Since Ghana’s petroleum production began, the total revenue from petroleum products reached its highest level for a single year.
Ghana made $1.43 billion from petroleum production in 2022 alone, due to happenings on the international market as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“Crude oil production has been declining for three consecutive years. A volume of 71,439,585 barrels was produced in 2019, but declined to 66,926,806 barrels in 2020, representing 6.32 percent.
It further declined to 55,050,391 barrels in 2021 (17.75%) and then to 51,756,481 barrels in 2022 (5.98%). The average decline over the three-year period stood at 10 percent. Total petroleum revenue in 2022 is the highest for a single year since the inception of petroleum production in Ghana with a figure of US$1.43 billion,” parts of the report noted.
The 2022 Annual Report covers the period January to December 2022 and encompasses a broad range of issues relating to petroleum revenue management such as information on production, liftings, total revenues accruing and allocation by the Government, ABFA utilization, and the management of the funds set aside in the Ghana Petroleum Funds (Ghana Stabilisation Fund and the Ghana Heritage Fund).
The report also stated that surface Rental Arrears continue to rise. It increased from US$2.58 million in 2021 to US$2.77 million in 2022, 65 percent (US$1.80 million) of which is owned by four (4) contractors whose Petroleum Agreements were terminated in 2021. Efforts made by the Ghana Revenue Authority to retrieve the arrears are yet to yield the desired results.
It added, “For two consecutive years (2021 – 1.74% and 2022 – 2.39%), the Ministry of Finance has not been able to meet the requirement to transfer five (5) percent of the ABFA to the District Assembly Common Fund, contrary to the decision of the Supreme Court of Ghana in the case of Kpodo and Another vs Attorney-General in 2019.”
Nigerian Singer, Spyro, the current sensation in the music industry, has acquired two new, luxurious houses.
The “Who is Your Guy” hit singer proudly shared on Instagram that he has acquired a new home. The talented singer, who recently collaborated with Tiwa Savage on the hit remix of ‘Who is Your Guy,’ bought not one but two units in a swanky new house—one for himself and the other for his business partner.
“From zero to owning a property… ah I #COUNTMYBLESSINGS big time. I didn’t just buy it for myself; I bought the opposite unit for my business partner too. God has been good and kind to me,” he wrote.
Spyro’s rise to fame has been nothing short of meteoric, thanks in part to his recent collaboration with the sensational Tiwa Savage on the remix of their chart-topping hit, Who is Your Guy?
The song has been dominating the charts and capturing hearts all over, earning Spyro a massive fan following. His success has been truly remarkable, and he’s been receiving tonnes of congratulatory messages from fans and well-wishers alike.
But, as with any success story, there are always naysayers. Some people have been spreading rumours, speculating that Spyro might be involved in fraudulent activities, and suggesting that he’s just disguising himself with music. However, Spyro’s loyal fans have been quick to come to his defence, showering him with love and support.
Despite the gossip, one thing is for sure: the singer’s hard work and dedication to his craft has begun to pay off, and he’s reaping the rewards of his success.
Congratulations, Spyro, and here’s to even more success in the future! Keep rocking the music world!
Production for 2020 declined to 66,926,806 barrels and further declined to 55,050,391 barrels in 2021.
This further declined to 51,756,481 barrels in 2022.
“Crude oil production has been declining for three consecutive years. A volume of 71,439,585 barrels was produced in 2019, but declined to 66,926,806 barrels in 2020, representing 6.32 percent. It further declined to 55,050,391 barrels in 2021 (17.75%) and then to 51,756,481 barrels in 2022 (5.98%). The average decline over the three-year period stood at 10 percent,” the report noted.
PIAC however recommended that Ghana needs to speed up the sustainable development of its petroleum resources to reverse the decline in petroleum production through the attraction of new investors as well as early completion of ongoing projects.
The 2022 Annual Report covers the period from January to December 2022 and encompasses a broad range of issues relating to petroleum revenue management such as information on production, liftings, total revenues accruing and allocation by the Government, ABFA utilization, and the management of the funds set aside in the Ghana Petroleum Funds (Ghana Stabilisation Fund and the Ghana Heritage Fund).
An Adolescent Focal Person at the Tema General Hospital, Naana Egyiriba Idun-Acquah, has revealed that the facility recorded high cases of teenage pregnancies.
She said this at an organized free health and education exercise in Tema Community 12 to enhance the well-being of residents.
She noted that parents failed to educate their adolescent children on sex education, describing the 10- to 19-year-old age group as the “curious about sex” stage.
She said, parents must build a bond with their children, where sex education could be easily discussed, stressing that, it would help the children fight the urge to experiment with sex because pregnancy did not require multiple instances but just one act.
Adolescent Focal Person revealed that teenage pregnancy had many health consequences, like pre-eclampsia, a blood pressure (BP) illness, and excessive bleeding after birth, easily resulting in death.
She explained that, during pregnancy, the body required lots of blood speculation, but because at adolescence, the body was not mature enough to cater for such activities, it led to many health issues, coupled with emotional distress, social stigma, and economic problems.
Madam Idun-Acquah also revealed that some parents, in their attempt to punish the girl child, made her do more hours of chores and refused to provide her with money for feeding.
She said nutrition and rest were critical to the survival of a pregnant woman; therefore, she appealed to parents to show compassion and support the expectant mothers until they delivered.
The Adolescent Focal Person, however, revealed that the Tema General Hospital also administered free sex education to adolescents and, therefore, advised parents to take advantage of it.
The Member of Parliament for the Subin constituency in the Ashanti region, Eugene Boakye Antwi, has alleged that President Akufo-Addo and NPP hopeful, Alan Kyerematen, engaged in vote buying during the 2007 NPP congress.
He revealed the breakdown of monies paid by top politicians of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) during two consecutive congresses.
The MP specifically cited the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) 2007 presidential primaries held at the University of Ghana, Legon as well as the 2010 round-off primaries of the party.
According to him, most of the contestants tried to influence the election outcome by using money, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
The MP mentioned some of the key contenders in that election, including Alan Kyerematen, Hackman Owusu Agyeman, and Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, among others, alleging that all of them paid huge sums of money to try and sway the election in their favour, however, despite their financial clout, they all lost to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who emerged as the winner in all the two consecutive congresses.
Speaking in an interview with Hello FM on April 20, 2023, he disclosed that during the 2007 NPP congress, the then-flagbearer of the party, now the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, paid three hundred Ghana cedis, in comparison, five other candidates, including Alan Kyerematen, paid five hundred Ghana cedis each.
With respect to the 2010 congress, where Nana Addo went up against Alan Kyerematen, Eugene Boakye Antwi revealed that Nana Addo paid five Ghana cedis, while Alan Kyerematen paid four times that amount, twenty Ghana cedis.
“2007, among the seventeen people who stood for the election, I was Nana Addo Dankwa’s polling Agent at Legon, but about 5 people paid more than Nana Akufo-Addo, Nana Akufo-Addo paid GHS 300.00 and about five people paid five hundred but they didn’t vote for them.
“…let’s go back again, 2010 primaries, Nana Addo and Alan Kyerematen round two, Nana Addo paid GHS 5.00 and Alan Kyerematen paid GHS 20.00, he paid GHS 5.00 and Alan Kyerematen paid four times of it that is GHS 20.00 but the delegates voted for Nana Addo. So is not all about the money,” he said.
His revelations come at a time when there are growing concerns about the role of money in Ghanaian politics and allegations of vote-buying in the party’s upcoming primaries as some party stalwarts and flagbearer hopeful has hinted at displaying cash during the election.
Popular Nollywood actress, Rita Dominic, and her husband, Fidelis Anosike, commemorated the first anniversary of their traditional wedding yesterday, Wednesday, April 19.
The couple, who tied the knot in a grand ceremony that was the talk of the town in 2022, took to social media to share their joy on this special occasion. Rita Dominic, sharing stunning photos from their traditional wedding, captioned the post with “19th April, one year today.”
The traditional wedding took place in Dominic’s home state, Imo, on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. She and her partner got engaged in April of the same year.
She was hosted by friends to a very beautiful and colourful bridal shower. The private event saw some of Nollywood’s screen goddesses in attendance.
From Ego Boyo, Ini Edo, Kate Henshaw, Dakore Egbuson-Akande to Mo Abudu, Joke Silva, Chioma Chukwuka, Michelle Dede, it was indeed a beautiful evening filled with fun and laughter.
Ghanaian gospel musician, Evangelist Edward Akwasi Boateng, has opened up on why his ex-wife divorced him despite sending her to the United States of America.
He disclosed this in a recent interview with Dave Hammer on Hello Entertainment Review show.
The ‘ Makoma so ade’ hitmaker, revealed that his wife left him because he got broke at a point in time during their marriage.
Evangelist Edward Akwasi Boateng added that his former wife threatened to divorce him before her family finally brought back his ‘Etiri nsa’ some 5 years ago
The veteran musician noted that many pastors, including Evangelist Akwasi Awuah and Pastor George Owusu Mensah, tried their best to help save the marriage but were unsuccessful because she kept saying no.
Evangelist Edward continued by asserting that despite his bitter experience in marriage, he still considers remarrying.
He stressed that he has been single for the past 5 years and has prepared himself very well to enter into marriage for the second time at age 53.
April is the Lookalike month. A good number of celebrity lookalikes have popped up on the internet in the lady few days since we started the month of April.
It looks like every popular figure in Ghana has a clone somewhere and a popular fetish priestess turned evangelist Nana Agradaa has had her share.
A lady has surfaced claiming to be the lookalike of Nana Agradaa. She has stormed TikTok sharing videos of herself appearing the same as the latter.
Nana Agradaa has replied to the lady warning her to stop priding in herself as her lookalike.
An angry Agradaa threatened to bruise the head of the lady if she continues to disturb social media with videos mimicking her as a lookalike.
Filming on Alec Baldwin’s Western movie Rust is resuming on Thursday, 18 months after the fatal on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Baldwin, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter, is remaining in the the starring role.
Principal photography is starting up again at a new location in Montana.
“It will bar any use of working weapons and any form of ammunition,” said Melina Spadone, lawyer for Rust Movie Productions.
“Live ammunition is – and always was – prohibited on set.”
Image caption, Cinematographer Hutchins was regarded as a rising talent in the film industry
Bianca Cline will take Hutchins’ place as cinematographer, with Joel Souza, who was injured in the shooting in New Mexico, returning as director.
Hutchins’ husband Matthew will be an executive producer. Baldwin is a producer as well as the film’s star.
Rust Movie productions, which Baldwin is part of, said in February the scene that was being rehearsed when Hutchins was shot has now been rewritten.
The company added that Cline, whose credits include Marcel the Shell With Shoes On and American Horror Story, will “complete Halyna’s vision for the film” and donate her salary to charity.
Souza said in February: “Though bittersweet, I am grateful that a brilliant and dedicated new production team joining former cast and crew are committed to completing what Halyna and I started.
“My every effort on this film will be devoted to honouring Halyna’s legacy and making her proud. It is a privilege to see this through on her behalf.”
Charges denied
In October 2021, Baldwin was rehearsing a scene on the set at a ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico, when the “prop” gun he was holding fired, resulting in the death of the 42-year-old Ukrainian-born cinematographer.
Charges of involuntary manslaughter were brought against him and the film’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez Reed by the Santa Fe District Attorney’s office last month.
Lawyers for both denied any wrongdoing and said they intended to fight the charges in court.
Baldwin’s lawyer, Luke Nikas, called the decision to charge the actor “a terrible miscarriage of justice”.
“Mr Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on the movie set,” Mr Nikas said. “He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds.”
A two-week preliminary hearing is due to begin in Santa Fe in early May to decide whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
The Hollywood star has reached a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Mr Hutchins.
In February, Hutchins’ family filed a new civil lawsuit against Baldwin and the production company seeking damages for alleged battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and loss of consortium.
Hutchins’ widower Matthew also approved a documentary about her in February.
The death of K-pop star Moonbin has shocked fans around the world – and again highlighted the pressures such performers face.
The 25-year-old member of boy band Astro was a singer, actor and model. His death came in the middle of a world tour of his duo with fellow Astro member Sanha.
While the exact cause of death is still being investigated, police said Moonbin “appears to have taken his own life”.
It’s the latest in a string of sudden young celebrity deaths to hit the South Korean entertainment industry.
Jung Chae-yull, a 26-year-old actress, was found dead in her home earlier this month. Actress Yoo Joo-eun died at the age of 27 in August last year. Sulli, former member of girl group f(x), died in 2019 aged 25 following a long struggle with online bullying. And her close friend Goo Hara, also a K-pop star, was found dead at home a month later.
Not all were acknowledged as suicides. But the loss of Moonbin has renewed scrutiny on the highly competitive world of Korean show business.
The hard road to be a K-pop star
Known for its hyper-competitive culture, South Korea also has the highest rate of youth suicide among developed countries. While its overall suicide rate is falling, deaths of those in their 20s are rising.Media caption,
Watch: Mourners leave notes and balloons on the street for K-pop star Moonbin
And being a celebrity in South Korea means they would be under much higher pressure compared to pop stars in North America or Europe, according to Rob Schwartz, an Asia correspondent for Billboard Magazine.
The competition is fierce from the beginning. Entertainer is a highly popular career choice for aspiring young Koreans. A survey done by the South Korean education ministry in 2021 showed actors, models and singers were among the top 10 dream jobs for primary school pupils.
To be a K-pop star, most people need to go through a gruelling training period, which means they will largely lose connections with their friends and peers, and this could last for years.
In the case of Moonbin, despite already having been a child actor in the Asia-wide popular Korean drama series Boys Over Flowers at the age of 11, he still needed to train for eight years before making his debut as a member of the idol group Astor. His sister, Moon Sua, also a K-pop singer with girl band Billlie, spent 12 years preparing.
After numerous intense rounds of selection, only a small number of trainees make it to the stage. And what awaits them is an industry that’s already overwhelmed with stars.
The control from celebrities’ agencies and fan culture are two main contributors to the massive stress Korean stars face, Mr Schwartz pointed out.
It used to be a common case that new starts would be tied into so-called slave contracts – long exclusive deals with little control of their schedule or financial reward.
While some K-pop stars have won cases freeing them from unreasonable contracts in recent years, he doesn’t think the relationship between the two parties has fundamentally changed.
“K-pop stars have more control, in the sense that they are not as controlled,” says Mr Schwartz. “Things have changed, I would not necessarily say they got better.”
And enthusiasm from the fans, amplified by the country’s extremely active social media, could be a double-edged sword sometimes.
“They pay attention to every move, they comment on their hair,” explains Mr Schwartz. “It’s crazy how they have these guys under a microscope.”
Once they have debuted, celebrities are not only closely watched by their fans, but by the whole of society. In a country where disparity has long been a talking point, being a public figure means higher standards expected by the public.
Drunk driving, commonly considered as one of the worst offences a public figure can commit in South Korea, could easily end one’s career there. Prominent actress Kim Sae-ron, 22, faced huge backlash from the public after crashing her car while drunk driving.
“Korea has a very strict moral standard for celebrities compared to other countries,” says Korean pop culture critic Ha Jae-kun.
“If a star behaves only a little different from what’s perceived ‘decent’, the public would attack them. And it’s hard for a star to ignore this kind of assault because of the high social pressure from a strong collectivism.”
The stigma
Being a celebrity with mental health issues could be extremely hard, insiders have pointed out.
In an interview with BBC Korean in 2017, rap star Swings, who himself has been diagnosed with multiple mental disorders, revealed the burden it could be for them.
“It’s like walking around naked,” he said. “They say ‘I thought this guy was ill, you know, how does he get on stage to perform?’ They obviously don’t know what’s going on.”
The industry is aware of the strain on their stars’ mental health, and some K-pop idols have been taking long breaks for wellbeing reasons.
Jeongyeon, member of top girl group Twice, has taken four rounds of breaks since 2020 due to mental health issues and a neck injury. She made her comeback last month. Moonbin also went on hiatus in 2019 and 2020, citing health reasons.
Multiple agencies also have introduced therapist sessions for trainees and celebrities. Naver, the biggest search engine in South Korea, shut down the comment section under its entertainment news in 2020, recognising how potentially toxic the environment had become.
But some still don’t see a momentum of fundamental change coming soon.
“K-pop is its own thing and everybody would like to make it better for K-pop idols. But how do you go about that?” argues Mr Schwartz.
“The super fans are so obsessed with these idols, it seems like a vicious cycle of being placed under microscope to perform at a high level.”
is to close its news site and cut its workforce by 15%, chief executive Jonah Peretti has said.
It comes as the digital media company faces serious financial challenges, including a slump in advertising spending.
Calling the decisions “deeply painful”, Mr Peretti said he could not invest more in the unprofitable news site.
He said the firm would focus on delivering news via the HuffPost, which Buzzfeed took over two years ago.
“Our industry is hurting and ready to be reborn,” he said in a memo to staff. “We are taking great pains today, and will begin to fight our way to a bright future.”
Founded in 2006, Buzzfeed was once one of the trendiest names in online media, known for its quizzes and viral content, as well as a serious news operation.
But the firm, which employed more than 1,300 people globally at the end of last year, has shifted away from news, as bringing in ad revenue became more difficult and other lines of business, such as producing custom content, grew more quickly.
It listed on the stock exchange in 2021, but raised far less money than it had hoped.
“While layoffs are occurring across nearly every division, we’ve determined that the company can no longer continue to fund BuzzFeed News as a standalone organization,” Mr Peretti wrote to staff.
The company, which will continue to operate HuffPost, its food brand Tasty, Complex Networks, and its namesake website, had already announced a round of layoffs in December that affected roughly 170 people or 12% of staff.
The latest cuts involve about 180 jobs. Buzzfeed said it expected to incur $7m (£5.6m) – $11m (£8.8m) in severance and other charges connected to the move.
Some of the news staff may find roles in other parts of the firm, the company said.
Shares fell 20% on Thursday on the news, reducing its market value to about $100m (£80m) – a fraction of the more than $1.5bn (£1.2bn) valuation investors were reportedly discussing just two years ago.
“We’ve faced more challenges than I can count in the past few years,” Mr Peretti said.
“But I also want to be clear: I could have managed these changes better as the CEO of this company and our leadership team could have performed better despite these circumstances.”
Mr Peretti said he had been “slow to accept” the difficulties of making money from online news dominated by big tech platforms and that the firm should have generated more revenue after acquiring Complex in 2021, which runs the music site Complex and other brands.
Chief revenue officer Edgar Hernandez and chief operating office Christian Baesler are among those leaving the company.
Paul O’Grady‘s funeral has taken place near his home in Kent after fans lined the streets to pay their respects – many with their dogs.
The comedian and presenter, who died last month at the age of 67, was laid to rest following a private service.
Fellow comic Julian Clary and actor Michael Cashman delivered readings.
Hundreds of mourners, and their pets, turned out in the village of Aldington to view the cortege and say farewell to the host of ITV’s For the Love of Dogs.
Image caption, O’Grady’s husband Andre Portasio (right) rode with their pet Conchita on the funeral carriageImage caption, One of the floral tributes was of O’Grady’s beloved dog Buster
A horse-drawn carriage carried O’Grady’s wooden coffin, along with husband Andre Portasio and their dog Conchita, through Aldington and to St Rumwold’s Church in nearby Bonnington.
O’Grady’s daughter, Sharyn Mousley, entered with a young man, reported to be O’Grady’s grandson, holding the wig of Lily Savage – the comedian’s drag alter ego.
Image caption, O’Grady’s daughter Sharyn Mousley with a young mourner carrying Lily Savage’s wig
His coffin was then placed next to the grave of his former partner Brendan Murphy, who died in 2005.
The funeral was also attended by Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, actress Dame Sheila Hancock and comics Alan Carr and Jo Brand.
Coronation Street’s Sally Lindsay, TV presenter Gaby Roslin, celebrity chef Andi Oliver, LGBT rights campaigner Peter Tatchell and EastEnders actresses Cheryl Fergison and Linda Henry were also there.
Image caption, Rolling Stones star Ronnie and wife Sally were among those at the serviceImage caption, Melanie Sykes and Alan Carr attended the funeral
A dog called Ernie, from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, where O’Grady filmed his ITV series, greeted people arriving for the funeral.
Ali Taylor, head of canine behaviour at Battersea, said: “Ernie met Paul two years ago when he was about five weeks old. He’s met him several times. We felt he should come along today.
“We’re here to really honour Paul and everything he has done for everyone, all the different communities, and especially Battersea.”
Clapping, tears and a lot of dogs.
That was the scene in Aldington, where a crowd of around 300 to 400 turned out on a bitingly cold day to pay their respects to Paul O’Grady.
Just after 14:30 BST, his horse-drawn hearse made its way through the village he called home for more than two decades. His husband Andre Portasio sat in dignified silence at the front of the carriage, looking out over the gathering. Through the back window of the hearse, a dog-shaped floral tribute to O’Grady’s beloved Buster could be seen.
“That was amazing. I had to be here to say goodbye. And I’m so glad I did.” That was the reaction immediately afterwards of Laura Morrison, who had come from London with her two daughters. They were wearing their own “In Our Hearts” Paul O’Grady T-shirts.
She had brought flowers to throw at the procession, but they were then returned to her.
“A kind lady just gave them back and told us to press them and we’re going to frame them to remember the day.”
That is how much being here meant to people.
One small moment to note – about 30 seconds before his hearse arrived, fans trying to get a better view pushed against a Mini, meaning the whole scenario was soundtracked by a car alarm going off. As soon as the procession went past, it stopped.
I suspect Paul O’Grady would have laughed at that.
Another mourner, Astrid Allen, travelled with her dogs from Margate to line the streets in Aldington.
She told the BBC that O’Grady had “put rehoming dogs on the map, and did so much for Battersea, for the LGBT community”.
Image caption, Fleur Boyd (left) and her mother Astrid Allen travelled from Margate
The Reverend Canon Roger Martin described the funeral as a “very fitting send-off” to O’Grady.
The vicar told the PA news agency: “The mood was very jolly. There were some recordings of Paul, favourite clips, a good selection of varied music, it was light-hearted. It was a moving occasion.”
The eulogy from Clary as “very entertaining”, he said, while Lord Cashman read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, which begins “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
Image caption, O’Grady reportedly died of sudden cardiac arrhythmia
The music included You Gotta Get A Gimmick from Stephen Sondheim’s 1959 musical Gypsy, which O’Grady famously performed as Lily Savage alongside Cilla Black and Dame Barbara Windsor at the 2001 Royal Variety Performance.
The other musical choices included Meditation from the opera Thais by French composer Jules Massenet, which was O’Grady’s favourite when he appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs in 2003.
The closing music was Looking For Trouble by Elvis Presley.
Image caption, A sign saying “Thank you Mr O’Grady” and collages of dog drawings were placed outside Aldington Primary School
Pupils from Aldington Primary School paid their respects by displaying banners and pictures.
Co-headteacher Ben Dawson recalled: “Everyone who met him would say, what you see on the screen is what you see in real life. He was a larger-than-life character who lit up a room.
“As a community, we took him into our hearts and he took us into his.”
Claire Gates, a year two teacher, said: “He was lovely and very, very appreciative of teaching, and always said how he could never do it. He could have lived up the top of the hill and had nothing to do with us, but he didn’t. He made a conscious effort.”
Image caption, O’Grady had a strong connection with animals, including those on his TV show
The presence of a number of dogs from Battersea signified O’Grady’s role as an ambassador for the animal home, as well as the connection through his popular TV series.
Following his death, Battersea set up a “tribute fund”, which has raised more than £270,000 for the charity.
Mourners also gathered with their dogs as part of a community event in Birkenhead in Merseyside, where the star was born and grew up.
After a strong come back and a massive welcome of Ghanaian musician Kidi from his short illness, he has come out to share snippets of his new single yet to be released.
Fans and loved one’s as usual were expecting a banger from him after his comeback.
KiDi in a public statement that announced his comeback after a two-month break highlighted the love and support Ghanaians and music lovers offered him during his absence.
On Friday, April 14 some colleagues of the music and his fans took over the comment section of the post that confirmed the artiste was in good health. This comes after speculations that the reigning VGMA Artiste of the Year was down with a stroke, a claim his management had earlier debunked.
Ghanaian superstar Kidi has shared a pre-cover version of his song yet to be released.
The short emotional cover which simply talks about pain, grief, lies, health, life has drawn netizens attention to the fact that in recent news, rumors circulated that Kidi had stroke.
However, in a recent post on his Instagram page, Kidi put all the rumors to rest. He shared a video of himself dancing energetically to one of his hit songs, and it’s safe to say that he looks absolutely fine!
In the post, Kidiwrote, “Rumors of me suffering from a stroke are false. I am healthy and doing well. Thank you to all my fans for your love and concern.”
The news of Kidi‘s return was met with great excitement from his fans, who have been eagerly anticipating new music from the award-winning artist. Kidi has been working hard in the studio and has promised to release new music very soon.
In the meantime, fans can catch up on Kidi’s previous hits, including “Say Cheese,” “Enjoyment,” and “Touch It.” These songs have been dominating the charts and airwaves for months, and it’s no surprise why – they are absolute bangers!
Immediate-past Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof Kwabena Frimpong Boateng has mentioned some top government officials involved in the illegal mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey’.
According to the renowned Cardiologist who was a minister President Akufo-Addo during his first term, the rot goes as high as the government seat, Jubilee House.
This was revealed in a 36-page report purportedly written by Prof. Boateng addressed to the president, the Chief of Staff, and the police.
In the said document, the renowned surgeon mentioned some individuals he claims frustrated his effort and the committee he chaired from addressing the canker.
“Throughout our struggle with illegalities in the small-scale mining sector, what baffled me was the total disregard of the President’s commitment to protecting the environment.
“I can state without any equivocation that many party officials from the national to the unit committee level had their friends, PAs, agents, relatives, financiers, or relatives engaged in illegal mining. Most of them engaged Chinese working for them.
“There are appointees in the Jubilee House that are doing or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace,” excerpts of the document said.
Professor Frimpong also accused a former NPP MP in the Ashanti Region of selling illegally acquired concessions at GH¢200,000 each.
According to him, this “infuriated the party in the constituency so during the 2020 primaries to select a candidate the electorate voted against NPP MP, the then sitting MP, who was more resourced than other candidates.
Although there were allegations that he ‘camped’ delegates and attempted to bribe them, he lost to a lesser-known individual who did not have any financial muscle.
Prof Frimpong Boateng, earlier in March, insisted that the rot goes as high as the government seat, Jubilee House.
In an interview with state broadcaster GBC, the former Minister said these individuals supervised his ousting from the Ministry in order to continue perpetuating the canker.
Prof. Boateng stressed that the allegations of some 500 missing excavators from illegal miners in 2020 were fabrications of persons in the government to get him out of the way.
Following the revelation, there were calls from a cross-section of Ghanaians for state security agencies to look into it.
On the back of this, the President asked the Ghana Police Service to probe the matter.
This, the former Minister has written to the Presidency, naming the specific individuals he referred to in his claim.
Naana Egyiriba Idun-Acquah, an Adolescent Focal Person at the Tema General Hospital, has revealed that the facility recorded high cases of teenage pregnancies.
She said this at an organized free health and education exercise in Tema Community 12 to enhance the well-being of residents.
She noted that parents were failing to educate their adolescent children on sex education, describing the 10- to 19-year-old age group as the “curious about sex” stage.
She said, parents must build a bond with their children, where sex education could be easily discussed, stressing that, it would help the children fight the urge to experiment with sex because pregnancy did not require multiple instances but just one act.
Adolescent Focal Person revealed that teenage pregnancy had many health consequences, like pre-eclampsia, a blood pressure (BP) illness, and excessive bleeding after birth, which easily resulted in death.
She explained that, during pregnancy, the body required lots of blood speculation, but because at the adolescent age, the body was not mature enough to cater for such activities, it led to many health issues, coupled with emotional distress, social stigma, and economic problems.
Madam Idun-Acquah also revealed that some parents, in their attempt to punish the girl child, made her do more hours of chores and refused to provide her with money for feeding.
She said nutrition and rest were critical to the survival of a pregnant woman; therefore, she appealed to parents to show compassion and support the expectant mothers until they delivered.
The Adolescent Focal Person, however, revealed that the Tema General Hospital also administered free sex education to adolescents and, therefore, advised parents to take advantage of it.
Representatives of District Assemblies and District Health Management Teams from the northern part of the country have appealed to the government to establish a Public Health Emergency Fund (PHEF) to support the health sector to prevent epidemics.
They argued that while the health sector needed a lot of funds to strengthen it to tackle disease outbreaks and epidemics, the budgetary allocations to the sector were not only inadequate but also not disbursed in the right amounts hence the need for a PHEF to generate more funds for the sector.
They made the appeal at a zonal learning and sharing engagement in Tamale on the prioritisation of allocations to epidemic preparedness.
It was for participants, made up of representatives from various District Assemblies and District Health Management Teams from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions, to share best practices on epidemic preparedness, financing and response.
The districts included Lambusie, Wa, Bawku, Kasena-Nankana, Tatali-Sangule, Tamale, and Gushegu, Yendi.
It was organised by SEND GHANA, a civil society organisation, as part of its activities under the project dubbed: “Advocacy for Epidemic Preparedness Financing”, which is funded by the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI).
The Advocacy for Epidemic Preparedness Financing project seeks to contribute towards epidemic preparedness in the country by holding the government accountable for the commitment it has made to prioritise and increase budgetary allocation and disbursement to epidemic preparedness financing and response activities by strengthening health infrastructure, equipment, and human resources.
Mr Mohammed Abdulai, Tatali-Sangule District Director of Health, who made a presentation on epidemic preparedness planning and budgeting, said “We just learnt lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. When it occurred, we really did not have any source of funding and we had to be running round to put things in order.”
He said “The COVID-19 really exposed the health system; we are not resilient. We really did not know that such a thing could occur and take us on. So, it is important that PHEF is established. We cannot say that diseases will not occur. We can only prepare for them so that we are not taken unawares.”
Madam Rashida Mohammed, Yendi Municipal Planning Officer said “It is important for the nation and for that matter at MMDAs to have PHEF because during the COVID-19 pandemic, we struggled to quarantine people and to put measures to contain it. If we had the PHEF, it would have been easy to rely on it. The PHEF is actually a need.”
Mr Fayi Simon, Focal Person, SEND GHANA, and Lambusie District Information Officer in the Upper West Region said “The PHEF will enable us to take care of other health emergency issues that will be coming in future. The lessons we learnt from not having the fund tell us that we need the fund. I think establishing the PHEF is in the right direction.”
Mr Mohammed Mumuni, Regional Programme Manager of SEND GHANA spoke about the project saying “We have been implementing the project with these districts over the last two years to ensure that they prioritise epidemic preparedness financing and response. We observed that the districts are at different levels of the response rate. So, we needed to bring them together to share experiences and best practices such that they can learn from one another.”
Mr Mumuni said “The practical issue about epidemic preparedness financing and response is the fact that it is the local level that we need the resources to be committed, and at that level is the district assemblies that are in-charge.
The Participatory Action for Rural Development Alternatives (PARDA), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), has presented 214 dual desks to basic schools in the Builsa North Municipality and the Kassena-Nankana West District of the Upper East Region.
Out of the total number of desks valued about GHȻ100,000.00, the Chuchuliga Junior High School (JHS), received 45 pieces, the Alan JHS and Primary Schools received 35 and 55 respectively, while the Gbenia JHS received 79 pieces.
At a brief ceremony to present the furniture, Dr Michael Wombeogo, the Executive Director of PARDA, said the furniture was provided under the core programme funds of the Builsa-Kassena Area Child Development Partnership programme between Children Believe (CB) and PARDA within planned activities for the 2023 financial year.
“This will be the third time PARDA is providing furniture to schools in the Builsa North Municipality and the sixth time in the Kassena-Nankana West District within the past three years,” he noted.
He said it was the desire of PARDA and CB to ensure that no child sat on the floor for academic work, especially children from rural communities in Ghana.
“Clearly, PARDA frowns on inequality in standards of education for the very reason that the elite market must be competed for by all Ghanaians regardless of one’s location and point of learning.
“It is in this consideration that PARDA and CB Ghana have offered to break the odds through the provision of quality teaching and learning materials for pupils within the Builsa North Municipality and the Kassena-Nankana West District,” he said.
Dr Wombeogo said for the past two years, PARDA and CB had provided five Early Childhood Development centres, two Child Welfare Centres, nine boreholes and several varieties of teaching and learning materials in the Municipality and District.
He admonished the beneficiary schools to take the pieces of furniture as their own property to last and continue to provide comfort for teaching and learning, “Taking care of these materials will attract further assistance from PARDA and her partners.”
He thanked the CB team for the continuous funding, which enable it to provide comfortable learning environments for children within the Municipality and District, which are their operational areas in the Region.
Mr Samuel Oppong Kwabiah, the Programmes Manager of CB, noted that furniture deficit was one of the numerous challenges in schools across the country and said stakeholders must take up the responsibility to ensure that pupils learnt in conducive environment.
He urged School Management Committees to take proper care of the furniture and suggested that they could identify crafts men in the communities and engage them to maintain the
furniture on termly basis to shift their support from provision of furniture to other important needs.
“The problems are many, but if community members are able to maintain the little that we provide, it means we will be able to concentrate on other areas,” Mr Kwabiah said.
Mr Felix Apochaab, the Planning and Statistics Officer at the Builsa North Municipal Directorate of the Ghana Education Service, said some of the schools in the Municipality had children lying on their stomachs in classrooms to write.
He said the gesture from PARDA and CB would improve the furniture deficit in the Municipality and called for more support to improve quality education in the Municipality.
Principal of Holy Family Nursing and Midwifery Training College (NMTC), Ms. Monica Nkrumah Berekum says stakeholders’ consultations were advanced for the commencement of Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree programme in Mental Health Nursing at the College.
She said the Mental Health Authority and the Ministry of Health had given approval for the start of the programme from the 2023/2024 academic year to produce qualified mental health nurses to help expand the mental health workforce at health facilities nationwide.
Ms Nkrumah made the announcement when she was speaking at the 2022/2023 matriculation ceremony of the College at Berekum in the Bono Region.
A total of 427 applicants that comprised 200 for registered midwifery and 227 for registered general nursing were admitted for the College’s twin campuses at the Holy Family Catholic Hospital at Berekum, Berekum East Municipality and at the St. Mary’s Catholic Hospital at Drobo in the Jaman South Municipality of the region.
She stated the need for the nation to train more mental health professionals to be deployed to the health sector alongside the increasing population for a positive impact to ensure the quality state of the citizenry’s mental health.
Ms Nkrumah said the consequences of poor mental health on the general population were so palpable that it could predispose victims to a variety of physical illnesses.
This she said could result in the reduction of the quality of lives and individual productivity with associated fewer opportunities for income which might affect the total national productivity.
Ms. Nkrumah added the state of poor mental health could also account for crimes like violence, drug trafficking, child abuse, paedophilia, suicide, and other social vices.
She expressed worry about the mass migration of health care professionals abroad, saying it had become a major challenge confronting the health care fraternity in the country.
Ms Nkrumah said research has shown an average of 400 to 500 nurses and midwives left the country every month to seek greener pastures abroad which had created a massive shortage of personnel in the sector.
She assured parents and guardians of the College’s commitment to providing the students with a friendly environment since both teaching and non-teaching staff were dedicated to preparing them for productive work in the future.
Ms Nkrumah therefore urged parents and guardians to pay their children and wards school fees on time and to settle their indebtedness to enable the College to provide the basic and required equipment and logistics to facilitate effective teaching and learning.
Two elected MPs are to marry in what is believed to be a first for Kenya’s Parliament.
Eric wa Mumbi, MP for Mathira, and Betty Maina, the Murang’a Woman Representative, are currently living together informally but have decided to formalize their relationship.
Cupid’s arrow is said to have struck the couple during the grueling campaigns for the General Election in August 2022.
The wedding will take place soon, and the two politicians are preparing for a “bride price” negotiation.
The Deputy President is set to lead the men’s delegation while another MP will play host on behalf of Ms Maina’s delegation..
Mr. Wa Mumbi met Ms. Maina in 2021 and was smitten, saying: “I discovered that she had everything I wanted in a wife.”
Ms. Maina also had two children from a previous marriage, which ended in divorce. Despite this, she remains friends with her ex-husband, saying she would always be there to defend and support him.
Mr. Wa Mumbi has had a tougher time. He married in 2015 and they were blessed with two sons.
However, tragedy struck when her body was recovered from a dam.Her death was mysterious and complex, and Mr. Wa Mumbi was questioned during the investigation, which eventually fizzled out.
The couple’s relationship is all the more impressive given the setbacks they have both experienced in previous relationships.
However, a former MP said that both politicians have “raw courage as they pursue their goals with ruthless tenacity.” He added that their common drive and focus make them a “classic case of focus and inspiration.”
It’s almost that time of year again, when the Greater Accra Region’s communities are forbidden from creating noise or playing drums in advance of the Homowo celebration by the Ga Traditional Council.
According to Dr. Ago Tetteh, who is the husband of broadcaster Bridget Otoo says, those who have consistently opposed the directive and asked for change have been advised to return to their hometowns if they are unable to abide by the rules of the land.
For years, the young businessman has used his social media platforms to promote the culture of the Gas.
He takes time to highlight their rich traditions and motive the traditional rites of the Ga people who occupy the capital of Ghana.
“The Ga Traditional Council and the Ga state will put a ban on drumming and noise-making in Accra from May 15 to June 21 in lieu of the Homowo festival.
“Kindly respect our tradition or you can relocate to your hometown temporarily if you can’t. Thank you,” he announced in a tweet dated April 20.
In reaction to the post, Bridget informed her husband of her plans of moving to her hometown, Sekondi-Takoradi, Western Region.
“You are not okay. I’m going back to Sekondi-Takoradi,” she teased.
Ghana Music Awards USA has become one of the most highly anticipated events in the Ghanaian entertainment calendar.
The annual award show celebrates Ghanaian artists and musicians in Ghana and those based in the diaspora, particularly in the USA.
Organizers of the event have recently announced the nominees for the 2023 edition, and it promises to be a competitive one.
Black Sherif, Stonebwoy, Piesie Esther, Shatta Wale, Sarkodie, Camidoh, and Kidi were nominated in the Artiste of the Year category.
According to the Founder of Ghana Music Awards, USA (GMA-USA), Don D, a lot of preparations have gone into making this year’s event even better than previous years.
Don D stated that the entire production of the event will see a huge and massive revamp, promising an even more memorable experience for attendees for its 4th edition.
The Ghana Music Awards USA has grown significantly since its inception, with each year’s event becoming more star-studded and the competition more intense.
Check out the full list of nominees below
Artiste of the Year
Black Sherrif
Stonebwoy
Piesie Esther
Shatta Wale
Sarkodie
Camidoh
Kidi
Gospel Artiste of the Year
Piesie Esther
Celestine Donkor
Obaapa Christie
Diana Hamilton
Joe Mettle
Sonnie Badu
MOG Music
Highlife Artiste of the Year
Fameye
Wutah Afriyie
Abiana
Kofi Kinaata
Akwaboah
Kuame Eugene
Kwabena Kwabena
Emerging Artiste of the Year
Naana Blu
Vanilla
Rcee
Kwaku Kwame
Kojo Kinn
Esi Bentil
Hiphop/Hiplife Artiste of the Year
Medikal
Strongman
Black Sherif
Amerado
Eno Barony
Sarkodie
Reggae/Dancehall Artiste of the Year
Ras Kuuku
Epixode
Stonebwoy
Samini
Shatta Wale
Afro Beats/Afro Pop Artiste of the Year
Camidoh
Gyakie
Wendy Shay
Kidi
King Promise
Kelvin Boy
Most Popular Song of the Year
Down Flat – Kelvin Boy
Sugarcane Rmx – Camidoh ft. Mayorkun, King Promise & Darkoo
Kwaku the Traveller – Black Sherif
Friday Night – Lasmid
Something – Gyakie
Way3 me yie – Piesie Esther
On God – Shatta Wale
Countryside – Sarkodie ft. Black Sherif
New Artiste of the Year
Fotocopy
Lasmid
DJ Azonto
Malcom Nuna
Abbi Ima
Chief One
Prophet Atara
Efe Keyz
Rapper of the Year
Eno Barony
Lyrical Joe
Amerado
Phrimpong
Strongman
Medikal
USA CATEGORIES
Discovery Artiste of the Year
Ohema Daystar • Pat Love
Juicee
NKA
GhanaStar
Richard Chief
Officer Sammy Young • Mani Mandela
J.B
Obaapa Lizzy
Afropop Artiste of the year
Praise Kusi
Jamin Beats
Myra Kay
K Rocks
Mr. Ampossible • TooWan8
Jay Hover
Male Artiste of the year
Praise Kusi
Jamin Beats
Nii Addo
Mr. Ampossible
TooWan8
Humphrey Tettey • KayBillz
Jay Hover
Female Artiste of the year
Aakosya
Atiaa Tina
Cee Music
Millicent Yankey • Herty Corgie
Mill Addison
Gospel Song of The Year
Oma Ne Nsa So – Mz Nana
Aseda – Melody Frempong
Tumbero bye bye – Rita Adomolga • Lion of Juda – RevGraceMan
Open the Gates – Need Worship • Medimafo – Cee Music
Praise Him – Millicent Yankey
Nsu Mma Me – Paappa Yawson • El Shaddai – Herty Corgie
The issue of Music sampling has become a topical debate on social media after Ghanaian rapper, Obrafuor sued Canadian rapper, Drake for sampling his ‘Oye Ohene’ Remix on his track ‘Calling My Name’ without permission.
While Some artists see it as a form of creative expression and a way to pay homage to their musical influences, others view it as outright theft of intellectual property.
One such artiste who is of the initial school of thought is popular reggae-dancehall musician, Kojo Kurankye better known as Ras Kuuku.
According to Raskuuku, there is no musician who hasn’t sampled somebody’s music at one point or another.
He argues that sampling is a normal practice in the creative industry which has been going on for a long time.
“There’s no musician who hasn’t sampled somebody’s music, do you know the songs we’ve sampled and our songs that have been sampled by others?” he pointed out.
Raskuuku personally does not have an issue with sampling per se but believes his children in the future could seek compensation for his music estate.
“There are things I’m okay but maybe my children will come and ask for that stuff,” he preempted
Raskuuku acknowledged that some of his songs have been sampled by other artists, and he has also sampled the music of others.
“You see those people by the roadside who just put music on pen drive. I’ve always said we should leave them to enjoy because the thing is not coming from you who is going to take money from them. You’ve also given them work since the government can’t give them jobs, allow them to chop,” he reiterated
However, Raskuuku is also aware that the music industry can be a harsh and unforgiving place, and he is focused on making money for himself and his family.
“I’m working to make my money, these copyright stuff don’t matter to me,” the award-winning musician said.
Background
Earlier on Wednesday, April 19, Robert Freund, a lawyer for brands, agencies, and creators shared in court documents on social media a lawsuit by Ghanaian rapper, Obrafour who was seeking “at least $10 million in damages” against Drake for alleged copyright infringements.
“Obrafour says Drake’ previously sought permission to use the work, didn’t get it, and released the track days later anyway.”
Lawyers of Obrafuor who filed the case in the Southern District of New York are asking the court to enter into judgment that the “Defendant willfully infringed Obrafour’s Copyrighted Work in violation of the Copyright Act” among other reliefs
Drake joins a list of Hollywood artists who have faced similar lawsuits for unauthorized use of samples, including Kanye West, Robin Thicke, and Pharrell Williams.
A parliamentary candidate hopeful of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Keta constituency, Dr. Emmanuel Jones-Mensah, dismissed claims that he is not eligible to contest the seat.
He, however, has stated that he remains focused on his goal and will not budge to any cheap propaganda.
According to a statement issued by Livingstone Pay-Charlie, Jones-Mensah’s campaign manager, publications that have been made to the effect that his candidature has been put on hold due to eligibility are false.
“Dr. Emmanuel Kojo Jones-Mensah and his campaign team are focused and resolute on campaigning towards an emphatic victory on May 13 in Keta.
“It has come to our attention that some individuals within the NDC who have a personal vendetta against Dr Jones-Mensah are behind fake media publications purporting to state that his eligibility to contest in the Keta NDC primaries as a parliamentary aspirant has been put on ice, pending further investigations.
“We want to state that there’s no iota of truth whatsoever in these media publications,” the statement said.
The camp of Dr. Jones-Mensah also indicated that, contrary to claims that there is a question about the eligibility of their candidate, that matter has actually been resolved.
The statement added that the determination by the Volta Regional NDC Vetting Committee also found that the legal issues being thrown at their candidate had also been determined to be unfounded.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Volta Regional NDC Vetting Committee sitting in Dzodze on April 5 established that Dr. Jones-Mensah has valid NDC membership, dismissing an initial petition filed by one, Eric Detologo. At the national headquarters of the NDC last week Thursday April 13, the Appeals Committee heard two appeals against Dr. Jones-Mensah from Eric Detologo and Kwesi Djokoto, an aspirant in the Keta race. While the NDC 2023 guidelines guiding the internal parliamentary primaries preclude the two from appealing, the special Appeals Committee decided to hear them on the basis that they are party members.
“The two appeals were found to be frivolous, without material fact and vexatious, and same were dismissed. A full report of the Appeals Committee has since been published via a communique. Per the structural workings of the NDC, the clearance by the Appeals Committee for Dr. Jones-Mensah to contest has brought finality on this matter. The scurrilous fake media agenda is an exercise in futility,” the statement added.
Background:
A close source of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Keta constituency has told GhanaWeb that the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has confirmed that the name of a parliamentary hopeful for Keta, Emmanuel Jones Mensah, is not in the official database of the party.
The source explained that it has been confirmed by the party that the candidate’s name does not appear in its database.
“The Functional Executive Committee at its meeting today, Tuesday 18th April, 2023 deferred its decision on the eligibility of Mr. Emmanuel Jones Mensah, an aspirant in the Keta Constituency Parliamentary primaries of the party.
“This was after FEC considered the report of a special committee that has been set up to determine certain special appeals emanating from the decisions of vetting committees of the party.
During deliberations on the findings of the special committee by FEC, it became apparent that Mr. Emmanuel Jones Mensah’s name is not in the official Ashaiman database of the party as at 2018,“ the source said.
The party, the source added, has since put the decision on the eligibility of Emmanuel Jones Mensah on hold.
Read the full statement issued by Dr. Emmanuel Jones-Mensah below:
Thursday 20th April, 2023
DR. JONES-MENSAH FOCUSED ON VICTORY DESPITE FAKE NEWS ATTACKS
Dr. Emmanuel Kojo Jones-Mensah and his campaign team are focused and resolute on campaigning towards an emphatic victory on May 13 in Keta.
It has come to our attention that some individuals within the NDC who have a personal vendetta against Dr Jones-Mensah are behind fake media publications purporting to state that his eligibility to contest in the Keta NDC primaries as a parliamentary aspirant has been put on ice, pending further investigations.
We want to state that there’s no iota of truth whatsoever in these media publications.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Volta Regional NDC Vetting Committee sitting in Dzodze on April 5 established that Dr. Jones-Mensah has valid NDC membership, dismissing an initial petition filed by one, Eric Detologo. At the national headquarters of the NDC last week Thursday April 13, the Appeals Committee heard two appeals against Dr. Jones-Mensah from Eric Detologo and Kwesi Djokoto, an aspirant in the Keta race. While the NDC 2023 guidelines guiding the internal parliamentary primaries preclude the two from appealing, the special Appeals Committee decided to hear them on the basis that they are party members.
The two appeals were found to be frivolous, without material fact and vexatious, and same were dismissed. A full report of the Appeals Committee has since been published via a communique. Per the structural workings of the NDC, the clearance by the Appeals Committee for Dr. Jones-Mensah to contest has brought finality on this matter. The scurrilous fake media agenda is an exercise in futility.
We are therefore inviting the Disciplinary Committee of the NDC to call to order the media sponsors of this needles fake news and propaganda with the aim of twisting and slanting decisions of the Vetting and Appeals Committees to cause disaffection and opprobrium.
Despite the attacks and vile media propaganda, the campaign of Dr. Jones-Mensah is focused on taking the message of unity, hope and transformation to the delegates in Keta Constituency. No amount of distraction will sway our attention until resounding victory is delivered on 13th May.
What is needed at this crucial moment of our reorganization is to be united as one family and concentrate on capturing power from the NPP in 2024 to liberate Ghanaians from their suffering and long standing hardship. Ghanaians are looking up to us and we must not fail them.
To all sympathizers, loved ones and supporters of Efo Kojo, we emplore all of you to remain calm and focused, for the victory of Dr. Jones-Mensah is perfected by the Almighty God. The victory of the NDC is coming again! Eye Zu !!! Eye Za !!!
Issued by: Livingstone Pay-Charlie, CAMPAIGN MANAGER, TEAM JONES-MENSAH
Michael Ivan Nyagamagu better known in Showbiz circles as Chief One has expressed regret at his performance at the recently held VGMA Xperience concert in the Volta Regional capital of HO.
Speaking on “The Road to VGMA Show”, a segment of TV3 New Day, the Ghanaian Hiphop/Hiplife artiste said he was not quite happy with the time of performance and the size of the crowd
“A lot of people missed my performance because at just 9:30 I went on stage,” He noted “I will normally go on stage at 2 or 3 sometimes I perform to 6’oclock”
Chief One who has been nominated for the Best New Artiste Category at the upcoming VGMA despite his electrifying performance believes he could have offered more to his home fans.
“What I wanted to show Ghana I couldn’t show because I know what I can do and my people love me,” he lamented
Chief One’s songs WOTELEWOEA and Toyota are currently enjoying massive airplay and streams but he is not allowing it to get into his head as he plans to launch his music into the global sphere soon.
Watch Chief One’s Past Performance at the VGMA stage below
Fellow Ghanaian Reggae/Dancehall musician, Ras Kuuku has put in a spirited submission for why young music sensation, Black Sherif should win the most coveted award at the upcoming Vodafone Ghana Music Awards
The Artiste of the Year, the ultimate award at the VGMA is awarded to the musician who has made the most significant impact in the music industry over the past year.
Ras Kuuku in an exclusive interview on TV3 New Day was of the view that the “Oil On My Head” singer had a higher chance of snagging the Artiste of the Year but it would be difficult for him to take the Reggae song or Reggae Artiste award because of the stiff competition in the category.
“This time we have worked hard. Everyone knows about ‘3 3 in 1’. This year is not going to anyone who is not a Reggae/Dancehall artiste,” he revealed
RasKuuku who spoke highly of Black Sherif’s success said it was due to his hard work and dedication to his craft.
“Let me tell you Black Sherif is winning the Artiste of the Year because he worked hard but when it comes to the Reggae side we [Ras Kuuku and team] worked harder,” he noted
According to RasKuuku, he was on the verge of winning at least one of the awards he’s been nominated for at the upcoming VGMA for his album “3 3 & 1 (Miensa Miensa Ne Baako)’
“For the genre, it’s Ras Kuuku who did best and you know it. It’s coming back to Puom. If not Reggae Artiste of the Year, Reggae/Dancehall song is coming to Puom”
Check out the Nominee’s list below
Best Reggae/Dancehall Song
Konkarah Jahvybz – A Go Dey (ft Kelvyn Boy) Ras Kuuku – 33in1 Epixode – Atia Black Sherif – Don’t forget me Rocky Dawuni – Never bow down (ft Blvk H3ro) Maccasio – Eyes on you (ft Stonebwoy) Audio Engineer of the Year Chops – Yaa Asantewaa (King Promise) Qube – Beginning Again (Adomaa) Perez Muzik – Hewale Lala (Perez Muzik) Supa Dups – Therapy (Stonebwoy) Possigee – Country Side (Sarkodie) Altra Nova – Far Away (Gyakie)
Ghanaian socialite and owner of the Pot of Shuga restaurant, Abena Serwaa Frimpong better known as Shugatiti has filed a defamation lawsuit against popular man of God, Frank Gogo and two others.
The lawsuit stems from allegations made by Reverend Gogo popularly known as Prophet Ekatso that Shugatiti is a demon of the sea known as “Mami Wata”
Speaking on Oman Channel with host Msomfo Efia Empress the prophet alleged that the entrepreneur was using exoteric powers to lure people to buy her food.
“She is possessed by a marine spirit and all those who visit her restaurant will end up being possessed. She is a queen in the realms of the spirit. Anyone who has eaten in her restaurant and is a woman has been possessed.
“She has been sent by the devil to destroy. She can possess women who visit her restaurant merely by talking to you or having an encounter with you…all those who visit her restaurant should be very careful,” the pastor said in the interview.
These claims which have been vehemently denied by Shugatiti led her to sue the pastor, the media establishment, Mama Radio GH and host Msomfo Efia Empress in court to clear her name.
According to the sexy socialite, the allegations are entirely unfounded and have caused irreparable damage to her reputation.
Sharing the news of the defamation suit on Twitter, Shugatiti said she was ready to meet the man of God in court for him to prove the allegations.
“Members of Frank Gogo (Ekatso) church inform your pastor to meet me in court to prove that I’m a demon of the sea with an evidence of entering the sea,” the tweet said.
Members of Frank Gogo (Ekatso) church inform your pastor to meet me in court to prove that I’m a demon of the sea with an evidence of entering the sea pic.twitter.com/vAQiDp0m7E
Based on the court documents obtained, it is alleged that the “plaintiff is a demon-possessed person of questionable character and means and hence it is dangerous for ordinary right-thinking members of society to be associated, acquainted or have any contact whatsoever with the dentist.”
Shugatiti through her lawyer in her statement of claim is asking the court to declare “That the words uttered by defendants on Oman Channel which was published on 16th April on OMAN Channel can be found on Youtube is defamatory “
It also asks for a number of claims including “General damages for defamation of character” “Punitive damages” and 4 other claims.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has said the Akufo-Addo government is now on a taxation spree after promising to move the country from taxation to production.
The president recently assented to three newly passed tax bills passed by parliament on Friday, 31 March 2023.
The Excise Duty Amendment Bill 2022, the Growth and Sustainability Levy Bill, 2022; the Ghana Revenue Authority Bill 2022 and the Income TaxAmendment Bill 2022 are meant to rake in GHS4 billion for the country annually.
Their passage was critical to getting the IMF board’s approval to access the Fund’s US$3 billion extended credit facility to bailout the economy.
Speaking to delegates in the Trobu constituency, as part of his tour in the Greater Accra Region, the former president said taxation has become commonplace for this government which promised to produce more and tax less.
“Prices at the various supermarkets have skyrocketed; the government has reneged on its promise of moving away from taxation to production, to the extent that even betting is taxed”, the former president observed.
“Almost everything is taxed now,” he bemoaned.
He blamed the economic crisis on the Akufo-Addo government’s voracious appetite for borrowing.
“The country wouldn’t have been in this economic mess if the government had not engaged in excessive borrowing”.
“We are now seeking for debt forgiveness from external creditors,” Mr Mahama said.
Ghanaian actress and social media personality, Akuapem Poloo, has shared a story of how a veteran actress made her cry when she [the veteran] refused to take pictures at a birthday party because she had gone to jail.
In an interview with Ghanaian blogger Zionfelix, Akuapem Poloo detailed that the party was attended by several top stars, including the legendary Fred Amugi and Peter Richie, as well as a veteran actress who is still active in the industry.
According to Rosemond who failed to disclose the identity of the veteran, when it was time to cut the cake and take pictures, the veteran actress refused to take a photo with her.
“What happened was that at the birthday party, when it was time for us to cut the cake and also to take pictures, she said she couldn’t take the picture with me in it. I am telling you, all the stars were there, and they know what I am talking about.
“I loved that woman, and she claims she loves me because on Side-Chic Gang, we were paddies, and at some movie premieres, we took some lovely pictures. I don’t know that if you go to jail, it gives people a different perspective of you,” she said.
Sharing how the incident affected her with all the top personalities present, Rosemond said one of the people present saw how she was crying and came over to console her, attributing the veteran actress’s attitude to old age.
“Peter Richie was the one consoling me and saying it’s old age. So, I should forget about her,” Akuapem Poloo added.
The actress also recounted a separate incident involving the same veteran actress, in which she had driven her home after a shoot because her driver wasn’t picking up her call.
“When we were shooting Side Chick Gang, she was stranded on set because she was calling her driver and he wasn’t picking up, but I, Rose Brown, whom she didn’t want to be in the same picture with, drove her to her house around Tse Addo.
“I wanted to drop her off in front of her gate, but she said they should open it for me to come inside. I took her to her house and wanted her children to come and meet me after I took my naked pictures with my son because I went to jail. She made me cry,” she added.
Background
Akuapem Poloo, went to jail in Ghana for posting a nude photo of herself and her 7-year-old son on social media in June 2020.
She was charged with publication of obscene material, engaging in domestic violence, and undermining the privacy and integrity of her son.
Akuapem Poloo pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 90 days in jail by a Ghanaian court in April 2021.
Black Stars midfielder, Mohammed Kudus and Ghanaian actor, Yaw Dabo Ghanaian actor, Yaw Dabo has caught up with Black Stars midfielder, Mohammed Kudus following his visit to the Netherlands.
In a video sighted by GhanaWeb, Dabo was spotted sharing a wholesome moment with the player in a car with the actor cracking jokes and making fun of Kudus.
Kudus also gifted the actor a customised Ajax away kit.
The popular actor who is on a European tour, initially visited the Johan Cruyff Arena to watch the Ajax game against FC Emmen on Sunday, April 17, 2023.
Mohammed Kudus, who is nursing an injury, did not feature in the game that ended a 3-1 win for Ajax.
Ajax manager John Heitinga said Kudus’ availability will be determined in the days ahead but confirmed that the player has not trained with the team yet.
“The hope is there, but whether they make it depends on the coming days. Devyne has trained one training part. That is a day-to-day view. Mohammed has not yet trained,” he said after the win over Emmen.
Yaw Dabo has already visited Paris Saint-German and Borussia Dortmund.
Rosemond Brown, popularly known as Akuapem Poloo, has shared her experience of being ostracized by some individuals in the Ghanaian movie industry.
In an interview with blogger Zionfelix, Poloo opened up about the pain she has gone through as a result of being excluded from some circles in the entertainment industry because of her “loud personality” in the past.
“The brand that I built is too loud, it’s like I do not have a good name in Ghana, and for that matter, some celebrities are saying I am not good for their image and wouldn’t want to be on the same set with me to work with,” she said.
According to Akuapem Poloo, despite being a part of the same industry, she feels that she has not been given the same level of respect as others.
She emphasized that she has not engaged in any activities that would warrant such treatment, such as stealing, killing, or sleeping with anyone’s husband.
“I don’t know what to do right now, even though all the celebrities understand showbiz. Poloo I didn’t steal, I didn’t kill, and I didn’t sleep with anybody’s husband for them to think I am not good. I didn’t go to their house to eat their food, and for those that hate me, I can’t speak ill of them,” he added.
The mother of one also added that she has never spoken ill of those who dislike her and that she does not understand why they harbour such negative feelings towards her.
“Those I meet and they show me hate, I have never said anything about them, but they say they hate me because I am wild,” she noted.
Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Chairman of Fomena Constituency, Mr Akwasi Nti, has made a painful revelation on why he abandoned the camp of Former Trades Minister, Alan Kyerematen.
According to the controversial politician, he had to cross carpet from the camp of John Alan Kyerematen because he felt neglected by the Former Trade and Industry Minister whom he had supported since 2007.
Declaring his support for the candidature of Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia ahead of the party’s presidential primaries, he disclosed that he was suspended three times by the party because of Mr Kyerematen, but the latter never bothered to check up on him.
“I am for Bawumia and I won’t hide it. I support Dr Bawumia 100% and I want him to succeed. I will work to ensure that this vision becomes a reality,” Mr Akwasi Nti promised in an interview with Kumasi-based Angel Fm.
Giving his reasons for supporting the Vice President, Mr Akwasi Nti revealed that, “my reason is that he is from the Dombo tradition and it is his turn to lead the party amidst his show of leadership and competence”.
Mr. Akwasi Nti claims that Alan Kyeremanten who is currently aspiring to lead the party did not show any form of care when he (Akwasi Nti) was suspended by the party.
“Everybody knew I was a supporter of Alan but I have been suspended three times when I was following him and he never picked up a phone to ask me how I was doing during those difficulties. I have been suspended for three times and nobody called me on the phone from his camp even to find out how I was doing.”
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has set November 4, 2023, as the date for its presidential primaries to select a flagbearer for the general elections in 2024.
Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawimia though has not publicly declared his intentions to contest the election, indication by some leadership in the party shows he is likely to contest with many tagging him as the presumptive flagbearer considering the massive support from the grassroots.
Comments by Abetifi MP and Agric Minister, Bryan Acheampong, have been described by the Ghana Police Service (GPS) as ‘not criminal.’
According to the police, comments ‘do or die’ comments made by Former President, John Mahama; and Chairman of the NDC, Aseidu Nketiah, also do not qualify as ‘criminal comments.’
The Inspector General of Police, Dr. Akuffo Dampare, said this following a meeting held with the leaders of both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
It will be recalled that the Minister for Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, during the NPP’s Arise and Build Health Walk in Kwahu, was captured saying that the governing National Patriotic Party (NPP) will not hand power over to the opposition party, the National Democratic Congress, in 2024.
The former president on a campaign platform is also reported to have said in 2020 that the NDC was ready to match the NPP ‘boot-for-boot’ and in another instance, that the upcoming elections will be a do-or-die affair.
On his part, the chairman of the NDC in his victory speech, was also captured saying that the NDC is prepared to sacrifice everything, including their lives, to achieve victory.
Ever since, both parties and other individuals and groups have written to or called on the police CID, to arrest the people involved for making what they describe as inciteful remarks.
It is on the back of this that the IGP said the comments as made by the politicians, failed the criminal threshold test thereby making it unlawful to arrest the persons involved as it’s been demanded by both parties.
In a newspaper report by the DailyGuide, on April 20, 2023, stated that the police briefed both political parties on initiatives it has taken to ensure a safe election environment leading to the 2024 election.
Key among them are the National Election Security Task Force Secretariat (NEST) and the Legal Unit to probe all politically related incidents to determine if it warrants arrest or not.
The founder and leader of Heaven’s Gate Ministries, Prophet Nicholas Osei popularly known as Kumchacha has stated that the purported miracle performed by musician turned pastor Sonnie Badu of turning anointing oil into blood is fake.
According to Kumchacha, he did not believe in such miracles and that Sonnie Badu had likely used dye to deceive his congregants into thinking the oil had turned into blood.
“Let me state it categorically that, I don’t have a problem with Sonnie Badu, I told you last week that I used to stay with him in London, and we have worked together before. So, I know him and he also knows me, he texts me I also text him, but it is like when the pork issue came, people started reading meanings into it, that we were having beef but we don’t.
“But for this particular one, you said he was praying for people and he was pouring oil in their palms which turned into blood, it is not dye? Dye and blood are almost the same thing, so you won’t see any difference. So, for me, I don’t believe that it was the blood of Jesus that they saw in their palms but maybe it was a dye,” he said.
Kumchacha who was on Onua TV on April 19, 2023, added that even though he believes in the power of God, this particular miracle is fake.
“The truth is that I believe in the miracles of God but most pastors do these fake miracles, the dye and blood are also almost the same. There is a miracle orchestrated by God but this particular one about Sonnie Badu is fake. I am telling you that is fake. It is an arrangement that they did,” he said.
It was recently reported that Sonnie Badu had turned anointing oil into blood in the hands of his congregants during a church service.
Ayisha Modi has for years been criticized by a section of the public especially social media users anytime she comes forth to call out a personality.
On her account, netizens with no background information to stories are quick to wrongfully judge her and call her names when all she seeks is to put people in check.
The talent manager and tradition leader has warned the public against their involvement in the matters of celebrities and people they have no relation with.
Her caution comes after she was once again condemned for demanding money invested in the song ‘Kasiebo’ from the ‘Asem Beba Dabi’ album by Obrafour some 14 years ago.
On the account of Ayisha, the popular Highlife legend failed to return the large sum of money she pumped into his record. She made this known in an Instagram live video on April 19 after it was reported that Obrafour had sued Canadian rapper Drake over copyright infringement.
Ayisha in April 2023 publicly demanded that Obrafour refund her money or face misfortunes in his career.
Paappa Yawson, the USA-based Ghanaian gospel music sensation, has recently been nominated for four prestigious awards at the 2023 Ghana Music Awards USA. The announcement was made on April 15, 2023, and it has since created a buzz in the Ghanaian music scene.
Paappa Yawson, who is also known as Enoch Yawson Ansah, is a versatile artist who has been making waves in the music industry for a while now. He has consistently released hit songs that have earned him a dedicated fan base and critical acclaim. His unique style of music, which blends the modern SDA style, has garnered a lot of attention and praise from music lovers.
The Ghana Music Awards USA is an annual event that celebrates the best of Ghanaian music and recognizes the contributions of artists, producers, and other stakeholders in the industry. This year’s edition promises to be a spectacular event, as some of the biggest names in Ghanaian music have been nominated for various awards.
Paappa Yawson’s nominations are in the following categories: Best Gospel Song, Best Gospel Video, Best Collaboration, and New Artist of the Year. These nominations are a testament to his talent and hard work, and they have come at a time when he is poised to take his music to the next level.
The Best Collaboration nomination is for his collaboration with the popular Ghanaian heavyweight gospel musicians Obaapa Christy, Mark Anim Yirenkyi and Great Ampong on the song “Mmobroni Dua” off his One Day EP. This track has been a massive hit since its release and has earned Paappa Yawson a lot of recognition and praise.
We wish him all the best and look forward to seeing him take home some of these awards.
Egyptians are up in arms against film streaming site Netflix over the depiction of Queen Cleopatra VII as a black African.
The depiction is contained in a Netflix docudrama series African Queens.
Only the trailer of the series has been released attracting the anger but producers are standing their grounds on their decision on choice of actress for the role.
People from across the Egyptian society are using formal and informal channels to channel their grievance including a lawyer who filed a complaint that accuses Netflix of violating media laws and aiming to “erase the Egyptian identity”.
A top archaeologist insisted Cleopatra was “light-skinned, not black”.
The producer defended the depiction stating: “her heritage is highly debated” and the actress playing her, Adele James, told critics: “If you don’t like the casting, don’t watch the show.”
Jada Pinkett Smith, the American actress who was executive producer and narrator, was meanwhile quoted as saying: “We don’t often get to see or hear stories about black queens, and that was really important for me, as well as for my daughter, and just for my community to be able to know those stories because there are tons of them!”
About Cleopatra – BBC content
Cleopatra was born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 69 BC and became the last queen of a Greek-speaking dynasty founded by Alexander the Great’s Macedonian general Ptolemy.
She succeeded her father Ptolemy XII in 51 BC and ruled until her death in 30 BC. Afterwards, Egypt fell under Roman domination.
The identity of Cleopatra’s mother is not known, and historians say it is possible that she, or any other female ancestor, was an indigenous Egyptian or from elsewhere in Africa.
Three out of the four were sent to the Buipe District Hospital while the fourth person, who was critically injured, was sent to the Tamale Teaching Hospital.
The accident involved two DAF vehicles with registration numbers BF 6161-D 503 and WR 2280-14.
Personnel from the Savanna Fire Regional Command says eye witness accounts suggest the accident was caused by speeding on the part of the driver of the DAF, which hit the rear of the other DAF with registration number BF 6161-D 503.
Ghanaian music promoter, Ayisha Modi has made headlines after reacting to Obrafour’s recent lawsuit against Canadian rapper, Drake.
In an Instagram post, Modi called out Obrafour for allegedly owing her money from investments she made in his 2009 album ‘Kasiebo.’
She also alleged that the rapper’s former manager, Agyekum Kofi, was the reason she invested so much money into Obrafour’s album and claimed that Obrafour needs to tell the truth about her investments before he can sue anyone.
Modi didn’t hold back her feelings towards Obrafour, as she warned him that “You will be suing people saaaa to feed until you pay me back my money or you tell the world the truth. Karma and nature will catch up with ya.”
The lawsuit in question involves Drake’s alleged copyright infringement in his 2022 song ‘Calling My Name’ off his ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ album.
Obrafour claims that Drake’s team reached out to him for the use of his song ‘Oye Ohene’ remix which features Tinny.
Although Obrafour denied the request, Drake went ahead with the song anyway. Obrafour’s legal team filed a case in the Southern District of New York, seeking “at least $10 million in damages” from Drake.
The lawsuit has caused a stir on social media, with many Ghanaians pledging to follow the case closely.
However, Ayisha Modi’s allegations have added another layer to the already contentious legal battle. It remains to be seen how Obrafour and Drake’s legal teams will respond to Modi’s claims.
Read full post below:
Concert party ???????????????????????????????????? @iamobrafour make sure you pay me back all the money I Ayisha Modi invested in ur Album 13 years ago before you sue someone wai. Nature will catch up with u walaiii Ofoui.
“See who is suing someone. I cursed u . You will not have no peace until u come out and tell the world the truth about how I invested in ur KASIEBO ALBUM. @agyekumkofi was ur manager at that time and he was the main reason why I invested all that money in ur project. U will be suing people saaaa to feed until you pay me back my money or you tell the world the truth. Karma and nature will catch up with ya.”
Fashion Enthusiast Osebo the Zaraman has descended on Celebrity Lifestyle Blogger Zionfelix for dragging his baby mama, Nana Aba Anamoah into an interview he had with the latter.
Osebo is angry about how Zionfelix captioned an interview he granted just for click bait.
Although Nana Aba Anamoah was not mentioned during the interview, Zionfelix used her picture to attract streams according to Osebo.
He also accused Felix of twisting his words to generate a caption that favours him as a Blogger.
Disgruntled Fashionista warned Zionfelix to desist from such mischievous acts that favour him but to the detriment of his clients.
Mr Brown spoke about how he cautioned Zion not to engage in any mischief after their interview but he did just as advised against.
Zaraman is the father of Nana Aba Anamoah‘s only son, Joytir. He became a public figure after news of him being Nana Aba Anamoah’s Baby Daddy hit social media.
He has since evolved into one of the big names in Ghana when it comes Fashion and styling celebrities.
Mr Richard Brown popularly known as Osebo the Zaraman owns one of the biggest boutiques in Ghana.
Ghanaian musician, songwriter, creative director and entrepreneur, Okyeame Kwame born Kwame Nsiah-Apau has revealed that not everyone is pleased to be growing old.
He observed that most people are scared and sad as age catches up with them because it is mostly associated with responsibilities and death.
“Many people are scared of growing old because they think that it goes hand-in-hand with death and some responsibilities. When you are growing old it is just a manifestation you will die someday”, he revealed on Okay Fm.
According to him, increasing in an age in life is also an opportunity for one to evaluate successes chalked over the period, including marriage, bank accounts and many others.
“Your expectations are that by the time you attain age 40, you may have completed school, married and given birth, have a fat bank account and be able to cater for others. When you are growing old, your responsibilities also expand”, he noted.
The Rap Doctor on Tuesday sparked a social media storm when he celebrated his 47th birthday with the launch of his boxer shorts.
In defense of his outfit which generated public uproar he said “If Calvin Klein or GUCCI had offered me $ 1 million to post a picture on my page, what would he have said? Whenever he purchases a new set of boxer shorts, what type of dress does the model on its label wear? Can he tell me what dress he wears to advertise the boxer? You can’t wear boxer shorts and wear kente on it to outdoor it.
“The most effective way to sell your boxer shorts is to wear them for people to see it. I didn’t post my picture for people to see my tummy or leg. I was selling my boxer shorts. And as for selling a boxer, which better way could I have done that than wearing it? And by God’s grace, I made massive sales on that day,” he told the host Kwasi Aboagye.
“I had planned on unveiling my own boxer shorts brand because I have had issues with some boxers in the past due to my sensitive skin. I planned on doing this for others who have sensitive skin like me. It was ready in January but I was looking for the perfect time to unveil it and I settled on my birthday to do that. I felt like that was the best time to post so I could attract a massive engagement without having to pay for it,” he added.
Ghanaianrap star EL has released his first 2023 song called Chop Life.
Predominantly a Hiphop groove, it lends itself to various West African dances.
“It’s just a feel-good song, man,” the multiple award-winner noted in a breakdown video. “Good energy, funny lyrics, it’s a danceable track.”
On why this is the first from him for this year, he explained with: “I always say Africans we love to dance so I thought why not start off the year – my first single – with a bang?”
Released Tuesday, April 18, 2023, EL revealed the song was originally “recorded at the end of 2021 right into 2022.”
“I recorded it in the States, Philadelphia, same place I recorded my last BAR mixtape,” the rapper born Elorm Adablah went on.
According to the Oyarifa resident, he was confident to release the song because “everybody who hears the song, who I play the song for, goes mad about it so I thought 2023, that’s the first single.”
A celebrated record producer, EL produced the music for Chop Life. It was in so doing that he was moved to create the song.
“I found this vocal somewhere and just built upon the beat and it just inspired me to make the song,” he said. “I remember I was in my room, I had to go down to the studio, where I hooked it up, recorded the song all there. It just spilt out of me. Sometimes I don’t know how that happens but I guess I was just inspired a lot by the beat.”
Lyrically on Chop Life, the 2016 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs) Artiste of the Year noted that he was simply “having fun… being very very loose, very very dumb actually.”
Sonically, the near-3-minute song is “reminiscent of” the singer-songwriter’s club and radio hits “like Shelele, Obuu Mo and Kaalu.”
“It’s very different” from the aforementioned “but it has that same energy and that same vibe but from the new EL,” he said.
He admitted he is not a good dancer but is “excited to see what people come up with” regarding dance challenges on social media.
Chop Life was released by VO Nation in partnership with ONErpm and Skillions Global.
A popular Nigerian Instagram big girl who is known for her flashy life on the gram has been apprehended by the Police for allegedly scamming a 50-year-old German national of $220,000 after pledging to marry him.
According to SP Eyitayo Johnson, the unit’s spokeswoman, who announced the arrest o Cynthia Chioma in a statement on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, the defendant deceived the victim on Instagram by pretending to have love feelings for him and making a fraudulent marriage proposal.
The statement read;
“The Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), Ikoyi, Lagos, has arrested one Miss Atuonah Cynthia Chioma, a 21-years old indigene of Anambra State for alleged case of Fraudulent Conversion, Stealing and Obtaining the sum of Two-Hundred and Twenty Thousand Dollars ($220,000USD) by False Pretence from a German citizen.
The suspect, a 2019 graduate of Economics, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka; who claimed to be a Model and Proprietress of a Massage Spa known as The-Chi-Place, lured the 50-year old victim on Instagram by feigning romantic intentions towards him, thereby gaining the victims’ trust and goodwill,”
Miss Atuonah Chioma promised to marry the victim, invited him to Nigeria for visits on several occasions and convinced him to relocate permanently to Nigeria to live together as husband and wife.
In a ploy to dispel suspicion, the victim was made to meet with Atuonah Chiomas’ parents at Ikot-Abasi, Akwa Ibom State where he received their blessings to marry their daughter.
The victim was persuaded by the suspect (Miss Atuonah Cynthia) to return to Germany to sell his house in Stuttgart, and forward the proceeds of sale, together with his pension and life savings to her domiciliary account in Bank; for the purpose of purchasing a house in Nigeria where they will both live as husband and wife as well as to establish a joint business outfit as indicated in the bank transfer narration.
During interview session, the suspect admitted in her statement that the sum of Two Hundred and Twenty Thousand Dollars ($220,000USD) was transferred to her account by the victim.
Part of the proceed was used then used to buy a 2-Bedroom Terrace apartment at Zara Estate, Ikota Villa, Lekki Phase II, while some of the funds was sent to support her mother’s business and to pay medical bills of her father.
Efforts are ongoing to recover other proceeds of the crime while the Unit remain committed to diligently investigate and prosecute fraudsters who are out there damaging the image of the country.
The suspect will be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded.”
Member of Parliament for the Ningo Prampram Constituency, Sam Nartey George, says the National Democratic Congress, will not drag any political party or the Electoral Commission to court over electoral malpractices.
He said the party will be vigilant at the various polling stations and ensure that they (NDC) win the elections.
“We will win our elections at the polling stations and we will protect and secure the ballot boxes at the polling station. Nobody has the intention of going to court. We will settle the scores in 2024 at the polling station,” he said.
He made the remarks on the Good Morning Ghana show, where he said the opposition NDC will use what it takes to win and protect the ballots boxes in the 2024 general elections and is prepared to go against match anyone who tries to rig the elections.
“Look, this is a message to our national chairman and general secretary, we are not going to court in 2024. So, nobody in the national executive should think that anybody will follow anybody to court. The courts in 2024 are going to be at the polling station. And that’s why I call for parliamentary candidates who have what it takes to secure the ballot boxes,” he said.
“Those with investment beating the war drums, they should continue, it doesn’t take a lot to raze down people’s investment. Fifty cedis fuel and one matchstick is what is needed,” Sam George added.
Meanwhile, Sylvester Tetteh, the New Patriotic Party (MPP) Member of Parliament for Bortianor-Ngleshie-Amanfro dismissed the threats from his fellow lawmaker, describing them as ‘threats of a cockroach.’
Sly interjected with his rebuttal stating: “This is a threat of a cockroach, and like William Shakespeare said, cowards die many times before their death. Cowards die many times before their death. Please, stop this.”
When host of Good Morning Ghana, Randy Abbey intervened asking that Sam George finishes, his point, he took a swipe at agric minister Bryan Acheampong who recently vowed that the NPP will match the NDC in 2024 and that they won’t hand over power to them ever.
“When your boss was standing there ‘ensi da’ (it won’t happen), even him you were hailing him. We will call a spade a spade in 2024, we will settle it at the polling stations,” Sam George added.
Managing Director (MD) of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel Dubik Mahama, has disclosed that power bills of former presidents are supposed to be paid by government.
He adds that the company only reads the meters of the former presidents and submits the bills periodically to the office of the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, for payment.
According to him, of the two former presidents in Ghana today, the bills of former president John Agyekum Kufuor is being fully catered for by the state unlike that of John Dramani Mahama.
“We collate all former presidents’ bills and we send them to the Chief of Staff for payment. Let me break it down, former President Kufour’s bills are with us, we gave them to the Chief of Staff and she has worked on them,” he disclosed in an interview with Accra-based Peace FM on April 18, 2023.
He explained how come the bills of Mahama were not at the moment being absorbed by the state.
“We also had former President John Mahama’s own…we tried to get in touch with him, and when we got the bills, for him, he has already been paying his own bills…Yes, he pays his own bills,” he added.
Dubik Mahama revealed that during a meeting with the Chief of Staff, she expressed her disappointment with the ECG’s failure to properly carry out its responsibilities with respect to Mahama’s bills.
“…so, we had a meeting with the Chief of Staff and she told us her piece of mind and she told us exactly what we have to do because a lot of people would like to drop the problem at the political doorstep which is wrong,” he said.
He maintained that ECG will open discussions with the former President to ensure that his bills are settled by the state, in accordance with the country’s constitution.
“So, from now onwards we are going to have discussions with him (John Mahama) so that moving forward it would be absorbed.
“I won’t put the blame at his doorsteps or make it political, it is my office, we were supposed to read his meter and take action by informing him that we will handle it, so, we now have put those structures in place after a very comprehensive conversation with the Chief of Staff.
Mahama in an interview with TV3 in 2022 said that all he receives from the government is his monthly pension and that all other bills the state must cater for have not been attended to since he left office in 2017.
Mahama said he is footing a myriad of bills, including light, fuel, office rent, and travel expenses.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is negotiating with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to offset about GHS 600 million of its tax obligations to the state.
The GRA intends to write off the debt of some “sensitive” public sector institutions that have accumulated over the years
Mr Samuel Dubik Mahama, the Managing Director, ECG, who disclosed this in an interview, said the amount would still not be enough “as we owe GRA over a billion Ghana cedis in taxes.”
ECG has so far retrieved about GhS 2.5 billion out of GHS 5.7 billion debt it intends to recover from a month-long revenue mobilisation exercise.
The exercise which started on March 20, 2023, and ends on April 20, 2023, targets domestic users, businesses, organisations, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDA).
Mr Mahama urged customers to take the proactive steps of paying deposits in anticipation of bills that may be delayed due to technical reasons.
He said the differences would be reconciled when the next bill for the customer was prepared.
He bemoaned the use of fake meters leading to a high loss of revenue due to the inability of the service provider to capture and bill power consumed.
“ECG is the only company that is supposed to provide these meters, but some people have found a way of bringing these meters into the market. By the continuous use of these meters by people not on the ECG network, that means our customer numbers are wrong” he said.
Mr Mahama warned customers against illegal connections and indicated that the company would begin another exercise after the revenue mobilisation exercise to fish out culprits.
“And our intention with that is to punish them by charging them with stealing,” he said.
A pastor who accused Abena Serwaa Frimpong Manso, alias Shugatiti, a socialite and restaurant operator of being possessed by marine spirits is in ‘hot waters.’
The latter has dragged the former and two others to court for defamation.
She is suing pastor Frank Gogo popularly referred to as Prophet Ekatso as well as Msomfo Efia Empress, a TV show host and Mama Radio GH, the channel she works for.
The pastor had in an interview with Efia Empress intimated among others that Shugatiti was possessed by a marine spirit and that her restaurant business was a conduit through which she was possessing people, especially women.
“She is possessed by a marine spirit and all those who visit her restaurant will end up being possessed. She is a queen in the realms of the spirit. Anyone who has eaten in her restaurant and is a woman has been possessed.
“She has been sent by the devil to destroy. She can possess women who visit her restaurant merely by talking to you or having an encounter with you…all those who visit her restaurant should be very careful,” the pastor said in the interview.
Particulars of defamation and statement of claim
According to the particulars of defamation, Shugatiti averred that the defendants questioned her character, acted in ways that were detrimental to her business and also alleged that she had obtained her wealth through questionable means and that she is a dangerous person to women.
The statement of claim, on the other hand, said the court should rule that the contents of the discussion published on April 16, 2023 on YouTube is defamatory.
She is asking for general damages for defamation of character, aggravated damages with respect to humiliation, embarrassment and ridicule suffered by the comments.
She also wants general and compensatory damages against her restaurant and the losses suffered as a result of the comments.
Shugatiti also wants punitive damages against the defendants from committing similar acts in the future and for the said interview to be deleted from YouTube.
Ghanaian rapper Obrafour‘s copyright lawsuit against Canadian rapper Drake, has taken another twist as another Ghanaian is claiming ownership of the disputed soundbite.
Obrafuor filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York in which he is demanding the said amount from Drake over copyright infringement in his 2022 song ‘Calling My Name’ off his ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ album.
However, in a twist of events, the founder of Chalewote Street Arts Festival Mantse Aryeequaye has claimed the very soundbite on the Obrafuor song that was used by the Grammy Award winning rapper.
In a series of tweets, Mantse said he is the owner of the soundbite and not Obrafuor as he claims in his suit.
“Hello @Drake the intellectual property more specifically the ‘KILLER CUT’ sound which was sampled in your song ‘Calling My Name’ belongs to me Mantse Aryeequaye and not to @IamObrafuo,” he wrote.
In subsequent tweets, Mantse stated that he never relinquished the soundbite to Obrafuor even though it was used by the producer of Obrafuor’s ‘Oye Ohene’ (Remix), Hummer of Last 2 fame.
“@Drake Rights to the said ‘KILLER CUT’ sound were never relinquished to @IamObrafuor and was used by Edward Nana Poku Osei aka Hamma, Producer of Obrafuors album on Obrafuor’s song as he did with others.
“@Drake I Mantse Aryeequaye maintain my intellectual property rights and claim over all my artistic works including the ‘Killer Cut’ sound you sampled off ‘Oye Ohene’ remix used on Obrafuor’s album,” he noted.
He went on to state that as the owner of the sound, his lawyers who are pursuing the matter should be consulted before any compensation payment is made as Obrafuor wields no right to make sole demands for compensation.
“@Drake my lawyer Kofi Bentil esq. of Lex Praxis Incorporated kbentil@lexpraxis.net who is pursuing this matter has informed me of a lawsuit against you solely in the name of @IamObrafuor.
. “@Drake This is to confirm I [Mantse Aryeequaye] insist that although @IamObrafuor has interest in the matter, he is not the owner of the right, and cannot assert it, definitely not alone, or make any demands for sole compensation for its use.
“@Drake I wish to convey firmly as owner of the right and request that you consult my lawyer Kofi Bentil kbentil@lexpraxis.net before you take any steps regarding claims for compensation for the use of the intellectual property of Mantse Aryeequaye. You’ve been notified,” he added.
According to court documents of the suit filed by Obrafuor, Drake’s team reached out to Obrafuor for the use of his song ‘Oye Ohene’ remix which features Tinny and although did not respond to the request, Drake still went on with his move.
About 785 building at Tse Addo, a suburb of Accra will be razed down by the government in a demolition exercise which will soon take place in the area.
The Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso Boakye says about 785 houses that have been built in waterways in some parts of Accra,including the Tseaddo Drain enclave, in the Teshie Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly will be demolished.
Addressing a news conference in Accra yesterday, Minister Asenso Boakye said his recent visit to some of the flood prone areas revealed that structures have been built close to the drain, resulting in flood inundation and severe erosion along the banks of the drain.
Mr. Asenso Boakye highlighted the level of indiscipline on the part of the public in developing wetlands left as a buffer for streams, rivers and lagoons, as well as those who block watercourses which compound the problem and undermine government’s efforts.
According to him, he also visited Teshie Bush Road Drain in the same Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly where structures had been put up haphazardly on reservation for the river channels.
Mr. Boakye emphasised on the need for citizens to support government’s efforts by respecting rules and regulations governing settlement planning and avoid development in water ways and drainage buffers.
These activities include “filling lagoons and wetlands with construction materials for development purposes; Building on drainage channels, hence blocking the free flow of storm water; Dumping of solid waste in drains thereby reducing their capacity to hold storm water; and Gaps in the enforcement of planning laws and building regulations by the MMDAs.” he indicated.
To address these challenges, Mr. Asenso Boakye disclosed that his Ministry has engaged with the Ministry of National Security to seek support for the Assemblies to enforce planning laws and building regulations to stop development on the Kpeshie wetlands and other water bodies across the country.
Additionally, the Ministry is engaging the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development to enhance support for the Assemblies in dealing with the challenge of buildings in waterways and drainage buffers.
He continued that his ministry had deployed all resources “available to us to construct new drains and improve existing ones with a focus on vulnerable communities ahead of the raining season.”
The minister revealed that Government was collaborating with the World Bank to invest USD 200 million to mitigate flood risk and solid waste management challenges in the Odaw Drainage Basin.
According to him, the government’s comprehensive programme to tackle flooding in vulnerable communities is investment in the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project.
“The procurement process for the performance-based dredging of the Odaw River is completed and works expected to commence soon after the implementation of the Resettlement Action Plan to compensate individuals that will be impacted by the project,”he added.
Other interventions the Minister mentioned include drainage improvement works at Achimota, Nima and Kaneshie.
Also, he stated that the procurement process for Drainage Improvement Works at Achimota is far advanced.
The GARID project, he revealed, is also undertaking participatory community upgrade in Alogboshie,Akweteyman and Nima.
“Other important interventions include the construction of retention ponds in the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission area to hold large volumes of water, which would have otherwise flowed directly towards the city centre to cause flooding”, the minister reinstated.
He also acknowledged that the team is also undertaking non-structural measures such as the Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) for the Greater Accra Region as well as Social and Behavioural Change Campaign.
With the Early Warning System, he disclosed that people in vulnerable communities will have the benefit of advanced notice of flooding, so they can take steps to protect their lives and valuables.
Subsequently, the minister indicated that “from 2018 to date, the Government has committed approximately GHS 450 million to the programme and that is the single most significant investment from Government of Ghana funding sources to tackle flooding.”
Under the National Flood Control Programme, he said that 384 desilting projects and 202 drainage channel construction projects were initiated.
“The effect has been the mitigation of flood hazards in beneficiary communities such as;Kuntunse Satellite, Achimota Mile 7, Katamanso, Mamprobi, Abeka-Ayigbe Town, Labadi Olympia, Tse-Addo, Teshie Yoomo Specs, Nungua (United Church Area), Haatso, Madina Firestone, Madina Mayehot, Madina Redco, Madina Oblogo, Dome Crossing, Santa Maria (Plus FM and Washing) Weija GEICEL, Kasoa Iron City, Kasoa Obom and Ashaiman, among other communities across the country.” he added.
To ensure the positive impact is experienced in other targeted communities, the Ministry and the Ghana Hydrological Authority will follow-up to ensure completion of all ongoing projects under 2020 National Flood Control Programme, Mr. Asenso noted.
Additionally, the Minister said his outfit had initiated a process of undertaking economic, environmental and social impact assessment of the completed drainage projects under the National Flood Control Programmes.
Ahead of this raining season, the ministered confirmed that desilting works have been undertaken in selected flood hot spots such as Kasoa Millennium City, Adenta Sakora, Nsakyi, Ablekuma, Dawhyenya and Dome Railway Crossing, New Legon, Santor, Adenta, Sango and Naapladjor Drains.
He concluded by saying his outfit is determined to ensure that Accra is adequately prepared for the impending rains.
The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in the Volta Region has taken steps to settle its electricity debt.
So far the company has paid GHS 2 million out of its GHS 17.5 million debt.
The debt was accumulated between 2021 and 2023 making the water company the highest debtor of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Volta Region.
GWCL was compelled to pay after it was served a disconnection notice to clear its debt or be disconnected on Tuesday, 4th April 2023.
Both companies later had a series of engagements and agreed on a payment plan, hence, ECG rescinded its decision to cut power supply to GWCL facilities in the region.
Addressing the media, the Acting Volta Regional General Manager of ECG, Ing. Michael Buabin, explained that his outfit is not embarking on a mass disconnection exercise but a revenue mobilization exercise, therefore, for any debtor that exhibits commitment to pay, “there can be a consensus.”
“We don’t take delight in disconnecting customers but we also want to collect the needed revenue so when we engage you and there’s positive feedback, we don’t take you off the national grid but once you default or fail to present a positive solution, disconnection which is always the last resort will be done.
For example, if we disconnect GWCL, hospitals, schools, and innocent consumers who have paid their water bills will not get water supply, hence the need to engage the GWCL extensively for them to pay their bills to avoid disconnection”, he said.
Ing. Buabin indicated that the GHS 2 million paid by GWCL is just a minute fraction of the GHS 17.5 million debt and urged the company to promptly pay its bills to avoid piling up huge debts.
“The amount paid by GWCL is small compared to their debt profile but we hope they will be making regular payments to enable them to reduce or clear their debt. We will be monitoring the situation to ensure we receive frequent payments from their outfit”, he said.
Other institutions that made payments in the Volta Region include UHAS, Ho Technical University, and Abutia Stone Quarry.
The ECG has also engaged Hospitals that charge utilities as part of service bills to patients especially missionary hospitals, and security services such as the Ghana Police Service, Ghana National Fire Service, and Ghana Prisons Service in the Volta Region to settle their debts or face disconnection.
![Fleur Boyd, [L] with her mother Astrid Allen, travelled from Margate](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/183AA/production/_129424299_a726ac81c5bdf110f683a29db2873322834aaa4e.jpg)
