A wife was dumbfounded as she spotted the name mistake on her birthday card
Arguably, people may find that cards are more thoughtful than gifts on celebratory occasions – especially birthdays. The thoughtfulness of specific words on the front and inside of a card can easily jerk a tear or two. This happened to one woman as a card brought her to tears, but not for the right reasons.
A married woman erupted in tears of laughter as her birthday card from her husband went horribly wrong as he used another woman’s name in an accidental mishap. Sharing a video to popular video-streaming service TikTok, which documented the ordeal, couple Cal and Shauna left over 359,000 viewers in hysterics.
The pair – who boast more than 3,800 followers on account @calandshauna – were keen to share the laughable blunder online.
Captioning the post, Cal wrote: “That’s what I get ordering the card late.”
“Happy birthday!” He exclaimed in the clip as he passed the huge card over to his wife Shauna.
“Awww, this is really cute,” she gushed as she opened the envelope.
However, she was unaware of the vital mistake which would lay before her on the birthday car
When she clocked onto the blunder, she asked: “I do have one question – who’s Caroline?”
Much to their shock, the card read: ‘Most amazing wife – happy birthday Caroline’.
Shauna burst into laughter, but was keen to make light of the situation, saying: “Have you married someone else, yeah? Is that your side hustle?”
According to those who flocked to the comments, they reckon that Cal forgot to change the automated name on the online card, which should have been personalised.
Budding users were in hysterics over the ordeal as they were keen to joke about the mishap, whilst others admitted they have also been victims to a name mistake.
One person penned: “This is brilliant.”
“It was a funny mistake though,” a second added.
A different user wrote: “Someone forgot to change the name on the site..”
“Don’t worry my mother done this for my birthday and it said Steve on the front,” another person claimed.
Authorities claimed a Massachusetts woman is facing many assault and battery charges after she allegedly let loose a swarm of bees on sheriff’s officials as they attempted to deliver an eviction notice.
According to court records cited by Masslive.com on Wednesday, Rorie S. Woods, 55, entered a not guilty plea during her appearance on October 12 in Springfield District Court and was subsequently released without posting bail.
She and the other protesters insist that their goal was to stop an unjust eviction.
At that point, according to Grace Ross of the Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending, “everything should have stopped,” because the homeowner, Alton King, had presented documentation of a bankruptcy stay to court the following day.
Woods’ lawyer did not immediately respond to a voicemail left by The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Hampden County deputies were met by protesters when they went to the home in Longmeadow on the morning of Oct. 12, according to the official department report.
Woods, who lives in Hadley, arrived in an SUV towing a trailer carrying bee hives and started “shaking” them, breaking the cover off one and causing hundreds of bees to swarm out and initially sting one deputy, according to the report.
Woods, who put on a beekeeper’s suit to protect herself, was eventually handcuffed but not before several more sheriff’s department employees were stung, including three who are allergic to bees, the report said.
When Woods was told that several officers were allergic, she said “Oh, you’re allergic? Good,” according to the report.
Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi said Woods could have faced more serious charges if anything worse had happened. “We had one staff member go the hospital, and, luckily, he was all right,” Cocchi said.
“We had a court order that’s been presented to us and it’s our job to effectuate that court order,” Hoffman said. “It was Miss Woods’ arrival with her vehicle and her trailer that really caused things to go haywire.”
According to her, she is able to get inspiration for songs, but it takes time for her to record because she is a bit of a perfectionist.
In an interview on Daybreak Hitz on Hitz FM, Diana Hamilton explained that ‘Mo Ne Yo’ especially, took longer than she expected due to its arrangement and composition.
“‘Mo Ne Yo’ took me years to write. It took me about two years to write it. I know when I started and when I went into the studio with it. It’s either I have the message or I don’t. And I don’t want to be in the studio without knowing what to do,” she told Andy Dosty.
Diana Hamilton explained that she can get the melody before she juxtaposes it with the lyrics – “but that could be daunting.”
“I am struggling with one now. I don’t like that, I like to get the message first before the melody, and it makes sense. I worked with Kwame Yeboah, and he told me I have to tell a story and I have to tell it well to resonate with people. I always want the songs to be based on the word of God. It’s a long process,” she explained.
Songo however believes the situation has been worsened by the lazy attitude of Ghanaian youth who he says are unwilling to work.
“The lazy people are too many in the system. They won’t find some job and work their arse off. Even when you give them a job, they will complain and resign. When they are done, they will call and ask for help. There’s too much laziness in the system. Our leaders should stop the corruption and invest money in the economy and help the youth get employment.
“President Akufo-Addo, you are the president, wherever you will find money to invest in the economy, do it. You have to sacrifice for us and show that you are a good leader. Bawumia must also do the same. You must all sacrifice and push your own money into the economy. The Minister, DCEs, and MPs must all dedicate their funds to the country.
“Our leaders are stealing our money. When you say it, they harass you but you need to listen to the prophet of God. Where is the money IMF gave us in 2020? In 2022, you are crying for $ 3 billion. What are you going to use it for? Are they going to use it to help the country or chop it? They are all greedy and selfish. Until you tell them the truth, we’ll continue to suffer,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo in August this year conceded the tough times in the country but promised that his government will turn things around for the country.
“Things are not at all where we would like to be as far as the economy is concerned, and I’m fully aware that these are difficult times for us,” he said.
“However, with the appropriate policies, hard work, and determination of the people of Ghana, I have no doubt we will soon come out stronger.”
Watch the latest edition of GhanaWeb Mundial, Sports Debate and Sports Check below
Sports Debate: What is the cause of Hearts of Oak’s problem?
On this episode of the GhanaWeb Sports Debate, Joel Eshun interacted with Accra Hearts of Oak fans on the street to engage them about the problems in their team and how best they can be solved.
Thousands of patrons at the just-ended 2022 MTN Stands in Worship were thrilled to the tunes of anointed songs from Diana Hamilton, Piesie Esther, Koda, PerezMusic, NSROMAmusic, and MTN Viva Voices as they led the audience into the throne room.
The much-anticipated gospel musical concert held at the Fantasy Dome, Trade Fair La – Accra on Saturday, October 22 under the theme: ‘Arise and Worship’, brought together Christians and gospel music fans on one stage for worship and praise to the Almighty God.
Celebrated Ghanaian gospel artists including Diana Hamilton, Piesie Esther, Koda, PerezMusic, NSROMAmusic, and MTN Viva Voices delighted the audience with their powerful and alluring voices.
Each artist showed their worship and praise prowess when they took their turn on stage and had the audience on their feet throughout the time they were on stage.
The back-to-back praises and worship brought some needed warmth and joy to the hearts of the patrons.
Rev. PJ Markwei, an ordained Minister of the Gospel and seasoned musician, also led the gathering to the throne of God with his awe-awakening voice as he ministered his anointing-filled songs, leaving an indelible mark on the minds of patrons.
The concert, which is an annual gospel music event aimed at entertaining Ghanaian gospel music fans, was organized to thank God for the mercies and the kindness He continues to shower on Ghana.
The organizers said this year’s MTN Stands in Worship had been successful as music fans were satisfied with a night full of surprises. MTN Stands in Worship has become one of the most hyped on MTN’s calendar.
Speaking at the event, Director, Aglow Ghana and Former President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie said corporate organizations cannot rule out the place of God in their business growth and commended MTN for such activity.
“Since the year 2020 businesses have had some tough and challenging times but God has given us the opportunity to meet here alive.
“I pray for Ghanaians to stand together for peace and I believe that God will rule in the affairs of Ghana,” said Mrs. Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie.
She entreated Ghanaians to stand together for peace in the conviction that God will rule in the country’s affairs; adding that they should develop hearts of gratitude and live in peace.
She also called on Ghanaians to eschew bitterness and show love to one another, especially during this tough period.
Other speakers including Mrs. Kuranchie Ankrah who graced the occasion prayed and delivered peace messages as well.
The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye; Lasmid, winner of MTN Hitmaker 8, and all the artistes on the show also shared messages of peace and hope with the audience.
The annual gospel concert, powered by MTN Ghana, has seen some of the world’s biggest music acts give off electrifying performances that have left lasting memories on patrons.
Amazingly, you can dial *1355# to select the songs of the artistes who performed at MTN Stands In Worship as your Caller Ring Back Tone. Everyone who calls you gets to listen and dance to your favourite artiste’s song while they wait to talk to you. Get other Caller Tunez from other artistes today and enjoy your favourite songs only on MTN.
Although Hudson Odoi has already made three appearances for England, the new FIFA regulations allow him to switch allegiance if those games occur before he turns 21.
When asked if negotiations with Ghana had taken place, Hudson-Odoi responded to BBC Sport Africa, “Nothing I would say at this time on TV, I would want to tell you, but I couldn’t say.”
“At the moment, I’m simply trying to do the best I can in this situation. Future events are always unpredictable.
“Obviously the Ghana-England situation has been on my mind for a while. But I think right now it was more of the focus of coming here, really getting myself back into shape, playing a lot of games and just feeling like myself. Right now my mind is just open.”
Former national organizer of Accra Hearts of Oak’s National Chapters Committee, Mohammed Alhassan, has described how Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote had tried to finance the team.
He explained in an interview with Angel FM that Dangote, a close friend of the late president Professor John Evans Atta Mills and the board chairman of Accra Hearts of Oak, chose to support the football team he adored in order to commemorate his memory.
The deal was set in motion and everything looked positive until someone close to Togbe Afede allegedly decided to cripple it.
He recounts that Togbe Afede who was not in the country then instructed that copies of the agreement are sent to his desk for final deliberations during the board meeting but the person in question decided against it.
Mohammed Alhassan who was a member of the board meeting said the reason given by the said person was that Kempes Ofosu Ware was involved in some financial mismanagement allegations during his time as MCE for Tema.
“Dangote wanted to support Hearts of Oak with a big sponsorship but he pulled out because of someone’s personal interest. Dangote wanted to sponsor Hearts of Oak to honor Professor Mills because of their relationship. Kempes Ofosu Ware was the DCE at Tema. Kempes finished everything only for someone said over his dead body. That person was Akambi.
“I was part of the delegation that went to Nigeria. Myself, Kenpes and three others. Togbe Afede had traveled and instructed that the letter be sent to the desk. At the board meeting, the issue was never raised. Kempes gave us Ishmael Addo, Dong Bortey, Bossman, and others,” he said.
Mohammed Alhassan was reacting to Togbe Afede’s press statement about happenings within the club where he expressed confidence in Alhaji Akambi and Vincent Sowah Odotei.
The outspoken pundit who made an appearance on Power FM called Celestine a hypocrite and claimed that she doesn’t have good intentions for her colleague, Empress Gifty.
Sally called out the gospel singer for failing to attend the funeral of Empress Gifty’s grandmother and sister at Takoradi on October 15 but was quick to share photos from the burial ceremony on her social media platforms.
“Celestine Donkor is a hypocrite. Let me explain her hypocritic act and if it isn’t hypocrisy, I will withdraw it. Did you realize that Celestine Donkor posted photos of Empress Gifty’s grandmother and sister’s funeral on her Facebook page? So why did she post? It is a personal question I am asking her. Her attitude towards Empress is bad; she was invited to the funeral,” said Sally.
In an official letter addressed to Power FM, the manager of Celestine gave the station a 24-hour ultimatum to disassociate themselves from Sally Mann’s statement which he deemed defamatory.
“We are by this letter requesting that your institution dissociate itself from the said comment within twenty-four hours of receipt of this letter, your failure to do this leaves us with no option than to instruct our lawyers to seek redress at a court of competent jurisdiction,” parts of the letter dated October 24 read.
Read the full statement below:
REQUEST TO DISSOCIATE YOURSELF FROM THE DEFAMATION COMMENT BY SALLY MANN
I write on behalf [of] Dynamics Unlimited Inc (managers of Celestine Donkor) with regards to a viral video on social media in which a certain Sally Mann (also known as Sally Frimpong) made defamatory comments about our artiste on your platform(s). We are by this letter requesting that your institution dissociate itself from the said comment within twenty-four hours of receipt of this letter, your failure to do this leaves us with no option than to instruct our lawyers to seek redress at a court of competent jurisdiction. Thank You.
Elikem claims that the event featured two persons who were engaged in a property dispute and occurred directly behind his store.
“I regret to inform you that a house in Dzorwulu was broken into twice in a succession, directly outside my shop and home. The first time, folks were attempting to rebuild when the incident occurred.
“It’s apparently a disputed land… The driver, who was apparently beaten down to a pulp is being rushed to the hospital. It’s sad; really sad,” he said.
He added that the driver of the car was allegedly beaten by some residents of the area.
“So, apparently, there were five V8 Toyota Land Cruisers following the excavator that came to do the breaking down of the house and this one was unable to escape. And then people in the area got to it and beat up the guy who has been hospitalized right now,” he added.
In the videos shared by Elikem, another man who witnessed what transpired, gave his side of things.
He stated that the people who had come to demolish the said property had come along with an excavator.
“All we saw were fake soldiers. And so, when we started moving them, that was when they started running into the Land Cruiser… it seems like the car was followed. It was in that process that I think the car veered off into the gutter,” he said.
Background:
In the late hours of Monday, October 24, a video went viral on Twitter.
In the half-minute video, a man was seen lying in distress on an inner road in an area identified by a commentator as ‘North Dzorwulu.’
An unidentified man running commentary on the 33-second video is heard asking for help for the victim while exclaiming that he is not dead.
According to social media reports, the driver of the vehicle was shot, causing his car to run into a ditch.
Moments into the video, some unsighted persons set the car ablaze. It is not immediately clear what may have resulted in the shooting incident.
Police issue Dzorwulu-linked statement
The Ghana Police Service urged the general public to remain calm amid reports of an alleged shooting incident.
In a Facebook post, the police said it was in control of the situation, adding that other developments on the matter will be communicated to the public in due course.
The law enforcement body, in its comment on the matter, attributed the disturbances at Dzorwulu to a land dispute.
“The Police are in control of the situation and calm has since been restored. We, therefore, wish to urge the public to remain calm. Further developments will be shared in due course,” the police posted on its page.
Edudzi Kudzo Tameklo, a member of the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) legal team, made a statement on contentious remarks allegedly made by the Okyenhene Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin.
The Osagyefo has been quoted as saying that anyone who attack President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo are either village children or witches or wizards.
Edudzi disagrees with the statement and believes that the chief would be better off remaining silent rather than insulting people.
The lawyer shared a video of the said comments with a caption that read:
“Can this chief be quite small? Your family member has destroyed this beautiful country and you are talking down and insulting people. Please keep quiet.”
The Okyenhene whiles making comments at a church service attended by the President over the weekend spoke about the two issues, defending the president over the economic downturn and citing global events.
On galamsey, he tasked chiefs to stand up to the task of rooting out the menace and not to look at short-term financial considerations and bequeath a long-term crisis to generations.
The Okyenhene’s controversial comments:
“We must appreciate the feat of the President and show him [some] appreciation for what he has done for Ghana. We must defend and protect him,” he said.
“Not all will like you. Even Jesus Christ was crucified. It won’t bother me if they speak with sincerity but when you speak with hate, witchcraft, and envy, you must be careful because one day! one day! one day! one day!
“One day! the truth will overcome evil lies and envy,” Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II added when he spoke at the inauguration of the Archdeaconry Service held at the St. Martin Anglican Church in Kyebi on Sunday, October 23, 2022.
Popular media personality, Natalie Fort,has stated that people must be allowed to freely point out ills within the Akufo-Addo administration without being labeled as disrespectful.
According to her, the right or wrong upbringing of an individual has got nothing to do with sharing opinions on matters of national interest.
In the wake of the economic woes the country has been saddled with lately, many have vented out their anger and frustrations on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Aside from being booed more than twice in public, some have labelled the president as incompetent, heartless, among others.
This development has not sat well with some individuals, including traditional leaders like the Okyenhene. Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II chastised the youth insulting Akufo-Addo, describing them as villagers and uncultured.
But Natalie Fort thinks otherwise.
In a series of posts on Twitter, she said:
“Criticizing the President, has got nothing to do with being raised well or otherwise. In this case the President being an elderly person is immaterial…he is the President, and we’re operating a Democracy – in which ‘the people’ are permitted, in fact, obligated to speak, criticize and condemn, if need be.”
A tweep who sided with the Okyenhene’s comments which sought to brand critics of the president as ‘witches,’ replied to Natalie saying;
“The Chief’s main concern relates to the use of foul and unprintable language. Perhaps it will help if we focus on issues and debates by sharing our opinions with dignity and respect, rather than resorting to insults which tend to dilute whatever message we’re trying carry across.”
Natalie Fort in a rebuttal wrote;
“Well said, however you think it’s in order for a traditional leader, the Okyenhene, to refer to Ghanaians who are displeased with the President’s leadership currently as witches and wizards? I see…he addresses insults and foul language by himself insulting? Interesting.”
Read the posts below:
Criticizing the President, has got nothing to do with being raised well or otherwise
Well said, however you think it’s in order for a traditional leader, the Okyenhene, to refer to Ghanaians who are displeased with the President’s leadership currently as witches and wizards? I see…he addresses insults and foul language by himself insulting? Interesting. https://t.co/WQAtSDiDgm
Issaka Amon Kotei, a local government specialist, has urged President Akufo-Addo to adopt the previous president John Dramani Mahama‘s offer for a national conversation.
This comes after John Dramani Mahama, a former president, alleged that Ken Ofori-Atta, the minister of finance, had been concealing his activities behind Ghana’s dire economic state the entire time.
The Akufo-Addo administration has been urged by Mahama to be transparent and to consult with the “best minds” among Ghana’s decent citizens.
“The government should come clean and tell us, ‘What is the state of the economy?’ You must put everything on the table…That is why I called for a national dialogue. I said bring the best brains together. I have been president before, it served me well. I called the Senchi Forum, it didn’t reduce my stature as President,” Mahama added.
Read Also: Ensure all journalists operate without oppression- Mahama tasks GJA
Speaking on Atinka FM’s AM Drive with host Kaakyire Ofori Ayim, Local governance expert, Issaka Amon Kotei asked Akufo-Addo to take Mahama’s suggestion in good faith and speak to stakeholders.
Issaka Amon Kotei has called on government to consult the major stakeholders who are key players within the economy in a forum.
According to the governance expert, these stakeholders will calm the masses so nobody is taken by surprise.
“When it comes to trade,, GUTA is a stakeholder. When it comes to the salaries of workers, TUC is a major stakeholder. When it comes to the welfare of teachers, GNAT and NAGRAT are major stakeholders. Even students are major stakeholders. “It will be better for them to come clean and tell us the exact state of the economy,” he added.
The entertainment industry is noted to be dominated by men where women usually find themselves struggling for equal pay before leadership positions are even open to them.
Women are portrayed either by their own will or for strictly business purposes in movies, music videos, commercial ads, and even as cover girls for projects just for the eyeballs.
This has led to the infamous topic of female portrayal as sexual objects or commodities.
The space is an apprentice industry, which means one must work their way up the professional ladder to be taken seriously.
However, there are few “low-key” women blazing the trail behind the scenes in the creative arts and media spaces in Ghana, mostly dominated by men. Empress Neeta is one of those trailblazers regarding cutting-edge radio and TV production, especially for showbiz-related content.
Anita Aniniwaa Ampomah, popularly known in showbiz circles as Empress Neeta is a young lady who is passionate about showbiz and creativity.
She shared her thoughts on social media about some of the “hazards” that come with the job.
According to Empress Neeta, who’s always spotted neatly styled in dreadlocks, one needs to have a lot of courage to be working among a lot of men.
She said, “I’m mostly the only woman in the ‘engine room’ and it takes a lot of courage to be surrounded by a lot of men in a particular space.
“It becomes challenging sometimes, especially when you have men coming at you just because they admire you and I’m sexy too,” she added.
“I’m mostly the only woman in the ‘engine room’ and it takes a lot of courage to be surrounded by a lot of men in a particular space.
Empress Neeta is a media practitioner with vast experience in the Ghanaian entertainment landscape, how things work, and how to make things work in the entertainment industry. Empress Neeta has worked with several media brands.
Over the years, she has mastered the art of radio and television production and presentation, punditry, events coordination, online and social media content creation.
She started working actively in the creative arts space from 2012 and has since served in various capacities, with XFM, TV3, Hitz FM(Multimedia Group), Zylofon Media (Zylofon 102.1 FM, Zylofon TV, and Zylofon Music), currently working with 3Media(3Music TV and Awards)
Produced content for shows like Daybreak Hitz, Hitz Gallery, Cruise Control, Showbiz Agenda, Showbiznes, and Afrosamba among others.
Empress Neeta has worked with many artists from both Ghana and Nigeria and is currently the road manager for award-winning Togolese artiste, Black T Igwe, and also the publicist for budding songstress, Moliy.
She is eloquent, loves good music, is quite a fashionista, is fun-loving and free-spirited. She is a great cook as well.
Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), has emphasized the need for Africa to take into account building petroleum infrastructure networks throughout the continent if the continent is to address fuel distribution issues and also targets ending energy poverty by 2030.
He claims that building big or modular refineries won’t be enough to eliminate fuel poverty in Africa; instead, the continent needs a reliable gasoline distribution system that allows fuel to be transported from one nation to another.
During a panel discussion on the third day of the just concluded Africa Energy Week 2022, which was held in Cape Town, South Africa, from October 18–21, 2022, Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid made the call.
The panellists were Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, CEO of NPA, Alex Cole, General Manager/Head Business Development Sahara Group, Anibor Kragha, Executive Secretary, African Refiners & Distributors Association, and Robert Meza, CEO of Trinity Energy.
The panellists sought to find solutions to Africa’s fuel demand and more especially solutions for new regional exporters.
Setting the stage for the discussion, Anibor Kragha, Executive Secretary of the African Refiners & Distributors Association (ARDA), told the energy sector players across Africa that the continent’s total refinery capacity is about 3.3 million barrels per day from about 20 countries.
He continued that “ten years ago, the utilisation of the refineries across Africa was about 75 per cent but now it is between 50% and 55%.”
In his view, there was the need to first, bring back the continent’s refinery capacity to 100 per cent before “we look at other factors if the continent should have self-sufficiency of fuel.”
Answering a question on what should be done to attract investments for refineries, Mr Humphrey Nwugo, Regional Chief Operating Officer for Southern Africa, Afreximbank, noted that there has been a decline in the capacity of refineries in Africa.
He blamed the situation on a lack of maintenance and investment.
To address the problem, he said the bank and other partners are setting up a US$3 billion infrastructure fund to support the development of petroleum infrastructure networks in Africa.
The project, which is private sector-led, is expected to have three refineries, storage tanks, water treatment plants and other facilities.
The $60 billion project is intended to serve West Africa upon completion.
Citing the West African Gas Pipeline Project which passes through Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria and allows the aforementioned countries to supply gas for power generation, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said it should be possible for countries within the southern belt of Africa to develop a network pipeline infrastructure and for those in the northern part to do same and then tie all of them together for African nations to be able to trade among themselves.
He, thus, called for collaboration between regional blocks within Africa notably ECOWAS, SADC and EAC.
“If we have an integrated pipeline for SADC, EAC, North Africa, then when we have done all that, you will see that it will be easy to tie them together to have a continental-wide petroleum infrastructure of feeding the entire continent,” Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid posited.
Highlight Music signee, songwriter, and producer, Green Baker is journeying his way up. The Nigerian musician has announced the release of his debut album, ‘Mr. Right’.
Prior to the album release scheduled for November 4, 2022, Green Baker officially released a self-produced single from his album titled ‘Mr. Right’ which is also the lead single of the album.
‘Mr. Right’ is a revolutionary song that tackles the political brouhaha in the African continent. The song also commemorates the second anniversary of the viral ‘End SARS’ protest, a protest which was aimed at ending police brutality and bad governance in Nigeria. Green Baker voiced his anger at politicians who make promises prior to elections and fail to fulfill them after gaining power on this project.
According to Green Baker, he gets his songwriting inspiration during the production of his instrumentals and that was what inspired the composition of ‘Mr. Right’. “I usually receive inspiration on what to sing on the instrumental, like the instrumental is speaking to me,” he stated.
Listen to ‘Mr. Right’ on Audiomack below and anticipate for the album.
Evangelist Lord Kenya, the leader of the Face of Grace Church has disclosed that late comic actor, Baba Spirit, was once under his roof.
According to Lord Kenya, he is the inspiration behind the deceased’s name ‘Spirit’.
Lord Kenya, a former secular artiste now preacher, has expressed his disappointment with an alleged statement made by Baba Spiritwhen he was alive. The comic actor reportedly declared that he did not believe in any man of God.
Reacting to the statement attributed to Baba Spirit after his passing, Lord Kenya, in an interview on Hello FM, condemned the “foolish talk” adding that his final days on earth must be a lesson to all.
The Evangelist took time to narrate his relationship with the late comedian and radio presenter adding that he used to beat him when he disobeyed him. All these were done to shape him toward the right path.
“My young boy, most of you called Baba Spirit. There was a competition back in the day called lookalike. He won the competition for imitating Lord Kenya. I got connected to him and he moved over to my house in Bremang. When I became born again, he visited my church, Face of Grace. He again invited me to his church where I ministered at a 3-day event. This same Baba Spirit.
“I was in America when someone informed me that Baba Spirit had died. I was also sent a statement he had made. He said that he doesn’t trust any man of God. I am like, what is wrong?
“You stay on social media and accept such foolish talks. They will continue to kill you… let me tell you how he got his name. He said I am Lord so he will take Spirit as his name. When he became a comedian he added ‘Baba’ to his name. What stopped Spirit from calling me if indeed he didn’t believe any preacher?”
Lord Kenya quizzed.
He Kenya reminded Ghanaians that he was still a soldier. He recalled the days he used to physically attack radio presenters who dared to speak against him.
“I stayed with them in the same house, they have suffered in my hands. I used to beat them when I called them to order. Yes, I am a soldier as I told you. When I tell you to do something you must obey or else face my wrath. You can ask the boys, you will run away…back in the day, I used to go after radio presenters. I will come to drug you out of the studio, you can ask Root Eye and the rest. Now Baba Spirit claimed that there is no God or he didn’t believe in any man of God. In the last show, did you see how he ended up?” these were the words of Evangelist Lord Kenya.
Comedian Baba Spirit passed away on September 8, 2022, after battling with an undisclosed sickness for years.
In order to restore public trust in the economy, the majority caucus in parliament has petitioned President Akufo Addo to dismiss Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta and Minister of State at the finance ministry, Adu Boahen.
On Tuesday, October 25, 2022, their spokesperson, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, Member of Parliament for Asante-Akim North, made the announcement during a briefing for the media.
After reportedly organizing some thugs to destroy a four-bedroom apartment building in Dzorwulu on October 24, 2022, the suspects were detained.
According to the police report, the suspects and their allies attacked the home’s residents before the house was demolished.
On Monday, October 24, late at night, a video quickly became popular on Twitter.
A man was seen lying in distress on an inner road in an area identified by a commentator as ‘North Dzorwulu.’
The victim, a middle-aged man lay motionless in the middle of the street paved with residences on both sides as bystanders looked on. Some eyewitnesses captured the victim who lay with a bloodied face and blood oozing close by.
Police proceeded to the place and the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) was called in to help put out the fire.
The police statement added that, the “injured suspect is at the hospital receiving medical attention (his photograph could not be taken due to his condition).
The investigation has so far revealed that no one was shot during the incident.
“Investigation continues and all available footage on the incident are being reviewed as part of the investigation process.
“Efforts are underway to arrest all other perpetrators to face justice,” the statement concluded.
Entertainment pundit, Sally Mann, has tagged gospel singer, Celestine Donkor, as a hypocrite for failing to sympathize with her colleague, Empress Gifty, during her darkest moment.
Empress Gifty on October 15, 2022, laid to rest her deceased grandmother and sister at Kokwado Park New Takoradi with the support of family, friends, and some colleagues in the music industry.
The funeral was graced by Nana Ama McBrown, Agya Koo, Stella Aba Seal and several others.
According to the account of entertainment pundit, Sally Mann, it was hypocritical for gospel singer, Celestine Donkor, to post photos from the funeral on her social media pages when she failed to send her condolences to Empress or attend the star-dubbed funeral.
Speaking on Power FM, Sally called out the ‘Agbebolo’ singer during her submission.
“Celestine Donkor is a hypocrite…let me explain her hypocritic act and if it isn’t hypocrisy I will withdraw it. Did you realize that Celestin Donkor posted photos of Empress Gifty’s grandmother and sister’s funeral on her Facebook page?” she quizzed.
The outspoken pundit claimed that Empress Gifty admitted to her during a phone call conversation that Celestine failed to send a message of condolence to her.
“Celestine, when you organized your program in New York, Empress Adorye booked a flight to support you. She came to support her sister. She bought a plane ticket from Ghana to New York. Celestine didn’t attend the funeral, but when she saw the likes of Nana Ama McBrown gracing it, she shared it, following the trends. What was her motive? You didn’t even show up.
“I asked Empress whether this lady had even called her and she said she never received a condolence message from her. She never sent a text message. So why did she post the funeral? It is a personal question I am asking her…her attitude towards Empress is bad…she was invited to the funeral,” Sally alleged.
The mining industry is under examination, particularly in light of the massive increase of illicit mining operations, or “galamsey,” which are destroying and damaging the nation’s natural resources like waterways and forest reserves.
The industry may fail if this threat is not effectively controlled because the “galamseyers” are ruining waterways and forest reserves.
In an effort to clamp down on their activities, government has put up several interventions like speed-boats and guards to prohibit illegal miners from the areas.
“The mining industry’s sustainability in Ghana and making Ghana the mining hub of Africa does not lie in just training people, but building local capacity to respond to the mining needs of the entire continent,” he stressed.
Mr. Jinapor further called on the participants to develop capacities of local people in the sector in order to make the most of them.
“Backed by Legislative Instrument (L.I 2431), the localisation programme aims to develop Ghanaian human capital in the mining industry value chain through education, skills-transfer and expertise development.
“Additionally, the law seeks to bolster transfer of technology and know-how, and research and development programmes in the Ghanaian mining sector.
“Ghana’s move to embark on human capital development in the sector is underpinned by government’s quest to make Ghana a mining hub where all mining and other related activities in Africa will be centered – hence enactment of the L.I 2431, which aims to enhance human capital development in the sector to bring this long-term dream to fruition,” he added.
For his part, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the GCM, Sulemanu Koney, noted that in their quest to develop human capital in the sector, the Chamber has given a research grant of about US$83,538 to six faculty members and five post-graduate students at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) to conduct research in the mining industry; adding that this is the second tranche of support to the university, amounting to an about-GH₵1.3million grant for research.
According to him, the mining industry can be more productive and sustainable with the research, attraction and retention of the right talent and skills, and pledged to continue supporting academia through the Chamber’s Tertiary Education Fund (TEF) to develop the right talent and skills for the industry.
The Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine, Dr. Eric Asubonteng, called for a paradigm shift in the mode of operations from the human resource perspective by strengthening the employer value chain, which he said can only be achieved with a radical rethink of the sector’s approach in attracting, retaining and nurturing talents.
There have been several arguments and refutations throughout the years regarding the practicality of this and its applicability to the nation’s present political climate.
Despite this, there have been mavericks and unusual traditional leaders who have broken the law in order to pursue their own “things.”
“I think it’s high time we as a people tone down on unnecessary speculations. Government admits times are hard, and it’s not only in Ghana. It’s a global phenomenon. Not a single country across the world is spared. So let’s tone down a bit. We’re not doing our economy any good by speculating. The panic reaction to the exchange rate is as a result of our usual ‘noise making’ which in the long run will do us no good.”
Sounding hopeful, he added that a country’s economic performance could influence the exchange rate, regardless, there’s hope.
“I want to assure Ghanaians that all is not lost. Just as there’s a rise, there could be a fall in the exchange rate. But for now, let us tone down. It’s a sure way to get our economy back in shape, he stressed.
The Unions are looking at between a 30 and 40 percent increase which they say has been necessitated by the soaring prices of petroleum products at the fuel pumps.
Though there has not been any concrete decision yet, some other Unions, like VIP, have already adjusted their prices.
Speaking on News and Current Affairs Programme “Behind the News”, General Secretary of the Roads Transport Coordinating Council, Emmanuel Ohene-Yeboah, said the meeting with the president would decide on the percentage of the fares.
Sound engineers TwoBars, Tubhani Muzik, IzJoe Beatz, Apya, Major Music, Cyrus Jaybel, and ItzCJMadeit assisted in recording the album. There are a number of songs on the album including Nyame Dada, No Stress, Grace, Got You, Pay Me, 666, Back To Sender, Black Change, You Are The One, and Ha Ha Ha.
Two tracks from the album, Back To Sender and Grace, that were released a few weeks ago have received over 10 million streams across all digital streaming services.
The album features prolific and relevant musicians in Ghana and across our borders including S1mba (UK), Efya (Ghana), Fameye (Ghana), Laioung (Italy), Lasmid (Ghana), Eno Barony (Ghana) Gidochi (Ghana), and Epixode (Ghana).
The album, according to Amerado, has seen the introduction of a new genre called Afrorap.
“While we acknowledge that Afropop has set the pace, I am confident that the launch of the African rap subgenre known as Afrorap can perform enormously well on the international market. Afrorap, like Afrobeats and Afrodance, is simply rap combined with Afro,” according to Amerado.
Discussions have previously focused on what Article 276 of the 1992 Constitution states: “Chiefs shall not actively participate in party politics but any of them who are competent for any public office may be so appointed” (paraphrased).
There have been several arguments and refutations throughout the years regarding the practicality of this and its applicability to the nation’s present political climate.
But there has always been one aspect of the role of traditional leaders in politics that has always been welcomed: the fact that chiefs are free to pass comments on national issues or generally on matters that involve the development of the country.
And this feature article focuses on exactly that; looking at what some prominent traditional leaders in the country have said about some major things in the country, as well as about other people.
But even more specifically, what is it that some three prominent traditional leaders done that have given Ghanaians a lot to talk about?
Here they are:
Togbe Afede XIV
In June 2022, the Paramount Chief of the Asogli State, Togbe Afede XIV, grabbed major headlines when he decided not to accept an amount of over GH¢365,000 ex-gratia paid to him for serving on the Council of State between 2017 and 2020.
According to him, it was not appropriate to receive the said amount when he had been paid monthly for serving as a Council of State member.
In a press statement on Monday, June 6, the traditional leader said he did not think the over GH¢365,000 ex-gratia was made to trap him.
“While working on my tax returns towards the end of last year, I received tax receipts from the Council of State Secretariat that indicated that some money was paid into my bank account in July, 2021 as ‘Ex Gratia’ for my four-year work as a member of the Council of State, 2017-2020.
“I applied for and received a statement from my bankers that confirmed that indeed some money was paid into my account. I eventually confirmed from the Council of State Secretariat that the sum of GH¢365,392.67 was paid into my account as Ex Gratia.
“I did not think the payment was made to trap me, as is being speculated. I believe it was paid to everybody who served on the Council of State. However, I thought that extra payment was inappropriate for a short, effectively part-time work, for which I received a monthly salary and was entitled to other privileges. So, I was very uncomfortable with it,” Togbe Afede XIV explained in his statement.
This news became a talking point for many people in the country, with some praising the chief for the gesture, while others called him out for what they believed was a hypocritical decision.
Expressing shock over the criticisms in a radio interview later, Togbe Afede XIV reiterated that his four-year part-time job as a Member of the Council of State does not merit such quantum of money as an extra reward.
“My joy turned sadness because I knew there was no way I would spend that kind of money. I was very surprised about the sheer quantum of money that I was going to be paid, and I thought that for four years of work, that in all honesty, it was part-time work, I did not think that it merited such amount of extra reward, after I have enjoyed monthly salaries.
“Of course, there are other privileges whether I enjoyed them or not is neither here nor there…but I thought the salaries were more than enough,” the former Council of State member explained.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II
Being arguably the most powerful traditional leader in Ghana, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, grabbed major headlines last week when he was reported to have rejected the candidacy of the former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC), Dr. Kofi Kodua Sarpong.
Dr. K. K. Sarpong had been nominated as the Paramount Chief of Offinso, but according to the Asantehene, his objections to the nomination was because it did not follow due process.
He said that family heads who led the nomination process of Dr. Sarpong did not have the mandate to do so and that they also failed to consider some persons who have rights to the Offinso stool.
“Kofi Kodua Sarpong has lived a good life, he has achieved a lot in life. If he is the person, you the elders of Offinso want, you should have come to me and told me that you want him to be your chief if I accept him. Is that not what you should have done? And now that you have gone your own way and you are having difficulties you are coming to me for what?
“I have cancelled all the pleas of the family head (Atta Kwabena). Mother, I have cancelled the pleas he (the family head) brought to you because the family head himself does not have the right to come close to the stool and for that matter bring you pleas. There is a curse on him that he was to take off.
“That is why I was asking the elders why they will let someone with a curse on him lead their plea. That is the issue I have. I have cancelled the nomination process.
“I know that Kofi Konadu Sarpong is the person you want as chief if that is true come and tell me about it. I know that you have sat with him and have come to an agreement. But the person leading your plea does not have the right to do so now,” the Asantehene said in Twi at the Manhyia Palace in a video shared by Opemsuo Radio and sighted by GhanaWeb.
Background:
The Offinso paramount seat became vacant in October 2021 after the passing of the late Paramount Chief, Nana Awiafe Akenten III after a short illness at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi.
The late Offinsomanhene had occupied the Wiafe Akenten traditional stool for 28 years, following his enstoolment in November 1993.
As tradition demands, a new candidate must be nominated and duly vetted by the traditional processes to replace the deceased chief.
There have however been controversies surrounding the nomination of the former GNPC Boss, K.K Sarpong after he was proposed by the Offinso Queenmother, Nana Ama Serwaa Nyarko.
His candidacy has mostly been contested because of suggestions by some royal factions that he is not a royal nor has any entitlement to the stool.
The paramount chief of Offinso is the third in command in the Asante Kingdom.
Amotia Ofori Panin II
The Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia ofori Panin, has been the most recent traditional leader to have grabbed major headlines for what he said.
Speaking at the inauguration of Archeaconry Service held at the St. Martin Anglican Church in Kyebi in the Abuakwa South Municipality of the Eastern Region on Sunday, October 23, 2022, the traditional leader described persons criticizing the work of the president as ‘villagers’ and ‘witches.’
The chief called on Ghanaians to appreciate the significant contribution of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to the country and stop running down the president.
“We must appreciate the feat of the president and show him appreciation for what he has done for Ghana. We must defend and protect him.
“… those insulting the president are children of villagers. They are uncivilized. No well-nurtured person will insult an elderly. If you were raised in the church, you will not insult an elder. If you are not a villager then you may be a witch or wizard,” he said without mincing words.
Following this, there have been many reactions from the public, with some politicians, including the New Patriotic Party’s former Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Obiri Boahene.
He described the chief’s comments as unfortunate, adding that rather than insulting the critics of the president, he should have urged Akufo-Addo to listen to those with genuine concerns.
“Let me be very honest. Such a comment coming from a big chief is not in good taste. You are not some small chief, you are a big chief and you were not talking to your friend, you were talking in public and you uttered such words, it is not good.
“You don’t have to support the NDC or the NPP to make such comments. It was an opportunity for him to urge the president to listen to the cries of Ghanaians. You don’t just call people witches and wizards. It is not good,” he said in Twi in a Neat FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb.
The long-serving General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah (General Mosquito), has been predicted by Okay FM journalist Kwame Nkrumah Tikese to win the contest for the opposition party’s chairmanship.
He remarked that he wasn’t sure if anyone would challenge General Mosquito, adding that they would be better off using their campaign funds to stock their wives’ businesses with food and supplies.
“Starting with the constituency election, the NDC will elect executives.
If you attend the national executive election, my uncle Johnson Asiedu Nketiah will be running for chairman of the NDC rather than remaining in his position as general secretary.
“This contest, uncle has won it. I’m not sure anyone is contesting him. Is someone contesting him? I don’t remember. If someone is contesting him, he should use his small campaign money to buy provisions for his wife’s store. That is what will help you,” Tikese said on Ade Akye Abia on October 24.
In a joint interview on Accra100.5FM and CTV morning shows, the NDC scribe told joint hosts Emmanuel Quarshie (The Hitman) and Nana Otu Darko that: “Yes, I have the intention of picking up a form to contest the chairmanship position when nominations are opened”.
His declaration meant that he would come up against the incumbent chairman, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, who has also declared his reelection bid.
Questioned on whether his stance of contesting the chairman position will not bring rivalry between him and the incumbent, Asiedu Nketiah said democracy is meant to bring competition, and so he sees nothing wrong with competing with the incumbent.
“Is there democracy without rivalry, or are we taking a decision to abandon democracy? That thinking is anti-democratic,” he stated, adding “democracy must bring competition so that the best will emerge….”
The NDC is expected to hold elections for national executives on December 17,
The organization bemoaned the ongoing decline of the dollar, attributing it to bank swindlers, and demanded action from the government to stop the problem.
Their first recommendation is that Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, be transferred to another position in the cabinet while President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo considers what to do to stop the precipitous slide of the cedi.
The group further indicated that “some forex restrictions targeted at persons undermining the system from the central bank through the commercial banks to the unlicensed forex operators.
“Investigate the banks and prosecute officials engaged in forex trading, impose import restrictions on selected items and engage multinational companies, business ventures contributing to the capital flight.”
FULL AFAG STATEMENT: Mr PRESIDENT, SPEAK & ACT NOW
The Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) is a public interest advocacy group that shares a lot of centre-right positions on issues that are often in sync with the ideological philosophy of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Over the years, AFAG has been quiet out of goodwill toward Government. However, given recent developments, we are forced to depart from our current position on national development.
Mr President, it is our considered opinion that the current speed of the cedi depreciation is borne out of the mischief of speculators and is purely artificial.
Although it will reflect various challenges with the balance of payment due to post covid and Ukraine, there is some panic buying, a lack of confidence and a high degree of uncertainty in the financial market.
Mr President, there is a particular conspiracy theory that points to the central bank’s supervision of the forex market as weak. It is believed that high-placed persons in the central and commercial banks with profit motives auction dollars at an interbank rate, cheaper to the black markets, who then sell it on the market at very high speeds.
It is also the belief that people in business in the subregions are contributing to the volatile situation by coming into Ghana to sell their currency and buy dollars for cheap in Ghana, and after that, sending it to their countries (where dollars are pretty expensive). Mr President, this is among others.
Mr President, also critical is the mass belief by Ghanaians that the minister of finance is doing very little to shore up confidence in the market. Nonetheless, but arguably so, there is a broad perception of him not doing much, coupled with his attack on the IMF.
The finance minister believes that going to IMF has a dire effect on the economy and that Ghana won’t seek any support from the IMF. AFAG finds it inconsistent of him, therefore, to lead the IMF negotiations or remain in office now that the government is seeking a bailout.
Mr President, it is time to present an economic recovery plan to the nation. IMF intervention would not be enough to salvage the situation.
Over the period, you have not also addressed the country. We find this highly unusual based on how in the past, you have fostered cooperation from Ghanaians through your frequent addresses during the covid crisis. We will need you to reduce anxiety in the system and let Ghanaians know the “whys” and “hows”.
RESOLUTION:
● The minister of finance and the Minister of State at the Ministry, Ken Ofori Atta and Charles Adu Boahen must be reassigned
● some forex restrictions targeted at persons undermining the system, from the central bank through the commercial banks to the unlicensed forex operators
● investigate the banks and prosecute officials engaged in forex trading
● impose import restrictions on selected items
● engaging multinational companies and business ventures contributing to the capital flight.
● restricting the forex export to a certain level, at least in the next six months.
● Ensuring traders who export US dollars from Ghana annually have imported about an equal amount to the country.
● Encourage Ghanaians to understand why the current rates are artificial and how they will trade at a loss when the market settles, and the cedi benchmarks to the US Dollar at its real value.
The police stated in a Facebook post that they were in charge of the situation and that any further developments would be made public in due course.
The law enforcement agency explained the disturbances at Dzorwulu as the result of a land dispute in its comment on the situation.
“Calm has since been restored and the Police are in charge of the situation. Therefore, we want to remind everyone to keep their cool.
In due course, more information will be given, the police wrote on its page.
An unidentified man running commentary on a 33-second video shared is heard asking for help for the man while exclaiming that he is not dead.
According to social media reports, the driver of the vehicle was shot while his car was set on fire. It is not immediately clear what may have resulted in the shooting incident.
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia offers free education to qualifying students from pre-kindergarten to doctoral level and has roughly 29 public universities.
“The kingdom gives educational scholarships to deserving candidates from all around the world as a generous gesture to make education available to residents of the world regardless of race or religion.”
The Saudi Arabia Ambassador to Ghana, Meshal Alrogi, disclosed this in Accra on Saturday at the launch of a book “Comprehensiveness of Islam,” authored by Sheikh Yahya Sulaiman Tuntunba, a graduate of the Islamic University of Al Madinah, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“I encourage our young ones here to take this opportunity to pursue higher studies in the Kingdom’s Universities. Scholarships are available for all applicants and in all fields, including nursing, pharmacy, computer science engineering, accounting, Journalism, Agricultural studies, oil and gas engineering, in addition to sharia and Arabic language courses,” Mr. Alrogi said.
He added that Saudi scholarships were among the best in the world, stressing that “its scholarships come with a full package including a yearly round ticket for summer vacations, free tuition, free accommodation, subsidised meals in restaurants on university campuses, sports facilities, monthly stipends, end of study allowance to enable students export their books, free health insurance for students and their families living with them.”
“I’m highly delighted to see graduates of Saudi Arabia Universities all over Ghana contributing towards the development of the country and transforming lives, and I hope to see more Ghanaians studying in Saudi Universities,” Mr Alrogi said.
Mr. Alrogi pointed out that it was an undeniable fact that, the strength of every nation and society was knowledge, adding “knowledge lifts people to status of honour and makes them useful and beneficial citizens and members of their communities”.
“Islam teaches us to seek knowledge and to impart that knowledge in uplifting our societies, and this is exactly what we have witnessed today,” he added.
Dr. Leticia Adelaide Appiah, Executive Director of the National Population Council (NPC), emphasized that the number of teenage pregnancies in the nation was more than worrying and demanded that immediate action be taken to address the problem.
In the previous five years, there have been more than 500,000 teenage pregnancies in the country, according to the expert, and things could get worse if nothing is done to stop the trend.
In Accra Wednesday, the NPC hosted a day-long training workshop on population issues. Dr. Appiah, who made this announcement, stated between 2016 and 2021, approximately 555,575 teenage pregnancies were reported.
Dr. Appiah said population education was pivotal in the development of any country, and the media must take interest in it.
“In countries such as Pakistan, the government had integrated population education in both formal and non-formal sectors and in their academic system, from primary to university levels,” she said.
Dr. Appiah said there was a need to focus on a new era of collective improvement and open communication when it came to population matters.
“We cannot openly communicate without relevant and functional knowledge because knowledge and education is a potent instrument of change for any nation. Knowledge is sharing, and sharing and use is the most important public good,” she said.
Many users have taken to social media to complain over their inability to receive or send messages via the platform on Tuesday October 25, 2022.
Users of the platform were said to have began reporting the issue at around 8 am on Tuesday morning.
The parent company, Meta which also owns Facebook and Instagram is yet to comment or provide an update on the issue as at the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, some Ghanaians and other African nationals, who have been affected by the development, have taken to social media to express their sentiment.
See the reactions below:
WhatsApp is down again?
— Not Nice (@GeraldCrack) October 25, 2022
Is WhatsApp down?????
— Adjoah (@adjoah__) October 25, 2022
It seems there’s something up with WhatsApp this morning
— Area Girl with Branding!!! (@akosuashirly) October 25, 2022
Head of Engineering team WhatsApp right now #WhatsAppDown pic.twitter.com/4zCq83knwH
— Omega (@Omega_003) October 25, 2022
Is your WhatsApp working ?
— Kafui Dey (@KafuiDey) October 25, 2022
It’s not just your phone — WhatsApp is down for many users. The app said on Tuesday morning that it was working to restore service as quickly as possible. https://t.co/ZzpSxylxc4
In his customary introductory remarks, Rt. Hon. Speaker Alban Bagbin is anticipated to address a number of important topics.
66 measures are anticipated to be introduced when Parliament reconvenes on Tuesday, October 25.
The Affirmation Action Bill, 2022, Ghana Housing Authority Bill, 2022, Minerals and Mining (Amendment), 2022, Small Scale Mining Bill, 2022, Petroleum Revenue Management (Amendment Bill, 2022), and the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana (Amendment) Bill, 2021 are among these bills, according to the Public Affairs Directorate.
Aside from these bills, some private members’ bills will be presented before the house.
Eleven bills are currently at the committee level, of which seven are public bills and four are private member bills.
Meanwhile, the finance minister will also present the 2023 budget to the house before it goes on recess.
The victim, a middle-aged man lies motionless in the middle of the street paved with residences on both sides as bystanders look on, some videoing the victim who lies with a bloodied face and blood oozing close by.
An unidentified man running commentary on the 33-second video is heard asking for help for the victim while exclaiming that he is not dead.
According to social media reports, the driver of the vehicle was shot causing his car to run into a ditch.
Moments into the video, some unsighted persons set the car ablaze. It is not immediately clear what may have resulted in the shooting incident.
In a Facebook post, the police said it was in control of the situation adding that other developments on the matter will be communicated to the public in due course.
The law enforcement body in its comment on the matter attributed the disturbances at Dzorwulu to a land dispute.
“The Police are in control of the situation and calm has since been restored. We, therefore, wish to urge the public to remain calm. Further developments will be shared in due course,” the police posted on its page.
Former president John Dramani Mahama’s assistant Joyce Bawah Mogtari expressed regret about the state of the Ghana cedi a few weeks after Bloomberg named it the currency with the worst performance against the US dollar.
According to her, bringing up that situation amounted to criticizing those whose poor economic decisions had caused the cedi to depreciate against the dollar.
She expressed her opinions in a tweet that said, in part: “The world’s worst performing currency at the moment is the Ghanaian Cedi.
Since the Cedi is not a person, how can we speak down to it? By speaking up for the leaders whose poor economic management brought the Cedi to ruin!
I’m grateful.”
The issues about talking down the cedi replies a recent admonition by New Patriotic Party, NPP, member, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, about how the media’s coverage of the currency could lead to speculation and further worsening the status of the cedi.
Gabby holds that whenever journalists report negatively on the cedi, they become accessories to fueling speculation about the currency and thus become complicit in its depreciation.
He wrote in a Facebook post of October 20 thus: “Journalists can report and influence. But where the default mode is to influence negatively, such media houses run the risk of becoming partners in speculation.
“It is not the job of journalists and analysts to fix the cedi; but fixing it is not helped if they make it more their job to fuel speculations.
“The cedi may be worth 60% less now than what it was to the US dollar last year. But it is not worthless! My sympathies go to the many, many businesses and consumers out there who simply do not know to where to turn,” the post added.
Bawah Mogtari, in another tweet acknowledged that President Akufo-Addo will be addressing the nation on the economy, whiles expressing the hope that Vice President Bawumia will also be invited to answer some pressing questions.
“Hopefully after the President Akufo Addo’s presentation, he will invite his Vice President Bawumia to respond as succinctly and as loquaciously as he did in 2016 to the 170 questions he set for our late VP Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur! Thank you,” her tweet read.
Residents in Tema in the Greater Accra Region are expected to stay indoors on Wednesday, October 26 for the funeral activities for the late Tema chief, Osonnaa Nii Adjei Kraku II, to begin.
As part of the activities, there will be a total blackout from 7:00 pm to 12:00 am to honour the dead chief.
Based on this development, the Tema General Hospital have asked its staff to report to work earlier to enable those on the night shift to report to work before the blackout.
In a memo shared by 3news.com, it urged staff on the night shift to report early for handing over so their colleagues could leave on time before the curfew time.
“This is to enable the staff who will be handing over and those taking up perform such activities in good time to enable their colleagues return home before the total blackout.”
The objective of establishing domestic fertiliser growth organization program is advancing in the proper way, and processes are around 95% complete, and fertiliser production plant would be in operation in few months.
This was said by Ms. Amoako during the FERARI coordination meeting yesterday in Accra, which had as its theme “Global Fertilizer and Food Crisis: Mitigation Strategies for Ghana.”
The conference aimed at looking at the issues with fertiliser in the country and the way forward with the situation.
Ms. Amoako noted that the global fertiliser issue was pressing and needed a long-term solution to getting fertilisers to farmers.
She also acknowledged the efforts of government to introduce a programme since 2018 on how to expand the fertiliser sector.
“For the long-term plans, the Ghana government has taken fertiliser to a different level by bringing up the Ghana fertiliser expansion programme where a set of teamwork to develop feasibility studies to develop a fertiliser manufacturing plant using our local natural gas,” she said.
The program director of FERARI, Dr Prem Bindraban who was excited in supporting the Ghana government implement its programme said it was necessary as the programme would impact more in reaching more farmers.
He said the current fertiliser and food crisis underlined the importance of the responsible use of fertiliser resources to enhance the resilience of the food system.
“We want to work with the Ghana government because it has policies that would increase productivity, the first thing we have to do is to build on capacity, in that regard, we are working with seven institutions, five universities and two research centres in Ghana,” he said.
FERARI is an international public-private partnership that builds science-based approaches to site-specific fertilisation strategies for widespread adoption by farmers in Ghana for improved food and nutrition security.
Again, FERARI operates in conjunction with the Programme Planting for Food and Jobs of the Government of Ghana (PFJ-GoG) to embed development efforts into national policy priorities to reach impact at scale.
FERARI also helps the PFJ-GoG to establish a Ghana National Fertiliser Platform and develops its soil mapping expertise toward an information platform.
Management of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) will soon release possible solutions to manage the decision taken by the Pharmaceutical Industry to serve all medication supplies only on cash basis.
The Industry at a press briefing on Thursday October 20, 2022, said the step had become necessary as macro-economic indicators such as exchange rate and payment terms, inflation, interest rates, fuel prices and utilities among others, were having a deleterious effect on the smooth running of the pharmaceutical business.
At the briefing, Mr William Adum Addo, President of the Pharmaceutical Importers and Wholesalers Association, encouraged the National Health Insurance Scheme and all private health insurance companies to give accredited facilities seed funds to buy medicines on cash for supplies to provide patients under the Scheme with medicines.
Berima Sarpong, the Communications Manager, NHIA, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, however said the Authority valued the industry as an important stakeholder, appreciated the conditions in which they operated and was concerned about the difficulties they were going through.
“Management has, therefore, held series of meetings and will come out with possible solutions to manage the situation,” he said.
In order to protect Ghanaians from the tough economic conditions, the finance minister announced in April of this year a 30% reduction in the wages and expenses of government appointees.
Bright Simons claimed that the act has not produced much, despite the fact that the Minister has not fully explained the effects of this action.
He said “in the first 9 months of this year, the government earned 51.5 billion GHS in income. Despite pledges to cut 30% of discretionary expenditures, it ended up spending nearly 90 billion GHS. This is despite escalating arrears (that is to say refusal to pay many overdue bills).”
He also noted that due to the country’s inability to borrow from the international market, “it has resorted to borrowing 41.2 billion GHS to plug the gap (fiscal deficit) and pay interest and principal due on debt.”
Bright Simons further reiterated that the government’s statement that the Russia-Ukraine war is to blame for the country’s crisis is ill-founded since Ghana is not directly related to these countries in terms of trade.
“Blaming the Russia-Ukraine conflict would only add up if Ghana were exceptionally exposed to that region. Fortunately, on many indicators such as trade and investment, Ghana is not even among the top 20 African countries with high levels of exposure. How then is inflation in Ghana the fastest rising in Africa behind only Sudan and Zimbabwe?” he asked.
The recent increases in gasoline prices, among other factors that have an impact on company operations, prompted the VIP JEOUN Transport Limited to apply new transport fees for lengthy trips on Monday morning (0700).
For Standard Coaches and Executive Coaches, respectively, GHS 80.00 and GHS 100.00 would be charged to passengers traveling from Accra to Kumasi under the revised price structure.
The ticket for Accra to Tamale is now selling at GHS200.00 (standard) and GHS240.00 (Executive) while that of Accra to Takoradi costs 80.00.
All other long journeys from all of its terminals in the regional capitals have all gone up by 20 per cent.
They said although they were unhappy about the new charges, they were aware that fuel prices had gone up, and had no option than to pay more.
“I heard in the news that fares would go up today so I prepared, but I didn’t know that it would increase this much,” Esther Kobla, a passenger, said.
Another passenger, Ernest Newman, said he had cancelled his trip in the morning because, “I am running on a tight budget”.
“I was supposed to go to Kumasi today to perform an important duty. But I have asked someone to step in for me because the transport fare is too much,” he said.
“Before the recent increase in petroleum prices, in the past, a bus from Accra to Kumasi was given 200 litres of diesel to ply the route, which cost around GHS2, 700. Now, the same 200 litres is GHS3, 190.
“Given the old figures we were charging, it became abundantly clear that we were unable to sustain our business if we did not take immediate action,” he said.
Mr Manso said the company would review the new prices after 90 days based on the cost of the variables that affected its operations.
Checks conducted by the GNA indicate that as of 1200hours, the State Transport Company (STC) was yet to adjust its fares.
Officials at the STC Transport Terminal at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange told the GNA that its management was yet to officially communicate an increment in fares.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Private Road Transport Union will meet the Minister of Transport, Mr Kwaku Ofori Asiamah on Monday (1600 hours) to finalise discussions on a proposed 30 per cent increment in transport fares.
The Union said it would announce the new fares after the meeting.
Some oil marketing companies on Monday, October 17, 2022 adjusted their prices upwards, selling petrol and diesel for GHS 13.10 and GHS15.99 per litre respectively.
The adjustments represent more than 10 per cent increment from the last pricing window, which closed on Saturday, October 15, 2022, with diesel and petrol then selling at an average GHS11.05 and GHS 13.98 respectively.
Market analysts blamed the increment on the depreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar and the rise in prices of petroleum products on the international market.
Entertainment pundit, Sally Mann, has tagged gospel singer, Celestine Donkor, as a hypocrite for failing to sympathize with her colleague, Empress Gifty, during her darkest moment.
Empress Gifty on October 15, 2022, laid to rest her deceased grandmother and sister at Kokwado Park New Takoradi with the support of family, friends, and some colleagues in the music industry.
The funeral was graced by Nana Ama McBrown, Agya Koo, Stella Aba Seal and several others.
According to the account of entertainment pundit, Sally Mann, it was hypocritical for gospel singer, Celestine Donkor, to post photos from the funeral on her social media pages when she failed to send her condolences to Empress or attend the star-dubbed funeral.
Speaking on Power FM, Sally called out the ‘Agbebolo’ singer during her submission.
“Celestine Donkoris a hypocrite…let me explain her hypocritic act and if it isn’t hypocrisy I will withdraw it. Did you realize that Celestin Donkor posted photos of Empress Gifty’s grandmother and sister’s funeral on her Facebook page?” she quizzed.
The outspoken pundit claimed that Empress Gifty admitted to her during a phone call conversation that Celestine failed to send a message of condolence to her.
“Celestine, when you organized your program in New York, Empress Adorye booked a flight to support you. She came to support her sister. She bought a plane ticket from Ghana to New York. Celestine didn’t attend the funeral, but when she saw the likes of Nana Ama McBrown gracing it, she shared it, following the trends. What was her motive? You didn’t even show up.
“I asked Empress whether this lady had even called her and she said she never received a condolence message from her. She never sent a text message. So why did she post the funeral? It is a personal question I am asking her…her attitude towards Empress is bad…she was invited to the funeral,” Sally alleged.
The cousin of President Nana Addo, Gabby Otchere-Darko, was cited in a piece by The Chronicle newspaper dated October 24, 2022, as having stated in a tweet last Friday that “$790 million is expected to hit the Bank of Ghana account and that should help improve the current turmoil in the forex market.”
He implied that this money will support Ghana’s currency.
But to Professor William Baah Boateng, Gabby Otchere-Darko need not to have made such public announcement because he will create a problem for the Governor of the Bank of Ghana in the event that the money doesn’t arrive.
He emphasized; “Money does not like noise. When it happens this way, you put pressure on the Governor because if the money doesn’t hit the Governor’s account today or tomorrow and the cedi depreciates, everybody will blame the Governor.”
“Yes [central bank] they can also have their weaknesses here and there but if I have to apportion blame, I don’t think that they will have 10 percent . . . the key issue actually comes from the fiscal side because if fiscal money is not backed by production, there is no way that it won’t have an effect on your economy.”
“You don’t need to annouce it…It doesn’t help. I will repeat, money does not like noise!”, he further stressed.
The Black Stars are paired in Group H alongside Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay.
Ghana will begin the campaign against Portugal on Thursday, November 24 before taking on South Korea and Uruguay in the other Group matches.
“Our plan is to open our trainings camp in Abu Dhabi on November 10 where the team will camp for about nine days before we depart for the tournament,” Kurt Okraku said as quoted by ghanafa.org.
“The Black Stars will play against Switzerland in our final preparatory match on November 17, before we depart for Doha the next day for the World Cup.
He added, “Mr. President, I must say that we greatly appreciate the support from your good self and the government throughout this journey and would like to assure you that Ghana will be ready for mundial come November 2022.”
“The technical team will be ready, the staff will be ready, the players will be ready and Ghana will be ready.”
He is scheduled to meet with the Association of Ghana Industries first and the Association of Banks right after.
Before concluding the day with a meeting with the Ghana Private Road Transport Union, he will next have a meeting with members of the Council of State.
The sessions’ main objectives will be to discuss the causes of the current economic difficulties and potential solutions.
This gave rise to various worker unions demanding for the payment of a Cost of Living Allowance of 20% but after negotiations with the government, a 15% COLA was agreed upon.
*RISING FOOD PRICES*
The increment in food inflation has seen a sharp rise in the cost of food items on the market raising concerns from foodstuff vendors.
The vendors are demanding drastic action from the government to deal with suppliers who they accuse of deliberately inflating prices.
GOVERNMENT ASSURANCE
The heightened anger from the citizenry has caused the government to constantly assure the people of efforts being made to deal with the issue.
In his recently concluded tour of the Eastern Region, President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo assured the people of the government’s efforts at ensuring there is a respite for Ghanaians.
The economic management team led by the Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia are said to have commenced a series of meetings to find solutions to the challenges.
The meetings will see the EMT also working with the Bank of Ghana to find a way to deal with the depreciation of the Cedi.
CABINET MEETINGS
President Nana Akufo-Addo is also expected to go into a crunch cabinet meeting on Thursday to fine-tune solutions to the current economic challenges.
Former President of Ghana, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor has urged the Black Stars to be physically strong in bid to advance from the group stage at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Black Stars are paired in Group H alongside Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay.
Ghana will begin the campaign against Portugal on Thursday, November 24 before taking on South Korea and Uruguay in the other Group matches.
“We must be physically strong because our boys tend to fall too easily as far as I can see,” Agyekum Kufuor said as quoted by ghanafa.org.
“The cache with our team in 2006 was the strength. You look at the captain, Stephen Appiah, characters like Sulley Muntari, Asamoah Gyan and you can’t just push them down easily, they were physically fit.”
“One thing I pray you would ensure they go to the pitch with, is this is a man’s game and opponents shouldn’t easily push us down but that doesn’t mean we should commit fouls all over the place but we shouldn’t be walkovers.
He added, “We must be strong, smart and have stamina and towards goal, we must work as a team and I’m sure we will come out with flying colours. You have all my blessings, prayers and support and I hope we make it past the group stage and continue to quarter finals, semi-finals and hopefully the finals.”
The Government, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank have mostly blamed the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war for Ghana’s economic difficulty.
In a Saturday conversation on a local television channel, Mr. Martin Kpebu, a private legal practitioner, Mr. Jacob Osei Yeboah, and Dr. Abu Sakara Foster, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) Presidential Candidate for the 2012 elections, argued the nation required a consensus to overcome the difficulties.
He said: “Drastic situation requires drastic measures, and we need to call for a national meeting to build consensus on, which way to go. We must accept and admit that no one group of people in Ghana can solve the problems.”
“We have a crisis, and we must first contain it by accepting that it’s a collective work to solve the situation. We must come together, build consensus, face reality and come up with long term plan,” Dr Abu Sakara, emphasised.
He called for a fundamental reform to the constitution to bind Governments to go by the country’s long-term national development plan for inclusive and sustainable growth.
On governance, he called for a shift from the attitude of “borrowing to spend” to having a prudent and fiscally disciplined economy that invested in agriculture and manufacturing.
“We must grow the economy through agriculture and manufacturing and adjust trade and investment policies into these areas. There must be an underlying conveyor belt to transition small-scale farms and agribusinesses into medium-scale and large-scale in the long term,” the Agronomist said.
Also speaking on reforms, Mr Yeboah said the time had come for Ghana to make changes to the 1992 constitution, which he noted had some defects that Government in power exploited to their advantage.
“We need to change the constitution, until the constitution is changed, we can’t develop. The NDC (National Democratic Congress) and the NPP (New Patriotic Party) are benefiting from the defects in the Constitution,” he said.
Mr Kpebu called for a constitutional process to remove both President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his Vice, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, from office, stressing that they had failed to fulfil the Article 36 requirement of the constitution.
Article 36 (1) states that: “The State shall take all necessary action to ensure that the national economy is managed in such a manner as to maximize the rate of economic development and to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every person in Ghana and to provide adequate means of livelihood and suitable employment and public assistance to the needy.”
Mr Kpebu said: “The President and the Vice President should go, and there should be a buffer of experts constituted to support the Speaker of Parliament who will then take over as President because he is from the other side of the political divide.”
“We need a Kumepreko demonstration and then Parliament takes up from there. One third of MPs (Member of Parliament), let’s make the efforts to remove Akufo-Addo from office otherwise it will be an indictment on all of us,” the private legal practitioner said.
The Government has admitted to the economic hardship and confident that measures taken and the ongoing negotiations with the IMF for a loan support programme would help alleviate the sufferings of Ghanaians in the shortest time possible.
The organisation observed that the World Trade Organization’s valuation methodology conflicts with the usage of benchmark value in a statement that was signed by its president, Dr. Joseph Obeng.
“It has come to the notice to the members of the trading community that the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) intends to increase the benchmark value.
“We hereby categorically state that the use of the benchmark value as a valuation method is illegitimate and contrary to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) valuations system, which should not be encouraged in every sense of the word.
“It should be noted that the introduction of this system by GRA led to escalation of import duties, which resulted to agitations by the trading public and led to the implementation of the benchmark reduction policy to mitigate the high cost of doing business in the country,” part of the statement read.
GUTA however wants policymakers to intervene in the GRA’s intention to hike benchmark values stressing that it was ‘unacceptable’, especially in times when benchmark reduction policy engagements have not been resolved.
“As we issue this statement, the benchmark reduction policy has become a topical issue that has not been resolved, so for GRA to bring any increment to aggravate the situation in the country is totally unacceptable.
“In view of the aforesaid, we wish to appeal to the policymakers to stop GRA from the abuse of their discretion,” the statement concluded.
Amid recent economic challenges confronting the country, particularly on the free fall of the Cedi, GUTA members last week closed their shops to register their displeasure.
It has come to the notice to the members of the trading community that the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) intends to increase the benchmark value.
We hereby categorically state that the use of the benchmark value as a valuation method is illegitimate and contrary to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) valuations system, which should not be encouraged in every sense of the word.
It should be noted that the introduction of this system by GRA led to escalation of import duties, which resulted to agitations by the trading public and led to the implementation of the benchmark reduction policy to mitigate the high cost of doing business in the country.
As we issue this statement, the benchmark reduction policy has become a topical issue that has not been resolved, so for GRA to bring any increment to aggravate the situation in the country is totally unacceptable.
In view of the aforesaid, we wish to appeal to the policymakers to stop GRA from the abuse of their discretion.
One of Ghana’s hottest disc jockeys, DJ Pizaro’s meteoric rise in the industry continues as he is set to headline the maiden Afrochella South African concert.
Slated for October 30th in Johannesburg, this rave will be arguably the biggest party that has rocked the rainbow nation this year.
DJ Pizaro will be representing Ghana alongside Stonebwoy, Gyakie among others.
DJ Pizaro said “I got this opportunity to play at Afrochella base on my talents and experience as a DJ and the work I have been doing for the past years.
“Patrons should expect the best of performances from myself and the Ghanaian acts on the bill (Stonebowy and Gyakie). As a DJ, South African music has been my biggest influence, playing there for the first time is a dream come true and I’ll use this opportunity to showcase my talent and love for African music.”
Having been in the industry for a while, DJ Pizaro has performed in a number of events this year including NFL Africa in Ghana, Global Citizen After Party, Global Citizen Dinner Party, Afrochella & La Sunday Party in Ivory Coast, Amapiano N Brunch among others.
“Road to Afrochella,” is an experiential popup activation designed to introduce and highlight Afrochella to the Sub-Saharan market, kicking off in Johannesburg at Altitude Beach.
Afrochella is a celebration of Africa’s diverse culture and vibrant work showcased by the continent’s many emerging creatives, artists, and entrepreneurs. This year, Afrochella’s theme is “AfroFuturism,” a term created to reflect on the past, explore the future and create a progressive path for the present African diaspora.
The Road to Afrochella event will also feature some of the hottest African Afrobeat and Amapiano stars including Focalistic, Young Stunna, and Nirvana Nokwe.
His inclusion on the prestigious line-up comes off the back of his hardwork and his dedication to his craft which has made him one of the most sorts after DJs in the country.
DJ Pizaro can be found at Kozo Restaurant on Friday and Sunday nights and at Front Back on Saturday nights and he has released a couple of mix cds.
He contends that the performance of the cedi also reflects demand and supply mismatches, a lack of trust in the economy, and speculative activity.
“Unfortunately, the cedi doesn’t misbehave by itself. It is a reflection of the fundamentals as well as supply and demand imbalances.
Because the cedi is currently no longer a store of value, it is a reflection of lack of trust in the economy as well as some economic speculation, according to Prof. Bokpin, who was quoted by Citinewsroom.com.
Touching on how the situation can be addressed, the Senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School called for urgent action to be taken to contain the persistent cycle of depreciation.
“Some kind of active intervention that suggests that we are uncomfortable with the depreciation [is needed]. No one likes uncertainty. Everyone loves predictability. Price stability is at risk. Credibility around Bank of Ghana’s own short-term price stability objective is at risk. So, we need to restore these by bringing everyone on board.”
“Government needs to build that consensus by looking at data from different angles. They need the buy-in of the opposition and organized labour across the country because implementing any programme affects everybody else, it will cause social unrest. Sometimes, the social adjustment costs are not evenly distributed and may affect those at the end of the income structure, so a good way to do this is to carry the whole nation along,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the woes of the Ghana cedi in the first 10 months of this year continued as it has seen its value decline by over 50 percent to the US dollar.
The situation, according to a recent Bloomberg tracking saw it ranked as the worst-performing currency in the world against the US dollar.
This has forced many businesses to collapse, culminating in worker agitations, and discontent over government policies, among others.
A Mother and son have been granted bail by an Accra Circuit Court for fraudulent transaction and causing unlawful damage.
The accused persons; Elizabeth Acquah, a 55-year-old woman and JohnPrince Danso, a 31-year-old, are both unemployed.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against them.
The Court presided over by Mrs Afia Owusuaa Appiah granted Elizabeth bail in the sum of GHS 50,000.00 with two sureties to be justified, while John Danso was also granted GHS30,000.00 bail with two sureties to be justified.
The case has been adjourned to November 29, 2022.
Police Inspector Wisdom Alorwu, prosecutor of the case, told the Court that the complainant, Mr Victor Essel, is a development Officer and resided at Teshie.
Inspector Alorwu said in 2021, Elizabeth sold a piece of land located at Spintex road area to the complainant at the cost of GHS 170,000.
The prosecution said the complainant after making full payment started constructing a fence wall around the land and on February 2, 2022, the complainant visited the land and found out that Danso had damaged the fence wall value at GHS 10,000.
The prosecution said the complainant after further investigations realised that the said land belonged to Elizabeth’s husband, who was separated from her for 22 years and all the land documents were still in his name.
Inspector Alorwu said the complainant contacted the husband for his consent, but he refused, and this made it difficult for the complainant to develop the land.
The prosecution said the complainant then demanded a refund from Elizabeth, but she could not do that.
Inspector Alorwu said the complainant then lodged a case against the accused persons who were subsequently arrested.
The prosecution said during investigations, Elizabeth claimed she contributed to the purchase of the land and that she used the proceeds to educate one of her sons in school.
Inspector Alorwu said Danso also claimed his father had given him power of attorney over the land.
Ghanaian choreographer and cultural dance instructor, Van Calebs has urged celebrities to use their social media platform to educate the public about breast cancer and the importance of screening their breasts.
In a social media post, Van Calebs urged celebrities to offer more sensitization on breast cancer to the public, particularly women.
He noted that the rate of breast cancer cases in the country is worrying and that celebrities need to play their role by creating awareness about it.
Van Calebs observed that whereas it is commendable that people take interest in preaching about breast cancer in October, it is imperative that the campaign is extended to all months of the year to continue exhorting the minds of people to the need to constantly check their breasts and practice things that protect and safeguard their breasts.
“The breast cancer month is great and important but I believe we can extend it to the whole year. The impact of breast cancer is devastating and I want to encourage all my celebrity friends to use their platforms to create more awareness about breast cancer. Let’s do this for our women”, he posted on social media.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is observed every October to bring attention to the dangers of breast cancer.
The Ghana cedi lost 14.47% in value to the dollar last week (October 17 to October 21, 2022), the worst weekly loss in over 30 years.
The situation was slightly worst against the pound and euro – two currencies struggling against the US dollar.
The cedi closed last week (October 21, 2022), trading at an indicative rate of ¢12.5307/US$ on the interbank market.
It also plunged 14.85% week-on-week against the pound and 15.41% to the euro.
On the retail market, the cedi traded at a mid-rate of ¢14.1500/US$ (54.13% year-to-date depreciation) at last week’s close.
Databank Research said the local currency remained under intense selling pressure on heightened speculative demand for the American ‘greenback’ with limited dollar supply by the Bank of Ghana.
It anticipated market speculation to continue to drag down the local currency this week.
In its Foreign Exchange forward Auction a week ago, the Bank of Ghana allotted $25 million against total bids of $104.75 million. The range of accepted bids was ¢11.2540 – ¢11.2800/US$ in the last auction (vs ¢10.1770 – ¢10.2000/US$ in the previous auction) across the 7-day to 60-day tenors.
This indicated intense demand pressures outstripping supply.
