TIG Post

Author: Persis

  • No thank you – Charlotte Osei rejects calls to be made SC judge in 2025

    Former Electoral Commission Chairperson, Charlotte Kesson-Smith Osei, has declined calls to be appointed as a Supreme Court Judge in 2025.

    A social media user, Andy Yidana, had in a post tagged her official account asking that she be made a judge at the apex court.

    He tweeted, “@char_osei should be appointed as a Supreme Court Judge in 2025.”

    But responding to the tweet, the former EC boss politely refused the call.

    “No thank you,” she retweeted.

    Another social media user also suggested that she accepts an appointment to her former position but the lawyer responded with an infuriated emoji.

    Mrs. Charlotte Osei and her two deputies, Amadu Sulley and Georgina Opoku Amankwaa were removed from office in 2018.

    Their removal was based on recommendations from a committee that investigated corruption and misconduct allegations against them.

    Some concerned workers of the Electoral Commission, in July 2017 petitioned the President and the Chief Justice to begin impeachment processes against the Chairperson of the Commission, Mrs. Charlotte Osei.

    They accused Mrs Osei of taking unilateral decisions without recourse to the appropriate departments of the EC, even her deputies.

    The group also accused the EC Chair of engaging in fraudulent activities, citing her decision to cancel a contract awarded to Superlock Technologies Limited (STL) to supply and manage Biometric Voter Registration machines (BVRs) and the Biometric Voter Devices (BVDs), as well as her directive for the payment of $76,000 to IT firm, Dream Oval, news portal graphic.com.gh reported.

    Charlotte Osei is currently the host of Business Compass (BC) which is a transformational weekly business television show for nurturing and coaching small business owners.

    See tweet below



    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Minimum wage should be pegged at a rate businesses can afford – Employers Association

    The Ghana Employers Association has urged the Tripartite Committee to peg the minimum wage rate at a reasonable percentage for businesses.

    According to the Chief Executive of the Association, Alex Frimpong, businesses would collapse if the increment is such that they cannot afford.

    Speaking in an interview with Evans Mensah on Newsnight, Monday, Mr. Frimpong explained that it would be difficult for employers to support compromised percentages which could collapse businesses.

    “These are very difficult times for businesses and we may need to peg the minimum wage at a rate that businesses can afford. If the rate is such that it would be difficult for businesses to reward labour, then it will compromise the sustainability of businesses and for that matter, it would be very difficult for employers to support such an idea,” he said.

    The tripartite committee, made up of government, organized labour and employers are meeting to conclude negotiation for salary adjustment ahead of the May Day celebrations.

    Thirty billion cedis, representing almost 50 percent of national revenue goes into the payment of public sector wages.

    But as the economy struggles, labour unions are demanding appropriate salaries to cope with current conditions.

    Meanwhile, organised labour has demanded that government sets the minimum wage for this year to not less than the 19% inflation rate.

    Last Thursday, the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, Dr Yaw Baah, announced this at a labour forum in Accra.

    “We are going to make sure that minimum wage for workers for this year should not be below inflation, and this would be extended to public sector workers as well, so there is a battle ahead of us, and I can see organised labour is ready to fight and we are going to do that,” he stated.

    Source: myjoyonline.com

  • Sosu, Funny Face cases adjourned to May 24

    The case of Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu, and actor cum comedian Benson Nana Yaw Oduro Boateng aka Funny Face have all been adjourned to May 24

    The two cases are all before a Kaneshie Magistrate Court presided over by His Worship Isaac Oheneba-Kuffour, and are at various stages.

    While the Madina MP was represented in court by his lawyers, Funny face was present.

    The court did not sit but the parties only settled on a date. The two are facing separate charges.

    The Human Rights lawyer, Sosu, is before the court following a demonstration he organized on October 25, 2021, to push for good roads in his constituency, which ended up in violence, according to the police.

    He has pleaded not guilty to alleged involvement in a demonstration that led to the blockage of roads and the destruction of property in some parts of his constituency.

    Funny Face, on the other hand, is standing trial for threatening to kill the mother of his twins and also threatening to commit suicide.

    He is on a charge of the threat of death and has been granted bail GH¢20,000 bail by the court.

    He was initially sent to the psychiatric hospital for medical examination.

    Source: kasapafmonline.com

  • Bremang: 42-year-old taxi driver found dead in his car

    A 42-year-old Taxi driver has been found dead in his car at Bremang in the Suame Municipality of the Ashanti Region.

    Residents who could not withstand the nauseating stench discovered the body of Kwabena Fosu in the back seat of the cab that was parked in the neighborhood for three days.

    There were drops of bloodstains underneath the Taxi cab with registration number AS-1808-20.

    According to the relatives and the owner of the vehicle, the deceased was last seen on Friday when he left for work.

    Crime scene officers from the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ashanti Regional Police Command carried out an assessment and conveyed the body to the morgue.

    The body was found in a state of decomposition and police have begun investigations into the death of the Taxi driver.

    Assembly Member for the Kantinka, Dr. Donkor Fodjour Electoral area, Obour Sika confirmed the incident to Citi News.

    Source: citinewsroom.com

  • World Malaria Day: Make malaria vaccines available GAMLS to Government

    The Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (GAMLS), is among other things calling on the government and the international community to take steps to make available the malaria vaccine to Ghanaians.

    As the world observes World Malaria Day, the theme; Harness innovation to reduce the malaria disease burden and save lives,” seeks to throw more light on the existence of malaria and the ways to prevent and control it.

    In a statement from the Association, calling for the efficient prevention and control of malaria in Ghana, it said there is a need for continued investment, standardization, and sustained political commitment.

    “On this occasion of World Malaria Day 2022 with-Harness innovation to reduce the malaria disease burden and save lives, the Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (GAMLS) wishes to highlight the need for continued investment, standardization, and sustained political commitment.

    “The government and the international community are encouraged to take steps to make the malaria vaccine available to the target population.”

    The statement further listed some more measures the Association thinks will be of importance to extinguishing malaria.

    •  Standardisation of materials needed for quality work in the diagnosis of malaria in health facilities, especially Giemsa stain, the main reagent for the malaria gold standard testing.
    • Testing of malaria should be done before treating patients to avoid wastage.

    The association encouraged the public to ensure proper sanitation in and around their environment; clearing stagnant waters to stop the breeding of mosquitoes and the spread of malaria.

    “The public is urged to get rid of stagnant water to control the breeding of mosquitoes, and further spread of malaria. The indiscriminate use of insecticide must be checked to minimize the development of resistant vectors (mosquitoes). These will make malaria control a success.

    Source: citinewsroom.com

  • PURC gets GH¢5.7 million as compensations for electricity, water customers in 2021

    The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) last year secured GH¢5,778,379.20 as compensation for consumers of electricity and water.

    The Commission said the amount was paid to both households and industrial consumers of electricity and water across the country after it investigated complaints on the quality of service, largely, power outages and water cuts.

    It also recouped GH¢548,383 within the same period for the utility service providers Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) over illegal connections and non-payment of utility bills.

    Alhaji Abukari Jabaru, Director, Regional Operations, PURC, said this on Saturday at the Commission’s media fellowship training at Prampram in the Greater Accra Region.

    He noted that the non-payment of bills was largely observed in Government agencies.

    The fellowship is to make the media abreast of the operations of PURC, including tariff setting, complaint resolution and database management.

    It is also to get support from key stakeholders in balancing the interest between utility service providers and consumers to ensure that while service providers were profitable, consumers were also given quality services.

    Alhaji Jabaru indicated that the Commission in 2021 received 10,987 complaints and had resolved 10,701, representing 97.3 percent, with the remaining 286 in the process of being resolved.

    In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the programme, Dr Ishmael Ackah, the Executive Secretary of PURC, encouraged journalists to work closely with the Commission for the benefit of all stakeholders.

    Source: GNA

     

  • Victims of Appiatse explosion demand compensation from Maxam

    Affected residents of Appiatse are demanding the immediate payment of compensation by Maxam Company Limited, which was transporting the explosions that detonated on January 20.

    Spokesperson of the Concerned Youth of Appiatse Association, Maclean Ayoma, said it was insensitive on the part of Maxam to not engage the residents three months after the fatal explosion.

    Speaking in an interview at Appiatse following a meeting with the Apiate Reconstruction Implementation Committee members, he noted that the residents were disappointed by the company’s posture, adding that they were prepared to use every legal means to receive compensation.

    He indicated that the group would next week write to Maxam to demand a formal meeting on the matter.

    “We are highly disappointed in Maxam for their failure to see us as people who deserve to be treated right. You have, through your actions, caused the whole township a lot of distress.

    “It is only right that you meet the affected people and discuss ways to compensate them. We will take the needed actions to ensure our people get justice,” Mr. Ayoma stated.

    Earlier in the meeting, the Chairman of the Committee and Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Benito Owusu-Bio, advised the residents to pursue the payment of compensation if they wanted to because the government, which was the industry regulator, was not legally bound to do so.

    He indicated that the government’s focus was to reconstruct the town as a green and sustainable community.

    In the meantime, he said work was ongoing on the temporal accommodation facilities for the affected residents to shelter them from the harsh weather conditions.

    Mr. Owusu-Bio noted that the ministry was working to meet the May 1 deadline to move the affected families camped in tents to the temporal facilities.

    So far, he said 20 out of the 32 housing units earmarked for the relocation had been roofed and windows installed.

    To speed up work on the project, the Deputy Minister added that plans were far advanced to recruit more carpenters to the site.

    Member of Parliament of Prestea-Huni-Valley Constituency, Robert Wisdom Cudjoe, said his outfit was monitoring the activities being carried out to ensure the people were relieved from their current challenges.

    He urged the people to support the work of the implementation committee and reiterated the need to work together with the reconstruction team to expedite work on the project.

    Source: ghanaiantimes.com.gh

  • We never scrapped teacher allowances, we gave them loans twice the amount Naana Opoku-Agyemang

    Running mate for John Dramani Mahama, 2020 National Democratic Congress Flagbearer, has re-echoed claims that her party never scrapped the controversial teacher allowances during their term in office.

    According to Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the party noted the needs of teacher trainees as far as monies are concerned and therefore made efforts to assist by providing loans twice the amount they were getting as allowances.

    Speaking during a ceremony at the Wesley College in the Ashanti Region, the former education minister sought to debunk suggestions that the NDC deprived teacher trainees of their allowances under their government.

    She further expressed displeasure about some claims that were made by trainees during the time, to the effect that they had financial difficulties because they were not being given allowances.

    “All those who were receiving their allowance, received it till they ended, so the people who came on air saying [because of my allowance, I cannot pay my fees], they were lying, and I was saddened that young people would do that because nobody took their money from them, we gave them the loan that was about twice what they were getting as allowances because we thought they needed more,” Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said in an interview with 3news.

    Her comments follow the recent debate about teacher trainee allowances in the face of unpaid allowances for over four months.

    There have been threats that trainees may be forced to cater for their own feeding over the non-payment of feeding allowances by the government, following which allowances have been released by the government accordingly.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Mahama describes Africas over-dependence on foreign goods as shameful

    Former President John Dramani Mahama says it is shameful for Africa to over-depend on imported goods.

    Speaking at the 24th African Business Conference organised by the Harvard Business School, Mahama observed that intra-African trade must be encouraged on the continent to boost trade and promote self-reliance.

    He said, “We must push for self-reliance for key strategic commodities and supplies such as rice, tomatoes, onions, and vegetable oil for which we have a comparative advantage. It is such a shame that Africa continues to import these commodities when we have favourable conditions to produce them.

    ”Africa must take greater control of the trade and processing of its natural resources like cocoa, and the minerals and build stronger capacity to respond to global energy shocks stemming out of situations such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict.”

    The former President as part of his speech, advocated for the reintroduction of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) to help Africa deal with its rising public debts.

    “Many African countries, including Ghana have reached debt distressed levels with debt to GDP ratio ranging between 70% and 80%.”

    ”I am advocating for a reconstitution of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative to offer our countries some fiscal space to make investments in critical states such as education and health,” John Dramani Mahama stressed.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Driver fined GH¢960 for careless driving, other offences

    The Ofaakor Circuit Court has sentenced a driver to a fine of GH¢960 for driving on the shoulders of the road and carelessly crossing a magistrate and disrespecting her.

    Theophilus Nii Armah Okai narrowly escaped a month’s jail term, after the Presiding Judge, Mr Ebenezer Osei Darko, reluctantly reversed his first ruling of one-month imprisonment to a fine of 80 penalty units following persistent appeals from the lawyer of the convict and other lawyers present at the court.

    Okai will go to jail for six months in default of paying the Ghc960.00.

    He pleaded guilty to the counts of driving on the road shoulders and causing danger to other road users, on which he was convicted.

    Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Charles Annobil said on April 14, 2022, at about 1400 hours, Okai was driving a Toyota Hilux with registration number GN 2146 – 16 from Cape Coast towards Accra, using the shoulders of the road.

    He said on reaching a section of the road at Fetteh Kakraba, he saw vehicles parked ahead of him and decided to join the main road but recklessly crossed a Dodge Rum pickup, being driven by Mrs Naomi Kuntour, the Magistrate of the Awutu Beraku Court.

    In the process, the convict made an insulting gesture with his hands at her and drove away, the prosecutor told the court.

    The Magistrate, however, gave Okai’s registration number to Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ms Agnes Caesar, the Commander of the Kasoa Motor Transport and Traffic Department, who alerted the police personnel on the road and Okai was apprehended the same day.

    The judge insisted that he wanted the imprisonment to serve as a deterrent to reckless and insolent drivers, recounting his own experiences.

    The lawyer for the convict, Mr Daniel Kukpalor, quickly went on his feet and appealed to the judge to temper justice with mercy.

    With support from other colleague lawyers, he requested a fine in place of the jail sentence, saying his client was remorseful and had made attempts to apologise to the complainant.

    “I’m sure he has learnt his lessons, and he is not going to repeat it,” he pleaded.

    Mr Osei Darko granted the lawyer’s plea and reversed the jail sentence to a fine.

    He then directed the convict to send the message to his colleague drivers to be careful and considerate on the road.

    Source: GNA

  • Ivory Coast will have a good chance of winning 2023 AFCON with the right balance in the team Kalou

    Former Ivory Coast striker, Solomon Kalou has tipped the Elephants to win the 2023 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament.

    According to him, the success of the national team would however be dependent on how the technical team finds the balance between the youth and experienced players in the team.

    “Playing at home is always an advantage. Teams achieve extra power when playing in front of their countrymen. What we have to do is find the right balance in the team between youth and experience.

    “If we succeed in doing that, the chances of the title staying in the Ivory Coast after the tournament are high,” Solomon Kalou said at the end of the draw for the 2023 AFCON last Tuesday.

    Ivory Coast will next year host the rest of the continent in a tournament billed to be bigger than the 2021 edition.

    For the Elephants to host and win, they must put in a lot of work.

    Source: footballghana.com

  • Asamoah Gyan suffered playing for the Black Stars – Anim Addo

    Samuel Anim Addo, manager of former Black Stars striker, Asamoah Gyan, has said his client suffered during his time at the Senior National Team.

    According to the Ghana FA Executive Council member, Gyan’s suffering was down to being forced to play for the Black Stars through pain a couple of times.

    Speaking on Ghana Web’s Sports Check, Anim Addo said the former Sunderland man was injected to play during the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.

    He added that the Black Star’s all-time top scorer had to sign his Stade Rennes contract on a sickbed in 2008 as a result.

    During the 2008 AFCON host in Ghana, Gyan was forced to play for Black Stars play through the pain barrier.

    The fans turned on him which made Gyan feel unappreciated after making a huge sacrifice.

    Gyan subsequently left camp but rescinded his decision after talks with then Ghana president John Agyekum Kuffour.

    Samuel Anim Addo revealed that the injury cost Asamoah Gyan a move to English Premier League side, Manchester City.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • WAFA deny Konadu Yiadom’s reported move to Hearts of Oak

    West African Football Club (WAFA) have denied reports that their skipper, Konadu Yiadom, has completed a move to reigning Ghana Primer League(GPL) champions Accra Hearts of Oak.

    Earlier reports claimed WAFA have agreed on a deal with the Phobians, therefore, the 21-year-old would join his new teammates at the end of the season.

    The operations manager for WAFA, George Ofosuhene, has, however, denied such agreement reported by the media.

    “WAFA does not have any agreement with Hearts of Oak concerning the signing of Konadu Yiadom. Neither have they written officially to us for the services of the said player,” he told OTEC FM.

    He also stated that the Konadu Yiadom has a running contract with WAFA.

    “We (WAFA) still have a running contract with the player. Those stories in the media are all speculations.”

    The highly-rated center back has been on the radar of several giants in the GPL including, Asante Kotoko and Medeama.

    He was recently linked with a move to the Belgian Jupiler Pro League but the deal hit a snag.

    WAFA will take on Medeama on match week 26 of the Ghana Premier League at the Tarkwa and Aboso (TNA) park and will look to secure their first away win of the season.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • St Pauli coach won’t rush Ghana midfielder Daniel Kofi-Kyereh back into the team

    St Pauli manager Timo Schultz is being cautious on his approach to having a fully fit Daniel Kofi-Kyereh for the rest of the season.

    The Ghana midfielder returned to training on Friday after missing the game against Sandhausen due to a knock.

    Despite giving Timo Schultz a boost ahead of their clash against Darmstadt, the German trainer won’t take a risk by immediately getting him in the team.

    “Yeah, of course, with Kofi we’re more variable upfront,” Schultz admitted. “But I think the game could have been won without Kofi,” he added.

    “In the end, as a coach, you always have a lingering hope that it might work,” Schultz continued. “But when he came to the training ground on Friday, it was already clear: It doesn’t make sense.

    “And before you take an unnecessary risk and say you take him with you and then see again whether it works from the start or for 20 minutes, the risk is simply too great for that.

    “I hope that he will start training again next week and become a candidate for Darmstadt. That’s why I’m not leaning too far out of the window now.”

    Source: ghanasoccernet.com

  • Government cant hide behind COVID-19 and Ukraine to deny workers improved conditions of service TUC

    General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, Dr. Yaw Baah, has urged the government to put measures in place to ensure the public servants get the conditions of service due them.

    Dr. Baah said that the government cannot continue to use current happening in the world as an excuse to deny workers improved conditions of service.

    The General Secretary, who made these remarks at the Organised Labour pre-May Day Forum on Thursday, April 22, added that the current increase in the cost of living required that the condition of workers are improved.

    “… Before Ukraine and Covid in Ghana was not too good, especially with employment, therefore nobody should hide behind Covid and Ukraine to say that Ghana is in this his state because of these two events, we will not accept that this year, therefore, what is due us will come to us.

    “If (the) exchange rate is behaving the way we are seeing it, it shows very much in our pocket and nobody should tell us…because just go to the pharmacy you will see that prices go up every day and these are medicines.

    “… go to the market the food prices are going up every day and these are the conditions we have found ourselves in and you know it is very easy to blame the Covid and Ukraine war for this,” he said.

    Meanwhile, members of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association Ghana (CLOGSAG) have been on strike since Thursday, April 21, over the inability of the government to pay their neutrality allowance.

    CLOGSAG in a statement it issued, directed all its members at the Ministries Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) as well as the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to stop going to work because the government had failed to honour an agreement they had with them, on January 20, 2022, to pay the allowance.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Farmers advised to plant trees on their farms to prevent erosion

    Farmers have been advised to plant more trees on their farms to prevent erosion and keep the soil fertilized.

    Mr Philip Atiim, Project Manager at Catholic Relief Services (CRS), said planting of trees and engaging in mixed farming improved productivity and helped in climate change adaptation.

    He gave the advice during a field trip dialogue with farmers, as part of the Northern Ghana Restoration Initiative and the Regreening Africa Project in the Mion District.

    The project, being implemented by the CRS with funding from the European Union, sought to create a sustained approach to reversing land degradation and integrating food production through agroforestry.

    Mr Atiim said the project was being implemented in the Northern and Upper East Regions, with other partners such as World Vision Ghana, ICRAF Sahel and National and Local Governments, targeting 90,000 hectares, and 40,000 households.

    He said tree planting also increased air quality by filtering pollutants like heavy dust particles in the household.

    Mr Yahaya Imoro, a farmer at Ndinyoyili community shared his experience.

    He said the project had improved his agricultural business and provided shade for his family whenever they visited the farm, adding that the tree planting exercise had also reduced the amount of storm water runoff into his farm as well as checked erosion.

    Other farmers at the Tajuudo community collaborated the soil efficiency story and expressed joy about benefits derived from tree planting and mixed farming.

    Source: GNA

  • Help reduce cost of Oil and Gas production by working in Ghana after training Trainees told

    Chief Executive of the Petroleum Commission, Egbert Faibille Jnr., has admonished beneficiaries of government-sponsored training programs in the upstream petroleum sector to, as a way of appreciation, decide to work in Ghana after graduation.

    He made the charge whiles addressing some 149 Ghanaians who after six months of hands-on technician training in the petroleum industry have graduated.

    He stated that the training program which came at a cost of GH¢5.1 million to government has produced internationally certified professionals who can work in various aspects of the petroleum industry.

    “Of the 149 persons that have graduated, 43 graduated as City and Guilds International Vocational Qualification (IVQ) level 3 Mechanical Technicians, 22 as IVQ level 3 Electrical Technicians, 44 as IVQ level 3 Process Technicians, and 41 as IVQ level 3 Instrumentation Technicians. It cost the Petroleum Commission US$ 7,500 for each of the graduates in question. In total, the commission spent GH¢ 5.1 million for the entire training program.”

    “The best way graduates can show appreciation, is to commit to working in Ghana, and help reduce the cost of Oil and Gas Production in the country so that the IOC and government will spend less in exploration and production of oil from the standpoint of job role localization,” he added.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • No Ghanaian has even 1% of ownership in telco and mining firms Sir Sam Jonah

    Renowned business executive, Sir Sam Jonah has bemoaned the lack of Ghanaian ownership in key sectors of the economy.

    According to the President of AngloGold Ashanti, this lack of ownership is rather disappointing and therefore believes more has to be done to ensure Ghanaians get a fair share of resources.

    Speaking in an interview on GTV’s Breakfast Show and monitored by GhanaWeb, Sir Sam Jonah said, “Look at our mobile telephony companies, there is no Ghanaian who has 1 percent of any of them. Look at the mines, there is no Ghanaian who has 1 percent of any of the mines. No Ghanaian. It’s a fact!”

    Touching further on the future of Ghana’s extractive sector, Mr Jonah called for reinvestments in the mining industry.

    He urged against short-termist mindset in dealing with mining companies and investors.

    “We have the right geology to be able to have more mines but potential will remain potential until you drill and find gold,” he advised.

    Sir Sam Jonah is the executive chairman of Jonah Capital, an equity fund based in Johannesburg, and is considered one of Ghana’s richest men.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Johannesburg is more developed than Obuasi because gold mines are owned by South Africans Sam Jonah

    Businessman and Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Sir Samuel Esson Jonah, has stated that mining communities in South Africa are more developed than those in Ghana because the mines there belong to South Africans.

    He explained that because the mines belong to South Africans, they re-invest revenues they get from the mines back in the communities which leads to their development.

    Sam Jonah, who said this in an interview on GTV monitored by GhanaWeb, added that mining communities in Ghana are not developed because the mines are owned by foreigners who take all the revenue they recoup outside the country.

    “When people say look at Obuasi and look at Johannesburg we all produce gold, well you are right Johannesburg was a gold town, Obuasi was and is a gold town, so is Tarkwa, so is Konongo. Do you know what the difference is? The difference is that in Johannesburg the owners of the mines were South Africans, so they had nowhere else to put their money and so they invested their money in their town and the government applied the taxes in the town and the country.

    “Until 1969, Ghana, as a country had no shareholder interest in Obuasi (Ashanti Gold Limited), which has been operating since 1895. In 1969 the Ghana government was given 15 percent of the company … then in 1972 General Acheampong took up the commanding height and assume 55 percent interest in the mines, that is where for the first time the people of Ghana became prominent owners of the mines since 1895.

    He added that the government got US$ 330 million when the ASHGold was listed on the US Stock exchange but unfortunately none of the funds was used to develop the Obuasi.

    “… they (government) got US$ 330 million off the table, cash, if even a $100 has been invested in Obuasi, Obuasi will have been a different place but it used to balance the budget because consistently we have lived beyond our means,” he explained.

    He reiterated that Johannesburg is developed because the mines there were owned by South Africans unlike here in Ghana where no Ghanaian owns part of our gold mining companies.

    Sir Sam Jonah is the executive chairman of Jonah Capital, an equity fund based in Johannesburg, and is considered one of Ghana’s richest men.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • KNUST reinstates over 3,550 of the 6,000 deferred students

    The management of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has disclosed that it has reinstated over 3,550 of the 6,000 students whose programmes were deferred due to their inability to pay 70 percent of their fees.

    According to the authorities, the students who have been reinstated made the required payment during the grace period offered by the university following negotiations with the Student Representative Council (SRC), graphiconline.com.

    In an interview with Daily Graphic, the University Relations Office (URO), Dr Daniel Norris Bekoe said that the fees of 2,200 students were paid through the Dean of Students Scholarship Scheme and 1350 paid the fees on their own.

    He added that the students who do not make payment during the grace period will have to defer their programme because the university operates an automated system that will automatically take out the names of students who fail to make the required payment.

    Meanwhile, the Student Representative Council (SRC) of KNUST, has also offered scholarships to 2380 of the 6000 students who were asked to defer their programmes due to their failure to pay 70 percent of their school fees.

    The President of the SRC, Michael Aboah, said that the fees were paid with an amount of GH¢ 50,000 the SRC has raised to support needy students, graphiconline.com reports.

    He indicated that the beneficiaries included students who were already on the scholarship scheme of the SRC and needy students who proved they could not pay their fees due to some circumstances.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • GRA has not paid US$40m for a system to implement E-Levy Commissioner-General

    Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority(GRA), Rev Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, has denied allegations that the authority has contracted the services of a third party to monitor the collection of the E-Levy.

    He said that the GRA has not signed a contract with any entity worth US$40.

    He added that the authority will not engage in activities that are contrary to the Electronic Transfer E-Levy (E-Levy) Act.

    “Clause 6.2 of the E-Levy Act does state that the Commissioner-General shall not for the purpose of this act engage a 3rd party service provider for a fee or a commission for the purpose of ensuring revenue monitoring and revenue assurance.

    “As far as GRA is concerned we will always want to ensure that we are obeying the law … So, I want to assure that as much as the law describes and prescribes this, we will be compliant with the law and we want to assure Ghanaians that we will abide by the law.

    “We have not signed any contract with anybody to pay $40 million as I have heard in some platforms for such purpose and therefore it is inaccurate for anybody to say that we have signed a contract to pay $40 million,” he said in a JoyNews interview monitored by GhanaWeb.

    He also explained that the E-Levy law does not prohibit the authority from engaging people to come up with a system to collect the levy and that the authority will use one of the systems it has acquired for the implementation of the levy.

    “… as an entity (GRA), we have in house software developers, we have other third-party organisations that work with us … as so whatever we do it in the name of GRA,” he added.

    Meanwhile, Ningo-Prampram MP, Sam Nartey George, has questioned the rationale behind the alleged plans of the government to purchase a system worth US$ 40 million for the implementation of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy).

    In a tweet shared on April 21, 2022, Sam George said that there is no need to purchase the system because the government has a system at the National Communication Authority (NCA) which can perform the same function.

    According to the Member of Parliament (MP), the system will be bought from ExpressPay and will be to the benefit of some officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority and the finance ministry.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • John Mahama commiserates with family of Dag Heward-Mills

    Former President John Dramani Mahama has paid a visit to the family home of the Founder and General Overseer of the United Denomination Originating from the Lighthouse Group of Churches (UD-OLGC) to mourn with them over the passing of his first son.

    A week ago today, news broke on how the first child of the evangelist, Dr. David Heward-Mills, had died.

    He was a psychiatrist living and working in the United States. He is reported to have died after a short illness.

    Leading a delegation of the top party executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and other members of the party, John Mahama met with the family in their home to express his condolences and his sympathies to them during the difficult times.

    In a Facebook post that announced his Thursday, April 21, 2022, visit, the former president said it is a difficult thing to lose a child.

    “I visited the Heward-Mills family on Thursday evening to express my condolences to Bishop Dag and the family on the loss of their son, Dr. David Heward-Mills.

    “Losing your child is a painful experience. Bishop Dag, his family and the church’s loss is our loss. We all feel the deep pain.

    “I also expressed the condolences of my wife, Lordina, and the National Democratic Congress to the family and the Lighthouse Group of Churches,” he wrote.

    John Dramani Mahama also signed a book of condolence opened in the memory of the late David Heward-Mills.

    The news, which broke on Good Friday, April 15, 2022, got many wondering how the family would sail through such a tragic loss, but it did not take long for the evangelist to comment on it.

    During his Easter Sunday Service sermon on the title, The Grave is Not the End, Bishop Dag spoke for the first time about death, stressing that it makes nonsense of everything.

    “Death has been destroying our lives for years, amen. Death spoils everything. Death spoils everything. My son David just passed away. It spoils everything.

    “You ask me am I sad? If you had a son who died, will you be sad? You should ask yourself that question. It [spoils everything. It brings a funny environment and it makes nonsense of everything. We always try to wish it further and further away but that is how it is,” he told his congregants at the First Love Church in Accra.

    Days after, the first lady of the church, Lady Rev. Adelaide Heward-Mills, also shared a portion of scripture along with a photo she took with her son in what was her first comment after the news broke.

    “2 Cor 1:8-11 NLT “We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.

    “9. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.

    “10. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.

    “11. And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety,” she wrote.

    Here are some photos:

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Lebanese arrested with fake $10k at KIA pleads guilty, convicted

    A 25-year-old Lebanese Al-Zoubayr Chaaban has been convicted by Circuit Court 1 in Accra after pleading guilty to a charge of possession of fake currency note contrary to section 18(2) of the Currency Act. 1964 (Act.242).

    The court presided over by His Honour Prosper Gomashie convicted the accused on his own guilty plea.

    He was handed a non-custodial sentence by the court and was fined 700 penalty Units, equivalent to GHc8,400. In default, he is to serve two years of prison term.

    The brief facts of the case, according to the prosecutor Chief Inspector Amoah Richard of the Legal and Prosecution Unit of the CID Headquarters, are that the National Security operatives arrested the accused, who was exiting Ghana through the Kotaka International during a search.

    Chief Inspector Amoah said the search retrieved from his luggage $10,000 suspected to be fake USD currency.

    He was subsequently handed over to the National Investigation Bureau for investigations.

    That examination of the suspected fake currency by the Bank of Ghana confirmed same.

    His Counsel, Kwaku Sallah, pleaded for mitigation for the accused after he admitted the offence.

    The accused was convicted on his own guilty plea, and in view of the mitigation plea by the counsel, he was sentenced to a fine of 700 penalty Units in default of two years imprisonment.

    Source: kasapafmonline.com

  • We are ready to implement E-Levy on May 1st – GRA Commissioner insists

    Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Rev Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, has insisted that the authority has put all the necessary measures in place to ensure that the implementation of the E-Levy starts on May 1, 2022, contrary to assertions in the media.

    In a JoyNews interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Dr. Owusu-Amoah said that all the technologies needed to ensure the successful implementation of the E-Levy (Electrotonic Transfer Levy) have been acquired.

    He added that the only thing left to do is for the Mobile Money Issuers (MMIs) and the Electronic Money Issuer (EMI) which includes Telecommunication Companies (Telcos) and Banks to integrate into the system.

    “… this system is already available and the then application programme interface which is the APIs have also been made available. We have had several engagements with the various stakeholders in terms of what we call the charging entities (The EMIs, the banks, the Telcos) who will be charging the money and transferring the money to the consolidated fund through the Ghana.gov platform. And so, what the entities will have to do is to ensure that they have taken the necessary protocols and will be able to interface with the system.

    “The system is available, the API is available, an end-to-end test has been done successfully with a number of transactions that have gone through successfully without any failure. So we are confident that it beholds on the charging entities to do the integration,” he said.

    The Commissioner-General explained that the system for the implementation of the levy is a common platform and it has been designed to identify transactions that need to be charged.

    “Currently, the team has been camped in a particular location where anybody who has a challenge as far as the integration done is also working with them,” he added.

    Meanwhile, Ningo-Prampram MP, Sam Nartey George, has indicated that the government is not ready to implement the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) by the May 1, 2022 deadline.

    The MP added that “the architecture for the system is still not complete and has not been given to the industry players (MNOS and EMIS) less than ten days to start of [the] project. No stress test has been carried out on the intended system to ascertain (the) robustness of the infrastructure to be used.”

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Akufo-Addo’s wife will deal with moral aspect of Serwaa Broni saga Ablakwa

    Member of Parliament for North Tongo, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has defended the decision by the Minority in Parliament to push for a probe into some security-related allegations in the Serwaa Broni saga.

    According to him, the Haruna Iddrisu-led caucus was particularly worried about the specific allegation by Evelyn Aidoo, alias Serwaa Broni, made that National Security officials had staged a robbery on her with the view to retrieve some compromising materials she has on the President who she claims she once had a relationship with.

    Speaking on the April 20, 2022 edition of Starr Chat programme, Ablakwa said the Minority was careful about the issue it was pursuing because of the widely spoken about amorous relationship Serwaa Broni alleged she had with Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was a personal issue.

    He stressed that such an issue could be addressed by the wife of the president, Rebecca Akufo-Addo and other family elders.

    “Let us be clear, we are not going into the morality, as for who is whose sidechick, who is sleeping with who, I mean, those are [his] personal family issues and I am sure Mama Rebecca will handle it with their family elders, that is none of our business,” he lawmaker stressed.

    The Minority in Parliament through leader Haruna Iddrissu said they were looking into the allegations the woman made in a recent interview with US-based journalist Kevin Taylor, in which she made allegations against National Security operatives and some politicians.

    “It is the allegations about National Security, and remember that the President as the Commander-In-Chief is the Chairman of the National Security Council per the Constitution of Ghana.

    “And so if the National Security is staging robberies, we are all not safe; journalists, CSO, MPs, whistleblowers … who want to expose wrongdoing, they will just come and stage robberies and who knows, you may be the next Ahmed Hussein Suale,” he added.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Here are the new legal fees issued by GBA

    A new directive on what clients seeking legal representation will be paying to their lawyers has been announced by the Ghana Bar Association (GBA).

    The remuneration for legal services, the GBA said, must measure up to the value of the time spent or value created as determined by the economic environment in which the service is provided.

    The new legal fees cover charges for professional services rendered by lawyers.

    The fees are quoted in both Ghana Cedis and US Dollars and are to be applied to services rendered to both Ghanaian and international clients as prescribed by law, the GBA directive of Thursday, April 21, noted.

    The directive read in part, “the essence of these guidelines shall be negotiation and agreement between Counsel and the client within the range prescribed below before the commencement of the provision of legal services. The law entitles every lawyer to reasonable compensation for his services.

    “In negotiating for fees a lawyer shall adhere to these approved tariffs and shall avoid charges which either overestimate or undervalue the service rendered, though in legal aid cases, the poverty of the client may require a less charge or even none at all.

    “The negotiation will take into consideration the nature and/amount of work involved and estimated time to be spent on it.

    “The terms of payment may include a deposit of up to fifty percent of the agreed fees payable upon firm instructions being given to commence work unless the Client and Counsel agree otherwise,” the GBA statement stated further.

    For initial consultation fees for Ghanaian clients, a “Senior Counsel (10+years) will charge GH¢2,000.00 maximum, Counsel (5-9 years) will charge GH¢1,500.00 maximum and Junior Counsel (under 5 years) will charge GH¢1,000.00 maximum.”

    For international clients, a “Senior Counsel (10+years) will charge US$500 – $1,000 maximum, Counsel (5-9 years) will charge US$375-$750 maximum and Junior Counsel (under 5 years) will charge US250-$500 maximum.”

    “Counsel may charge hourly rates for an extended Initial Consultation,” the GBA statement stressed.

    Find below the full fees presented to the mid-year review Bar conference:

    2022 Ghana Bar Association Scale of Fees by The Independent Ghana on Scribd

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • The communities in Ghana with no representation in Parliament

    Article 47 (1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana states that Ghana shall be divided into as many constituencies for the purpose of election of Members of Parliament as the Electoral Commission may prescribe, and each constituency shall be represented by one Member of Parliament.

    Yet, after the creation of the new regions in Ghana some communities namely Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lipke and Lolobi (SALL) traditional do not have representation in parliament.

    What is more striking is that there have been little to no attempts by the government and the Electoral Commission to rectify this anomaly.

    But why has the government failed to act? Is it because creating a new constituency or allowing the people of SALL to vote in their original constituency will tilt the balance of power in Parliament which will affect the government’s ability to get the necessary approval from the house. Or is the explanation of the government that the people of SALL must essentially wait till 2024 to get representation in Parliament, right?

    First let us explore how SALL was created

    The Guan District made up of Santrofi, Akpafu, Lipke and Lolobi (SALL) in the Oti Region, was created following the Legislative Instrument laid in Parliament by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in 2019.

    The district was previously part of the Hohoe Municipal, District Electoral Areas and Designation of Units Instrument, 2014 CI 85. However, the area was placed in the Oti Region in the Referendum (Creation of New Regions) Regulations 2018, CI 109 of November 30, 2018, as recommended by the Commission of Inquiry into the creation of the six new regions.

    Consequently, Guan was made part of the Oti Region in the Oti Region Instrument 2019 CI 112 on February 2019. It was also included in the Jasikan District in the Oti Region as provided in the District Electoral Areas and Designation of Unit Assemblies. But now the SALL areas have been put together to form the Guan District.

    Now, let us take a look at how SALL did not have representation in Parliament

    The SALL communities were set to vote in the newly created Buem Constituency of the Oti Region, despite the resistance of two of the communities, Akpafu and Lolobi, who said they should not have been added to the newly created Oti region because they never petition to be part of it and they also voted against being part of the region in the December 27, 2018 referendum.

    The Electoral Commission on the eve of the 2020 General Election, in a statement it issued, indicated that eligible voters in the Guan District (SALL traditional areas) will only take part in the presidential election, but not in the parliamentary election.

    It explained that the voters could not vote in the parliamentary election in line with Article 47(2) which states that no constituency shall fall within more than one region.

    “As a result of the creation of the Guan District Local Government (Guan District Assembly) Instrument, 2020 and pending the creation of the Guan Constituency, eligible voters in the Guan District will vote only in the Presidential Election but not in the Parliamentary Election in the Buem Constituency,” the statement read in part.

    The Commission indicated that a new constituency will be set for the people of the Guan District to give them the opportunity to elect a Member of Parliament to represent them in the 8th Parliament before January 7, 2021.

    According to the Ghana News Agency, the commission was not able to create the constituency in the Guan District because the Constitutional Instrument (CI) for the creation of the constituency could not have matured in time for SALL to have an MP in the 8th Parliament.

    “If we had initiated the process in the 7th Parliament, the CI could not have matured. In that case, the process will have to start all over again in the 8th Parliament,” a source from the commission told the GNA.

    What has the government said on SALL so far

    The Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, speaking on the floor of parliament on March 4, 2022, stated that the surest way for the people of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL) to have a representation in Ghana’s 8th Parliament, is for a fresh election to be conducted in the Buem Constituency.

    “The way to go if we want to achieve representation of the SALL areas in the lifetime of this Parliament is to ensure that proper areas that have been allocated within proper constituencies duly created by law are given their right to vote in proper elections, properly conducted to duly elect Members of Parliament.

    “Thus, a proper election ought to be conducted to elect a Member of Parliament to represent all of the people in the Buem Constituency, as mandated by C. I. 128,” he said.

    The government has not, however, taken any step to see this process through, to ensure that all Ghanaians rightly have a representation in Parliament. Yet we see the office of the government through the Office of the Attorney exploring all the legal means necessary to get the right representation for people in other constituencies.

    Why has the government not rigorously taken up the matter of the representation of the people of SALL as it is doing in the case of the Assin North Constituency and the Jomoro Constituency, where the Members of Parliament there are deemed to have been illegally elected. Is it legal for Ghanaians not to have a representation in Parliament?

    In response to the suggestion of the Attorney General, the co-chairman of the Joint Stirring Committee of the Akpafu and Lolobi Traditional Areas, Dr Joe Addae stated that it is wrong for Attorney General to call for re-election in Buem.

    According to Dr Addae, SALL had a firm indication from the Supreme Court and the Electoral Commission that they would be voting as constituents of Hohoe during the Parliament Election, adding that SALL traditional areas had all their electoral process in Hohoe and so it will be wrong to ask them to vote in another constituency.

    The posturing of the government and the seeming reluctance in fully taking up this issue has led to allegations that doing so might have some political consequences for the government given the previous voting history of the people of SALL should a re-election be done in Hohoe rather than Buem.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Children at risk of developing cancer through watermelon consumption KNUST scientists find banned pesticides in fruit

    Scientists at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have warned that children are at a higher risk of developing cancer by consuming watermelon.

    This comes after their findings revealed unacceptable levels of pesticide residues like DDT in watermelon on the market in the Mampong Municipality of the Ashanti Region.

    Although the organochlorine pesticides are banned for agricultural use, some farmers are using them, a situation which has adverse health effects on consumers.

    In an interview with JoyNews, on Thursday, the lead scientist, Prof Nathaniel Owusu Boadi, revealed that since children consume the fruit more, they stand the risk of developing cancer.

    “We looked at three of them; banana, pineapple and watermelon. For watermelon, the risk of consumption for adults was low, whereas that for infants was alarmingly high.

    “We say alarmingly high because the factor that we got was far greater than one, which means that it is alarming. Also, when we looked at the carcinogenic risk, we also realised that the children are at risk of having cancer by consuming watermelon because of the level of organochlorine pesticide that was found [in the fruit],” he explained.

    The scientists assessed the levels of organochlorine pesticide residues in fruits and determine the potential risk associated with the exposure to these pesticides.

    For the study, the researchers used about 120 fruits from five communities in the Mampong Municipality of the Ashanti Region.

    The results showed that although the levels of the pesticides were undetectable in bananas and pineapples, they were above the permissible limits in watermelons, which pose long-term risks to the consumer, especially children.

    “Levels of methoxychlor, Aldrin and gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) exceeded the maximum residue limits in watermelon.

    “Estimated health risk revealed that Aldrin in watermelon could pose potential toxicity to the consumer. Estimated average daily intake for Aldrin was above the acceptable average daily intake.

    “The combined health risk due to consumption of each fruit variety was minimal but, the overall health risk index due to consumption of all the fruits was higher than 1, indicating potential health risk to consumers,” the researchers added.

    They have called for a regular monitoring of pesticide residue in fruits and the appropriate actions taken to protect consumer health.

    Source: myjoyonline.com

  • NCA, CSA liaise to develop cybersecurity in Ghana

    The National Communications Authority (NCA) and the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) have reaffirmed their commitment to work together to develop cybersecurity in the Country.

    The two institutions led by their respective Director-Generals met on 5th April 2022 at the NCA Tower in Accra to discuss how to collaborate towards the successful collaboration of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038) which was assented into law on 29th December 2020.

    The Directors recognized the importance of securing the Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) and ensuring a safe online experience for citizens as the adoption of internet technology in Ghana is increasing at very fast pace.

    The two institutions have been collaborating in several areas since 2017 towards the development of cybersecurity in Ghana; these collaborative efforts, among others, have been recognized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Ghana was scored 86.69% in the latest Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), a major progress from previous ratings in 2017 and 2018 which were 32.6% and 43.7% respectively.

    The Directors thus reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate in order to improve upon this rating and ensure a safe and secure digital ecosystem in Ghana.

    After successful deliberations, recommendations, suggestions, they agreed to collaborate more closely on the following critical areas and to provide each other with all the necessary assistance for the performance of their functions:

    1. Hold joint discussions with various designated (CII) owners and come up with sector-specific directives to serve as guidelines for the protection of these CIIs.

    2. Collaborate in the area of capacity building of the staff of both institutions to ensure that the personnel have fundamental knowledge and appreciation of cybersecurity. These capacity building projects may include exchange programmes, technical workshops, and consultations.

    3. Work together to determine a minimum certification as baseline requirements for Computer Emergency Response Team staff in both institutions.

    4. Collaborate in the area of awareness creation and public education on critical national issues, technology usage, cybersecurity, cybercrime and related matters.

    5. Adopt a multi-stakeholder engagement approach through partnerships to enhance stakeholder-knowledge on the law and to create a cooperative environment to support law enforcement and build capacities among various sectors.

    Source: ghanaweb.com

  • E-Levy: Only 40% of respondents will conduct electronic transfers when necessary Survey

    A study by Global Info Analytics has said about 40 percent of Ghanaians sampled in a survey have indicated they will only conduct electronic money transactions when necessary.

    The development comes after the firm sought to inquire about how Ghanaians are responding to the approval of the controversial Electronic Transfer Levy which is set to take off from May 1, 2022.

    An earlier study conducted by the Ghanaian-based polling firm showed that some 73 percent of Ghanaians sampled were against the passage of the levy.

    But the latest findings by Global Info Analytics published on April 20, 2022 showed that the approval of the E-Levy will have no effect on 9 percent of the respondents sampled.

    The study also showed that 18 percent of the 5,182 respondents sampled for the survey have said they will find an alternative the avoid the tax policy while 26 percent of respondents said they will be withdrawing their funds from their respective mobile money wallets.

    In addition to the sampled respondents, some 7 percent said they do not use Mobile Money services on their mobile phones.

    Watch the latest episode of BizTech below:

    BizTech: Experts speak on financial principles of life, generational wealth creation

    BizTech: Saving money and creating generational wealth through financial literacy. Many people do not know how to save their monies, and for those who save, they leave the money to sit in their accounts without investing them to accrue some interests. This is because they either have no or little knowledge about financial literacy. Now, how do we become financially literate? What should we look out for before investing in a project? On this Friday’s edition of BizTech, our host, Ernestina Serwaa Asante sits with two financial experts; Michael Adjei and Des Amey to give us an insight on this topic. They’ll also teach us how to create generational wealth and the need to have multiple streams of income.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • KNUST SRC sets aside GH¢50,000 to assist needy students pay fees

    The Students Representative Council (SRC) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has set aside GH¢50,000 to assist needy students to pay their school fees to help save them from deferring their courses.

    Over 6000 KNUST students, representing about 8 per cent of the total student population of 85,276, have had to defer their courses in line with university regulations for non-payment of school fees as required under the fees Credit and Debt Management Policy.

    Out of the affected number, the SRC says over 2380 are needy students who have been offered bursaries which are yet to reflect in their accounts.

    The SRC President, Michael Aboah said the intervention is for the students who have paid more than 50 per cent of their fees and need a top-up of 20 per cent to be able to continue with their courses without necessarily deferring.

    On the issue of the university management’s explanation that some of the students have misapplied their school fees by engaging in sports betting and other business ventures, the SRC President debunked the claim.

    Background

    The University Relations Officer, Dr Daniel Norris Bekoe in explaining why the students have not been able to pay their fees alleged that some of them used their monies for other ventures such as sports betting.

    Following the intervention by the SRC, the university management has decided to give a reprieve for students who have been affected but can immediately make arrangements to pay.

    Below is a copy of statement issued by the University Relations Office on the update

    UPDATE ON STUDENTS’ DEFERRAL

    The SRC within last 24 hours has been on its toes to address major issues in relation to students who were unable to meet the University’s 70% payment plan and have received messages of deferral.

    It is important to mention that upon engagements and advocacy, the SC has been able to ensure that students who pay their fees will have their deferment reverted.

    This therefore comes as a plea to students to take advantage of the opportunity and try to settle their outstanding arrears.

    As a result of this, there has been a Help Desk set up at the office of the Dean of Students to address major concems in relation to:

    • Students who paid immediately after the deadlinc/after receiving messages of deferral
    • The 2380 beneficiaries of the SC KBN and KNUST Bursary whose stipend meets the 70% threshold
    • And any other student who received messages of deferment out of a technical hitch but had already
      paid for their fees before the deadline.

    NB: These categories of students are advised to visit the Help Desk with receipts of payment/award of scholarship to help revert them from deferral.

    Students should also note that the 2380 shortlisted beneficiaries of the SC KBN and KNUST Bursary and the successful applicants of the SC Financial Aid Scheme shall have their accounts credited by Monday, 25* April, 2022 to help revert their deferral.

    The SRC remains steadfast and committed to use all within its means to address issues. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the secretariat for further information and any concerns.

    May we all have the Faith to Finish through these difficult times.

    SIGNED
    KENNETH KELLY DWAMENA
    (PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER)

    The Academic Board of the KNUST on Tuesday made it known to the affected students that they were deferring their various programmes for non-payment of academic user fees.

    Early this year, the university extended the payment date from March 21 to April 11, to allow the students to honour their obligation.

    But, as of last week when mid-semester examinations were starting, the over 6000 students out of the 85,276 had reneged on their promises.

    more to follow…

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • No child should own a phone until they get to the university – Pastor Ibiyeomie

    Celebrated Nigerian preacher, Pastor Davido Ibiyeomie, has sent a warning to parents who buy mobile phones for their kids who are not of age.

    Pastor Ibiyeomie of the Salvation Ministries stated that no child should be allowed to own a phone or tablet until they get to the university. He believes that the child at that age will be mature enough to use it wisely.

    Speaking in a sermon that has gone viral, the popular preacher argued that parents who gift children the latest iPhones are only leading them to destruction.

    Pastor Ibiyeomie mentioned that his advice will be faced with stiff opposition despite it being the right way to train a child just as he did with his son.

    “Don’t buy a phone for any child who hasn’t gone to university. It may sound very awkward, I know you are too civilized but don’t do it… I refused to buy my son a phone until he got to the university. I told him, he’ll never use a phone until he gets to the university,” he cautioned.

    He further said: “Don’t buy a phone it is not civilization…many things pop up on phones and tablets. They can use their own phone, buy a landline and put it in your parlour. Let them use it, they will not agree but stand your ground…you are now buying an Apple phone for a 12-year child all because you say you’re civilized.”

  • Connivance in printing textbooks offshore: Education Ministry warns of sanctions

    The Ministry of Education will act appropriately if any local printer raises concerns of a publisher trying to circumvent what had been agreed on in the printing of government textbooks locally.

    However, it has ruled out the formation of a government task force to police the printing of the textbooks, as requested by the Ghana Printers and Paper Converters Association (GPPCA).

    Speaking with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the sector Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, said: “I don’t see the ministry setting up such a task force.”

    He was reacting to a front-page story of the Wednesday, April 20, 2022 edition of the Daily Graphic, in which the GPPCA had appealed for the formation of a task force.

    According to the association, it had evidence that some foreign printers were already in the country, contacting publishers and printers with juicy packages to take up the printing of the books in their countries.

    But the minister asked: “We have given out the job to local printers who are members of the association; why are they asking us to regulate the association?”

    Nevertheless, he indicated that the ministry was taking the concerns raised seriously and would act if any printer raised issues of a defaulting publisher.

    Monitoring

    Dr Adutwum said he would not worry himself about monitoring and asked the GPPCA to do the monitoring itself.

    “You have an association and you have petitioned the government to make sure we give the job to you. Now we have given the job to you and you are asking me to come and regulate your association,” he said.

    He asked the association to apply its own sanctions and not to request for a task force.

    Quantities

    The minister said if the association felt that its members had not been given the entire printing job, it had the right to find out.

    He was of the belief that the ministry had done the needful by ensuring that every publisher submitted a memorandum of understanding with a local printer, which all the publishers did.

    “If those printers who have been selected have questions, they can come to us. I don’t want to be dragged into the printers association. The bottom line is that the printers have been selected locally from among the association,” he said.

    Dr Adutwum said all the printers submitted by the publishers were Ghanaians, “and our understanding that the printing will be done locally and no one has negotiated anything to the contrary”.

    Public Procurement Authority

    He said the contract signed with the publishers was public information with the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) that could be accessed by anybody.

    He said the names of the publishers contracted were public knowledge and the volumes each publisher was to outsource to its selected local printer were equally public information.

    He encouraged the printers to contact the PPA to keep themselves abreast of the contract and the quantities, and that if they had any queries after that, they were free to contact the ministry.

    Taking concerns seriously

    “We are yet to receive any concerns raised by the printers who have been selected to print the textbooks. If they bring such concerns to us, we will deal with them,” Dr Adutwum said.

    He acknowledged the fact that because of the sheer volumes some of the subjects would require, publishers could contract more than one printer.

    Response

    Responding, the President of the GPPCA, Mr James Appiah-Berko, thanked the minister, saying the association would contact the PPA for the detailed contract documents.

    He hinted that the association might seek a meeting with the minister in the event that it ran into any challenges.

    He said even though the idea of a task force or a monitoring team had been discounted by the minister, the association would still form a monitoring team to visit the printing houses and, where necessary, offer technical support and any help that would be required.

    He said the last time the printing was done locally, a similar team was formed and it was of great benefit to the printing houses.

    Mr Appiah-Berko explained that the team would be an internal mechanism to ensure that the right quality of inputs were used, so that “we do not compromise our own standards”.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Politics not only way to develop country — Prof. Akosa

    A former Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, has expressed concern about the over-concentration of everything in the country on politics, pointing out that the country could not only be developed through politics.

    Mentioning national cohesion and leadership as some of the ways through which the country could be developed, Prof. Akosa, who is also a board member of the Mobilising Old Students for Educational Support (MOSES) Foundation Ghana, said currently, there was no opportunity to build national leadership.

    “The lack of transformational leadership is one of the major banes of our society,” he stated.

    Prof. Akosa made the remarks at the inauguration of the board of the MOSES Foundation Ghana, a global old students leadership institute that sought to mobilise old students in building national cohesion for educational development.

    The five-member board has the Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission, Dr Kodjo Esseim Mensah-Abrampa, as its Chairman and the other members being Prof. Akosa, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey; an energy expert and Executive Director of the Kumasi Institute of Technology and Environment, Ishmael Agyekumhene and the President of the foundation, Nyaaba-Aweeba Azongo.

    Schools rivalry

    Touching on the relevance of the foundation, Prof. Akosa, who was speaking on behalf of the board chairman said, he had always wondered how the rivalry and banter among schools could be used for real national cohesion and support the educational sector.

    Citing the National Science and Maths Quiz competition and the Inter-Colleges sporting events for second cycle schools as programmes that old students of various second cycle schools threw their weight behind their alma maters, he said, such energies from the old students could be harnessed for the advancement of the educational sector and also to build national leadership.

    “There are rivalry between schools and it will continue for ages. The old student platform is the only platform that whether you are a muslim or christian, your ethnicity or political affiliation did not matter,” he explained.

    He commended the MOSES Foundation Ghana for using the old students platform to harness national cohesion and build up support not only for any individual alma mater but for the educational sector in the country.

    Explaining what the foundation was about, Mr Azongo said it was established to provide leadership in building national cohesion based on old students solidarity and advocacy in mobilising old students support for sustainable educational development in the country and to inspire global leadership excellence in schools in the country.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • EIU report: We will risk 2024 with Mahama Edudzi Tameklo

    The main opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC) has downplayed the Economic Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) report suggesting that the party cannot win the 2024 general elections with former President John Dramani Mahamaas its presidential candidate.

    The EIU projected that the NDC will win the 2024 polls but says it expects the biggest opposition party to revitalize its prospects with a fresh face on the ballot box rather than former President John Mahama.

    “The next parliamentary and presidential elections are due in 2024. Under constitutionally mandated term limits, the incumbent president, Mr Akufo-Addo, cannot run for a third term”.

    “The former president, John Mahama, is reportedly considering running again, but we expect the opposition NDC to try to revitalize its prospects with a fresh candidate,” the report said.

    The report noted: “Our baseline forecast is that ongoing public dissatisfaction with the slow pace of improvements in governance—such as infrastructure development, job creation and easing of corruption will trigger anti-incumbency factors and push the electorate to seek a change”.

    “The NDC, therefore, stands a reasonable chance of winning the 2024 elections”.

    Apart from Mr Mahama, who is rumoured to be considering a comeback, a former Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, who also served as Finance Minister under President John Mills, has publicly expressed interest in becoming the flagbearer of the NDC ahead of the 2024 elections.

    An aide to Mr Mahama, Mr Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, reacting to the report, said: “As a party, we will fight the next elections like a man fighting his estranged wife over the custody of his children”.

    He noted that the NPP is bent on covering up its tracks as well as the rot it has created in government, warning that the next NDC government will uncover all those things after winning the election.

    He was of the view that the NPP would elect Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia or Minister of Trade Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanten as its presidential candidate and that since 1992, no first-timer apart from the late Jerry John Rawlings has ever won an election.

    Mr Tameklo said former President John Agyekum Kufuor contested twice before winning in 2000, just like the late President Evans Atta-Mills and current President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

    “We like to take a calculated risk with former President John Dramani Mahama, who polled over two million votes in the 2020 general elections,” he said on Accra-based Okay FM today, Wednesday, April 20, 2022.

    Source: classfmonline.com

  • NRSA commends IGP, police for helping to reduce road crashes during Easter

    The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has commended the Ghana Police Service for its “high visibility” on the roads during this year’s Easter season and festivities.

    In a statement signed by the Acting Director-General of the Authority, David Osafo Adonteng, the NRSA admitted that the deployment of police patrol teams at vantage points to maintain law and order was remarkable.

    “Even more remarkable was the traffic management duties on the entire road networks within the country, especially, along the Accra-Nkawkaw-Kumasi highway and the Kwahu townships of Mpreaso, Nkwatia, Atibie and Abetifi.

    “These actions by the Police were outstanding and significantly supported the public education and regulation activities of the Authority,” the statement said.

    It added that it also took the successful cooperation between the NRSA and the police to ensure that the Easter festivities were without too many incidences on the roads.

    “The effective collaboration between the NRSA and the Ghana Police Service ensured better compliance of road traffic regulations and road safety standards during the Easter season.

    “Although the NRSA and the Ghana Police Service are still analyzing the road crash data collected during the just-ended festive period, preliminary findings indicate low cases of crashes and casualties,” it added.

    The NRSA therefore commended the Inspector General of Police, COP Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, and his men for the wonderful work they did.

    “The NRSA commends the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, for his ground-breaking ideas in combatting road traffic crashes through technology and the recently launched Police Action Against Rider Indiscipline (PAARi) and the Public Invincible Eye (PIE) operations which we at the Authority consider laudable strategies and assure the JGP of our full support and cooperation for such initiatives.

    “The Authority’s ongoing flagship programme “Stay Alive” Road Safety Campaign with the Media is increasingly improving road safety awareness and the sustainability of these vigorous enforcement actions by the Police as witnessed during the Easter will add more to ensure mass effect in the fight to clamp down on indiscipline among road users especially acts of excessive speeding, wrongful overtaking, crossing red-lights and abandoning of disabled vehicles on the road, among others,” it said.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Akufo-Addo commiserates with Dag Heward-Mills and family on the death of his son

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has visited the home of the Founder and General Overseer of the United Denomination Originating from the Lighthouse Group of Churches (UD-OLGC), Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, to commiserate with him on the passing of his eldest son.

    The news of the death of Dr. David Heward-Mills broke on Good Friday, April 15, 2022, but with little information on exactly what led to his death.

    In photos shared by the president on his Facebook page, he said he visited the family to sympathise with them.

    “On Tuesday, 19th April 2022, I visited Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, Founder and General Overseer of the United Denomination Originating from the Lighthouse Group of Churches (UD-OLGC), to express the sympathies and condolences of my family and I, on the tragic loss of his son.

    “I wish the Bishop and his family the strength, comfort and love of the Almighty in these difficult times,” the post said.

    The president also signed a book of condolence opened in the memory of the late David Heward-Mills.

    On Saturday, April 16, 2022, GhanaWeb reported that the Founder of the Lighthouse Chapel International, Dag Heward-Mills had lost his first son to death.

    According to reports, his first son, Dr. David Heward-Mills, who was a medical doctor died in the United States of America on Friday, April 15, 2022, after a short illness.

    He died at the age of 31.

    About the late Dr. David Heward-Mills

    Before his demise, he worked as a resident physician at Prisma Health, Columbia, South Carolina in the United States of America for 1 year, 11 months.

    From July 2019 to June 2020, he was with Piedmont Healthcare as a medical doctor in Athens, Georgia, United States.

    Information gathered from his LinkedIn account shows that he worked as a part-time lead director for national alliance for mental health and substance abuse recovery for 5 years.

    He was also a research physician at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Galveston.

    Education

    The late Dr. David Heward-Mills had his Internal Medicine Residency Programme at the University of Georgia from 2019 to 2020.

    Before that [2008 to 2014], he acquired his Doctor of Medicine certificate from Vinnic’kij Deržavnij Medicnij Universitet im M.I.Pirogova.

    Here are some photos of the president’s visit:

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Remain united – Dr Moussa urges NPP members

    A member of the Council of Elders of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Jebir Kebir Moussa, has advised the party faithfuls to be disciplined and united to break the eight-year change of governance and political administration.

    He charged the members to show commitment in their work to enable the party to maintain power in the 2024 general election.

    He said the NPP had the vision, capacity and good programmes to manage the economy to provide better standards of living for every Ghanaian; hence, the need for every member to work towards winning the next general election.

    Get-together

    Dr Moussa gave the advice when he organised a get-together for party faithfuls and a cross- section of the people from the Ahafo Ano South West, Ahafo Ano South East and Ahafo Ano North constituencies last Saturday.

    The event held at Barniekrom, a farming community in the Ahafo Ano South West District of the Ashanti Region, was attended by about 400 people.

    Also present were some traditional leaders, and Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, one of the aspirants for the Ashanti Regional NPP Chairmanship position.

    MP, DCE honoured

    Dr Moussa, who is also a prominent farmer, also honoured the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ahafo Ano South West, Johnson Kwaku Adu, and the District Chief Executive (DCE), Joseph Bonsu, for their contribution to development in the area.

    According to him, he monitored the activities of the two leaders, and came to the conclusion that they were up to their duties.

    He urged them to continue to work harder and transform the area.

    Commendation

    Mr Adu, on behalf of the people, lauded Dr Moussa for his generosity towards the party and his great affection for the people in the constituency.

    He assured him that together with the DCE, they would forge ahead and continue to implement policies that would inure to the benefit of the people they served.

    On the upcoming constituency elections of the party, he charged all aspirants to be tolerant, and remember that all they needed now was to protect the good image of NPP to make it more attractive to the people.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Publishers conniving to print textbooks offshore: Printers association cries out

    The Ghana Printers and Paper Converters Association (GPPCA) has raised a red flag over attempts by some publishers, in connivance with local printers, to source the printing of government textbooks to printers outside the country.

    The association says there is evidence that some foreign printers are already in the country, contacting publishers and printers with juicy packages to take up the printing of the books in their countries.

    In an interview with the Daily Graphic on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 the Executive Director of the GPPCA, William Turkson, reiterated the need for the government to step up its control mechanisms to ensure that publishers contracted to get the textbooks printed locally did not sneak out of the country to execute the job.

    Context

    Last year, the government announced its commitment to cede 100 per cent of the printing of its textbooks locally to help grow the printing industry.

    For pre-qualification, all local publishers were directed to present their documents, which must include signed contracts with local printers.

    The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, warned that publishers without agreements with local printers would not be considered in the offer.

    Taskforce

    Mr Turkson proposed that a task force, made up of officials from the Ministry of Education, the National Security, the Ghana Publishers Association, an industry expert and the GPPCA, be set up to police the printing of the books locally.

    He charged publishers and printers to demonstrate good faith, as shown by the government, to ensure that the entire contract was executed locally to help grow the printing industry and also create jobs for the youth.

    He said some of the publishers had already been given the green light for the commencement of the printing, while others were still waiting for their turn.

    He indicated that if care was not taken, with the kind of packages being thrown at publishers and some printers, it was possible some of them would find ways of taking their contracts to print outside, even though they had signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with local printers.

    Monitoring

    Mr Turkson said the GPPCA, on its part, would monitor its members who signed MoUs with publishers to ensure that the printing was fully done locally.

    “The association alone cannot enforce the printing of the textbooks locally because a publisher can work his or her way out without the involvement of the local printer, and this is where the ministry’s role in such a task force is crucial.

    “The ministry is in a better position to tell which publisher has been selected and given the green light to begin printing, the volume of books assigned to that publisher and which local printer is executing the contract,” he explained.

    Foreign infiltration

    Some of the printers the Daily Graphic contacted confirmed that they had been contacted by foreign printers within the last three weeks with offers to enable them (foreigners) to take up the printing on their behalf.

    But the President of the GPPCA, James Appiah-Berko, warned that the association would expose and sanction any member who connived with a publisher to print the books outside the country.

    He described the attempt as “unpatriotic”, saying that the government had confidence in the local printing industry, which explained why it decided to cede the entire printing of its textbooks locally.

    Required information

    Touching on the call for the setting up of a task force to monitor the printing to ensure that the intention of the government to grow the industry and also create jobs would be realised, Mr Appiah-Berko said it was critical that the volume of books assigned to each publisher and printer be made known to the task force.

    “With such information, we will be able to interrogate the contract delivery during the monitoring,” he said, adding that without that information, the work of the task force would be in vain.

    He further indicated that with such information, there would be no need for the inclusion of the National Security “because we will have had all the needed information to monitor and interrogate”.

    He said during interactions with members of the association, only two of them confirmed that their publishers had been given the green light, adding that it was the expectation of the association that it would be expedited.

    Mr Appiah-Berko expressed the hope that the rest of the publishers would also be given the green light early enough, so that their printers could also start work.

    He said every effort should be made to ensure that the printing was done locally, insisting that the local printing industry had come of age and its output could compare competitively and even better than what was done outside.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Should celebrities be held accountable for the ethics of their endorsement? Bright Simons asks

    Bright Simons, the Vice President of IMANI Africa, has questioned whether celebrities who endorse controversial financial schemes should also be held accountable when things go wrong.

    His comments, posted on Twitter, came after musician Livingstone Etse Satekla, popularly known as Stonebwoy, was called out by media personality, Bridget Otoo for endorsing a new crypto scheme.

    Stonebwoy tweeted a photo of a crypto scheme, Sidicoin, encouraging his followers to join the SidiCoinNFT because “every hardworking person deserves to make money.”

    Bridget Otoo, quoted the tweet and questioned why after the controversy Menzgold created, Stonebwoy, who was an ambassador for the scheme, has once again introduced his fans to another scheme.

    “You are part of the ambassadors of Menzgold who championed and led customers to lose money. Some have died as a result of the Menzgold scam. Do you think it is fair to introduce them to another “money making venture”? Do you really care about them?” her tweet read.

    The musician defended his tweet stating thus, “the core problem of the Menzgold saga has the least to do with ambassadors, please you stand in a good position as a Media Personality to seek the reality from NAM1 and the government.”

    But the mPedigree owner in joining the conversation noted that, some fans of the dancehall artiste, “seem worried about his seeming love for endorsing controversial financial & crypto schemes.”

    Simons asked, “should they (celebrities) have to add mandatory risk disclosure?” to ensure Ghanaians are protected.

    “Should they have to add mandatory risk disclosure?” he added.

    When Menzgold started in Ghana, some Ghanaian celebrities including Okyeame Kwame, Jackie Appiah, Stonebwoy, Joselyn Dumas, Kumi Guitar, and Becca, endorsed the gold dealership company owned by embattled businessman, Nana Appiah Mensah aka NAM1 before it was shut down in September 2018 by the Ghana Securities and Exchange Commission.

     

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Teacher trainees to feed themselves starting May 8 – PRINCOF

    The National Conference of Principals of Colleges of Education Ghana (PRINCOF) has directed that teacher trainees start to fund their own feeding from May 8.

    This directive is in response to the inability of Colleges of Education to make payments for food items supplied to them.

    According to PRINCOF, food suppliers who had continued delivering supplies to these Colleges of Education for months without payment have finally withdrawn their services till they receive the monies owed them.

    “Most Colleges now have food items that can last only one week if students are to be provided with three (3) meals a day,” PRINCOF said in a letter to the Education Minister.

    To this end, PRINCOF has suggested that:

    Teacher trainees to feed themselves starting May 8 – PRINCOF by The Independent Ghana on Scribd

    “Trainee teachers will be provided with two meals, breakfast and supper only for one week, from April 23 to April 30, 2022.

    “Trainee teachers from May 1 to May 8, 2022 shall be given lunch only.

    “After May 8, trainee teachers would be asked to provide their own meals until their feeding allowances have been paid,” it said.

    Meanwhile, food vendors are being encouraged to increase the quantity of daily meals they cook for sale to students.

    “These measures are meant to ensure that there is no disruption of the academic calendar,” it concluded.

    Source:myjoyonline.com

  • Meet the undefeated MP who has never said a word in parliament

    There are many Members of Parliament who do not speak on the floor of the House but seem to only do so, when they return to their constituents to seek for votes.

    There are equally some MPs who have also lost their seats because they never said a word on the floor of the House while there.

    But, in the case of the Member of Parliament(MP) for the Ayawaso East constituency, things are slightly different for him.

    This MP, who is representing the people of Ayawaso East, on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Naser Toure Mahama, has won his seat three consecutive times despite his deafening silence on the floor of the House.

    Naser Mahama Toure was elected Member of Parliament in 2012 and has since retained his seat.

    Speaking in an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb’s Nimatu Yakubu Atouyese, he said his silence does not mean he is not working in the constituency.

    “You know how parliament works; you talk when there is a need to talk. Some of our work is mostly at the committee level. For me, all I believe in is to make sure I work in my community, and they like me because I changed the lives of people,” he explained.

    He added that he believes that his constituents keep voting for him because, he has fulfilled his promises and has impacted the community.

    “Some MPs make noise in Parliament, but when you visit their constituency, you don’t see any changes. If you enter Nima today, you will notice a lot of changes from pavement blocks, to the construction of roads, bridges and other major projects,” he added.

    Speaking with some of the constituents, they indicated that they have no problem with regard to the silence of their MP in parliament.

    They added that they can attest to the good works he is doing in their constituency.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Nigerians sharing school sex tape face 14 years

    Nigerians have been warned that sharing images of child pornography is an offence that carries a 14-year jail term after a video alleged to involve schoolchildren went viral.

    Students from a prestigious school were on a trip to Dubai last month when the alleged incident was filmed.

    The mother of a 10-year-old says her daughter was coerced to participate.

    Lagos state government has ordered the school’s closure so the “alleged sexual violence case” can be investigated.

    In a video posted on social media, the mother alleges her daughter was drugged by the male students and accused the school authorities of a cover-up.

    Chrisland Schools, which runs several private primary and secondary schools in Lagos, has denied any wrong-doing, saying it takes its duty of care seriously and would co-operate with any inquiry.

    According to the school, it was a game of “Truth or Dare” that involved five out of 76 students attending the World School Games between 8 and 14 March.

    It said it had informed their parents of the “misconduct” and the students had been reprimanded in accordance with the school’s regulations.

    But the mother of the 10-year-old says she was not told the severity of what happened at first, only finding out later when another parent alerted her to the footage, which has since been widely shared on social media.

    When she questioned her daughter, she found out the girl had been told not to speak about what had happened: “My daughter was dying in silence and she couldn’t speak.”

    She had now been suspended from the school, the mother said.

    “To crown it all, because we have started confronting them and started telling them we are aware of what happened, they now sent her a suspension letter.”

    According to Lagos state laws, it is illegal for minors to engage in sex and the authorities said it was ensuring that adequate medical and psychological support would be provided.

    Any image showing sexually explicit conduct involving a child – including “producing, distributing, receiving or possessing” one – was an offence liable to a sentence of 14 years, the Lagos state government said.

    Source:

    bbc.com

  • Pharmacist charged for personation, threat of death

    A Pharmacist who was an intern at the Ghana Police Hospital Pharmacy has been arraigned and charged with five counts after posing as a medical officer of the hospital.

    Reghan Kaaie-Mabong, age 38, is facing a count of possession of firearms without lawful authority, two counts of personation, and two counts of the threat of death.

    He pleaded not guilty to all five charges when he was arraigned on Tuesday, April 19, 2022.

    The Court presided over by Her Honour Mrs. Rosemond Baah Torsu granted him bail in the sum of GHc100, 000 with two sureties.

    The accused appeared in court without counsel and the case has been adjourned to May 17, 2022.

    The brief facts of the case as presented to the court by Inspector Jonas Laweh, the prosecutor, were that, on February 28, this year, at about 11:30 pm, the accused went to the 2M Express transport yard at Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

    According to the prosecutor, the accused parked his car and started urinating around the premises.

    Inspector Laweh said, he was immediately confronted by a night security guard around 11:30 pm, but he did not take the approach lightly.

    The prosecutor told the court that, in the ensuing confrontation, the accused pulled a gun on the security guard.

    He added that the accused also pointed a gun at a driver who heard the quarrel and approached the scene.

    They called the police to have him arrested and when questioned he said, he was a medical officer at the Police Hospital.

    But, upon investigation at the Police hospital, it turns out that, the accused was only an intern at the Police Hospital Pharmacy between October 2015 and June 2016.

    According to the investigator, the accused has since not worked with the hospital.

    Source: kasapafmonline.com

  • Minority caucus runs to SC to stop implementation of E-Levy on May 1

    The minority has petitioned the Supreme Court for an order of interlocutory injunction to restrain the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government through the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) from commencing with the implementation of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) on the 1st of May 2022.

    The plaintiffs are Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu, MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, and Bawku Central MP, Mahama Ayariga.

    The three have filed an earlier suit at the apex court challenging the passage of the e-Levy bill by a one-sided parliament.

    They claim the number of legislators in the chamber when the bill was passed did not form a quorum as declared by the Supreme Court.

    The opposition MPs want the Supreme Court to set aside the passage of the e-levy bill by the 136 Members of Parliament of the Majority Caucus present in the chamber of parliament on 29 March 2022 as unconstitutional, null, and void.

    The new writ seeks to stop the commencement of the levy until the final determination of the first case of declaring the levy as null and void.

    Source: classfmonline.com

  • Account for your GH¢20,000 Ugandan trip – Ghana School of Law SRC Secretary told

    It is emerging that more and more students of the Ghana School of Law want their leaders to account for their stewardships as executives of the Students Representative Council (SRC).

    As the tenure of the current student administration comes to an end later this year, pressure has started mounting on the executives to present an account to the students.

    Information available to GhanaWeb indicates that some of the students are asking their Secretary, Safo Kwame Oheneba, to account for the expenses he made on his official trip to Uganda.

    Sources within the Ghana School of Law expressed the belief that there is no other time to demand accountability from their leaders than now when the school is in the spotlight for some financial improprieties.

    On March 14, 2022, the SRC Secretary of the Ghana School of Law, Safo Kwame Oheneba, left for Uganda on an official SRC visit and returned on March 21, 2022.

    But almost a month after his return, the students claim he has not accounted for the over GH¢20,000 of the SRC money he was given for the trip.

    “The practice is that when you go on an official trip in the name of the SRC, you are supposed to write a report and account for your trip within two weeks.

    “Almost a month after his return, a Secretary who is clothed with the duties of writing, has not accounted and we find it worrying,” a source said.

    The tenure of the current 7-man SRC executives comes to an end later in 2022, after which an audit would be carried out to pave way for the handing over to new executives who would have been elected by then.

    The current executive council of the SRC consists of a president, and three vice presidents, with each representing all three campuses of the school at Makola (Accra), GIMPA, and Kumasi.

    The rest are the secretary, organizing secretary and a treasurer.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • National Cathedral: Methodist Church Ghana donates GH₵100,000 to project

    The Methodist Church Ghana has donated GH₵100,000 towards the construction of the National Cathedral of Ghana in fulfilment of an annual budgetary allocation towards the project.

    A Facebook post by The National Cathedral, Ghana, said the donation was made on behalf of the Methodist Church, Ghana by the presiding Bishop, Most. Rev. Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo and the Director of Finance, Very. Rev. Anthony Kwabena Cobbah.

    Receiving the donation on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral was Reverend Ebenezer Saka Ameyaw, who is the Head of Church Relations and Executive Assistant at the National Cathedral Secretariat.

    About the project

    The $100-million inter-denominational cathedral will have an auditorium capable of seating 5,000, as well as chapels and a baptistery.

    The site will also house a music school, an art gallery and a museum dedicated to the Bible.

    A board of trustees is supervising the construction.

    The board, which was inaugurated in March 2017, is chaired by a former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Ghana, the Most Rev. Samuel Asante Antwi, with the Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast, the Most Rev. Charles Palmer-Buckle, as Vice-Chairman.

    The National Cathedral was proposed by the government in March 2017 as a physical embodiment of national unity, harmony and spirituality.

    The design for the cathedral was unveiled by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in March 2018.

    He said at the time that the construction of the cathedral was in fulfilment of a promise he made to God in the run-up to the general election in 2016.

    Source:graphic.com.gh

  • Storm destroys roofs at Pankese; Chief donates building materials, cash to support repairs

    Twenty-seven residents of Pankese in the Birim North District of the Eastern Region were rendered homeless, when the roofs of their homes were destroyed by strong winds during a rainstorm.

    According to victims, the storm, characterised by mighty winds in the evening of March 20, took off the roofs of five homes, leading to the displacement of the victims who had to temporarily stay with friends, while others slept in the open.

    The Akyem Kotoku Mponua Gyasehene, Nana Kwesi Addo II, has since the storm gone to the aid of the victims with some building materials and a cash of GH¢1,500 as workmanship for a carpenter to reroof the buildings.

    The items donated included 40 roofing sheets, 25 of 2×6 inches roofing planks, five bags of cement, two packets of roofing nails, two packets of 4-inch nails, and two packets of 3-inch nails.

    In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Nana Addo said, “I sympathise with the victims who for some days had no roofs over their heads. As a chief, it behooves on me to always put the wellbeing of my people at heart; as a result, hearing about the sad incident moved me and I had to act quickly.

    Appreciation

    The Unit Committee Chairman of Pankese, Eric Boafo, expressed gratitude to Nana Gyasehene for his timely donation to the victims.

    “We want to thank Nana Gyasehene for his kind response to the cry of the victims. It is one of the several beautiful things he has done for this community and we cannot thank him enough. On behalf of the victims, I say may God bless him more abundantly and strengthen him for his great deeds and love for residents of Pankese,” he said.

    He nonetheless, lamented the lack of immediate actions on the part of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), since they visited days after the incident and appealed that they also contribute their quota to the welfare of the people.

    In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the NADMO Director of the Birim North District, Grace Ivy Dokuah, confirmed that they had visited the victims and their homes but had been unable to help them due to the shortage of relief items.

    “We visited the victims and their homes after hearing about the incident but we have not been able to give out any relief items because at the moment all items are finished. We have written to the Eastern Regional Office of NADMO for some relief items; once it comes we will quickly move in and do the needful,” she said.

    Observation

    An observation made by the Daily Graphic was that all affected homes; some built with mud and outmoded were completely left without roofs and had been deserted.

    A victim, Vida Brokwa, said she had since the event been living with her friend and her children. However, she later got a loan from someone to temporarily get shelter while they awaited NADMO and benevolent people to come to their aid.

    Another victim, Kwabena Agyekum, narrated that he had since the incident been sleeping in front of kiosks every evening, as it was the only available place of comfort, especially during downpours.

     

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Minority Leader, 2 MPs file injunction against implementation of E-levy

    The Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, and two other NDC MPs, have filed an injunction at the Supreme Court against the implementation of the Electronic Transfer Levy (e-levy).

    Mr Iddrisu, Mahama Ayariga and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa are urging the apex court to restrain the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) from implementing the e-levy until the final determination of their suit challenging the constitutionality of its passage by Parliament.

    Reasons

    The injunction application filed by their lawyer , Godwin Kudzo Tameklo, today (April 19, 2020) avers that millions of people will suffer irreparable harm if the E-Levy Act is not put on hold and the court determines that its passage was unconstitutional.

    According to them, the GRA would be unable to reimburse the millions who have paid the e-levy while the 1992 Constitution which is the supreme law of the land would have been undermined.

    “That the Plaintiffs having raised an allegation of a breach of the Constitution in the passage of the Electronic Transfer Levy Act, 2022(Act 1075), in order to avoid an incalculable damage, injury and inconvenience not only to the people of Ghana but as well as undermining the Constitution which is the supreme law of the land, the justice of the case demands that the implementation of the Electronic Transfer Levy Act, 2022(Act 1075) is put on hold until the final determination of the instant suit,” the injunction application stated.

    Substantive case

    The three MPs in their substantive suit want the apex court to declare the passage of the e-levy as unconstitutional and therefore null and void.

    It is their case that Parliament did not have the right quorum to pass the e-levy as stipulated under Article 104(1) of the 1992 Constitution which had recently been interpreted by the Supreme Court.

    According to them, as at the time the second reading for the passage of the e-Levy was done , there were only 136 MPs present in Parliament instead of the required 138.

    They want the court to therefore declare the whole proceedings including the second reading, third reading and voting ti pass the e-levy as unconstitutional, null , void and of no effect.

    The plaintiffs are also seeking an order from the court to set aside the passage of the e-levy by Parliament.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Police commence manhunt for person behind illegal demolishing at Pampaso No. 1

    The Ghana Police Service has disclosed that preliminary investigations on the illegal demolishing of homes in Pampaso Number 1, a suburb of Nsawam in the Eastern Region point to one Kofi Acquah, as being the mastermind.

    The police said that Kofi Acquah will soon be arrested and duly prosecuted for the illegal destruction of homes that affected 11 houses in Pampaso, citinewroom.com reports.

    In an interview with Citi News, the Eastern Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ebenezer Tetteh, urged the affected residents who have blocked the Accra-Kumasi highway in protest of the demolishing to leave the road as it works to resolve the situation.

    “Police received information on the illegal demolition. Based on that, we proceeded quickly to the scene. Officers saw agitated people blocking the main Accra-Kumasi Highway. We pleaded with them to rescind the decision because of its repercussions.

    “Investigations so far point to the fact that one Kofi Acquah is behind the illegal demolition and as soon as he is arrested, he will be taken through due processes of the law. We want to appeal to agitated residents not to take the law into their hands. They should remain calm because we will make sure we will get to the bottom of this matter,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nsawam Adoagyiri Constituency, Frank Annoh Dompreh, who is the MP responsible for the area, has urged the affected persons to stay calm.

    He has also indicated that the affected person will be given some relief while the police work to resolve the matter.

    Residents of Pampaso Number 1, a suburb of Nsawam in the Eastern Region, on April 18, 2022, blocked the Accra-Kumasi Highway in protest of their houses being demolished.

    According to the residents, gunmen, who they claim were land guards, attacked them while they were sleeping, threw them out and demolished their buildings, reports myjoyonline.com.

    The residents also alleged that some Chinese nationals, who claim that they have bought Pampaso, sent the land guards to evict them and destroy their homes.

     

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com