Star Media Ghana

AYA EXPRESSES DISGUST WITH GOVERNMENT IN ITS HANDLING OF THE BAN ON ILLEGAL MINING ACTIVITY. The Asante Youth Association expresses utmost disgust with the government of Ghana in what looks to be a semblance of exclusion and favouritism in the operations of the taskforce (OPERATION VANGUARD) commissioned to halt illegal mining (galamsey) nationwide. PRESS RELEASE IS AS FOLLOWS We are reliably informed that as the activity is halted in the whole of Asante, some mining companies in other regions are briskly mining. That is cold pragmatism, hugely unfair and dishonest as we know governments imbibe the fundamental principles of fair treatment and honest dealing. There is brisk small-scale mining operations going on in the Western, Eastern, Central, Brong-Ahafo, Upper-East, Upper-West regions. Companies such as C&J Alaska, Dollar Power, Nawara Moss, Kibi Goldfields, Extra Gold et al are mining with reckless abandon in a seeming disregard to the nationwide ban. So we ask, is the ban p...

The people of Ovahimba and Ovazimba tribes in the Kunene and Omusati regions in Northern Namibia have an upheld culture that has defied western influence and agitation. With a population of over 50,000, the women engage in the daily activity of milking their cows, taking care of the children and other extensive duties while the men go hunting leaving, sometimes, for an extended period of time. These nomads’ wealth is determined by the number of cattle one has. A polygamous people, the Himba girls are married off to male partners selected by their fathers once they attain puberty. You cannot ignore the red skin they have. The red colour seen on their skin is called, the otjize paste ( a combination of butterfat, omuzumba scrub and ochre) and its function is to protect their skin from the sun and insect bites. They are also guided by the belief that the colour red signifies “Earth and blood”. Rather than take their baths, the women take a smoke bath and apply aromatic resins on their...