak.

RB Leipzig

The trajectory of this team has skyrocketed since the appointment of Domenico Tedesco in December, a total of 16 wins and just three defeats coming from 24 games, and they will have every confidence of ending the campaign with two pieces of silverware, the other potentially coming in the DFB Pokal.

Securing a place in next season’s Champions League is realistically the priority, however, and they hold just a two-point advantage over fifth-placed Freiburg.

Since dropping out of European football’s premier competition after the group stages, Leipzig have impressively chalked successes,

and those results highlight the quality which Leipzig possess at both ends of the pitch.

Prediction

Rangers’ task was already a difficult one before they suffered more injuries to key players in the final third. With that in mind, we cannot see how the visitors will stay competitive for the 90 minutes, and giving themselves a chance of turning things around at Ibrox may be the best that they can hope for against a talented squad.

Starting Line-up

Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Rangers coach

RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Gulacsi; Mukiele, Klostermann, Gvardiol; Henrichs, Laimer, Adams, Angelino; Olmo; Nkunku, Silva

Rangers possible starting lineup:
McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Balogun, Bassey; Kamara, Lundstram, Jack; Aribo, Sakala, Kent

Ukrainian Premier League terminated following Russian invasion

Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine premier league team

The Ukrainian Premier League season has been terminated because of ongoing conflict in the country.

The championship did not resume after December’s three-month winter break following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Shakhtar Donetsk were top of the league with 47 points after the last round of games, two points ahead of Dynamo Kyiv.

A statement on the UPL website said: “The standings as of 24 February 2022 will be the final standings of the season and no winners will be awarded.”

The statement also confirmed that a working group has been created to discuss the start of next season.

Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv, who hold 29 Ukrainian top flight titles between them, have recently played friendlies to raise funds to aid people affected by the conflict.

Credit: bbc.com

Joyce Obenewa Appiah to officiate U-17 Women’s World Cup between Morocco and Niger

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Ghanaian referee, Joyce Obenewa Appiah

Ghanaian referee, Joyce Obenewa Appiah will officiate the U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifier between Morocco and Niger on Friday.

This season, Referee Appiah has taken charge of matches in both the Ghana Women’s Premier League and the Women’s FA Cup.

Compatriots, Alice Farizua Chacule, Mary Tei and Barikisu Chisu Salifu will serve as the 1st Assistant, 2nd Assistant and Fourth Referee respectively.

Egyptian referee, Inas Mazhar will serve as the Match Commissioner while Said Zakini has been named as the COVID-19 Officer.

The match will be played at the Rabat Stadium in Morocco on Friday, April 29, 2022.

The victors will face the winner of the tie between Ghana’s Black Maidens and Guinea for a spot at the World Cup in India.

Credit: citisportsonline.com

Arsenal coach doubtful of Partey’s return

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Thomas Partey recovering from injury

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta remains doubtful about Thomas Partey’s return from injury for the remainder of the season despite the positive update about the player’s recovery.

The Ghana international midfielder picked up a thigh injury against Crystal Palace earlier this month when they lost 2-0 at the Selhurst Park.

However, Arteta’s latest comments suggest that Partey could be ruled out of action for the rest of the season.

“Yes, the news that we got after a lot of assessments is not great. It’s not looking very positive for his availability this season, but we’ll have to wait and see because he’s trying to get back as quickly as possible, but at the moment we are not very optimistic about it.” Arteta said.

The 28-year-old has clearly been working hard in the gym, as he posted a video of him running on a treadmill, a boost for Arsenal fans, who will be hoping he can return to first-team action before the season concludes.

The Gunners are hopeful of sealing a Champions League spot at the end of the season as they are currently sitting at the 4th position on the premiership standings.

They have 60 points after 33 rounds with Tottenham, Manchester United and West Ham are all in sight for the fourth spot with five games remaining for the season to close.

Credit: ghanasoccernet.com

1,125 Rounds Of Ammo Stolen From Osu Castle

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BERNICE BESSEY
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Mr Kan Dapaah, Minister for National Security
Osu Castle

A total of 1,025 rounds of 7.62 by 39mm calibre live ammunitions have reportedly been stolen from one of Ghana’s highest security zones, the Osu Castle.

The ammunitions were allegedly stolen by a 22-year-old manual worker, Mustapha Awudu, and another, Felix Ankrah, who also is 32 years old and unemployed.

Mustapha and Felix have, therefore, been charged with conspiracy to commit crime, stealing, and unlawful entry.

However, Mustapha has pleaded guilty simplicita, while Felix pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to them at the Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Her Honour Rosemary Torsu Baah, yesterday.

The court has, however, deferred Mustapha’s case to May 5, 2022, but granted Felix bail in the sum of GH¢100,000.00, with sureties.

Details of the case, as narrated by the prosecuting officer, Inspector Jonas Lawer, are that the complainant in the case is National Security, Osu Castle Branch in Accra.

He told the court that on April 6, 2022, Mustapha, who claimed to be an informant, went to the Accra Police Regional Command with 375 rounds of 7.62 by 39mm calibre live ammunitions, claiming to have found them in the bushes behind the Osu Castle.

The prosecutor narrated to the court that on April 20, 2022, the Regional Command, again, received information that Mustapha and Felix were in the process of selling a quantity of the ammunitions at Kings Bar, James Town, in Accra.

He told the court that the police acted on the information and proceeded to the scene and effected the arrest of Mustapha and Felix, together with 750 rounds of 7.62 by 39mm calibre live ammunitions.

The prosecuting officer said Mustapha and Felix on the spot admitted to having gone to steal the said ammunitions from the Ammunition Room at the Osu Castle, by unlawfully entering through one of the windows behind the Castle.

According to him, Mustapha and Felix then led the police to the Osu Castle, or the crime scene, and showed them the rooms, which they stole the ammunitions from, and demonstrated how they entered through the window.

Inspector Lawer added that Mustapha also admitted that the ammunitions he brought to the Accra Police Regional Command on April 6, 2022 were stolen from the same place on April 5, 2022, which he divided into two and sold half to witnesses in the case for GH¢50.00.

Fidelity Bank staff in court for illegally withdrawing GH¢476k from customer’s a/c

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BERNICE BESSEY
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Court

Kwadwo Berko Antwi, a personal Accounts Manager of a customer of Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited, Maame Nkansah, is said to have allegedly forged a document and stolen funds of the customer to the tune of GH¢485,450.

Kwadwo, who alleged engaged his biological brother, Kwabena Appiah Mensah Antwi, to succeed in the crime, and used his share of the stolen money to buy two iPhones for himself or his wife, paid off his personal debt, as well as completed building his house.

Kwadwo, Relationship Officer at the Fidelity Bank, Ridge Branch, and Kwabena, a Graphic Designer, were arraigned before the Accra Circuit Court ‘2’ on the counts of forgery of official document, stealing, and abetment of crime.

The two have pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the court, presided over by Rosemary Torsu Baah, yesterday granted them bail each in the sum of GH¢400,000 with two sureties to be justified by landed property.

The brothers are expected to re-appear in court on May 25, 2022.

The brief facts, as presented by the prosecuting officer, Inspector Jonas Lawer, are that the complainant in the case is Frank Abdulai Iddrisu, a Financial Investigator with Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited, while Kwadwo Berko Antwi and Kwabena Appiah Mensah Antwi are Banker and Graphic Designer respectively, both residing at North Legon.

He said Kwadwo was the Relationship Officer at the Fidelity Bank, Ridge Branch in Accra, and was appointed to manage three accounts – Flip Account, Dollar Account and Current Account – belonging to a customer of the bank, Maame Nkansah.

According to the Prosecutor, on March 10, 2022, Maame Nkansah reported to the bank that a total amount of GH¢476,450.00 and US$1,200 were withdrawn from her accounts without her consent.

The Prosecutor said a review of the customer’s accounts revealed that, between the period May 7, 2020 and March 19, 2021, Kwadwo created a Fidelity Bank Mobile Application and funds transfer form with a forged signature of the customer, Maame Nkansah, and then transferred a total amount of GH¢435,400.00 from her account into another account with the name Ankusa Media belonging tp Antwi Kwabena Appiah Mensah.

Inspector Lawer further stated that Kwadwo also transferred GH¢24,000 into another account bearing the name of Kwabena Appiah Mensah, and on March 3, 2021, Kwadwo further transferred cash in the amount of GH¢7,050.00 to a different account belonging to one William Osei, a witness in the case.

He continued that on May 25, 2021, Kwadwo respectively transferred from Maame Nkransah’s US dollar account a total amount of US$1,200 into an account that belonged to Kwabena.

The Prosecutor stated that a complaint was lodged with the police, and the accused persons were arrested where it was discover that A1 and A2 were brothers.

He said Kwadwo operates two Fidelity Bank accounts with A2 as the sole signatory, adding that Kwabena was to withdraw monies paid into the two accounts, as stated above, and repay it into A1’s personal account or sometimes pay the monies into A1’s Momo account.

“This is to cover up A1’s underhand dealings as [a] staff of the bank. It also came to light during investigations that A1 used the monies he stole from the customer’s accounts to pay off his personal debt, bought two iPhones for himself and his wife, and then used the rest of the amount to complete his house at Agbogba,” he indicated.

The Prosecutor added that on March 3 and 22, 2022, respectively the accused persons refunded a total of GH¢180,000 to the police which was kept as an exhibit.

Go away, you have no case!

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BERNICE BESSEY
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Court

After succeeding in getting the apex court to interpret articles 102 and 104 of the 1992 constitution, Justice Abdulai has, this time round, failed abysmally to convince the nine Lord Justices as to why they should take a second look at their previous decision on the voting right of Deputy Speakers of Parliament while presiding.

Justice Abdulai, who is a private legal practitioner and law lecturer and predicated his chances to win the review as being slim, was shown the exit by a the nine-panel members, presided over by Justice Jones Dotse.

The Apex Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled yesterday that the review application that he filed lacked merit, hence, dismissed it.

Justice Jones Dotse, dismissing the review application, explained that it failed to meet the threshold required for a review case to succeed.

The review panel inquired from the plaintiff why he had granted several radio interviews on a matter that he had filed before the court, and even described himself as a radio lawyer.

The Justices said the applicant was a lawyer and law lecturer, therefore, must ensure that he lived by the tenets of the ethics guiding lawyers, as well as practice what he “preaches” to his students.

Justice Abdulai, after the 9-0 verdict told journalists that he had accepted the decision of the court, and was clear in his mind that posterity would judge him handsomely, saying, “I think that we have to move on as a nation. What I didn’t want was a situation where posterity will question us as to why we did not take this small window [of] opportunity that was available to us to attempt a review for a possible review of the decision of the Supreme Court of the 9th of March.

“So, once we decide this way, posterity will judge us all in a positive light. We did everything that we ought to have done to get the sort of judgment that we needed. This is what the Supreme Court says, and we all have to abide by that and live together as one nation, going forward.”

The other members of the panel were Nene Amegatcher, Prof Ashie Kotey, Lovelace Johnson, Mariama Owusu, Clemence Honyenuga, Gertrude Torkonoo, Prof. Mensah Bonsu and Emmanuel Kulendi.

Thumbsup for Eximbank for supporting exporters

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Mr Oppong Nkrumah inspecting some of the products

Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has commended Ghana Exim Bank for providing Ghanaian businesses with the needed support to package and export their products into new markets.

According to him, the bank and the Ghana export promotion agency must be applauded for the continuous efforts to promote Ghanaian products on local and international markets.

The Minister gave the commendation at the relaunch of the bank’s Made-In-Ghana fair dubbed “Tuesday Market” today, 26th April 2022.

The Tuesday Market is a fair organised by Eximbank to showcase businesses being supported by Bank facilities to improve production, packaging and potential export.

“Ghana is in a unique place to increase production of food value chain products, packaging and exports, at a time when the World Bank is warning of a potential food security crisis globally. Again, it is heartwarming to see so many young people and young women venturing into the agric processing value chain. I am also impressed with the profile of persons I am seeing here today. I see lots of people hitherto described as working classblue collar people investing in businesses in this value chain. Returns are higher than the usual T-bills.” Mr Nkrumah said.

About Tuesday Market

Tuesday Market is a platform created by Ghana Exim Bank for its clients and producers of Made-In-Ghana products to showcase their products. It also serves as a one stop shop for the general public to purchase anything locally manufactured from nicely packaged food items, cosmetic products, garments and textiles, leather products and many more.

It forms part of government’s initiative to substantially support the private sector and other state enterprises whose operations are linked to export/import.

This, the Minister charged the young businessmen and women, who are into exports of goods and services to take advantage of the support scheme to play a dominate role in the Ghanaian export market.

EC’s conduct critical to NDC’s fortune, not EIU predictions -Sam Pee Yalley

By
NAABENYIN JOOJO AMISSAH
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Mr Sam Pee Yalley

A former Ghana Ambassador to India, Mr. Sam Pee Yalley, says the role of the Electoral Commission (EC) would be critical to the electoral fortunes of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the next General Elections in 2024.

To him, the NDC would win the 2024 elections hands down if the EC would conduct free, fair, transparent and credible elections, devoid of the use of the military to intimidate a cross section of the electorate.

He stressed that the aforementioned would be very critical if the NDC could regain political power, but not necessarily predictions and assumptions by the London-based Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Mr. Yalley stated this on News File while reacting to the EIU’s latest report which predicted victory for the NDC in 2024, but with a caution that Mr. Mahama should be changed in order to revitalise its prospects.

According to the EIU, though the NDC stood a better chance of winning the 2024 General Elections, it would be prudent for the party to choose a new candidate as its flag bearer. In response to this, Mr. Yalley stated categorically: “We will not change Mahama for anything… I can tell you without mincing words that John Mahama will be our candidate.

“What will change electoral fortunes in this country is the use of the military to attack voters…when laws are made for the elections, and all of a sudden they truncate it and bring new laws like what happened in the SALL,” he stated.

Mr. Yalley added: “These are the things we should look at, but I am not sure that they did any research on this field that I am talking about.”

He indicated further that if the concerns he has raised are properly addressed, Ghanaians would vote massively for the NDC because they would no longer fall for the NPP’s subterfuge.“I am not sure that the NDC will plan based on these recommendations. We will plan based on what we do at our brunches, we will plan based on what will change our polling agents to take notes,” he added.

He declared; “I don’t have the energy to think about somebody’s predictions or not. My energy as an NDC person is to make sure that the electoral commission does the right thing.”

Ambassador Yalley, who is a senior member of the party, indicated further that the party’s message to the electorate would be based on Mr. Mahama’s projects and achievements

To him, the NDC, as a party, would rely heavily on its track records and juxtapose them with the NPP’s for Ghanaians to make an informed decision.

Internal elections must be conducted in a civil manner

By
SEBASTIAN R. FREIKU
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Odeneho Kwaku Appiah aka COKA - Aspiring NPP Regional chairman

A former Afigya Kwabre South New Patriotic (NPP) Constituency Chairman, Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, alias COKA, has urged the rank and file of the party in the Ashanti Region to go about the ongoing internal elections in such a way that the party will come out from the contest better positioned to win the 2024 elections.

He noted that the “2024 general election is going to be keenly contested, and so it is important that all true patriots ensure that the party emerges from these internal elections stronger and better to win 2024.”

Odeneho, who is seeking to unseat Bernard Antwi Boasiako, alias Chairman Wontumi, and bring his (Wontumi’s) two-term reign to an end, advised the delegates “to approach these internal elections with a sense of responsibility, by electing men and women who are capable of leading the NPP to victory in the next polls.”

While admonishing delegates in a Facebook post at the weekend, COKA noted that the on-going elections within the NPP were a family contest, which must be conducted in a civil manner.

“I am pleased to see the enthusiasm with which party people are availing themselves to take up leadership positions at various levels to serve [the] NPP. Please, in the heat of the contest, let us remember that these are internal elections, and for that matter, we are members of the same family and we should not forget who our real opponents are. In the end, we will need all hands on deck to achieve the ultimate goal of winning the 2024 elections,” he advised.

Chairman Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, who served as Constituency Chairman for Afigya Kwabre South Constituency for over 20 years, wished those seeking to lead the party’s constituencies the best of luck.

“All party members are aware of the role [the] Ashanti Region plays in our party, particularly, in elections. Ashanti Region is, indeed, the heartbeat of the New Patriotic Party, and contributes about 20% of votes to the party in national elections. For this reason, we must not disappoint the party. Ashanti Region must get it right.”

He expressed the hope that at the end of all the elections at the various levels, the best men and women would be elected to steer the affairs of our party for the next four years.”

COKA also appealed to those who would lose any of the internal elections to take the outcome in good faith, and give full support to their counterparts who emerge winners.

“Breaking the 8 is highly attainable, but it requires a lot of hard work and unity,” the Regional Chairman-aspirant pointed out.

Editorial: How do we solve the mining in Atewa Forest conundrum?

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THE CHRONICLE
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Editorial

Official data from the World Bank indicates that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Ghana is worth $72.35 billion, and this represents just 0.06% of the world economy. This, under the normal circumstances, should not be something we should be enthused about. However, if we should also look at the fact that just 22 years ago, the size of our economy was just $4 billion, the $72.35 billion we are recording now is a quantum leap, and we should be proud of that.

What we need to do now is to double the current GDP in the next 15 to 20 years to come. This, in our opinion, can be achieved through two main pillars – improvement in our educational system and prudent exploitation of our natural resources. The Chronicle is happy that the Akufo-Addo government is seriously tackling the educational part of the equation, through the Free Senior High School concept currently in operation.

If the larger portion of the population is well educated, it presupposes that they would be having well paid jobs for the government to also tax them. What we should all bear in mind is that no country can develop without the payment of taxes by her citizens.  The United States, Canada and the European countries are rich nations, because their citizens pay taxes.

Unfortunately, the other pillar – exploitation of our natural resources – is having a serious challenge, which we must collectively address as a nation. Exploitation of every natural resource on land comes with the destruction of either the environment or assets belonging to the state and individuals. Ghana is currently the leading gold producer in Africa, but this feat has been achieved at great cost to the nation.

Our water bodies, and the environment as a whole, are being destroyed with careless abandon. But the big question is: should we continue to explore these natural resources and generate the needed revenue for the development of the state, or we should look at the destructive side of the coin and stop exploiting them?

One natural resource that seems to have found itself in this kind of conundrum is bauxite. Currently, there is a hot debate as to whether the government should mine bauxite from the Atewa Forest in the Eastern Region, or not. The government has the agenda to transform the aluminium sector of our economy to generate jobs and also create wealth for the country. But those who are opposing the idea are looking at the destruction that would be caused to the environment.

Indeed, one can say without any trepidation that those opposing the idea have a genuine case if we are to look at the climatic condition currently prevailing in Ghana, and the world at large. Just this month, hundreds of people were killed by floods in South Africa, and this unfortunate development is being attributed to climate change. Should we, therefore, continue to destroy our environment and bear same consequences in future?

But, as we all struggle to solve this puzzle, The Chronicle is happy with a pronouncement by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, that the integrity of the Atewa Forest will never be compromised.  This means the Minister himself has acknowledged the importance of the Atewa Forest to the survival of the nation.

But, since we also need the resources to oil the economic wheels of this country, the ore must be mined. It is our hope that the company that is going to mine in the forest will adopt modern mining practices and ensure that, indeed, the integrity of the popular Atewa Forest is not compromised as promised by the Minister.

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