TIG Post

Author: Persis

  • Ghana to build naval boats locally

    Ghana will for the first time build a sea craft (Fibre Reinforce Plastic Boat) for the Navy as part of efforts to limit the importation of boats into the country.

    The move would not only empower local industry but save the country the huge cost that was incurred in importation of boats for the Navy.

    This was disclosed by Chief of Naval Staff, Real Admiral Seth Amoama in Accra when students of the Regional Maritime University (RMU) as part of the project work for Post Graduate Studies in Naval Architecture, designed and built a model of the Fibre Reinforce Plastic (FRP) boat.

    On average he explained that, it costs the navy about GH¢1.5 million to import the FRP boat into the country but would only cost about GH¢50,000 to produce one by the students of the RMU with local technology.

    According to Real Admiral Amoama, students after completion, would be brought on board and provided with the resources to transform the model into a proper sea craft that would be used by the navy.

    “In just a couple of months, we would support the students to build the sea craft with local indigenous technology which would be very groundbreaking as far as the activities of the navy are concerned,” he stated.

    “This is a huge cost saving venture and we would not only produce FRP boats but ensure that we build ships made of steel and aluminum to further save the country money and also improve local industry,” he stated.

    The Ghana Navy he said celebrated its 60th Anniversary last year but could not boast of a major craft done by Ghanaians making the development a milestone for the maritime industry as a whole.

    However he said, the country could not continue to import craft from outside but rather use indigenous materials to build as done by the RMU in collaboration with the Ghana Navy and Teamwork Powerboats Limited.

    Vice Chancellor of RMU, Prof. Elvis Nyarko commended the students for their creativity in making their vision of building their own craft come to reality.

    “This is the first time students were trained to build a craft in the country with very modern and durable designs that would stand the test of time,” he stated.

    He expressed appreciation to the Ghana Navy for coming on board to support and urged them to ensure that the model was developed to be used by the Navy in their operations.

    The three students who designed the craft were, Lt (GN) Christopher Nii Affah Armah, Lt (GN) Eli Kofi Djamesi and Lt (GN) Kofi Tabi Ankobiah.

    Speaking on their behalf, Lt (GN) Ankobiah said, it was important for the Ghana Navy to support to build capacity that would locally design and build boats for their operations.

    “Adequate funding and modern tools should be made available for the production of such boats and be produced in the country,” he added.

    Caption: The Chief Naval Staff (second left) and Vice Chancellor of RMU (second right) and the students in a pose with the Model FRP Boat.

    Source: Ghanaian Times

  • Coronavirus: Fact-checking fake stories in Africa

    As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases across Africa passed the one million mark this week, we’ve looked into some of the widely shared fake news about the pandemic on the continent.

    Claim: Ghana’s president has endorsed a conspiracy theory video

    Verdict: False

    A voice recording endorsing various false conspiracies about the coronavirus pandemic has been attributed to the President of Ghana. We aren’t sure who’s speaking. It is a West African accent, but it is definitely not President Nana Akufo-Addo.

    Ghana’s Information Minister has confirmed that the voice was not the president’s and said the claim was “obviously false”.

    The message makes various unsubstantiated claims about the origins of the virus, including the widely-shared false notion that the pandemic was a planned event, a so-called ‘plandemic’.

    It also features false claims about mandatory vaccinations and the involvement of Bill Gates in manipulating events.

    We’ve previously written in detail about these compulsory vaccine rumours and the ‘plandemic’ conspiracy theory.

    Different versions of the clip have been circulated in Europe, North America and Africa.

    One, posted on a Nigerian YouTube channel, has clocked up more than 400,000 views.

    The man who runs the channel says he changed the title of the video to “Africa Leader…Exposes Bill Gates Deadly Vaccine For Africa” after people in the comments pointed out it inaccurately named the Ghanaian president.

    However, Nana Akufo-Addo’s photograph is still showing.

    Claim: Drinking alcohol can ward off coronavirus

    Verdict: This false claim was intended as satire, but has been widely shared in Africa.

    A satirical video of a man’s reaction to the re-imposition of an alcohol sale ban in South Africa on a TV news channel has been viewed thousands of times on Facebook and is also circulating on WhatsApp.

    The video has been edited to replace a senior representative of the Liquor Traders Association of South Africa (who was being interviewed), with a comedian.

    The comedian Thandokwakhe Mseleku posted the video of his television appearance on Instagram and YouTube.

    In the video, he says: “Sanitiser has got 70% alcohol, so if you are drinking alcohol, it is like you are sanitizing your inside.”

    Judging by some of the comments to the video, people clearly thought it was real.

    The comedian later labelled his videos as ‘parody’. We have asked Thandokwakhe Mseleku for a comment.

    Drinking alcohol-based hand sanitiser is extremely dangerous and has led to deaths. It certainly doesn’t protect you from coronavirus.

    Claim: Eating high-alkaline foods can eliminate the virus

    Verdict: False.

    A misleading poster claiming to offer advice from inside isolation hospitals on what to do to protect someone from coronavirus has been circulating on social media in Africa.

    It claims that the ‘acidity’ of the virus can be eliminated by consuming high-alkaline foods, and lists a variety of fruits with their apparent pH levels.

    The pH scale ranges from zero (very strong acids) to 14 (most alkaline). A pH of 7 is neutral.

    Some of the values in the shared poster are way off this scale: Avocados register 15.6 and Watercress 22.7. This is simply incorrect.

    But would alkaline foods kill the virus?

    Different parts of the body have different natural pHs which are naturally kept in balance and can’t be changed through diet. For example, blood is very slightly alkaline, your stomach is acidic.

    So eating certain foods would not have an effect on the pH level inside cells.

    “Given that it would be impossible to increase the pH of your cells, then it’s a bit of a pointless argument to determine if high pH would inhibit the virus”, says Connor Bamford, a virologist at Queen’s University Belfast.

    According to Lee Mwiti, Chief Editor, Africa Check, the spread of misinformation on WhatsApp is a particular challenge for fact checkers.

    The messaging app is hugely popular across the African continent, but as a closed platform it is hard to measure the spread of falsehoods and debunk them. He says Africa Check’s work with ‘tiplines’ and podcasts means they are “quite confident that it is a strong source of misinformation”.

    Claim: A coronavirus vaccine trial in Africa has led to the death of two children

    Verdict: False.

    When two French doctors controversially suggested on French TV in April that early vaccine trials should be conducted in Africa, their comments caused an uproar, including among some in the African diaspora.

    A London-based vlogger responded to the French doctors’ comments by falsely claiming that vaccine trials were already under way in Guinea, and made the further false accusation that two children had died as a result.

    The video was illustrated with what was claimed to be a local news report showing unrest on the streets and interviews with sick children.

    In fact, the news report was from March 2019, before the coronavirus outbreak began, and the incident was not related to a vaccine.

    The Guinean health ministry put out a statement at the time which explained some people had experienced side-effects after being given an anti-parasitic drug treatment.

    According to officials interviewed in the report itself and local articles, there were no deaths reported from this treatment.

    The claims in the video first surfaced in May and were debunked at the time, but they have continued to circulate on Facebook and closed WhatsApp groups, and have been watched around 25,000 times on YouTube.

    Local fact checkers are working hard to debunk these and other false stories circulating online.

    Lee Mwiti from Africa Check says the most shared and enduring falsehoods are those that have tapped into people’s anxieties, vulnerabilities and “lack of control in a time of unprecedented disruption”.

    Source: bbc.com

  • EC investigating alleged illegal registration of Ivorians

    The Electoral Commission (EC) says it is collaborating with the respective security agencies to investigate the alleged illegal registration of some Ivorians in the ongoing voters registration exercise.

    A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency said the initial investigation revealed that the said registration occurred at Banda Kabrono in the Bono Region.

    “As a Commission determined to compile a register, which reflects eligible Ghanaians only, we take this matter very seriously. The Commission has launched a full scale investigation into the matter, and will not shield any staff (permanent or temporary )found to have been involved in the alleged illegal registration of foreign nationals,” it said.

    The statement said the Commission would use all legal means to ensure that the names of all ineligible persons were removed from Ghana’s Voters Register.

    It called on all well-meaning Ghanaians to report illegal and unauthorized activities of any EC official to the Commission and the Security Agencies.

    The statement stressed, “we are determined to compile a register that reflects eligible Ghanaians only. We will continue to work to ensure that the 2020 Voters Register bears the hallmark of credibility and integrity.“

    Source: GNA

  • Thick crowd at New Juaben South Municipal registration center for mop-up

    Brows are highly raised as scores of voter applicants have thronged the New Juaben South Municipal office of the Electoral Commission to have their names imprinted in the new voter register.

    The Electoral Commission, as part of the compilation of the new voter register, has set aside two additional days for a mop-up exercise to allow all who could not register to be voters in the 2020 general elections to do so.

    The mop-up exercise commences on Saturday August 8 and ends on Sunday August 9, 2020.

    Many were those who thought only a few applicants would turn up for the mop up exercise but the situation at the New Juaben South office of the EC displays the opposite.

    As early as 6am, a thick crowd of registrants were already in queue even before registration officials arrived to set up the center for the registration exercise.

    A near brawl between supporters of the two major political parties in the country – NPP and NDC – as they exchanged heated words in bid to prevent each other from bussing applicants to the center.

    As at the time Ghanaweb Eastern Regional Correspondent got to the registration center for the mopup exercise at around 2pm, the queue was still long and uncountable persons standing around the registration center premises amidst a heavy security presence.

    Ghanaweb gathered that a total of 10 applicants had been challenged on premise that those applicants were either non-residents of the New Juaben South Municipality or were underaged.

    Despite the storm of applicants and political party faithfuls, the heavily built security men and women had been able to maintain order at the registration center.

    Some of the personalities seen at the center included the New Juaben South Municipal Chief Executive, Isaac Apaw-Gyasi and the Parliamentary candidate for the NPP, Michael Okyere Baafi, who doubles as the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Free Zones Authority.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Student reportedly abandons WASSCE exams due to pregnancy at Vitting SHS

    A final year female student of Vitting Senior High School has reportedly abandoned her West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) papers due to pregnancy.

    The girl whose identity has been withheld is a final year Home Economics student at the Vitting SHS who got pregnant during the closure of schools due to COVID-19 and has since not returned for her WASSCE exams.

    Breaking the news to GhanaWeb, the headmaster of the school, Mr. Douglas H. Yakubu said the school made an arrangement for the girl to come and write the exams but she refused for fear of stigmatization.

    Mr. Douglass also expressed concerns over what is currently happening in some schools with regard to students going on a rampage.

    “All heads of institutions in Ghana should be concern about what is happening.” He said.

    He emphasized the need for headmasters to prepare the students, and let them understand that, it is for their own safety to write the papers peacefully and go home.

    “The exam is written once in a year and if you miss this year, you have to try next year and whether we will permit you to write it in the school is another question,” he advised.

    He further stated, that the students need to be talked to, let them understand that they need to sit up, prepare, study, and then write the exams.

    He also stressed that, they will not succumb to any pressure from anybody to allow the students to copy.

    Ghanaweb can, however, report that, the World Health Organization(WHO) safety measures were strictly adhered to, as 28 students were made to sit for a class.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • 2020 WASSCE: Providing students PASCO caused high expectation – Addae-Mensah

    A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ivan Addae-Mensah has blamed the disappointment being expressed by final year SHS students after their WASSCE paper on the provision of past questions by the education ministry to students.

    According to him, Senior High Schools over the years have prepared their students using past questions but the education ministry going the extra mile to provide the past questions to all students across the nation heightened expectations among the students.

    “Teachers know how to handle students in this situation, the students themselves from time immemorial use past questions… immediately you take this phenomenon out of the hands of the schools and you try and micromanage it from the educational authorities, you create a certain expectation in the students and I believe that something of the sort may have happened.

    “If the revision process had been left in the hands of the teachers and the students, maybe this expectation might not have been generated,” Prof. Addae-Mensah said Saturday on Analyses on Starr FM.

    His comments come after a reporter with the Daily Graphic in Koforidua, Damalie Emmanuel Pacome, was attacked by students of Bright Senior High School in Akyem Kukurantumi.

    The students holding knives, cutlasses, sticks and stones chased the journalist who was in the school to verify reports of attacks on invigilators by the students.

    Similarly, the students also clashed with invigilators over alleged intimidation.

    Several students in other schools have also attacked the president for providing them with questions which did not appear in their final exams.

    On Friday the Ghana Education Service (GES) dismissed some 14 final year students who are believed to have caused chaos and destroyed properties in their respective schools in the wake of the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

    The GES in a statement said the action is to serve as deterrent for other students who are still partaking in the exams.

    Meanwhile, the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) has relocated its examination centre from the premises of Bright Senior High School to the Ofori Panin Senior High School following the student riot that occurred at the centre on Thursday.

    WAEC in a statement also noted it will not hesitate to sanction students and teachers of the school if they are found culpable in the rioting at their premises. Final year students of the school who are writing their exams on Thursday attacked an invigilator and a reporter over claims that supervision was strict during the exams. They were reportedly instigated by the proprietor of the school.

    Source: Starr FM

  • Protest as LGBT activist jailed for 2 months in Poland

    Dozens of protesters tried to stop Polish police from arresting a gay rights activist in Warsaw on Friday after a court ordered the campaigner held for two months preventive detention.
    The activist, who was referred to officially in court as Michal Sz. but who identifies as a woman with the name Margo, is suspected of causing criminal damage to a van carrying homophobic slogans in Warsaw in June.

    The activist is also accused of pushing a volunteer from the Pro-Right to Life Foundation which owned the van.

    Margo was detained at the offices of Campaign Against Homophobia but dozens of protesters then blocked the police car, prompting a stand-off before officers cleared the way to allow it to pass.

    “During the arrest of the activist, the crowd impeded the actions of the police. Interventions are being made against the most aggressive people. There will be zero tolerance for breaking the law,” Warsaw police wrote on Twitter.

    The police later said they had made arrests.

    Aleksandra Skrzyniarz, a spokeswoman for prosecutors, was quoted as saying by the news channel TVN24, that a court had “ordered the detention of this person for a period of two months”.

    The PAP news agency quoted Margo as saying before the arrest that the preventive detention, a measure normally used to stop another crime being committed, was “repressive”.

    Hanna-Gil Piatek, a leftist lawmaker, was at the scene.

    “I wish serious criminals were prosecuted as diligently as activists.”

    Margo belongs to a campaign group called Stop The Nonsense, which is also suspected of draping several Warsaw monuments, including a statue of Jesus Christ, with LGBT flags and anarchist symbols last week.

    Prosecutors have charged three people in that case for desecrating monuments and hurting religious feelings.

    The van from the Pro-Right to Life Foundation is a common sight in the centre of Warsaw, blasting homophobic slogans and plastered with posters linking homosexuality to paedophilia.

    Source: Pulse Ghana

  • Coronavirus deaths in Latin America hit global high

    Latin America and the Caribbean surpassed Europe on Friday to become the region hardest-hit by coronavirus deaths, as India passed the sombre step of recording over two million infections. The world’s worst-hit region had reported 213,120 fatalities, 460 more than Europe, according to an AFP tally based on official data registered at 1700 GMT.

    Worldwide there have been more than 19 million cases and over 715,000 deaths from the virus first reported in China at the end of last year.

    The virus has flared up again in areas where it appeared to have been curbed, but it has steadily spread across sprawling territories in India and Africa.

    India’s cases have doubled in three weeks, reaching two million on Friday following a record daily jump of more than 60,000 new infections.

    It was only the third country after the United States and Brazil to surpass two million cases. Official figures show the world’s second most populous country has also recorded 41,500 deaths.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s government imposed one of the world’s strictest lockdowns in late March, with tens of millions of migrant workers losing their jobs almost overnight.

    But with the economy in tatters, restrictions have been steadily eased.

    Experts say the true number of cases and deaths are grossly under reported as the cause of death in the country of 1.3 billion people is rarely properly recorded.

    What’s more, the stigmatization of those infected puts off many from getting tested.

    “There’s both the fear of the disease as well as of isolation and quarantine,” Rajib Kumar, who heads the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, told AFP.

    However, there are some positive indicators in Africa, where health authorities warned against complacency amidst hopes that the pandemic is peaking in some countries.

    “African countries are doing their best, despite… limitations,” such as weak health systems, Mary Stephen of the World Health Organization Africa office, told AFP on Friday.

    Some countries have seen declines of around 20 percent in cases but there remain fears of a second wave.

    “Because we don’t see many people like we used to see in Italy, like 1,000 people dying (a day), people tend to relax, they think the risk is not so much in Africa,” said Stephen in a phone interview from Brazzaville.

    Mexico passes 50,000 deaths The world is putting its hope that an effective vaccine will be available sooner rather than later.

    Up to 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses could be made available for poorer countries by 2021, announced Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

    The vaccines, priced at a maximum $3 per dose, would be produced at the Serum Institute of India.

    In Latin America, which is already the region with the largest number of cases at 5.3 million, deaths continue to soar.

    Over the last week, 44 percent of global deaths from COVID-19 — 18,300 out of 41,500 — happened in the region.

    More than half, some 2.9 million, are in Brazil, which has also recorded 98,500 deaths among its 212 million people.

    Only the United States has been worse hit.

    The second worst-affected country in Latin America, Mexico, passed 50,000 deaths on Thursday.

    In the United States, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said schools could reopen this fall if they meet certain criteria.

    Schools in several US states have reopened for in-person classes — but some have already been hit by large quarantines of students and staff following fresh outbreaks.

    The US economy regained 1.8 million jobs in July, according to government data, and the unemployment rate fell to 10.2 percent.

    But with COVID-19 cases spiking in several states economists raised concerns that the labor market could ake a turn for the worse.

    Cycling worlds at risk International sport continues to be affected by the virus despite many professional events restarting.

    Organizers of the world cycling championships, set for Switzerland next month, warned the event may be called off because of local health rules.

    And two more top 10 women players — Elina Svitolina and Kiki Bertens — withdrew from the US Open tennis tournament over coronavirus concerns, joining women’s world number one Ashleigh Barty of Australia and Spain’s reigning men’s champion Rafael Nadal.

    Source: Pulse Ghana

  • UN set for showdown over US Iran arms embargo push

    The UN Security Council is set next week to roundly reject a US resolution to extend an Iranian arms embargo, diplomats say, setting up a lengthy showdown with repercussions for the Iran nuclear deal. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Wednesday that the United States would put forward its long-awaited resolution despite ardent opposition from Russia and China.

    But UN diplomats say opposition to the resolution’s current form is so widespread that Washington is unlikely even to secure the nine votes required to force Moscow and Beijing to wield their vetoes.

    “The resolution takes a maximalist position on Iran,” one diplomat told AFP.

    Another said the draft “goes beyond the current provisions” of the ban on conventional weapons sales to Iran that ends on October 18.

    The embargo is due to expire under the terms of a resolution that blessed the Iran nuclear deal, signed in July 2015 and officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

    Under the deal, negotiated by then US President Barack Obama, Iran committed to curtailing its nuclear activities for sanctions relief and other benefits.

    President Donald Trump pulled America out of the accord in May 2018 and slapped unilateral sanctions on Iran under a campaign of “maximum pressure.”

    Iran has since taken small but escalating steps away from compliance with the nuclear accord as it presses for sanctions relief.

    European allies of the United States — who along with Russia and China, signed the deal with Iran — have voiced support for extending the conventional arms embargo but their priority is to preserve the JCPOA.

    The US text, seen by AFP, effectively calls for an indefinite extension of the embargo on Iran and uses hawkish rhetoric.

    Diplomats fear the resolution threatens the nuclear agreement. Iran says it has the right to self-defense and that a continuation of the ban would mean an end to the nuclear deal.

    “The focus should remain on preserving the JCPOA,” a third diplomat told AFP.

    “It is the only way to provide assurances about the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program. No credible alternative to this instrument has ever been proposed since the US withdrawal,” they added.

    Experts say the gulf between the US and its allies threatens a summer of discontent at the Security Council as the October 18 deadline approaches.

    Torpedo nuclear deal? “This is a car crash that everyone knows is going to happen,” New York-based UN expert Richard Gowan told AFP, describing the US draft as a “poison pill of a text.”

    UN-watchers suggest that EU countries on the Council could be brought on-board by a short-term extension of the embargo if it helps preserve the nuclear deal.

    Or members may propose their own draft resolution, but finding consensus is likely to be difficult with China and Russia intending to veto.

    The United States has threatened to try to force a return of UN sanctions if it is not extended by using a controversial technique called “snapback.”

    Pompeo has offered the contested argument that the United States remains a “participant” in the nuclear accord as it was listed in the 2015 resolution — and therefore can force a return to sanctions if it sees Iran as being in violation of its terms.

    He points to Iranian support to Yemen’s Huthi rebels, who are under assault from US ally Saudi Arabia, as an example of an arms violation and has expressed alarm at indications that China is already preparing arms sales to Iran upon the embargo’s expiry.

    European allies have been skeptical on whether Washington can force sanctions and warn that the attempt may delegitimize the Security Council.

    Kelly Craft, the US Ambassador to the UN, told journalists Thursday that Washington’s first objective was an extension but it is prepared to use “all tools available.”

    A push for snapback “seems very likely,” according to Gowan, of the International Crisis Group think-tank.

    “At worst that could torpedo the nuclear deal once and for all, which may be what Pompeo wants.

    “This could be a mess in terms of Council politics parallel to that over Iraq in 2003,” he said.

    Source: Pulse Ghana

  • Lagos mosques reopen

    Muslims in Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos, will hold their Friday prayers in mosques for the first time in nearly four months.

    Churches will resume services on Sunday.

    All places of worship were closed in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the reopening was a sign of progress in Nigeria’s fight against the disease.

    The places of worship are only allowed to hold 50% of their full capacity.

    Worshippers must also adhere to safety measures, including wearing face masks and social distancing.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Pension raise for former Kenyan MPs opposed

    Kenya’s salary and remuneration commission has opposed a plan to increase the pension of 375 former lawmakers.

    The head of the commission, Lyn Mengich, said an increase in the pension would provoke similar demand by other former public workers and increase the wage bill.

    Members of parliament this week passed a bill that will see the former legislators – who served between 1984 to 2001- earn 100,000 Kenyan shillings ($926;£707) monthly as a pension.

    This will be an increase from a minimum of 33,000 shillings that they are currently getting.

    The former MPs will receive the monthly pension if the president assents the bill into law.

    Kenyan MPs are among the highest paid in the world and critics argue that increasing the pension will increase an already ballooned wage bill.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: Active cases decrease by 628

    Active cases of COVID-19 has seen a reduction from 3,253 to 2625, according to the Ghana Health Service.

    This means that 628 patients recovered and discharged after completing their period of treatment.

    The latest information by the GHS showed thus shoots up the recovery rate which was 36, 638 to 37, 702.

    Meanwhile, Case count for coronavirus in Ghana has reached 40, 533. Death toll however, remains at 206.

    Authorities at health facilities now discharge people infected by COVID-19 after 14 days of treatment once they stop exhibiting symptoms.

    Source: ghanaweb

  • Prof. Asante bemoans lack of corporal punishment in modern times

    Chairman for National Peace Council Most Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Asante has condemned acts of violence perpetrated by some Senior High School (SHS) students, participating in the ongoing West African Senior Schools Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

    Students of Tweneboa Kodua SHS in the Ashanti Region, Bright SHS at Akyem Kukurantumi in the Eastern Region, and Ndewura Jakpa Senior High Technical in Damongo in the Savannah Region have vandalized school properties in protest against failed past question pamphlet provided by government and strict supervision by invigilators.

    The students in videos circulating on social media were spotted vandalizing school properties and using harsh words against authorities including the President.

    In an interview on the Yensempa morning show on Onua FM on Friday, August 7, Most Rev Prof Asante condemned the malicious behaviour of the students and aligned it to the lack of corporal punishment in schools.

    The former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana said the total rejection of such punishment in schools and homes is precarious to child development.

    He explained that even though corporal punishment has its positive and negative sides, it does not mean the children should not be disciplined when they go wayward.

    And disciplining a child does not mean parents are heartless or insensitive towards them, he noted.

    “Today, children are called Nana, Obrempong, Maame among other traditional title names, making it difficult for parents to discipline them and gone are the days where any elderly person in the society could correct a child.

    “We should stop all that otherwise, we would create monsters.”

    Prof. Asante took a swipe at politicians for always using offensive words on national television, radio and social media platforms forgetting that the young ones do listen to them and would emulate their actions.

    He described politics in Ghana as acrimonious due to moody and offensive words used by politicians in their expositions on national issues.

    The Reverend Minister has thus called on traditional rulers, men of God, parents and guardians to train their children in a way that they would be productive and industrious in the society.

    Source: 3 News

  • WASSCE violence: GES sacks 14 students

    The Ghana Education Service has dismissed some 14 final year students who are believed to have caused chaos and destroyed properties in their respective schools in the wake of the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

    The GES in a statement said the action is to serve as deterrent for other students who are still partaking in the exams.

    Meanwhile, the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) has relocated its examination centre from the premises of Bright Senior High School to the Ofori Panin Senior High School following the student riot that occurred at the centre on Thursday.

    WAEC in a statement also noted it will not hesitate to sanction students and teachers of the school if they are found culpable in the rioting at their premises. Final year students of the school who are writing their exams on Thursday attacked an invigilator and a reporter over claims that supervision was strict during the exams. They were reportedly instigated by the proprietor of the school.

    “The Council strongly condemns the behavior of the proprietor and candidates of Bright SHS as reported and wishes to caution that such unruly behaviour contravenes Section 8 (1) of the WAEC Act, 2006 (Act 719) which frowns on and sanctions acts of assault on examination officials.

    “In order to ensure the integrity of the examination and safeguard the lives of examination officials (Supervisors, Invigilators and WAEC Officers) assigned to the centre, the Council has decided to, in the interim, relocate the centre from Bright Senior High School to Ofori Panin Senior High School effective Saturday, 8th August, 2020,” WAEC said in a statement Friday.

    Meanwhile, the Proprietor of the school located at Akyem Kukurantumi has been arrested.

    He was arrested Friday Morning by CID officials from the Eastern Regional Police Headquarters accompanied by the Akyem Tafo District Police Commander.

    None of the students has, however, been arrested.

    Meanwhile, a woman from the Ghana Education Service identified as Mama Adwoa who was slapped and her phone smashed by the rioting students had her phone replaced by the school authority.

    The Headmaster of Bright SHS on Thursday incited students numbering about 1000 to attack WAEC external invigilators for not compromising for his students to cheat.

    Source: Starr FM

  • 2020 polls: 61,000 voters with poor fingerprints to go through facial verification

    The Electoral Commission has said some 61,086 voters who were part of those captured in the just-ended registration exercise, fall under the trauma category meaning, their fingerprints could not be captured by the electronic system.

    This means, they would have to go through facial verification on the day of the general elections before they can vote.

    At a press conference in Accra on Friday, 7 August 2020, the Deputy Chair of the EC, Dr Eric Bossman Asare, said: “In the course of the registration, the Commission identified some applicants who have lost most or some of their finger imprints, making it extremely difficult for their fingerprints to be captured for verification purposes”.

    “The reasons for this are several but they are largely rooted in the kinds of occupations of some applicants”, he noted.

    “For these applicants, their faces will be verified during the election to establish their identities”, he said.

    He added: “This is the facial recognition that the Commission has been talking about”.

    In both real and nominal terms, Dr Asare said the Upper East region leads with 9,137 cases constituting 1.42% of the total voters registered.

    He said with the exception of Ahafo, all the regions are in four digits.

    Regional breakdown

    WESTERN – 2,742

    WESTERN NORTH – 1,224

    CENTRAL – 2,484

    GREATER ACCRA – 7,092

    VOLTA – 5,873

    OTI – 1,586

    EASTERN – 3,162

    ASHANTI – 7,625

    BONO – 3,009

    AHAFO – 799

    BONO EAST – 2,802

    SAVANNAH – 3,045

    NORTHERN – 4,632

    NORTH EAST – 1,557

    UPPER EAST – 9,137

    UPPER WEST – 4,317

    NATIONAL TOTAL – 61,086

    Source: Class FM

  • KelniGVGs Common Platform saves government GHS1.5 billion Ursula

    The government has made savings of GHS1.5 billion in under-declared taxes in the telecommunications sector following the implementation of the Common Platform (CP) in the telecommunications sector since 2017.

    “The introduction of the CP has uncovered that, prior to the introduction of the policy, GHS470 million in taxes was lost from potential under-declarations between 2015 to the first quarter of 2017”, the Minister of Communication, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said.

    Answering questions on the floor of Parliament House on Friday, August 7, 2020, the Minister said “an estimated amount of GHS300 million in taxes was also saved between the first quarter of 2017 to date as a result of the announcement of the implementation of the CP on March 8, 2017.”

    Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful again disclosed that through the deployment of the CP and sophisticated up-to-date fraud management systems, the CP was able to record over 150,000 international calls into the country every month and thereby detecting fraudulent SIM automatically.

    This, she said, has saved the country of tax fraud of an additional GHS 327.3 million from the activities of SIM Card fraud since the inception of the CP in 2017.

    “Over the life of the contract, the CP is expected to deliver tax savings of approximately GHS 799.6 million,“ the Minister stated.

    On Mobile Money Monitoring, the Minister disclosed that the CP has reported monthly usage for July 2020 of GHS 63.6 billion, 307.1 million transactions, with GHS104.6 million generated by the Operators in transaction fees, with further breakdowns of transaction types for informed policy decision making.

    Giving further benefits that the implementation of the CP has accrued to the country, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful also mentioned that the policy has resulted in savings of $1.1 million monthly over the previous contracts, resulting in a total of $66 million savings over the 5-year contract period.

    Under the previous NDC administration, the NCA was paying $915,969 to Afriwave, while the GRA was paying $1,675,492 to Suva, bringing the total payments to $2,591,462 monthly.

    The NCA, she said, now pays $596,490 and the GRA $894,735, a total of $1,491,225 to service providers.

    “Additionally, unlike the previous contracts, the CP offers real-time monitoring of 2.5 billion transactions per day within the telecom sector, such as calls, SMS, Mobile money transactions and other transactions.

    Under Section 14 of the Communications Services Tax Act 2008 (Act 754), as amended by Section 7 of the Communications Service Tax (Amendment) Act, 2013, Act 864 mandated the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Communications to establish a common platform as a mechanism for verifying the actual revenues that accrue to service providers for the purpose of computing taxes due to Government under Act 864 and revenues accruing from levies under Act 775 as amended by Act 786 of 2009.

    Pursuant to this, KelniGVG was contracted on December 27, 2017, to build and operate a Common Monitoring Platform (CMP) which is an integrated single platform connecting to nodes in the networks of all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and the Interconnect Clearinghouse (ICH) where traffic and revenues can be monitored.

    The National Communications Authority (NCA) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) are the implementing agencies and beneficiaries of this project.

    The CP has four main components, that is fraud management, traffic monitoring, revenue assurance and mobile money monitoring.

    Source: citinewsroom.com

     

  • Bright SHS no longer an examination center – WAEC

    The West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) has relocated its examination centre from the premises of Bright Senior High School to the Ofori Panin Senior High School following the student riot that occurred at the centre on Thursday.

    WAEC in a statement also noted it will not hesitate to sanction students and teachers of the school if they are found culpable in the rioting at their premises. Final year students of the school who are writing their exams on Thursday attacked an invigilator and a reporter over claims that supervision was strict during the exams. They were reportedly instigated by the proprietor of the school.

    “The Council strongly condemns the behavior of the proprietor and candidates of Bright SHS as reported and wishes to caution that such unruly behaviour contravenes Section 8 (1) of the WAEC Act, 2006 (Act 719) which frowns on and sanctions acts of assault on examination officials.

    “In order to ensure the integrity of the examination and safeguard the lives of examination officials (Supervisors, Invigilators and WAEC Officers) assigned to the centre, the Council has decided to, in the interim, relocate the centre from Bright Senior High School to Ofori Panin Senior High School effective Saturday, 8th August, 2020,” WAEC said in a statement Friday.

    Meanwhile, the Proprietor of the school located at Akyem Kukurantumi has been arrested.

    He was arrested Friday Morning by CID officials from the Eastern Regional Police Headquarters accompanied by the Akyem Tafo District Police Commander.

    None of the students has, however, been arrested.

    Meanwhile, a woman from the Ghana Education Service identified as Mama Adwoa who was slapped and her phone smashed by the rioting students had her phone replaced by the school authority.

    The Headmaster of Bright SHS on Thursday incited students numbering about 1000 to attack WAEC external invigilators for not compromising for his students to cheat.

    Source: Starr FM

  • EC reveals 30,462 prospective voters still on the waiting list

    A total of 30,462 persons who turned up at various registration centres to have their names captured on Ghana’s electoral roll have their fate still hanging in the balance.

    This is because political party agents have challenged their eligibility to be on the voters register for the December 7, 2020 elections.

    The Deputy Chairman of the EC in charge of Corporate Services, Dr Bossman Eric Asare, stated this at the eighth edition of Let the Citizen Know in Accra on Friday, August 7, 2020.

    He, has however, said the development is not a reinvention of the wheel since it is it is in compliance with Regulation 18 of Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) governing the registration exercise.

    He said the number of the challenged cases per population were quite higher in border constituencies.

    The mass registration exercise ended on Thursday, August 6, capturing 16,663,669.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • ‘The good people of Ghana will judge our performance’ – Jean Mensa to critics

    In my law class 30 years ago, one of the profound doctrines was the Latin expression “Res ispa loquitur,” which means the thing speaks for it self; and on that premise, we will leave the good people of Ghana to judge our performance.

    These were the words of the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs Jean Mensa, as she responded to a question on how the Commission would rate its performance in the just ended mass voter registration exercise.

    She was speaking at the eighth edition of the Let the Citizens Know series, a platform created by the EC to engage citizens on the electoral process.

    The Commission had projected to register 15 million eligible Ghanaians in the 38-day mass registration exercise, but exceeded that target after registering 16,663,669 at the end of the registration on Thursday, August 6.

    With a mop-up registration scheduled to take place at the various offices of the Commission on Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9, the figure will shoot up.

    Giving that the move by the EC to compile a new register ahead of the December 7, 2020 polls had been met with resistance by some political parties and civil society organisations (CSOs); and that the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) scourge had been an issue of grave concern, many had little or no hope in the ability of the Commission carry out the exercise.

    It therefore, came as refreshing news for the Commission to have scaled that challenge.

    And on that solid foundation, Mrs Mensa, reiterated that the successful completion of the mass voter registration exercise was just the beginning of many other transparent processes the EC had put in place for a credible and fair election.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • EC registers 16.6 million voters

    The Electoral Commission (EC) has registered a total of 16,663,699 voters as of the end of the mass voters registration exercise on Thursday, August 6, 2020.

    The commission made this known at its 8th edition of the Let the Citizens Know series, a platform created by the EC to engage citizens on the electoral process, reports Graphic Online’s Timothy Ngnenbe who was at the meeting.

    The Commission had projected to register 15 million eligible Ghanaians in the 38-day mass registration exercise, but exceeded that target after registering 16,663,669 at the end of the registration on Thursday, August 6, 2020.

    With a mop-up registration scheduled to take place at the various offices of the Commission on Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9, the figure will shoot up.

    The EC’s move to compile a new register ahead of the December 7, 2020 polls had been met with resistance by some political parties and civil society organisations (CSOs).

    Aside that the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) scourge had been an issue of grave concern and many had little or no hope in the ability of the Commission to carry out the exercise.

    It therefore, comes as refreshing news for the Commission to have scaled that challenge.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Private schools appeal for stimulus package to pay staff

    The Ghana Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) has appealed to the government to offer a stimulus package of GH¢400,000 to the council to enable it to pay salaries of their teachers and other staff.

    It said following the closure of schools in the past five months due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), its members had not been able to generate funds to pay their staff.

    The council said if the government should offer them the support, they would use the money to pay 400,000 teachers in 22,000 private education establishments across the country, pay their taxes and also contribute to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) of staff.

    With the advent of COVID-19, the President directed the closure of schools, effective March 16, 2020. Final-year tertiary students as well as junior and senior high school students were later allowed to go back to school to prepare for their exit examinations, including some continuing students.

    Interview

    The Executive Director of GNACOPS, Mr Enoch Kwasi Gyetuah, who made the appeal in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, said although the council had applied for part of the GH¢ 600 million stimulus package announced by the government, the money to be given them might not be enough to pay the large number of teachers.

    According to them, the council presented the applications of 4,300 schools out of the 22,000 to the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) for the stimulus package to pay 94,000 out of a total of 400,000 teachers.

    He added that the delay in the disbursement of the fund was further burdening the schools and the teachers who were struggling as a result of the harsh economic situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Mr Gyetuah explained that the council could not submit applications of all schools because some of them did not satisfy the criteria to access the fund while others had already contracted loans from banks.

    “The Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP) is a good initiative but the fact is that it will not be enough. You can imagine the number of businesses and organisations that are expected to benefit from it. Indeed the number is huge,” he added.

    Recall

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Monday May 18, 2020, launched a GH¢1 billion CAP business support scheme to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) impacted negatively by the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

    Out of the amount, GH¢600 million is from government coffers while commercial banks are supposed to mobilise the rest of the funds.

    Beneficiaries have a one-year moratorium and a two-year period to pay.

    Source:graphic.com.gh

  • President Akufo-Addo nominates 3 persons for DCE roles

    President Akufo-Addo has nominated three persons as Metropolitan/Municipal/District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has disclosed.

    The trio are Abdul-Mumin Issah, Barima Awuah Sarpong Asiedu-Larbi and Clement Opoku Gyamfi who have been nominated for the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, Akwapim North Municipal Assembly and the Amansie South District Assembly respectively.

    A statement signed by the sector Minister, Hajia Alima Mahama said the nomination was in accordance with article 243 (1) of the 1992 Constitution and section 20 (1) of the Local Governance Act, Act 936.

    “In view of the above, the Hon. Regional Ministers for Western, Eastern and Ashanti Regions are requested to liaise with the Regional Electoral Commission to conduct the confirmation process of the nominated Chief Executives,” the statement said.

    Amansie South District Assembly

    If confirmed Mr Gyamfi will replace Mr William Asante Bediako as DCE for the Amansie South District in the Ashanti Region. It will be recalled that Mr Bediako was in the news recently for defending operations of illegal miners within his district.

    In a viral video (below), Mr Bediako is heard touting the benefits the district had derived from illegal mining.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • NASPA executives donate face mask to service personnel

    The Accra Metropolis executives of the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) have embarked on a two-day face mask distribution exercise in different part of the Greater Accra Region.

    About 3,500 customised face masks were presented to National Service Personnel (NSS) at institutions including the Social Security and National Insurance Trust, Accra Technical University, COCOBOD, and the ministries, department agencies.

    The exercise is part of measures to ensure the safety of service personnel during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

    Reason for donation

    The Public Relations Officer of NASPA Accra Metropolis, Mr Michael Agbozo, told The Mirror that it was expedient for the donation to be done.

    “One of the key things we take into consideration is the welfare of the people and that is why we are giving them the mask to protect themselves. We are distributing the face mask to all service personnel in the Accra metropolis.

    The items on display

    “Due to our benevolence and prowess of leadership, we have been able to put some projects across. However, some of them are prospective projects we are looking forward to embark upon before the end of August this year,” he said.

    Project

    Mr Agbozo said that the team has collaborated with Safe Drive Innovations to roll out a driving programme for over 500 service personnel to prepare them in defensive driving and acquisition of valid driving license.

    “Some National Service Personnel have been to the driving school with a subsidise amount of fees. We realised that before a company will employ, they look out for someone who can drive aside his or her qualification. Also they can use the license to start their own driving business.

    “Some of them are done with the school while others are in the process of completing. In addition to that, we have been able to install a sign post at the new NSS office around Supreme Court area just to make it easier for personnel to locate the office,” he added.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Bono Region: 231 Health workers with COVID-19 recover

    All 231 health workers in the Bono Region who contracted COVID-19 have recovered, the acting Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Amo Kodie, has disclosed.

    According to him, the 231 health workers represented 53.6 per cent of the total of 426 cases so far recorded in the region and explained that all recovered health workers had returned to work.

    Dr Kodie was speaking to the Daily Graphic after addressing the Annual Mini Congress of the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) at Abesim on the theme: “Combating COVID-19: The role of National Service Personnel.”

    As part of the congress, the association donated some COVID-19 safety and hygiene products to some senior high schools and the Electoral Commission (EC) to support the ongoing compilation of the new voters register in the Sunyani Municipality.

    No death

    Dr Kodie said the region had not registered any COVID-19 related death or recorded any severe case as most of the cases, including the health workers were managed at home.

    He explained that the Sunyani Regional Hospital, the Wenchi Methodist Hospital and the Berekum Holy Family Hospital had been earmarked as isolation centres in the region.

    According to him, the recovery rate in the region was almost 100 per cent, emphasising that only one of the victims was currently in isolation.

    Dr Kodie explained that people with hypertension, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, over weight and other immune diseases were more vulnerable to COVID-19 and therefore cautioned such people to protect themselves from contracting the disease.

    Accept posting

    The Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mrs Justina Owusu Banahene, challenged the personnel to accept posting to rural communities and develop positive mindsets toward the development of the country by giving of their best at their various institutions.

    She charged the personnel to add innovative ideas to the skills and knowledge they had acquired in their various institutions to support the progress of the country.

    Impact on economy

    For his part, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunyani East, Mr Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, said COVID-19 had negatively affected the global economy, explaining that there had been significant job losses as a result of the collapsing of businesses.

    He said the government had taken proper action and rolled out various important programmes and policies to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic in the country and called on the public to support the government in the fight against the disease.

    “Each Ghanaian including you and I have a responsibility to protect or stop the spread of the virus by observing the existing safety protocols,” Mr Ameyaw-Cheremeh stated.

    He said since the outbreak of COVID-19, the government had put in place several interventions to protect citizens and mentioned the establishment of the National COVID-19 Trust Fund, closure of borders, tracing and testing and the institution of lockdown in some parts of the country.

    Stigmatisation

    Mr Ameyaw-Cheremeh appealed to the public to stop stigmatising COVID-19 patients or persons who had recovered from the disease and challenged the service personnel to be ambassadors in their communities.

    Welcoming the gathering, the National President of the association, Mr Owusu Afriye Osei, said they chose the theme in order to use the national service week celebration to assist in the fight against the spread of the disease.

    He said the association decided that every district should donate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the various district or community health facilities to help halt the spread of the virus.

    “When the community is protected, the service personnel there will likewise be sheltered,” Mr Osei stated.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • COVID-19: Ghana’s Death toll passes 200

    The novel Coronavirus pandemic has now killed 206 people in Ghana.

    This was contained in the latest figures released by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) today (August 7, 2020) in which it reported eight new deaths.

    The GHS update also disclosed that even persons are in critical condition from Coronavirus-related illnesses. Four of the persons in critical condition are breathing with the assistance of a ventilators.

    Case count

    In the update, the GHS also announced 455 new positive cases of Coronavirus, increasing the country’s cumulative case count to 40,097.

    However, the country has 3,253 active cases and 36, 638 recoveries from the illness.

    “A total of 455 new cases were reported on August 4, 2020. These are samples that were taken from the period 15 July to 3 August 2020 as seen in Figure 11 but reported from the lab on August 4,” the update reads.

    Cumulative Cases per Region

    Greater Accra Region 20,300

    Ashanti Region 9,972

    Western Region 2,766

    Eastern Region 1,809

    Central Region 1,669

    Volta Region 614

    Bono East Region 569

    Western North Region 526

    Bono Region 439

    Northern Region 424

    Ahafo Region 364

    Upper East Region 282

    Oti Region 204

    Upper West Region 88

    Savannah Region 62

    North East Region 9

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Kennedy Agyapong mobilises $428,000 for evacuation of stranded Ghanaians

    The Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, has presented $428,650 to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to support the evacuation of more than 700 stranded Ghanaians in Lebanon.

    Mr Agyapong contributed $200,000 himself, while he mobilised the rest through an appeal he launched for other Ghanaians to support the initiative.

    The support will help cover the evacuation of the fourth and fifth batches scheduled for August 11 and 13, respectively.

    At the presentation event last Wednesday, Mr Agyapong said: “It is not in everything that we expect the white man to save us or take care of for us. We need to prove that we are capable of managing our own affairs.”

    Kind heart

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who received the cheque for the amount, said: “The generosity of Mr Agyapong is public knowledge and the donation today is only a testimony of his kind heart, and we expect this donation to fund the evacuation of 727 Ghanaians from Lebanon.”

    She said the government would bear the cost of quarantine of the evacuees when they arrived in Ghana, just as it had done for more than 3,000 of their compatriots who had been evacuated from various parts of the world, including China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Qatar.

    “On behalf of the Government of Ghana, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and, indeed, all Ghanaians and the families who will be benefiting from this generous offer, I wish to thank you, my colleague and brother, Mr Agyapong, and all those who through your efforts have contributed to this noble cause,” she said.

    “By this act, you have proven to be a responsive statesman and patriot, and Ghanaians are grateful,” she added.

    COVID-19

    Ms Botchwey said in a difficult time when the world was grappling with how to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on lives and economies, it was heart-warming to witness such acts of generosity, patriotism and solidarity from fellow Ghanaians.

    She said when the first case of COVID-19 was recorded in November 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, nothing could have prepared the world for the devastation it would unleash on human lives and world economies months down the line.

    She noted that since then, the world had been at the mercy of this unseen, yet destructive virus.

    “As a desperate measure to prevent the deadly virus from spreading within national borders, states locked down and also imposed travel bans and other restrictions, including border closures.

    “Unfortunately, these measures left many travellers, including a number of Ghanaian nationals, stranded in foreign countries and unsure of when they will return home to their families,” she said.

    She intimated that it also brought to the fore the unacceptable dire conditions some Ghanaians abroad, especially those in the Middle East, were living under as a result of the pandemic.

    Bold decision

    Ms Botchwey said in view of the growing number of stranded Ghanaians abroad per the data gathered by the Ministry and its Diplomatic Missions abroad, the Government took the bold decision to begin the process of evacuating them home.

    She said to ensure a well-coordinated evacuation exercise, the government decided to undertake the exercise in phases.

    The minister said that decision was informed by financial and logistical considerations, such as the capacity of their quarantine and isolation centres to hold a large number of evacuees and the human resource capacity of the COVID-19 Task Force, made up of personnel drawn from the various security agencies.

    She said the ministry, in collaboration with the Task Force, had since May 2020, completed 51 evacuations from across the globe, resulting in the safe return of 5,940 Ghanaians.

    More to do

    “So much has been done by the government since the outbreak of COVID-19 to mitigate the adverse effects of the virus on Ghanaians, but I must say that we are not out of the woods yet.

    “There is still a lot to be done, and it is for this reason that the Ministry welcomes the support of benevolent individuals such as the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Mr Agyapong,” she stated.

    “On the matter associated with our dear compatriots in Lebanon, I wish to reiterate our displeasure in the manner Ghanaian nationals in that country have been treated,” the minister added.

    She stressed that the government had in no uncertain terms registered its abhorrence to such inhumane treatment to the Government of Lebanon on the harassment and earlier reports of abuse to which Ghanaians had been subjected to by their Lebanese employers.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Mauritanian Prime Minister replaced amid investigation into alleged corruption

    Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani has replaced his prime minister following the resignation of Ismail Ould Bedda Ould Cheikh Sidiya.

    The move comes after prosecutors received a key report investigating the activities of former head of state Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

    Mohamed Ould Bilal, a former political adviser and minister in the era before Abdel Aziz, replaces Sidiya. He has been tasked with forming a new govermment following the resignation of Sidiya’s entire administration.

    Before his appointment as prime minister in August 2019, Sidiya had served between 2009 and 2014 as minister of housing and employment under Aziz.

    Prosecutors in the capital Nouakchott had announced on Wednesday that they had received a report by a nine-member commission, tasked with investigating aspects of Aziz’s 2008-19 presidency.

    Matters discussed in the parliamentary report include the handling of oil revenues, the sales of state-owned property in Nouakchott, the activities of Chinese fishing company Pully Hong Dong, and the liquidation of a state-owned firm that supplied food products.

    Aziz, a former army general, ignored a summons from the committee last month to explain the issues at stake, according to a parliamentary official.

    Mauritanian MPs adopted a law at the end of July establishing a High Court of Justice to try the head of state and ministers in cases of “high treason”. The court is due to be set up in the coming months.

    President Ghazouani succeeded Aziz in August last year. He had previously served under him as Chief of Staff and Defence Minister.

    Aziz first came to power in a military coup in 2008, deposing then-president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi. Aziz went on to win elections in 2009 and 2014.

    Source: africanews.com

  • Two cars crash in near fatal accident at Dzorwulu

    It was a near-death experience as two cars collided in an accident at Dzorwulu on Thursday afternoon.

    A red colour Toyota Corolla with DV registration number 768A crushed with a black Hyundai Elantra with the registration number GN8660-11.

    According to eyewitnesses, the accident was as a result of the driver of the Toyota Corolla attempting to overtake the Hyundai Elantra while its female driver was initiating a curve.

    The Toyota then skidded off the road and run into two electric poles.

    “She was coming and taking a left turn off the main road coming into the house when the person behind him tried to make overtaking and It hit her” the eyewitness narrated to GhanaWeb.

    No injury was sustained by the two drivers. Bystanders helped the driver of the Toyota Corolla to bring down his hanging car.

    Officers from the Ghana Police Service were also present to ensure calm and begin investigations into the matter.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • WASSCE clashes: CHASS calls for the provision of security for teachers

    Following recent reports of clashes between final year students and teachers in some senior high schools in the ongoing WASSCE exams, the National President of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) Alhaji Yacoub Abubarkar has called for the provision of security for teachers.

    On August 3, 2020, some agitated WASSCE candidates at the Tweneboa Kodua Senior High School in the Ashanti Region vandalised school properties on the basis that invigilators were being “too strict” during the exams.

    A similar incident has been reported today, August 6, 2020, at the Bright SHS in Akyem Kukurantumi where students demonstrated against teachers over alleged intimidation by external invigilators during their Social Studies paper.

    “We will request that, given the current situation we have, wheresoever there is a school with this type of challenge, it will be good for a number of police personnel to be allowed to stay within the vicinity to ensure that there is peace and calm,” Mr. Abubarkar advised.

    He noted that “once the students see that there are few policemen around, it will control their behaviour” to ensure the smooth process at examination centres across the country.

    All final year SHS students returned to school in June this year to prepare for their exit exams amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. There were reported cases of the outbreak of the virus in some schools despite the safety protocols that were implemented ahead of school reopening.

    The WASSCE which commenced on July 20, 2020, with a total of 313,837 candidates from Ghana will end on September 5, 2020.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Fire allegedly destroys wares worth thousands of cedis at Tarkwa

    Fire has destroyed three stores around the Tarkwa Railway Station, destroying goods and properties worth thousands of Ghana cedis.

    The affected structures included a mobile phone shop, saloon, and a boutique.

    The blaze was alleged to have started in the early hours on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, from the boutique and spread to the others.

    Although the cause of the fire is yet to be established, some eyewitnesses attributed the fire outbreak to an electrical fault in the area where the fire started.

    In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the Divisional Officer Grade III, Mr Alex Assiem, the Acting Municipal Officer of Ghana National Fire Service, Tarkwa, said his officers had a hard time putting off the fire as they had to struggle through the crowd to bring the situation under control.

    He stated that no one was injured and investigations had already begun to ascertain the cause of the fire.

    Meanwhile, Mr Francis Amoah, the Municipal National Disaster Management Organization, (NADMO) Coordinator for Tarkwa-Nsuaem, had also visited the scene to access the impact and damage caused.

    Source: GNA

  • National Commission on Culture calls for justice for Akua Denteh

    The National Commission on Culture has called on the Ghana Police Service and the Judiciary to expedite action in giving justice to late Madam Akua Denteh and her family.

    The Commission said such acts were unacceptable and should not be countenanced in the country and called for a coordinated approach, especially by traditional leaders, to put an end to such criminal acts.

    A release issued to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said Ghana frowned on instant and mob justice and the Commission condemned in no uncertain terms the inhumane act meted out to the 90-year-old grandmother, mother and sister.

    “This barbaric and dastardly act should not happen to anyone. We are happy the so-called priestess at the centre of this criminal act has been arrested by the police while four accomplices have surrendered to the law. It is our hope that justice would be served expeditiously.”

    The Commission had observed with dismay the unfortunate phenomena taking over society, where pastors and soothsayers stood on some unrealistic circumstances and unsubstantiated allegations to label people, especially the aged, as witches or wizards, the release said.

    It said from time immemorial, witchcraft had been described as a spiritual matter and no one had been able to prove its existence with substantial empirical and legally accepted evidence.

    It, therefore, entreated the public to refrain from the habit of labelling the elderly as witches and wizards without any shred of empirical evidence.

    “Old age has no relationship with witchcraft. If indeed it exists, persons of all age groups are susceptible to acquiring the spirit of a witch or a wizard. We must, as a people, rid ourselves of this misconception that compels some individuals to neglect the aged. Old age is not a curse but a blessing.”

    The release said a beautiful old Akua Denteh and her contemporaries, who had been blessed with many years, should be allowed to depart the earth in a peaceful manner and not under such traumatic and gruesome circumstances.

    Source: GNA

  • Yagbonwura lauds IGP over arrest of Akua Danteh killers

    The overlord of the Gonja Traditional Area, Yagbonwura Tuntumba Bore Essa I has lauded the Inspector General of Police James Oppong-Boanuh for his swift response leading to the arrest of suspects in connection with the gruesome murder of 90-year-old Akua Denteh.

    “The Gonja Traditional Kingdom wholeheartedly welcome the arrest of the Kafaba killing and wish to further express our satisfaction with the arrest of about seven persons believed to have taken part in the lynching of Akua Denteh, the 90-year-old woman who was accused of witchcraft in Kafaba of the West Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region”, the chief said.

    He was also pleased with the readiness of the security agencies to serve the Savannah Region commending Mr James Oppong-Boanuh for paving the way for his men.

    It would be recalled that on 23rd July, Akua Denteh was lynched by a group of residents on accusations of being a witch led by Hajia Serena Mohammed.

    So far about seven persons including the one who was torturing the deceased in the viral video which led to the death of the deceased.”

    Latifah Bumaye was arrested at Kejewu Bator, a fishing community at Abrumase on Thursday, July 30, 2020, at 9:30 pm.

    Others who have been arrested include; Haruna Aness 34, Issifa Tanko- 35, Shaibu Muntala 29, Sulemana Ali -35 and Issifa Zakyibo -32 who are assisting police to unmask the rest.

    Source: My News GH

  • Bright SHS WASSCE students reportedly attack reporter with sticks

    A reporter with the Daily Graphic in Koforidua, Damalie Emmanuel Pacome, has been attacked by students of Bright Senior High School in Akyem Kukurantumi.

    The students holding Knives, cutlasses, sticks and stones chased the Journalist who was in the school to verify reports of attacks on invigilators by the students.

    They reportedly accosted and seized his mobile phone in the school. Sensing danger, the Journalist took to his heels for safety but was pursued for about 15 minutes by the mob of students from the school towards the Kukurantumi township.

    Some of the students reportedly jumped on a motorbike to cross the Journalist on the way and hit him several times with sticks, seized his bag and attempted to lynch him but a Commercial driver rescued him into his vehicle.

    The Journalist is visibly injured with cuts on the face and part of the body.

    The journalist has lodged an official report at the Kukurantumi Police station where he has been issued Police Medical forms for treatment at the Community Hospital at Akyem Kukurantumi.

    Starr News Eastern Regional Correspondent Kojo Ansah reports that the students were heard saying “we have paid Ghc6000 bribes each you Journalists want us to fail. We will beat you up”.

    Background

    Some candidates of the ongoing West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination clashed with invigilators at Bright SHS in Akyem Kukurantumi over alleged intimidation.

    The Swift intervention by Armed Police Personnel from Akyem Tafo and Some BNI officials helped restore calm Thursday Morning.

    According to the students, the special deployment of external invigilators supervising the examination have been very strict disallowing them to even go out to urinate. The students say the situation is affecting them psychologically hence unable to write the exams

    Meanwhile, there is similar tension building up at Only Believe Senior High Technical School, a private school in Akyem Kukurantumi over similar alleged intimidation.

    Little over 1000 candidates are sitting the exams in the school. Some of the students on Wednesday protested against the situation.

    Source: Class FM

  • Footbridges on ‘holiday’ – Pedestrians put lives at risk on roads

    Pedestrians have abandoned many footbridges meant to aid their movements across some major roads in Accra and continue to jaywalk at the cost of their lives.

    While the footbridges lie predominantly idle, some of the pedestrians, including children, meander their way through moving vehicles as they move from one side of the road to the other.

    Some of them also jump over walls and barricades in their bid to cross over to other sides of the road, putting their lives and those of other road users in danger.

    Additionally, some traders have converted the footbridges into shops where they display their merchandise while taxi drivers have turned the base of the bridges into car parks and stations.

    Observations

    This came to light when the Daily Graphic team visited some parts of Accra over a one-month period ending Thursday, July 30, this year, to assess the usage of some footbridges by pedestrians.

    The team visited the footbridges located at Atomic Junction, Madina Zongo Junction, Nkwantanang, Taifa, Lapaz, Sakaman and Kaneshie.

    Among other things, the team observed that pedestrians, especially hawkers, had created their own (imaginary) zebra crossings under footbridges from where they crossed the roads with impunity.

    Petty traders had also taken over some of the footbridges by displaying their wares to cash in on members of the public who were compliant enough to use the facility.

    When the team got to the Madina Zongo Junction footbridge at about 3:30 p.m., the facility had been virtually deserted as pedestrians threw caution to the wind and battled with vehicles to cross the road.

    Traders had also taken over both the base and top of the footbridge in a desperate attempt to earn their livelihood.

    The situation at the Nkwantanang and other footbridges was not different from that of Madina Junction.

    Some traders used the footbridges as a resting place to regain energy to continue their work, while beggars had also pitched camp to ply their trade.

    At the Lapaz footbridge, the team observed that although barricades had been provided at the facility to compel people to use it, many pedestrians still defied the odds and scaled the barricades.

    Flimsy excuses

    Some of the pedestrians the Daily Graphic spoke to gave flimsy excuses for not using the footbridge.

    For instance, at the Madina Zongo Junction footbridge, 40-year-old Samuel Dogbe and others complained that they seldom used the footbridge because it was too long and, therefore, took too much of their time.

    “You see, it will take me about 20 seconds to walk across from where I am to the other end of the road, but if I have to use this long footbridge, I can spend about five to seven minutes,” he said.

    For 52-year old Sarah Afumuah Boateng, a trader, she gets too tired climbing the footbridge and will rather manage her way through vehicles.

    When asked if she knew the implications of failing to use the footbridge, she said: “I know that I can be involved in an accident at any time; even this last Tuesday, a car knocked someone here. But God will protect me.”

    Concerns

    In the view of Ms Linda Kyere, many pedestrians were disinterested in using the footbridge because there was greater motivation to ignore its use.

    “The footbridge is too long and there is even no barricade along the road to compel people to use the bridge, so I do not blame them entirely”.

    “If there was a net here to serve as a barricade like what has been done at the Kaneshie footbridge, no one could have crossed from one end of the road to the other without using the footbridge,” he said.

    In defence of their decisions to turn the base of the footbridge into a car park and station, a taxi driver, Mr Sam Abotsi, said that was the only way out because there was no space anywhere to park.

    Offence

    Section three of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 (LI 154) states: “A pedestrian who fails to use the footbridge or underpass where one is provided commits an offence. A person who contravenes this regulation is liable to a summary conviction, a fine not more than five penalty units or a term of imprisonment not more than seven days or both.”

    When the Daily Graphic contacted the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) on what would be done to ensure that the footbridges are put to good use, the Public Relations Manager of the authority, Ms Diana Seade, said the authority had fulfilled its mandate by constructing footbridges to ensure the safety of pedestrians.

    She said the GHA had gone ahead to sensitise road users to the importance of using the facility for their own safety but it was worrying that some of them still risked their lives to cross the road at unauthorised areas.

    Collective responsibility

    Responding to a question on the way forward to reverse the trend, she said collective responsibility by all stakeholders was required to scale the challenge.

    Ms Seade added that the primary responsibility of enforcing the law fell on the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service.

    “The police have, most of the time, educated these people and gone ahead to arrest some of them but surprisingly, the irresponsible attitude is still ongoing and such culprits keep exposing themselves and other road users to danger,” she said.

    Ms Seade urged members of the public to be responsible for their own safety, stressing that “the protection of lives on the road is 99 per cent the sole responsibility of the individual.”

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Microsoft has a long history in China. That could cut both ways for TikTok

    Microsoft has spent decades building goodwill with Beijing, and that could help its bid to buy TikTok’s operations in the United States and a few other countries. That is, unless deteriorating US-China relations get in the way.

    Microsoft (MSFT) has emerged as the leading candidate to save TikTok from President Donald Trump’s threat to ban the app unless it finds an American buyer. The app is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance. A deal would give Microsoft ownership and operation of TikTok services in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
    Unlike other big US tech companies, Microsoft has some major clout in China, and its products have a significant presence there.

    It has been in China since 1992, and employs 6,000 people in the country. Microsoft software is used by the Chinese government and companies, LinkedIn is a popular social media platform for Chinese professionals, and Bing is the only foreign search engine with any amount of market share in the country. The Washington State-based company also boasts an A-list alumni network in China, thanks to the hugely influential Microsoft Research Lab Asia, or MSRA.

    Microsoft’s clout
    The Beijing-based lab — a world-class computer science research hub — is widely viewed as a boot camp for China’s technology sector. Many founders and senior executives at companies such as Alibaba (BABA), smartphone maker Xiaomi, and e-commerce upstart Pinduoduo (PDD) got their start at Microsoft and were trained at MSRA. Even Zhang Yiming, the founder and CEO of ByteDance, briefly worked at Microsoft before reportedly leaving out of boredoma

    Microsoft “is really well respected” in China’s tech community, according to Edith Yeung, who spent years investing in Chinese companies with venture capital firm 500 Startups. She is a partner with Race Capital, investing mostly in US firms.
    That respect is especially true when it comes to artificial intelligence, Yeung said. One of the best-known AI experts in the world, former head of Google China Kai-Fu Lee, helped establish MSRA.
    ByteDance has a slew of addictive apps that all rely on AI algorithms. The apps learn from users’ behavior, and continuously feed them content that they want to see.
    Many in China’s tech industry believe Microsoft is “the best choice,” to buy TikTok, because at least Microsoft has “the AI chops to understand what ByteDance is doing,” said Yeung.
    A forced sale of TikTok to Microsoft would be “a win-win-win, in a pretty horrible situation,” said Tony Verb, co-founder of GreaterBay Ventures & Advisors, which works with Chinese entrepreneurs.
    It will likely be a victory for Trump, it’s good for Microsoft to get a fast-growing product like TikTok, and for ByteDance, “it’s the less horrible outcome,” according to Verb.
    Microsoft and ByteDance did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

    Challenges in China

    Like other multinationals, Microsoft has had its fair share of challenges in China.
    Rampant piracy prevents the company from making significant inroads in the market. Microsoft president Brad Smith said in January that even though Microsoft software is widely used in China, the country accounts for less than 2% of the company’s global revenue.
    Last year, Microsoft’s search engine Bing, was briefly blocked in China. It wasn’t clear what sparked the suspension, but it came as tensions between the United States and China were spilling over into the tech sector, with Washington stepping up its campaign against Chinese tech firm Huawei.
    Microsoft is also facing scrutiny from China’s State Agency for Market Regulation, which is investigating whether it has violated the country’s anti-monopoly laws. The probe is focused on Windows and Office software.
    And at a time of escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing, Microsoft’s business in China could prove to be a liability, as the world’s two largest economies shun cooperation and inch closer to a technological decoupling.
    Some Trump administration officials are suspicious that Microsoft is too cozy with Beijing.
    Microsoft-owned products such as Bing and Skype have enabled Chinese surveillance and censorship, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said in an interview on CNN on Monday.
    Bing is able to operate its Chinese site, cn.bing.com, because it censors its search results. During a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last year, Smith said Microsoft has “days when there are either difficult negotiations or even disagreements” with Chinese authorities.
    “There’s some fishy stuff going on there,” Navarro said. If people use Skype in China, the Chinese Communist Party “is listening in,” he added.
    “The question is, is Microsoft going to be compromised?” Navarro said. He also questioned whether Microsoft should be forced to “divest its Chinese holdings” if it buys TikTok.

    China could still claim ‘a pretty good win’

    Meanwhile, Trump has touted the forced sale of TikTok as a win, and said that the US Treasury should get a cut of the deal if it goes through. Industry experts say the TikTok deal could cost Microsoft between $40 billion and $50 billion.
    Trump’s comments sparked an outcry in China. State-run newspaper China Daily likened the sale of TikTok to a “smash and grab” raid orchestrated by the US government.
    But the sale of TikTok should also be viewed as a huge win for China’s tech industry and the innovation coming out of Beijing, according to Rich Robinson, a professor at Peking University and founding partner of Whip Wham, an investment practice focused on China and Asian markets.
    “Last time I checked, $50 billion is a pretty good win,” Robinson said.
    ByteDance was able to get hundreds of millions of users around the world hooked on TikTok, the app brought in tens of billions of dollars in revenue last year and it was the first Chinese social media platform to breakthrough in international markets, he points out.
    “That’s all winning,” said Robinson. “Too bad it got politicized.”
    Source: CNN

  • Africa CDC concerned over Tanzania’s virus response

    The director of Africa Centre for Disease Control has expressed concern about Tanzania’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Dr John Nkengasong told BBC’s Newsday that there was no enough data to determine the situation in Tanzania.

    He said the centre had developed a continental joint response strategy to be able to defeat the virus.

    “We continue to hope and plead that Tanzania could come forth and report the situation as it is so that we can work collaboratively to stem this virus out of the continent,” he said.

    He emphasised on the need for all African countries to work together.

    “We continue to reach out [to Tanzania] but we are not having the response that we expect,” he said.

    Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has insisted that his country has been “saved” from the virus and declared the country virus free.

    The country is getting ready for October elections and is an electioneering mood. People have been going about their business with no masks or social distancing.

     Source: bbc.com

  • President opens University of Environment and Sustainable Development

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday inaugurated the first phase of infrastructural development at the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) at Somanya in the Eastern Region, paving the way for the admission of the first batch of undergraduate students in the next academic year.

    The President also cut the sod for commencement of the second phase of the project.

    The first phase, which cost 45,575.000 Euros, includes 13 lecture halls with a total seating capacity of 1,545, a video conference room, computer research rooms, offices for lectures, a multi-purpose hall block for the school of Natural and Environmental Sciences with a seating capacity of 252 and dining hall to seat 100 people.

    Others are a laboratory building for the School of Agriculture and Agro Entrepreneurship Development, administration block, 80-bed hostel, an infirmary and residences of the Vice-Chancellor, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar.

    The first phase of the project, undertaken by Messrs Contracta Costruroni, an Italian construction company, was completed within the stipulated time of 24 months.

    On December 27, 2016, then President John Dramani Mahama cut the sod for work to commence on the university, which he said was a promise during the 2012 electioneering.

    However, the project delayed until about

    two years ago when all the bottlenecks were removed for work to start.

    Commitment
    At the inaugural ceremony yesterday, President Akufo-Addo said the first phase of the project showed the commitment of his government towards tertiary education delivery not only in the Krobo area, but the nation at large.

    He assured the people in the area that the university would not be relocated to Bunso as it was alleged and that the inauguration of the first phase was the confirmation of his assurance to the people.

    The President said the UESD was dear to the heart of the government as it was the first university in the country that was for research and would be focused on agro-business.

    He expressed appreciation to the Italian government for assisting with the educational infrastructure.

    President Akufo-Addo said access to education was the best thing to do to build the future of the youth.

    Academic work

    With the completion of the first phase of the project, the President urged the management of the university to ensure that the academic year began on schedule.

    President Akufo-Addo said he had no doubt that the university would admit the first batch of undergraduates in the next academic year.

    He gave an assurance that phase two of the project, which would cost 49,000,000 Euros, would be completed within 30 months per the agreement with the contractors.

    President Akufo-Addo said the government would do everything possible for the project to continue and be completed.

    First semester

    The Chairman of the Interim Council of the UESD, Prof. Jonathan Ayertey, said steps were being taken to commence academic work in September/ October this year for the first semester with two schools, namely the School of Sustainable Development and School of Natural and Environmental Sciences.

    He appealed for special dispensation to be given for the provision of a university hospital and two 500-bed student hostel facilities to augment existing facilities.

    Free SHS

    The Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, said those who doubted the free SHS programme proved the President right when the programme began.

    In attendance were the Paramount Chief of the Manya Krobo Traditional Area, Nene Sakite II; the Queen mother of the Yilo Krobo Traditional Area, Nana Korlekuor Adjadoo III; the former Minister of Finance, Mr Seth Terkper, and the Member of Parliament for Yilo Krobo, Mr Magnus Kofi Amoatey.

    Controversy

    The citing of the university was without controversy when some people especially in the Krobo area accused the present government of attempting to relocate the university to Bunso in the same Eastern Region.

    President Akufo-Addo allayed the fears of the chiefs and the people of the area during his visit to the area to inspect the progress of work of the university.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Voter registration exercise: EC mops-up Saturday, Sunday

    The Electoral Commission (EC) has announced a two-day mop-up registration exercise for eligible Ghanaians who will not be able to register in the mass registration of voters which ends today.

    The mop-up exercise will be undertaken at the various district offices of the EC across the country on Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9.

    The acting Director of Public Affairs of the EC, Mrs Sylvia Annoh, who made this known to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, said the decision to do a mop-up after the main registration was to ensure that no eligible applicant was left out of the national exercise.

    Mop-up

    During the sixth edition of the Let the Citizens Know series held on July 27, the Chairperson of the EC, Mrs Jean Mensa, indicated that the commission would do a mop-up exercise at selected areas on need basis.

    She had said the exercise would not be a blanket one because some registration centres had lower population of registrants.

    The EC chairperson had also stated that the commission would rely on information from its field officers in deciding on centres that would benefit from the mop-up exercise.

    New decision

    However, Mrs Annoh stated that the number of eligible applicants who presented themselves to be registered at the various registration centres had gone down drastically in the last phase of the exercise across the country.

    “We have studied the situation and seen that most of the queues at the registration centres have diminished. In some of the centres, our officers sit the whole day and register only 12 persons,” she said.

    The EC Public Affairs director urged eligible applicants who were not able to register during the mass registration exercise to take advantage of the mop-up and register in order to be captured on the voters register.

    Responding to a question on how the registration would be done at the district offices, she said applicants would be assigned to polling stations of their choice within the constituency.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • 18 Foreigners before court for cybercrime

    Eighteen foreigners who allegedly entered the country illegally to engage in cybercrime have been put before the Wa Circuit Court.

    The accused, believed to be Nigerians, were arrested last Saturday after they had duped unsuspecting people of various sums of money.

    The accused persons are facing three counts of obtaining electronic medium falsely, possession of illegal devices and failing to comply with the imposition of a ban on travel into the country.

    They are Emmanuel Ogunoyibo, 24; Emmanuel Ukoh, 21; Chigozirim Adindo, 24; Rex Chigozie, 23; Anthony Chukwuma, 25, and Chukwu Chinonso, 22.

    Others are Simon Daniel Tochukwu, 23; Dickson, 29; Uwazie Christogonus, 22; Joshua Chigozie, 21; Anthony Chukwuma, 28, and Bright Chiadighikaobi, 35.

    The rest are Henry I Dey With You, 25; Wisdom Ejmadu, 25; Ekene Okoro, 26; Victor Ejike, 26; Peter Emeka, 20, and Abana Udochukwu, 25.

    Their pleas were not taken and they were remanded in police custody to reappear today.

    Prosecution case

    According to the prosecutor, Superintendent Mr R.A. Boateng, the 18 Nigerians claimed they entered the country somewhere in April this year through unapproved routes at the time the borders had been closed due to the COVID -19 pandemic.

    He said upon their entry, they travelled to Wa where they rented two houses at Dobile, a suburb of Wa, from where they operated their cybercrime activities.

    Upon intelligence gathered, a team of security personnel swooped on the two houses in the early hours of Saturday to arrest them.

    During the search conducted in their rooms, the police retrieved items including 22 laptop computers and their accessories, 11 mobile phones and a camera which were believed to be used to commit the crime.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • EC starts mop-up registration on Saturday

    The Electoral Commission (EC) has earmarked Saturday August 9, 2020 as the day it will begin a mop-up mass registration of eligible voters.

    With the voters registration exercise ending on Thursday August 6, the EC is giving an opportunity for eligible voters who could not register within the period have their names in the official register for the 2020 elections.

    The two-day exercise will take place in all district offices of the EC and end on Sunday August 10.

    “The Commission is giving another opportunity to those who in one way or the other could not avail themselves to register during the Exercise”.

    “A mop-up of the Registration Exercise will be held on Saturday, the 8th of August, 2020 and Sunday, the 9th of August, 2020 at the District Offices of the Electoral Commission across the Country,” a statement from the EC stated.

    Below is the statement from the EC

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • John Mahama registers for voter ID card

    The flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, today acquired his voter Identification card at a registration centre at Bole in the Savannah Region, to enable him partake in the upcoming elections on December 7.

    John Dramani Mahama who was received by a large crowd, called on Ghanaians to endeavour to acquire their voter’s identification cards to enable them vote come December 7.

    Addressing the media on the sidelines, former president, John Dramani Mahama said, the recent incidents of violence reported in the ongoing registration is a deliberate attempt by the Akufo-Addo government to remain in power, he therefore urged Ghanaians to come out in their numbers to register so they will kick out the NPP.

    The former President is expected to spend four more days in the region as he will be visiting some registration centres and communities in the Savanna, Northern, Oti and Volta Regions.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Traditionalists educated on child trafficking, other unconstitutional practices in Tefle

    Some residents, traditionalists and fetish priests in Tefle-Fodzoku, an inland fishing community in the South Tongu District of the Volta region have been educated on issues related to modern slavery and ways to combat it.

    People in Tefle-Fodzoku are known for practicing child labour and trafficking including Trokosi; a custom performed by giving out a female virgin child to fetish priests as an atonement for crimes committed by their relatives, and the practice has been identified as a modern slavery.

    A Ghana based non-profit making organisation, Engage Now Africa (ENA) has identified the community and visited some shrines in the area on Friday, 30 July 2020, where they had dialogue with the fetish priests including the trokosi women on how to put an end to such practices, since it’s unconstitutional.

    The programme was held to mark the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, and was marked in the country on the theme “Stakeholders Act Now to End Human Trafficking amidst Covid-19 in Ghana”.

    Fetish priests of one of the biggest shrines in the community, Koti shrine, where some women have been given out by their families to serve the gods, were educated on impacts of the practice, ways to eradicate it and the positive outcomes of putting an end to such practices and beliefs.

    The Director of Projects and Operation at ENA, Mr Afasi Komla said, there was a need to educate the people involved in practicing modern slavery but themed it as a custom. He mentioned that, despite the law being against such practices in the country, authorities need to do more to end it.

    Mr Afasi promised to render support to the community in the fight against the practice, and pledged to empower the vulnerable women with funds to enhance their small scale businesses.

    He urged the general public not to take advantage of novel Covid-19 to exploit the vulnerable, especially children and women saying “We have to protect everyone against the scars of human trafficking in our country, collectively and proactively we can stop this”.

    The Assembly member of Tefle electoral area, Benjamin Amekudzi, told the media that ENA’s coming to the community has enlightened them, because a lot of such practices are still going on in the area, despite it’s legal abolishment. He commended ENA and pledged his collaboration to fight against the practices.

    At the engagement with the fetish priests, they have agreed to sensitize the entire community and it’s environs on the need to end modern slavery in their communities.

    Some six vulnerable women in the Koti shrine were given an disclosed amount of money to support their economic activities. Receiving the cash, Madam Tordzro Lanyo, one of the beneficiaries thanked ENA for their kind gesture.

    “I’m very happy for the support. I have been serving this shrine for the past 60years and no one has ever helped me like this before. All society could do is look down on us and see us to be evil people, meanwhile, my staying in the shrine for years is because of an offence my great great-grandmother had committed, which I know nothing of, but I’m paying for her crime. Thanks to ENA,” she sadly revealed.

    She called on the general public and the government to come to their aid by giving them empowerment.

    Source: Albert Kuzor, Contributor

  • Nigerian police ‘arrest dozens’ of anti-corruption protesters

    At least 60 people have been arrested at an anti-government protest in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, according to protest organisers Revolution Now.

    The police have not said what their alleged offences are.

    The nationwide protests marked a year since the first demonstrations by the movement.

    The former presidential candidate and founder of the news site Sahara Reporters Omoyele Sowore started the Revolution Now movement last year.

    He called for a revolution saying last year’s election, in which President Muhammadu Buhari won a second term, was not credible.

    He has since been charged with treason, money laundering and “cyberstalking” for allegedly sharing false and insulting information about President Buhari. He denies all the charges.

    He was held in detention for 130 days before eventually being released on bail and is currently awaiting trial.

    Source: bbc.com

  • COVID-19: Nearly 85,000 businesses still closed down Statistical Service

    Nearly 85,000 businesses are still closed down as a result of COVID-19 pandemic and the related responses, the Ghana Statistical Service Business Tracker survey has shown.

    The report showed that more than two-thirds of the businesses that were either permanently or temporarily closed were micro-sized firms.

    Professor Samuel Annim, the Government Statistician, announced this when he presented the findings of the COVID-19 Rapid Surveys Business Tracker in Accra.

    The survey, which spanned May 26-June 17, 2020, was conducted in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Bank to provide critical information to help the Government, development partners and other organisations to monitor the effects of COVID-19 on businesses in the country.

    Prof. Annim said during the partial lockdown, more than 45,000 workers lost their jobs while above 770,000 workers had their wages reduced.

    The survey showed that the Accommodation and Food sub-sector recorded the highest dip of 57 per-cent.

    On digitization, the survey showed that less than 10 per cent of businesses adopted or intensified the use of the internet for their operations.

    “An average close to 131,000 businesses indicated that they had challenges accessing financial and more than 60 per cent of firms called for subsidized interest rates,” he said.
    About 46.1 per cent of business establishments reported to have reduced their wages for 25.7 per cent of its workforce, with only 4.0 per-cent firmed indicated that they had laid off workers estimated at 41,952 workers.

    The report showed that 37.5 per cent of firms started or increased their use of mobile money and about a tenth of firms estimated at nine per-cent started or increased their use of the internet to do business.

    The survey showed that only 3.5 per-cent of firms received government assistance, with “not being aware” of government programmes the most common of responses.

    It said most firms reported substantial uncertainty in future sales and employment, with average expectations of declines of 24 per cent of sales and 15 per cent of employment in the worst case scenario.

    According to the findings, Ghanaian businesses were affected through a multiplicity of channels and continued impact of the pandemic in the future was expected.

    Prof. Annim said short-run policies that supported firms in managing financial shocks would be beneficial.


    Source: GNA

  • GWCL shuts down Kpong Treatment Plant today

    The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) will from today, shut down the Kpong Treatment Plant that serves water to the north eastern parts of Accra for repair works.

    As a result, water supply will be interrupted from 6 a.m. today to 6 a.m. tomorrow, August 6, 2020.

    A statement by the company said communities to be affected include Dodowa, Frafraha, Adentan, Ogbojo, Madina, Ashaley Botwe, Adjiringanor, East Legon, Agbogba, Haatso, Atomic, Ashongman, Dome and other surrounding communities.

    “The management of GWCL, therefore, wishes to inform members of the general public, as well as institutions or organisations within the affected areas, to bear with the situation and store enough water ahead of the shutdown,” a release signed by the Chief Manager in charge of Public Relations and Communications, Mr Stanley Martey, said.

    The statement gave an assurance that engineers of the company would work within schedule and that supply would resume immediately when works were completed.

    Background

    The Kpong treatment plant in 2010 underwent some expansion works to increase supply of water from 40 million gallons to 80 million gallons a day.

    The project was undertaken by Messrs China Gezhouba and Power Group Company Limited and was completed in December 2014 ahead of the scheduled contractual completion date of June 2015.

    The cost of the project was $273 million.

    Parliament approved a $260 million preferential buyer’s credit agreement between the Government of Ghana and China through the Exim Bank of China.

    The scope of works for the project included the construction of a new 353,000 cubic metre per day intake, expansion of the treatment plant to 250,000 cubic metre per day and construction of new transmission mains through Dodowa, Adentan to the Accra Booster Station.

    Other works involved the provision of dedicated electricity supply, distribution improvement and construction of terminal reservoirs at Madina, Boi and Okponglo.

    The project has improved the water situation in its supply areas such as Adentan, Madina, Kwabenya, Ashongman, North, East and West Legon, Ashaley Botwe, Haatso, Dome and surrounding areas.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Awoshie Youth on rampage over non-functioning traffic lights – Man killed by car

    About 400 angry youth from communities around the Awoshie-Ablekuma road yesterday blocked a stretch of the Awoshie Mangoase road after a young man died after he had been knocked down by a car.

    The youth claimed that the faulty traffic lights on the road had caused incidents of pedestrians being knocked down in the area by vehicles on that stretch of the road.

    They claimed about four persons, including a pregnant woman, had so far been killed by moving vehicles since the beginning of this year.

    The traffic lights have not been functioning for more than a year now.

    The rioting youth prevented vehicular movement and threatened to damage any vehicle which attempted to go through the roadblock.

    In the cause of the rioting, they allegedly damaged rails along the road and pulled down a non-functioning traffic light.

    It took about 90 minutes for the police from the Anyaa Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), with support from the Formed Police Unit, to clear the road and restore calm.

    Police presence

    Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Effia Tenge, said at about 9:30a.m. yesterday, the Anyah MTTD received information from some stranded motorists concerning the agitation by the youth.

    She said when the police went to the scene, they found out that a pedestrian had been knocked down near the Awoshie Mangoase Traffic Light on the Awoshie-Ablekuma road.

    The victim, identified as 29-year-old Thomas Nyamevor, was knocked down by a Kia Picanto while crossing the road, and was pronounced dead when the driver of the saloon car took him to hospital.

    Upon hearing the news, the angry residents and traders in the adjoining community took to the streets and blocked the road.

    They demanded the fixing of the faulty traffic lights on that stretch of the road to prevent the frequent knockdowns of pedestrians.

    The Anyaa MTTD, with the assistance of the Formed Police Unit, who arrived at the scene with water cannons and other riot control gadgets, dispersed the rioters before motorists could move freely.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • WASSCE: Teacher interdicted for exam malpractice

    The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, has directed that a Mathematics tutor of the Kade Senior High Technical School (SHTS) in the Eastern Region, Mr Evans Yeboah, be interdicted.

    Directive

    Briefing the Daily Graphic yesterday on the directive, he said Mr Yeboah, who was the invigilator of the Integrated Science paper in the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), which was written last Monday, used his position to engage in examination malpractice.

    The directive, which took immediate effect, automatically bars the teacher from functioning as an invigilator at the WASSCE, pending the outcome of the investigations into the act.

    Prof. Opoku-Amankwa explained that Mr Yeboah had to step aside for the investigations to be carried out so that he would not interfere in the process.

    Mr Yeboah has been granted police enquiry bail by the Kade Police.

    His crime

    “He took a snapshot of the question and sent it outside for someone to solve and send the solution back to him via WhatsApp,” the GES boss stated.

    Explaining further, Prof. Opoku-Amankwa said Mr Yeboah was found dictating solutions on the phone to the candidates.

    He said the decision to interdict the teacher was to signal to stakeholders and the general public that the GES management would not countenance any misconduct irrespective of the person involved.

    Flawless exam

    Prof. Opoku-Amankwa said the GES was determined to ensure that the examination was devoid of any malpractices, indicating that “anyone who acts contrary will face the music”.

    The Director-General expressed worry that such activities were still taking place in spite of the strongly worded letters that were sent to district and regional directors of education to relay to all the schools.

    Warning

    Prof. Opoku-Amankwa said before the commencement of the examination, the management of the GES reminded all regional and district directors of education, supervisors and invigilators to take extra precautionary measures to ensure that the examinations were free from any malpractice.

    “In that earlier letter, management of GES is particularly concerned with the tendency for some persons to take WhatsApp shots of some question papers and circulate them to create the mischief that the examination questions leaked.

    “All supervisors, invigilators and candidates are to be extra careful and look out for such unacceptable practices, since any such reported case will be thoroughly investigated and all those found culpable will be made to face the full rigours of the law,” Prof. Opoku-Amankwa warned.

    Advice to candidates

    Advising the candidates, the Director-General urged them to be extra conscious of activities which will have the potential of undermining the integrity of the examination.

    “Candidates must strive for independent work and depend on their individual abilities. Candidates should also be mindful of the implications of misconduct during the examinations, which could lead to suspension and or cancellation of results and the negative impact that development might have on their future prospects.

    “Management stands by all the key players in the administration and conduct of the examination and wish to urge all to work together to protect the integrity of the examinations,” Prof. Opoku-Amankwa said.

    Tweneboa Kodua SHS riots

    In a related development, the District Security Committee (DISEC) of Sekyere Kumawu in the Ashanti Region has set up a three-member committee to investigate the issues that led to the near boycott of the WASSCE by final-year students of the Tweneboa Kodua Senior High School at Kumawu, reports Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor.

    The committee, which is headed by the District Director of Education, was tasked to ascertain the veracity of the allegations of ill treatment levelled against the headmaster, Mr Francis Awuah, by the students.

    The District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Samuel Addai Agyekum, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic yesterday said calm had been restored to the school.

    On Monday, the students went on the rampage, overturned the tables and benches at the dining hall and refused to eat the food prepared for them while they threatened to boycott the examination if the headmaster was not sacked.

    They accused the headmaster of being “too strict” and also unjustifiably seizing and destroying the mobile phone of an invigilator.

    The students claimed the headmaster was too strict on the invigilators and that the seating arrangements in the examination halls were not friendly to them.

    DISEC intervention

    According to the DCE, when he heard of the agitations of the students, he quickly stepped in and together with the police, restored calm and order to the school and later had a talk with the students to reassure them that their grievances would be looked into.

    “The DISEC does not have the right to sack or demand that a headmaster be transferred. That is the work of the district directorate of education. Our main concern was to ensure that calm was restored to the school to enable the students to write their exam,” he said.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Police on manhunt for gang that assaulted, stripped man naked in Upper West Region

    Police have launched a manhunt for a group of persons who were captured on a viral video attacking and stripping another man naked in the Upper West Region.

    The Upper West Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Inspector Gideon Boateng, told the Daily Graphic newspaper that the gang recorded the incident and circulated it on social media.

    He said the incident is an infringement on the fundamental human rights of the victim.

    “Police have commenced investigations into that issue. We will make sure that the perpetrators will be brought to book,” Inspector Boateng told the Daily Graphic.

    The incident is said to have occurred in the Upper West Region and a video of the beatings have been circulated on social media.

    The victim was seen being beaten by the gang and later stripped naked.

    The face of the woman he is said to have wooed is also shown in the video.

    The woman is said to be the victim’s former girlfriend but the woman is now married to another person.

    “Graphic Online gathers that the two were in love and had planned to marry, but the father of the woman objected to their union. This is because the guy was an Ahmadi Muslim whilst the woman belongs to the orthodox.

    “Instead, the father agreed for her to marry someone else, he [father] was comfortable with.

    “But since the two were still in love, sources tell Graphic Online that anytime the man visits the area, he goes to see the woman and the two sneak out for their private moments, the Daily Graphic report explained.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Rawlings commends Otumfuo for protecting Ashanti lands

    Former President Jerry John Rawlings has commended the Overlord of Ashanti Kingdom, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II for protecting lands in the Ashanti Region from ”thieves and crooks”.

    A recent viral video captured the Asantehene rebuking the Chief of Bantama over a wrongdoing on his part.

    In a statement issued by the Communications Directorate of the Ex-President and copied to Peacefmonline.com, Mr. Rawlings thanked Otumfuo for his good works and further applauded him for tampering justice with mercy on the Bantama Chief.

    ”I want to take the opportunity to congratulate the Asantehene for the steps he has taken, to seriously protect the environment and also to thank him for tampering justice with mercy on Nana Bantamahene.

    “We each have to learn to take a cue from the Asantehene and be bold and audacious in our defence of the environment, especially from thieves and crooks, who with impunity can collect parcels of land anywhere, anyhow and do as they wish against the public good and the sanctity of nature,” portions of the statement read.

    Read full statement below:

    OTUMFUO DESERVES COMMENDATION

    I want to take the opportunity to congratulate the Asantehene for the steps he has taken, to seriously protect the environment and also to thank him for tampering justice with mercy on Nana Bantamahene.

    We each have to learn to take a cue from the Asantehene and be bold and audacious in our defence of the environment, especially from thieves and crooks, who with impunity can collect parcels of land anywhere, anyhow and do as they wish against the public good and the sanctity of nature.

    Let me also express my gratitude to Togbe Afede XIV, President of the National House of Chiefs for taking the initiative to lead a delegation of the Volta Region House of Chiefs to the border areas in the region to ascertain things for themselves. Some of the unsightly things we see on the Internet do not speak well of us locally and internationally.

    Much as I find it tiring and tedious to be engaging in self defence when I have given my all, all these years, I will soon deal with the callous agenda of bile by the likes of Kwamena Ahwoi, who are desperately seeking control of the NDC party. The NDC could, should and has survived on the authority of the word but if care is not taken, it will collapse and drown as has been happening, on the word of those in authority.

    Issued By:

    Kobina Andoh Amoakwa

    (Communications Directorate)

    Source: Peace FM

  • Mother who allegedly killed her children to undergo psychiatric examination

    A Tema Magistrate Court on Monday, August 3, 2020, ordered that the 28-year-old mother who allegedly murdered her two children in Tema should undergo a psychiatric examination to ascertain her mental stability.

    The Court presided over by Mrs Akosua Anokyewaa Adjepong granted the order when prosecution made an application to that effect when the accused, Abigail Agbubia, appeared before it.

    Agbubia, whose plea was not taken, was also remanded into police custody after a provisional charge of murder was read and explained to her in the Twi language.

    Inspector Emmanuel Kleku Mensah, prosecuting, told the court that on July 30, 2020, at about 17:30 hours the Tema Regional CID had information that two children were found dead at Manhen in Tema.

    The Crime scene team and investigators, he indicated, visited the scene where they found the motionless bodies of a boy and a girl aged two years and eight months respectively in a wooden structure.

    The bodies were subsequently sent to the Police Hospital morgue for preservation and autopsy.

    The facts had it that on inspection, no marks of assault was found on the bodies, however, their mouths and nostrils were found foamy.

    The case was adjourned to August 17, 2020.

    Source: GNA