National Security arrests 6 over illegal gold business
The National Security has picked up six persons in Kumasi for allegedly dealing in illegal gold business.
Operatives of the National Security, who had the necessary permits, made the arrests. The suspects, who were made up of four Indians and two Ghanaians, will be put before court soon.
Currently, they have been sent to the National Security headquarters in Accra for further interrogation.
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The Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, confirmed the arrest at a news conference in Kumasi yesterday but did not give further details.
Security situation
On the security situation in the country, the minister said the government was doing everything practicable to ensure that the country was safe.
He said the government had shown good faith by retooling the security agencies and recruiting more men and women to beef up the security of the state.
Matters of security, he said, were critical to national development and would, therefore, be tackled with all urgency.
Additional funds
Mr Nkrumah gave an assurance that the GH¢6.3 billion requested by the Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, for extra expenditure for the 2019 Financial Year, which had been approved by Parliament, would be used judiciously.
He said the money would, among others, be applied to bridge the infrastructural deficit in the education and health sectors, boost the energy sector, and tighten security in the country.
Mr Nkrumah said the government intended to successfully implement the revised budget to the letter, while it continued to deliver its outstanding commitments to the people.
According to the minister, the government had to make the demand for additional funds as a result of the energy debt which was inherited from the previous administration.
He told the journalists that one major concern of the Akufo-Addo-led government was to ensure stable power supply across the country at all times in order not to revisit the era of power crisis popularly known as ‘dumsor’.
The minister said the power crisis came with negative effects on the country’s socio-economic growth and that everything would be done to ensure that the nation did not revisit that dark era.
“ We must keep the lights on and ensure that productivity continues, “ he added.
Take-or-pay clauses
Mr Nkrumah noted that the energy situation had been a bit more problematic particularly because of the Take-or-Pay clauses in the agreement signed by the previous administration.
However, he explained that the clause itself was not a bad thing if only the country had the marginal reserve of installed capacity.
“In two years, government has paid about GH¢5 million for power that we do not benefit from,” he bemoaned.
That, he said, could have been used to service other sectors of the economy, especially in building more health centres and also provide adequate dormitories for the Free Senior High School programme in order to help abolish the double track system.
Nonetheless, the minister noted that the government had recently completed a value for money foundation document, aimed at guiding contract agreements in future engagements.