Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that he places “priority” on his connections with African nations during his search for worldwide allies in the face of Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine
“I want to emphasise that our country has always given and will continue to give priority to co-operation with African states,” Mr Putin said on Monday at a conference on Russian-African relations in Moscow.
He said Russia will supply food to needy countries in Africa free of charge if an agreement on Ukrainian grain exports is not renewed.
“We are ready to supply the whole volume sent during the past time to African countries particularly requiring it from Russia free of charge to these countries,” he said, according to the Russian news agency Tass.
He said Russia will share its technologies with African nations and continue helping them produce electricity.
Russia has been expanding its influence in Africa in recent years and Mr Putin said he believes the continent will continue increasing its authority and role in the “emerging multipolar world order”.
The conference is being attended by more than 40 delegations from African countries, according to Kremlin’s press service.
Mr Putin is scheduled to host African leaders in June for the Russia-Africa summit – the second of its kind.
Uganda’s parliament is set to consider a draft law that criminalises anyone identifying as LGBTQ+, and threatens them with 10 years in jail.
The bill also threatens landlords who rent premises to gay people with a prison sentence.
Speaker Annet Anita Among used homophobic language as she addressed lawmakers after the bill was tabled.
It is the latest sign of rising homophobia in a country where homosexual acts are already illegal.
Campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it believed that if the law was passed, Uganda would be the only African country to criminalise those who simply identify as LGBTQ+.
The proposed law would also ban the funding or promotion of LGBTQ+ activities.
It also prescribes a 10-year jail term for anyone who engages in a same sex relationship or marriage. Consent will not be a defence.
Anyone convicted of gay sex with a minor would also be jailed for 10 years.
The bill was tabled by opposition MP Asuman Basalirwa, and it is unclear whether President Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Movement (NRM) – which has a majority in parliament – will back the bill.
However, Mr Museveni has been speaking out against homosexuality recently, and the speaker is a member of the NRM.
She used a derogatory word to describe gay people, while saying they would be allowed to express their views in “public hearings” on the proposed legislation.
Politicians and others behind the bill have accused gay rights groups of recruiting and grooming children, and luring some with money or scholarships. But they have not presented any evidence to back up the claims.
LGBTQ+ activist Frank Mugisha, who lives in Uganda, said people were being “indoctrinated” into believing that gay rights were a threat to African values, and was “some big monster” that was “coming from the West”.
“We’ve registered so many cases of violations [against the LGBTQ+ community]. We’ve seen so many cases of arrest, blackmail and extortion so this is going to increase,” the activist said.
In 2014, Uganda’s constitutional court nullified the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which had toughened laws against the LGBTQ+ community.
It included making it illegal to promote and fund LGBTQ+ groups and activities, as well as reiterating that homosexual acts should be punished by life imprisonment.
The court ruled that the legislation be revoked because it had been passed by parliament without the required quorum. The law had been widely condemned by Western countries.
The punishment of life imprisonment for same-sex relations already exists in the country’s penal code. It is not clear if the proposed new legislation would override this.
Same-sex relations are banned in about 30 African countries, where many people uphold conservative religious and social values.
A group of 43 Facebook moderators sacked in January have said they are pursuing a lawsuit in Kenya against the social network’s parent company Meta for, among other things, “unlawful dismissal,” according to a statement posted Monday.
Meta, which also encompasses Instagram and WhatsApp, has undertaken to reduce its workforce by nearly 25% in less than six months, a symbol of the difficulties faced by the tech sector.
“In January, 260 content moderators working at Facebook’s moderation center in Nairobi, Kenya, were informed that they would be let go by Sama, the outsourcing company that has run the office since 2019. Overnight, these moderators doing critical work for East and Southern Africa have lost their jobs,” the statement said.
“43 moderators at Facebook‘s moderation center in Nairobi are filing a lawsuit against the social media company and its contractors for firing the entire workforce – and for blacklisting all the fired workers,” the statement continued.
In December 2022, a Kenyan NGO and two Ethiopian citizens filed a complaint in Kenya against Meta, accusing the platform of not fighting enough online hate and demanding the creation of a fund of 1.6 billion dollars to compensate victims.
After posting insolent growth since its creation, Facebook, which became Meta at the end of 2021, has been suffering from a slowdown in online advertising since last year.
It’s August in Northern Virginia, hot and humid. I still haven’t showered from my morning trail run. I’m wearing my stay-at-home mom uniform — over-sized Marine Corps sweats, tshirt, Crocs flip flops, ponytail. I feel safe in this uniform. It doesn’t hug any part of my body, allowing me to hide my physical failures.
In this uniform I can pretend I’m acceptable, tolerable. It says I did something today, I tried. This look combined with toilets I scrubbed until they shine sends the message “I’m not a lazy pig, I’m valuable. Please keep me.” This uniform is enough to make up for my lack of lipstick and style. It walks the line between disgusting and acceptable.
So far, it’s been enough that my husband is still willing to initiate sex with me once a month. The kind of sex you have because you need to feel worthy. The kind that lets him know you need him. Unfulfilling but purposeful.
It’s dinner time, so I’m busy in the kitchen slicing tomatoes and onions on the cutting board that I was instructed was to be used exclusively with the very expensive Shun knives I received as a Christmas present.
He comes in from the deck with a plate of hot burgers.
My gut said something was off. I pursued because I’m the pursuer. I went to him, hugged him, stepped back, my hands still on his shoulders, looked in his eyes and said “Is everything okay? Are we okay?”
I know the answer. I always know the answer. I just didn’t know what it would be this time. Is this one forgivable? Can I patch it up again? It’s like a tire with a slow leak. You fill it with air and when it lasts longer than you expect, you just keep driving on it. But eventually the tire goes flat and you’re no longer able to get the car to the repair shop. This — us — cannot get to a place of fixing.
“I told myself I’d tell you if you asked.”
No. No. Please, no.
“There’s this woman from my past… We reconnected during our family trip to San Diego… I thought she’d brush me off again… We started talking… She makes me feel alive.”
I could feel the panic consume my body. I hate this place. It feels so shameful. I know I’ll do anything. I always do anything.
“Is it serious? Please don’t do this. We can fix it. We can make it work. What can I do? How can I make it better? Please let me make it better.”
I beg. I have no pride. I know this about me. He also knows this about me. This is who I am at my core — a desperate woman. A burden. I’m ashamed. Scared. Embarrassed. Angry that I let this happen. This is my doing. I created this. I could be better, but I’m not. I’m a loser, posing as a winner.
Our marriage was built on fear, and then thrived on it for 20 years. When he proposed, he knew this would guarantee his dying mother’s last wish — to experience being a grandmother in her lifetime. He could avoid his fear of disappointing the woman he’d christened a saint — flawless.
And when I accepted his proposal, our binding contract assured me that I would not give away another baby as I’d done six years earlier — this one would become mine. I’d create the family I’d dreamed about for nearly fifteen years, when my dad left me, my mom, our family without a word. Marrying a Marine would bring an exciting, nomadic life wrapped in a tightly confined package of government-backed security.
Now, nearly two decades later, I’ve worn my marriage and family as a medal around my neck — hefty and shiny. I tuck it in my shirt, because it’s not nice to flaunt your wins, but whenever the opportunity presents, I quickly, often self-righteously, pull out that medal and let it shine. But I know the truth about my medal. Every time I pull it out, the shirt rubs a little more of the gold plating off and my neck is green from the cheap metal underneath. My whole marriage is made of cheap metal.
I continue to beg. He continues to be angry and disgusted.
I obsess about the plate of burgers sitting on the counter getting cold.
This was not the plan. We were going to eat burgers — the burgers that needed the buns I asked him to grab on his way home from work. The buns he bought with deep resentment because he shouldn’t have to do this. The buns he put on the counter filled with anger because, for fuck’s sake, he earns all the money, now he has to do everything at home?
Until now, I pretended the anger and resentment wasn’t there. I was happy to swallow my burger with a helping of self-hatred.
The plate is still sitting there. Can’t we just eat the goddamn burgers and get back to the business of posing?
We will not eat the burgers.
The winning has stopped.
My shirt was off and everyone — friends, family, the kids — saw my worn medal and green, stained neck.
Source: medium.com
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
Protests are being held across the country in opposition to President William Ruto‘s election victory and Kenya’s rising cost of living.
Although hundreds of people demonstrated against President William Ruto, the high cost of living, and allegations of election fraud, the Kenyan police deployed tear gas and detained many key opposition members.
Veteran political figure Raila Odinga, who lost to Ruto in August’s poll, has urged nationwide protests as he attempts to harness dissatisfaction with the president.
The discontented include some who voted for Ruto and feel he has not delivered on pledges to help the country’s forgotten “hustlers”, or working-class Kenyans.
Police officers in riot gear fired tear gas at hundreds of rock-throwing protesters in the capital Nairobi’s vast Kibera slum, who chanted: “Ruto must go.”
They also used tear gas to disperse demonstrators trying to gather in the Central Business District, from where Odinga has called for a march towards the president’s State House residence, Reuters reporters said.
In the western city of Kisumu, an Odinga stronghold, police fired barrages of tear gas in the direction of protesters who had started fires in the road, footage on Citizen TV showed.
At least four members of parliament were arrested during protests in Nairobi, including the minority leaders of the National Assembly and Senate, Odinga’s spokesman, Dennis Onyango, said.
Nairobi police chief Adamson Bungei told reporters he would have details about the arrests later in the day.
Despite Ruto’s promises to bring down living costs since taking power in September, inflation has remained high in East Africa’s economic powerhouse, rising to 9.2 percent in February.
Ruto has said his government is laying the foundations of a healthier economy, including by cutting reliance on borrowing.
Odinga, who has lost five presidential elections, has cast the demonstration as an opportunity to protest against the August vote, which he says was tainted by fraud.
He challenged the results in the Supreme Court last year, but the court affirmed Ruto’s win and there was little of the violence that marred elections in 2007 and 2017.
The Kenyan police has reported that 238 individuals had been detained during the violent anti-cost-of-living rallies on Monday that also left 31 police officers hurt.
Following a call from longtime opposition leader Raila Odinga, protesters joined rallies in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya on Monday.
It was the first major unrest since President William Ruto took office in September last year, narrowly beating Odinga in an election his rival claims was “stolen”.
Odinga had called for the day of action, blaming the government for the economic woes faced by Kenyans.
They are battling high prices for food and fuel, a plunging currency, and a record drought that has left millions hungry.
Police fired tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators, some of whom were hurling rocks and burning tyres, as well as against Odinga’s motorcade.
On Monday, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua urged the organisers to call off the “mayhem and the chaos,” saying the protests had cost Kenya about $15 million in lost business.
But Odinga has vowed no let-up the action, calling for protests and strikes to be held every Monday until the cost of living comes down.
On Tuesday, the situation had returned to calm in Nairobi.
On Monday March 20 2023, Kenya’s seasoned opposition leader Raila Odinga called for weekly rallies as confrontations broke out between police and demonstrators protesting the country’s rising cost of living.
“Every Monday there will be a strike, there will be a demonstration,” he told crowds of chanting followers in Nairobi. “The war has begun, it will not end until Kenyans get their rights.”
“Are you ready?” he said to cheers from his supporters.
Odinga had called Monday’s demonstrations against the government of President William Ruto in protest at soaring prices of basic goods in Kenya and what he said was last year’s “stolen” election.
The opposition leader narrowly lost his fifth tilt at the presidency in the August poll despite being backed by former president Uhuru Kenyatta.
Riot police had earlier fired tear gas and water cannon on Odinga’s motorcade near a Nairobi hotel, where he had been due to hold a press conference before being forced to leave.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has given his approval for the implementation of a 20% pay increment for state employees.
This comes after a pledge he made during an interactive session with civil servants at the local government level on Monday, March 6, 2023, at the Adeyemi Bayero Auditorium within the Alausa Secretariat, in Ikeja.
He approved that the payment process begin immediately through a circular dated MondayMarch 20 2023 and signed by the Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
Commencing on January 1st, 2023, the new pay system will be in place, the arrears for January 2023 will be paid along with the payments for March 2023, while the arrears for February 2023 will be paid along with the salaries for April 2023.
An American couple who flew to Uganda in 2017 to adopt children will go on trial there after a magistrate determined the evidence against them in the trafficking and torture of a 10-year-old boy was sufficient. The kid in question was in Mackenzie and Nicholas Spencer’s care, the BBC reports.
The pair was detained by the police in December. They are accused of entering Uganda without valid work licenses in addition to the previously outlined accusations. The Spencers, who have been on detention for three months, will defend themselves in court before the nation’s High Court’s section on foreign crimes.
Documents state that the Director of Public Prosecution plans to provide video evidence taken by a housemaid who was employed by the couple. The Spencers were said to be staying in the country’s capital city of Kampala when they allegedly tortured the minor under their care.
The video evidence allegedly shows the 10-year-old being left alone in a room that was tiled and cold. Besides being given frozen food to eat, the minor was also put under surveillance for 24 hours and was made to sit naked in one position.
An American humanitarian worker, Jeffrey Woodke, who was abducted in Niger more than six years ago and held prisoner by terrorists had been freed.
President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan tweeted on Monday, March 19 2023, that an American humanitarian worker who was abducted in Niger more than six years ago
“I’m gratified & relieved to see the release of U.S. hostage Jeff Woodke after over 6 years in captivity. The U.S. thanks Niger for its help in bringing him home to all who miss & love him. I thank so many across our government who’ve worked tirelessly toward securing his freedom,” Sullivan tweeted.
Jeffery Woodke is now being offered support and transport. He was released outside of Niger in the Mali-Burkina Faso area, the official said.
“We are working closely with partners in the region and beyond to ensure safe transport and immediate access to the best medical and psychiatric support we can offer,” a senior administration official told reporters on Monday. “Where exactly Jeff chooses to go will be a bit up to him.”
The US government has been working on efforts to secure Woodke’s release for years, relying on both intelligence and military resources, the official said. But ultimately the government of Niger was central to securing his release, the official said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed the release of Woodke at a press conference at the State Department later on Monday.
“As you know, I have no higher priority or focus than bringing home any unjustly detained American, wherever that is in the world,” said Blinken. “We won’t rest until they’re all home and, like Jeffery, reunited with their families.”
Blinken thanked Niger’s government, Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens and “all of those who have been working at the department” on Woodke’s case.
Blinken visited Niger earlier this month.
“We have certainly been in touch with them about what a priority it is, for us to secure the release of Americans like my Jeff Woodke, and that’s something that the Secretary confirmed when he was out there,” the official said, adding that Niger would be able to share more details about the release.
On his trip, Blinken announced $150 million in new humanitarian aid for the region.
“It will help provide life-saving support to refugees, asylum seekers, and others impacted by conflict and food insecurity in the region,” Blinken said in a statement about the aid which will go to Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mauritania.
Terror groups linked to al Qaeda and ISIS have been active in Niger for years.
Without saying which specific terrorist group held Woodke, the official pointed to several “intersecting overlapping terrorist networks in that part of West Africa.” The official added that these terrorist networks see “kidnapping and hostage-taking as part of their business model frankly, and as a source of revenue and support.”
The official thanked the government of Niger which was involved in the efforts to secure his release, adding that the US did not pay any ransom to terrorists.
The US did not pay any ransom to terrorists to get Woodke released, the official said.
“There was no direct negotiation here between the US government and the terrorist organizations, it is worth making that clear. Certainly, we did not pay a ransom a concession to a terrorist organization here,” the official said.
“Emerging as our best line of effort among many that we have tried over the years was working to see what a very good and capable and thankfully willing partner in Niger was able to deliver in their own engagement,” the official added.
In addition to the release of Woodke, French journalist Olivier Dubois, who was abducted in 2021 in Mali, was freed Monday, according to a tweet by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Dubois was moved to Niger after his release.
“We feel joy and immense relief. Our colleague was held hostage for 711 days in Mali. His captivity was the longest for a French journalist held hostage since the Lebanon war,” a statement by Reporters Without Borders said.
Dubois was kidnapped in the Gao region north of Mali by an al Qaeda-linked group known as the GSIM.
“We thank the French authorities for having implemented the necessary means to obtain his release. It is the honour of France not to let the hostages down and to allow them to regain their freedom,” added the RWB statement.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have assessed that , no fewer than 78 million children in Nigeria are at the greatest risk from a confluence of three water-related risks.
One-third of children in Nigeria do not have access to at least basic water at home, and two-thirds do not have basic sanitation services, according to Dr. Jane Bevan, Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for UNICEF Nigeria, who made this known in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
Also, just a quarter of kids can wash their hands at home because there isn’t enough water or soap, she said, citing other issues with hand hygiene.
She disclosed further that as a result, Nigeria is one of the 10 countries that carry the heaviest burden of child deaths from diseases caused by inadequate WASH, such as diarrhoeal diseases.
The statement read in part: “Nigeria also ranks second out of 163 countries globally with the highest risk of exposure to climate and environmental threats.
“Groundwater levels are also dropping, requiring some communities to dig wells twice as deep as just a decade ago. At the same time, rainfall has become more erratic and intense, leading to floods that contaminate scarce water supplies.
“I believe we need to rapidly scale up investment in the sector, including from global climate financing, strengthen climate resilience in the WASH sector and communities, increase effective and accountable systems, coordination, and capacities to provide water and sanitation services and implement the UN-Water SDG6 Global Acceleration Framework.
“If we continue at the current pace, it will take 16 years to achieve access to safe water for all in Nigeria. We cannot wait that long, and the time to move quickly is now. Investing in climate-resilient water, sanitation, and hygiene services is not only a matter of protecting children’s health today but also ensuring a sustainable future for generations to come.”
The statement was released ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York, from March 22-24, 2023, co-hosted by Tajikistan and the Netherlands, called for urgent action to address the water crisis in Nigeria.
The UN 2023 Water Conference, formally known as the 2023 Conference for the Midterm Comprehensive Review of Implementation of the UN Decade for Action on Water and Sanitation (2018-2028), will result in a summary of proceedings from the UN General Assembly President, Csaba Korosi, that will feed into the 2023 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
Regional Youth Resource Center at Adaklu in the Volta Region hosted Ghana’s 66th Independence Day celebration with the motto “Our Unity, Our Strength, Our Mission.”
The president chose the region to host the yearly celebration in accordance with his personal pledge to rotate the event across the regions to strengthen national solidarity, according to Lord Commey, Director of Operations in the president’s office.
The occasion was graced by the President of Guinea Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo who doubles as the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as the special guest of honour, as well as some powerful chiefs in the region including Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of Asogli State, Togbui Sri III, Togbui Fiti among others.
While speaking at the anniversary, President Nana Akufo-Addo praised some individuals from the region who have greatly contributed to the nation’s development.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, this is part of Ghana has produced, arguably, the nation’s two greatest composers, Ephraim Amu, composer of that great anthem, Mia denyigba lorlor la (Yen Ara Asase Ni), who taught us to take pride in our culture, and Phillip Gbeho, composer of Ghana’s vibrant and much loved national anthem; Daniel Chapman Nyaho, one of Ghana’s most eminent administrators who, at independence, helped ensure a seamless transition when the British left; the Reverend Ametorwobla, that powerful orator who proved you could be both a priest and a politician; and Esther Ocloo, née Nkulenu, trail-blazer and industrialist extraordinaire, whose entrepreneurial spirit lives on.
“This is the part of Ghana that also gave us Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, Ghana’s first Minister for Finance and one of the founding fathers of our nation, and the charismatic Jerry John Rawlings, first president of the Fourth Republic and Ghana’s longest serving head of state,” part of the president’s speech said.
GhanaWeb has compiled a list of all the seven Voltarians lauded by the president during his speech at the 66th Independence Day celebration.
1. Jerry John Rawlings
John Jerry Rawlings was the first president of the Fourth Republic and Ghana’s longest-serving head of state. He was a Ghanaian military officer and a politician who led the country in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He was born on June 22, 1947, and died on November 12, 2020.
2. Ephraim Amu
He was born on 13 September 1899 at Peki-Avetile of the Volta Region and died on 2 January 1995.
Ephraim Amu was a Ghanaian composer, musicologist, and teacher. He is well known as the composer of one of Ghana’s most popular patriotic songs, ‘Yen Ara Asase Ni’.
3. Komla Agbeli Gbedemah
He was a Ghanaian politician and the first ever Ghana Minister of Finance in Nkrumah’s government between 1954 and 1961. He is popularly known as ‘Afro Gbede’. Gbedemah was born at Anyako in the Volta region on June 17, 1913, and died on July 11, 1998.
4. Phillip Gbeho
Philip Comi Gbeho was a Ghanaian musician, composer, and teacher
He was born on January 14, 1904, in a fishing community at Keta in the Volta region and died on September 24, 1976.
Philp Gbeho is also known as the composer of the Ghana National Anthem; God bless our homeland Ghana.
5. Daniel Ahmling Chapman Nyaho
Daniel Ahmling was a Ghanaian statesman and a diplomat. He was born on July 5, 1909, at Keta in the Volta region and died on July 13, 20221 at age 92.
Chapman Nyaho was one of Ghana’s most eminent administrators who, at independence, helped ensure a seamless transition when the British left.
6. Esther Ocloo
Esther Afua Ocloo was a Ghanaian businesswoman, who was among the founders of Women’s World Banking in 1976. She was born on April 18, 1919, at Peki Dzake and died on February 8 2002 at age 82.
7. Reverend Ametorwobla,
Reverend Ametorwobla was a powerful orator who proved that one could be both a priest and a politician.
The death of a former deputy finance minister and member of parliament for Old Tafo, Anthony Osei Akoto, has shocked Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.
The former MP was praised by Bawumia as a very dear friend and brother whose “fidelity to serving mother Ghana was indisputable” and whose “dedication to serving mother Ghana was unequaled.”
On March 20, a message on the official Facebook page of Parliament announced the death of Akoto Osei at the age of 64.
“Former Old Tafo MP, Hon. Dr Anthony Osei Akoto passes away. May he rest in peace,” Parliament’s post accompanied by a photo of the deceased read.
“I paid him a visit just a few weeks ago and was happy that he was doing much better. The news of his passing has therefore come as a complete shock. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.
“I am happy to have had a brother in you and to have worked with you. Rest in peace, my brother,” Bawumia’s Facebook post read.
Who was Dr. Akoto Osei
Dr Akoto Osei was in the cabinet of former President John Agyekum Kufuor as the Minister of State for Finance and Economic Planning.
Before becoming the finance minister under ex-President Kufuor, he served as the deputy minister for the sector.
In May, 2017, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo named Dr Anthony Akoto Osei as part of his 19 ministers who would form his cabinet as the Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation.
He was a former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Old Tafo Constituency in the Ashanti Region. While in Parliament, he served as the Ranking Member for the Committee on Finance, and a member of the Interior and Defence committees of the House.
He obtained a PhD from Howard University in 1987, a Master of Arts degree in Applied Economics from the American University in 1980. He had earlier obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree in Economics from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1978.
On 27 March 2002, he became a member of the Management Board of Merchant Bank (Ghana) Ltd. Previously, he worked as Associate Professor at Dollard University (USA) and previously as a Research Assistant at the Centre for Policy Analysis (Ghana).
Attorneys for the former deputy minister for finance have claimed that the prosecution of Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the minority leader, constitutes an abuse of prosecutorial authority.
The attorneys claimed that the State was operating like a Leviathan, disregarding the rights and liberties of its inhabitants, in a submission of no case before the court.
The lengthy legal brief outlined the reasons why the trial must come to an end, with the attorneys presenting the court with a variety of justifications.
“We maintain that, in a reasoned decision, a court has a duty to clearly set out the legal principles and the evidence upon the decision is based.
“In addition, an adversarial system like ours, where the role of the court is primarily that of an umpire, places an additional duty on the Court to explain why it prefers one piece of evidence or argument to the other after carefully weighing the evidence relied on by the prosecution and the defence,” excerpts of their legal submission stated.
They also rejected the allegations by the state that Dr Ato Forson authorised or caused letters of credit to be established.
According to the lawyers, this claim is patently false.
The Minority Leader’s lawyers argued that the prosecution failed to adduce sufficient evidence to back this charge.
“We submit that, to the extent that the evidence on record do not support but contradict these material allegations in the particulars of offences for Counts 1 and 5, the prosecution has failed to adduce sufficient evidence on key ingredients of the offences in Counts 1 and 5. Consequently, A1 must be acquitted and discharged.“
Contrary to the assertions in the particulars of offence of Counts 1 and 5 that A1 ‘authorized’ or ‘caused’ irrevocable letters of credit to be established it is clear from the evidence on record that AI never ‘authorized’ or ‘caused irrevocable’ letters of credit to be established nor did A1 act in any manner without due cause and authorization.
“Exhibits A and B1, which bear the signature of AI were transmitted to the Bank of Ghana under the authority of and on behalf of the Minister of Finance as confirmed by Exhibit 5 for A1….That claim is patently false.”
Legal practitioner, Maurice Ampaw has asked candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer position, Kennedy Agyapong, to assess his skills and decide against running for president because that is not his calling.
If one is not called or born with such aptitude, being president will be challenging, according to Ampaw, who believes that the office is about a divine calling.
“I’m telling Kennedy Agyapong that; you weren’t born to become president. You’re aware that you were not given a presidential talent so why are you forcing yourself to become a president? Kennedy Agyapong you are a fighter.
“God told David that he can’t build the church because his hands are full of blood (filth),” he said.
Speaking on the March 19, 2023, episode of Mmra Ne Abrao Mu Nsem on Wontumi TV, Maurice Ampaw added that politics is a game filled with evil, falsehoods, and deception, that he thinks he would have died by now if he had entered earlier. Meanwhile, Kennedy Agyapong has revealed that he was driven to join the presidential race after he sighted a video of Prophet Amoako Attah’s prophecy in March 2022.
Prophet Francis Amoako Attah, who is the founder of Parliament Chapel International, prophesied that God had a special assignment for Kennedy Agyapong which goes beyond being a Member of Parliament.
“Nobody can stop Hon Kennedy Agyapong from his vision to become a president of Ghana. I saw in the realms of the spirit that the star of God picked Hon Kennedy Agyapong.
“Many people love him from their heart but they are not professing it to the general public. It will start gradually and all of a sudden, all the youth in the Country will Support Kennedy Agyapong,” he said.
Legal team for the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson in the ambulance case has informed the court that he did not authorize or issue any Letters of Credit.
They contend that this accusation is unfounded and ought to be dropped.
The attorneys contend that the prosecution has not presented enough evidence to support this charge in their legal representations to the court.
They have thus asked the court to acquit and discharge the accused.
“We submit that, to the extent that the evidence on record do not support but contradict these material allegations in the particulars of offences for Counts 1 and 5, the prosecution has failed to adduce sufficient evidence on key ingredients of the offences in Counts 1 and 5. Consequently, A1 must be acquitted and discharged.“
“Contrary to the assertions in the particulars of offence of Counts 1 and 5 that A1 ‘authorized’ or ‘caused’ irrevocable letters of credit to be established, it is clear from the evidence on record that A1 never ‘authorized’ or ‘caused irrevocable’ letters of credit to be established nor did A1 act in any manner without due cause and authorization.
“Exhibits A and B1, which bear the signature of A1 were transmitted to the Bank of Ghana under the authority of and on behalf of the Minister of Finance as confirmed by Exhibit 5 for A1….That claim is patently false,” the lawyers argued in their detailed submissions to the court.
They also stated that the prosecution of Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson is abuse of prosecutorial powers by the state.
According to them, the state was acting like a Leviathan, who has no regard for the rights and liberties of its citizens.
“We maintain that, in a reasoned decision, a court has a duty to clearly set out the legal principles and the evidence upon the decision is based.
“In addition, an adversarial system like ours, where the role of the court is primarily that of an umpire, places an additional duty on the Court to explain why it prefers one piece of evidence or argument to the other after carefully weighing the evidence relied on by the prosecution and the defence,” excerpts of their legal submission added.
Dr. Forson, who is also the National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Ajumako Enyan Esiam, has been charged with Sylvester Anemana, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of Health and Richard Jakpa, a businessman, for allegedly causing financial loss of €2.37 million to the state in a deal to purchase some 200 ambulances for the country between 2014 and 2016.
Three new members of the Election Commission (EC) have been sworn in by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The three are Reverend Akua Ofori Boateng, Dr. Peter Appiahene, and Madam Salima Ahmed Tijani.
On Monday, March 20, 2023, they were sworn in during a brief ceremony in the Jubilee House.
The trio take office 21 months to the 2024 general elections.
In his address to the new commissioners, President Akufo-Addo tasked them to put the national interest ahead of any other.
“…indeed, let no one try to cow you into submission,” the President urged.
“On the contrary, let this expectation of the Ghanaian people spur you onto great heights and above all the works of the will of the Ghanaian people is upheld.”
Dr Appiahene, speaking on behalf of the others said: “This is not an appointment that one will take lightly especially looking at how important and sensitive the work of the Commission is.
“We are therefore aware of the massive responsibilities and tasks that come with it. We want to state that we are poised and more prepared to deliver and contribute to the development of our democracy especially in this digital era.”
General Overseer of Action Chapel International, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams appears to have ventured into theGhanaian movie industry.
This has been the assertion of many after the man of God was spotted in a snip on social media titiled “Taste of Sin”.
The Arcbishop who is popularly known for his preaching prowers has left many Ghanaians in shocked and eager to watch the movie when its premiered on April 7, 2023.
Below is the short video featuring the oracle of God which has wowed many people.
In Johannesburg’s Westpark Cemetery, Pastor Siva Moodley of South Africa was finally laid to rest in a dignified manner after waiting for a resurrection that never materialized for nearly 600 days.
Moodley, who founded The Miracle Centre in north Johannesburg, passed away on August 15, 2021. Yet, he was buried in a mortuary by his family and church because they believed he would be revived.
After nearly 600 days of waiting for a resurrection that never came, South African Pastor Siva Moodley was finally buried in a dignified manner at Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg.
Moodley, who founded The Miracle Centre in the north of Johannesburg, passed away on August 15, 2021. His family and congregation, however, kept his body at a mortuary, believing he would be resurrected.
Cases of families and followers of clergymen believing in their resurrection are not uncommon.
In 2021, a Zambian self-proclaimed prophet died after his attempt to recreate Jesus’ resurrection backfired spectacularly. 22-year-old Pastor James Sakara died after he asked his followers to bury him alive for three days so that he could miraculously resurrect.
Sakara, a pastor at the Zion Church in the Zambian town of Chidiza, convinced his congregation that he could come back from the dead and resurrect on the third day.
Members of the church are reported to have performed a series of “spiritual exercises” to resurrect their prophet. Unfortunately, it was to no avail. Prophet James Sakara was unable to emulate Jesus and rise from the dead after three days.
In the Drobo district of the Jaman South Municipality in the Bono Region, a suspected thief reportedly tried to steal but mysteriously froze and become immobile.
The unusual incident reportedly occurred as the culprit was preparing to burglarize a landlord’s room.
According to rumors, the landlord’s possessions have recently gone missing inexplicably.
He, therefore, decided to cast a spell at the entrance of his room to help catch the unrepentant thief if he or she decides to return.
It was indeed an every day for the thief, one day for the owner scenario as luck eluded the young man, believed to be in his 20s, who got stuck in his expedition.
The incident is said to have occurred at about 8:00 pm but the suspect stood for almost 24 hours, causing his hand and feet to swell.
28-year-old nephew of K.T. Hammond has been allegedly involved in the kidnapping of two children and was killed at Adiembra in the Adansi Asokwa District of the Ashanti Region.
The deceased, also known as Blade, is reportedly the nephew of Kobina Tahir (K.T.) Hammond, a member of the Adansi Asokwa party.
Isaac K. Normanyo of Adom News has learned that the event took place on Saturday.
A distraught relative, Eric Addo (aka Nana One), said the family finds it hard to believe why anyone will consider the deceased as a kidnapper.
Mr Addo said the deceased, who was a welder, was a calm person and liked to play with children a lot and was on such activity when the unfortunate incident happened.
He narrated that the culprits mixed dirty oil with acid and forced the deceased to drink, adding he had cutlass wounds on parts of his body.
The Odikro of Adiembra, Nana Oduro Frikyi, revealed that anytime a thief is apprehended or any resident misconducts him or herself, the person is always brought before him.
He, therefore, doesn’t understand why some people decided to take the law into their own hands this time around.
A group of irate youth who said the deceased is their close friend and defended he is not a criminal have threatened reprisal attacks amidst demand for justice.
Meanwhile, the Police have arrested nine persons including two females over the heinous act.
In state elections with low attendance, Nigeria’s ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) party maintained control of Lagos, the nation’s commercial capital.
Lagos, which has a population of more than 20 million, is the biggest metropolis in Africa.
Voters in the state had last month backed opposition candidate Peter Obi in disputed presidential elections that have been challenged in court.
Incumbent Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu retained his seat with a tally of over 760,000 votes – double the count of his closest rival – in results announced by the electoral commission.
His opponent rejected the outcome before the final count was announced citing fraud. He vowed to challenge the results.
Nigerian governors control budgets worth millions of dollars and are in charge of schools, hospitals and infrastructure.
The opposition leader of Kenya, Raila Odinga has been wounded by tear gas and water cannons as well as a gunshot, according to a tweet from his aide.
Uncertain of the exact location of the purported “damage,” Mr. Odinga has been driving a convoy of cars through residential neighborhoods on a day of protest against the poverty that most Kenyans face.
Additionally, he has been using the demonstrations to support his unsupported assertion that he, not William Ruto, was the real winner of last year’s presidential elections.
The protests have disrupted business operations in the capital Nairobi and in Mr Odinga’s stronghold of Kisumu in western Kenya.
In front of the INEC office in Enugu, supporters of the Labour Party and the People’s Democratic Party are currently organizing demonstrations.
As the PDP demands that the results be declared in their favor, the Labour Party objects to the Nkanu East Local Government Area’s use of BVAS in conducting the governorship election.
In the meantime, the Labour Party has petitioned INEC regarding the outcomes from the Nkanu East Local Government area.
After 60 days of falls, the Kenyan shilling experienced its longest losing streak since records began in 1988.
By 10:55 a.m. in Nairobi, the shilling was down 0.1% against the dollar, bringing its year-to-date loss to more than 5%.
According to Genghis Capital, which forecasts the shilling to trade as low as 161.40 to the dollar by year’s end, worries about rising US interest rates, declining foreign-exchange reserves, and a deteriorating balance of payments have hurt the currency of East Africa’s largest economy.
That would mark the biggest annual depreciation since 2008, when the currency tumbled 23%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Kenya’s foreign-exchange reserves dropped to $6.56 billion as of March 16, an 11-year low and sufficient to cover just 3.66 months of exports. The central bank’s statutory requirement is to maintain at least four months of coverage.
The central bank will probably raise its benchmark interest rate from 8.75% at its next Monetary Policy Committee meeting on March 29, Genghis said, after annual inflation quickened for the first time in four months to 9.2% in February.
Commercial lenders in Kenya are charging an average spread of 7.50 shillings on the official exchange rate, with some charging as much as 10.50 shillings, Genghis said.
Paul Okoye of the P-Square duo has bemoaned the extreme inefficiency of the nation’s security institutions.
He claims that the police and other security personnel are among Nigeria’s many issues because they are inefficient.
On March 18, 2023, Paul took to Twitter to express his displeasure with the way the elections had so far been conducted.
He wrote, “Until we realize our major problem in Nigeria is the security agencies … someone is threatening some certain tribes in Lagos, and the police came out to say he was just joking.”
He added: “Now look at what is happening in Lagos today!! Oga Police was he really joking? Sha*eless people.”
Until we realize our major problem in Nigeria is the security agencies…someone is threatening some certain tribes in lagos , and the police came out to say he was just joking. Now look at what is happening in lagos today!! Oga Police was he really joking? Sh*meless people🤮
The Lagos State governorship election was won by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC.
Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, defeated Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party with a total vote total of 762,134.
Whereas Abdulazeez Adeniran of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, received 62,449 votes, the LP candidate received 312,329 votes.
The results were announced by the Returning Officer, Prof Adenike Temifayo-Oladiji, Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Technology Akure, FUTA.
The number of valid votes were 1,155,678; rejected votes – 17,953; total votes cast – 1,173,631; accredited votes – 1,182,620.
Before the declaration, Rhodes-Vivour called the election a sham, alleging “collusion between the ruling party and electoral officials”.
The flagbearer said what the people witnessed was “a slap on the face of democracy” and everyone who came out to vote for the LP on Saturday.
“In the light of this, I am convinced beyond any doubt that the results being released by INECdo not represent the wishes of the majority of peaceful Lagosians.
“More so the results from our field agents and situation room indicated that we won this election,” Rhodes-Vivour added.
LP Chairman in Lagos, Mrs. Dayo Ekong had asked INEC to cancel the poll, citing electoral malpractices, intimidation, violence, among others.
Boiled eggs are an excellent source of essential nutrients and can be a great addition to any meal. Eating boiled eggs provides a healthy dose of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Regarding preparation, the only difference between soft-boiled and hard-boiled eggs is how long they cook. According to a WebMD article, harder-boiled eggs are better for avoiding harmful bacteria such as salmonella.
Here are five benefits of boiled eggs you should remember;
Great source of protein
One of the most important health benefits of eating boiled eggs is that they are a great source of protein. Protein is essential for building and maintaining strong muscles, and boiled eggs are a great way to get a healthy dose of protein.
Enhance a healthy immune system
Boiled eggs are also packed with vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins A, B12, and iron. These vitamins and minerals are essential for a healthy immune system and can help prevent diseases.
Weight Loss
Another great health benefit of eating boiled eggs is that they are low in calories and fat. Boiled eggs are a great way to get a healthy dose of protein without adding unhealthy fats and calories to your diet. They will fill you up without packing in too many calories, which is helpful if you want to lose weight.
Contains Dietary Fiber
Boiled eggs are also a great source of dietary fibre, which can help to keep you feeling full for longer and can help to regulate your digestive system.
Keeps you Strong and Healthy
Eating boiled eggs can help keep your body healthy and strong and can help prevent diseases. Boiled eggs are a great addition to any meal and can help to make your diet more nutritious.
Despite Teleperformance’s promise to leave the business after shareholder outrage last year, employees are still analyzing TikTok’s most upsetting content, including child sexual assault.
According to those acquainted with the situation who requested to remain anonymous because they were revealing private information, the Paris-based contractor has approximately 500 individuals working for TikTok in Tunisia. Some of them spend their days searching at detrimental films posted to the social network. According to them, they include pictures of violence, gore, and sexual assault of children and animals.
Teleperformance said it would exit the “highly egregious part of the trust and safety business” in November, weeks after a report alleged Colombian employees moderating TikTok content were subject to occupational trauma from looking at harmful content. This led to a Colombian probe into labor practices and the biggest drop in share price in more than three decades.
The revelations highlight the challenges that social media companies and their content review teams face in protecting their users from extremely disturbing material. While AI tools can screen some of the content, they aren’t good enough to replace human judgment entirely. This means companies like TikTok, Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc. still rely on teams of people, often low-paid contractors, to review and remove posts. Repeated exposure to extreme material has been linked to emotional and psychological distress.
At the time, Chief Executive Officer Daniel Julien said Teleperformance would continue to offer content moderation services, but its workers wouldn’t review the most extreme posts, such as child-abuse images. It would work with its clients to find “suitable alternatives for its current business in the field,” the company said in a statement. The announcement was praised by analysts who had grown concerned about possible ESG risks.
Teleperformance Chief Financial Officer Olivier Rigaudy said in an interview that the company’s position hadn’t changed since November and that it was honoring existing contractual commitments with clients. He declined to comment on when individual contracts end, but said they typically last two to three years.
Rigaudy said that the company was also working to define what “highly egregious” content means, depending on different cultures, laws and customers. The process is “extremely complicated” because it involves 40 clients, each with 30 or 40 contracts, he said.
TikTok did not respond to requests for comment.
Workers in Tunis are moderating content posted by users in the Middle-East and North Africa, through a contract that started around last summer, the people said. Tunisia has recently become a hub for TikTok moderation in the region, with the work split between Teleperformance and another subcontractor, Concentrix Corp. A representative for Concentrix declined to comment.
A portion of the Tunis-based TikTok moderators review queues of videos in a restricted-access room. One of the queues can include highly egregious content, one of the people said. Videos are filtered into the different queues by an AI system, the person added, so that more highly trained staff review the most offensive material.
Employees can talk to on-site therapists, whose presence is a requirement from TikTok, the people said. They work in 9-hour shifts and earn around 900 to 1200 dinars ($290 to $385) a month, depending on experience and bonuses for working at night, the people said.
The job includes planned breaks and is favored by some employees over talking to customers in Teleperformance’s more traditional call center business, one of the people said.
The allegations made by a former minister of environment, science, technology, and innovation (MESTI), Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, regarding the involvement of some New Patriotic Party (NPP) high-ranking members in illegal mining activities, also known as “galamsey,” have been forwarded to theGhana Police Servicefor investigation.
The President gave the directive last week, and Daily Graphic checks indicate that the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has commenced investigations into the matter.
Allegations
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, in a recent interview with the state broadcaster, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), alleged that some officials of the ruling government were involved in galamsey.
He claimed that the alleged missing excavators story was used against him by his own party and other government officials involved in galamsey as a weapon to remove him from office.
He alleged that the loss of his position paved the way for some bigwigs in the ruling NPP to continue their galamsey activities.
The excavators were seized from galamsey operators at various points across the country.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng claimed in the interview that allegations concerning the loss of some 500 excavators seized from persons engaged in illegal mining in 2020 were untrue, adding that the stories were made up by some persons in government to tarnish his reputation in order to chase him out of office.
During the interview on GBC, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng said: “There was an orchestration within the party and the government to get me out, and when I left, galamsey activities increased. Now things are coming up and we know those who are doing galamsey, even within the party and even people at the Jubilee House.”
He disclosed that the very actions of military personnel deployed to effect the arrest of illegal miners triggered the entire falsehood about him being responsible for the missing excavators at the time.
“The true story is that at the start of Operation Vanguard, the soldiers were supposed to arrest the excavators, but they went into the forest, removed the control boards of the excavators and came back to report. But when they went away, the owners went with different control boards and moved the excavators away,” he said.
Following his interview, a number of people and groups, including the Minority in Parliament, have called for investigations into the allegations made.
Investigations commenced
A highly placed source in the police told the Daily Graphic that last week the CID commenced investigations into the issues raised by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng.
According to the source, the police had dispatched a letter to Prof Frimpong-Boateng to assist the police in their investigations.
I’ll co-operate
However, when contacted yesterday, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng told the Daily Graphic that he had not received any letter from the police on the matter.
Nevertheless, he said, he would co-operate fully with any investigations into the matter if he was approached
Calls for probe
Last Friday, the Minority in Parliament called for investigations into the galamsey claims made by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng.
The Ranking Member on the Lands and Forestry Committee, Dr Rashid Pelpuo, told journalists that the allegations were grave and must be probed.
“We have reports of key government officials being key galamsey operators involved in destroying lands in forest reserves. We wish to call on the government to investigate the allegations made by the former Minister of Environment. It is also our expectation that the government must desist from joining illegal immigrants engaged in galamsey because today most of the lands destroyed have not been restored,” he said.
Ahead of the call by the Minority, the Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr Clement Apaak, had called for a probe into the allegations.
The MP, in a statement, appealed to the state security agencies, such as the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) and the CID to investigate the matter.
He added that such allegations could not be swept under the carpet, and that investigations must be done to bring the perpetrators to book.
“Ghanaians expect the requisite state agencies/institutions (OSP, BNI, CID) to show loyalty to Ghana by initiating investigations into the allegations made by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng. Given his stature and previous position in this NPP government, these allegations cannot and must not be ignored,” he added.
Former Minority leader and a five-time Member of Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu has pledged to secure more than 90,000 votes for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2024 general elections.
The representative for Tamale South Constituency in the Northern Region, poised to win the Tamale South constituency seat for the sixth time said this when he formerly filed his nomination to contest the Parliamentary primaries of the NDC over the weekend.
The Tamale South MP on Sunday, March 19, 2023, was accompanied by some NDC Northern Regional Executives, Constituency Executives, Members of Parliament among other bigwigs of the party to submit his nomination at the constituency office.
Addressing journalists in Tamale, Mr. Iddrisu said, “If you’ve seen me this morning, it’s for an important reason, I’m here to evince my intention to renew my mandate as the Member of Parliament for Tamale South.”
“I believe this would be my sixth term running, so I am here to honour the NDC party constitutional requirement of filing my nomination as the NDC unbeatable candidate for Tamale South for the 2024 general elections” he added.
The former Minister of Trade stated that the day only marked the beginning of the journey to the victory of the NDC in 2024.
“And for Tamale South, it remains a formidable NDC constituency. Indeed, Tamale South – those who say Haruna is this, Haruna is that, let anybody challenge me that he contributes more votes to NDC in Northern Ghana than Haruna Iddrisu and probably beyond. I can extend my numbers beyond Bono Ahafo towards some other regions,” he stated.
He argued further that the Tamale South constituency in the last presidential and parliamentary elections made a significant contribution of 69,000 votes and pledged to increase it to 90,000 for John Mahama or whoever wins the NDC Presidential primaries.
“Tamale South in the last presidential and parliamentary elections made a significant contribution of 69,000 votes, my pledge this year with you, with your assurance and support is 90,000 for John Mahama or whoever wins the NDC Presidential primaries,” he stated.
Actor John Dumelo’s allegations that Fred Nuamah failed to inform him of his decision to compete for the Ayawaso West Wuogon parliamentary seat have been denied by Ghanaian actor and film director Fred Nuamah.
Nuamah claims that he spoke with John Dumelo two years ago to discuss his decision to run for the position in case Dumelo intended to resign after running unsuccessfully in 2020.
According to Fred Nuamah, John Dumelo recommended him to pursue his desire to run for office elsewhere due to the expense of the Ayawaso West Constituency.
“I called on him… I am saying that I spoke to my brother about two years ago saying that once you want to leave, I do not want our seat here to be vacant.
“So, even with brotherly advice, he told me that Fred won’t you look elsewhere because the Ayawaso seat is expensive and I said no, because I live here, I want to go for this seat, and then because of the love we do have for each other,” he recounted.
He also stated that the latter gave him permission to run for the seat because he (Dumelo) claimed he was leaving for a different constituency.
Speaking in a panel discussion on United Showbiz on Saturday, March 18, 2023, Fred explained that he arrived at the decision when Dumelo hinted that he was going to contest for the SALL Constituency.
Dumelo has serially denied Nuamah’s claims stating that it was Fred Nuamah rather who had expressly pledged to back his bid to contest for the seat he lost narrowly in 2020.
“We are not friends, as we speak now, we are not friends. We haven’t been friends for a couple of weeks now,” he told MzGee, host of the United Showbiz programme on UTV a week ago.
“At no point did I tell Fred that I am not contesting in Ayawaso West Wuogon, at no point,” he before adding that all claims that he (Dumelo) had opted against running were untrue, incluing one attributed to Yaw Sakyi
“That is a lie. I never had a conversation with Yaw Sakyi about Fred Nuamah. Never, I can never give Fred Nuamah my blessings, when he knows I am coming to contest in Ayawaso West Wuogon,” Dumelo added.
Dumelo described Fred’s decision to release his campaign flyer hours after attending his February 3 private birthday bash as a betrayal and a stab in the back for someone he has known for over 20 years.
Although Akwasidae is primarily a vibrant cultural event of the Ashanti Kingdom, it has grown in importance over time.
The festival, which features the Asantehene sitting in state and receiving respect from his subjects and visitors from all over the world, has been characterized by political, diplomatic, and entertainment elements.
The presence of current and former presidents has frequently been a significant highlight of the regularly crowded event.
The March 20 celebration of Akwasidae was attended by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who was attending on behalf of the president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
He attended along with his wife Samira Bawumia.
Videos making the rounds on social media shows Bawumia and an entourage including about 80 MPs arriving at the event grounds on a bus as they are mobbed by a crowd of party faithful.
Most of the cheering supporters are waving the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flag and are wearing branded T-shirts with the Vice President’s portrait. He is seen waving back along with the Second Lady.
They later go on to join dignitaries to pay homage to the Asantehene and his sub-chiefs.
The UK’s financial system is “secure and sound,” according to the Bank of England, after regulators approved a rescue plan for Credit Suisse in an effort to calm markets around the world.
In a deal supported by the Swiss government, the bank was acquired by rival UBS on Sunday.
It happens amid worries about the global financial system following the failure of two smaller US banks in recent weeks.
Shares in lenders around the world have fallen sharply and central banks have had to step in to provide reassurances.
However, experts are not forecasting a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis when the failure of a number of big banks sparked a global recession.
The Swiss National Bank said the rescue deal for Credit Suisse was the best way to restore the confidence of financial markets and to manage risks to the economy.
Credit Suisse said it was not expecting “any disruption to client services”.
“We are fully focused on ensuring a smooth transition and seamless experience for our valued clients and customers,” the bank told the BBC.
Credit Suisse shareholders were deprived of a vote on the deal and will receive one share in UBS for every 22.48 shares they own, valuing the bank at $3.15bn (£2.6bn).
At the close of business on Friday Credit Suisse was valued at around $8bn.
But the deal has achieved what regulators set out to do – secure a result before the financial markets opened on Monday.
Mark Yallop, the former UK chief executive of UBS, said the his former employer’s purchase of Credit Suisse “should” do the job of reassuring investors.
“This is a takeover of a challenged institution with particular idiosyncratic problems that relate to it specifically [and are] not reflective of broader issues in the banking markets,” he told the BBC’s Today programme.
“I think this transaction will definitely stabilise [the bank] and should bring a good degree of confidence back to the banking market more generally.”
However, stock markets across Asia stumbled despite the deal. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down by 1.4% while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell by more than 3%.
“The human psychological aspect of markets contagion risk and bank runs suggest we could be in for an extended period of uncertainty before the storm clouds eventually lift,” Stephen Innes from SPI Asset Management said in a note.
In a bid to keep cash available through the global financial system, six central banks, including the Bank of England, announced they would boost the flow of US dollars through the global financial system.
The Bank of England, along with the Bank of Japan, Bank of Canada, the European Central Bank, US Federal Reserve and Swiss National Bank, said the move served as an “important backstop to ease strains in global funding markets” and take the pressure off banks.
Image caption,The chairmen of both banks spoke at a news conference in Bern on Sunday
In a statement following UBS’s takeover of Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s central bank said the deal protected the Swiss economy “in this exceptional situation”.
The 167-year-old bank is loss-making and has faced a string of problems in recent years, including money laundering charges.
It was given an emergency $54bn lifeline from the Swiss National Bank on Wednesday in a bid to reassure markets, but Credit Suisse shares tumbled 24%, meaning a rescue deal was needed.
Speaking in the Swiss capital Bern after Sunday night’s announcement, UBS chairman Colm Kelleher said the takeover had been “attractive” for UBS shareholders, but described it as “an emergency rescue”.
Mr Kelleher said UBS would be winding down the investment banking part of Credit Suisse.
The UBS chairman said it was “too early” to say what would happen about jobs. The Swiss bank has around 74,000 staff, around 5,000 of them in the UK.
“We need to do this in a rational way thoughtfully, when we’ve sat down and analysed what we need to do,” he said.
Other global financial institutions praised the deal.
The Bank of England said it welcomed the “comprehensive set of actions” set out by the Swiss authorities.
“We have been engaging closely with international counterparts throughout the preparations for today’s announcements and will continue to support their implementation.”
It added the UK banking system was “well capitalised and funded, and remains safe and sound”.
Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, said she welcomed the “swift action” of the Swiss authorities.
“The euro area banking sector is resilient, with strong capital and liquidity positions,” Ms Lagarde added.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell both said the US banking system remained “resilient”.
Credit Suisse has become the latest and most important casualty of a crisis of confidence that has already seen the failure of two mid-sized US banks and an emergency industry whip-round for another. But this is different. Switzerland’s second biggest lender was considered one of the top 30 most important banks in the world – which is why this takeover was rushed through by the Swiss authorities.
Although the reasons for each failure differ slightly, the main factor has been a sharp rise in global interest rates which has hit the value of even safe investments that banks keep some of their money in. That has spooked investors and seen the share prices of all banks fall with those considered weakest hit hardest.
The financial authorities in the EU, US and UK are saying they support this deal, stressing that banks are strong and people’s savings and deposits are safe.
The acid test as to whether this Swiss rescue has calmed nerves in the financial world will be when financial markets open on Monday – which is why it was so important to get this done on Sunday night.
Bono Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffor Abronye DC, claims that his criticism of the investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ journalistic approach has been vindicated.
Abronye said in a Facebook comment that Anas’ defamation lawsuit against Kennedy Agyapong was dismissed by the Accra High Court was proof of his long-held conviction that Anas was a blackmailer and a criminal.
He posted a 2019 online story in which he criticised the journalist over selective publication of damning investigations he had done on the former government.
The caption of his post read: “On the 8th March, 2019 I mentioned that Anas is a blackmailer and that he has been collecting huge sums of money to Bury investigations. He buried an investigation he did at Parliament between 2014 -15 after negotiating with John Mahama because the piece implicated several NDC MP’s who were ministers then.
“Today, I have been vindicated by the court. Anas has destroyed a lot of families with his wicked activities under the guise of journalism.
“We can’t let things slide like this. All persons who have been destroyed by Anas also deserve justice. Ghana has no space for criminals and blackmailer like Anas.”
Anas vs. Ken Agyapong defamation case
An Accra High Court on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, struck out a defamation suit brought by investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas against Assin Central Member of Parliament, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.
The plaintiff, filed the case in 2018, seeking among other reliefs monetary damages to the tune of GH¢25 million.
However, the court presided by Justice Eric Baah despite finding various claims made by the defendant against the plaintiff as potentially defamatory, ruled that the comments were factual and fair.
The court subsequently dismissed the suit and awarded the defendant a sum of 50,000 Ghana cedis to cover his legal costs.
The MP has subsequently referred to the ruling as a victory for straight talk over investigative terrorism.
The journalist also expressed grave misgivings about the ruling describing it in part as a travesty of justice. He, has also confirmed that his legal team will file an appeal, stressing that his fight against corruption will continue unabated.
Member of parliament for Assin Central, is no stranger to libel lawsuits after being brought before Ghanaian courts twice for the specific claim.
The first was a lawsuit filed against him by Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, the editor-in-chief of the New Crusading Guide, and the second was brought by Baako’s protégé, Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
Moreover, Agyapong filed a defamation lawsuit in court against American political analyst Kevin Taylor.
The most recent of those cases is that of his fight with investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas whose 25 million cedis defamation suit against Agyapong was dismissed last week.
GhanaWeb looks at brief facts from each of the three cases:
Kweku Baako defeats Ken Agyapong
In June 2020, an Accra High court has ruled in favour of Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako in his case against Kennedy Agyapong.
The court gave the lawmaker a 30-day ultimatum to retract and apologise three times on the platforms he used to defame Kwaku Baako.
The legislator also got a damage set at GH¢100,000 with cost of GH¢30,000.
Kweku Baako in 2018 sued Assin Central MP over defamatory comments on different occasions at an Accra-based radio station.
The lawmaker is quoted to have said “You [referring to the plaintiff], Anas and your lawyer, yeah, they are real evil guys [referring to the plaintiff and Anas] … Kweku Baako will collapse NPP’s government should he allow it. Have you seen what he started with Charlotte Osei…?”
Agyapong loses against Kevin Taylor
A defamation suit by Agyapong against US-based journalist, Kevin Taylor and his media company, Loud silence, was dismissed last year by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to the court, Kennedy Agyapong failed to truly prove that the comments made by Mr Taylor were defamatory hence the case was thrown out, citinewsroom.com reports.
Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong had filed a fifteen paged suit against Kevin Taylor and Loud Silence Media over what he described as a series of “false and defamatory statements in a series of videos and an email correspondence published by Defendants via Facebook, YouTube, and other social media platforms about Plaintiff.”
His suit comes after the defendant, Kevin Taylor, and his organization (Loud Silence) had on several occasions referred to the plaintiff as a “murderer, drug dealer, and drug addict, thief, and green card fraudster”.
Despite evidence put before the court, the presiding judge who sat on the case, Honourable Liam O’Grady in his ruling suggested that Mr. Agyapong had no basis for demanding US$9.5 million in damages awarded to him.
Anas vs. Ken Agyapong defamation case
An Accra High Court on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, struck out a defamation suit brought by investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas against Assin Central Member of Parliament, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.
The plaintiff, filed the case in 2018, seeking among other reliefs monetary damages to the tune of GH¢25 million.
However, the court presided by Justice Eric Baah despite finding various claims made by the defendant against the plaintiff as potentially defamatory, ruled that the comments were factual and fair.
The court subsequently dismissed the suit and awarded the defendant a sum of 50,000 Ghana cedis to cover his legal costs.
The MP has subsequently referred to the ruling as a victory for straight talk over investigative terrorism.
The journalist also expressed grave misgivings about the ruling describing it in part as a travesty of justice. He, has also confirmed that his legal team will file an appeal, stressing that his fight against corruption will continue unabated.
The Republic has said that the State has been successful in building a case against all defendants, including former deputy minister of finance Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, in the criminal prosecution involving the supply of vehicles to the State in 2015 that were unfit to be used as ambulances.
The Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, argues in written submissions sent on March 16, 2023, that “a consideration of the evidence led at the trial so far by the prosecution should easily lead to the conclusion that the prosecution has satisfied all the elements of the offences” set forth in the charges brought against the accused.
The Republic argues further that “the evidence given orally by the prosecution’s witnesses was buttressed by a large volume of documents directly confirming the truth of assertions made by the witnesses”.
The prosecution points out that the actions of the first accused, Dr Ato Forson directly led to financial loss to the State in the purchase of the vehicles purporting to be ambulances. By a letter dated 7th August 2014, signed by Dr Ato Forson, the Bank of Ghana was urgently instructed to establish an irrevocable transferable Letter of Credit (LC) in the sum of EUR 3,950,000.00 in favour of Big Sea General Trading LLC. as payment for the ambulances to the Ministry of Health. This authorisation for the LCs to be established resulted in the payment of €2,370,000 for the supply of vehicles by Big Sea General Trading LLC, which did not meet the description of an ambulance (a fact clearly established from the evidence on record). According to the prosecution, Dr Forson’s actions, judged in light of the terms of the contract governing the transaction, showed that he violated the duty he owed as a public officer with responsibility over the use of the public purse by virtue of his status as a Deputy Minister of Finance in 2014. His actions were criminally negligent and most unwarranted.
Justifying why Dr Forson’s actions were criminally negligent or reckless, the prosecution stated that Dr Forson’s instruction for LCs to be established, were contrary to the terms of the “ambulance contract”, since none of the conditions set out in the contract before payment could be made, had been satisfied.
The Deputy Controller and Accountant-General, relying on Dr Forson’s letters, wrote to the Bank of Ghana for payment to be made. After this, the vehicles were shipped contrary to the terms of the agreement. Unfortunately, when delivered, the vehicles were not fit to be described as ambulances.
“It is indisputable, on the facts established at the trial, that, first accused’s actions and omissions led to the loss to the state”. The State argued.
The Attorney-General further submitted that the first accused’s omission to respect the terms of the agreement between the parties, showed mens rea to wilfully cause financial loss to the Republic. “It can clearly be deduced that he desired to cause financial loss, or he foresaw the loss as virtually certain but took an unjustifiable risk of it, or he could foresee the loss as probable consequence but elected to unreasonably risk same, or he failed to exercise due care and attention and thereby caused a loss”, Mr. Dame argued.
The Attorney-General further submitted that the first accused did his actions without any further “authorisation” from any quarters. A careful examination of the record does not disclose any so-called authorisation by the former Minister for Finance or, indeed, any superior officer. On the contrary, exhibits tendered by the prosecution show that Dr Forson acted on his own and not through any alleged authorisation by his former boss, Mr Seth Tekper. The actions taken by the Controller and Accountant-General as well as the Bank of Ghana, all relied on first accused’s actions, not any action by Mr. Seth Terkper, the prosecution stated.
Further, the prosecution points out that the Republic actually tendered in evidence an internal memorandum from the Ministry of Finance regarding the matters in issue that showed that the Ministry of Finance staff who worked on the transaction relied solely on the authorisation by Dr Forson, and not the Minister, Mr. Seth Terkper.
This exhibit, in the prosecution’s view, gave an insight into the understanding and thinking of the staff of the Ministry of Finance who worked on the authorisation for the LCs to be established. They clearly attributed their action and decision to the direction of first accused, and not the Minister. They were under no illusion that the authorisation for the LCs to be established was coming from first accused, not his boss.
Nowhere in the statement given by Mr. Seth Terkper to the police did he claim ownership of the letters written by Dr Ato Forson.
On the contrary, Mr. Terkper’s actions around the same time that the first accused’s letters were written, showed a completely different inclination, as the Honourable Minister rather was working on reviving the Stanbic facility which was the parliamentary-approved means of payment for the transaction.
It is very obvious therefore, that, the Minister and his deputy, first accused, were doing different things around the same time. Whilst one (the Minister) was working on ensuring a success of the parliamentary-approved facility, the other (first accused), was working to ensure payment contrary to the terms of the contract and from a source that had not been approved by parliament.
The Republic continued that as would reasonably be expected of a person exercising public power over the management of public funds, the first thing to be done when authorizing payment for any kind of item is to check whether the payment was due. This can easily be ascertained from a consideration of the contract regarding the transaction in issue. A cursory examination of the contract by first accused would have disclosed to him that, at the time he instructed Bank of Ghana and Controller and Accountant-General to effect payment, payment was not due at all under the relevant contract.
According to the Republic, this is because clause 6 of the contract explicitly prohibited advance payment. The goods were to be delivered before the LCs were to be opened in favour of the supplier to pay for them. Pre-shipment inspection of the vehicles was required to be done to ensure that the vehicles met the specification of ambulances stated in the contract. This was not done, but Ato Forson authorised for payment to be done.
Unfortunately for the first accused when the vehicles arrived, they were not fit for purpose. Letters written by Dr Alex Segbefia, former Minister for Health, indicated categorically that the vehicles were “ordinary vans”, and not ambulances). These letters written by Dr. Alex Segbefia were tendered in without objection by counsel for the defence.
It is the first accused’s recklessness in not ensuring that the terms of the agreement were adhered to that caused all the problems and resulted in the institution of the criminal case against him. If he had exercised the requisite ordinary caution and observation in not making advance payment and waited until the goods had been delivered at the Port of Tema, as he was required to do by clauses under the agreement, the defects on the vehicles would have been noticed and the necessary action taken without any payment by the Government of Ghana.
The prosecution further stated that assuming without admitting that the first accused was justified in considering the contract as effective, the action of the former Minister of Health, Madam Sherry Aryittey, when she was called upon to perform the contract, exposed the recklessness of the first accused.
In reaction to the advice of Dr Dominic Ayine, former Deputy Attorney-General, that the contract had become effective and therefore had to be performed, Madam Sherry Aryittey, exercising proper care and caution, indicated to the former Deputy Attorney-General that the Stanbic Facility required for the performance of the contract, had not been secured and therefore, her Ministry did not have budgetary provision for the contract.
However, in complete contrast and in a manner consistent with recklessness, first accused on 7th August 2014 instructed the Governor of the Bank of Ghana to urgently establish the LCs for the supply of the ambulances “while arrangements are being made to perfect and sign the loan Agreement”. Be that as it may, the first accused never followed through with any “arrangements to perfect and sign the loan Agreement” after directing that payment should be made from the MOH’s accounts.
This, in the prosecution’s view, was wholly unwarranted. To make matters worse, he failed to ensure that the terms of payment and delivery of the vehicles under the contract whose performance he directed were complied with.
Regarding the second accused (A2), the State submitted that he was the designer of the scheme to cause financial loss to the state in the matter of the supply of vehicles which did not meet the specification of ambulances. The second accused deliberately laid the platform for the whole illegal enterprise, which assisted the first accused in subsequently carrying out his unlawful actions resulting in financial loss to the state in the sum of €2,370,000.00
The platform designed by A2 to commit financial loss to the Republic consisted of A2’s specific role in making false representations to the PPA Board for the purpose of obtaining the unlawful procurement of Big Sea General LLC for the supply of the vehicles. On the basis of this unlawful procurement of Big Sea, the contract was signed, and this also became a basis for the first accused’s actions resulting in financial loss to the Republic.
The prosecution stated that “evidence led at the trial shows that the letter written by A2 requested approval from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to engage Big Sea through a process of single sourcing for the supply of 200 ambulances. It falsely represented to the PPA that Big Sea had arranged for financing for the project. When the PPA was not initially satisfied with the application by second accused, it sought clarification by a letter dated 15th November 2012. By another letter dated 19th November 2012 second accused (A2) continued on his bandwagon of deception of the PPA in a bid to secure the approval as the basis to cause financial loss to the Republic, by making yet another misrepresentation to the PPA.
This time, A2 affirmed the false statement by writing another letter to the PPA to the effect Big Sea had arranged for funding for the project from Stanbic Bank and for that matter “the draft agreement on the project with the Ministry bears the name Big Sea General Trading LLC. This draft contract was subsequently submitted to Parliament for approval.” This was a very material misrepresentation which A2 knew was false because A2 was the Chief Director at the Ministry of Health when the agreement was submitted to both Cabinet and Parliament”. Big Sea was never mentioned in any of the memos to Cabinet or Parliament and was never approved by Parliament. A2 knew that Big Sea’s contract with the Government of Ghana had to be approved by Parliament before same would be valid.
Regarding the third accused (A3), the Republic submitted that he “was the sole shareholder and also a director of the company, Jakpa at Business, the agent for Big Sea General Trading LLC of Dubai. He was responsible for the distribution and sale of the vehicles in Ghana and West Africa. He was, therefore, uniquely aware that the vehicles he imported into Ghana were ordinary vans and not what was contracted for, leading to a loss to the Republic.
For representing Big Sea, A3 received a commission of 28.7% of the contract price. He even issued a writ against Big Sea to ensure that he was paid his commission of 28.7% of €2,370,000. He connived with the principal to unilaterally change the vehicle specifications”. Big Sea admitted in a letter to the Ministry of Health that the version of the vehicles the parties had contracted for was unavailable.
However, without consulting the Ministry of Health, A3, and his principal changed the vehicle specified under the contract. This was done to the knowledge of the accused person. Therefore, A3 was aware that the vans which arrived in Ghana were not the ones contracted for.
The State concluded by asserting that a case raising a presumption of guilt had been made against all accused persons, and therefore the court ought to call upon them to open their defence.
The ruling on the submission of no case has been fixed by the trial judge for Thursday, 30th March 2023.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has thrown a challenge to the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum to enhance educational systems rather than shutting down schools to solve current problems.
He asserts that the Minister’s first duty is to assist students in getting better grades rather than to close down their institutions.
Mr. Mahama thus asked the Minister to resign if he does not have any solutions to the country’s educational problems.
“Help them achieve better results and provide better education for the children, but don’t you dare close schools. The Minister for Education should resign if his only solution to a problem is to close schools,” he said.
Addressing branch executives of NDC earlier on Sunday, March 19, at Adudwama in the Ahafo Ano South East Constituency, the former President said the Minister does not have any power to close down schools.
It would be recalled that the Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum challenged the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) and Principals of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions to improve their educational outcomes or stand the risk of having their institutions closed down.
Dr. Adutwum explained that a school with a consistent zero to ten percent pass rate should put together intervention programmes to ensure that majority of their students will find opportunities for further studies, rather than becoming a liability to their parents and society due to their inability to pass their exam.
The Minister said that closing down such schools would help save the nation from the huge financial losses being incurred by the government on such schools.
The Bosomtwe lawmaker said in such a situation, the affected students would be redistributed to other nearby schools, so they could continue their education.
Last Tuesday March 14, 2023, the Electricity Company of Ghana paid a visit to the Ministry of Energy, cutting off electricity to the entire building for over half a day. Power was only restored after the mother ministry of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) paid their debt due in full.
This will be the fate of many other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) who owe ECG huge amounts of money, forcing the power retailer to embark on a massive revenue mobilization exercise beginning on Monday, March 20, 2023, to Thursday, April 20, 2023.
The exercise is using almost all ECG staff from top management to junior officers to retrieve all the monies owed them.
According to the Managing Director, Mr Samuel Dubik Mahama Esq, the company is owed over GHS 5 billion from the month of September 2022 to February 2023.
Most of this debt resides with the SOEs and MDAs.
The strategy, therefore, is to take these agencies by storm, from March 20, 2023, and those who refuse to settle their bill immediately will be meted the same punishment as the Ministry of Energy.
Ahead of this exercise, Mr Dubik Mahama toured all the operational regions of ECG to sensitize the staff on how to go about the mobilization of the revenue, to respect the customer at all times.
He also reminded the staff that ECG is a business and not a charity and everyone must start to behave as such.
It is expected that at the end of the exercise, 100% of the debt would be recovered.
Several clergy have offered their personal opinions and suggestions on the best course of action that the government should take on the national cathedral debate as it continues to soar in the current economic climate.
Latest among them is a reverend minister of the Global Evangelical Church – Ghana, Rev. Calvin Klabi, who has indicated that, Ghana does not need a consensus to build the national cathedral.
Speaking on the HardTruth show on Ahomka FM and Ocean 1TV, Rev. Klabi reiterated that, from the time of Ghana’s first president Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah through Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings to H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, Ghana has never had a consensus in any of its projects; from the construction of the Tema motorway, to the building of the Akosombo Dam, the National Theater, Jubilee house, the University Medical Center and now to the National Cathedral.
He, however, advised that the country needs a national policy or agenda that will drive it for a long time and which will seek to direct the policies of the successive government.
Rev. Calvin Klabi encouraged government to give a listening ear to suggestions and comments from other stakeholders in ensuring that, the interest of the ordinary Ghanaian is championed at all times.
Former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama has asserted that the country’s economic challenges will recover after it has gone through “default settings”.
The flagbearer aspirant of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) noted that Ghanaians are not only suffering but also businesses are collapsing under Akufo-Addo’s administration.
He said irrespective of the hard times businesses are going through, the government is also harassing owners with taxes and threatening to shut them down if they do not pay the taxes.
Mr Mahama said he would have opted not to contest the Presidency again because he has done his part but due to the bad economic situation, he will not be able to sleep if he does not come back and deliver the economy.
He said his next government will reset the nation to a default setting to build a stronger foundation to enable the younger generation to build on it.
Mr Mahama was addressing delegates of the NDC in the Nhyiaeso Constituency of the Ashanti region as part of his three-campaign tour of the region.
Mr Mahama’s visit to all constituencies across the country is on.
He has so far covered 47 constituencies in four regions, traveling a minimum of 2,708 kilometres to meet and interact with branch and constituency executives.
A world where a mother has to choose between medications for her health or education for her child is an unjust world.” This quote on Gregory’s LinkedIn page is an insight into the mission of mPharma, an innovative technology-driven health inventory and retail pharmacy company operating in nine countries; Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zambia, Gabon, Rwanda, Malawi, and Uganda.
The company is building a community of pharmacies across Africa to provide easier and better quality healthcare service to the millions of people on the continent.
Gregory Rockson is the co-founder and CEO of mPharma, its inventory management system is used in over 850 pharmacy stores in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zambia, Gabon, Rwanda, Malawi, and Uganda.
The company is working to improve access and affordability of high-quality drugs for patients across Africa. It has 155 hospital partners, 850 pharmacies and drug stores, and over 2 million patients. Its intervention in the healthcare industry has helped over 400,000 patients purchase high-quality medicine at a cheaper cost.
mPharma was founded in 2013 by Gregory Rockson, Daniel Shoukimas, and James Finucorie as a pharmacy offering high-quality medical and pharmaceutical supplies in Ghana. Within a few years, the healthcare business has expanded to nine African countries, with its headquarters in Ghana, and is building a scalable drug inventory management using the Airbnb model to enable vendor-managed inventory for healthcare providers in Africa.
Gregory and his co-founders are focused on building an Africa with good health by developing a tech system for medical practitioners and medical offices to leverage in solving challenges in the provision of good healthcare. mPharma’s objective is to connect patients, hospitals, and pharmacies; to enable doctors, hospitals, and patients to know the exact location and availability of medicines for better access.
By increasing patients’ access to drugs at reduced costs while sustaining quality, mPharma is continually improving health interventions, bridging gaps in healthcare provision, and bringing vital services closer to communities through online and offline channels.
The company launched ‘bloom,’ a flagship software product defined as the operating software for the modern African pharmacy. It extends beyond most hospital software used in easing workflows and capturing data, as well as tablets or computing. It is directly tied to mPharma’s core value proposition of vendor-managed, data-driven, diverse management, data management, and e-commerce services; and is an interface that enables pharmacies to connect to mPharma and offer value to their patients.
In recent months, mPharma is strategically diversifying its assets and expanded operations with the acquisition of a 55% stake in Vine Pharmacy in Uganda, and a franchise agreement with Belayab Pharmaceuticals in Ethiopia. It acquired Halton’s pharmacy in Kenya and a majority stake in Nigeria’s HealthPlus.
In July 2022, mPharma launched ‘Facility Insight,’ an optimized customer-centric product designed to aid clinical decision-making. The easy-to-use online platform generates real-time accurate data 24/7, including sales, profits, product reports, and other insights. The new system provides information to aid well-informed decision-making for pharmacy management.
Gregory Rockson is a Ghanaian who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and Government from both Westminster College and the University of Copenhagen. He studied Policy and International Affairs at Princeton University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Ghana.
Aside from mPharma, he is the Executive Chairman of ‘Vine Pharmaceuticals,’ and also the Executive Chairman of Holtons Limited, and was named one of the 100 Most Influential Africans in 2020 and 2022 by the New African Magazine.
A world where a mother must decide between health care for herself and educating her child is unjust. The aim of mPharma, a cutting-edge technology-driven health inventory and retail pharmacy firm operating in nine nations—Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zambia, Gabon, Rwanda, Malawi, and Uganda—is described in this quote on Gregory’s LinkedIn page.
This week marks two years since she inherited the seat from Magufuli, who died in March 2021 after a short illness. She has upended her predecessor’s policies on health, political liberties, foreign policy, education and investments and trade relations.
Last month, she struck a further conciliatory tone, allowing opposition groups to resume political rallies and those in exile to return to the country. Her predecessor Magufuli, as soon as he assumed office, banned political rallies “for the sake of development”. President Samia, on the other hand, has rallied for national unity.
“Politics is not quarrelling or insults, it is not telling lies, nor the language of mockery, slandering and incitement,” she said after she was sworn in as Tanzania’s sixth president. “Politics of this kind is not productive, it is a violation of rule of law.”
Political manoeuvres
Her speech was later followed by a series of political manoeuvres, including setting free the chairman of the main opposition party Chadema, Freeman Mbowe, and broadening the civic and political space in the country.
Mr Mbowe had been in prison for 18 months facing terrorism charges. He had been arrested under her tenure, however, something that nearly blotted her first steps. The Magufuli era was characterised by constriction of civic and political space and a violent crackdown on the opposition and the media.
President Samia did allow the banned media outlets to resume publication, even though critics have said she hasn’t helped amend the laws Magufuli introduced to squeeze the freedoms. Placing a strong emphasis on reconciliation, she was guest of honour for the International Women’s Day at the opposition Chadema party at an event in Kilimanjaro on March 8, a gesture that went down well with the nation.
Tanzania has recently seen the return of two opposition politicians, Godbless Lema and Tundu Lissu, from exile, to cheering crowds. On health, as soon as she was sworn in, Dodoma made a U-turn on its stance of denying Covid-19 existence. Magufuli had ridiculed Covid-19 protocols and barred vaccines in the country. President Samia would appoint a committee of experts to advise her on the way forward and propose measures to keep Tanzanians safe, resumed timely Covid-19 updates and launched a national campaign on the jabs.
Covid-19 jabs
The latest data shows that close to 30 million people in the country had received Covid-19 jabs, achieving a 50 percent inoculation target.
“The government continues to provide Covid-19 vaccination from across the country to curb the global pandemic outbreak. We insist that people continue taking preventative measures against the virus and all other airborne diseases,” said a Health ministry update on the pandemic. While Tanzania has free basic education, President Samia has since waived all forms of fees and contributions in government schools, including registration and exam fees, which posed a significant burden on parents in the past. She also reversed Magufuli-era policy of barring pregnant girls and teenage mothers from school, something Tanzania had been criticised for.
“Primary and secondary school students once stopped from going school due to pregnancy will be given an opportunity to return to school in the formal system,” said the then Tanzania’s Education Minister Joyce Ndalichako in Dodoma last year.
The government announced that the new policy will also apply to students who stopped classes due to truancy and other problems.
Reopened diplomatic relations
Unlike Magufuli, President Samia reopened Tanzania’s diplomatic relations with the world, and resumed Tanzania’s frequent travels by a head of state. This has seen her tour Beijing to Brussels. Dakar to Davos. Dubai to Doha, London to New York and Nairobi, Los Angeles to Kinshasa and this week, Pretoria. She helped resolved most of the petty trading quarrels with Kenya on her state visit and boosted ties across the East African Community.
Samia attended dozens of meetings from a regional level to international, in a quest of repairing old ties and cementing existing ones while at the same time building new ties. She used trips and meetings to boost Dodoma’s Foreign Direct Investment and source funds to finance Tanzania’s ambitious projects such as the standard gauge railway, the Julius Nyerere Hydropower project, roads and other projects.
Popular musician in Nigeria, Simi, known in real life as Simisola Bolatito Kosoko, has recently shared a post on the microblogging app that sparked discussions on social media.
The singer announced her intention to resign, appearing exhausted and frustrated. It wasn’t clear what the singer specifically wanted to quit.
Simi in her tweet wrote: “Sigh. I just want out.”
The singer’s tweet saw many social media users and followers talking.
Many attributed the post to the singer being tired of the current situation Nigeria is in and the many issues that surround the 2023 elections.
Read the comments below:
Remmythe05: “There’s no one Nigeria, Nigeria is a scam I reiterate. If people can not vote at liberty from anywhere in the country, there is no point in calling us one. This forceful marriage needs to be splitted.”
Cassim64760215: “my vote and my family’s votes (6) were parts of the 87 Obi got in my polling unit. The shinedus insulted us the gentle yorubas for voting Obi over Tinubu. They took our considerations for granted. They turned the party to an Igbo agenda. I regret voting for Obi. Never again.”
Abuotor: “Nigeria needs to split to Yoruba nation, Biafra, Niger-Delta, Arewa Nation. Everyone should just go their way. Now I truly believe this is best for Nigeria. And everyone should push for this and everyone can have the leaders they want”
SydneyUchenna3: “It’s tiring but there has to be a way forward surely”
A Ghanaian serial entrepreneur with a history of profitable businesses, Jesse Ghansah, has emerged as a key disruptor in the fintech sector by proposing creative ideas that are revolutionizing the continent’s financial sector.
Ghansah’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2014 when he co-founded three startups, which unfortunately discontinued after two years.
However, in 2016, he gained global recognition for his media company, OMG Digital, which was accepted into the prestigious Y Combinator startup accelerator program. OMG Digital, which owned OMGVoice and Bitnode, became known as the “BuzzFeed of Africa.”
Jesse Ghansah launched Float in 2020 to address African SMEs’ financing and cashflow issues.
After departing from OMG Digital, Ghansah shifted his focus to fintech, recognizing that financing cash flow problems presented a substantial hurdle for African small and medium-sized enterprises.
His unwavering commitment to solving these cash flow issues drove him to co-found Float (previously known as Swipe), a San Francisco-based fintech startup that provides flexible credit lines to cover cash flow gaps for SMEs in Africa, in January 2020.
Float’s innovative solutions have transformed the way businesses in various industries, including fintech, retail, manufacturing, e-commerce, media, and health, operate.
With a 26-fold increase in payment transactions, the startup has enabled hundreds of businesses to access more than $10 million in credit spending and cash advances.
With $17 million in funding secured from investors, Float is set for expansion in the fintech space
In recent times, Float has garnered the attention of institutional investors, leading to a successful seed funding round of $17 million in 2022.
The funding included a $7-million equity investment and a $10-million debt financing, with Cauris Finance leading the debt financing and JAM Fund and Tiger Global co-leading the equity financing.
Thus far, the funding round’s proceeds have been directed towards bolstering its cash management systems and launching new credit solutions tailored to specific industries.
Additionally, the company is utilizing the funds to expand its operations in Ghana and Nigeria, as well as introduce its services in Kenya and South Africa.
Ghansah’s entrepreneurial journey is a remarkable illustration of perseverance and determination in the face of adversity. Despite experiencing setbacks with three previous startups, he persisted and successfully established a thriving media company.
By bridging the financing gap for SMEs and supplying much-needed liquidity to millions of businesses across the continent, Ghansah and his team are paving the way for a more robust and sustainable African economy.
With his focus now on Float’s expansion plans, he is poised to make a significant impact on Africa’s financial technology industry.
A strong earthquake that hit Ecuador’s southern coast has left at least 12 people dead.
Following the 6.7 magnitude earthquake that struck at around noon local time, buildings have been damaged in a number of cities (17:00 GMT).
The El Oro province in the south was hardest hit, and emergency services have reported that there are still individuals trapped in fallen homes there.
Eleven deaths were in El Oro and one in Azuay province, authorities said.
Machala and Cuenca were among the cities that suffered damage to buildings and vehicles, as emergency services rushed to help people.
The epicentre was near Balao, about 50 miles (80km) from Ecuador’s second-largest city, Guayaquil, where about three million people live.
“I went out into the street because I saw people starting to run in panic, getting out of their cars,” Magaly Escandon, a business owner in Cuenca, told the AFP news agency.
President Guillermo Lasso asked Ecuadoreans to remain calm as officials assess the damage.
“Emergency teams are mobilising to offer all their support to those who have been affected,” he said.
Mr Lasso’s office also confirmed that injured people were being treated in hospital, but did not offer any further details.
Several roads have been blocked by landslides, while several homes, educational buildings and health centres have been damaged, authorities said.
One person was reported killed in the city of Cuenca after a wall collapsed onto their car, while three people died when a security camera tower came down on Jambelí Island.
There have also been reports of the earthquake being felt in several other cities, including Manabi, Manta and the capital Quito.
This is the strongest quake to hit Ecuador since 2016, when nearly 700 people died and thousands were injured.
Officials in Peru say the quake was felt in northern regions of the country, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The National Democratic Congress’ electoral strategy in the Ashanti Region, according to John Dramani Mahama, is what has recently been referred to as being a boot to boot and “do-or-die” election in 2024.
Far from being a call to violence, he informed party members, it is a call to accountability and vigilance at the elections.
The former president and NDC 2024 flagbearership aspirant told supporters in Nhyiaeso on day one of his regional campaign tour that for the NDC to win any election, its numbers in the region was very crucial.
“I have always said that victory in Ghana elections, if we are to win, Ashanti Region is very important for NDC’s victory.
“More often than not, we take it that Ashanti is not our stronghold so we relax, but the numbers we get in Ashanti is sometimes bigger than two or three regions.”
He continued: “So, we are going to do hard work in Ashanti, the boot to boot I have talked about is here. The do-or-die is here. We don’t want anyone to be cheated and we won’t allow anyone to cheat us.”
He explained: “Boot to boot means, we won’t allow you to cheat. It is like a football match in which you are using your feet with boots on but don’t want me to compete same. Let’s bring our boots together and see who gets the ball.”
Mahama reiterated the boot to boot and do-or-die mantra to party faithful in the Tain and Banda constituencies in the Bono East Region during his campaign tour last week.
”I have no doubt that NDC will win the 2024 elections. So, the vote will be a do-or-die affair and we will be matching them boot to boot at the polling station.”
Aside Mahama, other contenders for the NDC’s upcoming flagbearership contest are: Dr Kwabena Duffour businessman Ernest Kwaku Kobeah and Kojo Bonsu, former Mayor of Kumasi.
The captain of the boat that carried mourners from Azizanya to Azizakpe in the Volta Region and drowned them has been detained.
The boat that was carrying more than 40 people to a funeral in Azizakpe overturned because it was overloaded with people.
Five people were reportedly dead.
Assembly member of Azizakpe Electoral Area, Daniel Adzakpa said whereas the boat was to take about 25 people at a time, it had on board about 60 persons. He also attributed the disaster to stormy weather in the early hours of Saturday, March 18, 2023.
According to a 3news.com report, Gabriel Ajigodi who was sailing the boat at the time of the incident has been taken into custody at the Ada Foah Police Station where he is assisting with investigations.
Some survivors of the tragedy told TV3 that passengers, after realizing the situation prompted the sailor to return to the boarding point but he turned deaf ears to their pleas and insisted he would take them to their destination.
The incident is said to have happened in the middle of the journey. Mary Donuki, a survivor, lost her one-and-half-year baby.
Meanwhile, search efforts are still underway to find other survivors.
Film director and producer, Fred Nuamah, has stated that the current misunderstanding between him and John Dumelo regarding the Ayawaso West Wuogon ticket for the NDC will soon be settled.
John Dumelo would not consider the creative who has teamed up with numerous other colleagues to run for political office, specifically to represent their people in Parliament, as a friend, but rather as a brother.
According to him, the National Democratic Congress, on whose ticket they both want to run for the upcoming elections is a family, and they won’t allow politics to tear them apart.
John Dumelo who contested for the seat in the 2020 elections and lost has made his intentions of contesting the Ayawaso West Wuogon slot again.
But Fred Nuamah, a colleague in the creative industry has picked nominations to contest the same seat, which Dumelo said is “a stab in the back.”
“John is not my friend. He is my brother and I won’t allow this politics to divide us and apart from him being my brother from the other side, the NDC is one party and the matter between us is an internal matter and for all you know, we have even resolved it already,” he said on United Showbiz Friday, March
When asked of the allegations being made against him for picking the forms, he reiterated it was John’s decision to go to SALL that made him pursue his interest.
“I don’t blame John for calling me a liar and betrayer because if I explain, you’ll understand me. I did a research with my future constituents some years back when my brother decided to go to the other side (SALL it is an open secret that John made up his mind to go to SALL so I don’t want to dwell on it).
“I called my brother about two years ago and I told him I don’t want our seat here to be vacant once you’re leaving here. So even with brotherly advice my brother told me that, Fred, why not choose a different place because this place is very expensive. And I told him no because I live here I want to go for this seat. And then because of the love we do have for each other, some months ago, I heard some rumours that my brother is coming back so I picked a phone to call him and maybe he was busy so he wasn’t answering. So I started sending messages and asked him that I’ve heard you’re coming back so if that’s the case, let me back out and he said wait, I’m waiting for a certain call so when the greenlight comes then I’ll give you the go ahead.
