Category: Daily Guide Network

The Awutu Bereku District Police Command, led by Superintendent Edmond Nyamekye, has arrested a couple over allegations surrounding the death of their newborn child in Awutu Bontrase.

The suspects, identified as 22-year-old Abena Benewa and 26-year-old Bright Ashiao, reportedly delivered the baby at home.

According to reports, neighbours became suspicious after noticing that the newborn had not been seen for several days. Concerns within the community later intensified when the lifeless body of the infant was reportedly discovered at a refuse dump with some body parts missing.

The discovery prompted an investigation by the police, which eventually led to the arrest of the couple.

An eyewitness claimed that when residents initially questioned the father, he allegedly stated that the baby died naturally and had been buried at the refuse site. However, reports indicated that statements he later made during police interrogation reportedly differed from what he had earlier told community members.

Prince Larbie, Assemblyman for the Bontrase Electoral Area, confirmed that the suspects were in police custody.

Superintendent Nyamekye also confirmed that investigations are ongoing, including efforts to determine whether the incident may have involved ritual-related motives.

The Black Maidens produced a sensational performance at the Accra Sports Stadium to dismantle Liberia 6-0 in the first leg of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

In a dominant display from start to finish, the Maidens combined attacking brilliance, tactical discipline, and relentless pressing to put themselves firmly in control ahead of the return leg.

The team opened the scoring in the 31st minute through Daniella Abass, who calmly finished after sustained pressure from the hosts.

After the break, the team returned with even greater intensity and doubled the advantage in the 53rd minute when Seidatu Wahab converted confidently from the penalty spot.

Just four minutes later, Linda Achiaa added the third goal with a composed finish before Jessica Appiah made it 4-0 in the 60th minute after another flowing attacking move.

Priscilla Mensah joined the scoresheet in the 73rd minute to further punish the visitors before Mavis Yeboah sealed the emphatic victory with a sixth goal in the 90th minute, capping off a memorable evening.

The Black Maidens now head into the second leg with a commanding advantage and one foot firmly in the next stage of the qualifiers.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dalex Finance, Joe Jackson, has defended the financial sector clean-up undertaken during the administration of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, insisting that the exercise was necessary despite concerns over its implementation.

Speaking on Accra-based TV3, Mr. Jackson acknowledged that the process was fraught with difficulties but maintained that reforms in the banking and financial sector could not have been avoided.

‘Did we need a clean-up? Yes. Was the process that was undertaken fraught with a lot of issues? The answer there, too, is yes,’ he stated.

According to him, the country’s financial sector continues to undergo major reforms, with institutions being compelled to reassess their operations under a new regulatory framework introduced after the clean-up exercise.

Mr. Jackson’s comments come in the wake of a recent Court of Appeal ruling ordering the restoration of the licence of GN Savings and Loans Company Limited, one of the financial institutions affected during the sector reforms.

Despite the court ruling, the Dalex Finance CEO cautioned that reviving the institution after seven years of inactivity would be an extremely difficult task.

He argued that a banking licence alone could not restore a financial institution without credibility, liquidity, capital, operational systems and public trust.

‘A functioning bank is not a licence. A functioning bank is credibility, trust, capital, liquidity, staff and the premises that are used,’ he said.

Mr. Jackson noted that customers of GN Savings and Loans had long moved on to alternative financial institutions, while former employees had lost their jobs or sought employment elsewhere.

‘What has happened is that a licence has been restored, but the bank has not been resurrected,’ he remarked, describing the restoration as more of a legal victory than an operational revival.

He further stressed that the company would still be required to meet the regulatory requirements of the Bank of Ghana before resuming operations.

‘It has been seven years where customers have moved on and found alternative ways of conducting their financial services, seven years where staff have been out of employment, so resurrecting this institution is a tough one,’ he added.

Meanwhile, Founder of Groupe Nduom, Papa Kwesi Nduom, has welcomed the Court of Appeal decision and expressed optimism that the company’s licence would soon be fully restored.

A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal ruled that the revocation of GN Savings and Loans’ licence was unfair and unreasonable.

The court further directed the receiver to hand over possession, management and control of the company’s assets and operations to its shareholders, while noting that any third-party interests created during the receivership would be determined on a case-by-case basis and in good faith.

The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has entered into a major refinery partnership with Royal Ghana Gold Limited as part of efforts to boost value addition in Ghana’s mining sector.

Under the agreement, GoldBod will provide up to one metric tonne of gold each week for local refining, in line with government’s objective of maximising benefits from the country’s mineral resources before export.

The partnership becomes GoldBod’s second refinery agreement in 2026, after a similar deal with Gold Coast Refinery earlier this year.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, GoldBod Chief Executive Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, reiterated President John Dramani Mahama’s commitment to ensuring that all minerals mined in Ghana are refined locally by 2030 before being exported.

He noted that the agreement would enable Ghana to retain refining revenues, recover valuable by-products, create employment opportunities and strengthen the country’s position as a major gold refining centre in Africa.

He explained that refining gold locally would allow Ghana to retain refining fees that were previously paid to refineries in countries such as Dubai, India and Switzerland.

‘What this means is that the refining fees that used to leave Ghana will now remain in the Ghanaian economy,’ he stated. ‘Jobs will be created here, technical expertise will grow here, and value retention will improve.’

The Ghana Gold Board CEO further indicated that the initiative would support the country’s push toward securing London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) accreditation for local refineries, a move expected to improve Ghana’s competitiveness in the global bullion market.

Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Asiama, who also addressed the ceremony, described local processing of Ghana’s natural resources as a long-overdue national strategy.

‘It has taken too long for us to get to this stage,’ he said. ‘Not just gold, but cocoa and oil as well. If we process these resources locally, we will experience significant economic transformation.’

Dr. Asiama said the central bank would continue to support efforts aimed at increasing local refining capacity, stressing that greater processing of gold would create jobs, increase state revenue and strengthen oversight across the mineral value chain.

He revealed that the Bank of Ghana still holds a minority stake in the refinery to help monitor and support the process.

Managing Director of Royal Ghana Gold Refinery, Eric Frimpong, assured the government that the refinery is prepared to begin operations immediately.

He said the company’s goal is to refine Ghanaian gold to internationally accepted standards and eventually achieve LBMA accreditation.

‘Ghana has exported raw gold for centuries,’ he said. ‘It is about time we take our destiny into our own hands and add value to what we produce here.’

Mr. Frimpong also pledged the refinery’s support for the government’s proposed 24-hour economy policy, saying the facility would operate continuously to maximise production and employment opportunities for Ghanaian youth.

Officials at the ceremony indicated that the refinery could begin processing gold as early as next week, with the first bullion bars expected to be produced shortly after initial deliveries are made.

The agreement marks the latest attempt by Ghanaian authorities to reposition the country from a raw mineral exporter to a value-added mineral processing hub in West Africa. This is the second gold refinery agreement that has been signed by the GoldBod. The first was with Gold Coast Refinery.

The Bank of Ghana and Royal Ghana Gold Limited also expressed their commitment to supporting Ghana’s industrialisation and economic transformation agenda.

A six-bedroom self-contained house at Atekyem near Universal School in Koforidua, Eastern Region, has been ravaged by a fire, destroying properties worth thousands of cedis.

Officials of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) revealed that the incident occurred on Thursday, May 21, 2026, prompting an emergency response after a distress call was received at approximately 11:14 a.m.

According to the GNFS, a fire crew under the leadership of Assistant Divisional Officer Grade I (ADO I) Sagoe responded to the emergency and arrived at the scene twelve minutes later at 11:26 a.m.

‘Upon arrival, firefighters discovered that the building had already been heavily engulfed in flames, with the fire rapidly spreading from the roof section of the property.

‘Thick smoke and intense heat reportedly made firefighting efforts difficult as officers worked tirelessly to prevent the blaze from extending to nearby structures. The fire was eventually brought under control at 12:21 p.m. and fully extinguished at 12:57 p.m. after an extensive operation by the responding crew,’ a GNFS statement read.

ADO I Sagoe further indicated that although the inferno caused severe destruction to the building and consumed majority of the household belongings, firefighters managed to salvage several items from the wreckage.

Among the recovered items were a tabletop refrigerator, kitchen utensils, a 6kg gas cylinder, plastic storage racks and wash basins.

The GNFS affirmed that no injuries or fatalities were recorded during the incident.

Rev. Bonsu, ex-husband of gospel music star Esther Smith, has strongly denied allegations of using charms or spells to marry the artiste in the early 2000s.

In an interview on Power FM, the man of God vehemently stated that if he had charms he would have used it on ace broadcaster Nana Aba Anamoah, not Esther Smith.

‘If during that time l had charms to pursue women during 2003, 2004, l don’t think it will be Esther Smith. If you look at Esther during that era it won’t be Esther. Because during that time was Nana Aba Anamoah era. So if l had charms to pursue women, it will be Nana Aba not Esther, because she was a humble and upcoming artiste but Nana Aba was at her peak (sic),’ he stated.

He further expressed a desire for a peaceful resolution for the sake of their children.

During the highly publicised 2008 divorce from her ex-husband, Rev. Ahenkan Bonsu, Esther Smith claimed that he used a ‘charm’ (spell) on her.

Smith alleged that after she met the Rev. Bonsu at a performance in Akwatia and he gifted her a piece of gold, she became overly fond of him, which ultimately led to their marriage. She later claimed that this gift was a charm that made her marry him.

According to sources present at the traditional divorce proceedings, she claimed the charm eventually wore off, resulting in the breakdown of the marriage. The two families later officially returned and accepted the traditional dowry and drinks.

This month the news about Africa continues to centre around the disturbing images from South Africa circulating worldwide on social media. Not even the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi could shift that.

African migrants attacked, their shops looted, people chased, assaulted and blamed simply for being from another African country and seeking to make a living in South Africa. Incidentally, many of the people victimised claimed to have the right of residence in the country.

It is painful. It is shameful. And, frankly, can turn many of us into incurable pessimists over the all-important task in front of us this century: the economic integration of Africa.

But if we are honest with ourselves, this is not merely a South African problem. Today, several African countries, including Ghana, have laws that prohibit other Africans (foreigners in general) from participating in some level of the retail market.

In the past, Ghana deported Nigerians under the Aliens Compliance Order in 1969. Nigeria retaliated years later with the infamous ‘Ghana Must Go’ expulsions of the early 1980s. Across the continent, at different moments of economic stress, Africans have turned against fellow Africans.

This tells us something uncomfortable: xenophobia in Africa is not simply about economics or migration. It is, indeed, an existential psychological baggage. A colonial hangover. A lingering ‘divide and rule’ mentality that we inherited but have still not found the courage to fully confront. It is what has been described as ‘Afrophobia.’

Afrophobia is the fear, hostility, prejudice, discrimination or hatred directed by Africans against fellow Africans from other African countries.

Unlike classical xenophobia, which broadly targets foreigners, Afrophobia describes a uniquely African contradiction: Black Africans treating other Black Africans as outsiders, threats or lesser people within Africa itself.

Afrophobia is a crisis of African consciousness and identity. It is especially tragic because Africa’s liberation struggles were fought and won on Pan-African solidarity.

A continent that 60 years ago preached unity and shared destiny and today, gingerly seeking to implement its own treaties and protocols for integration has to do so under a blinding cloud of Afrophobia.

This is a betrayal of the Pan-African ideal and a stark reminder that we may still be victims of the old colonial construct, subconsciously, to detriment of our own destiny.

Colonial borders did not merely divide territories. They divided consciousness. They conditioned Africans to see each other not as partners in a shared civilization, but as competitors for survival within artificial nation-states.

However, history tells us that African civilization itself was built on movement. Let us use the SADC zone as an example. Long before colonial borders existed, Africans moved freely across what is now Southern Africa.

Communities traded, intermarried, migrated for grazing, commerce and opportunity. Identities were shaped more by culture and kinship and not by passports or national flags.

Ironically, South Africa itself became what it is today partly because it attracted migrants and fortune seekers. The discovery of diamonds in 1867 and gold in 1886 transformed South Africa into an economic magnet. Europeans flocked there seeking prosperity.

Colonial mining systems then recruited labour from across Southern Africa, mainly Mozambique, Lesotho, Malawi, Zimbabwe and beyond. Migrant labour built the mines, the railways and much of the economy itself.

Under apartheid, that labour system became more brutal and exploitative. Black South Africans suffered under pass laws and segregation, while African migrants were treated as disposable labour.

Yet even during that dark period, regional migration continued because economies are ultimately built by human movement, labour and exchange.

My own father, the late Dr. J. F Otchere-Darko, a surgeon, moved to South Africa in the 1980s to heal people and teach medical students. At that time, the rest of Africa stood firmly with South Africa. African countries, like Ghana, hosted exiles. Liberation fighters were trained across the continent.

Zambia, Tanzania and many others absorbed political and economic costs for supporting the anti-apartheid struggle. African states funded solidarity campaigns, endured destabilisation raids and sacrificed economically for South Africa’s freedom.

That history matters. Which is why xenophobia against Africans in democratic South Africa feels, to many Africans, like a historical betrayal.

To be fair, the frustrations inside South Africa are real. Unemployment is painfully high. Inequality remains among the worst in the world. Crime, weak policing and poor service delivery have left many communities frustrated and vulnerable.

But the Nigerian trader, the Ghanaian doctor, the Zimbabwean teacher, the Somali shopkeeper, the Ethiopian entrepreneur, the Congolese student or the Mozambican worker did not create those structural failures. Black migrants have too often become the easiest scapegoats for much deeper economic and governance problems.

Ironically, South Africa itself has been one of the greatest architects of African integration and economically stands today to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of an integrated, single African market because of the country’s relatively advanced industrial capacity.

The African Union itself was operationalised in Durban in 2002 when the Organisation of African Unity transitioned into the AU. Under President Thabo Mbeki, South Africa became a leading driver of the African Renaissance and institutional Pan-Africanism.

Notably, South Africa helped shape, NEPAD, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), the Pan-African Parliament hosted in Midrand, Agenda 2063 (the blueprint for Africa’s future) and the implementation push for the AfCFTA.

Under Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the AU deepened its long-term integration agenda through Agenda 2063: a blueprint for free movement, infrastructure integration and a continental single market.

Today, as the Chairperson of Africa Prosperity Network, she continues to push for the single market as a more assured form of achieving economic transformation and shared prosperity, security and integrity for Africa, Africans and people of African descent everywhere.

Even today, South Africa’s own economic future depends heavily on Africa’s integration. Indeed, one of the central arguments for deeper African integration is that South African companies have already demonstrated that African markets are commercially viable at scale.

Their expansion across the continent has effectively made South Africa one of the most economically interconnected countries in Africa.

Its banks, telecoms companies, retailers, mining houses and industrial firms are among the most pan-Africanised corporations on the continent. South Africa needs open African markets as much as Africa needs South Africa.

MTN Group, Shoprite Holdings, Standard Bank Group, Absa Group, MultiChoice Group, Naspers, Vodacom, Bidvest Group, Pick n Pay, Sasol, Old Mutual, etc., are household names across Africa, making billions of dollars and paying taxes in billions of rand in South Africa for the benefit of the people there.

Which is why the contradiction is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. South Africa cannot be both the engineer and winner of African integration at the continental level while hesitating about it at the national level.

The legacy of Nelson Mandela, the institutional vision of Thabo Mbeki and the continental architecture advanced by Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma all point in one direction: Africa must integrate in practice.

It is why we, at the Africa Prosperity Network, have made the advocacy for the implementation of Africa’s single market agenda our main goal. If Africa is to progress then we must leverage on our high numbers, 1.5 billion and rising, our rich natural resources, our diversity and shared challenges and opportunities to build an awesome single market.

This is also where Ubuntu becomes important. Ubuntu is one of Africa’s greatest philosophical gifts to humanity. In its simplest form, Ubuntu means: ‘I am because we are.’ But at its deepest, Ubuntu is a moral framework about human interconnectedness. It teaches that our humanity is tied to the humanity of others.

Indeed, at the Africa Prosperity Network and through the Make Africa Borderless Now! campaign, Ubuntu is foundational to how we think about Africa’s future. We believe Africa’s prosperity will come not from fragmentation, but from unity. Not from fear of one another, but from scale, mobility, collaboration and integration.

Xenophobia, therefore, is not only an attack on African migrants in Africa; it is an attack on Africa’s spiritual grounding for her future of fulfilment and collective success, Ubuntu itself.

When President Cyril Ramaphosa declared in his 2026 State of the Nation Address that ‘South Africa belongs to all who live in it,’ he echoed the spirit of Ubuntu itself. But Ubuntu, is not just about talk. The leadership of South Africa has been, frankly, evidently spineless in tackling head-on this issue that hits at the very core of Africa’s future.

Ubuntu cannot survive merely as rhetoric. It must be defended through policy, policing, political leadership and public education. Xenophobic attacks against Africans must be treated for what they are: hate crimes.

Communities must be engaged more deliberately. Political rhetoric that normalises suspicion against ‘foreign Africans’ must stop. Migration systems must become smarter, more efficient and those who break the laws of the land must be dealt with accordingly.

And, importantly, Africans themselves must stop confusing borderless integration with lawlessness. A borderless Africa does not mean that people can do as they please. West Africa, since the ECOWAS treaty on free movement was adopted in 1979, allows free movement of people, goods and services, but the region is not experiencing any unusual flow of, say, Ghanaians to Nigeria or vice-versa as we saw in the 1960s and 70s.

A borderless Africa does not mean uncontrolled chaos. It means smarter borders using, biometric identity systems, shared intelligence, mutual recognition of skills, interoperable digital payments, fair labour standards and easier legal movement for trade, work and entrepreneurship.

The future is already clear. From the Abuja Treaty of 1991 to the AfCFTA Agreement of 2018 and the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol of 2024, Africa has already committed itself to deeper integration. So the issue now is implementation. The loudest way we can, therefore, establish our protest against the culture of Afrophobia is to accelerate the pace for greater economic integration.

Perhaps, nowhere is this conversation more urgent than now. As Africa marks AU Day 2026, we must ask ourselves difficult questions: Will Africa succumb to fear or commit to fraternity? Will we continue treating fellow Africans as outsiders inside Africa?

Or, will we finally build the borderless continent our founders envisioned? Kwame Nkrumah warned more than 60 years ago: ‘Let us now, fellow Africans, add to our resolve the specific task of creating a United States of Africa, enabling us to maintain a mastery of our own destiny.’

That unfinished conversation now returns and with renewed urgency.

The Africa Prosperity Network will be hosting a special webinar on AU Day. Join APN and the Make Africa Borderless Now! Campaign and express your views on our AU Day Special Webinar:

‘Afrophobia or a Borderless Africa? Advancing African Unity Through Economic Integration.’

Diaspora Bridge Consulting Group hosted renowned civil rights attorney and New York Times bestselling author, Ben Crump, to officially launch his book ‘Worse Than a Lie’, in Accra.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Crump disclosed that the book ‘Worse Than a Lie’, is a novel which is deeply informed by real-life experiences from defending victims of systemic bias, stressing that he had never read a legal thriller where a black lawyer will save the day or deliver justice and display brilliance.

He explained that Attorney Beau Lee Cooper, in the novel, is his personal hero who embodies all the characters of all black lawyers like Harry Mason, Johnny Cochran, and Ben Matlock among others who deliver justice for the people.

‘Beau Lee Cooper, is a combination of my personal hero, Thurgood Marshall, Johnny Cochran, Willie Gary, Constable Baker Motley, Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, and all the other great black lawyers, that’s who this character embodies,’ he said.

He added that the book is an important reference point for history and not just a good legal story.

He further mentioned that the future of black people will depend on how they treat and invest in each other.

Mr. Crump added that black people need to be intentional about pouring into the next generation their sense of purpose, culture and also financial literacy.

‘We have to be intentional about pouring into our children about a sense of who we are, a sense of purpose, a sense of culture, and then we have to teach financial literacy, because we can never expect them to save us,’ he stressed.

He applauded President John Mahama for laying the foundation for the reparations for the African Union (AU).

Also, the Presidential Adviser on Diaspora Affairs, Kofi Okyere Darko, stated that Ghana remains committed to partnerships capable of strengthening its position as a serious meeting point between Africa and its global diaspora, not only culturally, but intellectually, and, institutionally.

He stressed that the relationships between Africa and its global diaspora must continue developing into serious platforms for collaboration, investment, advocacy, and institutional partnership.

He further encouraged young people to pay attention to the larger lesson behind the visits, stating that influence is not built through visibility alone but through credibility, preparation, consistency, and the willingness to confront difficult systems directly.

Attorney Ben Crump is known globally as ‘Black America’s Attorney General,’ known for his defence of the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Trayvon Martin – cases that sparked a global reckoning on systemic injustice and police accountability.

Former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Paul Afoko, has urged the party’s Minority Caucus in Parliament to lead the charge in returning the NPP to electoral victory.

Speaking at a closed-door meeting with the Members of Parliament (MPs), Mr. Afoko unveiled a new political strategy dubbed the ‘3R Agenda’ focused on Reuniting, Rebuilding, and Recapturing power for the party.

He described the initiative as a roadmap to restore unity, strengthen grassroots support, and position the NPP for future electoral success.

‘For years I chose to work quietly behind the scenes, supporting the NPP in private, but recent developments have compelled me to step forward. We need to get our party back into winning ways, and that starts with unity and purpose,’ Mr. Afoko said.

Mr. Afoko stressed that the Minority MPs have a critical role to play, both as lawmakers and as unifying figures within the party.

He warned that without a concerted effort to rebuild internal cohesion, the goal of returning to power would remain a mirage. Drawing on his tenure as National Chairman, Mr. Afoko highlighted the NPP’s 2014 presidential primaries as a model of internal discipline and unity.

‘We conducted primaries where every candidate accepted the outcome, and no one broke away to run independently. Leaders like Sammi Awuku can attest to the level of organisation and trust we had at the time,’ he said.

He noted that the party’s electoral base has eroded over the years, particularly during periods in government when internal competition for positions often breeds division.

‘Historically, even in opposition, the NPP has outperformed the NDC in vote percentages, and that tells us our base is strong, but it has weakened. The question now is: how do we win it back?’ he quizzed.

According to Mr. Afoko, the answer lies in the 3R Agenda: Reunite; Heal internal divisions and restore trust across factions. Rebuild; Strengthen party structures from the polling station to the national level and Recapture; Re-engage the base and present a credible, united front to Ghanaians.

He appealed to party members to rally behind the vision, citing his track record as evidence of his ability to deliver results.

‘My record speaks for itself. I am result-oriented, and with the collective support of the party, we can achieve this,’ he hinted.

He concluded by calling on the NPP to move past internal rivalries and focus on the bigger goal: winning the trust of Ghanaians and returning to government to deliver development.

The Government of Mali has launched investigations into a sister company of Adamus Resources over alleged violations involving taxes, duties and mining regulations.

The formal probe targets Société des Mines de Kofi (MIKO-SA), a subsidiary of Adamus Resources, after Malian authorities accused the company of multiple breaches of the country’s mining and financial laws.

In a strongly worded notice dated April 24, 2026, Mali’s Minister of Mines, Amadou Keïta, warned that the company’s exploitation permit could be withdrawn if the alleged violations are not addressed within ninety days.

The notice, addressed to the Chief Executive Officer of MIKO-SA in Bamako and copied to the country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, underscores the seriousness of the matter.

According to Mali’s Ministry of Mines, MIKO-SA and SEMICO-SA, both subsidiaries under the Adamus Resources Group, hold exploitation permits for the Kofi and Segala mining projects located in the Kéniéba Circle in western Mali.

Government officials said concerns emerged during engagements with officials of the mining companies as part of routine oversight and monitoring activities within the mining sector.

Among the alleged breaches cited by the ministry is the suspension of mining operations for more than two years without informing or obtaining authorisation from the mining administration.

Authorities further accused the company of failing to pay taxes, duties and royalties owed to the Malian State in connection with its mining activities.

The ministry also raised concerns over alleged breaches of Mali’s foreign exchange regulations.

According to the formal notice, MIKO-SA is accused of opening an offshore account without authorisation and failing to repatriate foreign currency earnings into Mali, contrary to the provisions of Uniform Law No. 2016-007 of March 17, 2016 governing exchange control regulations.

The government maintains that the alleged offences violate Article 18 of Mali’s Mining Code established under Ordinance No. 99-032/P-RM of August 19, 1999.

The provision allows the state to withdraw or cancel mining titles where operations are suspended for more than two years without authorisation or where companies fail to meet tax and royalty obligations.

The ministry stressed that each of the alleged breaches independently constitutes grounds for the withdrawal of the company’s exploitation permit.

Mr. Keïta therefore, directed MIKO-SA to regularise the situation within ninety days or face the possible cancellation of its mining rights.

‘Failing this, the State reserves the right to proceed with the outright withdrawal of your permit,’ portions of the notice stated.