It was a very emotional affair when Nana Ama McBrown and other Kumawood stars attended the one-week observance of Bishop Bernard Nyarko in Accra.
Following the passing of Bishop Nyarko at the Ridge Hospital on May 2, 2020, the family scheduled a one-week observance in line with Akan customs.
The one-week observance was held simultaneously in Accra and Kumasi with many Kumawood stars in attendance.
McBrown led a group including Christiana Awuni to go and commiserate with the bereaved family. One notable thing that happened when McBrown and her group arrived was when he had to talk to Bishop Nyarko’s mother, Auntie Ceci.
Appearing before the bereaved mother, McBrown knelt down before the woman as they talked.
Some youth believed to be affiliated to the National Democratic Congress(NDC) in the Northern region, have vandalized party properties in Tamale.
Information reaching DGN Online, indicates that the youth stormed the party office and fired gunshots, destroying properties worth thousands of Ghana cedis.
It is believed that the attack is in connection with the suspensions of some regional executives over an alleged diversion of Ramadan sugar meant for party supporters in the region.
DGN Online learnt that some regional executives were at the office performing their official duties when the youth stormed that office.
The incident has since been reported to the Northern Regional Police Command for the necessary action.
The National Democratic Congress in the Northern region suspended its communications director and other executives indefinitely over Ramadan sugar.
The suspended executives are communications director, General Amin, Deputy communication officer, Iddrisu Hardi Paghazaa, first vice chairman, Alhaji Hassan Rufai Ahmed Veilim ,Treasurer, Inusah Salman Fariz , Deputy Treasurer Mohammed Mateen and two other Tamale North constituency executives.
Meanwhile, the suspended NDC executives have rubbished the suspension claiming they are still at post as executives of the party in the region.
An aide to the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, Charles Owusu has called on various institutions and the entire Ghanaian populace to respect “cleaners” in the country, stressing their lives are more at risk in this time of Coronavirus.
According to him, cleaning services have been relegated for far too long and it is about time employers value their work.
“Cleaners don’t get premium treatment because of the work they do. This pandemic is supposed to be a wake-up call for their services to be valued. They are more at risk to this disease because we rely on them to clean our door knobs, tables and so forth”.
He also applauded frontline health workers for their selfless work in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We should respect every person.”
No Respecter Of Persons
Speaking on Thursday’s edition of ‘Kokrokoo’ on Peace FM, Charles Owusu also expressed disgust over Ghanaians’ utter disregard of the preventive measures towards the pandemic.
He warned Ghanaians to stop being recalcitrant because COVID-19 “is no respecter of a politician or Religion. It doesn’t know a Christian or a non-believer and cares not about your position or status”, and further admonished the citizenry to “comply with the preventive measures given by our health experts and leaders of the economy for had I known is always at last”.
Case Count
Ghana’s COVID-19 case count has risen to 3,091 from 2,719, according to the Ghana Health Service.
The Health Service further revealed 303 recoveries and 18 deaths as of May 7, 2020.
The Embassy of Ghana in Riyadh and the General Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has informed Ghanaians in some gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Bahrain, Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan and Sultanate of Oman that the embassy has, on the directives of the government of Ghana, commenced compiling a list of Ghanaians desirous of being evacuated to Ghana due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
In a statement, the embassy said “additionally, the purpose of this exercise is only for collection of information to enable the Government of Ghana plan and take decision in relation to the safe facilitation and evacuation of stranded Ghanaians†in the listed gulf states.
The embassy further requested all Ghanaians in these countries who are interested in being evacuated to “urgently forward†their details to the embassy in Riyadh and Jeddah respectively.
“However, Ghanaians in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan and Sultanate of Oman are kindly requested to send their information to the embassy of Riyadh, Saudi Arabiaâ€.
According to the statement signed by Ambassador Sheik T.B Damba “the information received will be compiled and forwarded to the government of Ghana for considerationâ€, adding: “Once arrangements are concluded, the interested registered persons will be accordingly notified.â€
Student Journalists For Truth, a group of young student journalists has asked former President John Mahama to apologise to the media and the general public for peddling falsehood on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day last week.
In a video message to celebrate the day last week, former President Mahama released a video message which he said Ghana was the number one ranked country in Africa for press when he was President, and added that Ghana has lost that enviable position due to poor press freedom under President Akufo-Addo.
But fact checks, led by www.ghanaweb.com and later corroborated by the Media Foundation for West Africa, have revealed that the former President’s claim was false.
Now the students are calling on the former President to apologise for his “repulsive and gaping falsehood.”
“It is rather unfortunate that on a day meant to celebrate the press and highlight one of its most important elements, former President Mahama chose to desecrate the day by using the press to peddle falsehood,” the group said in a strongly worded press release issued today.
“We cannot fathom what could have motivated the former President to confidently peddle such a lie when incontrovertible records clearly show that Ghana was never ranked number in Africa as far as press freedom is concerned during his time as President.”
The young student journalist added that celebrating press freedom include the truth value of the press. They therefore called on the former President to apologise and set the records straight so that his claim doesnt become a misleading reference for students.
“Upholding press freedom is also about speaking truth to the public, especially by high-ranking public officials as the former President.”
“We wish to call on the former President to apologise for the unfortunate untruths he peddled to set the records straight. These lies, if left uncorrected, would become a misleading reference point for younger generations because it was peddled by a former President.”
The Divisional Police Command in East Mamprusi have arrested three men and two women in connection with a robbery incident near Boku in the North East Region.
The suspects are Mumuni Haruna, Kwame Samed ,Issahak Abdulai , Mohammed Ayisha and Ajara Abdul-Rauf.
Information gathered by DGN Online, indicates that on May 7,20202 at about 0500hrs Sweidu Seidu a Langbinsi based business man gave an amount of Ghc 26,660.00 to his assistant suspect, Mumuni Haruna and his son Sweidu Amima to be given to one Adam Seidu in Gambaga.
Suspect Mumuni Haruna however contacted suspect Kwame Samed and lsshaku Abdulai and planned with them to attack and rob them of the said amount.
At about 0530hrs of same day suspect Mumuni Haruna and sweidu Aminu were on their way on a motorbike to Gambaga and on reaching a section of the road near Boku, suspect Kwame Samed and Issaku Abdulai appeared from the bush, fired a gun shot and ordered them to surrender the money which they did.
Suspect Kwame Samed and Issahaku Abdnlai then took the money to their house and handed same to suspect Ayisha Mohammed, wife of Kwame Samed.
Complainant Sweidu Seidu later reported the case to the police and in the course of investigation intelligence was picked that the robbery was committed by suspect Kwame Samed and Issahaku Abdulai.
The suspects were immediately arrested and while in custody, suspect Isshaku Abdulai managed to send information to his wife, suspect Ajara Abdulai Rawuf to go for the money from suspect Ayisha Mohammed and hide it.
Police however managed to retrieved the money during investigation.
The five suspects will be arraigned before court after investigations.
The Deputy National Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Chief Biney, has said Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia‘s recent comments comparing ‘dumsor’ to Coronavirus pandemic means there is a total confusion at the Presidency.
According to him, whiles President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is calling for Ghanaians to desist from politicizing Coronavirus, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is not adhering to the directive from his immediate boss which suggest that there is a total confusion at the Presidency.
“Recent statements by Dr. Bawumia means there is a total confusion at the Presidency, because what the President is saying different from what the Vice-president and the Information Minister said, I don’t understand why Dr. Bawumia will ignore a directive from his boss to resort in politics in this COVID-19 era,” he said on Accra-based Kingdom FM.
“President Akufo-Addo has failed Ghanaians woefully in the fight against coronavirus in Ghana, why must the lockdown be lifted looking at the high increase of coronavirus cases in Ghana, instead of you to find solutions to control the coronavirus epidemic you are doing a comparison of ‘dumsor’ to Coronavirus,” he added.
Dr. Bawumia has advised Mahama to speak based on the data available with regards to how the economy is performing and stop running the risk of embarrassing himself.
“We have been able to perform much better on the situation we inherited. In fact, the data makes it very clear.
“My humble advice to former President Mahama is to take a look at the data. This is not green book data, this is the real data, look at it again before you speak, otherwise, you will end up embarrassing yourself,” he stated
On Wednesday May 6, 2020, some incensed youth of Adabraka Sahara besieged their local police station to dump the dead body of their colleague on the counter (counterback) of the station.
This was after their colleague who was being pursued by a police officer drowned in the Odaw drain after jumping in the water to escape arrest.
Detailing the events of Wednesday in an interview with GhanaWeb, the Divisional Commander of Nima, ACP Abraham Akwei, said his outfit received an SOS call around 7:00 pm that day that the Adabraka police station was under attack by a group of irate youth in the area.
“We were there yesterday (May 6, 2020) when we had an SOS call that our police station, that’s the Adabraka police station, was under a serious attack. They (the youth of Adabraka Odawna) had brought a dead body, dumped the dead body on the counter and assaulted the personnel on duty…the people were incensed that it was because of the presence of the police man. They thought maybe he was coming to effect arrest so they subjected this police man to a severe beating and he sent an SOS call to his colleagues. So two of them came to his rescue. They were able to extricate him and brought him to the police station,” He said.
Revealing further details on the attack on the police station, ACP Akwei said the youth numbering over 500, after retrieving the dead body of their colleague from the river, stormed the police station to deposit the body on the counter at the charge office at the station and ended up assaulting officers on duty while causing damages to properties on the premises.
“…Unfortunately, the police officers who were present at the charge office tried to calm them down and that would not work. So they ended up assaulting the police officers, they beat them up mercilessly and also caused damage to the service vehicles,†He added.
ACP Akwei told GhanaWeb that his outfit upon receiving an SOS on the attack at the police station deployed men from the division and the region to the station but only met the presence of the abandoned dead body on the counter at the charge office.
The body was then retrieved and sent to the police hospital morgue for preservation whiles the charge office was locked up until it was thoroughly disinfected to prevent any contamination and infection.
According to the ACP, a follow up on the incidents of the night led to the arrest of 3 persons while a subsequent follow up investigations on the crime scene the next morning led to the invitation of another person, who claimed to be an eye witness, for questioning.
When GhanaWeb earlier spoke to some of the residents of Adabraka-Odawna, including eye witnesses, they described their colleague as being innocent of any crime.
To them, the scare of their colleague upon seeing the policeman and his subsequent drowning in the Odawna River qualifies as another form of police injustice on a civilian.
But reacting to the accusations against the police service, ACP Abraham Akwei of the Nima division described the Adabraka Odawna neighbourhood as a hub for hardened criminals and drug peddling.
According to him, the victim could have saved himself from the tragedy as he could have chosen to act differently.
He stressed that the police remains committed to investigating the incident and will ensure anyone found to have broken the law is brought to book
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast, Most Reverend Charles Palmer-Buckle says the coronavirus pandemic presents an opportunity for the world to be made a much more better place
Speaking on his vision of events post the pandemic, the Catholic leader described the current situation as a kairos moment of grace that is to be seized by humanity to remake the world a better place.
“One way or the other I see this as a kairos, a moment of grace that God has given to the world for us to remake the world, to rebuild the world to make it a better place.”
The Archbishop who was speaking to Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong on his “What is Next” TV programme expressed hope that events that will succeed the COVID-9 pandemic will reveal a more peaceful world live by better humans who will look out for each other.
“It is my hope that comes COVID-19 and gone we shall be better human beings in a more peace and loving world, in a world where everybody feels we are members from one home, Co-responsible for one another.” He added.
Following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of religious leaders have been advising people to not only see it as the havoc-wreaking virus that it is but to also see it as an opportunity for the world and humanity to draw closer to each other.
A tracking device installed on a mobile phone of the country director of International Monitory Fund (IMF) has led to the arrest of an armed robber who allegedly attacked and robbed an expatriate.
The suspect has been identified as Mohammed Buzu, 29.
At a news conference, the Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), COP Ken Yeboah, said the suspect was arrested in a hotel.
Narrating how the victim was attacked, he said on January 18, 2020, around 3am, Dr. Oral Williams and his wife, Mrs. Claudia Allen William, both of whom were asleep heard an unusual noise in their bathroom.
“When Dr. Oral went to the direction of the noise, he met a man who was unmasked and armed with a sharp machete and pliers. The man attacked him and demanded money.
“When Dr. Oral told him he had no money, the robber became furious and slashed the left hand before robbing the couple of one Iphone X, a Samsung J7 mobile phone, a Blu Vivo 5 smart phone, an iPhone earpod, one kate spade black leather bag containing their USA, St. Kitts and Ghana drivers licences, sunglasses, a cash of GH¢200 $200 USD and other complimentary cards,†he said.
According to the CID boss, on February 15, 2020, police intelligence led to the arrest of Mohammed Buzu at his hideout in a hotel around Nkrumah Circle, Accra.
He said when a search was conducted in his room, they found documents of the victim and when the suspect was interrogated he admitted to the crime and led police to arrest Kenneth Antwi, the sole receiver of the stolen goods.
“Kenneth Antwi was also arrested with the assistance of the suspect,†the police have said, adding “Buzu also admitted robbing expatriates, especially the diplomatic corps at their residence.â€
COP Yeboah revealed that Buzu had been on police wanted list as part of the 12 armed robbers, including WO Samuel Agbadokur (rtd), Staff Sgt. Emmanuel Tetteh and some fetish priests who robbed a gold company at Wassa Akropong in October 2018.
He said the suspect escaped with the gold and the cash to the republic of Benin and returned recently.
After the attack, COP Yeboah said the couple relocated to South Africa to continue with their work.
Three COVID-19 patients who tested positive on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 have now tested negative in two consecutive tests in the past two weeks.
Two of the patients are the Nigeriens who were tested by the Ghana Health Service at the Accra Central Police Station and handed over to the Ghana Police Hospital for isolation and treatment.
The third one is a member of the Ghana Police Service, a statement issued by the PRO of Ghana Police Hospital, DSP Yaw Nketia-Yeboah said on Thursday.
“The three COVID-19 patients tested negative on Tuesday, May 5, 2020 after testing negative last week. All the three were discharged yesterday Wednesday, May 06, 2020.â€
The two Nigeriens, the statement said, will be handed over to their Diplomatic Mission in Ghana.
Meanwhile, management of the Hospital has encouraged members of the public to comply with the existing Presidential Order on public gathering in the performance of their day-to-day activities to help curb the novel Coronavirus pandemic.
The statement also advised the public to use approved ace masks and learn to wear them correctly to help curb the spread of the virus.’
The Minority has demanded an account of how the COVID-19 Relief Fund has been disbursed.
It is the case of the Minority that the claims by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) of using Ghc2 million daily to feed the vulnerable during the lockdown period must be investigated.
Addressing the press on Thursday, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu said they shall insist on full transparency and an audit of all the funds received.
“The Minority urges Government to ensure a high level of accountability with the funds and donations they have thus far received in the fight against COVID-19. Claims by NADMO of spending GHS2 million a day on feeding an opaque number of Ghanaians during the lockdown would not be allowed to pass. May we serve notice that we shall insist on full transparency and a thorough audit of all funds received,†he said.
He advised the president not to take hasty decisions in easing the restrictions for political reasons.
â€On the basis of the evidence available, evidence based on the science and driven by sound epidemiological data, the Minority wishes to advise President Akufo-Addo to tread cautiously and not take decisions to ease restrictions just to satisfy narrow political ends. This is a time for health care professionals, civil society, religious leaders and traditional rulers to be adults in the room offering guidance and fearless advice for the sake of the country. Nothing can be more important than the value which we must place on human lives.â€
He continued: â€Let us all return to the table of science and be guided by same. I commend all Ghanaians for the difficult sacrifices we have all been willing to bear for our collective protection. Please it is important that we all continue to adhere strictly to the hygiene and social distancing protocols.
In that regard, Government should make provision for the vulnerable in our society by providing them with free face masks. We disagree with the Health Minister when we assumes every Ghanaian can afford and that every Ghanaian knows where to find the appropriate face mask to purchase. Some MPs have been able to support the vulnerable with free face masks and we believe Government has no excuse to abdicate.
Let us soldier on. With sincerity towards scientific data and genuine solidarity for all our compatriots, COVID-19 shall be defeated,†he concluded.
Air fares should fall when flights restart but then rise by at least 50%, warns a global airline industry body.
Airlines are keen to get planes back in the skies quickly which could lead to over-capacity, says the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
With passenger demand likely to remain low this should put pressure on carriers to reduce the cost of flights.
But if airlines are forced to keep middle seats free they will need to raise air fares significantly.
Under current social distancing proposals, airlines may be required to keep middle seats free which would have a major impact on their profitability, as they would be forced to fly with fewer passengers. Michael O’Leary, the boss of Ryanair, said keeping middle seats empty was “idiotic”.
IATA estimates that only four of the 122 airlines it sampled would be able to break even under these conditions, leading to consolidation in the industry. Raising fares is “inevitable” for carriers to remain commercially viable.
Most airlines are already struggling with the severe downturn in passenger numbers with the vast majority of their planes grounded.
On Tuesday, Virgin Atlantic said it would cut more than 3,000 jobs and end its operations at Gatwick Airport. Last month, Virgin Australia went into voluntary administration and analysts fear other airlines will follow.
“It’s tricky to understand how many airlines will be able to operate profitably. It will be a much smaller industry,” said Brian Pearce, Iata’s chief economist, talking about the onboard social distancing proposals.
His team argues that social distancing through vacant middle seats is no guarantee against the spread of coronavirus on planes. Instead, Iata supports the wearing of face masks by passengers for safer flying.
The ray of hope for passengers is that they could see cheaper fares once flights resume as carriers attempt to stimulate demand.
Airlines will only be able to increase air fares once passenger numbers recover, but this will only be by 2021 at the earliest, estimates IATA.
The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah has announced on Thursday at a press briefing in Accra the government will today, Thursday, 7 May 2020, begin a three-day retreat to examine data gathered on the impact of the novel coronavirus on all sectors of the economy and proffer measures to return the economy back to its previous state,
Mr Nkrumah said the President has directed all ministers to examine the impact of the virus on their respective sectors and provide recommendations on how to bring these sectors back on track.
“The President has instructed all ministers to report on the impact on their sectors and proffer recommendations for recovery at the 3-day retreatâ€, he said.
The minister said the cabinet will then commence a process of examining data so far gathered on the impact of the COVID-19 across the governance sectors in the country and have a better understanding of its impact on all sectors of the economy.
“In addition, the retreat will give the government the opportunity to put together information for the 2020 mid-year budget reviewâ€, he added.
The government has earmarked GHS600million stimulus package to assist small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the wake of the COVID-19.
The Assin Fosu Municipal Assembly has introduced a colour-coded shift system for traders at the Assin Fosu Town and Station market in a bid to prevent overcrowding amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
In a brief meeting on May 04, 2020, the Assin Fosu Municipal Environmental Officer, Mr. Agyare Emmanuel, said the shift system was agreed on after a meeting with all Market queens and the Municipal Security Council.
He said each of the two shifts will be identified by a uniquely designed card in red or blue colours.
Per the arrangement, traders will be grouped into two categories and each
the group identified by one of the colours.
“Only traders with the cards will be allowed to trade in the market henceforth; one group will go on Tuesday while the other group will go on Fridayâ€.
Mr. Agyare stressed that, any trader who will flout the rules will be banned from selling at the market.
The queen mothers on behalf of the traders welcomed the policy and pledged to abide by it.
More than 200,000 Micro, small and medium Enterprises are expected to benefit from the GH¢600 million COVID-19 Alleviation Programme (CAP) Business Support Scheme.
Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, the Executive Director of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), who announced this at a briefing at the Ministry of Information, on Thursday, said steps were being taken to operationalise the scheme soon.
She said about 80 per cent of the businesses are in the micro category. President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo committed GH¢600 million as a stimulus package to support the hardest hit Ghanaian businesses in the category of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in both the formal and informal sectors. The MSMEs make up about 70 percent of the Ghanaian economy.
Mrs Yankey-Ayeh said the NBSSI had over the past few weeks had deep and extensive engagements with multiple stakeholders, including financial institutions, associations, trade groups, service providers, and consultants to ensure that they were all aligned with the products that the business scheme would roll out to achieve a common goal.
“We have been supported by our Board and the Ministry of Finance and their team to ensure that we work assiduously to implement the project to all qualifying entities,†she said.
“The NBSSI has also worked closely with various stakeholders to come out with eligibility criteria and really tighten it in such a way that it allows people to have the option to apply for the facilityâ€.
Mrs Yankey-Ayeh said to ensure the success, efficiency and transparency of the programme, an online portal had been developed to be approved by the Board of Directors, and it would be stress-tested by independent consultants to ensure that all implementation challenges were minimised and tested.
“We will also create the opportunity for those who are not technology savvy or have limited access in remote districts to have access to partake in the business support scheme,†she said.
“We believe that we are in the position to operationalise the service soon. We also will be communicating to the general public as of today to get them ready to prepare,†Mrs Yankey-Ayeh added.
Members of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders have staged a protest to press home to government the need to suspend UNIPASS and revert to the GCNET system of clearing goods at the various ports.
They members claim the UNIPASS system has so many technical anomalies which continued to waste lots of turnaround time.
The Freight Forwarders pitched camp at the Customs Office of the Ghana Revenue Authority Thursday morning in Takoradi to register their displeasure.
Mr Paul Ato Bentil, an Executive Member of the Institute, said the system over the period had not aided in the smooth transactions of business at the port, causing too much delay, thereby affecting planning and forecasting of such businesses.
“The new system has not given us any real value as was touted,” he added.
The UNIPASS, introduced by the Ghana Revenue Authority was to promote a one stop shop of all financial and transactional dealings by Freight forwarders through a well-integrated system, but unfortunately many have been the negative attributes to the system since it was introduced.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has announced that parts of Accra will experience power outages for some days, starting today, May 8, 2020.
In a statement, ECG said the power outages, locally known as dumsor, will last till Thursday, May 14, 2020.
Some parts of Accra will, therefore, experience power cuts between 10pm and 1am for the next six days.
The company said it will use the period to convey some transformers from the Tema Port to its Pokuase Bulk Supply Point (BSP) construction site.
Meanwhile, the areas to be affected include Ofankor, Tema, Klagon, Spintex, Trasacco, Dzorwulu and Achimota.
“The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Limited wishes to inform the general public, especially our cherished customers in the under-listed areas that, to ensure safe conveyance of 145MVA transformers from the Tema Ports to the Pokuase Bulk Supply Point (BSP) construction site, the company will have to isolate some High Voltage overhead lines,†ECG said.
“In this regard, there will be planned outages from Friday 8th May 2020 to Thursday, 14th May 2020 between 10:00 pm and 1:00 am each day.â€
The power distribution company added that it deeply regrets any inconveniences that will be caused.
Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Peter Boamah Otokunor has disclosed that Special Prosecutor Martin Alamisi Burnes Kaiser Amidu cannot hold himself anywhere as a member of the party.
He told Accra-based Happy Fm in an interview monitored by MyNewsGh.com that the Citizen Vigilante who launched acerbic attacks at some persons within the party prior to his appointment has not been expelled but left voluntarily.
“Martin Amidu is no longer a member of the NDC. You recall that he himself told us he had resigned from the NDC in view of the fact he was taking up an appointment as Special Prosecutor. We never sacked him but he left himself and as we speak we do not have his name in our books as a memberâ€, he revealed.
Host of the show was questioning the NDC Executive if same fate that has befallen former Central Regional Chairman of the NDC will be applied to Mr Amidu.
It would be recalled that in February 2018, Martin Amidu disclosed that his appointment as Special Prosecutor does not compel him to resign from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) but was quick to add that his appointment automatically makes him impartial.
“ If you read Section 3 of the Criminal Offences Act, the definition of a public officer includes a potential public officer, so when the President nominated me and announced it to the whole world, I became a potential public officer, recognized under the Criminal code as a public officer, so as far as I am concerned, since that day , I am neutral, and that is why you have not heard my voice over the air saying anything because I am coming to an office which has to be neutral and impartial.
“One does not need to resign. The Supreme Court has held that while you are a public officer you cannot take part in party politics. I think it involves Dr. Adjei and co. I did that case in the Supreme Court, so I do not need to make a formal resignation of anything.†He said.
The Upper East Regional Police Command is urging the public to assist in tracing a 51-year-old suspect Mallam Ali for his alleged involvement in the gruesome murder of a 20-year-old tricycle rider at the Sherigu, a suburb of Bolgatanga.
This follows a bench warrant issued for his arrest by the Bolgatanga District Court for offence of murder.
In a press statement signed by the Regional Officer in charge of Public Relations, ASP David Fianko Okyere, the suspect, Mallam Ali, a native of Zebilla in the Bawku west District of the Upper east Region and a resident at Sawaba in the Bolgatanga Municipality is alleged to have attempted killing his own sister at zebilla for rituals in 2015.
In a photograph that accompanies the statement, the suspect, Mallam Ali, stands five feet six inches tall, has black hair, brown eyes, small ears, medium built and chocolate in complexion with tribal mark on his right cheeks.
The statement disclosed that the suspect is always seen wearing Jalabia and was last seen in Sandema on Sunday, April 19, 2020.
The statement concludes that anyone with reliable information can report to the nearest police station or contact the Regional Police Command on Police emergency numbers 18555, 191, 0299204666, 0208186117, 02078189273 or 0245657700 for his immediate arrest.
On April 21, 2020, reports went out that a final year student of Gowrie Senior High School in the Bongo District of the Upper East region was found dead in a bush near a refuse damping site in Sherigu, a suburb of the Bolgatanga Municipality.
According to sources, the deceased from Pologo in the newly created Bolgatanga East District had both eyes plugged out and part of his head shaved, with his intestines hanging out with traces of multiple stabbings on his stomach and parts of his body, a suspicion that he was killed for ritual purposes.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has announced power cuts in parts of Accra beginning, Friday, May 8, 2020.
According to the ECG, the planned power outages is to enable the company to convey some transformers from the Tema Port to its Pokuase Bulk Supply Point (BSP) construction site.
Tema, Klagon, Spintex, Trasacco, Dzorwulu, Achimota, and Ofankor, are some of the areas to be affected by the power cuts.
“The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Limited wishes to inform the general public, especially our cherished customers in the under-listed areas that, to ensure safe conveyance of 145MVA transformers from the Tema Ports to the Pokuase Bulk Supply Point (BSP) construction site, the company will have to isolate some High Voltage overhead lines.
In this regard, there will be planned outages from Friday 8th May 2020 to Thursday, 14th May 2020 between 10:00 pm and 1:00 am each day.â€
The Obuasi Municipal assembly has closed the Obuasi Central Market to enforce social distancing directive in the wake of COVID-19.
Two other markets have also been shut down by the authorities.
The municipal assembly has also directed all drinking spot operators to close down their shops effective this morning.
The assembly has also directed residents in the community to compulsorily wear nose mask.
The Municipal Chief Executive of Obuasi Elijah Adansi Bonah announced these directives while addressing a news conference in the municipality to outdoor new measures adopted by the Assembly in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The move became needful after cases of the virus started rising in the Municipality. Obuasi is currently the epicentre of the virus in the Ashanti Region which with 47 positive cases.
The Executive Council of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has announced plans to make the Ghana Premier League autonomous.
Due to that, a 5-member committee has been formed to advice the association on how to proceed with the implementation of the policy.
The 5-member team named Premier League Autonomy Committee will be made up of three persons nominated by the 18 Premier League Clubs, with the other two to be added by the GFA.
The committee will advise the GFA on the autonomy of the league, the format, the modalities, start date, and rulebook, among other parameters.
According to the Association, the names of the 5-member committee will be announced soon.
Currently, the Ghana Premier League is organised and managed by the GFA. The 18-club league competition is managed by the Premier League Committee chaired by Lepowura Alhaji M.N.D Jawula with day-to-day administrative support from the Competitions Department of the GFA.
The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, popularly known as General Mosquito has taken a swipe at the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
The NDC scribe said the Vice President has demonstrated that he has nothing good to offer in Ghana’s fight against the novel COVID-19.
General Mosquito said recent comments by Dr. Bawumia shows that he is not adhering to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo‘s directive of taking politics out of the fight.
He explained that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 in the country, every instruction given by the President has been flouted by NPP government officials.
“I think that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has nothing to contribute to the COVID-19 debate and fight and he wants people to stop concentrating on the virus and talk about probably the one-village-one-dam, one-district-one-factory and one-constituency-one-million dollars because since the outbreak of the virus, I have not heard anything from him except that he launched an app (the COVID-19 Tracker App) which they said can track people with the virus . . .
” . . Every attempt made by these people is aimed at shifting our focus from the fight against the virus and in the end discuss something different, but if the President is satisfied that there is no emergency anymore, then he should lift the restriction and do his politics,” he stated.
According to the NDC Chief Scribe, whereas President Akufo-Addo has called for nationalistic approach to resolve the COVID-19 scourge, his very own appointees at every given opportunity do not say anything about the pandemic.
He cited the action by the National Identification Authority (NIA) the first day President Akufo-Addo banned public gathering to continue registering people in the Eastern Region, and the EC’s decision to hold a meeting on the elections with its regional officers in Accra as examples.
The Minority in Parliament has tongue-lashed Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for playing politics with the fight against the deadly coronavirus when the country is in a critical state.
According to the minority leader in parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, the impact of the COVID-19 on the economy has been devastating to the extent that lots of people have lost their jobs due to the outbreak of the disease.
He indicated this is the time government has to focus every attention on the COVID-19 that threatens the foundation of the country rather than comparing this national crisis to dumsor.
Haruna Iddrisu professed, “if government puts substance on COVID-19 and its impact on citizens lives and the life of the economy, you will not have a talkative vice president go to the level of relating that to dumsor.â€
He averred that the Akufo-Addo government lacks foresight in the fight against the COVID-19 because they are more interested in seeking re-election for Akufo-Addo instead of thinking about the safety of Ghanaians.
Adding that, almost “3months into the pandemic, government has no idea about the scale of the problem as they are still trying to formulate a testing strategy that allows us to estimate the general prevalence of COVID-19 on a timely basis.â€
However, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on Monday said the NPP government has shown better leadership skills in managing the economy and alleviating the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian against the COVID-19 crisis.
He explained that his comparison was based on how the previous government managed the 2013 to 2016 power crisis (dumsor), which crippled some businesses; and how the current government was managing the COVID-19 crisis.
Dr. Bawumia made the analysis during his interaction with the Presidential Press Corps at the Jubilee House.
A 63-year-old Cameroonian has been arrested by the Airport police for allegedly stealing some dollars from a Forex Bureau operator at Marina Mall at Airport, Accra.
According to the police, the suspect, identified as Nkot Nkot, entered the Forex Bureau to exchange dollars into cedis and in the process stole some of the dollars from the operator.
The Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Effia Tenge, told DAILY GUIDE that the suspect committed the offence on May 1, 2020 around 3pm.
She said the suspect in the company of an accomplice (still at large) visited the Forex Bureau claiming to exchange $6,000 dollars into cedis.
DSP Tenge said the suspect first gave the money to the operator to count before the exchange but after counting, the suspect said he was no longer going to exchange the money and collected his dollars back.
After collecting the money, he stood there for a while pretending to have a conversation with his accomplice, after which he handed over the cash to the operator once again to do the exchange, but unknown to the operator, the suspect had taken some of the money before handing it over.
“The complainant said after receiving the money for the second time, he refused to count it again and went ahead to exchange it for the suspect and after close of work, they counted the total money made for the day and realized a shortage of $1,700 dollars.
“The complainant and his superiors went to replay their CCTV. The CCTV replay captured Nkot Nkot secretly taking part of the money before handing it over to the operator,†DSP Tenge narrated.
She said the next day the suspect visited the Forex Bureau and wanted to use the same trick to steal money again but was arrested although his accomplice managed to escape arrest.
DSP Tenge said when he was searched by the police, an amount of $6,000 dollars was found on him.
A police officer and two Nigerians who were being treated for COVID-19 at the Ghana Police Hospital have been discharged after attaining full recovery.
In a statement by the Ghana Police service signed by the PRO of the hospital, the three patients who tested positive of the virus, three weeks ago, are said to have been discharged after testing negative two consecutive times after treatment.
The statement further states that the two Nigerians after having been discharged yesterday May 6, 2020, will subsequently be handed over to their Diplomatic Mission in Ghana.
A vocal member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Yayra Koku has alleged that the suspended member of the party, Bernard Allotey Jacobs is like a hungry dog who is loyal to anyone ready to give him food.
His comments come at the back of Allotey Jacob’s suspension by the NDC.
The party in a statement revoked the membership status of Allotey Jacobs citing reasons that he has persistently exhibited “anti-party conduct”.
Reacting to the suspension of the former NDC Central Regional Chairman,Yayra Koku said he’s happy about the party’s decision.
He added that “give him [Allotey Jacobs] food, and he will forget the owner. ”
In a Twitter post, he wrote: “Allotey Jacob is like a hungry “dog” who is loyal to anyone ready to give him food. Give him food, and he will forget the owner.
“I’m happy about this.”
Allotey Jacob is like a hungry “dog” who is loyal to anyone ready to give him food. Give him food, and he will forget the owner.
18,475 teachers who sat for the maiden Promotion Aptitude Test on February 20 and 21, 2020, have been promoted.
The teachers were promoted by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to various grades within the service.
The positions for which the teaching staff were interviewed were Deputy Director, Assistant Deputy Director I, Assistant Deputy Director II, and Principal Superintendent.
In the Deputy Director grade, 2,336 candidates took the test, out of which 1,140, representing 48.8 percent, were successful.
For the Assistant Director, I grade, 7,170 took the test, with 4,709 (65.7 percent) being successful, while 10,860 (59.5 percent) out of the 18,238 candidates who wrote the promotion test for the grade of Assistant Director II passed.
The Director-General of the GES, Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, said for the Principal Superintendent grade, 1,766 candidates, representing 69.6 percent of the 2,536 who wrote the test, were successful.
He said “Formal promotion letters will be released in due course. Results for the non-teaching staff will also be released soon.”
The Minority is currently holding a press conference to express their dissatisfaction in the manner with which government is handling the Coronavirus pandemic.
Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, making the address said the opposition is “deeply worried” about the increasing number of cases stating that the president should not have taken “the gamble to risk the lives” of Ghnaians when he lifted the lockdown.
He has asked government to desist from spreading false hope.
Meanwhile, Ghana, which recorded its first two cases count on March 12, 2020 has had a shoot up of the crisis to 3, 091 as of May 7, 2020.
Nine more patients have recovered and discharged making the total number of recoveries 303, as recorded on the website of the Ghana Health Service (GHS).
The GHS however says the death toll still stands at 18.
The Ministry of Education, through the Ghana Education Service (GES), has released the timetable for the virtual learning for Kindergarten (KG) to Junior High School (JHS) on GTV.
The channel will focus on core subjects English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.
The programme, which is a collaboration between the Ministry of Education through GES and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation is to keep students in learning mode while they remained at home because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Kenya has hit another record high in terms of the number of coronavirus cases recorded daily, reporting 47 more positive test results on Wednesday.
The Health ministry said 32 of the new cases were recorded in Mombasa, 11 in Nairobi, two in Busia in western Kenya, central Kiambu County one and coastal Kwale County one.
While announcing a total of 582 confirmed cases since Kenya’s first case on March 13, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said two more people had died, raising the death toll to 26.
He said the two people aged 68 and 76 died at their homes in Mombasa, raising more concerns cases that go unnoticed as people stay at home.
“One patient in Kenyatta National Hospital came to Kenya from Tanzania, through Loitokitok, using matatus. This shows us the danger we are in and further tells why the measures in the transport system have been put in place,” he said.
The CS also reported that eight more people had been discharged, raising the country’s total number of recoveries to 190.
Tougher measures
The government announced tougher measures to contain the spread of the virus, with Eastleigh estate in Nairobi and Old Town in Mombasa emerging as hotspots.
As such, CS Kagwe announced the cessation of movement into and out of the two areas and said markets, restaurants and eateries would be shut effective May 6.
The orders will remain for 15 days in both areas.
Mr Kagwe noted that public transporters would not operate in these areas and but that activities within their borders would not be restricted amid mass testing to establish the extent of infection and identity contacts.
The minister noted that “these measures are not intended to punish but protect the people in those areas”.
Statistics
In Africa, the coronavirus had infected at least 50,502 people and killed over 1,921, according to case tracker Worldometer’s count on May 5.
Since the first case was reported in Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019, at least 3,746,445 people worldwide had been infected by May 6.
The total number of deaths worldwide was 258,962 and that of recoveries at 1,250,449.
The number of active cases stood at 2,237,034, with two per cent or 49,282 of them being critical and the rest mild.
Worldometer’s count showed that the number of closed cases was 1,509,411, with 83 per cent or 1,250,449 being the number of recoveries or those discharged.
Bernard Allotey Jacobs has fired back at his saboteurs stating they can’t ruin his life with their pull-him-down syndrome.
According to the former NDC Central Regional Chairman, there is a strong supernatural force behind him and no attempts to cause his downfall, particularly in the political realm, will succeed.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC), in a statement issued on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, has suspended Allotey Jacobs as a member of the party.
The party revoked the membership status of Allotey Jacobs citing reasons that he has persistently exhibited an “anti-party conduct”.
The decision was taken after a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting and has referred to the Disciplinary committee for further action.
Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on ‘Kokrokoo’ on Peace FM, Allotey Jacobs sent a strong warning to his opponents and enemies to stop pursuing him because “where God has positioned me in life is not my making”.
“The truth is that nothing surpasses God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Ishmael; He’s one God nothing surpasses Him. The faceless, the boneless, the shapeless God; He who says and it is done is the one I serve. I love God . . . to all my opponents and enemies, the truth is that don’t blame Allotey Jacobs. Blame God . . . it is by His grace and His mercy that I’ve been where I am,” he said.
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, the Senior Pastor of Christ Embassy, has continued to express his displeasure at the different measures put in place by the Federal government since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Oyakhilome in an online sermon on Tuesday, spoke against the wearing of facemask.
He opined that the use of facemasks in a time like this, is an embarrassment to science.
He also went on to say, “If we go by science, you should not wear masks in public.”
The clergyman also said that various scientists, virologists and Immunologists in the world have come out to support his initial claim that the enforcement of a lockdown in battling a pandemic isn’t scientific.
General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu says the New Patriotic Party has selected Peter Mac Manu to lead its campaign as Campaign Manager for the December general election.
He made this known in an interview on Accra-based Peace FM.
He mentioned that a winning team is never changed so the NPP has decided to fall on Mac Manu who handed them victory in 2016 to lead their team which according to him, is very solid.
John Boadu said the political party should have launched the campaign team on May 2 but that was not possible considering the regulations on COVID-19.
He said the campaign team has already started working and they have an absolute idea of their campaign team as compared to the opposition NDC that does not have an idea of individuals who will make up their campaign team for elections 2020.
“We are not changing the winning team; Mac Manu will lead our campaign team and when the full list is out, it is going to be solid,†he told Peace FM.
He expressed shock at the fact that the NDC did not have a fair idea of the individuals who will make up their campaign team neither does the political party have an idea of who their running mate will be.
General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia is assertive in his conclusion that the directives given by President Akufo-Addo to fight the deadly new coronavirus are not binding on the members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He explained that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 in the country, every instruction given by the President has been flouted by NPP government officials.
Commenting on Dr. Bawumia’s recent attack on the NDC Presidential Candidate, John Mahama, General Mosquito as popularly called maintained that the Vice President simply wants to introduce irrelevant issues other than the COVID-19.
“I think that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has nothing to contribute to the COVID-19 debate and fight and he wants people to stop concentrating on the virus and talk about probably the one-village-one-dam, one-district-one-factory and one-constituency-one-million dollars because since the outbreak of the virus, I have not heard anything from him except that he launched an app (the COVID-19 Tracker App) which they said can track people with the virus . . .”
” . . . Every attempt made by these people is aimed at shifting our focus from the fight against the virus and in the end discuss something different, but if the President is satisfied that there is no emergency anymore, then he should lift the restriction and do his politics,” he stated.
According to the NDC Chief Scribe, whereas President Akufo-Addo has called for nationalistic approach to resolve the COVID-19 scourge, his very own appointees at every given opportunity do not say anything about the pandemic.
He cited the action by the National Identification Authority (NIA) the first day President Akufo-Addo banned public gathering to continue registering people in the Eastern Region, and the EC’s decision to hold a meeting on the elections with its regional officers in Accra as examples.
“The conduct exhibited by his members since the directives were issued make me feel safe to draw this conclusion that the laws of the President are made for the opposition and not members of his government,†he asserted.
As he slowly opened his eyes, Sohail Anjum sensed something was deeply wrong.
He was still lying in a hospital bed. All he vaguely remembered was being told by the doctor that he was going to be put into a coma.
But when was that? How long had he been asleep? He had no idea.
“I had a high temperature, fever, I was coughing and short of breath. When I went to the A&E registration desk, they took all my details and took my oxygen levels and took me in straight away,” he says.
“They put me in a room and then a few hours later they shifted me onto a ward. Then put me on an oxygen mask to feed oxygen into my body. The next evening I had a visit from the ITU surgeon who came up with a whole team and said we need to put you into induced sleep.
“At the time I didn’t know that induced sleep meant a coma and I was so ill I was like, ‘Fine, do what you have to do.’ I was putting my faith in them.”
Sohail was so sick with COVID-19 that he needed to be intubated soon after he was admitted to Croydon University Hospital.
“They had put me on a ventilator, but I don’t know how many days I was on the ventilator for. I don’t know if it was from the beginning or halfway through.”
While he was asleep the doctors gave him a tracheostomy. “Basically they make a small hole and they insert a tube into your lungs to ensure your body is getting the oxygen required.”
The odds of survival after being intubated are not high.
Image:Sohail Anjum (left) with members of his family
“I woke up and they told me it was touch and go because during my coma my temperature wasn’t coming down and they were pumping me with medication, antibiotics and stuff, so they said, ‘Look it could have gone either way.’ It was 50-50 whether or not I survived.”
Sohail’s first thoughts when he came round were of his mother. He does not know why but says he just had a “feeling”.
He asked the doctors and nurses but nobody would answer his questions. It was not until a consultant, who was also a family friend, broke some devastating news to Sohail.
“It was about my mother who was admitted into the same hospital just a few days after I had been intubated. She went into hospital I think on a Monday and passed away two days later.”
Image:Sohail believes his mother’s prayers saved him
Rashida Begum Mohammad was in the same hospital dying of COVID-19 just a few wards away from her son. Sohail, of course, did not know because he was comatose. But still, he says, he knew something had happened to her.
“It wasn’t actually broken to me, I just had this feeling. It just came into my thoughts and stuff. I don’t know if I overheard someone talking during my coma. Because when you’re in a coma they say your conscience is still alive and you tend to hallucinate.
“When I woke up the first thing I was asking for was my mobile phone so I could phone up my brother and confirm the news.
“One of the nurses who knew my brother phoned him and said, ‘Your brother is awake and he’s been asking about your mother.’ I think at the time my brother was a bit shocked, like, ‘How did he find out, who told him?’
“The doctors and nurses knew, but no one wanted to tell me because of the trauma I had been through. I mean when I woke up, I was in CCU at the time, and then one of my brother’s friends who is a consultant came down and he kind of confirmed and gently broke the news.”
Sohail was reeling in shock at the news of his mother’s death. But there was another bombshell to come.
He was told he had been in a coma for nearly one month.
Image:Sohail being applauded by staff as he leaves hospital
Sohail’s brother Aqeel had been given special permission to visit their mother just before she died. He told Sohail that she had prayed for his recovery until her last breath.
“My mum was in a very poorly condition, my brother was allowed a special visitation under exceptional circumstances otherwise no visitation was allowed. He visited her in the evening and one of the last things she prayed for was for my health to get better.
“I was told that while I was in a coma, it was only when she passed away, it was only then that my vitals started improving, so that’s when the doctors realised there was some hope for me. It was definitely my mother’s prayers that saved me.”
Image:Sohail’s COVID ordeal has aged him
Sohail is 47 but looks much older. His body is frail and he walks unsteadily with the aid of crutches. The doctors have told him it will take at least six months again to rebuild his strength. And that will be with the help of regular physiotherapy.
“Because I was in a coma for a whole month, my body was decommissioned. Basically, I had no muscle movement whatsoever. I felt a bit disorientated. After CCU when they moved me into the general ward, for the first week or two I was totally immobile I couldn’t move or talk so the nurses had to bathe me.
“I couldn’t lift up a spoon so they had to feed me breakfast, lunch and dinner. At that time I had lost my taste as well so the only thing I was eating at the time was yoghurt. Before I went in I was 67kg. In hospital when they last weighed me I had come down to 59kg, so I had lost a drastic amount of weight.”
Sohail saw patients dying around him. He knows he would not have survived had it not been for the speed and skill of the care he received in hospital.
“I really have to commend the surgeons and the nurses who are on the front line, who risked their lives in order to ensure that the patients are well looked after and for their health and benefit.
“When I was in the general ward, the nurses there really, really looked after you. If I hadn’t gone to A&E when I did and if the doctors hadn’t put me into an induced coma at the time, it may have been a different story for me.
“I may not have been sitting here today having this conversation, so I really have to thank them for all the hard work and effort they put into saving my life.”
The blood transfusion unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital is in a dire state as blood stocks is at its lowest in the only tertiary referral facility in the middle belt of Ghana.
The unit is unable to pool blood from schools, religious institutions and other organized bodies as these institutions which form its regular sources are shut because of COVID 19 restrictions.
The hospital has been forced to set up donation sites at its blood transfusion unit and the Kumasi City Mall to avert any emergency health crisis.
“Blood Service cannot predict blood supply needs during a pandemic like we have. However a sufficient blood supply must remain available so that we can treat our patients,†a clearly frustrated head of the Blood Transfusion Unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Dr Shirley Ofori Owusu bemoaned.
“Some pregnant women still bleed excessively, cancer patients are still on treatment, Children are being rushed to hospitals with severe anaemia, accidents are still happening and people still need blood,†she described.
KATH needs 70 to 80 units of blood on the average every day with the Gynecology and Obstetrics Department, Cancer Unit, Surgical Wards and the Accident and Emergency Centre taking a huge chunk.
Speaking to Ultimate News at the Kumasi City Mall donation site, Senior Blood Donation Organizer Bernard Arhin, however, indicated that the team was not meeting their targets.
“Currently as I speak, we are expecting about 70 to 80 units of blood but anytime we come, we are not able to meet our targets and we are still encouraging people to come around to donate,†he beckoned.
Meanwhile some spirited residents of Kumasi who heeded the call told reporter Ivan Heathcote Fumador, how urgent people need to volunteer to save lives.
A young man averred, “I am someone who is afraid of needles but anytime I hear them call, I try and take part because you might not know when a brother or sister might be in need.â€
The reality, however, stares glare that until several persons move in to donate blood, emergency health care at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital remains in limbo.
Director-General in Charge of Police Welfare COP Maame Yaa Tiwaah Addo-Danquah has been appointed Chairperson of an 11-member Police COVID-19 Technical Committee to oversee the management of COVID-19 within the Police Service.
This was revealed during Season two of the Alert show with Adam Bonaa which streamed on Facebook.
According to her, the terms of reference of the Committee established by the Inspector General of Police Mr James Oppong-Boanuh include the continuous education of personnel on COVID-19 pandemic, Provision of adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to frontline staff and any other appropriate persons, Monitoring of all personnel across the country for traces of infections, Establishment of isolation centre for personnel and dependents.
Psychological counselling of staff both affected and infected, Fumigation and disinfection of police establishments and any other related matter.
Other members of the group she revealed include DCOP/Dr Samuel Otu-Nyarko, Epidemiologists (P/H), ACP/Very Rev. Frank D. Twum-Baah, Police Church, C/Supt/Mr Edwin Kofi Dey, Headquarters Estates, Supt/Mrs Sheilla K. Abayie-Buckman, Dir/PRO, Supt/Dr Frank Duodu, Physician, Police Hospital, DSP/Dr Edem Wormenor, Lab Scientist, P/Hospital, ASP/Mr Emmanuel Baba Asibilla, Disease Control (P/H), ASP/Mr Foster Sanctity Nanewotor, Psychologist (P/H), ASP/Ms Mary Mirekua Tandoh, Senior Nurse (P/H) and ASP/Mr Emmanuel Ato Gand, SO/Welfare.
This comes in the wake of confirmed reports that about 7 police personnel have tested positive of the virus in the Upper East Region.
According to verified police sources, the first batch of infections involved a policeman who was on escort duties to the Upper East Region while the other was also returning to his duty post in the same region after holidays faced same fate.
It has been confirmed that about 137 personnel from the Upper East Regional Police Command have so far been asked to self-isolate as their samples have been taken for testing at Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR) awaiting results.
Meanwhile, the IGP has directed personnel who were deployed during the lockdown in Greater Accra, Kumasi, Kasoa and Tema be tested for the virus.
The Ashanti Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Emmanuel Tenkorang has disclosed that the region has recorded the youngest patient of Coronavirus in the country.
He said a 10-year old has been confirmed to have contracted the virus in the region.
According to him, the statistics available indicates that the Ashanti Region has the youngest population in terms of positive cases in the country.
Giving a breakdown of the cases in the region, Dr Tenkorang said 17 of the 43 districts in the region had so far recorded cases of the disease, with Obuasi assuming the reputation as the epicentre of the COVID-19 in the region, having recorded 47 cases.
Of the 163 confirmed cases, 56 percent are males, with the remaining 44 percent being females.
“The youngest case we have had here is 10 years old and the oldest 83 years. Some 37 people have so far recovered and three are currently on admission. The number of contacts that we are actively following as of now is 54,†he indicated.
He said given the number of districts that had recorded confirmed cases, the GHS had to intensify tracing, testing and isolation to be able to contain the disease.
Meanwhile, The total number of Coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in Ghana has skyrocketed to 3,091.
This is according to the latest update by the Ghana Health Service (GHS), as of today, May 7, 2020.
The GHS said 372 new cases have been recorded from various parts of the country, adding to the previous number of 2,719.
Social Commentator, Bernanrd Allotey Jacobs has sent a cryptic word of advice to former President John Dramani Mahama to be extremely wary and vigilant about some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) surrounding him.
Allotey Jacobs questioned the loyalty of some characters who are close to the former President, implying some have a hidden agenda against him (Mahama).
Former President John Dramani Mahama is seeking another term in office and his team has been on the mission of winning this year’s December polls.
The former President has as a result been engaging Ghanaians in a series of conversations where he addresses pertinent national issues.
Allotey Jacobs, who was once a Regional Chairman of the NDC, fired some members of his party for pitching him against the grass roots and spewing lies in an attempt to make him unpopular in the eyes of the former President.
Speaking on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’ on Wednesday, he told host Kwami Sefa Kayi that he is unperturbed by the actions of his saboteurs but he would like Mr. Mahama to ”watch his back” because not every person close to him is committed to his political ambition.
He made mention of former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah and the former President’s aide Joyce Bawa-Mogtari together with a few others in the party as the loyal ones around Mahama, but for the rest, he will have Mahama to keep his ears to the ground.
“I see these people as very strong committed loyal dedicated people around President Mahama but what I will say is my brother, John Mahama; watch your back,” he admonished.
Embattled former Central Regional Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Bernard Allotey Jacobs insists he would continue to sing praises of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) once what they do is for the good of the country.
He disclosed that he is committed to the ideals and ideologies of the NDC dismissing claims that he is in bed with the NPP as claimed by some leaders of his party.
According to him, his stance on praising the current government when it does good things is tailored towards changing the narrative in the political discourse in the country.
“How could I be in bed with the NPP, facts are facts, when something is good about the NPP I will say it, when it is wrong, I will talk against it. You see there is the need for us to change the kind of narrative or we have to change our political discourse, you see we need to grow our politics in this countryâ€. He revealed on Accra-based Joy Fm monitored by MyNewsGh.com.
Bernard Allotey Jacobs in February last years said since his party the NDC has barred him from representing them on political talk shows, he now speaks as a social commentator whose principle is the truth.
Allotey Jacobs came under attack after MyNewsGh.com reported that he had commended president Akufo-Addo for procuring 307 ambulances for Ghana.
“The interior of the state of the art ambulances recently commissioned and distributed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo can give life back to a dying patient… [..] .. We all should face facts if you look at the inside and see the equipment and colour design it looks very attractive. If you are at the point of death, the colours in the ambulance can give you the vim to survive. The inside is great,†Allotey said.
“All those ambulances that were brought into the country from the Kufuor to Mahama regimes must be added to the current fleet. If they are the need to retool them, they should so we carve a new ambulance system. It would be prudent for the government to supply them ambulances to the Regional and Teaching Hospitals,†he added.
The Roads and Highways Minister, Kwasi Amoako-Atta, has lauded local road contractors for their quality of work delivery so far as he inspected projects in the Ashanti Region.
He said if they continued their good work, government was ready to support and build their capacity in order to prepare them for prospective international contracts.
“I am impressed with the contractors, they have done a good job so far and we can all see the quality of work done, I am not surprised because they are among the best local contractors in the country,†Mr Amoako-Atta noted.
However the Minister was dissatisfied with the work done at Konongo-Praaso road where he said government was not going to accept the work until the contractor improved on it.
He used the occasion to advise the contractors to develop their capacity as government was bent on improving their capabilities to be internationally recognised road contractors.
According to the Minister, government would always want value for money and so would not tolerate any shoddy work from contractors.
The Minister was interacting with the media on the second day of a working tour in some parts of the Ashanti Region.
Among the inspected projects were the ongoing Anwiaa Nkwanta-Obuasi road, the 20km Obuasi inner town roads, Konongo town roads, and some deplorable roads and drainages in Ahodwo.
Meanwhile at Obuasi, he assured that, government was committed to improving the standard of development in the gold mining town as the roads in the town deserved a facelift.
The Obuasi inner town road project awarded to Justmoh Constructions was at 36. 62 per cent progress and it is expected to be completed on March 16, 2022.
A JHS three pupil, who broke into a drinking bar through the ceiling and took away several sachets of alcoholic beverages, has been sentenced to six months imprisonment by the Nkawie Circuit Court.
Emmanuel Antwi, 19, is said to have made his way through the ceiling of the drinking spot located at Maabang, near Adankwame in the Atwima-Nwabiagya North District, with iron bars at about 2300 hours, and took drinks valued at GHc 4,000.00 as well as cash of GHc 400.00.
He pleaded guilty and was convicted on his own plea by the court presided by Mr Johnson Abbey.
Detective Chief Inspector Comfort Amankwaa told the court that the convict and the complainant were both residents of Maabang.
She said on April 28 this year at about 2300 hours, the convict broke into the drinking bar and took away several sachets of alcoholic beverages and fled.
The prosecution said the complainant detected the theft the following morning and in the course of investigations, some people alerted her about the suspicious movement of the convict in the area the previous night.
The complainant, therefore, reported the matter to the Adankwame police who arrested the convict.
Chief Inspector Amankwaa said during interrogation the convict admitted the offence and he was then charged and brought before the court.
A footballer at Adabraka Odawna in Accra is said to have jumped into the Odaw Lagoon Wednesday evening, drowning in the process.
The deceased, who was only identified as Puyol, was said to have thrown himself into the lagoon when a policeman mounted a heated chase after him.
His body was retrieved around 6:30pm after a search party made up of six young men from the community dived into the lagoon.
According residents, Puyol was seen being chased by the Police around 4:30pm for unknown reasons.
On getting to the Adabraka Sahara Park, he slugged it out with the Police officer in a bid to free himself after he was apprehended.
In the ensuing scuffle, he removed his shirt, which the Policeman held on tightly to and fled.
The Police officer resumed his chase after him and on getting to the bank of the lagoon, the distressed footballer threw himself into it, drowning in the process.
Reports say, at the Adabraka Sahara Park, the police officer called for “backup†and in no time, another uniformed officer with a gentleman believed to be an informant arrived at the scene.
Eyewitnesses, who pleaded anonymity, said some elderly persons in the community pleaded with the Police officer to let go of him but he was adamant.
The Police officers, whom residents believed to have been from the Adabraka District Police, left the scene after Puyol fell into the lagoon and his body submerged.
Initial attempts to save him proved futile.
Reports say, some residents at the scene threw a log into the lagoon for him to hold on to but he was unable to grab it.
He raised his hand for help in the process but none of the people gathered there at the time could dive into the lagoon to save him.
Reasons for his pursuit by the Police officer remains unknown but some residents said they suspect he had drugs on him for which reason he feared arrest and attempted to flee from the grips of the law.
The body was taken by residents to the Adabraka Police station.
Residents of Chorkor, Chemuenaa, Shiabu, and its environs have rejected claims that they deliberately destroyed a bridge in the community.
The floating bridge which was recently constructed by the MP of the area, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful to facilitate the easy movement of the people across the Chemu canal connecting Chorkor to Shiabu in Accra was washed away by the heavy downpour on Sunday, April 26.
Speaking to pressmen in Parliament on Thursday, the MP who doubles as Minister of Communications bemoaned why some members of the community would actually plot to destroy the bridge which was serving the needs of the whole community just for their own parochial interest.
“It was some miscreants living in the community who tampered with the bridge leading to its collapse. It is not as a result of the flood as has been suggested by some people. The people who are making money from the people from their tolled bridges know something about this issue,†she lamented.
But responding to the allegations, residents say it was unfortunate for the MP to have claimed that the bridge was deliberately destroyed.
The residents who vented their anger in a report by Ablade TV said it makes no sense for them to destroy something that was serving them.
â€We have stayed in Chorkor Chemuenaa and Shiabu since childhood. We know too well the stream, oftentimes cars carry away several things like vehicles and kiosks. I, therefore, wondered about the type of bridge constructed, which as it were looked like a canopy walkway,†a resident said.
â€Your social standing should not be a basis to treat people with malice. Claiming the bridge was deliberately destroyed is an affront to us,†another resident said.
Another resident in the report said, â€Are we insane to destroy a bridge that easily facilitates our movement to and fro the community? There is a video of how the bridge was washed away. Has the minister not seen it yet? It was caused by rubbish. If funds meant for a better project were misappropriated, she should come clear.â€
