The Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu, is expected to appear before an Accra court, today, to face charges for unlawful road blockage and destruction of public property.
This comes after the police served him a criminal summons for his involvement in a protest in his constituency.
The protest, the police said, led to an “unlawful road blockade and destruction of public property.â€
Francis-Xavier Sosu has become the subject of a tussle between parliament and the police following his involvement in a protest by residents of the Ayi-Mensah, Danfa, and Otinibi stretch of the La Nkwantanang-Madina Municipality on October 25, 2021.
The police had written to parliament for him to avail himself for questioning but parliament refused to grant the request of the police.
The Speaker of parliament, however, referred the matter to the privileges committee of parliament for findings and recommendations.
The police have tried unsuccessfully to arrest the member of the legislature, who represents the Madina constituency in Accra twice.
The service has now taken a step to challenge the matter before the court.
The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has noted that the rate at which accidents are occurring in Ghana at the moment is unacceptable.
According to the GMA, the current menace of road crashes with 11,858 crashes of which there were 2,126 casualties in the first nine (9) months of this year alone is unacceptable.
On the average six (6) lives are lost per day in Ghana to road traffic crashes, it added.
The GMA said in a communique issued at the end of its 63rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Sunyani from 2nd to 7th November 2021 that “Road safety in the country is bedevilled by pre-crash challenges such the general indiscipline of road users, poor road design and construction, exponential increase in motorcycle related crashes and casualties, weak enforcement of road traffic regulations and the absence of a legislative instrument (L I.) for the NRSA Act, 2019 (Act 993).
“The post-crash challenges accounting for lives on the roads in Ghana include inadequate trauma care centers in the country and insufficient funding for health facilities to cater for crash victims as well as non-reimbursing of funds spent on crash victims by health facilities.
“To curb the current trend of fatalities on the road, the GMA recommends the following: Dualization of major highways in Ghana and inter modal transportation, The conduct of a road safety audit with treatment of hazardous sections, Provision of rest stops every 80-100km along major highways to manage, fatigue .Automation of traffic enforcement, Continuous driver training and training of trainers for motorcycle/tricycle riders.â€
Regrading regulation of commercial road passenger, haulage, and transport-related services, it said “We urge all stakeholders in the road safety sector work hard to avert more crushes during the Christmas and New Year festivities.â€
Senior Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Asah Asante, has commended Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the Akufo-Addo-led government for their digital transformative programmes.
The Vice President days ago delivered a public lecture at the Ashesi University outlining the government’s plans and progress in digitizing the economy.
Dr. Bawumia, in his address, shed more light on some already implemented digital programmes like the Ghana card, digital property address system, mobile money interoperability and Zipline medical drone delivery services among others.
He also pointed out further plans to digitally advance the nation, touching on e-pharmacy, e-passport, enrollment of Ghanaian babies onto the Ghanacard and the synchronization of data with all these projects and others geared towards developing the country and ensuring that Ghana catches up with the digital world.
Dr. Asah Asante, speaking on Peace FM’s ”Kokrokoo”, was exhilarated by the government’s phenomenal successes and initiatives to digitalize Ghana.
He highlighted some benefits to Ghana saying digitalizing the economy will help curb corruption, encourage accountability and enhance good governance.
He, therefore, minced no words as he declared full support for the digital vision of the Akufo-Addo administration.
”I fully support it even when I’m alive or dead. It’s a good thing . . . I like this initiative every day,” he stated.
A young man whose name has been given as Mensah Moses has been jailed for three years for stealing plantain from the garden of a Policeman.
Narrating his sad ordeal to Crime Check Foundation, Mensah indicated that he shares a wall with the Policeman at Saltpond in the Central region and therefore thought it will not be a problem to take plantain that belongs to him.
Unknowing to him, it was a crime and he was caught and arraigned before court.
Moses explained that it was an informant who leaked his activities in the backyard garden of the policeman leading to his arrest one hot afternoon while he was relaxing after selling some bunches of plantain.
Mensah confesses to having stolen 20 bunches of plantain from the backyard garden of the Policeman.
“I usually harvest the plantain and sell it out to people. Times were very hard for me because as a carpenter, the jobs were not forthcoming and I also needed money to take care of a number of things so I depended on his plantain for survival,†he told crim check foundation.
“When I sell the plantain I can get GHC 20 or GHC 50 cedis depending on the size of the plantain,†he said but acknowledged that his actions were not in good taste.
Mensah Moses disclosed that he is a chain smoker of wee and cigarettes because it gives him strength and also urges him to engage in acts that are nothing to write home about.
Ghanaian youths looking for employment opportunities in the government sector have been urged to rather make the effort to create own jobs to become entrepreneurs.
Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, who made the call, said “you should not think of getting employment and obtaining salary, but you should think of possibly becoming entrepreneurs who can open your own businesses.â€
Stressing that wealth is in the private sector, he indicated that “creating your own business is more sustainable than getting employment in the government or public sector where salary cannot sustain you.â€
Speaking at the Job, Career Entrepreneurship Fair in Kumasi on Thursday, the Regional Minister mentioned that “globally, the industrious people are mainly private entrepreneurs and not from the public sector and it was time for the unemployed youth, especially the graduates, to endeavor to create own businesses.â€
The two-day event which started on Thursday and ended yesterday and organized by the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), has seen huge crowd of youth trooping to the Prempeh Assembly Hall to interact with employers for vacant positions.
According to the Regional Minister, the labour force in Ghana was about three million, but “government or public sector does not employ even one million, so if your focus is on government employment, then there is the need to think twice to become an entrepreneur.â€
He indicated that government, when it took power, realized the huge army of unemployed youth, especially graduates, and introduced the Nation Builders Corps (NaBCo), which had given permanent jobs to some beneficiaries
He said government was still bent on recruiting another batch “but as you look for government employment think of creating your own business.â€
Chief Executive Officer of the YEA, Justin Kodua, mentioned that the essence of the Agency was to create temporary jobs for the young men and women in the country, “but we are moving ahead toward a new direction whereby we are looking at permanent jobs for the youth.â€
He was full of hope that if participants would pay special attention to the details of what was transpiring, “definitely you will go home with something.â€
Mr. Kodua said GHC10 million had been earmarked to support those whose business plans and ideas would excel to set up their own businesses.
He assured the youth with artisanal skills of recruitment as the Agency has rolled out such programmes as well as more room for those who would want to go into agriculture.
On agriculture, he said, “We are not talking only about farming, but also processing, distribution, and export†and urged those with interest in agriculture to take advantage of the opportunity.
London-based Ghanaian, Victor Badu alias Yaw Berma has named some jobs that do not require work permits in the UK.
Yaw Berma revealed in an interview on SVTV Africa Africa that jobs like masonry, carpentry and barbering are some jobs that do not require work permits.
Having been in the UK for 22 years, he has realised that even though these jobs are not well respected, they are well paid. He urged Ghanaians who want to travel to London to sacrifice four years of their time to learn any of these skills.
“The best advice I can give you is to plan if you want to come here. There are some jobs here that do not need work permits to do. If you’re a mason, carpenter or barber, you can work here without documents because they need people with such skills,†he told host, DJ Nyaami.
He added that “unless you do not perform on the field but if you know the job already, you can work here. They make the money. I was a welder in Ghana but for that, you will need a document because it’s a risky job.â€
The father of four advised that anyone who wants to travel abroad must acquire a skill because such jobs are easy to get, does not require documents in the UK and are well paid.
The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has called on the family of the Upper East regional Imam Imam, Alhaji Yusif Adam, who passed away on Thursday.
The Vice President, also express his condolences to the entire Muslim community in Bolga, and the Upper East Region in general for the loss of the Regional Imam.
Muslim community leaders in Bolga, including tribal chiefs, joined the family of the Imam to welcome Dr. Bawumia and his entourage.
The Vice President’s delegation included the Interior Minister Ambrose Dery, Upper East Regional Minister Stephen Yakubu, MCE for Bolga Rex Asanga, among others.
As part of the visit, Dr. Bawumia’s delegation joined the family and Imams to pray for the departed Imam.
The Deputy Regional Imam, Mallam Tahiru Bolga, on behalf of the family and Muslim community, expressed gratitude to the Vice President for his warm gesture to the family and the Upper East Muslim community during their time of mourning.
The funeral for the Imam has been slated for the 12th of December, 2021.
There have been rumours circulating on social media about the health status of Ghanaian politician, Kennedy Agyapong.
According to reports, the Assin Central Member of Parliament had been reported to have been struck by an ailment that has rendered him indisposed as he reportedly underwent treatment in the United States of America.
However, his son Kenneth Nana Takyi, has denied speculations that his father is seriously sick.
Kenneth Takyi who is also the Managing Director of Net2 TV disclosed on Oman FM that the rumour has no iota of truth and that his father was in a good condition in the United States of America.
“This has been going on for the past few weeks and he wanted to speak on it but I told him to enjoy his stay and I will handle it. He is doing well in the United States and there is nothing wrong with him. One of my sisters is with him and he is doing fine,” he said.
A video has emerged where popular sports presenter, Dan Kwaku Yeboah together with Bishop Oti Boateng and some other pastors are seen with the Assin Central MP.
They mentioned in the video spotted by GhanaWeb, that the video was taken on November 5, 2021.
At least six persons have sustained gunshot wounds after indiscriminate gunshots during the enstoolment of a top national security capo as Akyampimhene of Suhum in the Eastern region on Saturday, October 6, 2021.
The victims were rushed to Suhum Government Hospital in an ambulance.
The injured include ushers and drummers at the traditional event.
The gunshot incident occurred in the house of the newly enstooled chief Nana Amoako Darko after a firearm being carried by a police officer went off.
Starr News has gathered that some of the victims were in critical condition.
The enstoolment of the top national Security capo at the Jubilee House, Nana Amoako Darko as Akyampimhene of Suhum brought a joint team of about 100 armed national security operatives, Military and Police who took over the streets of Suhum amidst indiscriminate firing of live bullets into the air.
The gunshots escalated when the Nana Amoako Darko was being paraded in town to show him to the subjects.
This created fear and panic among residents of Suhum.
Political analyst Michael Ebo Amoah has opined that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia will continue to dominate the political and media landscape.
He stated that the Vice President has for years grown politically strong and become someone whose political comments generate topical issues in the media and political space.
Speaking on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm, Mr. Amoah said since 2008, Dr. Bawumia has always tried to dominate, set the agenda, and has become relevant and will continue to be relevant until he retires from politics.
He said comments by Dr. Bawumia become topical and give people a lot of things to talk about and give the opposition something to respond to.
He noted that the impact of Bawumia is huge in NPP and secured them their victory in 2016 and could help them do the same in 2024.
He said the Vice President taunted the NDC, former President John Mahama, and the late Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur.
For him, the NDC needs a more credible personality to always take on Dr. Bawumia if they have disagreements with the things he says.
He said because of the knowledge Dr. Bawumia has about the things he talks about, one would need to go a step further in pushing contrary views.
Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, Minister for Information, says digitilization is the way forward for Ghana.
He urged the citizenry to support the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government’s digitilization programmes as it will help curb corruption and other economic cankers.
He noted that, due to the digital initiatives by the government, some economic issues have been resolved; thereby citing how the government has improved the country’s tax system using technology.
Hon. Oppong Nkrumah disclosed that, before the introduction of digitalization, some Ghanaians used to issue dud cheques to pay their taxes to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
According to him, but for the government’s digital interventions, the GRA would have continued not receiving the required taxes because the dud cheques used by some Ghanaians showed empty bank accounts were given to the Authority.
”Some Ghanaians used to issue dud cheque to pay their tax. They deceitfully write a cheque, knowing there is no money in his/her account, to the Ghana Revenue Authority. So, when you ask Ghana Revenue Authority, they will tell you that one problem they were facing was people using dud cheques,” he told Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM’s ”Kokrokoo”.
”Today, because of Ghana.gov that we have introduced which is a common platform to do a number of government services, today, we don’t receive cheque for such payments. It is online, so it’s direct payment from your account. You can pay via MoMo or through your bank account. So, the revenue mobilization to government has increased,” he commended the President and Vice President for their transformative vision for the economy.
The Member of Parliament for Techiman North, Madam Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare is calling on the government to place a premium price on cashew just as cocoa in order to motivate cashew farmers.
She made this call in Parliament on Thursday, November 4, 2021, when she made a statement to draw the attention of the government on some processes and challenges the cashew farmer goes through before they can produce cashew.
She said aside from these challenges, there is no existing market, hence some people would go to these farmers and buy their cashew at very low prices, which in the long run discourage farmers.
Madam Adjare further urged the government to establish factories around these areas where cashew are grown to help process the fruits, which would also assure producers of already market whenever their products are ready.
She concluded by asking the government to add value to the cashews we produce in order to generate enough revenue from it, instead of exporting the raw fruits for very little money.
The Hohoe District Police Command in the Volta region has intercepted two cartons of AAA and BBB cartridges on board a Yutong bus traveling to Kpassa in the Oti Region.
The police acted on intelligence and dispatched a team to search all vehicles entering the district from Accra.
According to police sources, “At about 3: 45 pm on Wednesday, November 3, the team stopped a red Yutong bus with registration No. GT 5919-16 traveling from Accra to Kpassa. A search was conducted on the said bus and two cartons containing AAA and BBB cartridges respectively were found concealed in the side compartment of the bus.â€
All twenty-nine passengers on board the vehicle denied ownership of the cartridges. The driver in charge of the bus, a 50-year-old Robert Ofosu Nyanor, and his conductor Godwin Aniwo, aged 32, were immediately placed under arrest for further interrogation and the bus was impounded.
The suspects were later released on police enquiry bail as investigation continues.
Public health officers of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) have arrested one Nuru Musah, a driver of a cesspit truck with registration number GX 3726 18 belonging to A & D Waste Company, for allegedly dislodging untreated effluents into the Odaw river.
The driver was apprehended during the early hours of Monday, 1 November 2021 after he was captured by some citizens on amateur video footage.
Confirming the arrest, Mr. Gilbert Ankrah, the Head of Public Affairs at the AMA, said officers from the Metropolitan Public Health Department (MPHD) led by Joseph Asitanga and Ishmael Tagoe, in the early hours of Monday, managed to apprehend the owner of the company who assisted in arresting the driver.
He disclosed that the driver was currently in police custody pending court.
He noted that it was an offense under the AMA Sanitation by-laws to “indiscriminately dump solid and liquid waste in open spaces, drains, gutters, behind walls, or burn solid waste in one’s compound,†adding that a person who contravenes this by-law “commits an offense and is liable on summary conviction to a fine, not more than one hundred penalty units or a term of imprisonment of not less than thirty days and not more than six months or to both; and in case of a continuing offense, is liable to a fine of not more than one penalty unit for each day that the offense continues.”
Mr. Ankrah pointed out that the city of Accra currently had excess capacity to treat liquid waste, adding that wastewater generated in the city was treated by the Mudor Treatment Plant and other waste treatment facilities in the city.
He said the environmental effects of discharging sewage indiscriminately into the drains were enormous and cautioned would-be offenders to desist from the practice to avoid the wrath of the Assembly.
Exactly forty-six years ago today (November 6, 1975), King Hassan II of Morocco made a historic speech calling on the Moroccan people to undertake a long, peaceful march to the south to liberate the Sahara which was under Spanish occupation.
It is famously known as the Green March, an unprecedented event in the history of the 20th century and the African continent, which gathered 350,000 volunteers in a bid to put an end to the Spanish occupation without resorting to violence.
About 45 years earlier, on the Asian continent, Mahatma Gandhi started the Salt March, an act of nonviolent civil disobedience, in colonial India to wrest independence from the British.
On the occasion of the anniversary of the Green March, we look back at two historic moments, when peaceful actions changed the destiny of a Nation.
This spectacular action has some striking similarities to the “Salt March†started by Gandhi, on March 12, 1930, real concretisation of his doctrine of non-violence.
Indeed, on February 15, 1930, Gandhi announced to his companions of the Congress, the Indian independence party that he had chosen as the objective of the civil disobedience campaign the abrogation of the law that forced them to pay a tax on salt.
It was then an offence to make salt, possess it, sell it, buy it or even to take away natural salt left on a beach.
On the morning of March 12, 1930, Gandhi, then 61-years-old, left the city of Ahmedabad with 79 companions.
They proposed to reach by foot the village of Dandi located at the edge of the Indian Ocean, at 380 kilometers of distance.
This history-making activity attracted global attention as international press covered the event with keen interest.
After 25 days of walking and meetings, Gandhi picked up on the beach a little salt forgotten by the waves.
However, it took many more years of struggle before India’s independence was finally achieved on August 15, 1947, but this Salt March was a significant event because it was peaceful, but ultimately a key process of gaining independence.
Back to Morocco, the Moroccan Kingdom began the process of completing its territorial integrity in 1956, the official year of independence.
Decolonization of the Western Sahara territory took place in a completely different context from the other decolonisation phases of the Moroccan Kingdom.
On one hand, Franco’s Spain had no intention of retroceding the disputed semi-metropolitan Western Sahara province, especially after the discovery of phosphate deposits in the region in 1972.
On the other hand, the Algerian regime, aided by the Eastern bloc, had undeclared claims to the territory, motivated by the Cold War between the United States of America and the Soviet Union.
The idea for the Algerian regime and its allies was, and still is today, to set up a republic under its absolute control in the image of the old Syrian/Lebanese governance model.
Faced with this challenge, King Hassan II developed an exceptional idea, which was an echo of the Salt March.
On November 6, 1975, he made a historic speech calling on the Moroccan people to undertake a long, peaceful march to the South to liberate the Western Sahara from Spanish occupation.
This call triggered an immense popular fervour.
During his speech, he concluded by asking the Moroccans to be courteous when meeting the Spanish, to greet them and to invite them to share their meal.
He added that the Moroccans did not feel any resentment and that if they had wanted to fight against Spain, it would not be unarmed civilians who would show up but rather a military force.
He concluded by saying that their intentions were not at all warlike and that they were reluctant to shed any blood.
There were 350,000 Moroccans, including 35,000 women, who marched in joy and prayer towards the southern provinces to recover the Moroccan Sahara.
King Hassan II insisted on the participation of women, as a symbol of pacification of the Green March.
Dozens of foreign personalities and delegations from different countries participated in the march.
The number of volunteers was not left to chance: it was the number of people born in Morocco every year. It was a real Morocco in a nutshell, where all provinces and social conditions were represented.
Unlike the Salt March in India, the Green March was a real logistical nightmare and a human challenge for Morocco at the time.
It required the mobilisation of 7,800 trucks and means of transport, 17,000 tons of food, 63,000 tons of water, 5,500 tons of fuel, 500 doctors and health assistants, 220 ambulances, and more than 10,000 people to organise and supervise the 350,000 marchers.
The Green March started from the region of Tarfaya braving the Spanish military and the barbed wire at the borders.
Confronted by the determination of the marchers, Spain had no choice but to disengage from the region.
This was made concrete by an official letter sent by its permanent representative to the UN on February 26, 1976.
Following this, a handover ceremony was organised between Morocco and Spain.
The Green March and the Salt March, unique in their kind, are national epics characterised by a fierce patriotism that have marked the national destinies of Morocco and India.
Former Head of Monitoring Unit of the Forestry Commission, Charles Owusu has slammed Ghana Police for failing to prevent the violent protest that occurred at Madina.
The protest which was led by the Madina MP, Francis-Xavier Sosu, turned fierce as he reportedly drove his vehicle through some civilians and Police officers while some demonstrators also burned tyres and blocked roads at Madina impeding vehicular and human movements.
Following the incident, the Police invited the MP for interrogation but he refused.
They further wrote to the Speaker of Parliament to release him but the request was turned down under grounds of Parliamentary immunity.
However, the Police have secured a criminal summons to compel Hon. Francis-Xavier Sosu to avail himself for interrogation.
Reacting to the issue during Peace FM’s ”Kokrokoo”, Charles Owusu expressed disappointment in the Police wondering why they weren’t being proactive.
He questioned the logic in waiting for things to escalate before attempting to arrest the ringleader of the protest.
”The Police are saying there had lots of the officers on the scene of the demonstration. So, if there was a high presence of Police personnel at that place, did you have to watch for someone to commit a crime before arresting the person. Why did the Police wait for them to burn tyres on the road to prevent other cars plying the road before they search for someone to arrest?”
Police in the Northern Regional Capital of Tamale have arrested 51-year-old Mohammed Hamza for sleeping with his 14-year-old daughter after he admitted having sex with her “only onceâ€.
According to reports, Mohammed Hamza for several years has divorced his wife but has replaced her with his daughter.
What happens is that the 14-year-old girl lives with her grandmother but visits her father during vacation.
However, Mohammed Hamza during her last visit prevented her from going back to her mother and took advantage of the young lady to sleep with her the latest of which is what happened on October 23, 2021.
Being worried about the development and the multiple sexual encounters with her father and upon the advise from a friend she confided in, the young lady lodged a formal complaint with the Northern Regional Coordinator of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service.
Mohammed Hamza when arrested admitted to have forcibly slept with his daughter but insisted that it was once.
He, according to the Police will be arraigned before court.
Wulumo for Ga Asere Traditional Area, Abesse Division, Nuumo Kofi Okassa Diaka II has pleaded with Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to call Oboy Siki to order.
According to him, Oboy Siki’s continuous divisive and hateful comments about Gas can cause chaos in the country.
Dada Santos popularly known as Oboy Siki in an interview with Ola Michael on Neat FM explained why he didn’t learn the Ga language. According to him, it was a conscious decision.
“I don’t like the Ga language… I have stayed here for so many years, Kokomlemle..It’s been 20years,” he said on the radio station.
However, reacting to this, Wulumo in an interview with Kofi Adoma Nwawani said, when such comments by the veteran actor, Oboy Siki is not condemned by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Akans, it breeds ethnocentric conflict in the country.
“I want to plead with Otumfuo Osei Tutu, Nana, the Asantehene on behalf of the Ga state, especially the Ashantis must be called to order. They have to be advised,” he told Kofi Adoma in the interview monitored by GhanaWeb.
He reiterated that Oboy Siki’s comment can be described as a “primitive comment.”
“Oboy Siki never did well, so I am expecting my Akan community to condemn him… What Oboy Siki said is purely primitive. I have to mind my words, but this is a primitive talk…Language is a weapon. Gas have used language to fight the Akwamu people before.”
Wulumo Okassa maintained that it is sometimes unfortunate for the media to avail their platforms to people like Oboy Siki to make these hate comments.
“This is an unfortunate comment, I want to plead with the Despite Group of Companies. This is the second or third time that his platform was used to insult Gas. Yet Despite came to make his money in Accra. How can you be so ungrateful to Ga people?
He added that the president has the Ga pride in him and disclosed why there is a perception that most Ga men don’t like working.
He explained that it is something spiritual because, in the olden days, their ancestors believed in ‘Ablekuma’, where strangers who migrated to Accra to work, pay taxes to the indigenes of the land.
Another suspect believed to be part of armed robbery syndicates that have been operating in Kwahu Afram Plains has been shot dead by the Anti-Armed Robbery taskforce.
The deceased Dickson Yaw Agyei Danso is a popular political activist of the NPP.
He is the plaintiff who filed a motion that was granted by a High court preventing then-incumbent Member of Parliament Joseph Appiah from contesting the 2016 Parliamentary election on basis of having Criminal records.
Dickson Yaw Agyei Danso was also the local Chairman of the Ghana National Cargo Drivers Association. He claimed to be a former contract Operative of the National security.
Starr News has gathered that Yaw Agyei was picked in his house at Ekye Amanfrom by armed personnel of the Anti-Armed Robbery task force on Thursday, October 4, 2021, at about 11:30 am upon intelligence.
However, the suspect was reported to have been shot dead at about 4:00 pm same day and the body deposited at the Donkorkrom Presbyterian Hospital Morgue.
This is the second time a robbery suspect has died under such bizarre circumstances.
This has created fear among residents forcing them to sleep earlier than before.
Death of 1st Suspect
A few weeks ago, a suspected armed robber was shot dead by the Anti-Armed Robbery Taskforce.
Kwasi Thomas alias Gambo was killed when he allegedly attempted to escape from Police after his arrest.
Starrfm.com.gh has gathered that Gambo was arrested by the police based on intelligence at dawn while asleep with his wife at Ekye Amanfrom in the Kwahu Afram Plains South District.
However, he allegedly attempted to escape from lawful arrest while being transported to the Donkorkrom Divisional Police command hence was gunned down.
Some residents the deceased was highly suspected by townfolks of his involvement in the decades-old robbery menace.
Gambo left behind six children and a wife.
Arrest of Robbery Suspect.
Just this week, the Anti Armed robbery task force arrested a 35-year-old phone repairer in connection with the deadly mobile money robbery attack in Ekye Amanfrom which a motor rider was shot dead.
Robbery Menace in Afram Plains
Kwahu Afram Plains area has been battling with highway robbery incidents for about two decades. Many have been shot dead, while others sustained injuries. Victims have lost huge monies and personal belongings.
Owing to this, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr.Geroge Akuffo Dampare deployed the Anti-Armed robbery squad to the area upon assumption of office.
The IGP subsequently led some top management members of the Ghana Police Service to visit Kwahu Afram Plains on September 22, 2021, to court the corporation of Traditional leaders and residents for the renewed commitment of the Police to fight the menace.
However, the robbers struck again on Saturday, October 9, 2021, at about 7:30pm and gunned down a motor rider, identified as Bright during the robbery of a mobile money vendor.
Local media outlets are reporting that the owner of the high-rise building that collapsed in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, was killed in the accident.
Rescuers working at the site found the lifeless body of the project’s owner, one Olufemi Osibona late Thursday.
He was the owner of Fourscore Homes, the luxury apartment agency that was in charge of the collapsed project.
As of Thursday, November 4, 2021, the death toll stood at 36 whiles nine others have been found alive.
Over 50 people are believed to have been in the 21-storey facility when it came down on Monday.
The Lagos State government has inaugurated a board to probe the reasons for the accident.
As part of the efforts to curb examination malpractices and leakages, the former Director for Ghana Education Service, Charles Aheto Tsegah, has proposed a review of punishment given to offenders.
According to him, examination malpractice should be no longer be considered as a misdemeanour but rather a criminal offence.
Speaking at the launch of the Eduwactch 2021 WASSCE Ghana monitoring report, Charles Aheto Tsegah, said there is a need for culprits to be prosecuted when engaging in exams malpractice. He believes this will deter people from engaging in these activities.
“Our sanctions for examination malpractices are all misdemeanours but let’s move it from that and make a criminal act such that individuals who are caught or implicated in examination malpractice will face the law based on criminal action. We need that to be able to strengthen the punishment,†he said.
His comment follows recent leakages and exam malpractices that have been reported in the past two years.
A report by Eduwatch revealed that about 11 papers out of 20 papers were leaked in the 2021 WASSCE.
Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) has also revealed how multi-million businesses enterprises were established just to leak question papers from uncertain sources.
These platforms are marketed to students, teachers, and school owners using a social media platform, Telegram.
Eduwatch, as part of the investigation, subscribed to over 20 platforms with a combined subscribership of over 200,000 members with questions sold for between GHC30 and GHC150 per paper.
“Elective mathematics was the highest priced question, these payments were made via mobile money after which the team got enrolled on paid platforms where questions were delivered up to ten hours before the paper,” Eduwatch report indicated.
The General Legal Council (GLC) has stated that it will be impossible for it to admit the 499 students who have been agitating against it over claims that they did not fail.
This, the GLC has stated, is because contrary to their concerns, these 499 persons failed their entrance exams and not even a court order will be able to overturn that since it will be unjust, unlawful and unfair.
Following the rejection of the students, some 143 of them sued the Council and the Attorney General, contending that they met the “well-known pass mark of at least 50% score in the entrance examinationâ€.
“That in May 2021, prior to the 2021 entrance exams, the acting director of the Ghana of School of Law, Maxwell Opoku Agyemang also articulated the 50% marks pass mark policy, at an SRC week celebration of the KNUST, That policy statement is contained in exhibit A as the second video,†the suit from the students said.
The students have argued that it is unfair that they were denied admission especially since comments have been made by key individuals in the past, communicating an overall minimum of 50% as the pass mark.
But the GLC has challenged this assertion, stating that it at no point advertised such a thing.
“…that the 1st respondent has not espoused any policy in exhibit D series which set the minimum threshold as 50 marks.”
“That only candidates or applicants who obtained the minimum threshold mark of 50% each in the two sections for A&B (Part A & Part B) of the exam were eligible to be considered for admission by the 1st respondent for the 2021/2022 academic year to pursue the PLC,†it said.
The GLC has therefore stated that regardless of any court ruling, it will be impossible for them to admit the other students since they failed the examinations.
Communications Director of Asante Kotoko, David Obeng Nyarko, has urged the Porcupine fans to come in their numbers to support the team in their game against Bechem United.
The record holders of the Ghana Premier League will host current league leaders Bechem United at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi for the matchday two clash.
This will be the first time in over a year that Asante Kotoko will be playing at the Baba Yara Stadium as the club played their home games in the 2020/2021 season in Accra and Obuasi due to the renovation works that was ongoing at the Kumasi stadium.
Speaking ahead of the game, David Obeng Nyarko called on their supporters to make the home venue which has been kept away for a year and 8 months from them due to renovations a fortress place for opponents.
“What will make us champions at the end of the season is that even in our difficult matches we should ground out results and with this I am saying we are winning the league and that’s our target especially looking from the background that Hearts won it last season, that is the only way we can appease all of us is to win it this time around.
“But the playing body and the team cannot fight alone without the barking of our fans. Baba Yara’s return has been so encouraging to us all because some things happened to us (treatment and results at Obuasi) last season if we had played at Baba Yara, the story would be different. Let’s create that atmosphere here that won’t see the comfortability of our opponents, so we can dominate and that is the only way it will make us the fortress”.
“Looking at the home grounds of Liverpool, you (away teams) never come there and enjoy playing football very well as they preferred, let’s do the same at Baba Yara and make sure we win at least all our home games,†he said in an interview with Kumasi-based Akoma FM.
Hearts of Oak head coach, Samuel Boadu, has named his squad for Ghana Premier League(GPL) match week two clash against WAFA in Sogakope.
The Phobians visit the Red Bull Arena on Friday, November 5 as they search for the first win of their title defence season.
Defender, Mohammed Alhassan, who collapsed during the club’s goalless draw with Legon Cities, has recovered in time to make the list.
Also, left-back, Raddy Ovouka has been included and is expected to have some minutes after battling injuries in recent weeks.
The only significant absentees are Nuru Sulley, who is reportedly under the weather and Gladson Awako, who is yet to resume training after being excused by the club due to personal reasons.
Asante Kotoko goalkeeper, Danlad Ibrahim has been dropped from the latest Black Stars squad as Ghana gears up for the clash against Ethiopia and South Africa.
On Thursday afternoon, Ghana head coach Milovan Rajevac named his squad for the upcoming games in the qualifiers to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
In the 28-man squad, there are four players from the last call-up that have been dropped.
They include;
Danlad Ibrahim Kotoko
Emmanuel Lomotey Amiens
Majeed Ashimeru Anderlecht
Yaw Yeboah Wisla Krakow
Below is the latest Black Stars squad in full:
Goalkeepers:
Joseph Wollacott (Swindon Town), Lawrence Ati-Zigi (St.Gallen), Manaf Nurudeen (Eupen), Richard Attah (Hearts of Oak)
Defenders:
Andy Yiadom (Reading FC), Philemon Baffour (Dreams FC), Baba Abdul Rahman (Reading FC), Gideon Mensah (Girondins Bordeaux), Daniel Amartey (Leicester City), Alexander Djiku (Strasbourg), Joseph Aidoo (Celta Vigo), Jonathan Mensah (Columbus Crew), Ismail Abdul Ganiyu (Asante Kotoko)
Midfielders:
Baba Idrissu (Real Mallorca), Thomas Partey (Arsenal FC), Mubarak Wakaso (Shenzhen F.C), Edmund Addo (Sheriff Tiraspol), Mohammed Kudus (Ajax Amsterdam), Daniel Kofi Kyere (FC St. Pauli)
Wingers:
Andre Ayew (Al Sadd), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (Dreams FC), Kamal Deen Sulemana (Rennes), Samuel Owusu (Al Fayha)
Strikers:
Richmond Boakye-Yiadom (Beitar Jerusalem), Benjamin Tetteh (Yeni Malatyaspor), Felix Afena Gyan (AS Roma), Caleb Ekuban (Genoa)
The Bekwai Circuit Court in Ashanti Region presided over by His Honour Mark Diboro has jailed 38-year-old Collins Sarfo to 20 years imprisonment for an attempt to have anal sex with a 16-year-old boy.
The complainant in the case is the assembly member for Fomena Electoral Area while the victim and the convict, a mason all live in the electoral area.
The Prosecutor Detective Sergeant Isaac Ofori Mensah told the court that, two weeks ago, while the victim was assisting the attendant at the public lavatory facility in the community, the convict approached the victim to solicit anal sex with him but was turned down.
The convict pestered the victim and promised to give him money ostensibly to entice him.
The victim told his senior brother about his encounter.
On October 10, 2021, at about 8:00 am, the convict went to the victim again, lured him, and removed his penis for the 16-year-old to suck.
The victim became scared and escaped from him but the convict pursued him to a nearby plantain farm and attempted to entice the victim with a total of Ghc30 if he agreed.
The convict left and told the victim that he will be back in the evening.
The senior brother of the victim informed the assembly member who together with some members of the unit committee and the neighbourhood watchdog committee laid an ambush.
At about 9:00 pm, the convict appeared at the public lavatory facility as promised, the victim pretended to have agreed to his demand.
The victim took the accused to the chamber of the lavatory facility but was arrested by the people who had laid ambush shortly after he went half-naked, removed the penis, and attempted to have anal sex with the victim.
He was handed over to the Police. A Ghc10 used to lure the victim was retrieved and also given to the police as an exhibit.
After investigation, he was charged on October 20, 2021, with the attempt to commit a criminal offence to wit unnatural carnal knowledge contrary to sections 18 and 104 (1)(a) of the Criminal offences Act which the court found him guilty.
Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, has applauded the government’s efforts to digitally transform Ghana.
The Minister, on Thursday, November 4, 2021, in an interview on Peace FM’s morning show ”Kokrokoo” outlined some major digital interventions and strides made by the Akufo-Addo government.
He touched on the tax system where, according to him, before the digitization era under the Akufo-Addo administration, only 4 percent of Ghanaians were paying tax.
As the country primarily depends on taxes in distributing the nation cake, four percent of Ghanaian taxpayers is disturbing as it attributed to the underdevelopment of Ghana.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah expressed excitement that the digitalization programmes introduced by the government has helped to correct the system.
“Four (4) percent of Ghanaians were on the tax database…Today, by the help of Dr. Bawumia and the Government of Ghana, because we have advanced our national ID, digital property address system, interoperability and currently started to merge our databases, we have moved from 4% to 86%,” he said.
He disclosed that 86 percent represented 15.5 million Ghanaians on the tax database.
He urged Ghanaians to embrace the digital initiatives by the Akufo-Addo government stating, “the poverty gap has always been a technology gap”.
The Ghana Card is set to become the sole identification document to be accepted if a person wants to officially register a business in the country.
According to Registrar General, Jemima Oware, the move will take effect in January 2022 when only the card issued by the National Identification Authority, NIA, will be admissible.
“From January of next year, it is just going to be the NIA card. Our system speaks with other institutions such as the Ghana Post to the National Identification Authority to identify people in our system,†she said in a programme that aired on Joy News channel.
When the new rule kicks in, it effectively means that all other requirements that are currently demanded especially the Tax Identification Number (TIN) which is issued by the Ghana Revenue Authority, GRA, will become defunct to the process.
The use of the Ghana Card also means that the processes involved currently in registering a business has been condensed significantly from 17 to three steps.
“Most of the agencies that have anything to do with business registration, have been linked up with us electronically. For instance, our system speaks to Ghana Revenue Authority system to generate the TIN. Our systems are going to be speaking to National Identification Authority system to identify.â€
A Cape Coast Circuit Court has sentenced a farmer to 24 years imprisonment in hard labour for defiling a five-year-old girl.
The convict, Richard Wonder, 24, pleaded not guilty to the charge but was later found guilty by the court.
Prosecuting, Detective Chief Inspector John Asare Bediako told the court that the complainant (name withheld) was is a cook and an aunt to the victim.
He said both the complainant and convict lived at Jukwa Frami in the Hemang-Lower-Denkyira District of the Central Region.
Chief Inspector Bediako said on Friday, October 01, at about 1230 hours, the convict met the survivor on her way to buy chewing gum and lured her to his room under the pretext of giving her coins and had sexual intercourse with her.
He said when the convict later released her to go home, she narrated her ordeal to the complainant, who made a formal report to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) in Cape Coast.
Prosecution said the victim bled profusely after the act and was sent to the hospital for examination, treatment, and counseling.
Kwabena Kwam alias Ofie One, an uncle to one of the boys stripped naked and paraded in Akuapem Adawso for allegedly stealing GH¢100, has asked the police Service to deal ruthlessly with the offender who committed the criminal act.
Two teenagers were stripped naked and paraded on the streets of Akuapem Adawso in the Akuapem North Municipality of the Eastern region over an alleged GHC100 theft.
The incident occurred Friday, October 29, 2021.
The victims, both 14 years of age, were alleged to have stolen GH¢100 cash and a mobile phone.
The mob led by one Larbi and Akwei brutalized the two children making one of them defecate on himself in the process.
The uncle to one of the boys said the incident was reported at the Police Station and but the officers in charge of the matter want to make the case a foolish one.
According to him, the law must deal with the two suspects who subjected the boys to such humiliation.
He said when you arrest an alleged criminal, you have to send them to the Police and not use your powers in executing justice against them.
Speaking on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm, he said the family would not rest until the men who did this were punished.
The family of late former President Jerry John Rawlings will mark the first anniversary of his passing on Friday, November 12.
A statement from the office of the late former President said there would be a remembrance mass at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Adabraka, on the same day, November 12, 2021, to mark the anniversary.
It said friends, sympathisers, and members of the public were invited to participate in the remembrance mass, which would commence at 0900 hours.
“Attire for the occasion is white.”
The statement said due to Covid-19 requirements, the Cathedral would host a limited number of congregants.
It said seating would thus be on a first-come, first-served basis.
Late former President Rawlings passed away at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on Thursday, November 12, 2020, after a short illness.
The Eastern Regional Police Command has apprehended a 35-year-old man, Elisha Asante, a mobile phone repairer at Ekye Amanfo in the Kwahu Afram Plains South District of the Eastern Region for alleged armed robbery and murder.
The suspect was said to have in the company of others, robbed the phone shop of one Mr Samuel Agbozo and also killed Mr Bright Narh at Ekye Amanfrom on October 9, 2021.
Eastern Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ebenezer Tetteh told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that the suspect, on police intelligence, was arrested at Adawso near Koforidua on October 30, by the Adawso Anti Armed Robbery Task Force.
He said two new Techno Camon and Infinix smartphones were retrieved from the repair shop of the suspect.
The mobile handsets were suspected to have been those that were stolen from the shop of the victim, Mr Agbozo.
DSP Tetteh said the suspect was currently in police custody assisting in investigations.
The Wildlife Resources Management Bill 2021 has been approved by the cabinet, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has announced.
The Ministry in a statement welcomed the development which it says paves the way for the bill to be laid before Parliament.
“At its seventeenth meeting held on Thursday, October 28, 2021, Cabinet approved the new Wildlife Resources Management Bill, 2021, which seeks to revise and consolidate all laws relating to wildlife and protected areas, bring the new legislation into conformity with existing policies in the sector and provide for the implementation of international conventions on wildlife to which Ghana is a signatory,†a paragraph of the statement read.
Emphasizing the importance of the bill, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources said that the existing law on wildlife and protected areas lacks in certain aspects.
“The current legislation that governs wildlife and protected areas, the Wild Animals Preservation Act, 1961 (Act 43), the Wildlife Conservation Regulations, 1971 (L.I. 685) and the Wildlife Reserves Regulations, 1971 (L.I. 710) were enacted some fifty and more years ago, and are now not in tune with current international best practices for wildlife protection and management.â€
It explained that the bill when passed will provide the Ministry with the legal backing and authority to enforce the laws on wildlife protection.
“To address these gaps and shortfalls in the current wildlife laws, a new Wildlife Resources Management Bill has been developed through a very extensive consultative process involving both state and non-state actors.
“The Bill provides for a new management structure to give legal backing to the involvement of local communities in wildlife management through the creation of Community Resources Management Areas (CREMAs) and provides higher penalties and sanctions regime for wildlife offenses, deterrent enough to protect our wildlife resources.
“Also crucial is the fact that, the Bill when passed, will provide for the implementation of several International Wildlife Conventions to which Ghana is a signatory, such as the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitats (RAMSAR) 1971, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, (CITES), 1973, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (BONN) 1979, as well as several indicators in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).â€
NB: Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the passing of late former president Jerry John Rawlings on November 12 2021, we take you down memory lane of some monumental moments of the late Ghanaian leader.
While the demise of former President Jerry John Rawlings is still a shock to many, people from all walks have expressed their condolences.
The government on Monday November 16, 2020 opened the book of condolence to persons in higher authority to pen their messages to the departed former president at the Accra International Conference Centre.
With statesmen, ambassadors, the general public granted the chance to eulogize the late president, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II‘s words written in the book has gained some attention.
Per an image available to GhanaWeb, the King of the Asante kingdom wrote, “Agyewodin, fare thee well, my president and brother.â€
Bernard Allotey Jacobs has eulogized Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, for his public lecture on the digitization strides made by the Akufo-Addo government which he delivered at the Ashesi University on Tuesday, November 2, 2021.
Giving a keynote address under the theme ”Transforming An Economy Through Digitization: The Ghana Story”, the Vice President touched on some key digitization programmes implemented by the government and other initiatives in the pipeline.
With digitization as a 4th industrial revolution, Dr. Bawumia used the platform to tell the Ghanaian success of how the Akufo-Addo government has used digitization to achieve a number of milestones.
Assessing Dr. Bawumia’s lecture, the former Central Regional Chairman of the NDC, Bernard Allotey Jacobs is fully convinced that Dr. Bawumia is the next Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana.
Allotey Jacobs touted the Vice President’s delivery as superb and believed, without doubts, that he will become President of Ghana in 2025.
”Yesterday presentation was like a special or something unique that is being created that will move this country forward . . . in the next eight (8) years, Bawumia means business,” he said.
He called on Ghanaians to support the Akufo-Addo administration, particularly the Vice President, stressing their initiatives are what will transform Ghana.
“God bless Bawumia. Yesterday, it was so unique, extraordinary . . . there is some magic in that man. For a long time, [this country] we haven’t figured a specific thing that we should do to develop the nation. Kwame Nkrumah came with that vision and since he passed on, that is it but we’re seeing the re-emergence of Kwame Nkrumah again in another form,” he asserted.
Allotey Jacobs made these submissions during a panel discussion on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’.
The Ghana Police Service says it has served criminal summons on the Member of Parliament for Madina constituency in Accra, Francis-Xavier Sosu.
The police say Francis Sosu will be arraigned before court on November 8, to face the charges of unlawfully blocking a public road as well as the destruction of public property after he joined his constituents in a demonstration on October 25, over poor roads in Madina.
The police have since been unsuccessful in their attempts to arrest him, with parliament flagging its privileges and requesting proper procedures for MPs who must face criminal prosecution.
The Director-General of the Public Affairs Department of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Kwesi Ofori says the court process has duly been served on the MP and expects to meet him in court to answer the charges.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of Parliament has expressed revulsion at what he says are unconstitutional attempts to arrest the MP.
According to him, he has noted “with grave concern” the attempts by the Police Service to arrest Sosu “in a manner and fashion that offend not just the letter but the very spirit that underpins our 1992 Constitution.”
In a statement issued by the Parliamentary Service on Wednesday, the Speaker said he has “also taken note of the press releases and posture of the Police Service including the interdiction of Inspector Daniel Agbavor, the Police Officer providing personal protection” to MP Sosu.
He concludes that while that while the immunities and privileges of Members of Parliament are not absolute, the procedure for causing the arrest of a sitting Member of Parliament or serving a court process must be in accordance with the Constitution and that the “appropriate procedure is to secure from the Speaker, a certificate that the Member in question is not attending to Parliamentary Business. Anything short of this should not be entertained by the House.”
The Minister for National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah has stated that the installation works of CCTV cameras in some 900 police stations across the country are currently ongoing.
According to him, 432 stations under phase 2 will be completed before the end of December 2021.
He revealed that to date, installation works of about 6,500 cameras have been completed and 400 powered online mainly in Accra and Kumasi, and other regional capitals.
He said it was part of government plans and efforts to fix CCTV cameras in all police stations across the country.
The move he noted is to help in the successful detection of infractions and criminal activities as well as help to solve recent violent crimes such as armed robbery and kidnapping cases.
The minister indicated that the government through the ministry of Communications and Huawei Technology Co. Ltd signed a contract in 2012 for the establishment of the first phase to install a network of CCTV cameras to enhance the operational efficiencies of the security and intelligence agencies of the country.
His response was in connection to a question posed by Hon. Peter Lanchene Toobu MP for Wa West has sought to find out the state of the project in which CCTV cameras were to be fixed in all police stations across the country.
Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources Cecilia Dapaah has entreated people who urinate in gutters to stop because “gutters are not their washrooms”.
The Minister who wants an end to this attitude noted that people are hired to clean the gutters.
Ms Dapaah said, “there are generations in Ghana who think urinating anywhere, anytime is their right, it’s wrong, and we must all speak against this.”
“There are people who sit in very posh cars, they park anywhere, anyhow and urinate…and that must stop,” she added.
“We should change our attitudes,” she said.
The minister spoke at the Mole XXXII WASH conference held at Ejisu in the Ashanti region on the theme: “Repositioning the WASH sector for emergency response and sustainable development”.
Ms Dapaah called on Ghanaians, especially parents, to ensure their children do not urinate in gutters because it is wrong.
She also appealed to galamseyers to stop their activities because they were destroying surface waters.
She wants Ghanaians to be bold and speak out when they see the water bodies destroyed by illegal mining activities.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has announced for the attention of the public that anyone travelling from Ghana to France and has fully vaccinated will no longer have to do any PCR test in addition.
By that, all persons who have been vaccinated by vaccines authorized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are thereby eligible to benefit from this new arrangement.
“The Republic of France has issued the following guidelines for travelers to and from France. Fully vaccinated travelers can now travel to France with no other health-related restrictions. No PCR Test is required prior to departure or on arrival.
“All vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are accepted: Pfizer (Comirnaty), Moderna, AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Johnson & Johnson (Janssen), AstraZeneca (Covishield),†a statement said.
Also, the statement said listed out other requirements needed for eligible travellers.
“Vaccine certificates must have QR codes and are considered valid for travel: 7 days after the second shot for two-shot vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca (Vaxevria and Covishield)); 4 weeks after the shot for one-shot vaccine (Johnson & Johnson); 7 days after the shot for vaccines administered to people who have already contracted COVID-19 (Only one dose is necessary),†it said.
The statement, signed by the Director/Information and Public Affairs Unit, Worwornyo Agyeman (Mrs.), on behalf of the minister, however, clarified, “Non-vaccinated travelers must have a compelling reason to travel (health, business or family emergency) and must provide a less than 72 hours negative PCR test. Based on proof of this compelling reason, the French Immigration will issue a laisser-passer and the traveler must pledge to self-isolate for 7 days,†it said.
The National Identification Authority (NIA) has said its 16 Regional and 275 District offices across the country will be operational, effective today, Wednesday, 3 November 2021.
A statement issued by the NIA signed by its Acting Head of Corporate Affairs, Abudu Abdul-Ganiyu, outlined a plan to operationalise its offices.
According to the Authority, Wednesday, 3 to Friday, 5 November 2021 will be for “setting up, conducting public sensitisation and engaging with community leaders on the impending operations of the Regional and District offices.â€
It will, however, begin “Issuing Ghana Cards to Ghanaians who registered during the mass registration but could not receive their cards†from Monday, 8 to Tuesday, 16 November 2021, excluding weekends.
The NIA will continue with the “issuance of Ghana Cards to applicants†and “registering and issuing Ghana Cards to Ghanaians aged 15 years and above†from Wednesday, 17 November 2021 onwards.
The “Replacement of lost, stolen, and damaged Ghana Cards†and “updating of personal information of applicants in the National Identity Register (NIR)†will also take place from Monday, 29 November 2021 onwards.
It indicated that the timeline for “the registration of Ghanaians under 15 years†will be communicated later.
Both Regional and District offices of the NIA will operate from 8 am to 5 pm on weekdays, while the Premium Registration Centre at its Head Office will open for business on Wednesday, 3rd November 2021.
President Akufo-Addo has described as unfair, calls for Africa to halt the exploitation of its natural resources as a way of contributing to fighting climate change.
Speaking at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, the President asked world leaders how they expect Africa to finance its challenges without exploiting its natural resources.
“Agriculture, water, energy, and the extraction of mineral resources are essential drivers of development in our countries but, at the same time, are characteristically sensitive to changing climate.
“The African Development Bank has stated that the continent will need some $3 trillion “in mitigation and adaptation by 2030†to enable us to implement our nationally determined contributions.
“The obvious question arises as to how do we, in Africa, finance these commitments, especially as our socio-economic development continues, unfortunately, to be low,†he said.
He added, “The Almighty has blessed our lands with abundant natural resources, and it would be wholly unfair for the world to demand that Africa abandons the exploitation of these same resources needed to finance its development and help us to cope better with the threat of climate change.â€
President Akufo-Addo also mentioned that although Africa contributes less than four per cent of emissions in the world, the continent is the most affected by the adverse effects of climate change.
He explained that the African continent suffers the most because, “our agrarian and resource-driven economies are peculiarly susceptible to the effects of climate change, and our capacity to withstand its shocks, is weak.â€
The Weija District Magistrate Court, on Monday, 1 November 2021, granted the manager of West Hills Mall, James Mensah, and the contractor, Samuel Annum Adjei, bail.
The court presided over by Her Worship, Ruby Ntitri-Opoku, granted the two-person bail when they made their first appearance in court after blocking the entrance to China Mall with boulders.
The two have been charged with “conspiracy to commit a crime, being on premises for unlawful purposes, offensive conduct conducive to the breach of peace and trespassingâ€.
They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The court also ordered the removal of the boulders from the entrance of the mall with immediate effect.
The Weija Divisional Police Command arrested the manager and the contractor for allegedly blocking the entrance to China Mall with boulders.
The Police arrested the facility manager of West Hills Mall, aged 42, and the 44-year-old contractor on Saturday, 30 October 2021.
“On Saturday, 30 October 2021, at about 2:00 am, the police at Weija received a distress call from the security man at China Mall that some persons were there with a dump truck tipping off rocks at the entrance of the China Mall located behind the West Hills Mall,†a statement from the Police said.
The Police said it moved to the scene immediately.
The Police said it “observed that the entrance to the mall, indeed, had been blocked with rocks.â€
According to the statement, the two suspects fled upon seeing the Police but were chased and arrested.
“The two suspects have admitted to the offence and have been cautionedâ€, the police statement said, adding that both of them are “presently in police custody assisting with investigationsâ€.
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) branch in the Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo regions is mourning the passing of “colleague, brother, and friend†Richard Kwaku Agyei.
The journalist with Service Radio in Sunyani, Richard Kwaku Agyei, died on Friday, October 29.
“We wish to express our utmost sadness and pain in the untimely passing of our colleague, brother, and friend, Richard Kwaku Agyei,†began a statement signed by regional chairman Larry Paa Qwesi Moses.
“We however take consolation in the fact that Kwaku was a player on the theatre stage and after playing his part admirably will be heard of no more, but his memory will linger on.
“We console the management and staff of Service radio, as well as the family of our fallen comrade and give the fullest assurance that executives and members of Ghana Journalists Association in the three regions (Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo) will fully participate in all ceremonies to give Richard Kwaku Adjei a befitting farewell to the other world.â€
President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has asked drivers to learn to drive safely in order to reduce road accidents in the country.
On Monday, seventeen people, including 10 children were confirmed dead in an accident involving a sprinter bus and an articulated truck in the Abofuor Forest in the Ashanti region.
The accident occurred at about 3:30 am on Monday when the Man Diesel truck with registration number GS 4339-17 collided head-on with the Kumasi-Daboya bound Mercedes Sprinter bus with registration number GT 6075-15.
On Tuesday, another accident occurred on the Kumasi-Techiman Highway when a bus collided with a KIA Rhino after which the bus caught fire and burnt some six persons beyond recognition.
Reacting to the series of accidents, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in a tweet said he was saddened by the news.
While wishing bereaved families his condolences, the President used the opportunity to caution drivers and users of the road to be cautious and drive safe in order to protect lives especially during this season.
His tweet read “I have learnt with considerable sadness of the tragic accident, at Akomadan, that has claimed the lives of some 30 people in the early hours of this morning.
“I extend my condolences to families of the deceased and wish the injured a speedy recovery. I continue to urge all road users, especially our drivers, to drive safely always, and help reduce the spate of road accidents in the country.”
Counsel for the ten accused persons standing trial for high treason has asked an Accra High Court to strike out recordings presented in the case as evidence by the prosecution lead witness.
The defence lawyers have pointed out variations in key aspects of the evidence including the over 70 videos, dates, times, places and situations as a basis for their demand.
They cite that whilst the time on the recordings indicated 2013, the alleged offence occurred between 2018 and 2019.
According to the GNA, Victor Kwajoga Adawudu, who is counsel for four of the accused persons, argued during sitting that prosecution breached the constitution as they did not secure a court warrant before conducting secret recordings on his clients.
He further argued that the recordings violated the fundamental human rights of his clients as they were obtained in violation of their rights stating that they were secretly recorded.
According to the counsel for the accused persons, some of the contents in the recording were irrelevant to the matter insisting that no permission was sought from his client before the recordings were conducted.
“The various recordings, he said, which talked about different roles played by some of the accused persons must be separated and analysed differently and not to be put together on one hard drive as done by the prosecution, saying that every bit and piece must meet the admissibility criteria,†the GNA reported.
In associating himself with the submissions of lawyer Adawudu, Counsel for Johannes Zipki, lawyer Anthony Lartey, also questioned the authenticity of the recordings saying it had been tampered with and manipulated through editing or alteration. He further questioned the originality of the tapes saying they were not the raw unedited version of what was allegedly recorded by the witness.
He notes that the prosecution was duty-bound to produce the original, unmanipulated, unedited recordings whereas the Court was also entitled to examine the original recordings to guarantee its admissibility. He further stressed that those before the Court must be rejected in the interest of justice.
Another defence lawyer, Bede Tuuku, who is counsel for Lance Corporal Ali Solomon associated himself with the objections raised while stating that the exhibits sought to be tendered in court were not from proper custody, saying that Staff Sergeant Awarf was not even privy to the content because he only sent the recordings to Colonel Amponsah, (in charge of the Military Academy Training School and first prosecution witness in the case) who in turn downloaded and accessed the contents without him (Sule) knowing the content.
All other remaining defence lawyers associated themselves with the submissions made by their colleagues demanding that the evidence be rejected by the court.
However, the Director of Public Prosecution, Yvonne Attakorah Obuobisa prayed the court to admit the recordings into evidence stating that the prosecution’s case will be thrown into jeopardy if the evidence is not accepted.
The prosecution emphasised that the recordings were relevant and must be admitted and argued that right to privacy could not be said to be absolute as it can be infringed in the interest of the state.
“The DPP argued that the information was original and was not recorded in 2013 but between 2018 and 2019, it was procured by the Ghana Armed Forces and the original date was the same registered when it was first used.
“With the authenticity, she said the chain of custody had not been broken which made the recordings original, witnesses identified them as well as Staff Sergeant Awarf having knowledge of the contents,†the GNA reported.
The accused persons in the ongoing trial are Dr Frederick Yao Mac Palm, Donyo Kafui, alias Ezor, Bright Alan Debrah, alias BB, Johannes Zikpi, Colonel Samuel Kojo Gameli, Warrant Officer Class Two Esther Saan, Corporal Seidu Abubakar, Lance Corporal Ali Solomon, Corporal Sylvester Akanpewe, Assistant Commissioner of Police Benjamin Kwasi Agordzo.
They have been charged for various offences such as conspiracy to commit crime, high treason, abetment of crime and possession of arms.
They have denied the charges and are being tried by a three-member-judge panel.
The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) is anticipating a minimum 10 per cent budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector in the 2022 budget. PFAG said its expectation is justified by the sector’s resilience during the pandemic against other sectors of the economy.
“COVID-19 has highly impacted many sectors, but agriculture was somehow resistant as farmers have been able to produce some amount of food and created jobs for more than five million people in the value chain,” PFAG’s Head of Programmes and Advocacy, Dr Charles Nyaaba, told the B&FT.
Budgetary allocation to the sector in the 2021 budget was less than five per cent, which PFAG describes as woefully inadequate to implement the many policies which the government envisaged.
Regional agriculture performance
The government’s partial implementation of agricultural policies, Dr Nyaaba said, is costing Ghana to the extent that countries including Mali, Rwanda, and Morocco are performing better in the sector.
Though Ghana became a signatory to the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme in 2003, member countries were expected to increase agricultural investment to 10 per cent to culminate in at least six per cent growth in the sector annually; the country has failed to do so.
The International Budget Partnership (IBP), an organisation that collaborates with civil society worldwide to analyse and influence public budgets, has confirmed that Ghana’s performance on the African Agricultural Transformation Scorecard (AATS) the Malabo Declaration currently ranks at 6.67 out of 10 per cent.
IBP disclosed that Mali’s (6.82), Morocco (6.96), and Rwanda’s (7.24) agriculture sector performances are stronger than that of Ghana.
Agric spending stays below one percent over 4 years
Indeed, the total expenditure allocation for Ghana’s agriculture sector over the past four years from 2017 to 2020 has stayed below one per cent of the government’s total spending in the economy. “The most worrying one is Mali which a few years ago depended solely on Ghana to import most of their food items like maise, sorghum and soya has currently overtaken Ghana in production,” Dr Nyaaba noted.
He maintained that though the country has seen some appreciable increase in food production due to the PFJ policy, investment in the sector still lags due to failure to implement key policies that the government promised for the sector’s budget in 2021.
“Government made allocations to invest in fertiliser subsidies, but after companies delivered the inputs to farmers last year, it became difficult for the government to pay such distributors even in 2021. These challenges have stalled progress in the sector,” PFAG indicated.
The PFAG is the apex Farmer-Based Non-Governmental Organisation in Ghana with a mandate to advocate pro-poor agriculture and trade policies and other issues that affect smallholder farmers’ livelihoods. The association consists of individual farmers and farmer groups and value chain actors numbering over one million and almost 2,000 farmer-based organisations (FBOs).
The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Foundation has cautioned the general public against persons impersonating their staff and falsifying scholarship award letters to some partner universities.
The Foundation, in a public notice, said, it has intercepted some fake documents and letters of scholarship awarded to some persons.
It said the Foundation is currently investigating the matter and will bring the perpetrators to book.
The notice asked the public to desist from such fraudulent activities as offenders, would be prosecuted.
Officers from the newly created Central East Police Command conducted a dawn swoop late last week, which operation resulted in the arrest of over 100 people.
Police confirmed that they acted on intel and quickly moved in stressing that it formed part of operations to combat crime and by so doing consolidate peace and security.
According to a Citi News report, the swoop – led by Divisional Commander DCOP Okyere Boapeah – took place at SMG arena pub which is located on the Gomoa Nyanyano stretch.
Some of the crimes police found the suspects engaged in included smoking of illegal substances whiles some commercial sex workers were also picked up in the process.
The suspects who are being screened comprised foreign nationals and some Ghanaians.
ACP Oduro Amaning, Deputy Central East Police Commander is quoted as saying: “It was last Friday that we had an intel, so we went to the place. We had more than 100 people from that small place and got them arrested because they were engaged in several social vices and were flouting all the protocols. All that we are ensuring is that there will be peace and that, crime will go down in the area. We are now screening them.â€
The need for the creation of the Divisional Comand was because of a spike in crime and other illegal activities especially in Kasoa and its surrounding communities.
Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Kwesi Ofori, has cautioned the Member of Parliament for Madina constituency, Francis-Xavier Sosu against disrespecting the Police.
Hon. Francis-Xavier Sosu has refused to honour an invite by the Police after he and some constituents embarked on a violent protest at Madina.
The MP is said to have angrily driven his vehicle through civilians nearly fatally injuring two Police officers and some residents present at the scene.
The Speaker of Parliament has also refused to release the MP to the Police stating in a letter signed by the Deputy Director of Legal Services of Parliament that ”having regard to the limitations of articles 117 and 118 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic, he (Speaker) is unable to release the Member of Parliament…”
Speaking to Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM’s ”Kokrokoo”, ACP Kwesi Ofori admonished the MP to avail himself for interrogation saying, ”we need not set a bad example for the youth to disregard their Police and these are values”.
”He is a leader in his community. Nobody is doing witch-hunting. Nobody is fighting him but we have limited our action to the development that took place a week ago where the Madina highway was blocked and vehicles couldn’t move even to the extent that ambulances conveying patients couldn’t move as well and the Police had to re-route people. . . We’re looking at the law. We look at our commitment and respect to the law,” he added.
He assured the MP that “nobody will do anything bad to him; just submit yourself to the law”.
However, should the MP continue to prove stubborn, ACP Kwesi Ofori stated emphatically that the Police will resort to the law court for a bench warrant to be issued against him.
” . . if he doesn’t come, we have several options. Even what the Hon. Speaker wrote citing some clauses, the Police are likely to go to the Apex Court to seek interpretation to guide our future security operations of the kind. We can also go to court to present him with a summons, and if he refuses to come and the court issues a bench warrant,” then the Police will take him, he asserted.
