Hong Kong authorities have warned pet owners to avoid kissing their pets after a dog belonging to a Covid-19 patient was confirmed to have the virus.
The Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said the pet dog had “a low level of infection with the virus”, adding that it was likely a case of human-to-animal transmission.
The dog – said to be a pomeranian – has not shown any signs of disease and is currently under quarantine.
The public has been urged to buy meat and other animal products meant for human consumption, only from approved and trustworthy sources.
This is pivotal in ensuring that only wholesome meat was consumed by people, and in effect, a healthy and disease free society.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the possibility of humans getting infected by diseases through meat consumption with the advent of the coronavirus, Dr. Kwadwo Obeng-Wiredu, Veterinary Officer in charge of the Greater Accra Region said fortunately, the virus had so far not been linked to the consumption of livestock products.
He said when proper care was not taken however, meat could get contaminated and become dangerous for human consumption.
The senior veterinary officer said the Ghana Veterinary Services was supposed to endorse the safety of meat products before they were sold out to consumers.
Dr Obeng-Wiredu said veterinary officials were stationed in slaughter houses throughout the country to inspect and ensure that meat consumed in the country was wholesome.
“We have our men in slaughter houses, where the meat is stamped as being cleared for consumption,” he said.
Dr Obeng-Wiredu urged people to be bold enough to insist on knowing the sources of meat they bought, adding that while there were laws to help preserve public health, individuals also had the responsibility of ensuring their own safety.
He also advised meat dealers to ensure that their products had veterinary certification, before making them available for public consumption.
Source: GNA
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh has ordered the arrest of three Chinese nationals operating a quarry company without a permit at the Afienya-Dawhenya Industrial and Urban Renewal Enclave in the Greater Accra Region.
The three, who are yet to be identified, established Skyline Quarry Company and employed 30 Ghanaian workers.
They dug large trenches and used dangerous explosives like dynamite to blast rocks underground.
There were excavators busily working at the quarry site, with trucks loaded with chippings leaving the site.
The Minister also ordered two other Ghanaians, building structures without a permit to stop work with immediate effect.
He issued a warning to all individuals and groups putting up the residential property on state lands in Shai Hills, Afienya and Dawhenya to stop work in their own interest since no compensation would be paid by the government upon demolition.
This came to light when Mr Asomah-Cheremeh led a team from the Lands Commission including; Mr Suleimana Dawuda Mahama, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, some police personnel, the media and technocrats of the Lands Ministry, to inspect on-going encroachment on the 13,200 acres of land acquired by the government in 2016 for an industrial enclave.
The Minister said the industrial enclave was acquired for the purposes of establishing factories as individual investors could apply to the Lands Commission to properly acquire plots of lands for setting up factories.
At Afienya, the team witnessed on-going construction of a private residential facility belonging to one John Quayson.
According to Mr Quayson, he bought the land from Mckeon Estate. There was another Baba Seidu, who was not present at the time of our visit, but met the mason he had contracted to construct structures intended be used as real estate working on the site acquired by the government for an industrial hub.
The Lands Minister said the government had issued an Executive Instrument and gazzetted the Land documents at the time of acquisition and would therefore not tolerate such impunity any longer.
Source: GNA
Kwesi Nyantakyi, former Ghana Football Association (GFA) president, who was saddled in a football scandal following Tiger Eye PI expose, has appeared before an Accra High Court.
Also, in the dock is Abubakar Alhassan, ex-chairman of Northern Regional Football Association (RFA).
The two have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime.
Nyantakyi is facing additional charges of corruption by a public officer and fraud by an agent.
They have however denied the charges and have been admitted to bail in the sum of one million cedis with three sureties each, one of the sureties is to be justified.
The court presided over by Ms. Comfort Tsiame ordered the accused to be reporting to the Police every Friday until otherwise directed by the court
The matter has been adjourned to March 25.
Douglas Siedu, legal representative of Alhassan told the court his client would not abscond when granted bail because he has been residing in the country since the alleged incident about one and half years ago.
According to counsel, Alhassan has also been reporting to the Police Criminal Investigation Department.
He said what happened on the day of the incident amounted to an inducement because his client did not compel any one to give him money.
Mr. Charles Puolzoung, who held the brief of Mr. Thaddeus Sory as counsel for Nyantakyi prayed the court to admit Nyantakyi to bail.
Ms. Victoria Asiedua, Principal State Attorney prosecuting told the court, that Nyantakyi also a former President of Zone B of the West African Football Union (WAFU) and former Vice President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and former Council member of the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA).
Prosecution said Alhassan is also former Executive Committee member of the GFA.
Ms. Asieduaa said Tiger Eye PI is a private international investigation agency which conducted investigations into the activities of the GFA in the year 2016.
Prosecution said following the outcome of the 2016 investigations Tiger Eye Pi in 2017, presented itself to the accused as a representative of H.H Shiek Hammad Al Thani, a member of the ruling royal family of Qatar and Medgulf Company Limited, a company in Qatar.
The Prosecution said Tiger Eye presented to the accused that Medgulf was desirous of sponsoring the Ghana Premier League (GPL) and other GFA activities as well as infrastructural construction, oil refinery and banking among others in Ghana.
Prosecution said at a meeting held with the accused on October 7, 2017 at the Jude Palace Hotel in Dubai, Tiger Eye held its self as H.H Sheikh Hammad Al Thani, his secretary that Dr Marzuk A. Albadawir and other staff of the Sheikh as jointly representing Medgulf while Nyantakyi presented himself as a powerful person and a potential public officer who could influence the President, Vice President, Minister for Roads and Highways and Transport of Ghana to promote the business interest of Medgulf in Ghana.
According to prosecution at that meeting, it was agreed between Tiger Eye and the accused that Medgulf would sponsor the GPL with sum of $15 million for a three-year period resulting in the execution of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Medgulf and non-existent company named at Namax Company that would represent the interest of Medgulf in Ghana.
Prosecution said the MOU was signed by Nyantakyi, where he was described as President of GFA, acting on behalf of Namax.
The Prosecution said the signature of Nyantakyi was witnessed by Alhassan and was further agreed between Tiger eye and two accused that all monies paid by Medgulf into Ghana would be channeled through Fountain Savings and Loans Limited, a firm in which Nyantakyi held majority Shares.
She said Tiger Eye paid $65,000 to Nyantakyi as inducement for showing favour to Medgulf as a potential sponsor of the GPL and to provide businesses opportunities for Medgulf in Ghana.
Prosecution said Tiger Eye also paid for the cost of the accommodation and travel expenses of both accused to and from Dubai.
Prosecution said Nyantakyi also demanded from Tiger Eye the sum of $12million dollars to influence the award of contracts to Medgulf in Ghana to be distributed in the following manner.
The President of Ghana, the Vice President, Minister and deputy Minister for Roads and Highways and the two accused.
The prosecution said the accused made several demands for the payment of $ 12 million as well as GPL sponsorship money with the promise to Dr Alabdawir, a supposed secretary to Medgulf $100,000 per a year for three years as 10 per cent commission on the sponsorship amount and $20,000 as appearance fee.
Prosecution said Tiger Eye refused to yield to the demands of the accused and later lodged a complaint with the Police.
Source: GNA
A former Financier of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Central Region, Dr. James Kofi Annan has revealed that one of the reasons for leaving the party was the unprecedented levels of corruption he witnessed.
Dr. James Kofi Annan who recently defected from the NPP was a card-bearing member and a financier in the Effutu constituency but said throughout his life, he had thought that the person who could save Ghana from its poverty situation was Nana Addo but has been left disappointed in view of what has happened.
In an exclusive interview with MyNewsGh.com at Winneba, the defected parliamentary candidate said he used to think that corruption was industry but now see it to be a religion and even part of life especially when it comes to Winneba and therefore feels very disappointed.
Dr. Annan referred to the recent issues surrounding the University of Education Winneba (UEW) which brought the name of the University into disrepute as typical examples of a litany acts fueled by shady deals.
“I was hopeful the Nana Addo government would do something about it but only to be unconcerned. Winneba township is suffering under this government as a result, the beauty of the Aboakyir festival is now dying. The youth in the area are so unemployed and as a result, poverty telling on the faces of people is unbearableâ€, he said.
He promised to use his position as a former United Nations Global Financial Sector Commissioner to network and links up investors to change the fortunes of the Effutu constituency.
Source: mynewsgh.com
A former aspiring youth organizer for the governing New Patriotic Party, NPP in the North East Region Godwin Nayaw Bamiah Yombu has defrauded a number of people to the tune of GhC100,000 under the pretext of securing them auction vehicles.
The victims some of whom are members of the NPP paid amounts ranging from GHC7,500 to GHC18,000 to Godwin who according to them claimed was a special aide to deputy chief of staff Samuel Abu Jinapor and Executive secretary to the President Nana Asante Bediatuo. The victims, all males, said they gave the amounts to Godwin at the Jubilee House.
They were later made to wait at the reception while Godwin went in to see his bosses. He returned with that story chits for the vehicles were not ready. The victims after the payments were taken to the Tema harbor by Godwin ostensibly to select a vehicle of their choice out of many packed there. Auction day came only for the victims to look on at the Tema port for others to be given their chosen vehicles one after the other. One victim told Starr News he paid for 2 cars but yet to get hold of Godwin months after parting with the money.
â€I paid 18,500 for 2 vehicles. I got to know him through a cousin of mine in Saudi [Saudi Arabia]. He is my cousin so he asked me to crosscheck. So I made the payment to Godwin through her. When we met him he [Godwin] said he worked at the flagstaff house and was in contact with Abu Jinapor. So the money was paid outside the flagstaff house, at the car park and then we went inside to wait for him at a waiting area. Fifteen minutes later Godwin came back and said he was working on the chit and that we can go back. But the money I gave him was in dollars so he said he had to go and change the money first and I agreed so we all left. It was 16,000 in cash. So 4 days later he called asking for the balance but I refused initially. I paid the balance and since then he has been making excuses whenever we call. â€
Another victim narrates how Godwin uses names of NPP bigwigs to extract the amounts from his victims.
â€My brother who is a friend of Godwin introduced us to him. So we went to the harbor to select the car we want then from there we made the payment at the flagstaff house about 10 of us. We were told he deals with Abu Jinapor, Sammy Awuku and Nana Bediatuo but we never met them. The overall amount would be over 100,000 cedis, I paid for two other people, I personally paid 8,500 and the other deposited 2,000. He only showed us a flyer of him contesting for North-East NPP youth organizer. He said because he did not win, he was in charge of the auction cars. We trusted him because he met him at the reception of the flagstaff house â€.
A mechanic who whose services were employed to inspect one of the said cars ended up paying 7,500 cedis a car he never had.
â€I was a mechanic for Mr. Abu. I went there [harbor] to check a car for them. The whole story is that they are selling it if you are interested then you pay the amount. So I went and I checked his own for him and I also asked can I get one? He said yes. So he charged me for my own. But I was told I had to take mine for bodyworks so they said my own was 8,500 cedis so I paid the money that particular day to Godwin. Abu also paid 19,000 cedis. He even took us to the flagstaff House. We went there he asked us to sit at the reception and he entered for sometime before he came out with a story the chits will be ready in days for us to go for our cars.â€
According to the victims, a promise by Godwin to refund their monies has not been redeemed for months now.
When Starr News contacted Godwin Nayaw Bamiah Yombu he declined comments on the allegations
Source: starrfm.com.gh
Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has revealed that he recently visited the People’s Republic of China.
His revelation on Metro TV’s ‘Good Morning Ghana’ show, drew a sharp response from the host Mr. Randy Abbey, who wanted to know if he has been quarantined following the recent outbreak of Coronavirus in China.
Mr. Pratt, however, responded in the negative stating that he was in China last two months and returned to Ghana long before reports of the epidemic went viral.
In an interview monitored by ghbeyondpolitics.com, he assured the host and Ghanaians that he has not contracted the virus after his short visit to China.
In December 2019, a cluster of respiratory illness, originating in Hubei, China, had health officials on high alert around the world.
In January, the causative agent of the disease was found to be a novel coronavirus, dubbed SARS-CoV-2, and the disease it causes was given a name: COVID-19 (for “coronavirus disease 2019”).
It has proven to be particularly infectious and claimed about 3,000 lives in around three months.
Source: peacefmonline.com
The General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has dismissed rumours that the party is settling on an independent candidate in the Effutu Constituency.
Reacting to agitations by a section of the members of the party in Effutu against news flying around that the NDC had settled on James Kofi Annan, an independent candidate in the wake of the resignation of Victor Yankson, the party’s legitimate candidate, Asiedu Nketia has said the party has no intention of making anyone their candidate apart from a true active member of the NDC.
“The NDC has structures. We don’t know any independent candidate who wants to switch camp. We have men in our party in Effutu who can be candidates. Ignore rumours making the rounds that we have replaced our candidate with a foreigner” the party’s scribe assured the delegation that called on him at the party’s headquarters.
In a resignation letter written to the party’s General Secretary recently, Victor Yankson who hitherto, was the elected parliamentary candidate for the party in Effutu citing uncooperative attitudes by the leadership of the party in the constituency.
Many had reasons to believe that Lawyer Yankson was stepping down to make way for James Kofi Annan following series of demonstrations by a section of the party’s members in the constituency who said the beleaguered and former candidate was an obstacle to the party winning the Effutu seat.
It would be recalled that a recent interview conducted by Peacefmonline with James Kofi Annan revealed that the now independent candidate said he had resigned from the ruling New Patriotic Party. This was in anticipation of his elevation to Effutu’s NDC parliamentary candidate.
This new turn of events throws James Kofi Annan’s plans out of gear as the party, through the General Secretary, has disowned him. The party is in the process of electing a new candidate to replace Victor Yankson, the General Secretary intimated.
Source: peacefmonline.com
According to the People Daily, four Kenyan senators are reportedly stranded in Berlin, Germany for lack of fare.
Reports say that the four had traveled to the European nation for an annual trade conference which was slated to kick off on Monday but was canceled due to the Coronavirus.
The four, who have been identified as Charles Kibiru (Kirinyaga), Loitiptip Anuar (Lamu), Christopher Langat (Bomet) and Mwangi Kithomi (Nyandarua), had spent all their per diems before leaving Nairobi.
And to make matters worse for the Senators, the hotel they had already booked in the city turned down their request for a refund.
However, Senate speaker Ken Lusaka rubbished the claims saying the four are held up in Germany due to the limited flights to Nairobi.
A viral video of an expatriate driving a taxi has captured the attention of many social media users who have taken to Twitter to share their view of the unconventional spectacle.
The video, posted by @Mr_Ceyram, has since garnered lots of responses with many lauding the middle-aged woman for her supposed livelihood.
In their replies, some users believe she may not be driving the taxi for commercial purposes.
Ghana hot ooooo 😂😂😂
pic.twitter.com/DVmUFcurHH— Dr. Ayigbe Borla Bird 塞拉姆 🇬🇠(@Mr_Ceyram) March 4, 2020
Source: Myjoyonline.comÂ
China’s most popular messaging app has been censoring key words about the coronavirus outbreak from as early as 1 January, a report has found.
Toronto-based research group Citizen Lab found that WeChat blocked combinations of keywords and criticism of President Xi Jinping.
The report also found that WeChat, owned by Chinese firm Tencent, blocked more words as the outbreak grew.
China has for years censored what its people read and say online.
But this report suggests China began censoring discussions weeks before officials began acknowledging the severity of the outbreak.
It was on 31 December that China first alerted the World Health Organization to an outbreak of a new coronavirus in the city of Wuhan.
But authorities initially withheld information from the public – under-reporting the number of people infected, downplaying the risks, and failing to provide timely information that could have saved lives.
It was only on 20 January that Chinese president Xi Jinping publicly addressed the issue of the virus, saying it had to be “resolutely contained”.
It’s not clear if the social media platforms blocked these keyword combinations based on government directives – or if it was done of its own accord.
However, the report suggests that it could be the result of companies “over-censoring in order to avoid official reprimands”.
Authorities have confirmed more than 92,000 cases of the virus worldwide – of which more than 80,000 are in China.
The keywords censored
A report released by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab on Tuesday looked into two Chinese social media platforms – WeChat and live-streaming site YY.
YY was found to have added 45 keywords to its blacklist on 31 December – which made references to the virus that was then unidentified.
These key words included the terms “Unknown Wuhan pneumonia” and “SARS outbreak in Wuhan”.
WeChat was found to have censored 132 keyword combinations between 1 – 31 January. As the outbreak continued, WeChat censored 384 new keywords between 1 – 15 February.
These include keywords that referenced Chinese leaders – including President Xi – as well as neutral references to government policies on handling the epidemic, and responses to the outbreak in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau.
Some examples of censored combinations are “Local authorities + Epidemic + Central (government) + Cover up” and “Wuhan + Obviously + Virus + Human-to-human transmission”.
References to Dr. Li Wenliang also accounted for 19 censored keyword combinations.
Dr. Li Wenliang was among a group of doctors in Wuhan who issued the first warnings about the virus in late December.
He was later told by police to stop making “false comments”. Dr. Li later contracted the virus himself and died of the disease aged 33.
The report adds that it is possible that WeChat has unblocked keywords as the outbreak continues to develop. YY is known to have unblocked certain keywords.
It is not clear what keywords, if any, continue to be censored on these platforms.
The report adds that censorship in China works through a system of “self-discipline” where companies are held liable for content on their platforms.
The censorship is particularly damaging because WeChat is such a central part of many people’s lives in China – it is, in effect, WhatsApp, Facebook, Apple Pay and more, rolled into one.
App users are able to book flights, hail taxis and even transfer money – all on WeChat alone. And it’s not used by individuals alone – government authorities often also release official statements on the app.
“It’s appalling to see the wide range of terms, even including some non-sensitive terms, [being] censored,” Patrick Poon, a researcher at Amnesty International told the BBC.
“It shows how obsessed and concerned the Chinese government is [in] trying to curb any discussion… that falls outside the official narrative.
“It’s totally about social control and deprives citizens of their rights to freedom of information and expression.”
Censorship is pervasive in China. Sites such as Google and Wikipedia are banned – and it’s not uncommon for social media companies in China to remove content that is perceived to be threatening to social stability or the ruling Communist Party.
Source: bbc.com
A 21-year-old lady, Abigail Addy, is feared to have been kidnapped, having gone missing from her Poloyafong suburb of the Northern regional capital, Tamale, since last Friday.
The Northern Regional Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is investigating it as a case of suspected kidnapping, especially since all efforts to locate her so far have proven futile.
The Northern Regional Crime Officer, Sup/Mr. Kwabena Otuo Acheampong, who confirmed the incident to DAILY GUIDE, said the police strongly suspected the victim had been kidnapped.
“We are appealing to the public to furnish the police with any information that will lead to her rescue. Any person with information on victim or suspects should contact investigators or the nearest police station,†he said.
Source:Â dailyguidenetwork.com
An investigation into the unlawful killings of about 44 Ghanaians in the Gambia in 2005 has exposed untruths and cover-ups by Yahya Jammeh and Gambian authorities in the aftermath of the killings.
As well, the finding by a joint ECOWAS and UN team absolving Yahya Jammeh of the killings of the Ghanaians has been called into question following the testimonies of the three Gambian soldiers at the Truth, Reparations and Reconciliation Commission (TRRC) that they participated in the killings on the orders of Yahya Jammeh.
A link to the full documentary film ‘The Massacre of Ghanaians in The Gambia: Justice in Limbo? is below:
Source:Â Africa Center for International Law & Accountability
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined Cathay Pacific Airways £500,000 for failing to protect customers’ personal data.
The UK watchdog said the airline’s computer systems had exposed details of 111,578 UK residents and a further 9.4 million people from other countries.
These included names, passport details, dates of birth, phone numbers, addresses and travel history.
“Appropriate security” was not in place between October 2014 and May 2018.
The ICO said Cathay Pacific became aware of a problem in March 2018, when it suffered a “brute force” password-guessing attack.
The Hong Kong-based firm reported this to the ICO. The regulator said it subsequently uncovered “a catalogue of errors” during a follow-up investigation, including:
-back-up files that were not password protected
-internet-facing servers without the latest patches
-operating systems that were no longer supported by the developer
-inadequate anti-virus protection
At least one attack involved a server with a known vulnerability – but the fix was never applied, despite having been public knowledge for more than 10 years.
Steve Eckersley, the ICO’s director of investigations, said there were “a number of basic security inadequacies across Cathay Pacific’s system, which gave easy access to the hackers”.
The airline failed four out of five of the basic cyber-essentials guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre, he added.
Source: bbc.com
The number of coronavirus cases in the UK has jumped by 32 since this morning, to a total of 85.
Twenty-nine had recently travelled to affected countries or picked it up from people known to have travelled from abroad.
But three more contracted the virus in the UK and no one knows where they got it from.
The UK’s chief medical adviser said investigations and contact tracing had begun.
Earlier, Prof Chris Whitty said onward transmission and an epidemic in the UK was “likely”.
Source: bbc.com
Former President John Mahama has given his first public statement on the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), noting that even though factors that cause diseases such as COVID-19 are daunting, they are not insurmountable if the global community act decisively as a unit.
“The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is posing a serious threat to global security, economy, trade, and transport. While the WHO has not yet declared it a pandemic, they urge countries to take aggressive containment measures.
In the late 20th and early 21st century, we appear to be experiencing an emergence of many new infectious diseases- Zika, Ebola, MERS, SARS among others. This is scary. But it is consistent with the changing nature of infectious diseases as a result of increasing population, poverty, migration, conflicts, economic and technological development, antimicrobial resistance, climate change, inadequate health infrastructure and public health policies.
These multiple contributory factors are daunting but not insurmountable if the global community, which has become intricately linked due to globalisation will act decisively together,†he stated.
The former President regretted that at the onset of the outbreak of the disease in the Wuhan Province of China, the response from the global community was lukewarm.
“Unfortunately, the international response had been lukewarm from the time of the outbreak from its original source in Wuhan, China,†he said.
He then added that unlike the decisive action that was taken against the Ebola virus in 2014 in West Africa, such action is yet to be seen with regard to COVID-19.
“Unfortunately, we are yet to see the kind of leadership, definite and concerted actions, which were mounted against the Ebola virus disease infection in West Africa a few years ago,†he recalled.
He again called for aggressive education and awareness campaigns so as to deal with COVID-19 in especially Africa.
“Africa is vulnerable and has not been spared. The first case reported in West Africa has been in Nigeria. This must be a period for the implementation of aggressive preventive measures while we stamp out specific incidences.
We must mount a strong educational and awareness campaign on the nature and mode of transmission of COVID-19 as was done in the period of the Ebola disease outbreak. Discouraging handshaking, frequent handwashing, use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers at public gatherings such as churches, mosques, funerals etc. should be promoted as soon as possible. Measures such as establishment of quarantine centres, provision of hazmat suits, temperature monitoring and traveller tracking are urgently required,†he advised.
Source:Â mynewsgh.com
Customs officials from the Ave-Havi Station under the Aflao Command of Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) have intercepted 600 bags (25kg) of Urea fertiliser meant for the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme.
Three suspects, John Paul, alleged owner of the consignment, William Dosu, driver of the transporting vehicle with registration number GM 1195-14 and his mate, were arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle the goods to neighbouring Togo.
The PFJ is a government programme aimed at promoting growth in food production and creating jobs across the country.
Mr Selassie Geraldo, a member of the Customs dispatch team that made the arrest on Monday, March 02, said the station had information that some people were smuggling PFJ fertilisers out of the country.
He said the officers quickly moved to arrest the suspects and the goods on an unapproved route after Ave-Atiglime in the Akatsi North District heading to Togo.
John Paul denied the claim of attempting to smuggle the fertilisers and said he was a farm input dealer and that he was bringing the goods from Nsawam, Eastern Region to his warehouse at Ave-Dakpa, Akatsi North for sale to farmers.
He said he got the fertilisers from one Sir Philip of PH investment at Nsawam and that there were two truckloads of the goods, the first (700 bags) which he earlier offloaded at his warehouse.
The suspect who insisted he had waybill covering the impounded goods appeared to have little knowledge of the modalities involved in distributing the fertilisers.
Per the modalities, fertiliser and seed distributors and retailers will require the services of Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) officials before distributing the PFJ labelled fertilisers to farmers, while Regional Ministers and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) will have to receive and examine waybills covering fertilisers that arrived in their jurisdictions.
Also, distributors and retailers in the various regions will have to liaise with recruited NABCO officials under the supervision of MMDCEs, to distribute fertilisers to the sale outlets with the NABCO officials placed at all retail outlets to supervise and record the quantities of fertilisers.
The new modalities replaced the coupon system to stop the smuggling of the heavily subsidised fertilisers into neighbouring countries including Burkina Faso, Togo and Mali.
Dr Prince Amuzu Sodoke, District Chief Executive for Akatsi North in an interview with Ghana News Agency, said he was not aware of any truckload of fertilisers coming to his District and so when he received intelligence on it, he asked that the supposed warehouse be locked.
He said as Chairman of the District Security Council, he was expected to prevent the border district from being used as conduit for the smuggling of goods especially PFJ fertilisers, which could negatively affect the agriculture dependent district.
Madam Sheila Avorgbedor, the Aflao Sector Commander, said the suspects would be arraigned before court for the determination of their innocence or otherwise.
She commended her officers for their commitment and dedication to duty, which made it possible to defy all odds to patrol unmanned and unapproved routes to arrest and deter potential smugglers.
Source:Â GNA
More than 30 workers of the Chinese State Hualong Construction were displaced on Tuesday due to a fire outbreak that completely destroyed a makeshift wooden structure located near the Office of the First Lady.
The Ghana News Agency (GNA) observed that the five wooden structures which housed workers of the construction company were completely bent into ashes but no casualties were recorded.
The intervention of fire service personnel at the Ministries Fire Station quenched the fire when all attempt by some workers around to put out the fire failed.
Even though the cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained, information gathered by GNA revealed that the fire started in one of the building and subsequently spread to the other wooden structures.
Madam Naomi Ofori-Adobea (DOII), the Commander in charge of Ministries Fire Station in an interview with GNA said they suspected the fire outbreak was caused by an electrical fault since there were only two extension boards for the wooden structures.
She said the fire service personnel were informed that the fire outbreak started at 15:02 hours and their team of seven personnel did their best to put out the fire at 17:26 hours.
“The fire destroyed the entire structure, including clothing, money, beds, cooking utensils, gas cookers, television, laptops, among othersâ€, she said.
Madam Ofori-Adobea said their team worked tirelessly to prevent the spread of the fire to the adjoining buildings which were closer to the Office of the First Lady and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development.
She said the fire was able to spread easily because the structures were all made up of combustible materials, noting that investigations were underway to ascertain the cause of the fire outbreak.
Mr. Ebenezer Mensah, who occupies one of the wooden structures said the structure housed workers of the Chinese company working on the State House project (Job 600).
He said the fire outbreak started in their absence since they were all at work, adding that it took several hours for those around to bring the fire under control.
He appealed to government and other institutions to come to the aid of the victims and provide a shelter for them since they have nowhere to sleep.
China State Hualong Construction (Ghana) Limited is a comprehensive group corporation mainly engaged in industrial and civil buildings, construction of municipal roads and bridges, and international engineering contracting.
Source: GNAÂ
There are fears of global shortages of some common drugs after India limited the export of certain medicines due to the coronavirus.
The world’s biggest supplier of generic drugs has restricted exports of 26 ingredients and the medicines made from them.
The restricted drugs include Paracetamol, one of the world’s most widely-used pain relievers.
It comes as many drug ingredient makers in China remain shut or cut output.
India’s drug makers rely on China for almost 70% of the active ingredients in their medicines, and industry experts have warned that they are likely to face shortages if the epidemic continues.
“Even drugs that aren’t produced in China get their base ingredients from China. Globally there could be a shortage if China and India both get hit,” warned analyst Shaun Rein from the China Market Research Group.
The list of ingredients and medicines accounts for 10% of all Indian pharmaceutical exports and includes several antibiotics, such as tinidazole and erythromycin, the hormone progesterone and Vitamin B12.
Oxford Economic’s lead economist Stephen Foreman told the BBC that there are indications that the scarcity of ingredients is already forcing up prices: “There are already signs that the reduction in supply to India has pushed up prices there considerably.”
The Indian government has urged calm over its announcement and said there were enough stocks to last for up to three months.
In 2018 Indian imports accounted for almost a quarter of US medicines and more than 30% of medicine ingredients, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn told US senators on Tuesday that the agency is working to determine how the restrictions will affect America’s medical supply and its effect on essential medicines.
Major US pharmaceutical companies have said they are monitoring their supply chains.
Mylan warned last week that there could be drug shortages, while Eli Lilly said it does not expect the coronavirus outbreak to result in shortages for any of its therapies, including insulin products.
Source: bbc.com
No man or woman is a candle that needs to burn to give the other light in the name of relationships, marriage or love. If you are single going into a relationship leading to marriage, you should not forget that.
You are not killing yourself to give life to another person. You are not sacrificing what makes you happy just to make someone else happy. If your relationship is not bringing the best out of you but rather giving you stress then you are better off without it.
This is why all singles need to be responsible, ready and know what they are looking for. You owe no one apologies for turning them down. Stop feeling bad for people you don’t want to be with, and yet don’t want to see them get hurt for turning them down.
It is always better to be true to yourself, your feelings and conviction. You are not going into a relationship to please someone. Your relationship with others should make you a better person.
If he or she is trying to control you in the name of a relationship or love, that’s a red flag. If any man or woman doesn’t want you to talk to others apart from him or her, gets upset or angry each time they call and your line is busy or on call waiting, doesn’t want you to hang out with your friends, wanting to be your everything and the only one to hang out with; and when they are not going out, they want you to be in their prison, such a person is not a right partner to settle down with.
They doubt you; you have to make video calls to confirm your location and who you are with. They want to talk to the people around you just to win their trust. Such a person is insecure and not the right person to be with.
People stay in such relationships against their wish or happiness, with the excuse that everyone knows they are dating the person, including their families, friends, social group etc. Yes, you are dating doesn’t mean you are married. A sick sheep is not a dead sheep.
It doesn’t matter if they have introduced you to the world, used your pictures for their Display pictures, status, etc. If the relationship is not working, be honest and let it go. A man who refuses to guide his barber ends up with a bad haircut. Singles should let their head lead them into marriage. A relationship that makes your head useless will make your life useless.
These days lots of people are actors and actresses in relationships. Pretending and faking to be someone else just to keep the relationship. But the question is, why do these relationships end up in divorce in the long run? It’s because everyone is looking for what is genuine, what is original, even when it comes to products, how much more a relationship?
So, there is no need to be a fake just to keep a relationship. Rather be yourself. Say No to what you don’t like, people may hate you, not like you, insult you, say bad things to you but the most important thing is, you stay true to who you are; YOURSELF.
In conclusion, “Stop lying to each other; tell the truth, for we are parts of each other and when we lie to each other we are hurting ourselves” – Ephesians 4:25 (TLB).
Please share it with your friends. Someone out there needs this.
For counseling, feedback, to invite me to speak at your church, school, organization, school or order my new book “DATE WRONG, MARRY WRONG”, call or WhatsApp +233206774279.
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LIKE the page and invite your friends and family to be part or search for the page “Frank Edem Adofoli” on Facebook.
Thank you for reading.
Source:Â Frank Edem Adofoli, Contributor
The Volta Regional Police Command has refuted claims that its personnel failed to respond to distress call during the killing of the South Sogakope assemblyman, Marcus Mawutor Adzahli.
The command, however, says it will investigate claims by residents of Sogakope that police in the area have been negligent amid a purported increase in violent crimes.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, March, 2020, the Volta Regional Police Commander, DCOP Edward Oduro Kwateng, said: “this assurance is non-negotiable and the results will soon manifest.â€
“At the instance of various concerns raised by the teeming youth regarding the professional conduct of Police personnel stationed at Sogakope, the Command is interested in inquiring into these concerns to enable it, sanction officers who are found complicit.,†he explained.
But in the case of the killing of the assemblyman, DCOP Kwateng defended the response of police personnel.
According to him, police officers detailed at the Sogakope barrier received calls on the attack at 12:50 am on March 1 and they rushed to the scene.
A police patrol team was later called to respond to the attack at 1:10 am but “was far from the scene.â€
“It will be instructive to note that the Police did not delay in arriving at the house of deceased in order to save the situation and where delay was anticipated, an advance team at the Barrier abandoned their beat and went to the rescue, but unfortunately, the man was killed and robbed while the wife and child were wounded,†the police commander explained.
At the scene of the crime, the police discovered six used and one unused BB Cartridges believed to have been used by the assailants.
The Regional Criminal Investigation Department at Ho has since taken over the investigation into the killing and is being supported by the Anti-armed Robbery team from Police Headquarters in Accra.
Following unrest in the community, the police command has urged the residents “to support the Police
in their efforts at unravelling the killing of the Assemblyman.â€
“Again, we must all be reminded that acts of lawlessness and destruction of property to register our
displeasure in situations like this cannot remedy the situation,†DCOP Kwateng said.
Some residents stormed the district police station and were pelting stones at the police.
They had also blocked the Aflao-Accra road at the end of the Lower Volta bridge at Sogakope on successive days as part of their protest.
The District Chief Executive of the South Tongu assembly, Emmanuel Luis Agamah has put a GHS10,000 bounty on the heads of perpetrators killing of an Assemblyman for the Sogakope South Electoral Area, Marcus Mawutor Adzahli.
Former President Jerry John Rawlings also announced a GHS25,000 reward for information leading to a break in the case.
Source: citinewsroomÂ
Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin has stated that President Akufo-Addo is in good health indicating that there is no need for him to be quarantined.
His comments follow President Akufo-Addo’s return from his official visit to Norway last month (February).
Before the return of President Akufo-Addo from Norway, MP for Kumbungu Constituency in the Northern Region, Ras Mubarak called for President Akufo-Addo to be isolated and quarantined after his return from his official visit.
He said it was important to quarantine the President on his return from to Norway where there is a reported case of coronavirus.
The Communications Director at the Presidency,Eugene Arhin in an interview on Starr FM today said the President needs not to be quarantined after his return from Norway
”The President arrived in the country yesterday at 8 pm and is fine, there are no signs of him contracting anything. The President travelled with a medical team and was assessed 24/7 and if there was something wrong with him i am sure the medical team would have stated it. There is no need to panic everything is fine”.
Again, in an interview with the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service Dr Patrick Kuma Aboagye on Starr FM days ago, he said calls for President Akufo-Addo to be quarantine is not necessary.
Meanwhile, Minister of Defense, Dominic Nitiwul has reacted to news reports to the effect that he has been quarantined after an official visit to South Korea.
He denied being quarantined but stated that as per procedure, he was only subjected to the tests and results proved negative despite visiting one of the countries that have been hard hit by the disease.
Meanwhile, the coalition of NGOs in Health say the ¢2.5 million Ghana government has committed to the fight against the deadly Coronavirus is not enough to even embark on proper clinical research on a disease or a virus.
Source:Â primenewsghana.com
Young Nollywood actress Regina Daniels has been rumored to be pregnant for her billionaire husband Ned Nwoko.
Young Nollywood actress Regina Daniels has been rumored to be pregnant for her billionaire husband Ned Nwoko.
In a photo spotted online shows the young actress playing the role of a NYSC Corps member in a movie. She tried her best to hide her pregnancy by tying the NYSC jacket around her tummy to cover her baby bump.
She posted a scene from the movie on her Instagram page and people could see her growing baby bump.
Moments later, she posted another photo of herself talking about not allowing negativity into ones life.
She cautioned her fans and followers to forbid negativity from entering their lifes. Could it be that some people are saying negative things about the young actress?
SOURCE: GhanaCelebrities.Com
Kumawood Producer and actor, Kwaku Twumasi has called on the Ghana Actors Guild to set up a fund to assist members in times of crisis.
The actor who was bedridden for four years disclosed that he received support from the leadership of the Actors Guild when he was down iwith stroke.
Speaking in an interview with Angel FM, Mr Tumasi said: “I received support from a lot of people. The leadership of Ghana Actors Guild (GAG) came to visit me and they gave me GHS200 and a phone. Seriously, they did very well because not all industry players will get GHS200 and Phone from the Association. I was even lucky to have such kind gesture from the leadershipâ€.
He also called for a fund to assist members of the guild during crisis.
“We should make good use of the industry. The Association can set up a welfare fund to assist members in crisisâ€, the Kumawood actor said.
Source:Â classfmonline.com
Minister of Defense Hon. Dominic Aduna Bingab Nitiwul has reacted to news to the effect that he has been quarantined after an official visit to South Korea.
Dominic Nitiwul admitted to MyNewsGh.com that he indeed visited three 3 countries to lobby for one Dr Kwakwa for World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Secretary General position and has since returned home but denied claims he has been quarantined
“There is a medical procedure to quarantine people and I am relaxing happily after helping the country in the 3 countries I visited to lobby for Dr Kwakwa for WIPO Sec Gen positionâ€, he revealed.
He denied being quarantined as was reported earlier but stated as per procedure, he was only subjected to the tests and results proved negative despite visiting one of the countries that has been hard hit by the disease.
An official of the vetting committee in Tamale had earlier told MyNewsGh.com that the Minister was unable to take his turn at the vetting of parliamentary aspirants today March 4, 2020, because he has been allegedly quarantined over fears of the deadly coronavirus.
“He returned from an official trip to South Korea some days ago and as a precautionary measure, we have decided that he should not come in person for the vetting. We will use another means to vet him. You know South Korea is one of the area that has been hit by the novel Coronavirusâ€, an official of the vetting committee confirmed to MyNewsGh.com.
Asked if the Minister was quarantined in a health facility or his home, he declined further comment except to say he would be out of the public space for 14 days.
But Member of Parliament (MP) for Bimbilla has since dismissed the claims stating that he has not been quarantined and called on all to treat such reports with the contempt they deserve.
Source:Â Mynewsgh.com
Member of Parliament (MP) for the Bimbilla constituency in the Northern Region, Hon. Dominic Aduna Bingab Nitiwul will today be vetted via telephone due to some precautionary measures, MyNewsGh.com has filed.
National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Sammi Awuku who confirmed this to MyNewsGh.com, said the Minister is unable to be present over unexplained reasons compelling the committee to do that on phone.
Mr Sammi Awuku and National 3rd Vice Chairman Mr. Micheal Omari Wadie among other committee members, are in the Northern Region to vet all 22 aspirants beginning today March 4, 2020.
The first batch of parliamentary aspirants included the Minister, Dominic Nitiwul who is going unopposed, MP for Savelugu Mohammed Somed Gunu, Habib Iddrisu, Wahab Suhuyini Wumbei, Jaagbo Baako, Mohammed Zakaria, Amama Sayibu, Thomas D Ogaja-Wulensi, Abdulai Haruna, Hardy Tuferu and Kamaldeen Abdulai.
According to the Northern Regional Secretary of the NPP Alhaji Sibdow Alhassan Yakubu, Mathew Nyindam for Kpandai, Farouk Aliu Mahama for Yendi, Abibata Mahama for Yendi, Osman Baba Daney for Yendi, Ziblim Iddi for Gushegu, Mahama Osman for Gushegu, Hardy Adams for Gushegu, Charles Bintim for Saboba, Emmanuel M Kotin for Saboba, Jawol Binam Abraham for Saboba and Kayil Banab also Saboba will be vetted on Thursday March 5, 2020.
Meanwhile of the Northern Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alhaji Mohammed Baantima Samba has warned that aspirants who misconduct themselves without recourse to the rules of engagement stand the risk of being disqualified from partaking in the primaries.
“There shall be no busing of supporters to the venue of the vetting and that only the APCs and their drivers will be allowed entry to the venue.
The party in the region is wide awake and would not spare any candidate who flouts the rule of engagement.
APCs are further reminded that the party reserves the right to disqualify any parliamentary aspirant who fails to abide by the rules and regulations spelt out in the nomination formsâ€, he said in a statement copied to MyNewsGh.com
Source:Â Mynewsgh.com
The General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has dismissed rumours that the party is settling on an independent candidate in the Effutu Constituency.
Reacting to agitations by a section of party members in Effutu against reports that the NDC had settled on James Kofi Annan, an independent candidate in the wake of the resignation of Victor Yankson, the party’s legitimate candidate, Asiedu Nketia has said the party has no intention of making anyone their candidate apart from a true active member of the NDC.
“The NDC has structures. We don’t know any independent candidate who wants to switch camp. We have men in our party in Effutu who can be candidates. Ignore rumours making the rounds that we have replaced our candidate with a foreigner,” the party’s scribe assured the delegation that called on him at the party’s headquarters.
In a resignation letter written to the party’s General Secretary recently, Victor Yankson who hitherto, was the elected parliamentary candidate for the party in Effutu citing uncooperative attitudes by the leadership of the party in the constituency.
Many had reasons to believe that Lawyer Yankson was stepping down to make way for James Kofi Annan following series of demonstrations by a section of the party’s members in the constituency who said the beleaguered and former candidate was an obstacle to the party winning the Effutu seat.
It would be recalled that a recent interview conducted by Peacefmonline with James Kofi Annan revealed that the now independent candidate said he had resigned from the ruling New Patriotic Party.
This was in anticipation of his elevation to Effutu’s NDC parliamentary candidate.
This new turn of events throws James Kofi Annan’s plans out of gear as the party, through the General Secretary, has disowned him.
The party is in the process of electing a new candidate to replace Victor Yankson, the General Secretary intimated.
Source:Â peacefmonline.com
A report by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) in 2008 revealed that there were small scale manufactures of cocaine and heroin in Ghana despite efforts by security agencies to clamp down on Illicit drug trafficking and its use.
The report also indicated that, availability of illicit drugs precursor chemicals in the country contributed to the production of hard drugs including cocaine, heroin, and amphetamine-type stimulants.
“These chemicals come into the country mainly from South Africa and they come through customs checkpoints all the time but the officers are not able to detect them,” Dr Joseph Bediako Asare, a member of the International Narcotics Control Board indicated.
Meanwhile, most African countries have become a transit point for cocaine. Several operations by Narcotics Control Board including Ghana have led to huge drug seizures over the years.
Read the full story originally published on March 4, 2008, on Ghanaweb
Contrary to the assertion that Ghana was just a transit point for illicit drugs and not a production country, Dr Joseph Bediako Asare, a member of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), on Wednesday told the Ghana News Agency that the Board suspects there is small scale manufacture of cocaine and heroin in the country.
He said there was overwhelming evidence of the availability of the chemicals used in producing illicit drugs like cocaine, heroin and amphetamine type stimulants in Ghana. These chemicals are used to refine the coca and opium, which are imported into the country.
“These chemicals come into the country mainly from South Africa and they come through customs check points all the time but the officers are not able to detect them,” he said.
Dr Asare was speaking to the GNA after the launch of the 2007 INCB Report, which focuses on Proportionality and Drug Related Offences. He noted that even though the security agencies were aware of the availability of the illicit drugs precursor chemicals in the country, they remained somewhat aloof about it because they thought Ghanaians were innocent about their availability and use.
“We tend to think that our youth are innocent but they are gradually getting into the business of drug production and very soon if we do not stem the influx of the chemicals we will have a big drug problem on hand,” he warned.
Dr. Asare gave the GNA a list of precursor chemicals used in producing cocaine, heroine and amphetamine type stimulants, which, he said, were currently available in the country.
He called on the government and its agencies responsible for the import of certain chemicals for legitimate purposes to do proper estimates before importing them to ensure that the exact quantities were imported to prevent excess chemicals from getting into the hands of the bad nuts.
The report itself confirmed that drug traffickers were using Africa as a transshipment area for precursors such as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine used for making amphetamine type stimulants.
“Weak legislation against trafficking in precursor chemicals in most Africa makes it easy to obtain chemicals for illicit drug manufacture.”
It said Interpol estimated that 200-300 tons of cocaine made their way from Latin America into Europe through West Africa, where it was stockpiled and repackaged for transport.
The report said West African countries, mainly Ghana, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire lacked the economic means, legislative and institutional structures to counter the drug challenge effectively.
As a result Africa currently accounted for 7.6 per cent of all cocaine abusers in the world and the production and abuse of cannabis was also on the rise on the continent, the report said.
“Another problem in Africa is the misuse of pharmaceutical preparations containing narcotic drugs and psychotropic substance, which are sold by street vendors and healthcare providers without a prescription,” it said.
The report therefore called on African governments to address the problem, which had severe consequences on the health of their population and social fabric.
Dr Asare noted that in focusing on the principle of proportionality in drug related offences, the report sought to propose measures that were proportional to the gravity of the drug menace in dealing with drug related offences.
In that regard, he said, the report recommended the setting up of special courts for dealing with drug-related cases, saying that currently 50 per cent of prisoners in Ghana were in jail for drug related offences.
“We also need acceptable treatment facilities to deal with persons engaged in drug related offences to ensure better rehabilitation because our current social welfare system that takes care of such persons is not effective.”
Dr Asare said there was need to be serious about going after suspected drug barons, investigate, prosecute and jail them where necessary to deter people from getting into the drug trade.
Source:Â www.ghanaweb.com
Black Queens head coach Mercy Tagoe says her side is aware of the quality and pedigree of Chile ahead of the opening match at the Turkish Women’s Cup on Wednesday.
Ghana are in Group B which includes African side Kenya, Northern Ireland B and 2020 Olympic hopefuls Chile in the eight-nation invitational tournament from 2 to 11 March 2020 in Turkey.
This would be Tagoe’s first tournament following her reappointment as the Black Queens trainer in January after finishing third in the 2019 WAFU Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
Following a disappointing exit from the 2020 Olympics qualifications, the tournament will be very useful to Tagoe as she looks to build a formidable side for the 2020 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
The former Ghana international is confident of leading her side to a winning start against the South American team at Starlight Sports Complex on Wednesday in Alanya.
“We are happy to be here and fully ready for the tournament and everybody is in shape and have adapted to the weather,” Tagoe told Goal.com
“We watched Chile at the Women’s World Cup in France last year and so, we have a fair idea about them.
“We have already put some tactical training sessions in place that will help us cope against them on Wednesday.
“During our training here, there were one or two things we’ve introduced that I think will be very useful for us in the match against Chile.
“We know their style of game is quite different from ours and when they tend to increase the pace of the game, we will try to calm and slow things down.
“We have organised ourselves well and also planned to provide antidotes to every approach they want to put up against us.”
Ghana aim at winning the tournament on their very first participation.
Source: GHANAsoccernet.com
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nzema based premier league side, Karela United, Elloeney Amande has boldly assured fans that the club will escape relegation in the ongoing 2019/20 Ghana premier league season.
Following the inconsistent run of the club this season after adopting Akoon park in Tarkwa as its home home ground, pundits, analyst and football experts has tagged the team as a club that could be releagated.
Responding to the development, the ace broadcaster who is also CEO of the NC Special Competition finalist has assured fans that he side will survive relegation.
Amande speaking to his boys ahead of their big clash with Asante kotoko in midweek said:
“We will survive. We should all teem up and build a strong unit with that and we can fight and remain in the league,†he said.
He stressed further that overcoming the relegation threats is not a thing of the past but a thing in the pipeline which “nothing is late for us. We shall overcome it.â€
Source: angelfmonline.com
The current President of the United States of America, President Donald Trump has been seen in a video circulating on social media allegedly trying to seduce a lady on the street.
After undergoing a successful vetting on Monday, March 2, 2020, the stage is now set for what many have described as the clash of the titans between the Aviation Minister, Joseph Kofi Adda and Upper East Regional Minister, Madam Tangoba Abayage.
The duo is expected to slug it out on April 25, 2020, as to who will represent the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as its Parliamentary Candidate for the Navrongo Central Constituency in the December 2020 polls.
MyNewsGh.com is reliably informed that the vetting of aspirants in the Upper East Region by the committee which had National Organizer of the NPP Sammi Awuku and National 3rd Vice Chairman Mr. Micheal Omari Wadie in attendance, cleared all aspirants barring last-minute changes.
Many political watchers are keen on the outcome of the polls in Navrongo Central Constituency where the Regional Minister who has warned her supporters against abusive campaigns, promised to give the incumbent a run for his money.
Balloting took place soon after the vetting with the Regional Minister given the first slot while his closest contender took the second in what promises to be an interesting contest.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Frank Fuseini Adongo faces a herculean task of having to defeat Dr. Kingsley Kurug a known personality in that area in order to retain his seat.
In the Tempane Constituency, Deputy Attorney General, Hon. Joseph Dindiok Kpemka will be popularly acclaimed as he has no contender.
Source: broadcastghana.com
The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) has informed all persons and institutions, that have encroached on lands bordering its transmission lines, to take immediate steps to relocate.
This is due to the associated safety risks it poses to the public and the need for regular maintenance works on the lines by the company.
Under the Transmission Line Protection Regulations, 1967 (LI 542) as amended by Regulation No. LI 1737 of 2004, it is an offence for persons or institutions to conduct any form of activity in relation to the lands around the location of power transmission lines. Activities including drilling, excavating, lorry parks, shops, garages, bars, real estate, operated in the area extending up to twenty (20) meters on each side from the centre line of the transmission towers are prohibited.
These activities pose a danger to human life and property as transmission line faults can result in casualties and damage to properties. Outage to customers could also be prolonged due to restricted access to the Right-of-Ways.
Chief Executive of GRIDCo, Jonathan Amoako-Baah, in a statement, said:
“We are very concerned with this trend across the country. Though we have chalked some success by ejecting some encroachers, others have remained adamant. Over the years, we have carried out a lot of sensitisation programmes including print and electronic media publications, Information Services Department campaigns and joint engagements with Municipal Assemblies.
“We are also ready to undertake demolition exercises, where necessary, as part of our mandate to ensure the right thing is done. We are committed to carrying out our mandate as a power transmitter and will do whatever is necessary to prevent interferences.”
“Over the past years, GRIDCo has had issues with encroachers along its transmission towers and lands. These persons carry out all forms of activities at the risk of their lives.
“GRIDCo is working with the relevant state institutions to remove properties and structures and to curb all forms of human activities, within the Right-of-Ways, to safeguard public safety and ensure reliability of electricity supply. The company may even be compelled to surcharge the costs incurred during such exercises to the encroachers.”
Source:Â Ghana Grid Company
The Z O Hunter Ministerial Associates, a religious organisation has threatened to seek an injunction to prevent the upcoming Lesbians Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) conference from being held in Ghana.
The regional conference of the LGBT community is scheduled to be held in the country from 27-31 July 2020.
A statement signed by the Chairman of Z O Hunter Ministerial Associates, Apostle Dr Z O Hunter, noted that the scheduled conference is aimed at the “introduction of homosexuality†in the country and reminded the “government that the agenda is against our culture.â€
The ministry, therefore, called on other religious groups such as “The Christian Council, the Peace Council, the Charismatic Bishop Council, the Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, the Traditional Council, the National House of Chiefs, the Regional House of Chiefs, the Islamic Council, the Africa Indigenous Council†to counter the agenda of homosexuality in the country.
It further called on members and the Speaker of Parliament to speak against it.
“As a Reverend Minister and Speaker of Parliament, you will agree with us that Leviticus 18:22-23 frowns on that,†the statement said adding that if nothing is done, they will “march and protest to Parliament and Jubilee House and also go to Court and seek for an injunction on the said matter.â€
Source:Â classfmonline.com
Prominent inventor and educator Professor Fred McBagonluri has stressed that the use of the cane in ensuring discipline among children should not be stopped or discouraged as suggested by a Deputy Education Minister Dr Yaw Adutwum, insisting that there is power to and in the cane.
Dr Yaw Adutwum, a Deputy Education Minister had stated that countries that do not mete out corporal punishment to school children, such as the US, have been to the moon and back but in Ghana, where pupils and students have been subjected to corporal punishment for about 60 years, has not been able to make such advances in science.
To buttress his point against caning in schools, the Deputy Education Minister emphasized that he had lived in the US and experienced how children endured no caning yet did well in school.
But in a sharp rebuttal, the award-winning engineer and President of the Academic City College in Ghana argued that the cane is a tool of discipline tested and proven to be effective while other forms of bringing children to order remain untested and their effectiveness unsubstantiated, suggesting that those who went to the moon where probably the last batch of US students who were caned.
Prof McBagonluri further argued that notwithstanding some negative effects of caning, it has proven to be an effective tool that has shaped many children into responsible adults.
“…There is a fine line between discipline and abuse. I am definitely not advocating headhunting. What no one seems to answer is what replaces the cane and still provides results? Other forms of punishment undefined unsubstantiated and untested are statements of dereliction.
Source: broadcastghana.com
The Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Gyamfi has finally revealed that the main opposition political party will partake in the new voter registration to be conducted by the Electoral Commission (EC).
The revelation by Sammy Gyamfi follows series of demonstrations and press conferences by the NDC calling on the EC to discard the idea of ever embarking on the compilation of a new voters register.
The NDC has threatened mayhem if the Jean Mensah led EC goes ahead with the compilation of a new voters register for the 2020 elections.
General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia has argued at a press conference that the EC was abandoning reason to pursue an agenda that only favours the sitting President, Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP.
He further accused Jean Mensa-led EC of seeking to cause financial loss to the state.
“It is either Jean Mensa and her sponsors have a financial interest in the procurement of entirely new equipment or that the compilation of a new register is part of a rigging agenda for the benefit of NPP or both.
“At this stage, we wish to remind Jean Mensa and the Electoral Commission of the ingredients of the law on Willfully Causing Financial Loss to the State as brilliantly espoused by Late Justice Afreh of blessed memory in the famous quality grain case.
“Financial loss must have occurred. This means that the state spent more money than necessary on the project, whether or not the benefit of the project was more than sufficient to cover the cost,†Asiedu Nketia said at a press conference.
Commenting on this on Peace FM on Wednesday as monitored by GhanaNewsPage.Com, Sammy Gyamfi revealed that the NDC is ready to seek legal redress if the EC insists on going ahead with the compilation of a new voters register.
He however revealed to host of Kokrokoo, Kwami Sefa Kayi that the NDC will encourage its members to partake in the registration exercise of the several attempts fail.
Source:Â Ghana | GhanaNewsPage.Com
Neveau-rich Ghana Premier League side Legon Cities FC are set to offload ten players ahead of the second transfer window, according to reports.
The well-branded club is disappointed by the output of some of their senior players and will allow them to leave to make room for new recruits.
According information gathered ten players including high profile names who have failed to glitter in the first round will have their contracts terminated.
Legon Cities are languishing 14th on the Premier League table with just 13 points from 12 games, and are set for a relegation dog fight as the league makes a U-turn.
Despite, their flawless online and off the pitch appeal, the club formerly known as Wa All-stars look distinctively different on the pitch.
Meanwhile, there are reports the club are tracking beleaguered Asante Kotoko forward Sogne Yacouba ahead of the transfer window.
Source: GHANAsoccernet.com
Thirty-one suspected criminals have been arrested by the police in two separate swoops in different areas at Baastona, in Accra.
The suspects, who are between the ages of 20 and 23, are in the custody of the police assisting in investigations.
The head of Public Relations of the Accra Regional Police Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Effia Tenge, who confirmed the arrest to the Times Ghanaian in Accra, yesterday, said the swoop that took place at Kotobabi Market, Texpo Market, Klagon near Ashiaman, and Adjei Kojo, was to flush out criminals from their hideouts.
She said on February 29, between 5:30a.m and 9:30am, the Baatsonaa Divisional Police Commander Chief Superintendent Julius Kpebbeson, led police personnel to conduct the swoop.
DSP Tenge said in an earlier exercise, 29 suspects, including seven females made up of Ghanaians and Nigerians with seven partly smoked pieces and one wrap of dried leaves, suspected to be Indian hemp.
She said the police also retrieved ten computer laptops, mobile phones, three internet routers, all suspected to be stolen.
DSP Tenge said the police also arrested two foreign nationals, David Okwa,35, and Fegiro Evwrohonio,26, in their room in two storey building.
She said the police retrieved five metal trunks wrapped with brown paper, two rolls of cello tapes and identification cards, all believed to be items used in fraudulent activities.
DSP Tenge said the suspects, who have been detained, would be screened and those found culpable would be put before court.
She assured that the exercise would be sustained to arrest criminals to reduce crime in the communities.
DSP Tenge appealed to the public to volunteer credible information on criminal activities to the police for immediate attention.
Source: dailymaliafrica.com
The Wife and child of the murdered Sogakofe Assemblymember who were injured during the attack have been discharged.
The two were sent to the hospital after the robbery attack on the Assemblymember, Marcus Adzahli.
PRO of the Volta Region Police Command, Corporal Prince Dogbatse said the victims have been discharged.
“We, first of all, has the wife and child of the deceased who had some injuries and they are fine, I think from yesterday we made it clear to the public that they are responding to treatment, as I speak now they have been discharged from the hospital.”
The Regional Security Council, REGSEC is also putting in place plans to increase police visibility in the area and screen occupants of hotels and rented apartments.
One of the youth leader, Maxwell Lukuto who sat in the REGSEC meeting disclosed the plans of the security council.
“They want to begin screening people especially at night the guest houses and compound houses where people have come to rent so they have complete data on people who are in the district.”
Rawlings offers GH¢25,000 bounty on Sogakofe Assemblymember killers
Former President Jerry John Rawlings is offering an amount of GH¢25,000 cedis to anyone that will provide relevant information which will lead to the arrest of the killers of the Assemblymember for Sogakope, Marcus Adzahli who was murdered last Sunday.
The amount is also directed to persons who will provide reliable information of those who committed another violent robbery in Vume, also in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region about a month ago.
However, the Volta Regional Minister, Mr Archibald Letsa and the assembly had earlier offered 10,000 cedis each intended for the same purpose.
A statement issued by the Office of the former President quotes him as expressing disgust at the trend of violent attacks in the South Tongu area, describing the killing of the Assemblymember as a politically related murder.
Flt Lt Rawlings urged the residents to exercise their right to anger and protest, but not to express their anger in the wrong direction or through the wrong action.
Source:Â primenewsghana.com
Comic actor, Funny Face and social media influencer, Akuapem Poloo went wild on the streets when they met in town.
It was quite a fun scene when the two met, Akuapem Poloo came out of her car to join Funny Face who had also come out of his car to just have fun.
You can imagine how that moment would be, taking into consideration how crazy these two characters are.
The two kept shouting, “ei dey pain you†till they both got out of their cars and as usual Akuapem Poloo started twerking.
See video below;
source: ghgossip.com
Clubs who have made it to the Round of 32 of the MTN FA Cup competition will know their opponents in the next stage when the draw is conducted at the M Plaza Hotel at 11am on Wednesday, March 4 2020.
Eleven (11) Premier League clubs, Seventeen (17) Division One clubs and Four (4) Division Two teams have made it to this stage of the competition.
The Zones will grouped into three zones depending on where the clubs fall within in the National zoning.
The decision to zone clubs is to reduce transportation expenses.
All media houses and officials of the qualified clubs who are invited to attend the draw or watch it live on Metro TV from 11am.
These are qualified clubs and the zones they fall under:
ZONE ONE
Tamale City
RTU
Wa Suntaa
Paga Crocodiles
Wamanafo Mighty Royals
Kenyasi New Dreams
Bechem United
Bofoakwa
Unity
Young Apostles
ZONE TWO
Ashantigold
Asokwa Deportivo
BYFA
King Faisal
Venomous Vipers
Unistar Academy
Elmina Sharks
Nzema Kotoko
Medeama
Samartex
ZONE THREE
Tema Youth
Emmanuel FC
Accra Great Olympics
Legon Cities
Likpe Heroes
Vision FC
Okwawu United
Dreams FC
WAFA
Accra Hearts of Oak
Liberty Professionals
Star Madrid
Source: ghanafa.org
The Minority in Parliament is calling on government to pay heed to concerns by agitating teachers on the Pre-Tertiary Bill that is before the Education Committee of the House.
The Minority contends that the concerns raised by teacher unions about the passage of the Pre-Tertiary Bill is valid and must be taken into consideration by government.
The Unions comprising of GNAT, NAGRAT, CCT-GH, TEWU say the passage of the bill will be unfavourable to teachers and administrators at the Pre-Tertiary level and they want President Akufo-Addo to intervene in the matter.
Speaking to Starr FM over the concerns of the teachers today, Deputy Ranking Member of the Education Committee, Dr Clement Apaak said the concerns raised by the teachers legitimate and must be addressed by government
”We are waiting to see what the response from the Ministry of Education will have been in terms of the dialogue between the teacher unions and the Ministry. But let me put on record that the issues that the teacher unions have raised are important issues that we believe need to be addressed.”
“So while we wait to see what the sponsors will bring forth in terms of the dialogue they had with the teacher unions, it must be put on record that the issues raised by the teacher unions are very legitimate, genuine and we hope that they will be addressed”.
However, the Regional Secretary of the Western North Region of GNAT, Nicholas Taylor stated that the union hopes government will incorporate the concerns into the bill.
According to the Pre-Tertiary Bill, the proposed structure of the management of education would be such that senior high schools would be run by the Regional Coordinating Councils while basic schools would be run by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies whereas technical and vocational schools would be under a Director-General, independent of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
Source:Â primenewsghana.com
Jurgen Klopp played down concerns over Liverpool’s form after they were knocked out of the FA Cup with a 2-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
Goals from Willian and Ross Barkley consigned Liverpool – unbeaten in the Premier League until Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Watford – to a third defeat in four games in all competitions.
It represents a significant dip for a side who had only failed to win one of their previous 12 games, but Klopp insisted he is not worried about their loss of momentum in his post-match press conference, adding that he was pleased by his side’s overall performance.
“Losing 2-0 is not good, but in this case it’s relatively easy to explain,” he said. “We made two massive mistakes around the goals.
“The performance tonight was completely different to the performance against Watford. Against Watford, it was really bad. Tonight, it was not bad.
“I liked the reaction. I liked the way we played. There was some good stuff.
“It was a super intense game. We made seven changes because we knew it would be intense. But I’m not concerned about momentum. It’s football.
“We never thought that it would be an easy season, that it would be an easy period, that it would be an easy game tonight. Nothing. It was always difficult, but we did very well. We were just not good enough in decisive moments, and that’s what we have to accept.”
The questions over their form are unlikely to go away, however.
Liverpool retain a 22-point advantage over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, but their FA Cup hopes are over and next week they must overturn a one-goal deficit against Atletico Madrid in order to keep their Champions League challenge alive.
Klopp accepts that defensive improvement is required if they are to turn the recent results around.
“It went our way for so long because we defended outstanding,” he said of Liverpool’s season. “Usually, you don’t get a lot of chances against us. Now, we have to admit that in the last three or four games we have conceded too many goals.”
Frank Lampard, meanwhile, felt Chelsea’s performance showed their potential to compete with the top sides.
“It was an impressive performance,” he said. “It is hard to be comprehensive against Liverpool because of the team that they are, but I couldn’t have asked for any more with the spirit, the work ethic and the quality.
“You’ve got to defend well to keep a clean sheet against them because of the team that they are, but we deserved to win the game.
“I think we may have played some better football in the two previous games against Liverpool, but today we had an extra spirit about us and we need to take the positives from that. We can compete against the big teams.
“Wins or losses can come down to what you do in both boxes, and we got a slice of luck today. We took two chances that won us the game. We are still in transition and working towards closing the gap on [Liverpool], and to do that we have to find consistency.”
“We are not the Chelsea of different ers gone by with Hazards, Costas and Terrys. We are in a different place with young players, and some older players, and we are trying to bridge the gap upwards,” he added.
“It is important to know that unless we work hard every day in training and unless we go home and all we think about is how we improve then we can’t make that jump up.”
Source: skysports.com
Head coach of Great Olympics Annor Walker has blamed the rain for his side defeat to Medeama SC.
The Mauve and Yellow side defied the soggy pitch to get one over their opponents during the Match Week 12 encounter courtesy a first half goal by Prince Opoku Agyemang.
Speaking to the media after the game, Great Olympics coach Annor cited the rains as the cause of his side defeat.
According to him , the rain destroyed the plans he brought from Accra for the game.
“The rain spoil everything. I brought a strategy from Accra and as soon as we got here and it rained, it destroyed all my game planâ€.
Great Olympics will be looking to get back to winning ways on Sartuday when they come up against Ebusua Dwarfs in Accra.
Source: footballmadeinghana.com
A photo of Ghanaian and Hollywood star, Abraham Attah has just surfaced on the internet.
It has been a while since we heard or saw something from the “Beast of No Nation†star.
The new photo of the superstar looks very different from the last one that was seen before this, causing people to ask how come this drastic change was done.
From the photo Abraham Attah is no more the small boy we used to know, but now a big boy or better still a man.
See photo below;
View this post on Instagram
Iran has temporarily released more than 54,000 prisoners in an effort to combat the spread of the new coronavirus disease in crowded jails.
Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili told reporters the inmates were allowed out of prison after testing negative for Covid-19 and posting bail.
“Security prisoners” sentenced to more than five years will not be let out.
The jailed British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe may be freed soon, according to a British MP.
Tulip Siddiq cited the Iranian ambassador to the UK as saying that Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe “may be released on furlough today or tomorrow”.
Her husband said on Saturday that he believed she had contracted Covid-19 at Tehran’s Evin prison and that authorities were refusing to test her.
But Mr Esmaili insisted on Monday that Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe had subsequently been in contact with her family and “told them about her good health”.
Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was jailed for five years in 2016 after being convicted of espionage charges that she has denied. The UK has also insisted she is innocent.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We call on the Iranian government to immediately allow health professionals into Evin prison to assess the situation of British-Iranian dual nationals there.”
On Tuesday, the health ministry said the number of confirmed cases had risen by more than 50% for the second day in a row. It now stands at 2,336, although the real figure is believed to far higher.
Cases linked to Iran have also been reported by Afghanistan, Canada, Lebanon, Pakistan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
A number of senior Iranian officials have contracted the virus. Among the latest is the head of the emergency medical services, Pirhossein Kolivand.
Twenty-three of the 290 members of parliament have also tested positive.
On Monday, a member of the Expediency Council, which advises Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died as a result of Covid-19 in Tehran. State media said Mohammad Mirmohammadi, 71, had a close relationship with Ayatollah Khamenei.
At a tree-planting ceremony to mark World Wildlife Day on Tuesday, the supreme leader urged the public to observe the health ministry’s hygiene guidelines and ordered all government bodies to provide any necessary help to the health ministry.
Ayatollah Khamenei also insisted Iranian authorities were not concealing information about the scale of the problem, saying: “Our officials have reported with sincerity and transparency since day one. However, some countries where the outbreak has been more serious have tried to hide it.”
Iran’s outbreak, he added, “will not last long in the country and will pack up”.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Saeed Namaki said a nationwide screening campaign would begin on Wednesday.
Teams will visit patients who are suspected of being infected with Covid-19 and who do not have access to medical services.
A team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), who arrived in Iran on Monday, is supporting local health authorities.
The WHO said they would “review readiness and response efforts, visit designated health facilities, laboratories and points of entry, and provide technical guidance”.
The plane carrying the experts also contained a shipment of medical supplies and protective equipment to support more than 15,000 healthcare workers, as well as enough laboratory kits to test and diagnose almost 100,000 people.
Source: bbc.com
Ghanaian rapper D-Black has arrived in his native country after spending 12 days in South Africa having a wonderful time.
According to him, he spent he had the opportunity to appear on several shows, performed at clubs and also worked with some South African artistes.
He posted on Instagram: “Thank you for rocking with me SA! 
 ! 12 days, 10 interviews, 2 plug ins and 3 club appearances , some Collabs and shows in the works ! See u in a couple weeks for my first performance in SA in 4 years ! We lit ! #BAM # The 
Bwoyâ€
source: ghgossip.com
Ghana Premier League giants AshantiGold have appointed former player Thomas Duah as assistant coach, GHANASoccernet.com understands.
He will deputize for Italian Roberto Landi, who has been appointed substantive coach to replace Turkish trainer Kasim Gokyildiz.
Duah, who holds CAF License A, replaces Yakubu Sheriff Mambo who has been re-assigned as a scout after their humiliating 6-1 defeat to WAFA in Sogakope on Sunday.
The ex-Ghana international, coached Division One League side King Solomon FC and worked at Heart of Lions.
He was assistant coach to Hans Van der Pluijm and Bashir Hayford.
Source: GHANAsoccernet.com
Miguel Almiron scored twice to help Newcastle into the last eight of the FA Cup, despite West Brom almost mounting a late comeback in a terrific encounter.
Newcastle are into the quarters for the first time since 2006 after winning 3-2 at The Hawthorns on Tuesday night, but Championship leaders Albion pushed their Premier League opponents all the way.
Both teams had early chances as Kyle Edwards tested Magpies goalkeeper Karl Darlow from range and Allan Saint-Maximin struck the crossbar, before Almiron scored twice in 12 minutes before the break.
His first was a fine clipped finish on the run after Saint-Maximin’s through ball, before Joelinton back-heeled a pass inside the box and Almiron smashed home his second.
Immediately after the restart, Valentino Lazaro bundled in a third from close range, before Matt Phillips pulled one back for West Brom and Kenneth Zohore netted a second late on in a very open cup tie.
Player Ratings
West Brom: Bond (5), Furlong (5), O’Shea (6), Bartley (6), Gibbs (5), Brunt (6), Barry (5), Harper (6), Phillips (7), Austin (6), Edwards (7)
Subs: Krovinovic (6), Zohore (7), Tulloch (n/a)
Newcastle: Darlow (6), Manquillo (6), Schar (7), Lascelles (6), Rose (7), Bentaleb (6), S Longstaff (7), Lazaro (8), Almiron (8), Saint-Maximin (8), Joelinton (7)
Subs: Shelvey (6), Gayle (n/a), Lejeune (n/a)
Man of the Match: Allan Saint-Maximin
Source: skysports.com
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, Tuesday ordered the arrest of three Chinese nationals operating a quarry company without permit at the Afienya-Dawhenya Industrial and Urban Renewal Enclave in the Greater Accra Region.
The three Chinese, who are yet to be identified, established Skyline Quarry Company about three years ago and employed 30 Ghanaian workers.
The Minister also ordered two other Ghanaians who were building structures without permit to stop work with immediate effect.
Source:Â dailyguidenetwork.com