Buying cassava at Gucci prices

Welcome to the 'forgotten sibling' of the week—Tuesday (sorry, not sorry Tuesday borns 😂😂😂) Not as exciting as Friday, but definitely less traumatic than Monday. In today’s stories, we’ve got:

• National: A tuber of cassava might cost you GH₵50 in a few years, and it’s not because it’s getting a designer rebrand—blame galamsey.

• Political: NDC’s nationwide “Enough is Enough” protest is coming in hot.

• Political: Mahama says ‘Come in peace or don’t come at all’ – NDC’s Peaceful Protest Vibes"

• National: 30 officers vs. 400 illegal miners? Sounds like the plot of an action movie, but it’s reality in Ghana’s galamsey fight.

• National: Sam George to Chief Justice: let’s wrap this up on the Anti-Gay Bill!”

• Fact of the Day: Curious how people survived mornings without "snooze" buttons?

• National: Akyem Asuom Mmrantihene” says the galamsey fight is in the government’s hands—he’s just here to make sure the community gets a slice of the legal mining pie.

• National: A political clash in Gomoa West just escalated to WWE levels—someone literally lost an ear over earth-moving machines!

• Economic: Ghana just lost 160,000 tons of cocoa to smuggling.

QUICK BYTE

• The youth of Akyem Asuom are saying that soon, we could walk into the market and find out that cassava is more expensive than data bundles if illegal mining, aka galamsey, continues to destroy fertile lands. Ekuoba, one of the locals, didn’t hold back—he’s out here predicting that in two years, we could be dishing out GH₵50 for just one tuber of cassava. Like, bro, who would’ve thought cassava was about to get that high-end treatment? These young folks aren’t just talking. They’re warning us, saying we’re basically cooking up a future where we’ll need to save up to buy fufu ingredients. Forget inflation – this is a “galamflation” situation. If the land keeps getting wrecked, we’ll be paying luxury prices for basic food. Real talk. Read more in the Deep Dive Section.

• So, Nana Awuah Baffour, the Mmrantihene of Akyem Asuom, just dropped some real talk about galamsey. His take? If illegal mining is going to stop, it’s up to the government, not the chiefs. This is one of those moments where you realize that even though traditional rulers are a big deal in the community, when it comes to mining, they don’t hold the cards. Nana Baffour didn’t beat around the bush. He said, “I don’t issue mining licenses. The government does.” Read more

• The Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Acheampong, pulled up to a showdown, ready to do his part in saving the country from galamsey, only to find out he is outnumbered by more than ten to one. Thirty officers – a mix of military, immigration, police, and intelligence – against 400 miners with shovels, pickaxes, and maybe a few extra surprises. You can almost hear the suspenseful music playing in the background. Get the 411 in the Deep Dive section below

• You’re at your neighbourhood butcher’s shop, and you notice your meat seems lighter than usual. You call the butcher, ask for a reweigh, and they give you the ol’ “It’s fine, I checked.” Now, you’re side-eyeing the whole setup. That’s basically where the NDC is with the EC right now. They’ve been pushing for a forensic audit of the voters register because, according to them, something fishy’s going on with mass vote transfers. But the EC is like, “Relax, we did an exhibition – all’s good.” And the NDC is not buying it. So today, the NDC is staging a massive nationwide protest, calling out the EC for ignoring their requests. Like, “Guys, if we ask you to double-check the register, don’t just give us a nod – give us the receipts!” Read more

• So, you know how you plan a chill weekend with friends, but there’s always that one person who wants to turn up too hard? Well, Mahama isn’t having any of that energy at the NDC’s protest today. He’s made it clear: if you’re not about peaceful vibes, you’re uninvited. This isn’t the kind of demo where you throw hands – it’s more like a very intense group walk with petitions at the end. “We want only peaceful people,” Mahama said, basically the equivalent of sending out a “dress code: calm only” memo. Read more

• Sam George, MP for Ningo-Prampram and front-runner for the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, is pretty fed up with the Supreme Court dragging its feet on the legal challenges to the bill. He’s now calling out Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo, saying it’s high time the cases were resolved, especially since the uncertainty is messing with how lawmakers and government officials do their thing. George thinks there’s no bigger case for the court right now, arguing that this bill could have serious effects on governance. So, he’s asking the court to get moving, like, yesterday. Read more

• Fam, if you think your missing socks are a mystery, try keeping track of 160,000 tons of cocoa! That’s how much Ghana just lost to smuggling in the 2023/24 cocoa season. Apparently, the beans decided they liked Ivory Coast and Togo better—after all, who wouldn’t for a higher paycheck? Between shady tipper trucks and fuel tankers playing undercover as cocoa mules, these smugglers are out here turning it into an Ocean’s Eleven situation, except it’s beans instead of diamonds. Wild! The Cocobod squad’s fighting back, though. They’ve caught some, but let’s just say, it’s not enough to save the day yet. Hopefully, with a new cocoa season on deck, Ghana’s beans won’t keep ghosting us for fatter payouts across the border. Get more deets in the Deep Dive section.

• There was a grand unveiling of some shiny new earth-moving machines in Gomoa Wes for the DRIP project. Then boom! A full-blown showdown between NPP and NDC supporters kicked off. Tensions had been bubbling for a minute over who gets what and how much when things got way too heated. Before you know it, one guy's ear is on the floor like something out of an action movie! And the chiefs? Oh, they didn’t stick around to see what would happen next—they bolted faster than you could say, “Where’s the ambulance?” Read more

DEEP DIVE

Outnumbered on the galamsey site!

Imagine rolling up with 30 officers, only to be met by 400 heavily armed galamsey miners. It’s like showing up to a football match with five players against a full squad. No wonder things got out of hand.

Now, these galamsey miners aren’t just causing small disruptions. They’re wreaking havoc on Ghana’s water bodies, making it look like a scene straight out of an apocalypse movie. And here’s where it gets even more real: this is no local skirmish. Acheampong spilled the tea, pointing out that a good chunk of these miners aren’t even Ghanaians. They’re non-Ghanaian nationals, adding an international twist to the already complicated crisis.

The government is putting in the effort to clean things up, but Acheampong isn’t pretending like it’s a walk in the park. It’s more like trying to clean up after a party that got way out of hand – with 400 uninvited guests. The plan? Focus on saving the water bodies before we all end up in a desert, both literally and metaphorically. Without water, there's no farming, no drinking, no life.

Even with President Akufo-Addo ordering more police and military to crack down, the sheer numbers make the job look impossible. It’s not a retreat when the squad falls back – it’s survival. The fight against galamsey isn’t just about locking up miners. It’s a race to stop the total destruction of Ghana’s environment, and as Acheampong put it, that’s a fight we can’t afford to lose. Read more

Gucci Cassava, coming to you soon.

You’re at the market trying to buy cassava, and suddenly the vendor hits you with “GH₵50, please.” Not for a whole sack, but for one tuber. Yeah, sounds like some dystopian future, right? Well, the youth of Akyem Asuom are waving the red flag, warning us that this could be our reality if galamsey keeps doing its thing. Ekuoba, one of the Asuom youth, is practically Nostradamus-ing this situation, telling us that in two years, cassava prices are going to hit rooftop levels, all because our fertile lands are getting absolutely wrecked by illegal miners.

Gone are the days when planting cassava was a piece of cake. Now, it’s like trying to grow crops in a wasteland. The worst part? This isn’t just a “boohoo, we lost some crops” kind of situation. This is about the food we eat every day. Imagine telling your kids stories about when cassava used to be affordable. “Back in my day, fufu was cheap,” you’ll say, as they stare at their cassava-less plates.

It’s not even about just buying food at this point—it’s about survival. These young people are basically giving us a heads-up that if the destruction continues, we’re all going to be facing food shortages. And once that happens, the only thing growing will be the prices. Like, who needs a designer wardrobe when a plate of cassava could be the next status symbol? “You got cassava? Wow, must be nice.”

Let’s hope we don’t have to take out a loan just to buy cassava, because, seriously, no one signed up for that level of drama. Read more

International Cocoa

Ghana, world-famous for its cocoa, just lost a jaw-dropping 160,000 tons of the stuff to smuggling in the 2023/24 season. That’s not a typo. It’s like if you ordered a pizza, and by the time it arrived, two-thirds of it were missing.

Ghana’s looking over at the smugglers sneaking cocoa into Ivory Coast and Togo for some extra cash. Turns out, Ivory Coast's got more stable prices, and who doesn’t want a bigger paycheck?

It’s gotten to the point where smugglers are getting real creative with it—hiding cocoa in everything from fuel tankers to boats, with some mad ninja-level skills. One minute, you think you’re seeing a truckload of quarry stones, next thing you know, it's a cocoa party underneath! Like, who knew the hustle game was this strong in the world of beans?

But here’s the thing—Ghana’s cocoa farmers aren’t just sitting around taking L’s. Cocobod’s out here playing detective, cracking down on smugglers, and getting back whatever they can. The squad's even caught cocoa chilling in oil drums pretending to be palm oil. Who knew smuggling could be so... dramatic?

The new cocoa season is already here, and Cocobod’s making big promises with higher prices for farmers. But let’s be real—until the cedi stops doing the cha-cha slide, Ghana’s cocoa might keep ghosting us for better deals across the border. Fingers crossed this new season keeps more of our beans at home where they belong. Read more

CHECK OUT WHAT’S TRENDING

• Cedi gains against dollar

• Accra & Cape Coast stadia closed for maintenance

NEWS SOURCES

Today’s stories are curated from:

1. www.myjoyonline.com

2. www.ghanaweb.com

3. www.citinewsroom.com

4. www.norvanreports.com

5. www.channel1new.com