TIG Post

Author: Chris Kodo

  • How SMEs can access funding opportunities

    How SMEs can access funding opportunities

    Over the years, SMEs have continued to play a vital role in Ghana’s socio-economic development- creating employment opportunities, fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, boosting economic growth, skills development and capacity building among others. Despite their significant contributions to the Ghanaian economy, many small businesses face a number of challenges including lack of infrastructure, limited access to markets, inadequate entrepreneurial skills and knowledge, lack of institutional support and most importantly, limited access to financing.

    In sub-Saharan Africa, most SMEs fail as a result of lack of support from government and limited funding opportunities by traditional banks. In Ghana where we predominantly operate a traditional banking model, SMEs face barriers in securing adequate funding for their operations and expansion. This is largely as a result of the perceived problems in financing small firms have significantly hindered the role they play in the overall macroeconomic performance of the Ghanaian economy.

    Despite these barriers and other inherent challenges that continue to affect SMEs, there are still a number of ways SMEs can access funding opportunities in Ghana through various channels. Here are some ways SMEs can access funding in Ghana:

    1. Personal investment – For many entrepreneurs and business owners, they rely on personal savings and investments to fund their businesses. Before you venture into entrepreneurship, you need to have capital you can inject into the business during the first few months and years.
    2. Loans from friends & family – This is the second go-to alternative for small business owners. Small business owners who are looking for funding also rely on family and friends for support in the form of loans. Sometimes, depending on the nature of the business, some friends and family will also decide to give funds in exchange for equity or some stake in the business.
    3. Venture capitals & Angel investors – Angel investors and venture capitalists provide funding in exchange for equity or share of the business. These investors are mostly interested in startups and high growth potential businesses. In Ghana, there are angel investor networks and venture capital firms that invest in promising SMEs.
    4. Credit Line or Overdrafts – A credit line also referred to as line of credit is a financial arrangement between a borrower and a lender that establishes a maximum borrowing limit. It is a pre-approved amount of money the borrower can access on an as-needed basis. Unlike a traditional loan where the borrower receives a lump sum upfront, a credit line allows the borrower to withdraw funds as required, up to the specified limit. Normally for an SME to access a line of credit, the SME will have to have operated for more than 3 years, and have the relevant records and documentation to access a line of credit.
    5. Commercial banks & Financial institutions – Several banks in Ghana have loans which are designed for entrepreneurs and business owners at competitive rates. Many banks have specialized SME units or departments that cater to the funding needs of small businesses. Some banks also have dedicated desks which are focused on providing women business owners with funding opportunities, technical assistance, capacity building among others. In order to access funding opportunities from banks, it is critical to have a solid business plan and financial projections when approaching banks for funding.
    6. Microfinance Institutions – Microfinance institutions (MFIs) provide financial services, including small loans, to individuals and small businesses that may not meet the requirements of traditional banks. They usually have more flexible lending criteria as compared to traditional banks and promotes financial inclusion by being more accessible for SMEs in remote areas.
    7. Business Competitions & Grants – There are various grants that SMEs and business owners can apply. SMEs can participate in business competitions and apply for grants offered by organizations, both locally and internationally. These competitions and grants often focus on specific sectors and provide funding, mentorship, technical assistance and networking opportunities to beneficiaries. Organizations like Mastercard Foundation, Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, GIZ among others.
    8. Government and Development Agency Programs – Government and development agencies provide funding programs specifically designed for SMEs. These programs provide financial assistance, grants, and loans to support business growth. These include the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), the Export Development and Agriculture Investment Fund, and the Venture Capital Trust Fund.
    9. Private Equity Funds – Private equity funds mobilize money from institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals to invest in businesses. SMEs with a strong growth potential and a well-defined business model can approach private equity funds for funding.
    10. Crowdfunding Platforms – Crowdfunding platforms allow SMEs to raise funds from a large number of individuals or investors who contribute small amounts. This approach can be particularly effective for businesses with a unique product or an innovative concept. Several crowdfunding platforms operate in Ghana, such as FundRise Ghana and Oasis Capital.
    11. Development Partners and NGOs – International development partners, such as the United Nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), may offer funding opportunities for SMEs. These organizations often support projects that align with their social, economic, or environmental goals.

    When seeking funding opportunities, it is critical for SMEs to conduct extensive research and fully understand the requirements and conditions of each funding source. Having a comprehensive business plan, financial statements as well as other supporting documents that may be necessary to demonstrate the viability and potential of their business. It is also important to invest in networking and building relationships with industry associations, business support organizations, and mentors who can provide valuable connections and insights into funding opportunities in Ghana.

    Providing more funding opportunities for SMEs can go a long way to strengthen infrastructure, enhance business support services, promote entrepreneurship education and training, and create an enabling policy and regulatory environment can help unlock the potential of SMEs in Ghana.

    >>> Ramat Ebella Whajah is a Banking Executive with over a decade experience in Business Advisory, Sales, Customer Service, Branch Operations among others.  She is the Founder of Girls with Purpose Foundation, a not-for-profit community passionate about mentoring young girls and the youth to find their purpose, standout and succeed. Connect with Ramat via LinkedIn: Ramat Ebella Whajah , Email: rammy_48@yahoo.com

  • Police discover knife after 16-year-old boy fatally stabbed in Bath

    Police discover knife after 16-year-old boy fatally stabbed in Bath

    Police looking into the fatal stabbing of a teenager in Bath have discovered a weapon.

    Mikey Roynon, a 16-year-old from Kingswood, passed away last Saturday at a party in the north-west district of Weston after being stabbed just once.

    The aspiring rapper was stabbed at a home on Eastfield Avenue at around 11 p.m. He had only finished his GCSEs a few days prior.

    In the incident, a 35-year-old lady also suffered injuries.

    Fourteen teens have been arrested in the days since, with eight arrested within half an hour of the incident on a bus nearby on Lansdown Lane.

    All but a 16-year-old from Wiltshire and a 15-year-old from Dorset have been released.

    Specialist officers found a knife on Monday but Avon and Somerset Police did not say whether it was the murder weapon.

    Detective Inspector Mark Newbury, senior investigating officer, said detectives have ‘already built up a fairly good picture of what took place’.

    ‘Around 50 to 60 people, the majority of which were children, sadly witnessed things no one would want them to see.

    ‘As a result, we are working closely with our partners to ensure they have access to support, including specialist counselling.’

    Newbury stressed that people should not share any photographs or videos of the incident on social media.

    ‘It can be an offence to identify anyone who witnessed all or part of the incident as well as those who have been arrested,’ he added.

    ‘I’d also like to remind people of the impact the sharing of images, footage or even discussing the incident online may have on Mikey’s family.

    ‘They are already going through the most difficult of times and you may cause them further upset.’

    In a joint statement yesterday, Bath & North East Somerset Council and Avon and Somerset Police said the killing has touched off a wave of fear among families.

    Children’s services are to hand for any children, parents and guardians who need support, the police agencies added.

    ‘It goes without saying that this is a deeply concerning incident and there are undoubtedly worries which you as parents, schools and wider communities will have following this tragedy,’ it said.

  • British tourists boost economic growth in UK

    British tourists boost economic growth in UK

    After receiving a boost from increased British consumer spending in restaurants, stores, and bars, the UK economy recovered in April.

    Following a 0.3% decline in March, the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.2% for the month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

    The most recent statistic was in line with economists’ projections for the month.

    The improvement in consumer-facing services, which increased 1% in April as more Britons spent money on eating out and drinking, contributed to the increase.

    ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan said: ‘GDP bounced back after a weak March.

    ‘Bars and pubs had a comparatively strong April, while car sales rebounded and education partially recovered from the effect of the previous month’s strikes.’

    The statistics body said the overall services industry grew by 0.3% for the month, as it recovered from a 0.5% decline in March.

    However, some of the positive impact of improved hospitality and retail spending was offset by industrial action affecting other sectors, such as healthcare.

    Mr Morgan added: ‘These were partially offset by falls in health, which was affected by the junior doctors strikes, along with falls in computer manufacturing and the often-erratic pharmaceuticals industry.

    ‘House-builders and estate agents also had a poor month.’

    The weak performance from house-builders and estate agents comes amid a backdrop of surging interest rates, which have lifted to a 14-year-high of 4.5% and are expected to keep rising.

    The construction sector reported a 0.6% decline in output for the month.

    Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: ‘We are growing the economy, with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) saying that from 2025 we will grow faster than Germany, France and Italy.

    ‘But high growth needs low inflation, so we must stick relentlessly to our plan to halve the rate this year to protect family budgets.’

    Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: ‘Despite our country’s huge potential and promise, today is another day in the dismal low-growth record book of this Conservative Government.

    ‘The facts remain that families are feeling worse off, facing a soaring Tory mortgage penalty and we’re lagging behind on the global stage.’

    Kitty Ussher, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, said: “’April’s GDP data shows a recovery in consumer-facing services compared to March, with growth recorded in retail and wholesale trade, accommodation, food and beverage services, and transport.

    ‘This suggests that households responded to the improving weather in April by raising their levels of discretionary spending – even in the face of rising costs.

    ‘Businesses in the consumer-facing sectors will be encouraged by today’s data.

    ‘However, the Bank of England may interpret it as proof that their interest rate hikes have not yet dampened demand enough to reduce inflationary pressure, particularly when combined with yesterday’s strong labour market performance.’

  • Families of Nottingham student fatalities hold hands during a painful vigil

    Families of Nottingham student fatalities hold hands during a painful vigil

    A ceremony held in honour of the victims of a terrible incident in Nottingham drew sizable crowds.

    Both 19-year-old college students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar were fatally stabbed in the early hours of yesterday.

    After being stabbed and having his van taken, school maintenance worker Ian Coates, 65, was discovered dead shortly after.

    A 31-year-old man was detained after being apprehended on suspicion of murder; three additional individuals were hurt.

    The families of both students killed in the incident arrived holding hands together alongside thousands of others outside the university this afternoon.

    Heartbreaking images showed their parents, siblings and relatives embracing one another before several people spoke to those gathered.

    University of Nottingham’s chaplain reverend Grant Walton opened the vigil with an emotional statement. 

    He said: ‘This is one of those moments that we hope to never encounter, but which forces its way into our lives and leaves a trail of destruction that we could never imagine.

    ‘Thank you for being here; students and staff of the university, community members, most especially the family and friends of our precious Grace and Barney who have travelled many hours to be with us.

    ‘The main point of being here is for us to talk with one another – not to be talked at. 

    ‘To begin to process our grief, our feelings of trauma as individuals and as a community.’

    Barnaby’s father, David Webber, said: ‘I can’t comprehend how I’m going to deal with it – myself and Emma and Charlie and his family and friends.

    ‘I know Barney would be super touched by everyone that’s here. He loved it here.

    ‘He couldn’t wait to come back, it drove me mad, but his heart will be with you guys forever.

    ‘Thank you so much. I really can’t talk much more.’

    Grace’s father said: ‘Everyone here, I really want to thank you for your support, for taking the time to be here. All of you guys that I see – the sea of people – is such a lovely sign of the university and the bond you have.

    ‘Grace was also like Barney, she loved coming up to Nottingham. In-fact we couldn’t get her down. We asked her last week and she said, “well after she’s had a few more sessions”.

    ‘The love we have out here, I wish we had it everywhere. Look after each other, that’s the big thing. Look after your friends and look after people around you. This is so important.

    ‘Grace and her friend, they fell together. You need to be friends with everyone and you need to love everyone. I wish we had more of it.

    ‘But most of all, everyone here, I really thank you for being here and taking the time. It means so much to my wife and me.

    ‘Grace loved all of you and you should all feel very blessed. You all touched her life and hence ours. You will never be forgotten by us.

    ‘We had children who were taken away prematurely. That should never happen to any parent.

    ‘All I can say is thank you and look after each other.’

    University of Nottingham’s student union community officer Daisy Forster said the deaths of first-year students Grace and Barnaby are a ‘monumental loss’.

    She said: ‘The shock waves echo thorough our student community.’

    Ms Forster paid her condolences to the sports teams and told their families and friends: ‘We will always be here when you need us. It is okay to cry, it is okay not to.’

    Shearer West, the university vice chancellor, said: ‘What should have been a time of celebration and relaxation following the exam period has become a time to mourn tragic loss in the most unimaginable of circumstances.’

    Tributes were issued by the families before the vigil today. 

    Barnaby, a talented young cricketer from Taunton, Somerset, was in his first year studying history.

    His family said: ‘Complete devastation is not enough to describe our pain and loss at the senseless murder of our son.

    ‘Barnaby Philip John Webber was a beautiful, brilliant, bright young man, with everything in life to look forward to. He was a talented and passionate cricketer, who was over the moon to have made selection to his university cricket team.

    ‘At 19 he was just at the start of his journey into adulthood and was developing into a wonderful young man.

    ‘As parents we are enormously proud of everything he achieved and all the plans he had made.

    ‘His brother is bereft beyond belief, and at this time we ask for privacy as a family to be allowed time to process and grieve.

    ‘We will not be making any further statements, particularly in relation to the police investigation. We are so proud to release this photograph, chosen by us as a family, of an amazing son, brother, grandson, nephew, and friend.

    ‘Thank you for your understanding, and to everyone who has supported us in this awful journey so far.’

    Grace, who was a first-year medical student and talented hockey player was described as ‘a popular member of the England U16 and U18 squads’ who played for the uni.

    Her family said: ‘Grace was an adored daughter and sister; she was a truly wonderful and beautiful young lady.

    ‘Grace was not just a sister to James but his best friend. He is completely heartbroken.

    ‘As parents, words cannot explain our complete and utter devastation. She will be so dearly missed.

    ‘We were so incredibly proud of Grace’s achievements and what a truly lovely person she was. She was resilient and wise beyond her years.

    ‘Grace was so happy in life fulfilling her ambition of studying to become a doctor whilst playing topflight hockey at university.

    ‘She leaves behind devastated extended family and friends. We request that all media outlets stop invading our privacy while we face this sorrow.’

    Mr Coates’s family has asked for their privacy to be respected at this difficult time.

    CCTV footage showed the suspect reportedly trying to climb into a homeless hostel moments before carrying out a vicious attack.

  • Actor Agya Koo supports Ken Agyapong’s presidential ambition

    Actor Agya Koo supports Ken Agyapong’s presidential ambition

    Renowned Ghanaian actor, Kofi Adu, popularly known in showbiz as Agya Koo, has publicly expressed his support for the presidential ambitions of Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong. 

    Agya Koo, known for his influential roles in the Ghanaian film industry, has praised Agyapong’s leadership qualities and believes that his vision aligns with the future prosperity of the nation.

    In an interview on YouTube Channel Official.AgyaKoo, the actor disclosed that his interactions with the Assin Central MP have shown him that the latter genuinely cares about the country. Agya Koo believes Mr Agyapong’s vision aligns with the future prosperity of the nation. 

    Agya Koo (L) Ken Agyapong (R)

    Speaking in the local parlance as he usually does, Agya Koo said, “During my engagements with Ken Agyapong, I realized that he is not seeking power to come and loot the country’s resources. Rather, he wants to leave a legacy as a businessman who made an impact in his country.”

    Kennedy Agypaong, all things being equal, will be contesting in the New Patriotic Party’s flagbearership race scheduled for November 4, 2023. 

    Mr Agyapong will be contesting with the likes of Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Former Trades Minister, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, former Minister of Energy, Boakye Agyarko, who was the first to pick the form, a former NPP General Secretary and presidential spokesperson, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong; a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Mampong, Francis Addai-Nimoh; a former Minister of State, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, and a former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, among others.

    Among the 10 candidates who have so far picked their nomination forms, Agya Koo, known for his influential roles in the Ghanaian film industry, believes Mr Agyapong is Ghana’s best bet when it comes to the next leader of the country. 

    He praised Mr Agyapong’s leadership qualities, commending him for the numerous jobs he has created for the people of the country. 

    The actor also praised Agyapong’s track record as a dedicated legislator who fearlessly champions the interests of the Ghanaian people. 

    “He has opened and is still opening a lot of businesses and employing people as well. He has also supported a number of development projects,” he said.

    In the interview, Agya Koo passionately endorsed Agyapong’s bid for the presidency, highlighting his unwavering commitment to the development and progress of Ghana. 

    The actor praised Agyapong’s track record as a dedicated legislator who fearlessly champions the interests of the Ghanaian people. He thus appealed to Ghanaians, especially NPP delegates, to support Mr Agyapong. 

    This is not the first time Agya Koo has thrown his weight behind a presidential aspirant.

    He was a keen campaigner for President Akufo-Addo when he was still nurturing his hopes and dreams of becoming a president in 2016 and 2022.

  • UK among other countries to ban vape advertising to protect young people

    UK among other countries to ban vape advertising to protect young people

    Health researchers argue that it is necessary to outlaw vape advertisements because they are ‘overpowering’ young people.

    The George Institute for Global Health polled 4,000 people in the UK, China, India, and Australia between the ages of 15 and 30; they discovered that young Britons were the second-most vulnerable to vapes and most exposed to vaping advertisements.

    According to the report, millions of people are also misinformed about the potential health dangers.

    Nearly a third of the sample did not think e-cigarettes were hazardous, and more than a quarter did not think they were addicted.

    While studies show vaping is far less harmful than smoking, nicotine is known to be highly addictive and harmful chemicals have been found in unregulated vapes.

    Health bodies have repeatedly said there is not yet enough information to rule out long-term side effects even when sticking to tried-and-tested major brands.

    In contrast, young Australians were much more likely to believe vapes are addictive (87%) or harmful (83%).

    The government says it’s cracking down on ‘unacceptable’ marketing of vapes to children (Picture: Getty)

    Around 62% of young Brits were found to be susceptible to vapes, compared to 61% of young Indians, 54% of young Australians and 82% of young Chinese people.

    Susceptibility was measured by whether respondents were curious about vaping (55% of Brits), intended to use one in the next year (41%) or would try one if offered by a friend (50%).

    Some 63% of respondents in the UK said they had seen e-cigarettes advertised, higher than those in Australia (30%), India (47%) and China (51%).

    Prof Simone Pettigrew, the study’s lead author, said: ‘While some types of promotion of these products is prohibited, advertising on posters, billboards, and buses is still prevalent in the UK.

    ‘A complete ban on e-cigarette advertising should be considered, as it is clearly influencing young people’s attitudes towards these addictive and potentially harmful products.’

    The countries surveyed have starkly laws around vape use and advertising in the surveyed countries, with the UK being the most relaxed.

    Australia currently requires people to have a prescription to buy nicotine vapes, though they are relatively easy to buy on the black market.

    Meanwhile, China has banned the sale of vapes with flavours other than tobacco as well as vapes which allow users to load their own flavours.

    Producing, importing or advertising vapes is illegal in India, with offenders facing at least a year in prison.

  • Nottingham incident leaves three dead and one man in custody

    Nottingham incident leaves three dead and one man in custody

    Three people were killed and a couple were run over on the street in Nottingham city centre this morning; a guy has been taken into custody.

    Just after 4 in the morning, police were called to Ilkeston Road where two bodies had been discovered in the roadway.

    Witnesses reported hearing ‘blood-curdling’ screams and seeing a young guy and lady being stabbed near to the intersection with Bright Street.

    The man, who did not give his name, said he looked out of his window to see a ‘black guy dressed all in black with a hood and rucksack grappling with some people’.

    He said: ‘She was screaming ‘Help!’ I just wish I’d shouted something out of the window to unnerve the assailant.

    Police dealing with ‘ongoing serious incident’ in Nottingham

    ‘I saw him stab the lad first and then the woman. It was repeated stabbing – four or five times. The lad collapsed in the middle of the road.

    ‘The girl stumbled towards a house and didn’t move. The next minute she had disappeared down the side of a house, and that’s where they found her.

    ‘I’d say it all happened within five or six minutes. The attacker then just walked off up Ilkeston Road towards town, as calm as anything.’

    The man said he called the police, who arrived within five minutes, before paramedics tried for 40 minutes to revive the pair.

    Officers were then called to another incident in Milton Street where a van had attempted to run over three people. They are currently being treated in hospital.

    A man has also been found dead in Magdala Road.

    Police have arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of murder and he remains in police custody.

    A student told GB News: ‘We woke up at about 5.30am this morning to what sounded like gunshots.

    ‘We ran to the window and there were armed police running out of what looked like an undercover car.

    ‘Then the suspect was in a van and was tasered and dragged out and then later arrested.

    ‘We didn’t see any shots but it sounded like them and the glass is all smashed in the van.

    ‘He was taken out the van and he had the cuffs on him and he was arrested.

    ‘We saw a man pinned down on the ground and more armed police turned up.’

    ‘They searched the back of the van and they pulled an absolutely massive knife out the back of the van.’

    Pictures of the arrest show a white Vauxhall Vivaro with two cracks in the windscreen as cops detained the suspect.

    It comes as witness claims they heard gunshots following the tragedy.

    Police activity continued in various locations along Ilkeston Road, with parts of the street cordoned off and armed officers deployed, some of whom came from Derbyshire Police and South Yorkshire Polic

    Later today two women were taken away from one commercial property in a police van shortly before 1pm.

    A terraced property was also under police guard, with staff at a neighbouring hairdresser saying it had been raided last year.

    A 31-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in relation to the attacks. It is understood that he has a mental health history.

    Unverified footage showed a man being detained outside a convenience store in Bentinck Road at around 5.30am on Tuesday.

    Student Demi Ojolow, who lives in the road, said: ‘I just saw the police shouting at him to get out of the car and get on the floor.

    ‘And they dragged him out of the car and he just fell on the floor. He was still pretty wrestling at the point.

    ‘They dragged him away and that was about it.’

    Ms Ojolow said police were pointing some kind of weapons at the man but she was not sure whether it was a Taser or firearm.

    Damage could be seen to the bonnet and windscreen of the van which was left at the scene.

    Road closures have been put in place covering a wide area of Nottingham city centre, including Ilkeston Road, Milton Street, Maples Street and Woodborough Road, from the junction with Magdala Road into the city, Magdala Road and Maid Marian Way at the junction of Parliament Street.

    The tram network was also disrupted with all services suspended on the Nottingham Express Transit (NET) as the police investigation continued.

    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak thanked the emergency services for their response to the ‘shocking incident’, adding: ‘My thoughts are with those injured, and the family and loved ones of those who have lost their lives.’

    Home Secretary Suella Braverman also expressed her shock at the deaths, and said she is receiving regular updates from Nottinghamshire Police.

    Another witness, Lynn Haggitt, told Channel 4 News she saw a van hitting two people at around 5.30am near the Theatre Royal.

    ‘I saw a van pull up at the side of me,’ she said. ‘It was white, all white. There was a police car behind it, coming up slowly, no flashing lights.

    ‘The man in the driver’s seat looked in his mirror and saw the police car behind him.’

    She said the white van then drove up to ‘the corner of the street and went into two people’.

    ‘The lady ended up on the kerb, and then he backed up the white van and he went… speeded up Parliament Street with the police cars following him,’ Ms Haggitt added.

    The man who was hit suffered a head injury but got to his feet, while the woman was sitting on the kerb, she told the broadcaster.

    Both Nottingham Fire and Rescue and East Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed they were also dealing with the aftermath of the attacks.

    Nottinghamshire Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: ‘This is a horrific and tragic incident which has claimed the lives of three people.

    ‘We believe these three incidents are all linked and we have a man in custody.

    ‘This investigation is at its early stages and a team of detectives is working to establish exactly what has happened.

    ‘We ask the public to be patient while inquiries continue. At this time, a number of roads in the city will remain closed as this investigation progresses.’

    The force has not yet commented on whether the attacks are being treated as terrorism.

  • More than 100 killed in Nigeria wedding tragedy as boat capsizes in crocodile-infested river

    More than 100 killed in Nigeria wedding tragedy as boat capsizes in crocodile-infested river

    A boat capsized in Nigeria, killing over one hundred passengers.

    Following the tragedy on the River Niger early yesterday, according to police, the hunt for survivors has become more active.

    Okasanmi Ajayi, spokesman for the Kwara state police, reported that incident took place near to the adjoining Niger state.

    According to the Nigerian Tribune, it’s believed that the boat was momentarily overwhelmed by the river’s waves before colliding with a tree.

    The victims, including women and children, were returning from an overnight wedding ceremony in the village of Egboti in Niger state, said local resident Usman Ibrahim.

    It was not clear if there were any survivors.

    Mr Ibrahim said: ‘People in the boat were to take their bikes to their various communities (upon disembarking). The boat was carrying more than 100 people when it sank.’

    He said that many drowned because the accident happened at around 3am and not many knew of it until hours later.

    He added: ‘Up until now, some dead bodies are still being searched (for).’

    On Tuesday, officials and local people were still searching for bodies in the river, which is one of Nigeria’s largest.

    Boat accidents are common in many remote communities across Nigeria where locally made vessels are commonly used for transport.

    Most accidents are attributed to overloading and the use of poorly maintained boats.

    The Niger River is home to at least three different types of crocodiles, including the much-feared Nile crocodile.

  • Putin’s top scientist claims nuclear weapons will preserve humanity

    Putin’s top scientist claims nuclear weapons will preserve humanity

    In order to defeat “the will of the west,” a renowned political scientist close to Vladimir Putin has called for Russia to utilise nuclear weapons.

    Putin-friendly Professor Sergei Karaganov is a highly esteemed authority on foreign affairs.

    He has weirdly asserted that nuclear weapons will “save humanity” and prevent the west from continuing to back Ukraine in their current conflict.

    Putin, according to him, must make sure “the west’s will to incite and support the Kyiv junta is broken.”

    Karaganov added: ‘It is necessary that the west simply “back off” and not prevent Russia and the world from moving forward.’

    He said nuclear strikes should be unleashed if other countries don’t stop supplying weapons to Ukraine, adding people need to be warned of ‘the need to leave their places of residence near objects that could become targets of nuclear strikes in countries that provide direct support to the Kyiv regime’.

    Karaganov claimed western countries have lost the ‘fear of hell’ or ‘Armageddon’ which could result from full-scale nuclear war.

    He added: ‘The enemy must know that we are ready to strike a preemptive retaliatory strike for all of his current and past aggressions in order to prevent a slide into a global thermonuclear war.

    ‘The fear of nuclear escalation must be restored. Otherwise humanity is doomed.

    ‘But what if they don’t back down [and if the West has] completely lost your sense of self-preservation?

    ‘Then [Russia] will have to hit a group of targets in a number of countries in order to bring those who have lost their minds to their senses.

    ‌’This is a morally terrible choice – we use the weapons of God, dooming ourselves to severe spiritual losses.

    ‌’But if this is not done, not only Russia may perish, but, most likely, the entire human civilisation will end.

    ‌’We will have to make this choice.’

    Karaganov, 70, admitted in an article for Profile magazine that the Russian invasion of Ukraine had so far failed to take control, costing thousands of lives.

    He said: ‘We can fight for another year or two or three, sacrificing thousands and thousands of our best men and grinding tens and hundreds of thousands of people who fell into a tragic historical trap of the inhabitants of the territory that is now called Ukraine.

    ‘This military operation cannot end with a decisive victory without imposing a strategic retreat or even capitulation on the west.

    ‌’We must force the west to give up trying to turn back history, give up its attempts at global dominance and force it to take care of itself, digesting its current multi-level crisis.

    ‘We will have to restore the credibility of nuclear deterrence by lowering the unacceptably high threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, prudently but quickly moving up the deterrence-escalation ladder.

    ‘By breaking the west’s will to aggression, we will not only save ourselves, finally liberate the world from the western yoke that has lasted five centuries, but we will also save all of humanity.’

    Karaganov once claimed that Russia is a ‘genetically authoritarian power’ as a result of the country’s history which has ‘informed our genetic code’.

  • More than 78 individuals killed as boat carrying 700 people capsizes

    More than 78 individuals killed as boat carrying 700 people capsizes

    A boat sank off the southern coast of Greece, leaving at least 78 people dead and hundreds more still missing at sea.

    According to local media, the ship capsized 45 miles south-west of the Peloponnese region with 700 passengers on board.

    Since then, dozens more bodies have been pulled from the river, and the awful death toll is rising every hour.

    The boat, which is thought to have been loaded with migrants and to have left from the port city of Tobruk in eastern Libya, is thought to have been travelling towards Italy.

    A search and rescue operation is underway, but it remains unclear how many are missing at sea, the Greek coast guard said.

    Authorities confirmed that 104 people have been rescued so, including four who were taken to hospital with symptoms of hypothermia.

    Six coast guard vessels, a navy frigate, a military transport plane, a helicopter, and several private vessels from the European Union border protection agency Frontex are taking part in the ongoing search.

    The Italian coast guard first alerted authorities and Frontex about the approaching vessel on Tuesday.

    Traffickers are increasingly taking dangerously overloaded boats into international waters off the Greek mainland to try to avoid local coast guard patrols.

    This comes after 90 migrants on a US-flagged yacht were rescued in the area after they made a distress call on Sunday.

    Separately, a yacht with more than 70 migrants on board was towed to a port on the south coast of Greece’s island of Crete after authorities received a distress call.

  • Is Shatta Wale planning to venture into stand-up comedy?

    Is Shatta Wale planning to venture into stand-up comedy?

    Ghanaian dancehall artiste Shatta Wale, has hinted of the possibility of hosting a stand-up comedy show, creating a wave of anticipation among his fans.

    Taking to Twitter, the sensational artiste shared an unexpected announcement that has gotten netizens excited.

    In a tweet, he playfully pondered, “Should I give comedy a shot? I want to hear your thoughts. But first, you’ll need to grab your tickets!”

    Shatta Wale, although renowned for his captivating performances and chart-topping music, is bent on pushing boundaries and exploring new horizons.

    If this is a serious move, it will mean another journey into comedy, inspired by the laughter-inducing moments he creates during his notorious live videos, as claimed by his fans.

    Since unveiling his idea to venture into the world of comedy, Shatta Wale’s loyal fan base and the general public have expressed curiosity.

    Fans wasted no time in responding to his tweet, expressing their excitement and eager anticipation for this potential new endeavour.

  • Hilda Baci, as Guinness World Record holder, will enjoy these 7 benefits

    Hilda Baci, as Guinness World Record holder, will enjoy these 7 benefits

    Chef Hilda Baci was on Tuesday, June 13, confirmed as the Guinness World Record holder for the longest cooking marathon by an individual.

    She beat the past record holder, Indian chef Lata Tondon, by 93 hours and 11 minutes with over 100 pots of food, in her four days in the kitchen.

    The 27-year-old Nigerian chef, having received the record wept and thanked the Guinness World Record for the confirmation.

    As a record holder, here are seven benefits Hilda Baci will receive as stated by Legitng.com.

    1.Highly valued certificate

    The Guinness World Records will award her with a certificate to officially recognize her achievement. This will be evidence of her participation and successful attempt.

    2. Global visibility

    Hilda will be featured on the Guinness World Records website and social media platforms, reaching millions of people around the world. This will give her exposure and fame.

    3. Source of inspiration

    The Nigerian chef will become a source of inspiration to other young women across the world including in her home country.

    Her feat will also enable other countries to learn more about Nigerian cuisine.

    4. Monetary value

    Her restaurant, ‘My Food by Hilda’ will become a tourist site were many foreigners will patronize her earning her massive customers and fans. Her restaurant which is located in the hub of Lagos state, Nigeria offers variety of intercontinental and continental dishes..

    5. Lifelong value

    Having emerged as the Guinness World Record holder, Hilda Baci will receive massive endorsement deals from companies who will be looking to work with her.

    6. Touring around the world

    She will have the opportunity to tour the world, meet notable people, appear on TV shows, all these can benefit her financially.

    7. Monetization through authorship

    If willing, Hilda Baci may make a fortune by releasing her own cook book, telling her story in a book or a tv show.

  • Police commence inquiry into accident involving NPP Bono East Regional Chairman

    Police commence inquiry into accident involving NPP Bono East Regional Chairman

    The Ghana Police Service has announced that it has commenced an investigation into an accident involving the Bono East Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ibrahim Baba Bukhari.

    In a statement issued on Wednesday, June 14, 2013, the police urged the public to remain calm as it investigates the circumstances surrounding the accident.

    It added that the driver of the Daewoo truck, which was involved in the accident is assisting with the investigations.

    “The Police are investigating a motor accident involving a motorbike and a Daewoo truck with registration number GX 3489-14 at Assin – Breku in the Central Region.

    “The accident which occurred on 12th June 2023 resulted in severe injury to one victim, Ibrahim Abubakar Musah who was immediately sent to hospital for medical attention.

    “Meanwhile, the driver of the Daewoo truck, George Owusu, is currently on Police Enquiry Bail and assisting the investigation. We urge the public to remain calm while investigation into the incident continues,” parts of the statement by the police read.

    GhanaWeb earlier reported that the NPP Bono East Regional Chairman, Ibrahim Baba Bukhari, is in critical condition following his involvement in a ghastly car crash at Akomfode in the Assin North District.

    Bukhari was reportedly returning from a campaign trip at Assin Ninkyiso and was heading towards Assin Fosu when the motorbike he was travelling with ran into the rear end of a Daewoo truck with registration number GX-3489-14 which was being escorted by Assin Fosu-based forestry commission personnel.

    Eyewitness reports suggest that the accident occurred when he speedily tried to overtake the Daewoo truck.

    He was rushed to the local CHPS compound for first aid and was later referred to St. Francis Xavier Hospital in Assin Fosu.

    A military aircraft was called to transport the victim to Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra for further treatment following a referral by the doctors at St. Francis Xavier Hospital in Assin Fosu due to the severity of the injuries.

    View the police statement below:

  • Free SHS killing us – Kojo Bonsu

    Free SHS killing us – Kojo Bonsu

    A former Mayor of Kumasi and businessman, Kojo Bonsu, has questioned the New Patriotic Party (NPP) about the methods it used in implementing the Free SHS policy despite the country’s economic woes.

    The politician said that even if one wants to venture into Free SHS, it shouldn’t be 100 percent. A part payment will suffice.

    The former Mayor of Kumasi was speaking in an interview with Ghanaweb TV.

    In the interview, the politician said that Free SHS under Ghana’s current economic climate is not doable.

    “Who told them to come and do free SHS? …that’s what is killing us,” Kojo said.

    “If the children are not going to school, you give part of school fees payment or find a way of handling it and get more people into going to school than to go 100 percent free SHS; tuition free, accommodation free, everything, school uniforms free. It’s something, I mean, you can’t do it.

    The opposition National Democratic Congress in the lead-up to the 2020 general elections, promised to review the Free SHS policy if the party is elected into power.

    While the opposition argued for a need to review the policy to adjust to the nation’s financial standing, the ruling New Patriotic Party, on the other hand, equated the NDC’s position to a call for the cancellation of the policy.

    The ruling New Patriotic Party, however, maintains that there will be no cancellation of the Free SHS policy.

  • Price of food is making people suffer in Ghana – Black Sherif

    Price of food is making people suffer in Ghana – Black Sherif

    Black Sherif, the current reigning Vodafone Ghana Music Awards Artiste of the Year, also known as Blacko, has voiced his concerns regarding the high cost of food and other factors that are causing hardships for Ghanaians.

    In a recent interview, the young Ghanaian artist acknowledged the country’s difficulties.

    He claims that rising prices for food, gas, and inflation are causing people to suffer.

    “There’s so much hardship going on in Ghana, economically, and politically. People are suffering from inflation. They can’t afford petrol or food,” he said.

    “But then when the sun sets, everyone comes out in a crowd like, ‘yeah, man, we’re outsiddee!’ So, it’s like there are so many complaints, but from night to dawn we are in the moment.”

    “I kind of talk for a frustrated figure in the city, a frustrated boy. I’m not from the city, but I live in the city. I came to chase life and dream there. From love to entertainment to survival. Driving out there, I’m testing my limits,”

  • I have an upcoming collaboration with Sarkodie -Amakye Dede

    I have an upcoming collaboration with Sarkodie -Amakye Dede

    Ghanaian highlife legend, Amakye Dede, who has dedicated decades to the music industry, revealed that he has a new collaboration in the works with Ghanaian rapper, Sarkodie.

    The “Iron Boy” hitmaker, expressed his intention to continue his music career for the foreseeable future, highlighting his ongoing passion for creating music.

    He credited his early experience and work in Festac, Nigeria, as the foundation for his captivating live performances in Ghana.

    With a career spanning numerous years, the veteran musician emphasized his unwavering commitment to music.

    “I’ve been in the music industry for decades, and I have no plans to stop yet. Music is ingrained in me, and I am deeply connected to it. No one taught me how to write music,” he stated.

    Recalling his humble beginnings, Amakye Dede recounted auditioning to join Akwasi Ampofo Agyei’s crew and impressing the veteran musician with his rendition of one of his songs.

    This led to him being hired on the spot. Amakye Dede acknowledged the significant influence of Akwasi Ampofo Agyei, his mentor, during the nearly five years they worked together.

    He expressed gratitude for the valuable lessons learned and the trust placed in him, attributing his exemplary lifestyle to gaining the respect and guidance of his master.

  • 97 illegal loan providing mobile apps you should stay away from

    97 illegal loan providing mobile apps you should stay away from

    The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has cautioned the public against engaging in transactions with some 97 unlicensed entities that are engaged in the provision of loans through mobile applications to the Ghanaian public.

    Below is a list of loan  applications offered on the market without a licence or authorisation from Bank of Ghana.

    1. Flash Cash
    2. Accra
    3. GhLending
    4. MoLoan
    5. Rapidcedi
    6. 100 Cedi
    7. Cedi Help
    8. Mascedi Consult
    9. Cediboom
    10. CashLoanPro
    11. Aircash
    12. Akwaaba Payment
    13. FourCredy
    14. Ghanalending
    15. AcornCredit
    16. Gana Loan
    17. Mach Loans Ghana
    18. Mbose
    19. Sika Bus
    20. Ultra Loan FundCedi Ghana
    21. Loan App
    22. Mika Cash Loan App
    23. New Loan Ghana
    24. Zip Loan Onloan/WantCAsh
    25. Credit Ghana App
    26. Bloomcash
    27. Home Credit
    28. Akwaaba Cash Agyenkwasika-
    29. Personal loan
    30. Cash Way 
    31. Momo cash loans
    32. Prime Loans
    33. Easy Access Loans 
    34. Cashpal Online Loan 
    35. Happy Loan
    36. Money Loan App 
    37. Plus Loan
    38. Mega Credit
    39. Boeing Cash
    40. Lemon Wallet
    41. Koko Cash
    42. Cola Cash/Cash Cola 
    43. Rapid money
    44. Cash Star
    45. Loan Galaxy
    46. Bitcash
    47. Ukash
    48. Funcash
    49. HelloCedi Sunny Cash/Sunny
    50. Loan
    51. Goldminer 
    52. Enjoy Credit 
    53. Cedi Wallet 
    54. Pro Kash
    55. Cedi Fie 
    56. HelaCash 
    57. Daily Cash 
    58. FiCash 
    59. Sikadua 
    60. PK Loans
    61. Quick Cash
    62. True Cedi
    63. Robin Personal Loan 
    64. Kudi Credit
    65. 1 Rapid cedi
    66. Cedistory
    67. Steadycash
    68. Soft kash
    69. Easy Kash
    70. DatesCash
    71. Boseapa
    72. YooCash
    73. Fufucredit
    74. TopCredit
    75. DeriveCash
    76. Eagle Cash
    77. Cash wave
    78. cud loan
    79. smatloan
    80. LoanPapa
    81. CoolCash 
    82. MoLoan 
    83. Rapid Cedi 
    84. cedifie
    85. MOCO
    86. Sikakasa 
    87. Chasteloan 
    88. Joy Cash
    89. Cocoaloan 
    90. Popcash 
    91. Loan hub 
    92. Creditmall 
    93. cedipros 
    94. Momcash 
    95. GETwallet
    96. Keeploan 
    97. CashCocoa
  • Abuja restaurant threatens lawsuit against Hilda Baci

    Abuja restaurant threatens lawsuit against Hilda Baci

    Vibe By Ann’s, an Abuja restaurant management, has issued a legal warning to Hilda Bassey Effiong, the renowned chef who broke the Guinness World Record, widely recognized as Hilda Baci. The restaurant alleges a breach of a previously signed agreement and threatens to pursue a lawsuit.

    The restaurant reportedly signed an agreement with Baci for a ‘Meet and Greet’ session with her fans.

    According to a viral flier that recently surfaced on the Internet, Baci allegedly charged N25,000 for personal meet-ups, live cooking, and food tasting in Abuja on June 24, 2023, at Vibe by Ann’s restaurant.

    Reacting to the flier, the world record chef, in a post via her social media page on Friday, cancelled the ‘meet and greet’ session, clarifying that she did not ask anyone to pay such an amount of money.

    She wrote: “Hi everyone. This is to inform everyone that I’m not doing any meet and greet in Abuja. I would also never ask anyone to pay for such.”

    Reacting to her denial, the management of the restaurant, in a statement, said: “We regret to inform you that the highly anticipated event, scheduled to take place on 24th June 2023, has been cancelled. We extend our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused you, our esteemed customers.”

    Sharing the receipt of N3m paid to Baci, the management wrote: “Arrangements for this event were already concluded, as both parties agreed to put out publications for the event after an advanced payment was made to Miss Hilda Bassey.

    “However, Hilda Bassey suddenly denied publicly having any prior knowledge of the event. Her conduct has negatively affected our reputation as a brand. Consequently, we are taking all necessary legal steps towards ensuring that justice is seen to have been done in this matter.”

  • Portable confirms marriage to actress Ashabi

    Portable confirms marriage to actress Ashabi


    Nigerian singer Habeeb Okikiola, also known as Portable, has officially confirmed his marriage to actress Akinyanju Omobolarinde, professionally known as Ashabi Simple.

    It would be recalled that the singer had days ago welcomed his fifth child with his fourth baby mama, actress Ashabi Simple.

    Speaking during the naming ceremony on Tuesday in a video shared on the internet, Portable confirmed his marriage with the upcoming Yoruba actress.

    He said: “A stubborn child has eventually become a housewife. She is now a housewife. Praise Allah.”

    In a post on social media, the singer had earlier disclosed plans to have 12 wives before he clocks 40.

    He said: “I’m not up to 30 years, I already have six wives with many children. Before I reach 40, my housewives would be up to a dozen (12). I just want to inform you so you would be aware.”

  • Hilda’s cook-a-thon crashed our website – Guinness World Records

    Hilda’s cook-a-thon crashed our website – Guinness World Records

    The Guinness World Records has announced that Nigerian chef Hilda Effiong Bassey, also known as Hilda Baci, successfully crashed their website for two consecutive days with her remarkable cook-a-thon event.

    A representative of the record body disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday while officially certifying Hilda as the new record holder for the longest cooking marathon by an individual.

    The representative said their website crashed because of the immense volume of traffic received from Hilda’s legion of loyal fans.

    “Hilda’s cook-a-thon was in fact so popular that our website crashed for two days due to the immense volume of traffic we received from her legion of loyal fans,” the rep said.

    It is reported that Guinness World Record failed to certify Hilda’s 100-hour-kitchen stint, acknowledging just 93 hours 11 minutes.

    The record body said it deducted seven hours from her record because “she mistakenly took extra minutes for one of her rest breaks early on in the attempt.”

  • Akufo-Addo highlights energy infrastructure investment as catalyst for industrialisation in Ghana

    Akufo-Addo highlights energy infrastructure investment as catalyst for industrialisation in Ghana

    President Nana Akufo-Addo is upbeat about the prospects of Ghana’s industrialisation drive following the Government’s massive investment in energy infrastructure.

    He said countries seeking to industrialise in the 21st Century must aspire for a stable, efficient and affordable power supply.

    President Nana Akufo-Addo, who was inaugurating the Accra Central Bulk Supply Point (BSP), at Adabraka, in the Greater Accra Region, explained that “electricity is no longer a luxury, but a necessity in this age”.

    In view of this, he noted that the country was working assiduously to achieve universal access to electrification by 2025.

    The US$40 million BSP project is a Japan-funded facility through its external technical agency, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

    The project was conceived, following the decision to construct a BSP in proximity to the Accra Central Business District (CBD), and involves the construction of a 161/34.5 Kilovolt (kV) substation in a single bus configuration.   

    President Nana Akufo-Addo explained that the initiative was informed by the fact that the electricity load in the CBD was growing at a higher rate than the system average of 10 per cent per annum.

    The Accra CBD has in recent times seen an upsurge in commercial and industrial activities, scaling up the power demands.

    The President lauded the Japanese Government for assisting the country to build a vibrant energy sector, adding that, it was needed for rapid socio-economic growth.

    The facility is the fourth major bulk power supply point to be inaugurated in the last 18 months, reinforcing Ghana’s determination to reduce to the barest minimum transmission and distribution losses.

    “We are committed to keep the power on,” President Nana Akufo-Addo assured.

    He was optimistic that the erratic power supply that marred the country’s socio-economic development some years ago would be a thing of the past given the Government’s bid to invest in energy infrastructure.

    The Minister of Energy, Dr. Mathew Opoku-Prempeh said the country had worked hard to stabilise power supply, and commended the Nana Akufo-Addo-led Administration for its investment in the energy sector.

    Mr. Mochizuki Hisanobu, the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, said his country cherished its long-standing partnership with the West African country and pledged Japan’s continuous support to Ghana.

  • GRA says 10 million Ghana Card holders are without TIN

    GRA says 10 million Ghana Card holders are without TIN

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has revealed that more than 10 million Ghana Card holders whose information has been migrated to its system are not registered as taxpayers.

    Out of the 15.99 million Ghana Card records migrated from the National Identification Authority (NIA) database onto the GRA database, the tax authority has been able to link 3.08 million of its existing 5.74 million TIN numbers to the Ghana Cards as taxpayers.

    This leaves a gap of 2.66 million existing taxpayers who could not be linked with their Ghana Card information.

    The Commissioner-General of the GRA, Rev. Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, told the Daily Graphic that the authority had an existing TIN record of more than 5.74 million, but only 3.08 million could be matched with the records it received from the NIA, leaving 2.66 million unmatched with TIN records.

    “The unmatched TIN records have been distributed to their assigned Taxpayer Service Centres for the necessary compliance activities,” he said. 

    Context

    Following the government’s policy on the use of a unique identifier for all taxpayers, the Personal Identification Number on the Ghana Card (Ghana Card PIN) is to replace the Taxpayers Identification Numbers (TINs) of individuals for tax identification purposes. 

    Unmatched TINs

    Responding to questions from the Daily Graphic for an update on some of the most crucial interventions of the revenue governing body, the Commissioner-General of the GRA, told the Daily Graphic that the authority had an existing TIN record of more than 5.74 million, but only 3.08 million could be matched with the records it received from the NIA, leaving 2.66 million unmatched with TIN records.

    “The unmatched TIN records have been distributed to their assigned Taxpayer Service Centres for the necessary compliance activities,” he said.

    He explained that there were concerns over 10 million Ghana Card holders who were yet to be registered with the GRA, “as our assumption is that they are income earners or potential income earners who have to be captured in our system to enable us to mobilise the needed revenue for development of the nation.”

    Rev. Dr Owusu-Amoah explained that there were currently two approaches by which an individual TIN number could be linked to the Ghana Card, namely the automatic link and the manual link.

    The automatic link occurred when the individual’s data transferred from the database of the NIA to that of the GRA were in sync and automatically linked by the integrated system, while the manual link occurred when an individual’s data transferred from the database of the NIA to the database of the GRA were not in sync.

    To manually link the Ghana Card PIN and TIN, he said the GRA had made available three channels, comprising taxpayers visiting the GRA offices with required documents, using the Self-Service Portal to submit the TIN to the Ghana Card PIN link request via: https://myid.gra.gov.gh while taxpayers with no internet facility can use the USSD short code *299# to submit their TIN to the Ghana Card PIN link request.

    Following the full integration of the TIN and Ghana Card PINs, he said taxpayers were notified of the status of their request via Email and SMS.

    Validating tax returns

    On the outcome of the electronic issuance of invoicing (e-VAT) project popularly known as the e-VAT, he said it had resulted in a change in taxpayer behaviour and resulted in improved voluntary compliance.

    E-VAT has been piloted since October 1, 2022 with the aim of optimising revenue, while curbing abuses such as non-issuance of invoices, among others.

    “Since its implementation, the Authority has been able to validate the accuracy of VAT returns submitted by taxpayers,” he said.

    So far, he said, 43 out of the 50 selected companies for the pilot had successfully integrated their systems to the authority’s system, while the configuration for full integration were being finalised for the rest.

    The introduction of the e-invoicing system, he said, had culminated in an improvement in revenue collection and “there has been positive variance with the companies that have integrated so far.

    The 19 taxpaying companies sampled from the E-VAT system saw an increase in their monthly sales from GH¢222 million in November 2021 to GH¢720 million in November 2022.

    In December 2021, the total monthly sales of GH¢284 million also saw a huge increase to GH¢1 billion in December 2022.”

    He said a key challenge encountered during the implementation of the programme was the reluctance of taxpayers to integrate their system with GRA’s system.

    Another challenge, Rev. Dr Owusu-Amoah said, had to do with the technical capacity of some taxpayers to configure their systems to integrate with that of the GRA.

    “Taxpayers had fears that the system would disrupt their businesses.

    With intensive engagements, coupled with series of testing, their fears were allayed,” he said.

    The Authority’s technical team, he said, therefore provided support to taxpayers as a means of creating an enabling environment for taxpayers to understand the technical requirements for integration.

    As part of measures put in place to ensure compliance, he said the Authority periodically undertook mystery shopping to ascertain the effectiveness of its programme and ensured that taxpayers did not go contrary to the law.

  • Alert!: BoG warns against 97 unlicensed loan providing mobile apps

    Alert!: BoG warns against 97 unlicensed loan providing mobile apps

    The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has cautioned the public against engaging in transactions with some 97 unlicensed entities that are engaged in the provision of loans through mobile applications to the Ghanaian public.

    The Bank of Ghana has also cautioned the operators of such platforms to desist from the acts or face prosecution after investigations.  

    The Bank of Ghana reiterated that the activities of the 97 entities significantly breach customer data and privacy laws, as well as consumer protection requirements and norms, with unfavourable implications on the integrity and well being of their patrons.

    “Banks, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions and Payment Service Providers are cautioned not to facilitate the illegal transactions of unlicensed loan applications. The general public is encouraged to patronise the various types of digital credit products approved by Bank of Ghana and delivered by banks and specialised deposit-taking institutions in partnership with mobile money operators,” a BoG said in a statement.

    The central bank assured that it will continue to take action against the entities in collaboration with relevant state agencies to promote the integrity of financial service delivery.

    It therefore advised the general public to desist from doing business with all unlicensed loan providers.

    Below is the list of the of the entities

  • Allotey Jacobs recounts disqualifying Gyakye Quayson twice over Canadian citizenship

    Allotey Jacobs recounts disqualifying Gyakye Quayson twice over Canadian citizenship

    A former Central Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Bernard Allotey Jacobs, has said that he disqualified the ousted Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson, two times from contesting in the parliamentary primaries of the party.

    According to him, he disqualified Gyakye Quayson from contesting in NDC primaries in 2012 and 2016 because he refused to renounce his Canadian citizenship.

    Speaking in an interview on Peace FM, on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, monitored by GhanaWeb, Allotey Jacobs alleged the former MP was afraid of losing his Canadian citizenship in the event that he loses the primaries.

    “I happened to be the chairman of the vetting committee when I wasn’t the regional chairman. I asked him (Gyakye Quayson) to present documents that showed he had renounced his Canadian citizenship but he could not.

    “So, I disqualified him, this was in 2012. In 2016, I was the (regional) chairman and I wanted him to contest in Assin Central because he was afraid because of Kumpreko (Ken Agyapong). I once again asked him to present his documents but he could not,” he said in Twi.

    He added that “He was afraid of what might happen to him if he renounces his Canadian citizenship and loses the primaries. In 2016 because he had people backing him, he contested in the primaries but he lost.”

    Background:

    The Supreme Court of Ghana, on May 17, 2023, ordered the Parliament of Ghana to expunge the name of James Gyakye Quayson as a Member of Parliament (MP)

    The apex court of the land ruled that Quayson was not qualified at the time he contested the election in 2020 in the Michael Ankomah Nimfah vs. James Gyakye Quayson case.

    According to the court, the ousted Assin North MP failed to prove that he had renounced his Canadian citizenship when he filed his nomination to contest the 2020 general elections.

    Parliament subsequently declared the Assin North seat vacant, leading to the Electoral Commission of Ghana announcing a by-election on May 27, 2023, to fill the seat.

  • Fugitive treatment unfortunate but I’ll avail myself – Charles Bissue

    Former Secretary of the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, Charles Bissue says it is unfortunate that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has published his photo as a wanted man as though he is a fugitive.

    He explained that he’s in the country and not on the run.

    “I am within the jurisdiction, it is unfortunate that my photos have gone out as though I were a fugitive but that is not the case. So everyone should calm down. I will go so that the truth is revealed,” he said.

    Mr. Bissue’s comments come after the Special Prosecutor on Tuesday declared him a wanted person.

    This comes days after the Office of the Special Prosecutor secured an order from the court to arrest him.

    This order was secured after Mr Bissue failed to honour an invitation by the Special Prosecutor last month.

    Despite the order, the former Presidential staffer’s lawyer had insisted that his client will not turn himself in.

    Speaking in an interview on Asempa FM’s Eko Sii Sen on Tuesday, Mr Bissue said will avail himself for the Special Prosecutor to furnish him with the information he wanted. According to him, he has nothing to hide.

    He noted that going to meet the Special Prosecutor or any agency he’ll be invited for questioning “is an opportunity to redeem my image more.”

    Mr Bissue said he knows and understands the law, adding that “I have been to the Special Prosecutor twice during Martin Amidu’s tenure, I went to NIB twice and CID and provided whichever question was asked.”

    When asked why it has taken him so long to respond to the OSP’s invitation, a delay that pushed the Special Prosecutor to declare him wanted, Charles Bissue said that he was not in Accra at the time of the invitation, and therefore responded to avail himself the following week.

    He added that he wrote to the OSP to explain he had an emergency to attend to, but the Special Prosecutor insisted he shows up the same day, adding that it was during that same time the warrant was issued for his arrest.

  • Pelpuo urges demonstrated commitment to galamsey fight beyond Prof Frimpong-Boateng’s arrest

    Pelpuo urges demonstrated commitment to galamsey fight beyond Prof Frimpong-Boateng’s arrest

    The Ranking Member of the Lands and Forestry Committee of Parliament, Dr Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo, has called out what he describes as the non-commitment of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government towards the fight against illegal mining.

    According to him, it comes to the Members of Parliament on the Minority side of the House as a surprise that Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, who put in everything to produce a report on the illegal activity, is being targeted.

    He explained that what the government should have been doing with the former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, is to treat him as an informant, and not as a culprit.

    “A few days ago, we heard news about the arrest of Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, Nana Addo’s former Minister for Environment, Science and Technology. We find the arrest awkward and unimpressive because rather than working with the prof to get to the roots of the problem, he was seen as a culprit and not an informant.

    “It creates the impression that this arrest is meant to becloud the accusation of government’s involvement, either directly or indirectly,” he stated.

    Dr. Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo was speaking during a press conference in parliament when he made the comments.

    He added that the government is showing very little commitment to the fight against the menace of galamsey, adding that if it was, it would have responded to the NDC’s request for an investigation into the IMCIM report.

    He stressed that what the Nana Akufo-Addo government needs to do to show its resolve to this fight, is to go beyond the arrest of Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.

    “In April this year, in response to revelations from the report on the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, and the involvement of key NPP operatives in the galamsey industry, we did a press conference to request an investigation into the report.

    “To date, we do not know how far the government has gone with this exercise, except for the brazen arrest of the man who threw all he has to reveal the hidden truth in the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining.

    We believe that if government wants to demonstrate seriousness on the fight against galamsey, it must go beyond the arrest of Prof Frimpong-Boateng. It should go wider by ensuring the arrest of government and Jubilee appointees at the heart of government,” he stated.

    The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has since taken over the investigations into the report of the IMCIM, led by Prof Frimpong-Boateng.

  • Mahama unaware of lawsuit contesting his eligibility for 2024 elections – NDC claims

    Mahama unaware of lawsuit contesting his eligibility for 2024 elections – NDC claims

    A member of the legal team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba, has said that former President John Dramani Mahama has not received any lawsuit challenging his candidacy for the 2024 elections.

    Court documents leaked on social media indicated that the former president, who was recently elected by the NDC to be its candidate for the 2024 presidential elections, had been sued over his eligibility to contest in the next presidential election.

    The suit was filed by one Kenneth Kwabena Agyei Kuranchie, who wants the Supreme Court of Ghana to disqualify the former president from contesting as a flagbearer of a political party or the presidency in the future.

    According to him, the constitution through Article 66 (1) of the 1992 Constitution indicates that a person seeking a second presidential term must be a sitting president but former President Mahama is seeking to recontest after being out of office for about 8 years.

    Reacting to this in an interview on Metro TV, on Wednesday, June 13, 2023, lawyer Amaliba said that the suit is ‘much ado about nothing’.

    According to him, the suit is just to divert the attention of Ghanaians from the current economic hardship in the country and his being championed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.

    “The former president has not been served and once serving is personal, they would have to take steps to serve him. What I can tell you is that absolutely nothing can stop the former president from contesting in the 2024 elections.

    “This whole suit is a diversionary tactic. There is nowhere in the constitution that says that the former president cannot stand. I see this suit as legal gymnastics, I see this suit as a legal somersault… to stop the former president from contesting but nothing stops him from contesting,” he said.

    He added that the NDC and the former president are not worried about the suit and are currently focused on winning the upcoming Assin North by-election.

  • OSP has no power to declare Charles Bissue wanted – Lawyer

    Private Legal Practitioner Lawyer Kwame Adofo has stated that the Special Prosecutor Mr Kissi Agyebeng has no power to declare Mr Charles Bissue wanted, neither has the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP)any power to investigate the controversial galamsey report as the office claims.

    According to him, since the issue has not been referred to the OSP by Parliament or the Attorney General, Mr. Kissi Agyebeng has no power to take such a decision and therefore cannot declare Mr Charles Bissue wanted.

    According to him, the only way the OSP can have the mandate to investigate a matter is when the Attorney General or Parliament has referred it to him

    Speaking on Angel FM, Lawyer Kwame Adofo insisted that, “the only way he can get the locust is if these two bodies (the Attorney General and Parliament) refer a case for the OSP to investigate and prosecute”.

    The statement from Lawyer Kwame Adofo comes after the Office of the Special Prosecutor declared the Former Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Cronwell Nanabayin Onuawonto Bissue wanted.

    The order was secured by the Office of the Special Prosecutor after Mr. Bissue failed to honour an invitation by the OSP last month.

    But challenging the Constitutional Act the OSP built its reasons to declare Mr. Bissue wanted, Lawyer Kwame Adofo insisted that “you don’t have an automatic mandate to investigate the matter”. The Attorney General or Parliament must first refer the matter to you. You can decide what case you investigate. If the matter has not been referred to you, it means you have no power to investigate the matter,” he said

    “From what I know, I’ve not heard that the Attorney General has referred the galamsey report to the OSP unless we are not aware then he should let us know”, he stressed.

    Meanwhile, despite the order, a lawyer for Mr. Charles Bissue has insisted that his client will not turn himself in.

  • Adam Bonaa supports Parliamentary probe into Bortianor killing, advises against live telecast

    Adam Bonaa supports Parliamentary probe into Bortianor killing, advises against live telecast

    Security Analyst Dr Adam Bonaa has welcomed the parliamentary probe into the recent Bortianor shooting incident, which claimed the lives of five people, but has cautioned Parliament to refrain from a live telecast of proceedings.

    This follows a demand by the Member of Parliament for Bortianor/Ngleshi/Amanfro, Sylvester Tetteh, for an independent probe into the matter.

    Speaking to Starr News, Dr. Adam Bonaa said a live telecast of such a probe will present some challenges.

    “It’s going to be very difficult to have a televised probe into this. I say it’s going to be difficult because it will be extremely difficult to have eyewitnesses come in and say these guys were landguards or were not landguards. Mine is that, I will be urging the committee, if it has been formed, that their terms of reference should be well defined.

    “In the past, some of us would have called for a televised probe. But if you are not careful and call for a televised probe, you are likely not to have one single person come in to give an eyewitness account.

    “An eyewitness can come and say, yes, I know this person; he was a landguard. Those who might be giving testimonies should be given protection so that they don’t come and do anything and the next day their names are out, their faces are published in the media or social media, and they become targets themselves.”

    Background

    On June 8th, 2023, the police conducted an operation targeting criminal elements involved in robbery and landguard activities. These individuals had been terrorizing residents and landowners in Bortianor and nearby communities.

    Upon spotting the approaching police team, the suspects opened fire from their hideout, prompting the police to return fire. As a result, five of the suspects were injured and later pronounced dead at the hospital. The remaining suspects fled the scene and are still on the run.

    Exhibits retrieved from the crime scene include: one (1) AK47 assault rifle, ten (10) rounds of AK47 ammunition, one (1) pump action gun with nine (9) rounds of BB cartridges, two (2) pistols with ten (10) rounds of 9mm ammunition, one (1) unregistered Toyota Tacoma pickup, four (4) motorbikes, three (3) of which are unregistered, a knife, and a pepper spray.

    The police are actively pursuing the remaining suspects, some of whom are believed to have sustained gunshot injuries during the operation.

    Police appealed to the public, especially residents of the Bortianor community, to promptly report any individuals with gunshot wounds who may be seeking medical treatment.

    “Your cooperation will assist the police in taking immediate action,” a statement issued by the police said.

  • I was disappointed in myself for beefing with Chioma – Davido

    I was disappointed in myself for beefing with Chioma – Davido

    Nigerian singer David Adeleke, widely recognized as Davido, has openly expressed his deep disappointment in himself for engaging in a quarrel with his wife, Chioma.

    He said it was the time he was most disappointed with himself because he could have done better.

    Davido disclosed this in a recent episode of ABTalks podcast.

    He, however, said he has long reconciled with Chioma.

    The podcast host, Anas Bukhash asked: “When was David most disappointed in David?”

    Davido responded: “Probably, when me and my wife [Chioma] first had like a little rift. I thought I could have done better because she is an amazing person.

    “I think that was the only time I messed up. But I have fixed it [laughs].”

  • I’ve another son called Dawson – Davido reveals

    I’ve another son called Dawson – Davido reveals

    Renowned Nigerian singer David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has recently confirmed that he is the father of a child with Larissa London, who has been rumored to be his fourth baby mama.

    The ‘Omo Baba Olowo’ crooner stated that he has a son called Dawson who lives in London.

    He stated this in a recent podcast interview.

    Davido said he named his daughters, Imade and Hailey after his late mother, stressing that his second daughter, Hailey is a replica of his mom.

    He said, “I named both of them [my daughters] after my mum. Hailey, she is the exact replica of my mum; my second daughter, she is just like my mum. It’s crazy. It’s like she came in her.

    “I have a son too. His name is Dawson. He lives in London right now.”

    It will be recalled that Davido lost his first son, Ifeanyi Adeleke in a swimming pool accident at his Banana Island residence last October.

  • Bus explodes, killing 3 school girls in Huu

    Bus explodes, killing 3 school girls in Huu

    Three School girls have been burnt to death with other sustaining severe burn injuries at Huu, a community in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region.

    The sad incident happened at Huu, a farming and mining community, when the vehicle they boarded after close from school caught fire and exploded, on Tuesday, June 13, 2023.

    The children were aged seven, six and five.

    Two passengers on board on the 207 Benz vehicle were also burnt beyond recognition, but the driver managed to escape.

    Reports by Otec News reporter, Ebenezer Boakye said a mobile money vendor’s container, three motor bikes and electricity high tension pole were also burnt following the explosion.

    The whole community has been plunged into darkness following the burnt electricity high tension pole.

    The reports were that the 207 Benz vehicle was loaded with petrol and diesel containers on top of the vehicle when the children boarded the car.

    Information gathered said school bus carrying the children broke down at Huu so the teacher in charge transferred six of the children to the vehicle to be taken to Edwenase.

    “The vehicle instantly exploded when the driver switched on the ignition key. Three of the six children were rescued but one of them sustained severe body burnt,” the reporter said.

    The explosion survivor is receiving medical attention at the hospital, Boakye told Captain Koda, the host of Otec FM’s morning show, ‘Nyansapo’.

    “The sprinter bus caught fire and blasted in an instance when the driver ignited the car, three of the students managed to get out leaving the rest in the bus who were subsequently burnt beyond recognition

    “The actually cause of the fire is yet to be known but we learned the sprinter bus was carrying gallons of petrol and diesel from Obuase to Edwenease, he added.

    Police in the area have since launched investigations into the fire incident while bodies of the deceased have been conveyed to mortuary.

    Residents who were at the scene told the reporter that they suspected the explosion might have been caused by the containers loaded with fuel in the vehicle.

  • 3 healthy ways to treat urinary tract infection

    3 healthy ways to treat urinary tract infection

    Urinary tract infections (UTIs) result from bacterial entry and proliferation in the urinary tract, leading to symptoms like painful urination, frequent urination, and pelvic discomfort.

    While antibiotics are commonly used to treat UTIs, prevention is key to avoiding recurrent infections. A good diet is one preventative measure that has been shown to be effective against UTIs. Here are some effective ways to treat UTIs:

    Drinking water is essential for maintaining optimal health, and it is particularly important for preventing UTIs. When you drink plenty of water, it helps to flush out harmful bacteria and toxins that may be present in the urinary tract. In addition, staying hydrated helps to dilute urine, which reduces the concentration of bacteria and other substances that can irritate the bladder and urethra.

    It’s important to note that not all fluids are created equal when it comes to preventing UTIs. While water is the best choice, other fluids such as coffee, tea, and soda can actually increase your risk of developing a UTI. This is because these beverages can irritate the bladder and urethra, and some contain substances that can promote bacterial growth. Therefore, it’s best to stick to water as your primary source of hydration to prevent UTIs.

    These foods contain a crucial ingredient that aids in the battle against bacteria and prevent them from adhering to the lining of the urinary tract. Cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, and other berries support urinary tract health and offer protection against infection. Smoothies are a great way to consume a lot of berries in your diet. Oranges, dark chocolate, unsweetened probiotic yoghurt, tomatoes, broccoli, and spinach are foods that can repair UTI damage.

    Some lifestyle changes can help prevent UTIs. For example, it’s important to practice good hygiene by wiping front to back after using the bathroom, avoiding tight-fitting clothing, and urinating before and after sexual activity. It’s also important to avoid irritants such as harsh soaps and bubble baths, which can cause irritation and inflammation in the urinary tract.

    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

  • Non-compliance with OSP’s lawful demands can lead to imprisonment or fines – Lawyer

    Private legal practitioner, Bobby Banson, says one can serve a prison term between two to four years if they fail to honour a lawful invitation by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

    According to him, per the OSP Act, refusing to appear before the Special Prosecutor can also warrant a fine since it is considered an offence.

    Speaking in Joy FM Top Story on Tuesday, June 13, Mr. Banson said “when you are invited by the OSP and you do not comply with that invitation or the OSP requires your presence or requires you to bring a document and you do not honour that invitation, that in itself is an offence in the OSP Act.”

    He explained that “the OSP Act says that if you refuse to comply with the lawful demand of the OSP.. so it could be an invitation. So if they invite you and you exercise your right that I will not honour the invitation, I believe they will go to the next step which will be to require your presence.”

    Mr Banson further noted that the OSP has the power to order one’s arrest without a warrant.

    “Looking at the powers of the OSP, the OSP can arrest you, investigate you, and exercise lots of powers under the Act without necessarily going for court orders to do so,” he added.

    His comment comes after former Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Bissue was declared wanted by the Special Prosecutor on June 13.

    Last week, the Office of the Special Prosecutor had secured an order from the court to arrest him.

    This order was secured after Mr Bissue failed to honour an invitation by the Special Prosecutor last month.

    Despite the order, the former Presidential staffer’s lawyer had insisted that his client will not turn himself in.

    But reacting to this, Mr. Banson expressed surprise over the OSP securing a warrant of arrest for Charles Bissue.

    This he says is due to the fact that he is allowed to arrest without a warrant just like a police officer, adding that a police officer can arrest you without a warrant if the officer has reasons to believe one has committed a crime or is in the course of committing a crime.

    He, however, noted that the OSP may have peculiar reasons for securing an arrest warrant.

    Meanwhile, former Secretary of the erstwhile IMCIM says he will avail himself before the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

  • 5 ways rosemary improves hair Growth

    5 ways rosemary improves hair Growth

    Rosemary enhances hair quality beyond nutrition. Resorting to natural methods to stay away from the ill effects of harmful chemicals to reverse the damage can be quite a challenge.

    One of the most recent alternatives suggested to help with many such hair and scalp issues is rosemary. This fragrant herb not only fills your palate with aroma but is an elixir for hair growth.

    Here are simple ways to use rosemary for hair growth

    • Rosemary tea

    Sipping rosemary tea can help generate long hair.

    Method

    Steep rosemary in hot water for as long as you want to depending on how strong you need it to be. It is abundant in ursolic acid which helps increase the circulation of blood to the scalp surface. This helps alleviate scalp irritation and suppress hair loss, thereby boosting hair growth. As it helps circulate more blood to the hair follicles there is better nutrient attainment. Thus it adds shine and smoothness to the hair.

    • Rosemary with other oils

    From oils with slightly higher levels of viscosity like olive oil or coconut oil that are rich in fat to lighter essential oils like lavender oil or almond oil, each of them has a list of benefits the hair can gain. However, infusing rosemary in different oils can help amplify the benefits that can be reaped from the oil massage.

    Method

    Adding 3-4 drops of rosemary oil along with almond oil and chamomile oil can create a great combination.

    • Rosemary oil

    The most preferred and highly sought-after method of using rosemary is in the form of oils. With its pleasant aroma and plentiful benefits, rosemary is undoubtedly one of the best essential oils you can get your hands on. It is rich in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties. This is presumed to help stimulate hair growth and discourage uncontrollable hair loss to a large extent.

    • Add rosemary to your shampoo

    Adding rosemary oil to your shampoo helps enhance its purifying capacity.

    Method

    Simply add about 5-8 drops of rosemary oil to your shampoo and massage it well for about 3 minutes into your scalp. As it does not contain a lot of fat like other oils, adding it to your shampoo does not make your hair look flat. This can also be used frequently as it does not deplete the natural barrier on the surface of the scalp.

  • Supreme Court declares order of Tema High Court judge as a clear breach of natural justice

    Supreme Court declares order of Tema High Court judge as a clear breach of natural justice

    The Supreme Court says the orders made by Justice Emmanuel Ankamah, who sat on the case of the Estate of the late Rev. Emmanuel Dorgadzi at the Tema High Court, were made in clear breach of natural justice. 

    The Court held that the applicants were not given a hearing of the suit pending before the High Court, Tema.  

    Justice Emmanuel Ankamah, currently a Justice of the Court of Appeal, is being investigated for dealing with a matter he had no jurisdiction. 

    A five-member panel chaired by Justice Jones Victor Dotse (now retired) also described as “sordid” the act of the Judge and the Clerk at the time, Sebastian Agbo. 

    The Court in its ruling released on June 12, 2023, prohibited Justice Ankamah from further hearing the case and quashed his orders. 

    The panel recommended that all officers who played roles in the “shameful” act be investigated. 

    Justice Dotse said, “in our collective wisdom, we deem it appropriate to refer this case to the Chief Justice to cause further investigations into the conduct of the trial Judge and Sebastian Agbo, then Registrar of the High Court, Tema under whose tenure the sordid affairs happened.” 

    “This should cover all officers who played any role in this shameful specie of conduct,” he added. 

    The Court urged the Chief Justice to cause investigations into the apparent devise by the interested parties to undervalue the estate of the Deceased. 

    He said the Counsel, who filed the application for and on behalf of the interested parties should be made to give explanation as to the basis of the valuations made in respect of the properties stated therein. 

    “It is the considered view of this panel that, such an investigation will unravel the phenomenon that parties have been adopting to undervalue estate of deceased persons in respect of whose estate’s they apply for Letters of Administration. 

    “We urge the Judicial Service to enquire into the circumstances that led to Sebastian Agbo, then Registrar of the High court, Tema being interdicted,” he said. 

    “For the avoidance of doubts, the said Judge Ankamah (as he then was), is also hereby prohibited from hearing or having anything to do with this suit or any related aspect of it whatsoever,” the Supreme Court ruled. 

    The applicant sought from the Supreme Court “an application for an order of certiorari to quash the orders/proceedings of the High Court, Tema presided over by His Lordship Mr. Justice Emmanuel Ankaman dated August 18, 2022, striking out the applicant’s caveat for want of prosecution.” 

     It also sought to quash the Letters of Administration dated March 18 2022, issued by the said court to the interested parties for an order of prohibition to prohibit the said Judge and the Registrar of the High Court, Tema from further hearing and/or dealing with the applications/matters in relation to the estate of the late Rev. Dorgadzi. 

    It was the case of the applicants that, the High Court, Tema presided over by the trial Judge failed to observe the rules of natural justice, specifically, the audialteram partem rule in Suit Number E6/199/2022. 

    The applicants also contended that the Judge had no jurisdiction or exceeded his jurisdiction when on August 18, 2022, he purportedly ordered for the striking out of the caveat of the applicants for want of prosecution in Suit Number E6/199/2022. 

    It was also their case that, the trial Judge committed a jurisdictional error in respect of the estate of the deceased when on the face of the record, the same court had earlier issued Letters of Administration over the same estate. 

  • Ghanaian artistes have neglected Highlife for Amapiano – Ball J beat

    Ghanaian artistes have neglected Highlife for Amapiano – Ball J beat

    Albert Serebo Ayeh-Hanson, popularly known as Ball J beatz, has expressed his viewpoint that Ghanaian artists have shifted their focus away from highlife music and gravitated towards genres such as drill and Amapiano.

    Touching on Highlife music on Property FM in Cape Coast, the sound engineer said it’s not necessary to debate about our musical roots.

    He told Amansan Krakye in an interview that currently there is no Highlife song from Ghana making hits on the international scene.

    He posited “I’m not saying Ghana doesn’t have an identity because our identity is totally Highlife and Hiplife but it has now been neglected for drill music and Amapiano or Afrobeat.

    “When it comes to Ghana our root is Highlife whether you like it or not and we can go back and debate about it which isn’t necessary,” he continued as MyNewsGh.com monitored.

    He added “But what’s important is how are we taking Highlife to the world for Ghana to be known significantly in terms of our music and we don’t have hit songs which are Highlife internationally”.

  • McBrown shows off scars to critics

    McBrown shows off scars to critics

    Media personality Nana Ama McBrown recently utilized social media as a platform to proudly display the scars on her arm, resulting from her accident in 2003 and subsequent surgeries.

    During a TikTok live, the Ghanaian actress, who doubles as a TV presenter, decided to show her scars to remind her followers and critics of the suffering she had been through.

    In the video, you could see a deep cut that has been stitched from her underarm through to her elbow. The large scar divided that part of her arm, leaving behind a dark blemish on her fair-coloured skin tone.

    While interacting with her audience during a TikTok live session, she asked individuals spreading falsehoods about her to desist from it. According to the actress, it will be in the best interest of individuals who know nothing about her or her pain, to remain silent.

    “If you don’t know me don’t talk about me. If you share my pain, you’ll enjoy my glory. If you don’t know someone’s pain don’t talk about it. (Shows scars to camera) Don’t do that. But you see, it is life, I cannot do anything about it,”

    However, the mother of one, stated that she is not perfect, emphasizing that she is making a conscious effort at changing for the better with each passing day.

    “Just leave everything to God and move. As a human being, you will fall. I am not perfect as I am seated here but the bible said in the sight of God, we all fall short but he renews his love for us daily. Every day, change a little bit for good,” she observed.

    Though Nana Ama McBrown did not direct her submissions to anyone or any topic, some netizens believe that she is reacting to the numerous attacks and allegations from the likes of Sally Mann and Diamond Appiah.

  • Father who spent years hunting daughter’s killer dies

    Father who spent years hunting daughter’s killer dies

    The body of wildlife photographer Julie Ward, 28, from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, was discovered on Maasai Mara reserve in September 1988. No-one has ever been convicted of her murder.

    John Ward, who spent £2m of his own money investigating the case, died within two weeks of his wife Jan.

    Their sons Bob and Tim said they would continue their father’s mission.

    Bob Ward said his father, who died aged 89, continued to follow leads up until a few weeks ago.

    He said, together with his brother, they would carry on their father’s work, and they planned to publish a book on the case and get a documentary made.

    “The world can get to see what he’s been doing for the last 35 years,” he told BBC Radio Suffolk.

    “It’s such an extraordinary story and I think people only know about half of it.”

    Julie Ward’s mutilated remains were discovered by her father

    Miss Ward disappeared towards the end of a solo photography safari.

    She was last seen alive on 6 September 1988 before her burned and dismembered body was found by her father a week later.

    At the time, Kenyan officials claimed she had been attacked by animals, but they later accepted she was murdered after her father uncovered further evidence.

    Unlawful killing

    Two game rangers were acquitted of Miss Ward’s murder in 1992 due to insufficient evidence.

    A new team of Kenyan police officers re-examined the case in 1997 and in 1999 a gamekeeper was tried and acquitted of the crime.

    In 2004, an inquest held in Ipswich recorded a verdict of unlawful killing.

    John Ward, from Brockley, near Bury St Edmunds, had made more than 100 visits to Kenya, trying to hunt down who was responsible.

    He previously said if his daughter’s death was accidental, he would have accepted, but he was determined not to give up on the murder investigation.

  • Pantang, Abokobi, other parts of Accra to be affected by ECG planned maintenance works

    Pantang, Abokobi, other parts of Accra to be affected by ECG planned maintenance works

    The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has announced that it will undertake a planned maintenance in some parts of the Greater Accra Region (GAR).

    The said maintenance work is to allow the power distributor to improve its service delivery. 

    ECG made this known in a notice sighted by The Independent Ghana. 

    The notice stated that the maintenance work is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, June 14, 2023 from 8.00 am to 2.00 pm.

    According to the notice, areas to be affected as a result of the exercise are; Broadcasting Junction, Finney Hospital, Red Top, Adenta Medimoses, Pantang Junction, Shalom Estate, Focus Hospital, Kuottam Estate, Pantang Village, Abokobi, and Sesemi Town.

    “ECG regrets the inconvenience that will arise out of this exercise,” the power distributor added.

  • IGP Petitioned to probe Sinare Brothers, GLINCO, and East Legon Police District CID officer

    IGP Petitioned to probe Sinare Brothers, GLINCO, and East Legon Police District CID officer

    Ato Dear Dsane, a private businessman has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, George Akuffo Dampare to investigate former Ghana Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Said Sinare and his brother Gamel Sinare.

    In a petition sighted by Peacefmonline, Mr Ato Dsane is also praying the office of the IGP to launch investigations into activities of Linco Construction And Engineering Limited and the CID officer at the East Legon District Police.

    Ato Dsane in the said petition alleged that he was once coerced by the former first vice president of the National Democratic Congress to peddle falsehood before the Economic and Organized Crime Office.

    Ato Dsane indicated in the petition that his failure to heed to the alleged demands of Alhaji Sinare and his brother did not only cost him his job but has left him traumatized with constant threats from the brothers.

    He thus wants the IGP to order an investigation into the incident and also protect him from what he perceives to be nefarious plans by the brothers.

    Read the full petition below:

    PETITION TO INVESTIGATE ALHAJI SAID SINARE, MR. GAMEL SINARE, GLINCO CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING LIMITED, DETECTIVE CHIEF INSPECTOR DAVID AMENGOR OF EAST LEGON DISTRICT POLICE, C.I.D.

    We are Solicitors retained by Mr. Ato Dear Dsane of Sakaman, Accra.

    Our client has briefed us as follows;

    He was an employee of AGVAD GHANA LIMITED, a Company that deals with Medical imaging equipment, as the Head of Engineering and Sales from the year 2012 to 7th July 2016, where after, the Sinare brothers entered into an Agreement with our client, making him a ‘junior partner’ agreeing that Assets of the Company as well as profits from the business via its medical imaging equipment and installations would be shared amongst the three individuals, with our client receiving Twenty percent (20%) share.

    On the 19th of April, 2023, Mr. Gamel Sinare personally went to the office of our client and informed him that, the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) was investigating his brother, Alhaji Said Sinare, in respect to some contract his brother awarded when he was Ghana’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Mr. Gamel Sinare further stated that, the EOCO would invite our client sometime in the course of the year and that, if EOCO does invite our client, he should lie that he is the owner of GLINCO CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING LIMITED.

    Our client however informed Mr. Gamel Sinare that, indeed EOCO had invited him a week prior to he coming to his office to ask him to lie and he had already given a written statement to the EOCO investigators as well as specimens of his signature, and would never lie about owning a Company he knows he does not own and has no affiliation with.

    Our client further informed us that, Mr. Gamel Sinare told him it does not matter if he already gave a statement to EOCO and that Statements are changed all the time, and that he should return to EOCO and modify his statement; Mr. Gamel Sinare then invited our client to come by his residence for further discussions on the matter as he will be leaving to France on the 22nd of April, 2023, to which our client says he responded that NOTHING could compel him to change the initial statement he gave to EOCO. Mr. Gamel Sinare’s countenance changed and said, “Alright Ato, you will see where power lies”.

    On Monday the 8th of May, 2023, at about 7:10am whilst our client was on his way to the office at East Legon, his colleague Mr. Parker Amissah-Arthur called to inform him that, there were about six (6) heavily well-built men, who were at the frontage of the office gate and in the course of the phone-call could hear the men screaming ‘ where is Ato, where is Ato’ amidst banging on the body of the pickup Mr. Amissah-Arthur was sitting in.

    A few minutes after the banging and noise stopped, our client heard Mr. Amissah-Arthur talking to Alhaji Said Sinare on another phone, who subsequently briefed our client that, Alhaji Sinare asked him to surrender his car keys and the office keys to Alhaji Said Sinare’s son, Mr. Said Sinare who was also present.

    Our client reported the incident to Madam Souad El Ruby the mother of Alhaji Said and Gamel Sinare, who is like a mother to him based on his good and profitable work to the benefit of the family and the cordial relationship with the family, who asked our client to be calm and that she would talk with her children and revert, but that did not happen; still traumatized by the incident and fearful for their lives, as well uncertain about the business relation with the Sinares and AGVAD, our client and Mr. Amissah-Arthur lodged a Complaint of assault, threat of death, inter alia, with the Divisional C.I.D of the Ghana Police Service at East Legon and gave their statements on the 12th of May, 2023; however, nothing has been done by the Police investigator, one D/Insp. Charles Duwemopkpor.

    Our client subsequent to the Police complaint, received an undated letter from Mr. Gamel Sinare, captioned ‘DISMISSAL LETTER’ to which our client responded that, Mr. Gamel Sinare could not dismiss him as he was not a employee but a ‘junior partner’ per their Agreement of 7th July, 2016, and went further to demand his twenty percent (20%) equity in the AGVAD Company.

    On Saturday, the 3rd of June, 2023 before 6:00a.m., Police officers from the East Legon District Police together with non-Police men stormed our client’s residence at Sakaman, Accra, cut his Electrical security fencing which caused a massive explosion, waking up his wife, sisters and children who were still in bed, causing them to rush out to investigate as they thought Armed Robbers were entering the premises, only to see the men had jumped into the house, cutting the padlocks to his house gates, the leader of the group, who identified himself as D/Chief Inspector David Amengor from the East Legon District C.I.D of the Ghana Police Service, informed our client’s wife that they had been asked to come for some vehicles.

    Our client’s wife asked if they had a warrant, and D/Chief Insp. David Amengor refused, and threatened to spray her with paper if she does not allow his operations. Upon her insistence, he called in another man after a few minutes who showed her a purported warrant from the Madina District Court, which our client’s wife took photos of. Our client’s wife asked why they did not just ring the bell or bang the gates instead of causing damage to their padlocks and electrical security fencing and gate, to which D/Chief Inspector David Amengor arrogantly responded you think you’re safe in this double gated house, I would send a Technician to repair all the damage and that he has money, and showed her wads of two-hundred Ghana cedis bills in a small bag he was carrying.

    Our client was not present during the unlawful invasion of his residence but his wife called him and he offered no objection to the retrieving of the vehicles as the vehicles were operations vehicles lawfully in his possession for work; keys to one of the vehicles which were in his custody were sent to the East Legon District Police, as the detectives had that one towed.

    Subsequent to the destruction of our client’s property, D/Chief Inspector David Amengor sent series of whatsapp chats to our client’s wife about the repairs of the damage caused as well as the contact of a Technician who did not show up to repair the damage, exposing our client and his family to danger, amidst further unsavory messages and threats, the conduct of which is unbecoming of a Chief inspector of Police and he should be compelled to answer to his unprofessional and rather DEPRAVED conduct.

    It is evident that, all the hostility being meted out on and termination in breach of the business agreement by the Sinares in relation with AGVAD GHANA LIMITED are as a result of our client’s REFUSAL TO BE AN ACCESSORY TO CRIMES COMMITTED BY ALHAJI SAID SINARE, WHICH ARE BEING INVESTIGATED BY THE ECONOMIC AND ORGANIZED CRIME OFFICE.

    We humbly submit this Petition, calling for a FULL SCALE investigation to all the issues herein raised namely;

    THE UNLAWFUL USE OF OUR CLIENT’S NAME AS A DIRECTOR OF GLINCO CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING LIMITED AND FALSIFIED SIGNATURE OF OUR CLIENT BY GLINCO CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING AND ALHAJI SAID SINARE.

    THE REFUSAL BY THE EAST LEGON DIVISIONAL C.I.D OF THE GHANA POLICE SERVICE TO INVESTIGATE THE COMPLAINTS BY OUR CLIENT AND MR. PARKER AMMISAH-ARTHUR

    THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR CLIENT’S PROPERTY BY THE EAST LEGON DISTRICT

    POLICE C.I.D.

  • My connections at BET Awards did not contribute to Camidoh’s nomination – Manager

    My connections at BET Awards did not contribute to Camidoh’s nomination – Manager

    Talent manager George Mensah Britton has revealed the criteria for an artist to secure a nomination at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards.

    According to George Britton who happens to be the manager of Camidoh, his connection and links at the BET weren’t the reasons his artiste was nominated.

    “I mean I know some few people at BET and MTV but it’s not because I know them that’s why they recognized our efforts to get this nomination.

    “For you to get recognition at that level your song must be at a certain level which would be easy to capture their attention at the BET. So usually what happens is that they look for songs which are popular and easy to be recognized in their space and songs which are good”.

    He added on Property FM in Cape Coast, “They considered the work we’ve done previously and as of last year Camidoh performed in over 18 countries in the world so the song became big.

    “We even did a remix in Latin America and it was able to penetrate through Mexico and their market so they realized we’ve really done a huge job”.

  • Lack of support made me fail as a musician – Ball J 

    Lack of support made me fail as a musician – Ball J 

    Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer, Ball J has revealed that lack of support in the music industry led him to fail as a musician but he described himself as a successful record producer.

    Explaining his stance in an interview with Amansan Krakye, the Hip Hop artiste said that lack of support in the music industry has made him a failure.

    “My assessment is that as a producer I’ve done very well but looking at Ghana music I will say if I look at myself I’ve failed as a musician. Because there is no support in the industry but personally I’m doing very well but nationally I have failed due to the lack of support.

    “So I’m a successful producer but I’ve still failed Ghanaians not because of mine intentions but the support is not there,” he further admitted on the show.

    Ball J has contributed a lot to the Ghana Music industry, he can be named among the top 10 famous Ghanaians who made the Azonto genre and dance popular worldwide.

    He has worked with the likes of Guru, Stay Jay, Sarkodie and many others.

  • Grammy introduces ‘Best African Music Performance’ category to 2024 awards

    Grammy introduces ‘Best African Music Performance’ category to 2024 awards

    The Recording Academy, the organizing body behind the Grammy Awards, has introduced a new category called “Best African Music Performance.” This addition reflects the Academy’s recognition of the vibrant and diverse music landscape in Africa and its commitment to honoring excellence in African music on a global platform.

    The category was among the three new ones announced by the academy in a statement released via its website on Tuesday.

    The other two newly created categories are Best Pop Dance Recording and Best Alternative Jazz Album.

    According to the statement, the new categories will receive nominations beginning with next year’s show.

    “The addition of the Best African Music Performance category reflects how African acts such as Burna Boy, Wizkid, Black Sherif and Tems —along with the rise of the Afrobeats genre—have become global chart-topping stars and streaming juggernauts,” the statement reads in part.

    The Grammy “Best African Music Performance” category is open to both contemporary and traditional music from the African continent including Afrobeats, Afro-pop, Amapiano, High Life, Fuji etc.

  • Suspected armed robber arrested in Bole

    Suspected armed robber arrested in Bole

    The Bole Police Command has arrested one suspected armed robber who was identified by a robbery victim in Bole market.

    According to one of the victims whose name has been withheld, the robbers attacked them last Thursday at about 11:30pm on the Bole- Bamboi highway took all their properties and stripped an old woman naked after the robbers ambushed them and made them lie flat on the ground as they search them.

    He said they were able to identify one of the robbers who happens to be a fulani man staying in Bole with a provision store in the Bole main market.

    The suspected Fulani man who has been identified was arrested after the victims reported the case to police in Bole.

    Some angry youth of Bole has threatened to attack all the fulanis in Bole township if the suspect is not sentence into prison.

    Others also blame immigration officials and police for letting fulanis take over Bole as they heard there is war in fulani countries.

    The youth has therefore urge the security agencies to go round Bole township and Chase all the fulanis out or else they will attack them.

  • Chef Dammy reaches 120 hours of marathon cooking

    Chef Dammy reaches 120 hours of marathon cooking

    Ekiti State chef, Damilola Adeparusi, famously called Chef Dammy has finally reached the 120-hour landmark in the ongoing cook-a-thon.

    This is coming barely a few hours after record holder for the longest hours in cooking (individual category), Chef Hilda Baci, who cooked on a stretch for 100 hours, was certified by the Guinness World Records.

    The PUNCH had earlier reported that 26-year-old Dammy, who is passionate about her ambition had cooked up to 111 hours on Tuesday, in Oye Local Government Area in Ekiti.

    Meanwhile, she had been visited by the Vice Chancellor and management of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti.

    As it stands, if confirmed by the GWR, Chef Dammy will become the new world record holder.

  • Failure to pay SSNIT contributions of employees could face five years jail term – SSNIT to companies

    Failure to pay SSNIT contributions of employees could face five years jail term – SSNIT to companies

    The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has issued a stern warning to enterprises that neglect to fulfill their SSNIT contributions for their employees, urging them to rectify the situation or face the corresponding consequences.

    According to Charles Akwei Garshong, Public Relations Manager, failure to pay SSNIT contributions on time is a violation of the law.

    He recommended firms contact SSNIT if they are having difficulty paying contributions on time so that both parties may work out a solution.

    He added that failure to pay SSNIT contributions on time accrues interest or penalties.

    Speaking on the sidelines of a workshop to train media on the Self-Employed Enrolment Drive (SEED), he stated that while it is not the objective of SSNIT to bring defaulters to court, they will do so when required to protect workers’ futures.

    When proven accountable, defaulters could face a five-year prison sentence, a fine, or both, he cautioned.

    “Businesses that fail to pay SSNIT contributions for workers or employees should be aware that they are breaking the law.” If you are having problems, please come to us so that we may discuss how we can help you pay your payments. The greater the delay in making contributions, the greater the interest or penalties.

    We have no intention of dragging anyone to court, but we are protecting workers’ futures and do not want individuals to retire without a pension. We would first warn enterprises that are in default, and if they fail to pay, we would take them to court. But you should be aware that if you are taken to court, you might face years in prison, a fine, or both. So why wait for us to get to this position when you can simply pay the contributions on time?”

    Meanwhile, he has asked employees to report employers who do not pay their SSNIT obligations.

    He assured them that they were safe.

    They have to contact SSNIT at 0302611622.

    The SEED initiative is part of an endeavour to give pensions and other benefits to self-employed people in the informal sector.

    SEED focuses on meeting the Trust’s (SSNIT) duty to provide pension coverage to all workers, particularly self-employed workers.

  • Land dispute contempt conviction against Defence Minister and CDS quashed by Court

    Land dispute contempt conviction against Defence Minister and CDS quashed by Court

    Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Ghana Armed Forces, (GAF) Vice Admiral Seth Amoama have escaped sentencing after they were convicted for Contempt by the High Court in Accra.

    After being found guilty for Contempt, convicted and a date fixed for sentencing, the Minister and the CDS through the Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame filed a motion to have the conviction and the entire proceedings set aside.

    This was after the Attorney General had raised jurisdictional concerns and the fact that the Respondents were not personally served with the Contempt Application.

    Jonathan Obodai Sai, an Estate Developer filed an application for Contempt against the Minister and the CDS after the High Court had entered judgment in his favour on November 1, 2018.

    Despite having judgement in his favour, he contended that, the military was still interfering with the portions of the land that the court judgement covered against the minister, the CDS and the Attorney General.

    As a result, he initiated a Contempt application against the Minister and CDS which succeeded with the Respondents (Minister and CDS) convicted for Contempt.

    With the matter coming to the attention of the Attorney General when a court had fixed a date for sentencing, an application to have the conviction and the entire contempt proceedings set aside was moved.

    Counsel for the Applicant (Respondent) led by Lwayer Charles Amon Kotei, opposed to the application and urged the court to dismiss the application.

    The High Court in Accra presided over by Justice Nabeela Naeema Wahab after listening to the parties said when a matter of jurisdiction succeed, the court cannot proceed with its sentencing.

    The court said it renders the entire proceedings a nullity before setting aside its conviction and entire contempt proceedings.

    EIB Network’s Legal Affairs Correspondent, Murtala Inusah, who was in court reports that a cost of GHc1,000 was awarded against Jonathan Obodai Sai, the Applicant.

    AG’s argument

    In Court on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, while moving the application for the Court to set aside the conviction and the entire Contempt proceeding against the convicted Respondents, the Attorney General (AG) Godfred Yeboah Dame said, the basis of the application are that the Respondents (applicants) became aware of the conviction after “I the Attorney General had indicated to them the fact of the pendency of the instant application, the conviction and the adjournment for sentencing.”

    This according to the AG, was because, the proceedings were conducted on behalf of the Respondents by the Legal Department of the Ghana Armed Forces, who assumed responsibility without bringing it down to the personal notice of the persons involved.

    Godfred Dame while advancing his argument said a consory examination of the motion for committal for Contempt, will show that there were no proper Respondents named in the application.

    “The application clearly was titled the Minister for Defence and Chief of Defence Staff and the application was brought in the official capacity of the Respondents,” Godfred Dame pointed out.

    He said, “It is trite learning that application for Contempt is personal and each of the act complained of must have been committed personally by specified persons named in the affidavit.”

    No legal effect

    It was the case of the AG that, “where no named person had been specified as Respondent to the application, the indication is that, there was no proper person clearly named as a Respondent to the application.”

    The AG contended that, “the ultimate result is that the application is a nullity, void and of no legal effect and the court has no power to punish where no person had been named as the Respondent.”

    Godfred Dame argued that, Contempt is quasi criminal and being quasi criminal it must be prosecuted in the same manner as a criminal action.

    He added that, “even if a public officer had committed an act and is to be committed for contempt, you can’t charge the office and the said public office cannot be named.”

    The AG argued further that, the charge is brought against the specific public officer to be charged personally, because the holder of public office can change anytime.

    “The implications would be that, a subsequent change in the holder of the Public Office will render any person who subsequently occupies that Public Office liable for the Contempt in this manner,” the AG argued.

    CDS now, not CDS then

    It was the contention of the Attorney General, that, “at the material time the alleged Contempt of Court was committed, the 2nd Respondent (CDS) was not even Chief of Defence Staff.

    The AG said, he was appointed in 2022 after the said alleged contempt act was committed.

    While pointing to certain paragraphs in the Respondents affidavits in support, the AG said, the court will note that all the matters constituting Contempt of Court were committed between December 2018 and May 2020.

    “All the various act impeding the judgement had taken place when the 2nd Respondent (CDS) was not in office.

    *In terms of Contempt, the specific officer whose action is the subject of the complaint of the Contempt have to be personally named as a Respondent to the Contempt application and not his office,” the AG argued.

    GAF not a corporate entity

    “It matters not that, the act complaint about were allegedly committed by a corporate entity and indeed in this situation the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is not even a corporate entity,” he stated.

    He said, GAF is “not a legal entity on it own capable of suing and being sued.”

    “If one has a complaint against the GAF, the cause of action would be against the Attorney General and not the Ghana Armed Forces because the armed forces are part of government of Ghana,” he explained.

    He said, even in the case of a corporate entity where a Contempt is alleged , the directors of the entity must be specifically named as Respondents in the Contempt application and (the said) act committed by each of them specified.

    “While the corporate entity itself would be liable for Contempt, it would not be legally competent or sufficient for the office of the managing Director or another office Director to be cited for Contempt.

    “The individual directors must be named personally and personal liability shown against each of them,” he argued.

    Montie 3

    The AG while citing authorities made reference to ‘The Repubilc vs Abu Ramadan and Nimako no.4 against the Electoral Commission and the Attorney General’ where apart from the contemnors, individual owners of Montie 3 were also handed punishment.

    To buttress his argument, the AG said, for a Contempt application against corporate bodies to be liable, individual directors have to be named otherwise, no case had been made.

    “If a Contempt application is treated the same as criminal proceedings, then it goes without saying that a Contempt application brought against a public officer in his official capacity as a minister cannot hold,” the AG argued.

    Conditions precedent

    Mr Godfred Dame further argued that, the Contempt application was deployed as one of the means of enforcing the obedience to the judgement of the High Court

    He said, the rules of the court had stated clearly in a situation where a Contempt application is being deployed in enforcing a judgment of the High Court and where such an application has to commence.

    “In conditions precedent for invoking Contempt as a means for enforcing obedience and judgement of this court dated November 1, 2018, were never complied with by the applicant (Respondent) herein,” he argued.

    He said per Order 43(1) CI47, the court will note that the commitment for Contempt had been specified for immovable properties and the conditions in evoking Contempt is that applicant was complaining about his denial to enter into the property.

    To this, he said one of the reliefs in the committal for Contempt is that, the person in possession may be served personally and the person has to show that the person has personal knowledge

    Incompetent application

    While describing the Contempt application as “incompetent,” the AG said it was of no legal effect because the condition precedent was to satisfy Order 43.

    He said the application was null, void and of no legal effect and prayed for “the entire conviction and Contempt proceeding be set aside.”

    Opposition

    Counsel for the Applicant (Respondent), Charles Amon Kotei, opposed to the application for the court to set aside the Contempt, the conviction and the entire proceedings.

    “We opposed the instance application which has been canvases on behalf of the Respondents (Minister and CDS) and that the application ought to have been brought against them personally.

    Counsel said, all offices are occupied by personalities and the said personalities hold the office in a period of time.

    According to him, if the application for committal for Contempt filed against the Respondents and have been served on them and being it their matter personally, they can engage personal counsel to defence them in court.

    He contended that, the affidavit in opposition for Contempt was filed by a competent lawyer at the BAR on behalf of the Respondents.

    Counsel said, the depositions in the affidavit in opposition was also sworn to by a competent member of the BAR.

    He said, “the learned trial judge ordered that parties to file written submissions in the matter and again a lawyer who has always represented the Respondents file written submissions on their behalf.”

    Lawyer Kotei said, it had been deposed to in their affidavit in support of the application that the Respondent were not aware of the application for Contempt and that because aware on May 19, 2023.

    “It is our case that a lawyer of good standing at the BAR knowing the consequences of acting without instructions will not proceed to act on behalf of the Respondents when he had no instructions from them,” Counsel argued.

    No merit

    Counsel said, “The application that was filed before this honorable court for committal for Contempt was argued on its merit and the court delivered its decision against the Respondents.

    “It is our case that if the Respondents are dissatisfied with the decision of the court, they can always appeal against the said decision and not to bring the instance application,” counsel argued.

    “It is also our case that the grounds canvassed will not go to jurisdictions to annul the conviction of Contempt proceedings that took place before this court and when one look at the substance and not the form, the court did not erred in convicting the Respondents.

    Counsel subsequently prayed that the instance application is of “no merit and same out to be dismissed.”

    By Court

    The High Court (Land Court 9) presided over by Justice Nabeela Naeema Wahab, after listening to the application filed by the 1st and 2nd Respondents on June 5 and the affidavit in opposition from Lawyers of Jonathan Obodai Said, the court set aside the conviction and the entire Contempt proceedings.

    While referring to the Supreme Court decisions, the court said jurisdiction is so fundamental that it’s absence in a court renders the court proceedings a nulity

    “The court considers therefore that even though the Contempt proceedings have already been heard and a ruling delivered, the proceedings against the parties not personally named as party deprived the court the jurisdiction to consider the sentence,” the judge held.

    “A judgment or order given or made without jurisdiction is void and the court is under a legal obligation to set same aside or an application for the parties affected.

    Justice Wahab held that, no judicial discretion arises here,” in situations where jurisdiction is raised.

    To this end, the court ruled that the “Contempt proceedings and the conviction of the Respondents (applicants) are therefore set aside.”

  • I still cry every morning over my son’s death – Davido

    I still cry every morning over my son’s death – Davido

    Nigerian Afrobeats singer David Adeleke, widely recognized as Davido, has recently shared his thoughts on how he is managing the loss of his son, Ifeanyi Adeleke.

    The superstar explained how, despite suffering through such a traumatic experience, he was still able to release his fourth studio album “Timeless”.

    Davido stated that while some listeners anticipated Timeless would be full of depressing tunes, he surprised them by including “bangers” instead.

    The OBO Crooner stated that even though he overcame the difficult time following his son’s passing, he still sheds tears over it every morning.

    However, he said, he must continue to be strong for his wife, Chioma, and those who have faith in him.

    He said, “I miss him every day, there’s tears coming out of my eyes every morning, you don’t have to see it.

    I look at myself in the mirror and I said apart from it just being about me, I know how many people love me, I know how many people are depending on me.

    “My son up there is looking down at me. Apart from me being strong for his mom, which is my primary responsibility, I have to be strong for the world.

    “A lot of people thought the album was just going to be a lot of sad songs, we gave them bangers on bangers.

    “My son is dancing and my mom is dancing in heaven. So for people to see that it’s possible to stand up again and be able to work, it’s only God.

    “Those were one of the things that and my wife relied on, God is real. Then everything just aligned back, we performed better, business is better.”

  • KMA bans Aboboya, Pragyia in key parts of Kumasi

    KMA bans Aboboya, Pragyia in key parts of Kumasi

    The transport sub-committee of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has put forth a recommendation to impose limitations on Aboboya and Pragyia (tricycles) within the key areas of Kumasi’s central business district.

    According to Afia Konadu, the Public Relations Officer of the KMA, the new measure aims to alleviate congestion in the central business district.

    Speaking on Kessben FM, she confirmed that the proposal has been accepted by the General Assembly of the KMA.

    Initially scheduled to be implemented on June 15, 2023, the implementation has been delayed due to additional engagements that need to be addressed.

    Konadu emphasized that after conducting the necessary stakeholder consultations, an official announcement regarding the restriction will be made.

    The move by KMA comes after the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council led by the Regional Minister, Henry Quartey announced a ban on tricycles on Highways within the national capital.

    The ban is aimed at ensuring compliance enforcement of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 (LI 2180) came into effect on November 1, 2021.