An aspiring New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, has said that if he were President Akufo-Addo, he would have promptly taken actions regardingProfessor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng‘s galamsey report.
In a report presented to the Chief of Staff in March 2021, the former Minister of Science, Environment, Technology and Innovation accused some NPP officials of engaging in and promoting illegal mining.
But Kwabena Agyepong, a former General Secretary of the NPP seeking to be elected the party’s presidential candidate for the 2024 presidential election, says action on the report should be taken immediately, adding that the report should not have been on the desk of the President for two years without attention.
Speaking to Nhyira FM’s Nana Jantuah on Kuro Yi Mu Nsem, Kwabena Agyepong said “that report will not lie on my desk for two years without attention if indeed he did.”He however said Prof. Frimpong-Boateng could have come out boldly to tell the President to implement some recommendations in the report and resign if the President failed to do so.
“Why has Prof taken so long? Now that you are out people would say it is because you are no more (in government) that’s why you are coming out now. I would have expected that when he was the Minister then, the firm action would be to come out to Cabinet that I want to do this and that and if the President says he wouldn’t agree, then he resigns,” he opined.
Meanwhile, Mr. Agyepong says he will put a moratorium on surface mining, including community mining, to regenerate the forests in the country should he become President.He says the only mining activity he would approve as President is deep mining which involves huge capital to make sure mining is done sustainably.“I have said that mining has not been good for Africa. What has Ghana gotten from mining? Go to where we mine in the country and you will see abject poverty. I don’t like the galamsey at all,” he said.
A man, Agya Owusu, whose mining equipment were burnt has alleged that Joseph Albert Quarm, a former member of parliament forNkwanta, sold to him an unlawful mining site concession.
According to Agya Owusu, soldiers came to stop him from mining and burnt his mining equipment; saying that his concession was illegal because it was close to a river.
Speaking to the media at the mining site in a viral video sighted by GhanaWeb, Agya Owusu said that he informed Albert Quarm of what transpired but the former MP has done nothing to help him up to date.
He added that he sent the documents on the mining concession to Accra for authentication after which he will decide on the action to take against the former MP.
“One of the soldiers told me that having a concession close to a river is illegal so they had to burn my equipment.
“I called the person who sold me the land to inform him of what has transpired but up to date he has said nothing meaningful for me, he has not even said sorry.
“The person who sold the concession to me is the former MP, Prof Quarm,” he said in Twi.
Background
A former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Prof Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, named some former and current members of parliament as well as top government officials who are allegedly involved in illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) in Ghana.
Portions of a report on illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) in Ghana by Prof Frimpong Boateng, indicated that these MPs and government officials were either directly involved in galamsey or were using their power to protect relatives who were involved in the menace.
The 36-page report, which Prof Frimpong addressed to the Chief of Staff and the Ghana Police Service, according to myjoyonline.com, implicated the former MP for Manso Nkwanta, Joseph Albert Quarm.
“He (the former NPP MP) used his position as a member of the Minerals Commission to acquire several dozens of large-scale concessions in his district, ostensibly for community mining purposes. He ended up selling these concessions to private individuals, including party members for GH¢200,000 per concession.
Joseph Albert Quarm has, however, firmly refuted the claims made by Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
Speaking with Aduanaba Kofi Ampong on Ezra Morning show on Friday, monitored by GhanaWeb, Quarm called out the claims by Frimpong Boateng’s report as mere false accusations that seek to tarnish his image.
According to him, the Minerals Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources legally established community mining in his constituency and he doesn’t know if that was what Frimpong Boateng’s report has captured as illegal operations by him.
“I don’t even have one concession not even to talk of dozen concessions sold by me, as stated in his report. He doesn’t have any substantive evidence on his statement so I’m challenging him to come out with evidence,” Quarm said,
“I do expect him to retract and apologize over his false reportage that seeks to denigrate my reputation, else he will have to meet in court to prove otherwise,” he added.
The National Tomato Transporters and Sellers Association has blamed the recent spike in tomato prices on the ongoing challenges in importing from Burkina Faso.
According to the Queen Mother of the Greater Accra Tomato Transporters and Sellers Association, Otumfuor Charity, Ghana relies heavily on imports to meet its demand for tomatoes, but recent disruptions to the supply chain from its northern neighbour have left retailers struggling to keep up with demand.
Speaking to Citi News, Otumfuor Charity explained, “There is indeed a shortage of tomatoes, but it is not intentional. In Ghana, from December to May, we do not harvest tomatoes. The tomatoes we consume are from Burkina Faso during this period. This year there have been ongoing conflicts in Burkina Faso, so entering the country has become increasingly difficult. Every year we go for tomatoes, but the prices don’t increase to this extent. This year has been different.”
She also lamented the increase in the price of the product.
“Right now, a crate of tomatoes goes for over 130,000 CFA. The high exchange rate is also not helping matters. You also need to pay for transportation, so if you borrowed money for your trade, you need to pay for the debt.”
Bintu Mohammed, a tomato import trader, explains the dangers she went through these past few days to bring tomato products into the country.
“It takes three days to harvest tomatoes and bring them into Ghana. When it gets here, some of the tomatoes start to rot. There are conflicts where we go to buy the tomatoes. It takes heart to travel and come back. We sometimes do not eat or drink water for the three days we travel. Human beings are beheaded before our eyes. They do not attack Ghanaians. If you show them your Ghana card, they will let you go. We do not understand the conflict. We are only there to buy tomatoes to come and sell here.”
According to the 2023International Monetary Fund(IMF) Regional Economic Outlook Report (Sub-Saharan Africa), Ghana’s net international reserves will complete the year 2023 with almost three weeks of import coverage (0.8 month).
Again, the report said Ghana’s reserves stood at a little above two weeks (0.6 month) of import cover in 2022.
This is contrary to the Bank of Ghana’s Summary of Economic and Financial Data that the country’s reserves in 2022 was estimated at 2.7 months of import cover.
The implication is if foreign inflows are to stop today, the country’s economy will be in severe trouble, as there are only few dollars in the reserves for balance of payment transactions.
This makes the IMF bailout ($3 billion loan) critical to the country’s economic stability going forward.
The report also said the country’s reserves is expected to grow to about 1.7 months of import cover in 2024. Ghana’s reserves almost empty; to end 2023 at nearly 3 weeks of import cover – IMF
In Sub-Saharan Africa, Zimbabwe (0.2 month), South Sudan (0.5 month) and Ethiopia (0.6 month) are the only countries expected to record import cover lower thanGhana.
Ghana’s reserves stood at $2.62bn – BoG
The Bank of Ghana in its March 2023 Summary of Economic and Financial Data said Ghana’s net international reserves improved slightly to $2.62 billion, about 2.8 months of import cover in February 2023.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has revealed that a total of 82 Ghanaians have been evacuated from Khartoum in Sudan to safety.
In a press statement dated April 25, the ministry indicated that it successfully evacuated two batches of 50 and 27 identified Ghanaian nationals to safety in Gedaref, Sudan. They comprise 34 females and 43 males.
According to the ministry, “they will be transported tomorrow to the Ethiopian border town of Metema where they will be received by Ghana Embassy officials, processed for Ethiopian entry visas and thereof repatriated home.”
Also, three Ghanaian footballers and two others working for an Australian Mining Company are being evacuated through the Egyptian border post of Wadi Halfa, north of Sudan. This brings the total to 82.
To ensure all Ghanaians are brought to safety, those stranded have been advised to reach out to the Honorary Consul, Mr Osama Ataaelmanan via +249-92920-0000.
Accordingly, the public will be apprised of new developments in due course, the ministry pledged.
Earlier this week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration announced its preparedness to evacuate Ghanaian nationals trapped in Sudan’s conflict.
The Ghana Embassy in Cairo, Egypt which has concurrent accreditation to Sudan, working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and the Honorary Consulate is working to ensure this.
Thousands of people have been displaced in Sudan as a result of a deadly war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Khartoum has been the epicentre of the violence, with civilians suffering the most. Over 300 deaths have been reported.
Countries such as Egypt, South Africa, Turkey, Kenya and the UK are all working to evacuate their nationals and diplomats.
The first group of Kenyans who fled Sudan arrived at the Nairobi airport on Monday night in an aircraft.
Defense Secretary Aden Duale welcomed the several evacuees after they departed from a Kenya Air Force aircraft.
The Egyptian military evacuated 177 soldiers last week, while the foreign ministry reported on Sunday that 436 citizens had traveled abroad by land. It is estimated that there are around 10,000 Egyptians living in Sudan.
Over 200 Moroccans were taken to Port Sudan in convoys organised by their embassy.
Following a tidal wave that hit several portions of the Moree community in theAbura-Asebu-Kwamankese (AAK) region of the Central Region, some 100 people have been forced to flee their homes.
The surging wave destroyed about 15 structures located close to the sea.
Some of the affected residents are currently being accommodated by friends and relatives while others had taken shelter in some sheds located in the area.
The President-General of Centre of Awareness Global Peace Mission (COA-GPM), ProfessorAto Duncan together with the Regent of Moree over the weekend visited the area.
The visit was to ascertain the situation and also look at the immediate measures to be taken to alleviate the plight of affected residents.
In an interaction with the media after the visit to the area, Prof. Duncan, appealed for immediate intervention to reduce the rate of destruction by the tidal wave.
He noted that the government had a good intention for the community and made reference to the construction of a mini habour and a landing site in the area.
“I don’t think the government has totally neglected them so we need to bring the concern of the people to the government,” he said.
He indicated, it may not be the intention of government to neglect the area.
He stated that, the displacement of people due to the tidal wave was a threat to peace, adding, the COA-GPM seeks to address issues confronting peace in the world and displacement of people is a threat to peace.
Prof. Duncan further appealed to the government to consider the construction of a sea defence wall to prevent the area from being submerged by the sea.
“I felt very sad and decided to move in to ascertain the nature of damage. This is the time we have to convey the message for immediate intervention,” he stated.
He said the sea was now drifting into the community and that it was about time for something to be done to resolve it adding that “this is a huge task, no individual can take it upon to address it.”
The community, he said, was actually in danger and therefore called for intervention in addressing the challenge.
For his part, theRegentof Moree, Nana ObokeseAmpah, explained that, some of the affected residents were now sleeping under sheds.
He appealed to the government to pay attention to the plight of the affected residents since they feel neglected.
He indicated that the havoc associated with the tidal wave had been happening for some time now but response had not come from the authorities.
Moree, he said, was a great historical and traditional town that ought to be preserved and protected.
Some of the affected residents appealed for support from stakeholders.
President Akufo-Addo has granted the Ghana National Gas Company Limited (Ghana Gas) the approval to purchase the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company.
The acquisition of the company will help it acquire the necessary resources to run efficiently.
This was captured in a letter the Presidency wrote to Genevieve Sackey, the Managing Director of the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company Limited and sighted by Citi News.
The letter signed by Nana Bediatuo Asante, Secretary to the President, on behalf of President Akufo-Addo was dated April 18, 2023.
“With reference to your correspondence dated 24th March 2023, bearing on the above-mentioned subject matter, I write to inform you that the President of the Republic has granted approval for the acquisition of Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company Limited (GCMC) by the Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC),” parts of the letter read.
The cylinder manufacturing company which has been in existence for over 30 years has been struggling to run efficiently for years due to alleged mismanagement by previous managers.
The GCMC, which hitherto was incorporated as a Private Limited Liability under the Companies Code, 1963 (ACT 179) in 1998, is currently 100 percent fully owned by the State.
It was established to promote wider usage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as a substitute for charcoal and firewood, and thereby curtail some of Ghana’s environmental challenges of degradation, deforestation and desertification caused by excessive use of firewood.
President Akufo-Addo in February 2023 nominated Madam Genevieve Sackey as the new Managing Director of Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company Limited.
This followed the resignation of the former MD of the company, Frances Awurabena Asiam.
A 22-year-old man, Victor Nasana Kungmaa has been killed byunidentified men at Lawra-Burkina municipality.
According to the family of the deceased, three days after he was killed, another young man in a neighbouring village was also killed in similar fashion.
The family believed the act was carried out by the same people given the evidence they had gathered, and said they were willing to assist the police with information.
The father of Kungmaa, Albert Kungmaa Ziem, told the Daily Graphic that the incident had left the community in an uneasy calm.
Incident
Mr Ziem, narrating what happened, said on Sunday, April 16, 2023, Kungmaa, who lived at Brifoh-Cha, near Babile, and traded in cattle, sheep and other livestock between Burkina Faso and Techiman, received a phone call from a business acquaintance in Burkina to come over to the river bank to receive money owed him.
He said Kungmaa went with two brothers to cross the Black Volta River to Bor-Nakong in the Jabugu District of Burkina Faso to receive the money.
However, during a discussion between Kungmaa and his Burkinabe trading counterpart, an argument ensued, and before they realised, the latter shot the victim in the chest, and immediately jumped on the back of a motorbike and bolted with the rider.
Kungmaa was taken to the Babile Polyclinic but he was pronounced dead.
“We want justice for Victor and not just for him, as three days after he was shot, another youngman also died in a nearby village under similar circumstances.
“We found the telephone number used to call Victor and it was the same number that was used to call the other victim.
“It was the same plan and we suspect the assailant owed them money from a business transaction, and because he did not want to pay, he decided to rather kill them, hoping that he would not be found out.
“We are willing to assist the police in their investigations,” Mr Ziem said.
Confirmation
Confirming the incident, the Lawra Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Abraham Marteyfio, said a complaint was lodged by one Surplice Somi on April 16, 2023, that his brother had been shot dead by unknown assailants.
He confirmed that Kungmaa and the complainant, Somi, were residents of Brifoh-Cha, near Babile, who travelled across the Black Volta River to Bor-Nakong in the Jabugu District of Burkina Faso to collect some money owed Kungmaa by a business partner, and that the Burkinabe partner picked up a gun and shot Kungmaa in the chest when an argument ensued.
The municipal police commander said the police had launched an investigation into the incident.
The school feeding program’s caterers have stated they won’t submit to threats to restart work.
For about three weeks, the caterers have withdrawn their services in demand for payment of arrears and an increase of the cooking grant per child from 97 pesewas to three cedis.
They want leadership of the programme to desist from issuing threats in addressing their challenges.
About a week before the group withdrew their services, they received the first term payment of the same year, an amount they say does not cover the full term.
Most caterers say they are being chased by their suppliers and banks where they secured loans for the contract.
They are unwilling to return to cooking for the pupils.
Many of the caterers were contracted to serve hot meals in schools in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of the caterers are still owed by the government.
Meanwhile, the caterers are pointing to some anomalies in the school feeding programme and have called for an audit.
Police have detained seven members of a group ofphysician assistants who were picketing about their pending postings.
They have been taken to the Regional Police Command for breaching an earlier agreement over their mode of picketing.
Reports indicate that the Physician Assistants flouted the original agreement with the police which was to converge outside the Accra Sports Stadium and not to picket at the Ministry of Health.
“We were waiting to have some form of negotiations with leaders of the Ministry. So we were waiting to be called when one of the Police Officers came and asked if I am one of the leaders and I said No, and they called the other names and said the police command wants to see them at the Police station,” Stephen Conduah explained to Citi News.
According to the group, there have been delays in processes by the Ministry of Health to ensure that they are posted to health centres across the country.
Years after years, physician assistants who graduate from various health institutions have called on authorities to post them after school, but it seems their demands have always fallen on deaf ears.
They have at times protested to further drum home their demands.
The jobless health professionals stage protest at the Ministry of Health to demand immediate employment.
A security analyst has accused Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, the Inspector-General of Police, with establishing a team of Ghana Police Service officers known as the “Dampare Boys.”
Emmanuel Mawanye Kotin, who is also the Executive Director of African Center for Security and Counterterrorism, said these special officers do not respect their seniors and do not take orders from any of their line commanders except Dr Akuffo Dampare.
He said the situation has dampened the spirit of many senior officers, leading to disillusionment among the top hierarchy.
Mr Kotin made this known on TV3 on Tuesday, April 25 while speaking about the alleged shooting of a lady, 26, in Adum, Kumasi by an Inspector with a service rifle.
The security analyst said the so-called Dampare Boys are quickly promoted as against the very regimen of the Service.
He disclosed that most of the Dampare Boys have been promoted as Inspectors.
He said the situation should be questioned “whether under the law the IGP has the right to create such a body”.
According to Mr Kotin, senior officers who are against this group of officers have been cowed into silence as “they are afraid to talk”.
He called onParliamentto summon the IGP to answer questions on this breed of officers he is keeping in the Service.
The MP for Builsa South, Dr. Clement Apaak, has called on government to halt all mining activities in the country.
This comes on the back of a series of press statements and interviews by persons accused in the galamsey report by the former Minister for Environment, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng who is a former Chairman of the now defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, in his report, accused some bigwigs of the Akufo-Addo government of interfering in his fight against illegal small-scale mining locally known as galamsey or being engaged in galamsey.
However, the Presidency in reacting said claims in the report are a catalogue of grievances of Prof. Frimpong-Boateng and could best be described as hearsay.
The Presidency also stated that the document was not an official report before Cabinet as it was submitted in an informal way.
Commenting on the development, the Builsa South lawmaker has suggested that at least two years or more ban on mining will help in resolving mining challenges in the country.
“We must demand a total ban on all forms of mining immediately, at least for 2 or more years. In the meantime a national forum led by CSOs should be initiated to determine the wayforward. This is the only reasonable option available given the levels of official complicity,” Dr. Apaak stated.
Meanwhile, the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson says Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s report to the President on the failed work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, which was set up by President Akufo-Addo to fight the illegal mining menace, confirms that the whole “fight” was a fraudulent one.
According to him, it was shrouded in a well-calculated ruse to enable key government officials and functionaries at the Presidency to dabble in the very illicit business of ‘galamsey.’
“Despite the President placing a moratorium on April 1, 2017, suspending all artisanal and small-scale mining in the country for a total period of one year and three months, we are told that in 2018, the government, acting through the Forestry Commission and Ministry of Lands, somehow contrived to give out all forest reserves in Ghana for mining activities.
“To confirm the grand collusion, despite a Cabinet directive in 2019 to suspend the issuance of new licenses and permits, more illegal miners, including Chinese gangs, entered Ghana’s forest reserves with the help of government officials, and the destruction of Ghana’s forests and environment continued unabated,” Dr. Ato Forson who’s MP for Ajumako Enyan Essiam said in a Facebook post.
The surname of Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, who served as prime minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972, has been scrutinized due to its true meaning or nomenclature, according to tales and occasionally what others have asserted to be facts.
While the actual meaning of the name Busia cannot be independently stated by GhanaWeb, some people believed the name was rather an abbreviation.
According to a report published by OnuaOnline.com, it is claimed that Busia was a name that was accorded to Ghana’s second prime minister by the colonial masters.
The details of the report have it that Nicholas Osei, popularly known as Prophet Kumchacha, founder and leader of Heaven’s Gate Ministries, claimed this during a radio interview.
He is said to have stated that he believes that Busia was the “truest brilliant scholar he has ever heard of,” while adding that even the composition of his name was an abbreviation.Interestingly, he claimed the name “BUSIA” is the acronym for “Best University Scholar in Africa.
“The claim, however, has been challenged by a scholar with close ties to the former prime minister.Actually, this scholar, Kofi Abrefa Busia, –a man named after Dr. Busia who teaches history and social studies at the Seventh Day Adventist at Bekwai, said that this assertion is wrong.
Dr. Kofi Busia stated that his father was a personal secretary to Prime Minister Busia in the 1960s and that the original name was Bosea (gravels), and not Busia as known now, the report added.”The name Busia is of a typical Wenchi origin.
The name was Bosea, which is gravel, meaning ‘many’.”He was called Bosea because he had charisma and could draw a lot of people around him wherever he goes. So just as gravels are many, he was associated with it considering the number of people he could garner within his circus wherever he would be found.
But it was adulterated by the white teachers during his (Dr. Busia’s) primaryeducation, and Bosea became Busia.”Modern scholars have tried to give another meaning to the name because of his wonderful academic performance, thus “Best University Scholar in Africa.”
The name came before the acronym,” he told OnuaOnline.He further explained the relationship his father had with Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia and how he came to understand the true meaning of the name.”My father is from Wenchi.
He was a politician and personal secretary to Dr. Busia in the 1960s. So he named me after him. About 20 years ago, I went to Wenchi, the hometown of Dr Busia, and paid a courtesy call to the queen mother, where I got the opportunity to ask for the origin and the meaning of the name “Busia”, and she gave me that explanation,” the report added.
About Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia:Kofi Abrefa Busia (July 11, 1913 – August 28, 1978) was a Ghanaian political leader and academic who was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972. As a nationalist leader and prime minister, he helped restore civilian government to the country following military rule.Busia was born a Bono prince in the traditional kingdom of Wenchi, in the then Brong Ahafo region of Ghana.
He was educated at Methodist School, Wenchi, Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast, and then at Wesley College, Kumasi, from 1931 to 1932. He taught at Wesley College and left to study at Achimota College in 1935 and taught there.
He gained his first degree with Honours in Medieval and Modern History from the University of London through correspondence during this period. He then went on to study at University College, Oxford, where he was the college’s first African student.He returned to the Gold Coast in 1942.
He took a BA (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (1941, MA 1946) and a DPhil in Social Anthropology in 1947 at Nuffield College, Oxford, with a thesis entitled “The position of the chief in the modern political system of Ashanti: a study of the influence of contemporary social changes on Ashanti political institutions”.
He was a Fulbright scholar in 1954.Busia served as a district commissioner from 1942 to 1949 and was appointed the first lecturer in African Studies. He became the first African to occupy a chair at the University College of the Gold Coast (now the University of Ghana). In 1951, he was elected by the Ashanti Confederacy to the Legislative Council.
In 1952, he was the leader of the Ghana Congress Party, which later merged with the other opposition parties to form the United Party (UP).As leader of the opposition against Kwame Nkrumah, he fled the country on the grounds that his life was under threat.
In 1959, Busia became a professor of sociology and culture of Africa at the University of Leiden near the Hague, Netherlands. From 1962 until 1969, he was a Fellow of St. Antony’s College, Oxford.
He returned to Ghana in March 1966, after Nkrumah’s government was overthrown by the military, to serve on the National Liberation Council (NLC) of General Joseph Ankrah, the military head of state, and was appointed as the Chairman of the National Advisory Committee of the NLC.
In 1967/68, Busia served as the Chairman of the Centre for Civic Education.He used this opportunity to promote himself as the next leader. He also was a Member of the Constitutional Review Committee. When the NLC lifted the ban on politics, Busia, together with Lawyer Sylvester Kofi Williams and friends in the defunct UP formed the Progress Party (PP).
In 1969, the PP won the parliamentary elections with 105 of the 140 seats. This paved the way for him to become the next Prime Minister. Busia continued with NLC’s anti-Nkrumaist stance and adopted a liberalised economic system.
There was a mass deportation of half a million Nigerian citizens from Ghana, and a 44 percent devaluation of the cedi in 1971, which met with a lot of resistance from the public.While he was in Britain for a medical check-up, the army under Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong overthrew his government on January 13 1972.
Busia remained in exile in England and returned to Oxford University, where he died from a heart attack in August 1978.Busia’s name is associated with Ghana’s political right, along with J. B. Danquah and S. D. Dombo.
Inspector Ahmed Twumasi, has revealed why he allegedly killed his “lover” Victoria Dapaah, also known as Maadwoa in Adum-Kumasi.
Per reports, he has admitted to shooting her because she owed him GHS5,000.
This was contained in the prosecution document as read in open court on Tuesday, April 25.
It was an emotional day at the Asokore Mampong District Court as police needed reinforcement to escort Inspector Ahmed Twumasi from the premises.
Hundreds thronged to the Asokore Mampong District Court to witness proceedings
Inspector Twumasi has been charged with murder.
It was also revealed in court that the accused used a service pistol tocommitthe crime.
Asked by the judge whether he has anything to say, despite not allowing him to plead guilty or not, Inspector Twumasi said: “I have no intention to commit the crime; what happened is between me and God.”
He has been remanded into police custody to reappear on Tuesday, May 30.
Leading agricultural inputs provider Demeter Ghana Limited has introduced a new fertiliser to increase the country’s cocoa production.
Known as Polysulphate (Asaase Hene), it is a multi-nutrient sulphate cocoa fertiliser that provides over 70 per cent increase in cocoa yields according to trials by the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG).
The fertiliser contains 48 per cent sulphate (SO3), 14 per cent sulphate of potash (K2O), six per cent magnesium sulphate(MgO) and 17 per cent calcium sulphate (CaO).
‘Asaase Hene’ is globally approved for organic agriculture by multiple bodies including ECOCERT.
Compared with a wide range of equivalent fertilisers, it has the lowest carbon footprint at 0.034 kilogrammes, CO2e/kg – less than 3 per cent of Urea.
Event
Speaking at the launch inKumasi, the Head of Agronomy at Demeter Ghana, Benjamin Adevu, said the product was suitable for all kinds of soils entirely natural and has a prolonged nutrient release rate with a low salinity (amount of salt) index, making it ideal for cocoa production.
“Polysulphate (Asaase Hene) fertiliser provides both macro and micronutrients needed for good cocoa yields,” he stressed.
Mr Adevu explained that it could take as long as fifty days to release nutrients, which makes it excellent for cocoa trees to produce higher yields.
For his part, the Deputy Director in Charge of Agronomy at the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED), Samuel Ankamah, who chaired the event, encouraged farmers to accept the product to maximise their yields, and that it has been tested and approved by the Ghana Cocoa Board.
He lauded Demeter Ghana for introducing the fertiliser which offered great benefits to cocoa farmers.
A Senior Research Scientist of CRIG, Dr A. Arthur, said: “CRIG trials showed increased cocoa yields using Polysulphate (Asaase Hene) versus NPK fertilisers during the trials”.
“Our test results have shown that Polysulphate (Asaase Hene) organic fertiliser is effective for increased and healthy cocoa yields,” he stressed.
The Country Manager for Demeter Ghana, William Hunt, said the fertiliser would help farmers become more productive and profitable whilst also paying attention to the environment.
Testimony
Some farmers who used the product, during the ceremony, shared their testimonies on how impactful the product had been on their farms.
The General Manager of Ewurade Naye Bioh Farm Limited, Bioh Daniel Bossman, said, “I used to harvest 10 bags of cocoa but since I started using Polysulphate fertilisers, I now harvest 30 bags of cocoa per acre of land”.
TheSafe School campaign, which was started in 2018 to address the issues of the incidence of violence in schools, has had its logo outdoored by the Ghana Education Service (GES).
Held in Accra last Thursday, the outdoor also saw the launch of the Safe School Annual Awards scheme, which is to recognise and reward schools, teachers and students who demonstrate attitudes and behaviours consistent with the Safe Schools implementation in schools at the district, regional and national levels to motivate other schools and individuals.
The launch, on the theme “Harnessing our collective effort to promote a safe, protective and inclusive school environment”, brought together some stakeholders in the education sector, students and representatives from the Ghana Education Service (GES).
Awards
Awards were given to some students who won the National Safe Schools Logo Competition, which was geared towards creating an identity and visibility for the Safe Schools Programme.
The overall winner, from the Fomena T.I Ahmadiya Senior High School in the Ashanti, Ofori Enock Jibril, went away with Gh¢ 7,000.
Hannah Egbenya from the Volta School for the Deaf in the Volta Region, Abdul Rahman Mohammed Fayad of Nyohini Presbyterian Junior High School “B” in the Northern Region and Yasmin Alidu Zendin of the Early Childhood Development Centre at Agona Swedru in the Central Region, received GH¢ 4,000 each.
Safe environment
The Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, Mamle Andrews, who read a speech on behalf of the Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, said for the country to achieve inclusive and quality education, there was a need for the child to have a safe environment devoid of neglect, abuse and maltreatment to have successful outcomes.
“It is for this reason that the ministry and the GES launched the Safe School Programme in 2018 to eradicate all forms of violence in schools,” he said.
Dr Adutwum added that the ministry would continue to support the guidance and counselling units through the GES to intensify the localisation of the Safe Schools programme by training staff, teaching students in schools and classrooms and continuous collaboration with parents, families, communities and relevant stakeholders to see to the programme’s success.
According to him, leveraging individual and collective responsibilities and knowledge would help prevent and adequately respond to school violence and all forms of bullying, including cyberbullying.
Violence-free
The Director-General of the GES, Dr Eric Nkansah, also reiterated that the service believed that the attainment of violence-free schools was a collective responsibility, hence the tagline, “Safe school, a shared responsibility”.
The tagline, he said, emphasised the fact that there was a need for all hands on deck to provide and promote a safe, secure and inclusive environment for learners
“We say thank you to all our partners for your commitment to our quest to rid our schools of all forms of violence, including corporal punishment, sexual harassment and bullying. I am confident that through our collaborative efforts, the Safe School Programme will be a success,” he added.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in the country, Fiachra McAsey, stated that for good quality education, it was important for children to have a safe environment where they could learn and achieve their goals.
TheWorld Trade Organization‘s (WTO) Director-General, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, will visit Ghana today, Tuesday, April 25.
The purpose of the two-day visit is to meet policymakers, business leaders and civil society representatives while underscoring the WTO’s commitment to reinforcing support to Sub-Saharan Africa.
She is expected to meet Ghana’s President Akufo-Addo, interact with female entrepreneurs and participate in a discussion on the theme: “Making Globalisation Work for Africa”.
The programme will be organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs. She will also hold discussions with the Minister of Trade and Industry. “I am very much looking forward to my visit to Africa. Africa is a vital part of the membership of the WTO,” Dr Okonjo -Iweala, said ahead of her trip, in a press release issued to the Ghana News Agency, in Accra.
“I look forward to strengthening our partnership with countries in the region. African economies, she noted, had taken major steps towards economic integration over the last few years at a time when the global trade landscape was changing rapidly.
“We must make sure we all work together to help our members in Africa take advantage of the opportunities offered by re-globalisation.”
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the seventh Director-General of the WTO, took office on 1 March 2021, becoming the first woman and the first African to serve as Director-General. She is a global finance expert, an economist and international development professional with over 30 years of experience working in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America. Dr Okonjo-Iweala was formerly the Board Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance previously on the Boards of Standard Chartered PLC and Twitter Inc. She was appointed as African Union (AU) Special Envoy to mobilise international financial support for the fight against COVID-19 and WHO Special Envoy for Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator. Previously, Dr Okonjo-Iweala twice served as Nigeria’s Finance Minister (2003-2006 and 2011-2015) and briefly acted as Foreign Minister in 2006, the first woman to hold both positions.
She had a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist, rising to the second position of Managing Director, Operations. She is renowned as the first female and African candidate to contest for the presidency of the World Bank Group in 2012, backed by Africa and major developing countries in the first truly contestable race for the world’s highest development finance post.
As Managing Director of the World Bank, she had oversight responsibility for the World Bank’s $81 billion operational portfolio in Africa, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala spearheaded several World Bank initiatives to assist low-income countries during the 2008-2009 food crisis and later during the financial crisis. In 2010, she was Chair of the World Bank’s successful drive to raise $49.3 billion in grants and low-interest credit for the poorest countries in the world.
Despite their efforts to recover payment, Chamber members have been left with no other options.
Some of the due funds stretch back to 2017, and the government’s outstanding debt to contractors has now reached a critical level of more than GH¢15 billion, according to the chamber.
The Chamber’s CEO, Emmanuel Cherry, expressed these worries to Citi News, emphasizing the critical need for a resolution to prevent further harm to the affected businesses.
“97 percent of contractors have packed out of site all because of government’s over GHS 15 million indebtedness to the construction industry. Government is sitting aloof as if nothing is at stake when it wants to create a Ghana beyond aid. We have dealt with this starvation and so members have petitioned us and the Speaker of Parliament. If nothing happens, they will go to court. There is a long-haul awaiting government. We are only strategizing; government will hear from us.”
Road contractors across the country had on several occasions lamented about government’s indebtedness to them.
Last year, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Atta said government would clear a “chunk” of outstanding debts owed road contractors.
The minority leader in parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has stated that the government’s efforts to combat illegal mining (galamsey), are mocked by the former chairman of the disbanded Inter-ministerial Committee against Illegal Mining, Prof. Frimpong Boateng’s, report.
In a Facebook post, Dr. Forson said the revelation by Prof. Frimpong is strongly indicative that the galamsey fight was nothing but a charade. He plainly describes it as fraudulent.
“Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s report to the President on failed work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, which was set up by President Akufo-Addo to fight the illegal mining menace, confirms that the whole fight was a fraudulent one”, he wrote.
The report authored by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng also a former Minister of Environment in March 2021 and handed over to the Chief of Staff cited a number of top officials in the Akufo-Addo government accused of either being engaged in galamsey or interfered in the work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining.
The Presidency in a rejoinder argued that despite the serious allegations Prof. Frimpong-Boateng made against some government appointees, not a single piece of evidence was adduced or presented to enable the claims to be properly investigated.
It insists that the report was based on hearsay. But Dr. Ato Forson says, government’s action so far is a tacit endorsement of its corrupt appointees.
“It was shrouded in a well-calculated ruse to enable key government officials and functionaries at the Presidency to dabble in the very illicit business ofgalamsey.”
Meanwhile, the Minority leader is pushing for a full-scale investigation into the revelations.
“The revealing issues and several others in the damning report call for a national probe”, he added.
President Akufo-Addohas urged African leaders to increase their financial support for education.
According to him, a recent UNESCO and African Union research indicates that millions of children are not attending school.
Speaking at the World Book Capital 2023 launch in Accra, President Akufo-Addo said more has to be done in the educational sector.
“At the primary level, the report suggests that one in five primary-age children are not in the classroom. While six in 10 adolescents are out of school due to several inter-linking factors. Again, 58 percent of upper secondary-aged children in sub-Saharan Africa do not attend school. This is the scenario completely unacceptable.”
The President described the World Book Capital 2023 as a great potential to contribute to education, culture and wealth.
He called on international partners to leverage on the diverse linkages to culture and education to deepen their collective actions in making progress on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
President Akufo-Addo remarked, “It is with pleasure to join you to launch the UNESCO World Book Capital 2023. Winning the World Book title of Accra is no mean an achievement. It’s a great potential to contribute to education, culture and the wealth of our nation. It’s also an acknowledgement of the giant strides Ghana and Africa are making to develop our book in creative industries as well as scale up the youth through the transformative power of reading for societal development.
“For us in Ghana, the Accra World Book Capital is more than a reading campaign. It’s an opportunity for government and international partners to leverage on the diverse linkages to culture and education to deepen our collective actions to make progress of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals”.
He called on the private sector, and corporate organisations to support financially the 2023 World Book Capital.
“I call on all stakeholders to come on board and support the programme for maximum impact. Further, I call on the private sector, corporate organisations, the UN family, foundations and similar institutions to support financially this exciting initiative that seeks to connect minds for socio-economic progress,” he appealed.
Lord Commey, the Director of Operations at the Presidency, has vehemently refuted claims that he participated inillegal mining (galamsey).
A 37-page report authored by the former Minister for Science and Technology, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng who was Chairman of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (ICIM) named Mr Commey as one of the persons at the Jubilee House who had hired Chinese nationals to engage in galamsey on his behalf.
“There are appointees in the Jubilee House that are doing or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace. Examples are Lord Commey, Charles Nii Teiko, and Frank Asiedu Bekoe (Protozoa).”
But in a response, Mr Commey said he had “never engaged in or supported illegal mining as contained in the said report.
“There is no point prior, during and after the appointment of the said Minister have I called, text or even assigned anyone to seek favour in respect of engaging in illegal mining to warrant his unsubstantiated allegations against me.
He dared the former Minister to provide evidence to back his allegations.
Below is the full statement
RE: REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE IMCIM SO FAR AND THE WAY FORWARD
My attention has been drawn to a 37-page report purported to have been written by the former Minister for Science and Technology, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng who was Chairman of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (ICIM).
The report said to have been submitted to the Chief of Staff (CoS) cites me as an example of persons supporting or engaging in illegal mining.
“There are appointees in theJubilee House that are doing or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace. Examples are Lord Commey, Charles Nii Teiko, and Frank Asiedu Bekoe (Protozoa),”
For purposes of setting the records straight, I wish to state without shred of doubt that I have never engaged in or supported illegal mining as contained in the said report.
There is no point prior, during and after the appointment of the said Minister have I called, text or even assigned anyone to seek favour in respect of engaging in illegal mining to warrant his unsubstantiated allegations against me.
I therefore challenge him to prove beyond reasonable doubts claims I was either promoting or engaging in illegal mining or I would use available legal means to protect my hardwon reputation.
Until proven otherwise, I would urge all to treat the claims of Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng with the contempt they deserve.
God Bless our homeland Ghana
Lord Commey Director of Operations at the Presidency
Unregistered oxytocin is being sold on the Ghanaian market, this according to the Food and Drugs Authority(FDA).
In a statement issued on Friday (21 April 2023), the FDA said “the pharmaceutical products are not registered with the FDA and therefore their quality, safety and efficacy cannot be ascertained”.
“The FDA is therefore informing all health facilities and medical stores of the above-mentioned products to stop using them immediately and return them to the nearest FDA offices throughout the country. Meanwhile, the FDAis liaising with importers to ensure that the market is rid of these unregistered pharmaceutical products,” the statement said.
“In this regard, the Authority is taking the necessary regulatory actions to prevent any such future occurrence,” the statement added.
However, the FDA has assured the public that it is taking all the necessary precautions to ensure that medical products on the Ghanaian market are safe, efficacious and of the right quality.
The former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, has been challenged by the Director of Operations at the Presidency, Lord Commey, to give proof of his involvement in an unlawful small-scale mining practice (galamsey).
According to Lord Commey, the allegation made by Prof. Frimpong Boateng that he (Commey) is involved in illegal small-scale mining should be ignored by Ghanaians.
In a statement copied to GhanaWeb, the director of operations at the presidency said that he has never been involved in galamsey, and has never used his position to protect someone in the menace.
“For purposes of setting the records straight, I wish to state without shred of doubt that I have never engaged in or supported illegal mining as contained in the said report. There is no point prior, during and after the appointment of the said Minister have I called, text or even assigned anyone to seek favour in respect of engaging in illegal mining to warrant his unsubstantiated allegations against me.
“I therefore challenge him to prove beyond reasonable doubts claims that I was either promoting or engaging in illegal mining or I would use available legal means to protect my hard-won reputation.
“Until proven otherwise, I would urge all to treat the claims of Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng with the contempt they deserve,” parts of the statement read.
Background
A former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Prof Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, named members of parliament and top government officials who are allegedly involved in illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) in Ghana.
Portions of a report on illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) in Ghana by Prof Frimpong Boateng, indicated that these MPs and government officials were either directly involved in galamsey or were using their power to protect relatives who were involved in the menace.
The 36-page report, which Prof Frimpong addressed to the Chief of Staff and the Ghana Police Service, according to myjoyonline.com, implicated the former MP for Manso Nkwanta, Joseph Albert Quarm; director of operations at the presidency, Laud Commey; executive assistant and head of social media at the presidency, Charles Nii Teiko; and Frank Asiedu Bekoe, director of political affairs at the Office of the Chief of Staff.
“He (the former NPP MP) used his position as a member of the Minerals Commission to acquire several dozens of large-scale concessions in his district, ostensibly for community mining purposes. He ended up selling these concessions to private individuals, including party members for GH¢2000 per concession.
“Throughout our struggle with illegalities in the small-scale mining sector, what baffled me was the total disregard of the president’s commitment to protecting the environment. I can state without any equivocation that many party officials from the national to the unit committee level had their friends, PAs, agents, relatives, financiers, or relatives engaged in illegal mining. Most of them engaged Chinese working for them.
“There are appointees in the Jubilee House that are doing or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace. Examples are Laud Commey, Charles Nii Teiko, and Frank Asiedu Bekoe (Protozoa),” parts of the report read.
The report also indicated that members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) had also acquired several mining concessions, especially in the Western Region.
“In the Wassa East District, a former NDC Deputy Minister who is also MP for the Wassa East constituency has been actively mining in the Subri forest for years,” the report also stated.
A 2021 report on the work of the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), has alleged a concerning cover-up scheme that involved private legal practitioner Gabby Otchere Darko.
The scheme was reportedly aimed at shielding those responsible for harmful mining practices in the Krobo and Apaprama Forest reserves.
The report indicates that President Akufo-Addo was informed about the cover-up scheme and vowed to take action.
However, it is not clear if the President has followed through on his promise to “deal with it”.
This revelation has raised important questions about the government’s commitment to protecting Ghana’s natural resources and preserving the environment for future generations.
Lawyer Gabby Otchere is a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and cousin of president Akufo-Addo.
According to the Prof a call from the lawyer insisted that he gave a company the permit to engage in illegal mining.
The former minister stated that Gabby who was supposed to assist the president was rather the one encouraging the illegal activity.
Meanwhile, the lawyer has denied that he had interfered in the work of the IMCIM.
According to Gabby he called the then- minister to inquire about his client, a business that held the necessary permissions to mine in the country.
“We were ready to dislodge Heritage Imperial Limited, a company that was destroying the Krobo and Apaprama Forest Reserves and in the process had also polluted and diverted the course of River Offin as can be seen in the satellite images below. I informed the President about the behaviour of Mr Gabby Asare Otchere Darko and he promised to deal with it.
“Heritage had a mining exploration permit issued in July 2019, aforest entry permit issued in November 2018, and also an EPA permit yet the soldiers went and seized the equipment of Heritage and so I called the soldiers and was told that it was the Minister who had sanctioned them and so I asked the Minister what the issue was with the equipment seizures and the Minister said they were prospecting and not exploring and that was the conversation that we had,” he added.
The 37-page report was prepared in 2021 and handed over to the Chief of Staff.
According to Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, some NPP leaders paid Chinese citizens to participate in galamsey on their behalf.
“Throughout our struggle with illegalities in the small-scale mining sector, what baffled me was the total disregard of the President’s commitment to protect the environment. I can state without any equivocation that many party officials from the National to the unit committee level had their friends, PAs, agents, relatives, financiers or relatives engaged in illegal mining,” the report said.
“Most of them engaged Chinese working for them. I am not referring to party people who had their legitimate concession and were mining sustainably as they were instructed to do. There are appointees in the Jubilee House that are doing or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace,” he added.
The Professor served under President Akufo-Addo in his first tenure in office.
He headed the committee established by President Akufo-Addo in March 2017 to combat unlawful small-scale mining.
Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR), Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Chieftaincy & Religious Affairs, Regional Re-Organisation and Development, Monitoring and Evaluation, Water and Sanitation, Interior, Defense, and Information are some of the ministries that made up the Committee.
The Committee’s duties included regulating and sanitizing small-scale mining operations in the several mining regions to make sure that miners adhere to the law.
However, the Committee was disbanded soon after the 2020 presidential election.
The information minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has stated that the allegations leveled against him in a report by former Minister for Science and Technology, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng are false.
According to him, even though he is disappointed by the assertions, he forgives the former minister.
“Over the years, I had nothing but great admiration for Professor Frimpong-Boateng’s public-spirited works and as an inspirational citizen. I feel gravely offended over the false claims he has made and the hurtful conclusions he has sought to exact about me precisely because of the great esteem in which I have held him.
“I trust that in the coming months and years, he will reflect deeply upon his own actions and comments which have led to his challenges. He should kindly leave me out of his personal fights. I am utterly disappointed but I forgive him.”
A 37-page report authored by the former Minister for Science and Technology, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng who was Chairman of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (ICIM) accused the Ofoase-Ayirebi MP of holding a secret meeting to destroy him.
According to Oppong Nkrumah, he only attended a PRINPAG (Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana) event, jointly organised with the Bank of Ghana on financial reporting and never held any meeting to oust anybody from the government.
“Indeed, the facts are that it was Prof Frimpong-Boateng himself who wrote to the Ghana Police Service in January 2020 reporting the loss of some excavators and calling for an investigation. It was Prof. Frimpong-Boateng himself who in subsequent media interviews mentioned that the number of excavators missing was about 500. Again on or around February 20, 2020, it was Prof Frimpong-Boateng himself who at Parliament House (During interviews on the SONA) engaged in exchanges with the media about the said excavators and promised that they will be recovered”.
“For the record, these are the matters that occasioned the media reports about Prof Frimpong-Boateng and the said excavators. Further, it was Prof. Frimpong-Boateng himself who was later to be seen in a video making comments about the anti-galamsey fight and the release of excavators.
“I Kojo Oppong Nkrumah was not responsible for his initial police report, his subsequent interviews, or any of the claims he made. To be clear, it was Prof Frimpong-Boateng’s own reports, interviews and videos that generated his media challenges around the time. I am thus disappointed that he would, in this document, seek to blame me for the media reports.”
According to him, these individuals prevented him from addressing the issue, as well as the committee he headed.
“I can state without any equivocation that many party officials from the national to the unit committee level had their friends, PAs, agents, relatives, financiers, or relatives engaged in illegal mining. Most of them employed Chinese workers.
“I am not referring to party people who had their legitimate concession and were mining sustainably as they were instructed to do.
“There are appointees in the Jubilee House who are engaging in or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace,” excerpts from the document said.
According toProfessor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, majority of the ministers appointed to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) abandoned the committee.
The Ministers of Sanitation and Local Government and Rural Development were the only ministers who remained to serve on the Committee, according to Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
President Akufo-Addo established the Committee in March 2017 to combat unlawful small-scale mining.
Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR), Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Chieftaincy & Religious Affairs, Regional Re-Organisation and Development, Monitoring and Evaluation, Water and Sanitation, Interior, Defense, and Information are some of the ministries that made up the Committee.
The Committee’s duties included regulating and sanitising small-scale mining operations in the various mining regions to ensure that miners adhere to the law.
However, the Committee was disbanded soon after the 2020 presidential election.
The report also revealed how a former NPP representative in the Ashanti Region sold concessions that had been obtained unlawfully for GHC 200,000 each.
“Hon. Joseph Albert Quarm, the former MP for Manso Nkwanta exemplifies such individuals. He was a member of parliament for the Manso Nkwanta Constituency in the Ashanti region and at the same time a member of the board of the Minerals Commission.
He used his position as a member of the Minerals Commission to acquire dozens of large scale concessions in his district, ostensibly for community mining purposes.
“This infuriated the party in the constituency, so during the 2020 primaries to select a candidate, the electorate voted against NPP MP, the then sitting MP, who had more resources than other candidates,” parts of the report said.
The report emerged after President Akufo-Addo instructed the Police to look into the earlier accusations made by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng in March.
The distinguished scholar, who served under President Akufo-Addo in his initial tenure in office, stated that corruption extends as far up as Jubilee House, where the administration is located.
After striking for a week, the University of Cape Coast Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghanahas ended its industrial action.
SSA-UoG, UCC embarked on strike last Thursday, April 13, over management’s failure to implement negotiated and agreed conditions of services of its members.
NationalChairmanof the Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana, Isaac Donkor also in an interview with Eyewitness News on Citi FM on April 19 disclosed that the members of the Association were going to embark on a nationwide strike if the concerns and demands of the UCC chapter were not addressed.
But all that has been put to rest by the announcement by the UCC chapter to suspend its week-long strike.
Read the full statement below;
“SUSPENSION OF INDEFINITE STRIKE ACTION BY SSA-UOG, UCC LOCAL
Owing to the ruling of the National Labour Commission (NLC) on Wednesday 19th April, 2023 on a matter between the Senior Staff Association – Universities of Ghana, University of Cape Coast (SSA-UoG, UCC Local) and Management of the University of Cape Coast, the commission directed that SSA-UoG, UCC Local should call off its current strike action and equally directed Management of UCC to engage SSA-UoG, UCC Local to resolve the concerns and grievances raised and revert to the Commission on Wednesday 26th April 2023.
In light of the directive, Management has extended an invitation to the Leadership of SSA-UoG, UCC Local to begin engagements on Friday 21st April 2023. With this step taken by Management, SSA-UoG, UCC Local in respect for the Commission’s directive wishes to suspend its strike action declared on Thursday 13th April, 2023.
We direct members to report to work from Friday 21st April, 2023. We therefore, appeal to Management that members who may have traveled out of the jurisdiction of UCC campus during the period would report to work after the weekend.
We express great appreciation to all members for the continuous support and trust in leadership during this period.”
According to Dr. Mustapha Hamid, CEO of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), all other candidates in the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) race for flagbearer know that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia will win, but they are only competing because it is within their legal rights to do so.
“Well, I back Dr Bawumia. He’s going to win the NPP primaries. There is absolutely no doubt about it. Oh yeah! It’s done. I am sure the others [ aspirants to the flagbearer position] know. But it’s a competition so it’s okay for them to show up,” he said confidently.
Other aspirants to the flagbearer position include former Trade Minister Alan Kyeremanten, former NPP General Secretary Kwabena Agyapong, maverick MP Kennedy Ohene Agyepong, and former Agriculture Minister Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto.
All these persons, according to Dr Hamid, are aware that Dr Mahamudu Bawumia will win the contest. For him, Dr Bawumia’s stellar performance as Vice President and qualities make him the best to lead the NPP.
“First of all, he is arguably the most active Vice President we have had in this Fourth Republic…You would agree that this is the Vice President who has been in the forefront of policy and who has not just taken a back seat as Vice President but who is in the forefront of implementing stuff,” he added.
The NPP flagbearership election is scheduled to take place in November 2023 as campaigns heat up and people make their biases known.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, has urged the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) and various Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to monitor and enforce adherence to the Greater Accra region’s prohibition on drumming and loud noises this year.
He said a task force working with the REGSEC has been set up to collaborate with the Police and other security agencies to arrest and prosecute offenders who would fail to comply with rites preceding the celebration of the Homowo festival.
Mr Quartey gave the directives at a news conference to usher in this year’s annual observance of silence “Nmaa Dumo” ban on noise making and drumming.
He said the performance of customary rites preceding the celebration of Homowo festival does not in any way interfere with freedom of religion as alleged by some religious bodies or connote anything fetish as was being misconstrued by Christians.
“The Ga Dangme, therefore, have the right to manifest their custom and religion in their own home as do other people,” he said.
The Regional Minister said most Ga Dangme people were Christians by reason of their early contact with colonialists and asked the religious bodies not to interfere for a peaceful Homowo this year.
Numo Akwaa Mensah III, Chief Priest of the Ga State who performed the customary rites to usher in 2023 Homowo festival outlined some of the activities during the news conference.
He said the annual ban on drumming and noise making would start on Monday, May 15, and end on Thursday, June 15, 2023.
Numo Akwaa Mensah said the ban affects any form of noise making including the use of loudspeakers, drums during funerals, musical instruments within the Ga State during the period.
“All worship centres should confine their activities within their church premises, positioning of loudspeakers in mosque and roadside evangelism, use of megaphones, funeral rites and its related activities are also banned during this period.”
King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, Ga Mantse and the President of the Ga Traditional Council urged the public to take note and observe the rules regarding the ban on drumming and noise making to help maintain the peace, harmony, and security within the Ga State.
He counted on the cooperation of the various stakeholders in ensuring strict observation and compliance with the Ga custom, practices, and usages.
He urged the public to refrain from making derogatory remarks about the rites, custom, practices and beliefs of the Ga people.
In his report on illegal mining, formerenvironmentminister Prof. Frimpong Boateng expressed his horror at what he claimed to have learned through a phone call from attorney Gabby Otchere Darko, who allegedly instructed him to permit a mining business to operate in the Krobo and Apaprama Forest Reserve.
According to the report, which was allegedly written by the former minister, he was horrified because the lawyer who was closer to the president and should have supported his fight against Galamsey was the one fronting for the company to engage in illegality.
Prof. Boateng, in the said report, revealed that the lawyer had called claiming to be the legal representative for Donald Entsuah and his friend Simon Ayman, a Candian national, whose company C&J Aleska had reportedly caused havoc to theDiaso Forest Reserve.
The portion of the report read: ”The major pronouncement made by the President, when he took office in January 2017 that touched the hearts and rekindled the enthusiasm of many Ghanaians, including me, was about his preparedness to put his presidency on the line to fight the menace of illegal mining.
I took this statement literally and seriously and I was determined to do everything I could to protect the environment and biodiversity.
I was expecting people such as Mr. Gabby Asare Otchere Darko, Captain Kodah and others like them, who knew the President better and certainly had his interest and success at heart, to support the fight against illegal mining. I was thus horrified to receive a telephone call from Mr. Otchere Darko telling me he was the legal advisor to Mr. Donald Entsuah and his Imperial Heritage Mining Company and that the company should be allowed to work in the Kobro and Apaprama Forest Reserves.
It was this same Donald Entsuah and his friend Simon Ayman, a Canadian national, whose company C&J Aleska caused havoc in the Diaso forest. These two gentlemen were close allies of the Mahamas and soldiers from the Ghana Army gave them protection. Captain Mahama died in the course of his duty protecting Donald Entsuah’s interests.
The IMCIM was able to dislodge E&J Aleska from Diaso. Shortly thereafter Donald Entsuah established Imperial Heritage Mining Company and was given a prospecting licence to work in the Kobro and Apaprama forests in Amansie Central. Here again, he managed to get military protection contrary to all directives from government. Worse still, an important NPP member also provided legal advice.”
It added ”Going forward, if there will ever be such an undertaking, I expect the President’s pronouncement and wishes to be respected and supported, especially by those close to him.
For four years there were directives from the President and his Cabinet that were designed to help fight illegal mining. These directives were to be respected and carried out by Ministries and some agencies.”
Speaker Alban Bagbinhas directed all Members of Parliament (MPs) to end their recess and return to the House for an “urgent parliamentary business.”
The urgent parliamentary business is scheduled for Tuesday, May 2, 2023, per the statement from the Office of the Speaker dated April 20, 2023.
“I, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, do hereby direct that Parliament shall notwithstanding anything to the contrary, be recalled from recess to sit on Tuesday, the 2nd day of May 2023, at ten o’clock in the forenoon, at Parliament House, Accra, to consider urgent parliamentary business,” the statement read.
Rt Honourable Alban Bagbin gave the instruction in exercise of the power conferred on the Speaker by order 42(3) of the Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana.
The said order states that “Mr. Speaker may, if he thinks fit, call a Sitting of the House before the date or time to which it has been adjourned or at any time after the house has been adjourned sine die.”
Meanwhile, the agenda for the urgent parliamentary business is yet to be made public. Parliament went on recess on March 31, 2023, after passing government tax bills which have been assented to by President Akufo-Addo per reports from Information Minister, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah.
Prior to that, the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament recommended that the House pass the controversial Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021 popularly referred to as the “anti-LGBTQ bill”.
“Pass into law, the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021, subject to the amendments proffered by the Committee,” a part of the 18-page document signed by the Committee’s Chairperson, Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, read.
Source: The Independent Ghana| Andy Ogbarmey-Tettey
According to Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng’s final report majority of the ministers appointed to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) abandoned the committee.
The only ministers who remained a part of the Committee, according to Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng’s report, were the Ministers of Sanitation and Local Government and Rural Development.
The Committee was set in March, 2017 by President Akufo-Addo in the fight against illegal small-scale mining.
Among the ministries which formed the Committee are Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR), Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Chieftaincy & Religious Affairs, Regional Re-Organisation and Development, Monitoring and Evaluation, Water and Sanitation, Interior, Defense and Information.
Among the tasks of the Committee was to sanitise and regularise small-scale mining activities in the various mining districts to ensure that miners work within legal framework.
But the Committee was dissolved shortly after the 2020 elections.
Committee Chairman Prof Frimpong-Boateng, who was Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, accused some elements at the Jubilee House of hampering the efforts of the inter-ministerial committee.
In his report, sighted by 3news.com, the respected heart surgeon listed abandonment of members as the first challenge his committee faced.
“Apart from the Ministers for Sanitation and Local Government and Rural Development, all the others abandoned the Committee,” he stated in the report, said to have been submitted on March 19, 2021.
“To make matters worse, the Chairman was personally attacked, vilified and framed for things he had not done.
“Such assaults came from many people, including some of the ministers who effectively left the committee.”
He cited Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, and then Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Mafo, as among ministers who deliberately worked against the committee.
Former dean of the School of Information and Communications Studies at the University of Ghana,Professor Audrey Gadzekpo, has urged media owners to address the miserable working conditions for journalists.
She challenged media owners to improve the appalling working conditions of journalists.
A recent report by the University of Ghana’s Department of Communications Studies in collaboration with the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) dubbed, ‘the State of the Ghanaian media report,’ exposed the poor working conditions of many journalists in Ghana.
The average Ghanaian journalist according to the report earns GH¢500 and GH¢1,000 monthly with many owed arrears over the years.
Speaking to Citi News, Professor Audrey Gadzekpo said the poor working conditions of journalists make them vulnerable.
“Working conditions of journalists are very poor and it makes the practice of journalism even more precarious than you will think it should be. And I really do think that media owners and media managers must be engaged on this very critical issue. Of concern is the politicisation in media ownership, and the fact that it’s opaque, it’s not transparent,” Professor Audrey Gadzekpo suggested.
Some key findings in the report
FINANCIAL VIABILITY OF MEDIA
■ Generally, many media organisations in Ghana are not profitable; they only break even
■ The financial viability of many media organisations in Ghana is threatened.
■ Media in Ghana are creatively exploring new business models to stay alive; including digitization, conglomeration, events marketing and crowdfunding.
■ Digital technologies are fast-changing media financing models in Ghana.
■ Digital media are now a major source of income in the Ghanaian media.
■ One of the biggest threats to the financial health of the media is industry saturation.
WORKING CONDITIONS IN THE GHANAIAN MEDIA
■ Recruitment into the Ghanaian media is generally untransparent.
■ Many people working in the media do not have contracts.
■ There are no established structures for promotion in most media organisations; promotion is largely based on ‘whom you know’ and owners’/managers’ whims.
■ Salaries in the media are woefully low. Some employees work long months without pay.
■ Most media employees have no healthcare support
■ Most media organisations do not provide counselling support for employees who experience trauma in the line of work.
MEDIA OWNERSHIP AND REGULATION
■ In Ghana, media pluralism has not necessarily served the public interest, due mainly to concentration of media in a few hands.
■ Media ownership is shrouded in opacity.
■ There is a growing tendency towards media empire-building.
■ Political faces behind broadcast media ownership mean that partisan actors and governments can control public discourse.
■ The NCA has a laissez-faire attitude to questions about transparency in media ownership.
■ The current regime for broadcast regulation allows considerable power and influence to those whose conduct the media are supposed to check.
SAFETY OF JOURNALISTS
■ There is a growing sense of insecurity among journalists in Ghana
■ Violations of journalists’ safety are quite common in Ghana.
■ Male journalists are more at risk of attacks than females.
■ Investigative journalists are the most at risk of attacks
■ State actors, including political appointees and police are the worst perpetrators of attacks on journalists.
■ Journalists feel that law enforcement agencies and the judiciary do little to protect their safety.
Energy Minister, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempehhas stated that Ghana cannot support the practice of some citizens not paying their electricity bills.
To that end, he said, he fully supports the step taken by theElectricity Company of Ghana(ECG) to retrieve funds owed the company.
The action of the ECG, he said was part of the overarching effort in ensuring that the company remained viable to deliver efficient service to consumers.
Dr. Prempeh said these when he led the ECG’s revenue protection taskforce to two companies that owed the company various sums of money.
The Minister during these two engagements bemoaned the situation where companies piled up bills for a very long time and refuse to pay.
“As a country we cannot continue to countenance the attitude of non-payment of bills, among other illegalities and expect optimal service delivery” he said.
He continued “the financial capacity of the generator, transmitter and distributor is very much anchored on prompt payment of bills, especially as we work to clamp down on all forms of losses and intra-sector debts. These 3 segments of the power value-chain are symbiotically dependent on each other and therefore we must work together to clamp down on all forms of losses.
The Manhyia South lawmaker said, there is no excuse whatsoever for the non-payment of electricity bills and drew an analogy where one cannot negotiate with OMCs to get fuel into his or her car. “When you need fuel, you cannot but pay to get it, why can’t you do same for the electricity you consume” he quizzed.
The ECG taskforce continue to mount operations to retrieve all debts owed by the company.
The Managing Director of the ECG Samuel Dubik Mahama earlier said that an amount of GHS5.7 billion was owed to the state power distributor.
He assured that the action of the company was going to be intensified to retrieve all these debts.
“Every month we will show up to collect the debts,” he intimated.
Mr Mahama said so far they are able to collect between 40 to 50 Million Cedis daily since the exercise started.
“I can each day 40 to 50 million cedis everyday, we are expecting it to go up,” he said.
The task force earlier, Monday, March 20, visited institutions such as Parliament, the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) as part of the debt recovery.
Speaking to journalists, the External Communications Manager of ECG, Laila Abubakar said “The national task force is the one that is in charge of the state-owned enterprises, the ministries, departments and agencies and so we have been going with them, we visited Parliament House, they were owing about a GHS13million they have committed to paying GHS8.5million, we saw evidence of that.
“We went to the Ghana Airport Company, they owed arrears of GHS28million of which they made GHS10 million payment instantly just when we got there so we have given them 48 hours to make the full payment.”
She added “Now, we are here at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, they also owe in arrears of about GHS6 million but they have explained to us that because of the way they run their operations they wouldn’t be able to cough out the money for us instantly, they have had some discussions with the Minister of Information and the National Media Commission together with the Ministry of Energy and there was some sort of agreement last years. However, ECG’s point is that there has not been any movement on the debt that is remaining.
“They have explained to us they have a system and they are going to get some money and pay because they have to find innovative ways of coming up with the money and so we have been giving permission to leave them for now for 48 hours.”
Homes of individuals were not excluded.
Laila Abubakar said “In Tema, we have received photos of disconnections happening in residences, we have received photos of them in some of the industries in Tema and they are being disconnected.
“I am hoping that by the end of the day, we should be able to see a lot of money coming in into our accounts.
“Our system has been digitized in such a way that by the end of the day the Managing Director will be able to see how much we have recouped from this exercise and so we will report in a timely basis how much we are making on a weekly basis.”
Parts of Accra to experience power outage tomorrow, Friday April, 21, according to Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
In a public notice, the ECG noted that this is to allow the power distributor to improve its service delivery.
The power company in a notice stated that the work is scheduled to start on Friday, April 21, 2023, from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm.
According to ECG, areas to be affected as a result of the exercise are; Tesano, Abeka, Alajo, Caprice, North Kaneshie, Santana market, Achobo best, Kouttam, Poly product, Kane em, Duraplast, Ashfoam.
The rest are Qualiplast, Corona, IPNL Romarong, Fowrewin Ghana, Panasonic, Polytex, Poly Craft, Piccadilly, Top Packaging, Deco plast, Innolink, Burger King, Winners Chapel, Volta Garments and Ghihoc Distillery.
“ECG regrets the inconvenience that will arise out of this exercise,” the powerdistributor added.
The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and Public Utilities Workers’ Union (PUWU) are contesting against the appointment of Collins Nuntwiri as the organization’s proposed Deputy Managing Director, Finance and Administration.
Clad in red, the union and the staff bemoan that Mr. Nuntwiri does not have the required qualification for the job and thus should not be considered for the position.
Addressing the media, the first Vice Trustee of the PUWU, Samuel Amo-Kakabaah called on the appointing authority to consider someone from the company with expertise other than an unqualified one.
“We are here to register our position on the nomination of a Deputy Managing Director-Finance and Administration for Ghana Water. Our position is spelt out in the petition we have written to the Chief of Staff, we have copied the director of SIGA, board chairman of Ghana Water, Managing Director and the Minister.
“Our position is very clear and simple, we want to state on record that we are not against the appointment of heads of entity by the presidency, but our concern is that the position of the Managing Director is an appointee of the presidency, but the Deputy Managing Director’s position is a position we feel should be filled with people with both the technical and institutional knowledge of our operations.
“We believe that the technical people will also help the Managing Directorwho is a political appointee to do his work appropriately. The profile of the purported nominee indicates that he lacks the requisite professional qualification to be a Deputy MD. We want the appointing authority to consider that”.
From May 15 through to June 15 of 2023, drumming and other loud noises will be prohibited in the Greater Accra region, this is according to the Ga Traditional Council.
The month-long ban forms part of activities to mark this year’s Homowo festival.
The ban affects any form of noisemaking, including the use of loudspeakers, drums, tambourines, funeral rites and roadside evangelism.
Addressing the media on behalf of the Ga Mantse, the Public Relations Officer of Ga Traditional Council, Nii Lartey Anum Tetteh, urged the public to respect the month-long ban stating that a task force has been constituted to prosecute offenders.
The following guidelines have been set to ensure full compliance with the directive:
During the period of the ban, the usual form of worship should be confined to the premises of churches/mosques and noise levels be minimized to the barest limits possible.
Religious bodies and the Traditional Authoritiesmust show respect for one another and restrain their followers from making derogatory and inflammatory remarks about the beliefs and practices of one another.
The positioning of loudspeakers outside the premises of churches, mosques and pubs are banned. Roadside evangelists are to cease their activities during this period.
Apart from an identifiable task force which consists of AMA personnel, the Police Service and Representatives from the Traditional Councils with tags, no other person or group of persons should be seen or found enforcing the abatement of noise in the metropolis.
Boundaries to be affected are:
Northern Boundary: Boundary dividing Accra from the Eastern Region.
Western Boundary: Odukpon Kpehe (Kasoa)
Eastern Boundary: Osu In addition, residents are to note that all villages and towns under the Osu, Ngleshie Alata and Ga Traditional Councils are affected by this ban.
Ayoung man who has been actively involved in the sports betting industry for more than 7 years has shared how fulfilling the business has been for him.
He explained that while it is not a tough game of chances; one that requires a great dose of luck, he cannot deny how profitable it has been for him.
Francis, as he is known, told GhanaWeb TV that through the earnings he has had over the years, he has been able to put up a two-bedroom house for his mother.
Also, he owns two barbering shops at Dome Pillar 2, in Accra, where he currently has 14 employees.
“Through this bet, I have a land that I built a two-bedroom house and my mom is staying inside now – all because of betting,” he told GhanaWeb TV’s Etsey Atisu.
Francis and some friends of his, who have formed the Concerned Bettors of Ghana(CBOG), were interacting with the journalist concerning the new 10% sports betting tax that has been introduced by the Akufo-Addo-led government.
For these young men, while they admit they are making some good profits from betting, they find it a lazy approach by the government in expanding its tax base, or in making money.
John Dramani Mahama, a prospective 2024 presidential contender for the opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC), claims that party agents who will be taken to the National Collation Center, often known as the “strongroom” of the Electoral Commission (EC), will bring their own tea and purchase their own biscuits.
In the 2020 Presidential election petition filed by NDC’s Presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama at the Supreme Court, Rojo Mettle- Nunoo and Dr. Kpessah Whyte who were representatives of the party at the collation Center were blamed for dereliction of duty.
This was after the duo accused the Electoral Commission boss Jane Mensah of ‘tricking’ them to leave the premises to go and see Mr Mahama after which she announced the results on their blind side.
In one of the instances of cross-examination by Justin Amenuvor, the lead counsel of the Electoral Commission (EC), the former Deputy Health Minister Rojo Mettle- Nunoo said “I was offered tea, I wasn’t offered any biscuit” while he waited for the Electoral Commissioner for clarity on some anomaly observed in some of the results.
The Supreme Court stated in its verdict that Rojo Mettle -Nuno and Dr. Kpessah Whyte both second and third witnesses respectively for the petitioner John Mahama should rather blame themselves for leaving the National Collation Centre, that, they did not do their job of strict observation of the collation process therefore must accept the consequences.
Addressing delegates of the NDC at Ashaley Botwe in Greater Accra Region, on Tuesday as part of nationwide campaign tour ahead of the NDC’s Presidential Primaries, John Mahama said the party is going to be extra vigilant in 2024 election adding [on lighter note ] that, the party’s representatives at the strongroom will be provided their own tea and biscuits.
“We are not going to sleep. We are going to match them at the collation centers. We will be in the collation centers until the last ballot is accounted for. e are going to Match them in the EC’s strongroom. This time we don’t want tea we don’t want biscuit. Those we select to go to the strongroom we will give them our own tea and we will buy them digestive Biscuits to go to the strongroom”.
Mr. Mahama strongly stated that packing EC with activists of the ruling New Patriotic Party will not deter the NDC’s resolve to police the election results.
“Because they are afraid of losing the 2024 election they have started putting NPP activists as members of the Electoral Commission so that they can control the referee but when I say it is a Do or Die affair it means that it is a critical election whether they put NPP chairman on the electoral commission we shall match them boot for boot. We are going to match them at the polling stations we don’t Wana cheat anybody, but we don’t want anybody to cheat us. So we are going to mark them at the polling station and make sure that no extra ballot papers come from somewhere into that ballot box”.
Mr. Mahama charged branch and constituency executives of the NDC to actively get involved in the electoral processes in their respective polling stations and be very vigilant .
“Elections are won or lost at the polling stations..and in all your branches you have polling station. Vigilance at the polling stations is going to be in your custody. Campaigning in the polling station is going to be in your care and so we are going to rely on you to make sure that the election in your polling station is going to be free, fair and transparent. And we are putting in a robust system to be able to transmit out results and you the branch and constituency executives are going to be involved. It is a new system we will come and explain it to you”
TheBawdie Community Centerin the Wassa Amenfi East Municipality has been destroyed by Wednesday’s downpour.
Community members wonder how a community center that was roofed about two months ago could collapse after heavy rainfall.
Information gathered by GhanaWeb indicates that the strength of the columns raised was not commensurable to the roofing trusses used as roofing frames.
The columns raised were too slim to carry the heavy metal trusses on which the roofing sheets slept.
A resident of Bawdie, Ebenezer Appiah who witnessed the disaster quizzed, “How can you raise these tiny columns for this huge building that can take about four thousand people?”
“Buildings of such nature need big columns that can hold heavy metals and roofs, and not these small ones,” he added.
Narrating how the incident happened, Ebenezer Appiah said he was at the community center with six other people and some school children when the rain started with the storm.
According to him, “All of a sudden, one side of the building collapsed, so we all ran out of the place, but the school children were still there. We decided to go and get the children under the roof. As we were evacuating them, the other side also came down.”
Another victim, Samuel Mensah described it as a near-death incident as they could have died if the whole building collapsed on them.
He noted that this is acommunity project which must be of high quality in order to last longer.
He urged community leaders to put more money into such projects to reap the benefits.
TheKumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has purchased 70 Point of Sales (POS) machines for its revenue collectors as part of attempts to increase income and close some industry loopholes.
The POS, which is to eliminate some of the human factors in revenue collection and mobilisation and also cut down on the under-declaration of revenue, forms part of the digitalisation processes of the assembly.
Speaking at a short ceremony to present the devices to the revenue collectors, the Chief Executive of the KMA, Sam Pyne, said the main objective of procuring the devices for the revenue collectors was to eliminate some of the human flaws in revenue collection, including undercutting, underwriting and thefts.
He said in the assembly’s attempt to tackle the challenges in revenue generation, “We sought support from some of our development partners and we have been able to do a database of almost all businesses and properties in Kumasi and so we needed to procure devices for our revenue officers that would also eliminate human shortcomings so that we can collect, print and issue receipts and also record same at our data room.”
The sub-metros that benefited from the devices are Subin, Nhyiaeso, Bantama, Manhyia North and South.
He cautioned the revenue collectors not to try to manipulate the devices, but to work according to the laid down procedure, as anyone caught to have engaged in anything that would short-change the assembly would be dismissed.
“KMA is committed to collecting all revenue due it and so, as officers, your work is to go and collect the revenue and issue receipts to people, keeping in mind that anything you do contrary to this would be met with ruthless sanctions including dismissal,” he cautioned.
The Presiding Member of KMA, Patrick Kwame Frimpong, urged the revenue officers to work with dedication and help the assembly to increase its revenue to undertake developmental projects in the metropolis.
He charged them to refrain from criminal practices that would cause them to be arrested and prosecuted. Data room
Taking the media on a tour of the specially designed data room at the KMA, the Metropolitan Director of Finance, Abbam Adjei, said the system had been fixed to record payments.
He said that immediately after payment is made, the system issues a command for the printing of receipts as well as the recording of the same on the database.
Approximately 180 community people from 3 districts in the transitional landscape have been trained by EcoCare Ghana, Tropenbos Ghana, and the Ghana National Fire Service to act as the first responders to fire prevention, monitoring, and control with financial assistance from the European Union.
The first batch of fire volunteers squad was inaugurated on Wednesday, January 25 and equipped with basic fire-fighting tools to aid their work.
Speaking at the inauguration, the Co-founder and Managing Campaigner for EcoCare Ghana,Obed Owusu Addai, stated that it was important to train and equip community members on wildfire management to protect EcoCare Ghana and Tropenbos Ghana’s landscape restoration efforts and enhance food security.
He said through the European Union-funded LEAN Project, the two organisations have invested heavily in tree planting and supported farmers to adopt climate-smart agriculture practices across the landscape and would be catastrophic if the gains made are lost to indiscriminate bush-burning.
He noted with regret that, despite the constant education, bushfires are still rampant in the landscape.
He added that the incidents have contributed to biodiversity loss, reduced soil fertility and contributed to poverty.
He advised the fire volunteer squads and stakeholders to increase education in their communities on the impacts of indiscriminate bush burning and support the fire services to carry out their mandate in curbing wildfires.
The Fire Safety Officer at Bono East Regional Fire Service, Imoro Ibrahim, acknowledged that the Ghana National Fire Service needs to collaborate with community members to end the menace of wildfires.
He added that there have been several attempts to set up fire volunteer squads in the landscape, however, due to limited resources they haven’t been able to equip them to work effectively.
He was optimistic that the support given to the volunteers through the LEAN Project will go a long way to help combat wildfires and reduce their destructive impact.
The Deputy Bono East Regional Forestry Commission Director, Rev. Obour-Wiredu, reiterated the need for stakeholders in the transition landscape to collaborate.
He cautioned farmers within the landscape to protect the environment against wildfires to safeguard food security for the country.
The training of the fire volunteer squad is part of the Landscapes and Environmental Agility across the Nation (LEAN) Project.
The four-year project is funded by the European Union’s flagship GCA+ initiative that aims to conserve biodiversity, build climate resilience, reduce emissions from land-use changes and help smallholder farmers improve their livelihoods.
The project is being implemented in Ghana by a consortium of four partners: Rainforest Alliance in the High Forest Zone, World Vision Ghana in the Savannah and Tropenbos Ghana and EcoCare Ghana in the transition landscape respectively.
The trained fire volunteers were selected from 15 communities in the Techiman Municipal and Offinso North and South Districts. Persistent wildfires during the dry season have become a norm in Ghana, contributing to the rapid loss of forest cover and high carbon emission which leads to climate change.
The World Economic Forum in 2021 estimated that wildfires cost $50 billion globally per year and emit 6450 tonnes of Carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
In Ghana, the transition landscape is one of the most wildfire-prone areas, leading to invaluable loss of farmlands and biodiversity.
The Commission says it cannot address the Association’s grievances if leadership does not call off the strike as directed.
This followed a meeting hosted by the Commission between management and the leadership of the senior staff on Wednesday, April 19.
The senior staff of UCC have been demanding payment of negotiated allowances and promotions for members.
They declared strike on Thursday, April 13 and have since stayed out of work, affecting students on campus.
“The Commission has directed them to call off the strike to enable the Commission hear the matter, so the matter has been adjourned for one week because by law negotiations cannot go on while you are on strike,” said Executive Secretary of NLC Ofosu Asamoah.
He told TV3‘s Daniel Opoku that a meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 26 to continue the arbitration but not after the strike has been called off before then.
National President of SSAUoG Zakari Mohammed admitted that its UCC branch received a letter from NLC not to proceed on strike but it had no option as management also failed to address the grievances.
“Both of us flouted because the UCC management was earlier on directed to engage the senior staff [and] they flouted first,” he said.
“They also violated the directive of the [National] Labour Commission.”
The UCC Chairman of SSAUoG, Sandy Kumi Sinatra, justified the strike action and said it was declared before NLC’s letter to stay action came in.
“We did notify the NLC,” he said.
“The NLC had earlier directed that management should engage us [but] management flouted this and we reported to NLC and added that subsequent to management’s refusal to engage us, we gave them a date after which when it elapses we embark on the strike and that date expired and we declared the strike lawfully.”
He said the decision to call off the strike remains in the bosom of the National Executive Council (NEC) and not on him as an individual.
Inspector-General of Police,Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, has demonstrated his will to ensuring that the country is free from criminals.
Dr. Dampare says with the help and assistance of other security agencies, the fight against crime will be relentless.
He gave this assurance during the commissioning of a police barracks at Kwabenaya in Accra.
“My colleagues and I are working in partnership with other security agencies to give you the biggest of assurances to the government and the people of Ghana that we will never sleep nor rest until this country is at peace with itself,” Inspector-General of Police assured.
In a similar move, the police administration engaged the leaders of the two major parties on how best to defuse political tensions as part of efforts to maintain decorum on the country’s political landscape.
On Monday, April 17, 2023, the Ghana Police Service met with the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the oppositionNational Democratic Congress (NDC) to discuss some political disagreements at the meeting called by the Inspector General of Police.
This was said in a statement issued by the Service after the engagement urging the parties to be decent in their operations.
“They should do their politics and allow the Police to do policing. We, therefore, called on them to support us including by criticizing us constructively to do a professional job in line with our constitutional mandate”, the Ghana Police Service mentioned in its release signed by its Director of Public Affairs, ACP Grace Ansah-Akrofi.
The Senior Advisor to the President, Yaw Osafo Maafo, has been cited in some passages of a supposedly comprehensive report on illicit small-scale mining (galamsey) in Ghana by the former Minister for Environment, Science, and Technology, Prof. Frimpong Boateng.
Page 26 of the said report, which has been sighted by GhanaWeb, indicated that Yaw Osafo Maafo, who was the senior minister in 2019, vowed to protect Ekow Ewusi, a former first vice-chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who was implicated in the ‘missing 500 galamsey excavators’ scandal and was arrested by the police.
The report indicated that Osafo Maafo sent for copies of the police statements and evidence Prof Frimpong had on the case and vowed to protect Ekow Ewusi.
The former science and technology minister also wrote in the report that Osafo Maafo said he (Frimpong Boateng) was a bad person and encouraged people to fight him.
“In the course of the investigations (into the missing excavators), Mr. Mantey (a journalist) confessed that he was contracted by Mr John Ofori-Anis, then national security coordinator for the Central Region and Mr. Ekow Ewusi to use his bank account at the National Investment Bank for what effectively was money laundering.
“Effectively, the proceeds from the excavator sales were lodged in Seth Mantey’s bank account. The moneys lodged were later cashed and given to Mr. John Ofori Atta, who in turn gave some of the money to Ekow Ewusi,” parts of the report read.
“The Senior Minister sent someone to me for a copy of Seth Mantey’s statement as well as a copy of the bank transactions as recorded in Mantey’s bank statement… After going through the documents, the senior minister is reported to have remarked that Ekow Ewusi is his boy … he encouraged his friends to organise themselves, gang up and fight Frimpong Boateng,” it added.
The report indicated that Prof Frimpong told Akufo-Addo about what had transpired but the president, after promising to handle the situation, has not done anything about it till date.
Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi’s ex-wife, Hiba Abouk, has said that she needed time to recover from the shock.
Hiba Abouk, requested half of her ex-husband’s assets in a divorce petition.
However, the court informed her that everything was registered in his mother’s name, her “Millionaire”, therefore Achraf Hakimi had no property.
In an interview with ELLE, Abouk said, “I am fine. There are days when it is like this, and others in which you’ve to know how to take blows and make decisions, sometimes complicated, and get used to new situations.
Who would’ve imagined that in addition to facing the usual pain that a separation entails and accepting the grief that the failure of a familyprojectto which I had given myself body and soul entails, I would’ve to face this ignominy. I needed time to digest this shock.”
Abouk continued, “When you separate, you restructure your life, but it’s not anything special either: you’ve to take iron out of the matter. It’s true that, with two children, it is emotionally complicated, but I’m not the first and I will not be the last. The important thing is that I have the peace of mind of having tried and having done everything I had to do.
There are decisions that cannot be made overnight. For me, it’s a premise not to rush in moments of crisis.”
However, there have been reports that the settlement could be challenging, as Hakimi has reportedly registered a significant portion of his wealth in his mother’s name.
Abouk and Hakimi have two children together, Amín, 3, and Naim, 1. The couple married in 2020, two years after meeting in 2018.
The situation is undoubtedly a difficult one for Abouk and her children, and it remains to be seen how the divorce settlement will ultimately be resolved.
However, Abouk’s calm and measured response is admirable, and it’s clear that she is prioritizing her emotional wellbeing and that of her children during this challenging time.
At Ghnewsbuzz.com, we bring you the latest entertainment news from Ghana. We also have reporters from Nigeria who covers Nigerian celebrity news daily. We sometimes bring to our readers other trending entertainment news and relationship stories of high interest on a daily basis.
The Energy Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has said that he fully endorses the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) efforts to recover every pesewa owing to the firm.
According to him it is important the company remains viable to deliver efficient service to consumers.
Dr. Prempeh made these assertions when he led the ECG’s revenue protection task force to two companies that owed the company various sums of money.
The Minister during these two engagements bemoaned the situation where companies pile up bills for a very long time and refuse to pay.
“As a country, we cannot continue to countenance the attitude of non-payment of bills, among other illegalities and expect optimal service delivery,” he said.
He continued “The financial capacity of the generator, transmitter and distributor is very much anchored on prompt payment of bills, especially as we work to clamp down on all forms of losses and intra-sector debts.”
“These 3 segments of the power value-chai are symbiotically dependent on each other, and therefore we must work together to clamp down on all forms of losses”.
The Minister said, there is no excuse whatsoever for the non-payment of electricity bills and drew an analogy where one cannot negotiate with OMCs to get fuel into his or her car.
“When you need fuel, you cannot but pay to get it, why can’t you do same for the electricity you consume,” he quizzed
The Minister who is also the Manhyia South MP further said that the unbearable cost of fuel for generators incurred by Ghanaians during the ‘Dumsor’ era between 2013 and 2016 is indicative of the luxury of power supply currently, and therefore urged consumers to pay promptly for the value chain to function effectively.
The ECG taskforce continues to mount operations to retrieve all debts owed by the company.
Health Minister,Kwaku Agyeman Manuhas revealed that some public health facilities in the nation are giving patients fraudulent pharmaceuticals, a phenomenon he called a threat to both the provision of medical care and human life.
The Health minister made this unfortunate disclosure in Kumasi when he addressed stakeholders in the health sector during the First Senior Managers Meeting of the Ghana Health Service.
The event brought together health partners, traditional leaders, and private investors in the health sector, representatives from theWorld Health Organization (WHO)among other stakeholders.
The four day conference which started on the 18th April 2023 will be used to review the major issues affecting quality health care delivery and prescribed implementable solutions policy for the sector.
Speaking on the theme “Enhancing Primary Healthcare Approaches Towards Achieving Universal Health Coverage”, Health Minister Agyeman Manu tasked stakeholders in the sector to ensure excellence in healthcare delivery across the country.
He appealed to health workers to help fight the problem of administering fake drugs to avoid sending patients to their early grave.
He questioned the justification behind the use of unapproved medicine otherwise known as ‘fake medicine’ in treating patients in health facilities.
“I have a note on my desk from the FDA over fake medication falsified drugs usage in public health facilities and the very common one is oxytocin and I believe all of you here will know that Oxytocin dose. We are talking about maternal mortalities, and that is one drug I understand will help stop what happens after delivery. The FDA has put together the list and is seeking my approval to name and shame. So some of us are going to see ourselves in the public domain for using fake drugs. This is not the first time, about three years ago they did the same thing and reported. So what is the motivation to take in fake drugs in our own facilities not all but the FDA woman want to name and shame some of us and should that happen invariably it goes to actually distort what we are fighting for better educators with maternal health and mortalities so how are we going to solve this problem ?’’ he asked.
MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE AND WRONG MEDICAL PRESCRIPTION
The minister also disclosed that the Health Ministry is overwhelmed with legal cases over its staff negligence and wrong medication prescription on duty.
He admitted before he took over six years ago the situation wasn’t that bad like today and questioned whether the health practitioners have forgotten what they were taught in health training institutions to warrant these unfortunate developments.
“What I’m seeing of late in the ministry are issues of litigation for the past four weeks or so. Almost every week we get at least one letter from the attorney general’s office that somebody has sued our staff with a problem of health care service delivery and they want us to come with information for them to go to court with. Then we refer to the Director General Dr. Kumah Aboagye but I have been with you for the past six years. Earlier when I came in those things were not happening that much but now it has become something very common. So what is it, deliberate efforts to try and go to court, get somebody to take us to court or you have forgotten why you were trained to do in more efficient manner negligence or what is happening but since you are the senior managers of what we do in health I throw this challenge on you and your strategic meetings to discuss how this problem can be resolved” he stressed.
The minister of health, Kwaku Agyemang Manu, has made suggestions that the government intends to prevent Zipline Ghanafrom opening more centers due to the high cost of service fees.
According to the Dormaa West Member of Parliament, health facilities in the country which depend on the facility to fly essential medical drugs on time to their facility for critical management of cases are abusing the service which he said is milking government funds.
The Health Minister made the disclosure in Kumasi when he addressed stakeholders in the health sector during the First Senior Managers Meeting of the Ghana Health Service.
Expressing his frustration, the Minister said” every single request you make to fly to you comes with some huge cost so we said we are going to do essential service, very needed medications in a short time just in time.
You don’t use the drone to drop medicine for you to stock. When they finished Omenako and I went there to commission the facility, I saw dewormers in their stock why will you want to fly dewormer, to be close to you?’’ he questioned.
He added “I’m engaging my big men to even stop them from setting up some new extra facilities, because we just cannot pay the cost that is coming in with fly me this amount fly me this amount fly me this. Ideally, we were setting up to fly things that if we don’t get in the next 10 minutes somebody will die and that is blood’’ he explained.
He further explained” we have our own supply chain of vaccines, now thanks to Covid-19 we have stock everywhere with cold rooms that can take every temperature across the country almost every region has got that type of facilities and we have our land Cruisers that can take in Vaccines from the airport to wherever, you are within a short possible time without any challenge so why should we fly vaccines’’ he said.
He indicated that “You see those running the drone service. I mean the drone scientists they came to install their infrastructures to make money from us we are not under any obligation to procure and make them have so much money when we don’t have anything. The agreement we have with them gives us a certain bench mark when we hit there in a month that is it. But the claims that are coming and we are seeing is a challenge’’ he stressed.
The minister therefore, charged managers of the various public health facilities to use the health review conference to discuss to control the situation.“I will leave this to you to discuss how we can control this. I spoke to Albert about four days ago on how we can design guidelines and I want to expect that Dr. Kumah Aboagye will have a strategy. Regional directors should ensure that everything that you are flying gets authorization from somewhere above the facility level so that we control cost and expenditures. Other than that we will go nowhere. We need money to do several things. When you get into the health system you will never have adequate resources. What I mean is that things that we need to work with are so numerous. So if we put all our resources into just one small area it means we are neglecting the rest and we cannot work efficiently so let us take a good look at that area and how best we can change them’’ he pleaded.
