The Sunyani Traditional Council’s Chiefs and Queen Mothers have said that “God has decreed this as the moment for Alan Kyerematen to be president of Ghana.”
Nana Kwaku Sarbeng, Akwamuhene of the Sunyani Traditional Area, said he admires the patience and wisdom with which Alan had conducted himself since he conceded to let then-candidate Akufo-Addo go ahead of him for a shot at the presidency
Now, the traditional council believes it is the appropriate time for Mr Kyerematen to assume the country’s leadership and advised NPP delegates to choose their candidate for the 2014 general elections when they go to primaries later in the year.
Mr Kyerematen urged the Chiefs to advise the delegates to select a flagbearer who would be acceptable to the entire country.
“The country is expecting a turnaround based on a big vision to be delivered with competence,” he said.
Mr Kyerematen said the overreliance on the government to build industries to create jobs needed to change to a more efficient way of empowering the private sector to create jobs for the people.
Mr Kyerematen noted that as Minister for Trade and Industry under President JA Kufuor, he initiated the Presidential Special Initiatives (PSI) in four different sectors of the economy, which could have yielded over $60 billion a year to the country, had the NDC not terminated them after taking over in 2008.
He urged Ghanaians to ensure an NPP retains power in 2024 to consolidate the progress made under the current government, including the big industrial transformation project under the 1D1F, the Business Resource Centres, producing well-rounded entrepreneurs, the Technology Support Centres providing modern cutting-edge tools and Free SHS and TVET, among others.
All these initiatives have come to take advantage of AfCFTA, which is now making people describe Accra as the ‘commercial centre of Africa’, Mr Kyerematen said and urged Nananom to help the delegates take a good decision and select him as the candidate to continue the transformation on the foundation that the NPP government has built.
In conclusion, Nananom said they expected a natural progression from President Nana Addo to Alan, in the same way, they saw President Kufuor giving it to President Nana Akufo-Addo.
They further advised Alan to improve his slogan to “Alan Cash, Aduro wo so” since there was no doubt that God was on his side.
Colourful and informative children’s newspaper, Treasure Kids Newspaper, has been reborn to assist young learners to achieve their academic goals.
According to the curator and editor in chief, Miss Precious Kyei Bonsu, popularly known as the global teacher, the rebirth of the insightful newspaper will encourage more Ghanaian content, which will help young learners stay abreast with Ghanaian literature, culture, and heritage.
The launch, which took place at the WIT School on Friday, January 27, 2023, was attended by students from the WIT School, America International School, Light Academy, Mount Eye International, St. Mark’s School, and Espo School.
Speaking at the relaunch, Miss Precious, who is also the founder of The WIT School, explained that the newspaper is a monthly online and print publication based on subscription, which was necessitated by the alarming decline in the reading habits of kids today. The colourful 16-page paper targets children between the ages of 4 and 15, and features educational articles, puzzles, and tips, as well as other fun activities that will enrich the minds of kids, but in a fun and interactive way. TKN is the best newspaper for young and curious minds which will be out every last Friday of the month.
She said, “Still, with interesting and creatively tailored material, we can always generate an affection in them toward reading.” It is exactly what we intend to do with this newspaper. With exciting ideas that our team arrived at as a result of extensive research about the attitudes and peculiar patterns of absorbing knowledge, we are optimistic that the paper will be the change that we have so long desired, or at least set us on a decisive path, especially with such segments as History Lab, Kinder Lab, Exclusive Feature, Animal Facts, School of the Month, Fun Facts, Comic Corner, Mathemagician, Fun Factory, Dear Diary, Science Facts, Tech Lab, Special Feature, Did You Know, and other captivating content.
At the launch, the principal of the WIT School, Miss Baaba Spencer, also added that young learners should cultivate the attitude of reading and that patronising the new Treasure Kids Newspaper will help them master their reading ability.
She said, “Our world is evolving each and every day, and kids don’t absorb knowledge in the same ways and means anymore.” The paper is creatively put together and tailored specifically for today’s child. “This is a huge step in the right direction in ensuring that child literacy is improved,”
Graced and endorsed by key personalities and corporate entities, including the Daily Guide Newspaper, the Principal of AIS, and 1Promasidor Ghana (producers of Yumvita and Cowbell).
The event was fun and educational, with numerous prizes and giveaways from sponsors for the over 150 students who attended.
Ten illegal miners have been detained by the Kyebi District Office of the Forestry Commission for their activities in the Asiakwa section of the Atewa Forest Reserve in the Abuakwa South Municipality of the Eastern Region.
The 10 [ten] who were busily engaging in illegal mining at 2am on Friday [February 2, 2023] dawn were surrounded by the forestry guards who pounced on them after picking up intelligence about their illegal activities.
This latest arrest comes just a few days after the commission set ablaze an excavator and some mining equipment belonging to illegal miners who invaded the Segyimase portion of the Atewa forest reserve.7
The Kyebi District Forestry Manager Emmanuel Antwi who confirmed the arrest to Citi News said the commission will stop at nothing but ensure the prosecution of all encroachers.
“Upon previous encounter with illegal miners, one person died, and we also know that where somebody has died. For illegal miners they believe that the gold will still appear in numbers. So yesterday in the night at about 2:am I dispatched my field team to Asiakwa portion of the Atewa forest, especially where an illegal miner died. When my guys got there, they chanced on these people seriously mining. They were able to surround them, and were able to apprehend them,” Mr. Antwi said.
The MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has given an explanation of the reasons behind his request for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to look into the alleged killing of Bawku inhabitants by some military personnel.
According to him, he chose that route because, the murder of the 10 residents is a human rights issue.
In the past, such incidents have been investigated by presidential commissions.
Speaking in an interview on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, he said “I don’t want the President’s hand in the investigations.”
“What have we gotten out of all of these commissions that were set up by the President in the past over these killings? What happened? Nothing happened,” he added when asked whether a commission should be set for it.
This, according to him, is to prevent the case from being politicised.
“I want the truth out, I don’t want some high-level exercise that will come to nothing. I believe the Human Rights Commission will do a good job of establishing what happened and they will take action to ensure that there are remedial measures,” he insisted.
The Bawku Central MP on Friday petitioned CHRAJ to investigate alleged killings of civilians by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).
He sought damages of GH¢500,000 each for the families of those who lost their life and adequate compensation for injured victims.
Narrating his account, he said he had information that there were gun fires on Tuesday night in Bawku.
He explained further that the military, as part of efforts to curt
In the Sekyere East District of the Ashanti Region, at Agona, a 40-year-old cab driver’s body has been discovered in a cocoa estate.
The deceased identified as Clement Asiedu was reportedly found on the farm with his legs and hands tied with a rope.
Speaking to OTEC News’ Jacob Agyenim Boateng on Friday, February 3, 2023, the brother of the deceased, Yakubu Yahaya, disclosed that, the lifeless body of the driver suspected to have been murdered by unknown assailants was discovered by some passersby with his mouth taped with glue.
“He went out to work with Toyota Vitz commercial taxi cab with registration number As-7304-22 on Wednesday, February 1, 2023 and never returned”
He added, “Prior to his demise, I spoke to him, he told me he was dropping a customer at Agona on the Mampong road but he took more than enough time to return”.
“We went to the area in search of him only to be told by police in the area that, he has been found dead”
The legislator for Akim Oda Constituency, Alexander Akwasi Acquah, has revealed his deepest regret as a parliamentarian.
Mr. AKwasi Acquah said his quest to represent his constituents in the House to fight for their collective interest, became the bane of his private business.
According to him, “one accountant embezzled close to GH¢7 million” of his company funds while he pursued his dreams as a politician from the year 2018.
Weighing in on a matter during a discussion on Asempa FM’s Ekosiisen programme monitored by Angelonline.com.gh, he attributed the financial malfeasance to his waned monitoring which was occasioned by his myriad responsibilities.
“It is my biggest regret in parliament,” he confessed on the programme monitored by Angelonline.com.gh, adding “but it has been bottled up all this while”.
The businessman became aware of the wrongdoing after an audit was conducted and the report was presented to the House, he indicated.
“He [the accountant] has collapsed the business,” the MP said in despair and added that it was happening while they had bank loans and were servicing them.
He utilized the opportunity to call for a reform in the operations of banks, to seal loopholes often taken advantage of by dishonest people.
“It is about time banks transform their deposit slip…because what the guy [the accountant] really did was that he went to do a fake stamp: teller 1, teller 2, teller 3, teller 4. So he will go into his room and stamp the slips and when he is done, he will record them and enter them into the system, and I am supposed to keep the alerts but because I am overseeing many companies, I am unable to notice them,” Mr. Akwasi Acquah explained.
Meanwhile, the case has been referred to the relevant institutions to investigate the crime and recover the lost sum.
Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has urged all University Professors to speak out on the concerns they have regarding how the economy is being managed by the government.
He noted that some professors are unwilling to speak out despite having reservations about how the government is handling the economy.
Making reference to German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein who he said spoke on issues affecting the economy then despite not being an economist, he asked Ghanaian professors not to coil back out of fear.
You can be a Professor of chemistry but you have to speak out on how the economy is being managed, Albert Einstein spoke out, Kpebu said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, February 4.
Martin Kpebu accused the government of mismanaging the economy.
Dr. Amoako Baah, a prominent member of the ruling New Patriotic Party and a political analyst, has said that President Akufo-Addo is the reason why the party’s presidential and parliamentary primaries haven’t been scheduled yet.
Speaking to Selorm Adonoo on Eyewitness News, Dr. Amoako Baah said there “is a contention between the president and the party [with regard to the date for the primaries]. The president wants to hold the primaries in February next year which he said, his 2024 budget would have been passed by then. The MPs on the hand, also want the primaries held in August 2023, to give them enough room to do whatever it is that they have to do to keep the party in good sharp.”
He described it as absolutely absurd to have president Akufo-Addo to be deciding the timelines for the party.
“It doesn’t make sense and the party should not tolerate it, the party does not belong to the president and the party cannot go according to his timetable.”
Dr. Amoako Baah also alleged that the president has threatened to mastermind the defeat of some of the NPP MPs.
“Were you not there or have you not read when the Subin MP [Eugene Boakye Antwi] said the president threatened to mastermind his defeat, how can an outgoing president hold the whole country to ransom?”
Two different meetings held by the National Council of the NPP to set a date for the primaries ended inconclusively.
Pressure is mounting on the NPP to announce a date for its two most important internal elections on its calendar.
A bloc within the party made up of some MPs is pushing for an early Congress whilst others want the party to abide by the provisions of its constitution.
Per the NPP’s constitution, the party is supposed to elect its flagbearer 12 months to an election when in power and two years when in opposition.
MultiChoice Ghana has urged its clients to embrace the new prices it is charging for Dstv services.
The multinational firm said increased operational cost, soaring inflation, taxes among others warranted its decision to increase its prices.
Dstv has been trending on social media this week after MultiChoice Ghana announced a 19% rise in its subscription charges effective February 15, 2023.
The increment generated an uproar among Dstv customers.
But Multichoice in a statement issued on February 3, 2023, explained that the last time it increased its tariff was in April 2022.
It added that, inflation at the time was 23.6%, but the figure has ballooned to over 54%.
It noted that inflation, cedi depreciation and other economic conditions have pushed its cost of operations to worrying levels.
“As a business operating in Ghana, we appreciate the current difficult economic condition the country is facing and hence we understand your concerns. MultiChoice has considered various factors including the current economic pressures facing customers while considering its price adjustments”.
“Year on Year (non) inflation as at end of December 2022 is 54.1% versus the April 2022 number of 23.6%. The various adjustments we have announced are an average of 19% increase which is significantly below the current YoY inflation which has increased by 30.5 percentage points. It is important to also note that our subscription price build-up includes various taxes such as VAT-15%, NHIL-2.5%, GETFund Levy-2.5%, Covid levy-1% and Communication Service Tax-5%.”
“With all the above considerations, we have had to do an adjustment on average 19% yet significantly below what is required to cover the increase in our cost of operations with inflation currently at 54.1%. With the above considerations, we have had to make an adjustment in our prices and continue to strive to see that the increase faced by our customers is as low as possible. Over the past 30 years, MultiChoice has worked tirelessly to ensure it provides an unrivalled bouquet of channels to watch and platforms to view them on for the entire family,” Multichoice assured in the statement.
Paying a landlord more than six months’ worth of rent is not illegal, according to Emmanuel Kporsu, Public Relations Officer for the Rent Control Department.
He said it only becomes an offence if the landlord made the demand for the tenant to pay for more than 6 months.
The PRO explained that the law prohibits landlords from demanding one to two years of rent from tenants.
However, it is not an offence if the tenant decides to pay for one to two years when the landlord has not requested it.
He was speaking about the department’s involvement in the Rent Assistance Scheme, which Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia announced last week.
He stated that the scheme is intended to pay rent advances to applicants between 6 months and two years.
Applicants who meet the criteria may have their applications approved for a maximum monthly rent of GHC1,500 for a period of two years.
It was then questioned why they would pay two years in advance when the law forbids it.
At this point, he explained that the law only prohibits landlords from making tenant demands.
However, if the tenant pays the rent for more than six months, the landlord will not be in violation.
Mr. Kporsu stated “Section 25 subsection 5 of the existing law states that during a short tenancy, the landlord should not demand more than two months’ rent in advance. If the tenancy is longer than six months, the landlord should not demand more than six months’ rent in advance. However, it is not a crime if the tenant pays the landlord for more than the approved number of months.”
If the landlord makes the demand and you have evidence, you can report the landlord and the law will take care of the situation,” he said on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm.
However, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, a Governance Lecturer at the Central University has vehemently dissented to the GII proposition.
According to the organization, the protocol list creates loopholes for people to cheat and stressed there should be equal and fair opportunity in the placement system.
Reacting on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” panel discussion programme, Dr. Otchere-Ankrah stated emphatically that abolishing the protocol list system can never work.
He explained that there are some people who commit huge resources to the development of their schools, hence found the GII recommendation condemnable.
Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi, Dr. Otchere-Ankrah said; “I don’t agree with them. I will never agree with them today, tomorrow or next year. I went to Aggrey Memorial Secondary School. We have built a domitory but for 26 solid years, it’s still not complete . . . I have not seen this in any school except Aggrey; for 26 years, it’s still under construction. Is it not shocking to you?…If we are to solicit monetary help from stakeholders…and it’s completed and the benefactor says he wants to bring his child to the school, you are telling me we should refuse it. I disagree with those peddling this agenda to stop the protocol”.
“You have built your school on someone’s land and you are saying you won’t give the Chief in the area protocol. The school land belongs to someone. Even at Legon, KNUST, there is protocol; why is it that when it comes to Secondary School, you are saying we shouldn’t do protocol?”, he added.
At his home in Maamekrobo, in the Kwahu Afram Plains South District of the Eastern Region, 54-year-old farmer Kwasi Ahoku is said to have been shot dead by police.
The incident occurred on Friday, February 3, 2023, around 6:30am.
It is alleged that the police are the cause of the death after firing several shots into the house of the deceased in an attempt to force him out for interrogation after a Fulani herdsman claimed that his cattle has been gunned down by a farmer suspected to be the deceased.
A resident who is the former Chairman of the Afram Plains Farmers Association, Mathew Afrani in an interview on Agoo FM Morning revealed that about fifteen bullets were fired at the deceased residence, leaving several gunshot marks on the wall of the house.
“After the gunshots, the police forced and broke into the room of the suspect and found him dead with gunshot wounds on his body in a pool of blood,” he said.
Speaking on the matter, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Kwahu Afram Plains South District Assembly, Evans Kyei Ntiri expressed his displeasure with the devastating incident which has occurred in his district.
He explained that he had a call from the District Police Commander who informed him of the incident.
He said, according to the Police, the deceased (Kwasi Ahoku) tried to face off with the policemen when the police got to his residence.
“He challenged the police that he is also in possession of a gun which escalated the tension and resulted in many warning shots released in the skies. As the police broke into the room, they saw the man dead lying beside his gun. We are still investigating the matter to know the actual root of the incident,” Mr Ntiri said.
Police say the matter is under investigation and will be receiving persons who are willing to help out with information on the said incident.
A video depicting how Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the member of parliament for North Tongu, dismissed a restraining order document from the secretary to the board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, also known as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, has surfaced online.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa was forced to kick out the document after the bailiff tried to force the document into his car on the compound of Metro TV after the Good Morning Ghana show.
A man initially approached the lawmaker as he was just about to sit in his car after the show, the two were captured having a conversation after which a document was presented to him.
The lawmaker did not take the document but went ahead to seat on his car, just as he opened his car, the bailiff tried to force the document into the lawmaker’s car but he immediately threw it out, kicked the document away from his car and drove off.
Rev Kusi Boateng secures restraining order against Ablakwa
The secretary to the board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev Victor Kusi Boateng, who is also known as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, has secured an order of interim injunction against the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
The order restrains Okudzeto Ablakwa from publicly sharing any document belonging to Kwabena Adu Gyamfi for the next 10 days.
The MP who disclosed this in a tweet shared on Friday, February 3, 2023, said that he was served the order after his appearance on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme on the same day.
“One Kwabena Adu Gyamfi also claiming to have an alias as Victor Kusi Boateng has secured a 10-day restraining order seeking to stop me from further publications on the Conflict of Interest & Double Identity Scandal,” parts of the MP’s tweet read.
The MP shared a picture of the order he was served which read: “IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the 1″ Respondent, SAMUEL OKUDZETO ABLAKWA is restrained from making further public disclosures of private documents, correspondence, communication and property belonging to the Applicant (Adu Gyamfi).”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this interim order will lapse after Ten (10) days,” it added.
Background
The latest corruption exposé on the National Cathedral by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, suggested impropriety on the part of the secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng.
On January 16, 2023, the MP made some allegations against Rev. Kusi Boateng, who is the secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana.
In an earlier revelation about the National Cathedral, Okudzeto Ablakwa said a whopping GH¢2.6 million was dished out to a company named JNS Talent Centre Limited.
Further investigations into the alleged payment led to the discovery of one Kwabena Adu Gyamfi as a director of JNS Talent Centre.
Having confirmed the identities of two out of three directors of the centre, Ablakwa dug deeper in a bid to discover the identity of the third director, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
According to his findings, citing a number of statutory documents, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi was the same as Reverend Kusi Boateng, who has allegedly been operating under the pseudonym K
Dr. Kofi Amoah, a well-known economist and businessman, has claimed that the government will though the Bank of Ghana to print additional money in order to support its Gold-for-Oil agenda.
In a tweet shared on Friday, February 3, 2023, Dr Amoah said that the government has no savings to purchase the gold for this policy and thus will resort to printing more money.
He said that the printing of money will fuel inflation which will further heighten the hardship ordinary Ghanaians are facing.
He added that Ghanaians who can afford to leave the country should do so before it collapses totally.
“The NPP has stepped into the Capitalistic Culture they’ve no clue of. Pls get out whilst you can b4 Ghana drowns completely
“Govt n BOG have no money saved so they’ll print new money to buy the gold for the barter which will fuel inflation n Cedi depreciation,” parts of the tweet read.
The economist made these remarks while reacting to an article by GhanaWeb on the government’s Gold-for-Oil policy.
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, in November 2022, announced the government’s plan to undertake the gold-for-oil initiative. The deal was hinged on buying oil products with Ghana’s gold instead of the US dollar.
Dr Bawumia, in a post shared on Facebook, explained that the usage of gold to purchase oil would address Ghana’s dwindling foreign reserves as well as reduce demand for US dollars by oil importers.
“It will fundamentally change our balance of payments and significantly reduce the persistent depreciation of our currency,” the vice president earlier wrote.
Under the policy, the government believes that using gold to purchase oil products would also bring stability to the exchange rate market and ensure domestic oil operators do not solely depend on foreign exchange to import products.
View the tweet below:
The NPP has stepped into the Capitalistic Culture they’ve no clue of
Pls get out whilst you can b4 Ghana drowns completely
Govt n BOG have no money saved so they’ll print new money to buy the gold for the barter which will fuel inflation n Cedi depreciation
Sam Nartey George, the representative for Ningo Prampram, has called the God-for-Oil policy government is enforcing a hoax.
According to him, the aim of the policy is to reduce the prices of oil products but the prices of these items are set to increase again this February.
Speaking in a Good Morning Ghana interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Sam George added that just like the Sinohydro deal, which was said to be a barter trade deal, the God-for-Oil policy will end up increasing the country’s indebtedness.
“The whole concept that has been built is simply part of the sloganeering of the NPP. They have built a smoke screen and behind the smoke screen are individual interests aligned with the NPP… at the expense of ordinary taxpayers.
“Dr Bawumia promised us that the God-for-Oil will give us cheaper products but this week, the prices are going up… it is obvious and clear that this God-for-Oil is a scam,” he said.
The MP added that the policy is shrouded with a lot of inconsistencies and a lack of transparency with most of the parties involved in it not known to the people of Ghana.
“We need to know who is the intermediary, and how was the intermediary selected. Who are those we are buying the product from? At what price are were being given the product, are they higher than spot price or are they market premium prices or are they lower than the market premium prices,” he said.
Background:
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, in November 2022, announced the government’s plan to undertake the gold-for-oil initiative. The deal was hinged on buying oil products with Ghana’s gold instead of the US dollar.
Dr Bawumia, in a post shared on Facebook, explained that the usage of gold to purchase oil would address Ghana’s dwindling foreign reserves as well as reduce demand for US dollars by oil importers.
“It will fundamentally change our balance of payments and significantly reduce the persistent depreciation of our currency,” the vice president earlier wrote.
Under the policy, the government believes that using gold to purchase oil products would also bring stability to the exchange rate market and ensure domestic oil operators do not solely depend on foreign exchange to import products.
According to Secretary General of the National Tenants Organization of Ghana, Mr. Fredrick Opoku, the union was not consulted before the government introduced the National Rental Assistance Scheme.
He explained stated that, the union represents the interest of tenants, so their opinion should have been sought.
He expressed his disappointment while speaking with the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
Mr. Opoku emphasized that, a major challenge tenants face is the unavailability of accommodation and affordable housing and urged the government to build more houses to support the scheme.
He also called for the development of a “rent-to-own” policy that will enable tenants to rent houses built by government and own later after an agreed payment scheme.
The Rental Assistance Scheme aims at providing safe, comfortable and affordable housing for lower income households and youth in the country. The Scheme will provide rent loans to eligible Ghanaians who are 18 years and above with a verifiable and regular income.
This loan is to be paid on monthly basis by the beneficiary (tenant), not exceeding 30% of his/her household income, to match the tenure of the rent.
Also speaking was the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association, Mr. Samuel Amegayibor who indicated that the Scheme should address the rent law, which required tenants not to pay more than six-month advance rent.
“The intervention is not exactly in favour of the populace, it has implementation challenges with the rent advance timelines, which needed to be addressed”, he said.
He believes that government should rather prioritize the provision of affordable housing and not the introduction of such schemes.
However, some tenants and landlords have expressed their content and satisfaction with the scheme and called for it to be more sustainable.
Daniel Quarcoe, a landlord at Kaneshie, said the Scheme would relieve them of rent payment delays from tenants. He said it would address the challenges property owners had with tenants over the deadline of payment of rent.
Mr Eric Allotey, a Tenant at North Kaneshie, said the features of the Scheme on the internet should advertise houses available for rent. He said that would save them the stress of going to look for accommodation and challenges with middlemen.
Mr Yaw Manu, a Tenant at Osu, said the Scheme should not be limited to public servants or persons with well-structured income but all Ghanaians.
The flagbearer candidate for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Member of Parliament for Assin Central in Central Region, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, has asked party followers and Ghanaians to have faith in his goals and objectives.
Though official nominations have not been opened, flagbearer hopefuls are moving and sending their campaign signals out.
Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, a businessman and politician, is one of them.
He appealed to Ghanaians to have confidence in him and make him the party’s flagbearer and the country’s president come 2024.
Mr. Agyapong made this appeal when he appeared on ‘Good Evening Ghana’ on Metro TV in Ghana.
According to him, he is a man who understands Ghanaian languages and problems and can also solve the problems of the people.
He also added that even if those who vote for him age, their children will largely benefit from their support for him.
Ken Agyapong added that he will exonerate himself from the case of Ahmed Suale’s death when he becomes president of Ghana. Though he affirmed that police investigations could not point fingers at him for the death of the investigative journalist, he will show interest in the case when he is voted President of Ghana.
On February 2, 2023, the Asokore Mampong District Court set bail at 2000 Ghana Cedis (GH2,000) for each of the 43 rioting Krobea Asante Vocational Training Institute pupils, with a guarantee that had to be approved by their guardians or parents.
The court presided over by H.W. Samuel Buabin Quansah also ordered the students to sign bonds and report to the Effiduase-Asokore Police Station with their parents or guardians once every week.
The student suspects have been slapped with provisional charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, to wit: rioting, causing unlawful damage, and stealing.
Police in the Effiduase district command arrested the senior prefect of Asante Kroabea T-VET and three others, thereby increasing the number of suspects to 43.
The case has been adjourned to March 2, 2023.
The students were arrested during a violent demonstration that resulted in the destruction of properties belonging to the school and other private individuals on campus.
The January 22 incident forced the Ashanti Regional Security Council to order the immediate closure of the school.
A five-member committee has also been tasked with investigating the circumstances surrounding the violence.
Due to their participation in the exhumation of a body at the New Edubiase cemetery, two individuals have been placed into police prison for a period of two weeks.
According to an adomonline.com report, the two, Kwabena Okyere, aged 56, and Maxwell Ansah, 39, were arrested on Tuesday, January 31, 2023.
Details shared in the New Edubiase Magistrate Court showed that the attention of the police were drawn to the action of the two after they were reported by the traditional priest.
The priest, according to the report, reported the two after they tried to sell the exhumed human parts to him.
After appearing in court on Friday, February 3, 2023, the court ordered that they be remanded.
The next hearing of the case will be at a circuit court on February 14, 2023, the report added.
The North-Tongu MP, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has responded to Reverend Kusi Boateng’s injunction against him.
The MP says he has instructed his lawyers to take the necessary action on the case.
The Secretary to the Board of the National Cathedral Secretariat, Rev Kusi Boateng on Wednesday, February 1, filed an order of injunction against the MP restraining him from further publications on him.
In a writ filed at the Human Rights Division of the High Court in Accra, Rev Kusi Boateng prayed the court for, “an order of interim injunction to restrain the 1ST Respondent/ Respondent from making further public disclosures of the private information, documents, correspondence, communication and property belonging to the Applicant; and for such further order or orders as this Court deems fit.”
Also cited in the writ is the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice as 2nd Respondent.
Commenting on the new development, Mr Ablakwa in a Facebook post on Friday, said he was served with notice of the injunction at the premises of Metro TV after appearing on their morning show.
“After my appearance on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show this morning, a gentleman supposedly from the courts brought to the precincts of Metro TV, court documents which suggest that one Kwabena Adu Gyamfi also claiming to have an alias as Victor Kusi Boateng has secured a 10-day restraining order from February 1, 2023 seeking to prevent me from putting out further publications on the Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng/Kwabena Adu Gyamfi Conflict of Interest and Double Identity Scandal.
“I have promptly instructed my lawyers to take the necessary steps,” he posted.
The former Deputy Education Minister added that the “Truth and Justice shall not be buried.”
The secretary to the board of trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev Victor Kusi Boateng, also known as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, has obtained an order of temporary injunction against Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the member of parliament for North Tongu.
The order restrains Okudzeto Ablakwa from publicly sharing any document belonging to Kwabena Adu Gyamfi for the next 10 days.
The MP who disclosed this in a tweet shared on Friday, February 3, 2023, said that he was served the order after his appearance on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme on the same day.
“One Kwabena Adu Gyamfi also claiming to have an alias as Victor Kusi Boateng has secured a 10-day restraining order seeking to stop me from further publications on the Conflict of Interest & Double Identity Scandal,” parts of the MP’s tweet read.
The MP shared a picture of the order he was served which read: “IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the 1″ Respondent, SAMUEL OKUDZETO ABLAKWA is restrained from making further public disclosures of private documents, correspondence, communication and property belonging to the Applicant (Adu Gyamfi).”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this interim order will lapse after Ten (10) days,” it added.
Background
The latest corruption exposé on the National Cathedral by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, suggested impropriety on the part of the secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng.
On January 16, 2023, the MP made some allegations against Rev. Kusi Boateng, who is the secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana.
In an earlier revelation about the National Cathedral, Okudzeto Ablakwa said a whopping GH¢2.6 million was dished out to a company named JNS Talent Centre Limited.
Further investigations into the alleged payment led to the discovery of one Kwabena Adu Gyamfi as a director of JNS Talent Centre.
Having confirmed the identities of two out of three directors of the centre, Ablakwa dug deeper in a bid to discover the identity of the third director, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
According to his findings, citing a number of statutory documents, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi was the same as Reverend Kusi Boateng, who has allegedly been operating under the pseudonym Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
View the MP’s tweet below:
One Kwabena Adu Gyamfi also claiming to have an alias as Victor Kusi Boateng has secured a 10-day restraining order seeking to stop me from further publications on the Conflict of Interest & Double Identity Scandal.
The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has voiced its displeasure with the rate of increase in the most recent major utility prices review for the beverage industry under Industry.
The association said they do appreciate the changes in the key determinants in tariff fixing and therefore reasonable changes in tariffs do not come as a surprise.
However, the said, notice the principle of equity was largely missing in the major tariff review conducted in August last year for water, where a particular customer category was being asked to bear a 316% increment in a single tariff review.
“Indeed, our beverage companies under Industry have always belonged to the Industry category of water users. Surprisingly, the last major tariff review in August 2022 saw an introduction of a new end-user category, Commercial Bottled Water and Drinks, quite alien to the PURC gazette. Indeed, the increment for this new consumer category alone was 316%, over and above the 21% average increment reported for water.
“This is the new category our Beverage companies within Industry are being unfairly re-assigned. We acknowledge the water tariff reduction from the 316% (Ghc45.94/1000 litres) to 172% (Ghc30.00/1000 litres) subsequent to our meetings with the PURC but this is still unbearable,” a statement said.
It added “We do not think the creation of a new Consumer category addresses the challenges in our water distribution system. Such astronomical tariff increment in a single revision is retrogressive and shows no empathy for Ghana’s ailing Industrial sector. We all need to wake up to the looming collapse of our local industries which hold the key to job creation and our economic recovery.”
“The AGI reiterated that a tariff increment of 316% and subsequently 172% for its beverage sector under Industry will have dire consequences for Industry and the Ghana Water Company (GWCo).
“Our Utilities risk of losing revenue if this trend ends up collapsing the companies. We think it is unfair for the PURC to demand a significant share of revenue from Industry, whose cost of service is cheaper. We urge the PURC to make public the real cost of service for each consumer category to engender transparency and fairness.
“Again, we notice a 48% increment in water tariffs for Industry effective this February, which is a significant deviation from the 8% average increment as announced. Within a period of less than six months, electricity tariffs have also shot up significantly on two occasions, 26.6% in September 2022 and 29.9% for this quarter, totalling a whopping 56.5%. Industries have been under pressure from an unstable business environment. Hoping to see signs of recovery this year, the situation is further worsened by this utility tariff increment, inflation at 54.1%, VAT at 21.9%, fuel prices inching up, and threats of excise duty increments, which pose a serious threat to employment prospects and survival of businesses.
“With the foregoing, AGI is calling on the PURC to maintain its beverage sector companies in their Industry category which has also seen an increment of 48% in water tariff. We believe Industries are a high-revenue customer for GWCo and deserve equity in the water pricing we see. We urge the Government to help stem the tide of our macroeconomic instability, which is a major trigger for some of the changes in tariffs levels and price hikes. AGI is looking forward to further engagement with the PURC and the Utility Service Providers in the coming days.”
Wa West MP Peter Lanchene Toobu has voiced concerns that the ongoing chieftaincy crisis in Bawku, Upper East Region, could serve as a breeding ground for terrorists to enter the sub-region and radicalize Ghanaian youth in the north.
The retired police officer’s concerns come after the recent killings of some civilians in the conflict-riddled area by the military.
The army, however, says it merely “neutralised” the civilians, who he described as criminal suspects.
Speaking to Nasaria Abdul Rahman on Class 91.3FM’s mid-day news 12Live on Friday, 3 February 2023, Mr Toobu said: “That issue in Bawku has the potential to engulf the whole region of West Africa,” warning: “Let’s rise up to it and say, ‘This is wrong, let’s stop it’ because it started in Mali and dropped down to Burkina Faso and it’s knocking on our door and we shouldn’t create that enabling environment to radicalise the youth and get them ready to join any group that can cause mayhem.”
He said: “Apart from the deaths, it is disgraceful. What is it that we can’t solve? Somebody must be a chief and because of that somebody should die? This is unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, the Upper East Regional Security Council has appealed to the ethnic factions in the Bawku conflict, “to desist from any attempt to engage the military in combat, since that will be catastrophic on the part of the civilians.”
“We should, therefore, be charting a peaceful map for Bawku,” a statement signed by Alhaji Abubakari Inusah, Chief Director, on behalf of the Regional Minister, said.
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) refuted allegations by some individuals in Bawku that soldiers deployed on Operation Gongong to restore calm in the area were killing innocent Kusasi youth and women in their homes and communities.
The army also said allegations that military personnel have seized Zoogin, a Kusasi community, is false and unfounded.
GAF, in a statement, explained that information received from the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) by its Operation Gongong Team early this week indicated that passengers on board a yellow KIA Grand Bird Bus with registration number AS 3672-21 travelling from Accra to Missiga were attacked by unknown gunmen around Kpawelga on the Bawku Highways.
The gunmen fired through the tyre and engine compartment of the vehicle.
The bus is currently parked at Asylum Down, Bawku Divisional Police Station, for an investigation to be conducted.
Also, one KIA Rhino truck with registration number AS 7093-17 was hit and the driver of the truck, Alhassan Abdella, aged 40, from the Gonja ethnic group, sustained gunshot wounds on the left foot.
He is currently receiving treatment at the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital.
Again, GAF noted that on Wednesday, 1 February 2023, gunshots were heard around South Natinga in Bawku.
A patrol team rushed to the general area of the shooting where a suspect, Abdul Malik Haruna, aged 35, from the Mamprusi ethnic group, was arrested.
He has since been handed over to the Bawku Police for further investigation.
GAF, in the statement, said it must be placed on record that based on a tip-off by the Bawku Police on the hideout of the suspects alleged to be involved in the firing incident at Bawku, troops conducted cordon and search operations together with the Bawku police at Pateleme General Area.
Three suspects, Fatau Alhassan Binda, 42; Abubakar Iddrisu, 44; and Alhassan Mustapha Binda, 33; all from the Dagomba ethnic group, were arrested in a house at Pateleme.
They were handed over to the Bawku Police for further investigations.
In a separate incident, GAF further disclosed that sporadic firing was heard around the Sabongari General Area.
A patrol team dispatched to assess the situation spotted unknown armed men at the Gozesi-Valley side in Sabongari wearing black t-shirts with black hoodies.
Troops engaged them and neutralised six armed men.
GAF said during the engagement, some armed men took cover in a mud house within the immediate vicinity to engage the team.
One of the armed men attempted to attack troops with a cutlass but was disarmed in the process.
During the operation, a local woman found with a gunshot injury on the left hand was sent to Bawku Presbyterian Hospital by troops for treatment.
GAF said it is forced to disclose these outcomes in order to dispel false information and the wrong notion that a particular group is being targeted by troops in Bawku.
GAF has assured the general public of its commitment to protecting the citizenry at all times.
It is, therefore, soliciting the support of all peace-loving Ghanaians, especially indigenes of Bawku, to facilitate the process of bringing normalcy to the area and also to aid GAF in de-escalating tension in the interest of the needed peace and security for the socio-economic development of Bawku and the nation as a whole.
University of Ghana students who are dissatisfied with several administration decisions have gathered in Accra’s Obra Spot to protest.
Students of the university, especially residents of the Commonwealth and Sarbah Halls have been protesting the decision of the university to allow only level 100 students into those halls and relocate continuing students to other hostels.
The new directive to reassign the continuing students to other halls comes on the back of numerous clashes recorded between students of the respective halls in times past.
Hundreds of students who returned to school in January were prevented from entering those two halls and were asked to go to other halls.
The students are also accusing the university management of increasing fees by more than the 15% approved by Parliament.
Citi News‘ Charles Owusu Kumi who reported from the Obra Spot on Friday said the students who are in their hundreds said some of the decisions of the university are unfair and put a huge financial burden on the students.
The students who were clad in red and black bands called on the government to come to their aid and stop the university management from enforcing the unpopular decision.
According to an Energy Policy Analyst, the 40,000 metric tons of oil purchased by the government as part of the “Gold for Oil” deal came from a Russian Oil Trading Company (OTC) by the name of Lethasco SA and not the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as stated earlier by Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia.
Mr. Benjamin Nisah, the head of research at the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), made this revelation while reacting to the Deputy Minister for Energy, Mr. Andrew Egyapa Mercer, who said that the government used cash for the first batch of the Gold for Oil deal instead of gold.
Mr. Nsiah spoke on the 6 p.m. evening news on Accra 100.5 FM on Thursday, February 2, 2023.
He said the Gold-for-Oil deal is not the way to go, adding that the deal cannot resolve the country’s petroleum problems.
He said this is so because the price of oil is determined by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on the international oil market.
He explained that even if the country had to use gold to purchase oil, it still had to purchase it on the international market.
He was convinced that the Gold-for-Oil deal was not the best way to reduce gasoline prices at the pump.
He stated unequivocally that the country’s ability to refine its own crude oil could lower gasoline prices.
James Klutse Avedzi, the head of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, has expressed alarm over COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, the EOCO’s Executive Director, who has a history of failing to appear before the committee (PAC).
According to the chairman, he is not happy with COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah as it is the second time she has failed to appear before the committee, although she was scheduled to do so.
The chairman of the committee raised concerns when EOCO appeared before the committee.
“Last year she did not attend, and this year too she did not attend. We are taking note, and it should be communicated to her that the chairman of the committee is not happy that she is not coming or appearing before the committee,” he said.
The Public Accounts Committee has started public hearings on the report of the Auditor-General for Ministries, Departments, and other Agencies (MDAs) for 2022.
The Chairman of the Committee, James Klutse Avedzi, and the members of the Committee invite ministers, directors from various institutions, and officials from the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to answer queries cited in the Report of the Auditor-General on the Public Sector Accounts of Ghana (General Government) for the year ended December 31, 2020.
More than 600 New Patriotic Party (NPP) delegates from the Krachi East Constituency have formally endorsed Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for presidency.
The executives include Electoral Area Coordinators, Polling station Executives, Constituency Executives, and the former Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Michael Yaw Gyato.
Addressing the group at the Church of Pentecost Dambai Central Chapel, the former MP tasked the Executives to carefully weigh the merits of the Vice President’s flagbearership and vote for him to lead the party to victory in 2024.
He called on the rank and file of the party in the constituency to ignore the propaganda machinery of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party that describes the NPP as an Akan party.
Mr Gyato said the NPP has the most credible record of embracing every ethnic group in the country and tapping wide range knowledge of expertise from members and therefore would not reduce membership to only one ethnic group.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the former MP refuted the perception that the NPP is an Akan party. He said NPP cuts across all ethnic persuasions and always give opportunities to members in all its endeavours.
He explained that the founding fathers of the party were not only Akans and that the foundation of the party was built on solid inter-ethnic persuasion without any prejudice to ethnic groups.
Mr Gyato said the labelling of the NPP as an Akan party, especially by the people of northern decent and most instructively from the NDC was a smear campaign to create false impression to northerners that Akans in the NPP party dictated the pace in the party.
He thanked the National Muslim Conference and the various Muslim groups around the country and diaspora for allowing their son to bridge the religion in Ghana.
Some die-hard executives also believed that to “break the eight years” in office for political parties in the 4th Republic, the Vice President, Dr Mahamud Bawumia remains the preferred candidate for December 2024 polls.
The member of parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, continues to maintain that Reverend Victor Kusi Boateng received a Ghana Card that was fraudulently issued by the National Identification Authority (NIA).
Mr. Ablakwa had indicated that Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, presented himself at NIA premises but was issued a Ghana Card bearing the name Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, with a different date of birth.
But the NIA in a statement said there is nothing mysterious about Kwabena Adu Gyamfi being issued with a Ghana Card.
In response to the NIA statement, Mr. Ablakwa said the NIA must come clean on the issue.
“The NIA is making a lot of grandiose claims about how the Ghana card is credible, and it is integrated with GRA and many banks. If this is true, how is it that they could not detect this all these years? ”
“Rev. Kusi Boateng has successfully dribbled NIA.”
The legislator in a series of posts on social media alleged that Rev. Kusi Boateng who is also the Secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral had registered companies and had multiple passports which had the name Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
He also insisted that Rev. Kusi Boateng has two TINs produced on different occasions and in some instances, two different dates of birth.
Mr. Ablakwa has said he started digging into the double identity of Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng when he sighted in the incorporation documents that he was one of the contractors for the project, with registration name as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
Mr. Ablakwa said, during his investigative piece, he discovered that JNS Talent, which was paid GH₵2.6 million belongs to the appointed Secretary of the National Cathedral Board of Trustees, Victor Kusi Boateng.
The North Tongu legislator further said that the Secretary’s expired driver’s license also bears the name Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng which was used to incorporate him into the Secretariat Board of Trustees.
The administration of the University of Development Studies – Tamale Campus has said it is taking action to resolve any unresolved issues with the Volta River Authority.
Staff of the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) accused security officers of UDS of detaining them for cutting supply to the institution.
NEDCo explained that the institution is in arrears of over GH¢447,000 hence the disconnection exercise.
The Head of Communication at UDS Tamale Campus, Abdul Hayi Moomen, explained to Citi News that security officers were unaware of the exercise by NEDCo hence the scuffle.
“What we were told was that they will be replacing the postpaid meters and replace them with prepaid meters, but the security on duty did not know about the exercise NEDCo had come to perform. So they wanted to confirm from management of the school before they were allowed to do anything and that is what caused the scuffle.”
“When they proceeded to take out the fuse that supply light to the school, it prompted the security to stop them and a scuffle ensued when officials of NEDCo wanted to leave with the fuse.”
“It is a scuffle. It is an unfortunate incident which happened. Management has taken notice of that and in recognition of the cordial relationship we have with VRA, UDS is putting measures in place to remedy the situation. Let us not create a storm in a teacup”.
CANCER! As scary as the word sounds, it means a lot of different things.
However, the most common among all these is the disease. This is caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body. There are many types of cancers that attack the human body and almost all of them are fatal.
Some take time to take adverse effects while others are just not time friendly. The GLOBOCAN estimates that 16,600 cases of cancer occur annually in Ghana, yielding an age-standardized rate of 109.5 cases per 100,000 persons. Each year, the world celebrates “World Cancer Day” in the month of February to create awareness about the various types, symptoms, and prevention of cancer.
Often, cancer patients need extra care and attention to help them go through relatively tough periods of rehabilitation and recovery. This year, World Cancer Day is slated for Saturday, 4th February 2023 under the theme: “Close the care gap”.
Jumia, Africa’s leading e-commerce company discusses the importance of cancer awareness by highlighting the most common cancers in Ghana as well as their causes and possible ways of prevention below.
Breast Cancer – Maybe the most talked about or most popular cancer worldwide. According to the 2020 GLOBOCAN report, Ghana is estimated to record 4,645 (20.4%) new breast cancer cases which are more than double the estimated 2,062 new cases in 2012, with close to 50% of them dying;
the high mortality rate is mainly due to late-stage presentation. Most of the women affected with breast cancer are below the age of 50 in Ghana (58.2%). Breast cancer happens when cells in your breast grow and divide in an uncontrolled way, creating a mass of tissue called a tumor.
Signs of breast cancer can include feeling a lump in your breast, experiencing a change in the size of your breast, and seeing changes to the skin on your breasts. Mammograms, self-checks, and regular checks by health professionals can help with early detection. Early detection helps breast cancer patients to live long fulfilling lives while late-stage detection can be fatal.
Lung Cancer – According to the WHO data published in 2020 Lung Cancers Deaths in Ghana reached 237 or 0.14% of total deaths. This is alarming considering the major cause of lung cancer is smoking of cigarettes.
Lung cancer also can be caused by using other types of tobacco (such as pipes or cigars), breathing secondhand smoke, being exposed to substances such as asbestos or radon at home or work, and having a family history of lung cancer.
The best way to prevent lung cancer is to avoid smoking of any form whether primary or secondary. Lung cancer is treated in several ways, depending on the type of lung cancer and how far it has spread.
People with non-small cell lung cancer can be treated with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, or a combination of these treatments. People with small cell lung cancer are usually treated with radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
Prostate Cancer – Prostate cancer is cancer that occurs in the prostate. The prostate is a small walnut-shaped gland in males that produces the seminal fluid that nourishes and transports sperm. Prostate cancer affects about 60% of black men. The Ghana Cancer Control Strategy plan document revealed that 200 out of every 100,000 men in Ghana are suffering from this cancer.
While some types of prostate cancer grow slowly and may need minimal or even no treatment, other types are aggressive and can spread quickly. Prostate cancer that’s detected early, when it’s still confined to the prostate gland has the best chance for successful treatment.
Usually, there are no signs or symptoms in its early stages. However, more advanced cases can cause signs and symptoms such as trouble urinating, decreased force in the stream of urine, blood in the urine, blood in the semen, bone pain, losing weight without trying, and erectile dysfunction.
Many health professionals advise men to reduce their risks of prostate cancer by choosing a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables, regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and frequent medical checks to know their status.
Cervical Cancer – Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that occurs in the cells of the cervix; the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina. Various strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, play a role in causing most cervical cancer.
Current estimates from the ecancer organization indicate that every year 2,797 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 1,699 die from the disease in Ghana
This is quite alarming and should be given extra attention. Early-stage cervical cancer generally produces no signs or symptoms. However, signs and symptoms of more-advanced cervical cancer include, vaginal bleeding after intercourse, between periods or after menopause, watery, bloody vaginal discharge that may be heavy and have a foul odor, and pelvic pain or pain during intercourse. There are many risk factors that we should take into account.
These include Risk factors for cervical cancer include having many sexual partners, Early sexual activity, having sex at an early age, having other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), a weakened immune system, smoking, and exposure to miscarriage prevention drugs. To help prevent or reduce these risks, women are advised to get the HPV vaccine and have routine Pap tests, practice safe sex and avoid smoking.
Colon/rectum Cancer – Maybe the least prevalent of the cancers mentioned so far. In Ghana, the incidence of colon cancer remains low at 3.9 cases per 100,000. However, it is a serious issue and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Common causes of colorectal cancer are lack of regular physical activity, having diets low in fruit and vegetables, a low-fiber and high-fat diet, or a diet high in processed meats, being overweight, and obesity alcohol consumption and tobacco use.
Many doctors and health professionals suggest that people may reduce their risk of developing colorectal cancer by increasing physical activity, keeping a healthy weight, limiting alcohol consumption, and avoiding tobacco.
As the world observes World Cancer Day on 4th February 2023, it is imperative that education about all cancers become widespread in rural and urban areas. Parents and guardians should teach their wards, health professionals should always advise and educate patients about the risk factors and preventive measures.
Above all things, patients living with cancer or undergoing treatments deserve all the care and attention they can get. Stigmatization of cancer patients should be completely avoided while cancer survivors should be encouraged to share their stories in order to motivate others going through similar challenges.
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Tema Regional Branch, has stated that the new Junior High School (JHS) Two curriculum has not yet been introduced to schools in Tema and its surrounding area.
All basic schools in the Tema Metropolis, Tema West, Ashaiman, and the Kpone-Katamanso municipalities are yet to receive the JHS Two textbooks three weeks into the reopening of schools for the 2023 academic year.
The Chairman of GNAT, Tema, Mr Abednego Tettey Nuertey, in an interview with GNA, said the form two students were the first group to start the new curriculum.
He, therefore, urged the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to ensure that the books reach the schools to make teaching and learning effective.
“For now, teachers are using their own resources by searching on the internet for relevant information or the use of alternative books to guide their teaching, based on the syllabus,” he said.
He observed that the private schools mostly resorted to giving the pupils research topics to search on the internet based on the syllabus.
However, in the quest to research on the internet, the children would be exposed to unwanted materials, which often pop-up during searches, Mr Nuertey said.
Okagyakrom Senior High Technical School (SHTS) in the Jasikan Municipality will soon get a boys’ dormitory as the Oti Regional Minister, Mr Joshua Gmayenaam Makubu, hands over a project site to a contractor to construct one for the students of the school.
The minister, sharing his personal experience of working as a farm labourer to raise funds for his Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE), advised the students to hard work to achieve their career goals.
He presented a GHC1,000 prize to the 2022 best West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) student of the school.
The Oti Regional Director of Education, Nana Kugbeadzor-Bakateyi II, tasked the school authorities to protect the properties of the contractor against thieves. The contractor in charge of the project is Lovemak Ventures Ltd.
Three people were killed in a motor accident in Yaw Bronya, a suburb of the Bosome Freho district in Ghana’s Ashanti region, one of whom was a woman and the other two were men.
Sir Kenneth, an eyewitness who explained the incident to GhanaWeb’s Ashanti Regional Correspondent, Nana Peprah, said the tragic incident occurred on Thursday evening when two males on a motorcycle crashed into the unknown woman after she had crossed their path.
He said the two males who drove from Tebeso and were heading to Ofoase crashed the woman in Yaw Bronya, a town before Ofoase.
The source further stated that the three people died on the spot due to the rate at which the motorbike was speeding.
Amoako Mensah Yeboah, an assembly member for the Tebeso electoral area who confirmed the incident to GhanaWeb, said the crash happened at Yaw Bronya around 6:50 p.m. on Thursday when the two male adults were riding to Ofoase to present their final lotto report for the day.
He claimed that the accident was so severe that one of the victims’ helmet cracked into pieces.
He disclosed that the woman’s identity has still not been revealed since she is not from her electoral area.
Amoako Mensah revealed the identities of the two males, Annor Augustine, the motor rider, and Reuben, aka Teacher Gala.
According to the assembly member, police came to the scene, and the three deceased have since been deposited at a hospital morgue for autopsies and investigations.
The Upper East Regional Security Council has raised concerns that jihadists may have infiltrated the town of Bawku leading to an escalation of the conflict there.
At least six people have been killed in recent days following a military operation in the area.
The Regional Minister and Chairman of the Security Council, Stephen Yakubu says jihadists operating across the border next to Bawku are a major concern.
“It is very sad that people have lost their lives, it is something that the Council wants to know what happened. But I also want to say that these troubles in Bawku are taking too long,” he said.
Security analyst and Chief Executive of the Security Warehouse Limited, Adam Bonaa, says the government must thoroughly probe the jihadist threat in Bawku.
“We’ve had some suspected jihadists who attempted something in the country even though this was not something that was announced.
“So it is important to have a thorough investigation conducted to know if we have some terrorists who have infiltrated Bawku to aid their friends and families among others,” Mr Bonaa explained in an interview with JoyNews.
Over 95 percent completed Mahama’s E-Block has been abandoned in the bush at New Edubiase Apagya in the Ashanti region.
The facility, which is yet to see the light of day, has been left to rot.
The almost completed project is at the mercy of the weather.
Weeds have taken over major portion of the facility. Years of neglect have led to the roof falling apart.
The development is a worry for residents in the area.
Chief of Apagya, Baffuor Gyankokor II believes the completion and operation of the project will bring enormous benefits to the area.
“I seem not to understand why the facility is not operational looking at the amount of money sunk into putting up such a project. We don’t have a senior high school in this area and for that matter, our children have to continue their second-cycle education elsewhere. At least, the operation of this school will open up this area and boost economic activities as well. Government should finish up the work and make the facility operational”.
At the time of the visit, some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress were seen clearing the weeds around the facility.
National Organizer of NDC, Joseph Yammin said they will go around the country to protect the legacy of the party.
He chastised the NPP for neglecting the educational facility.
“Since 2017, nothing significant has been done to complete the project. It’s even difficult to identify the building from the roadside. So since it’s our legacy and the NPP is adamant about completing and making it operational, we will continue to protect the facility from further rotting away. We will see to the completion of the school as soon as we return to government”
Until work resumes on the project, the facility will continue to rot.
The feuding factions in Bawku have been urged to halt exchanging gunfire with military troops by the Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC).
The appeal follows reports of the military killing seven civilians in Bawku in the Upper East Region.
The accusation which was first made by the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has been refuted by the Ghana Armed Forces.
The military, however, claimed that they engaged some armed men and in the process neutralised six people.
“In a separate incident, sporadic firing was heard around Sabongari General Area. A Patrol Team dispatched to assess the situation spotted unknown armed men at Gozesi-Valley side in Sabongari wearing black T-shirts with Black Hoodies. Troops engaged them and neutralised six (6) armed men. During the engagement, some armed men took cover in a mud house within the immediate vicinity to engage the Team,” the Ghana Armed Forces said in a statement.
But the Chairman of the Security Council, Stephen Yakubu, speaking to journalists urged all persons in Bawku to remain calm and give peace a chance for the town to thrive.
“I want to appeal through this medium that let’s give peace a chance because Bawku is virtually dying and I am very concerned.”
Below is a statement from the Upper East Regional Coordinating Director:
According to the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), a fire outbreak at Abuakwa in the Ashanti Region’s Atwima Nwabiagya town started because of a mosquito coil. Three people died as a result of the fire.
It says, “an unattended lit mosquito coil in close contact with room combustibles caused the heart wrenching fire which claimed 3 lives and resulted in the destruction of three (3) bedrooms and their contents including roofing sheets, doors, utensils, furniture, household appliances and personal effects which run into several thousands of cedis”.
A mother,28, her daughter, 9, and her granddaughter, 6, were burnt to death on Wednesday, February 1.
The deceased got trapped in their room, suffocated by the heavy smoke and burnt to death by the fire.
Fire fighters believed the fire started at about 2:00am on the said day.
The Ashanti Regional Fire Command said an unattended lit mosquito coil in close contact with room combustibles caused the fire which claimed 3 lives.
“Fortunately, two (2) other tenants in the affected house managed to escape unhurt from the ruinous fire,” the Duty Officer, ASTNO Osei Gyamfi, explained.
He said “late call-up to the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) for help, as a result of late detection of fire and wrong address provided to the fire scene and poor road network led to the destruction of three (3) bedroom and their contents”.
The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has attributed its failure to serve Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis citizens with potable water to the actions of unlicensed miners in the Western Region.
Water shortage has hit parts of Sekondi-Takoradi and adjoining communities in the Western region due to the low level of water at the intake points of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in the region.
The problem has also been compounded by the onset of the dry season, according to the Ghana Water Company Limited.
In a statement, the GWCL explained that the “challenges arise from inadequate freshwater inflows into the Pra basin which is the source of raw water for the Daboase Water Treatment Plant, the biggest Plant in the Region. The Anankware River, which supplies raw water to the Inchaban Water Treatment Plant is equally facing its own freshwater inflow difficulties.
“Compounding the current problem at Daboase are the activities of illegal miners upstream of the River Pra, causing severe siltation at the plant’s intake. The high silt deposits have drastically reduced the volume of raw water available for abstraction. The dry season currently being experienced has also exacerbated the problem of raw water unavailability.”
According to the GWCL, the result of these developments is that “the company is not able to produce enough water for residents, thus, worsening the already bad supply situation in the metropolis.”
The GWCL further added that it has reviewed its water demand management programme to bring equity in the water distribution exercise.
However, the GWCL said there are still customers who are not likely to receive water despite the review of the water management programme due to the erratic pumping regime.
“Management of the company recognises and shares in the pain of consumers and are now doing everything they can to ameliorate their suffering, including dredging the intake of Daboase Treatment Plant which is currently ongoing.”
Shisha smoking has gained popularity among the youth in Ghana, making its consumption a common sight in spots, clubs, pubs, and homes. This is because it is believed to be less harmful than cigarettes.
However, speaking ahead of World Cancer Day 2023 to be observed on February 4, 2023, Health Influencer, Dr. Blaise Ackom disclosed that Shisha is more dangerous than cigarettes.
“According to the WHO, when you take shisha for 1 hour, you’ve taken 100 sticks of cigarettes. We have a mindset that the water in the basin absorbs the Nicotine, which is not true so you are actually smoking more if you smoke shisha,” he stated on the New Day Show on TV3.
Dr. Ackom appealed to the youth to desist from the practice of shisha smoking in order not to subject themselves to its attendant health ramifications.
A study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that shisha smoke contains many of the same harmful components found in cigarette smoke, such as nicotine, tar, and heavy metals.
Another publication by the British Heart Foundation indicates that shisha contains nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, and heavy metal such as arsenic and lead and its smokers risk developing cardiovascular damage, respiratory infections, cancer formation and nicotine addictions, among others.
Shisha, also known as Hookah, Narghile, Waterpipe or Hubble bubble involves smoking of burning flavoured tobacco known as molasses, using coal and was invented in the 16th century by a physician called Hakim Abdul Fath Gilani.
An expert obstetrician-gynecologist at the First-Class Hospital, Dr. Francis Appiah, has warned diabetes patients to take their prescriptions as directed by licensed medical professionals seriously.
The Specialist Obstetrician-Gynecologist again cautioned the public, especially diabetics, to avoid self-medication.
He said diabetes should not be seen as a curse but as a curable and controlled disease.
Dr. Appiah made this known in an interview with GBC Ghana Online at Assin Nsuta in the Assin South District of the Central Region.
He explained that diabetes can be cured or controlled when prescribed measures are followed.
In addition, the Specialist Obstetrician-Gynecologist charged diabetics to be mindful of what they eat, when to eat, and also eat well to avoid unpleasant situations.
He explained that diabetes occurs as a result of a defect in the pancreas when the body is not able to utilize insulin.
According to Dr. Appiah, untreated high blood sugar can damage one’s nerves, eyes, kidneys, and other organs.
He, therefore, advocated that people should not wait till they are sick before visiting the hospital, recommending routine checkups.
Two distinct big shocks to the food supply chains have negatively impacted the world economy during the previous three years.
The first came about from the outbreak and spread of the first-ever global pandemic, COVID-19, which effectively suspended most international trade on agricultural produce as countries across every continent of the world, locked themselves down to curb the spread of the virus in their respective jurisdictions.
Then, just as the world began recovering from this, with supply chains re-opening, war broke out between Russia and Ukraine, two of the most important agricultural producers in the world, with Africa among the worst affected.
One of the most unfortunate effects of all this has been the distortions it has imposed on the perceived outcomes of one of the most ambitious and potentially transformative agricultural production initiatives ever embarked on by Ghana – the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme.
Since food inflation set off the ongoing inflationary surge in Ghana, late last year, the widely acclaimed successes of the PFJ programme have been largely subsumed by worries over rising food prices.
However, it is instructive that those rising prices had nothing to do with supply shortfalls; rather it was the result of inefficiencies in the local supply chain for foodstuffs, which created the opportunity for profiteering by operators along that supply chain, wholesalers, transporters and retailer all-inclusive.
Supply chain
Critics have used the global supply shortfalls to dampen the acclamation deservedly generated by PFJ, a move it regards as particularly important since the former Food and Agriculture Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, (who recently resigned to pursue his political ambitions), has been generating crucial political capital for the current government, with his words and deeds since 2017.
However, the data shows that PFJ has been an eminent success, even with the severe headwinds that have confronted it and indeed provides a good model for efforts at enhancing agricultural production in Ghana going forward.
The most instructive statistic in this regard is that the agricultural sector in Ghana recorded its fastest growth in 30 years in both 2020 and 2021, at 7.3 per cent and 8.4 per cent respectively.
Indeed, the only other time the sector recorded growth of over seven per cent was the 7.3 per cent achieved back in 2009.
Instructively, before PFJ was introduced in 2017, Ghana‘s agricultural sector was customarily growing at less than three per cent a year, indeed bottoming out at 0.9 per cent in 2014.
In 2020, as the effects of the PFJ initiative began to reach their full potential, Ghana’s agricultural growth rate became the highest among the three broad economic sectors (the others being industry and services respectively) for the first time since 2009, when its 7.3 per cent growth exceeded industry’s 3.8 per cent and services 6.7 per cent.
In 2020, agriculture’s 7.3 per cent growth easily exceeded the services sector’s 0.75 as the industry contracted by 2.5 per cent.
Ghana’s overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 0.5 per cent for that year – during which Ghana suffered its first economic recession in nearly four decades because of the effects of COVID-19 was only made possible by the continent’s leading growth performance of its agricultural sector.
The next year proved this was not a fluke.
With COVID-19 receding and as the Russia-Ukraine was yet to start, Ghana’s agricultural sector growth climbed to a historical high of 8.4 per cent, not far behind the 9.4 per cent growth achieved by the services sector and helping to negate the 0.8 per cent contraction in the industrial sector.
Thus again, the agricultural sector was a key contributor to Ghana’s solid economic rebound in 2021 to 5.4 per cent.
Simply put, the data provides undisputed evidence that PFJ has enhanced Ghana’s agricultural production in a sustained way.
It is only the second time in the past four decades that the sector has grown by over seven per cent for two consecutive years, the latest two-year growth spurt significantly outstrips what was achieved in 2008 and 2009.
Consecutive growth
Even more instructively, the earlier two-year consecutive growth saw the second of the two years experiencing a decline in the growth rate (heralding further declines in the following years) whereas this time around, the second year’s growth was higher than the first year, creating the prospect of further acceleration in the sector’s growth rate going forward.
But growth in agricultural production, as crucial as that is, is not the only landmark benefit that PFJ has given the country and the other is equally important – job creation.
The initiative has not only attracted more Ghanaians than ever before into the agricultural sector but has also attracted a more diverse demography for the industry than ever before too, with regard to the urban/rural split, age, gender and educational background.
Available data reveals that there are now 3,037,381 people engaged in agricultural activity, translating to nearly one in every 10 Ghanaians. This number is fairly evenly divided: 1,999,229 males and 1,038,152 females.
Urban agric
Even more pleasantly surprising is the increase in urban agricultural activity arising out of the encouragement provided by PFJ for urban agriculture.
The latest data reveals that there are now 710,358 urban dwellers now engaging in some form of agricultural activity or the other, which is nearly a third of the 2,327,023 rural dwellers.
The increased number of urbanites engaged in the sector has naturally raised the level of formal education being deployed, a crucial driver of increased sector productivity.
Literate people engaged in agriculture for the first time outnumber illiterates – 1,612,937 versus 1,424,444, with nearly twice as many literates than illiterates in the urban centres.
Indeed, the literate farming community now includes 136,598 graduates of tertiary institutions and another 268,131 who have finished secondary school.
Although the traditional forms of agriculture still attract most people – there are 2,360,402 people farming arable crops and 1,192,990 cultivating tree crops, newer forms of agriculture are now catching on.
For instance, there are 2,015 people engaged in aquaculture, in addition to the 59,548 engaged in traditional fishing.
All the data suggests that a more geographically diversified – and better-educated agricultural labour force, engaged in a wider scope of activity than ever before– isa driving record-high agriculture growth rates which indeed are powering Ghana’s strong economic growth despite its huge fiscal challenges.
Indeed, while criticism of the government’s public expenditure profiles may attract justified criticism, the expenditure on PFJ has proved to have given real value for money, no matter how the programme’s critics try to paper over the unprecedented gains.
The project coordinator for the Accra Marine Drive Project, Dr. Kwame Nyantekyi-Owusu, has provided the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry, and Tourism with an update on the project’s vision, status, and strategies in place for the upcoming year.
The Accra Marine Drive Project is a 241-acre urban redevelopment scheme of Accra’s waterfront.
The Project’s origins can be traced back to the era of Ghana’s first Republic when Dr. Kwame Nkrumah sought to establish Accra as a major destination.
The Government in 2016, acquired the 241-acre land parcel for development by means of compulsory acquisition under Executive Instrument 59 (E. I 59).
In 2017, H. E. President Nana Akufo-Addo’s Government continued to pursue the Project’s development objective in line with the vision of Dr Kwame Nkrumah. Under the renewed vision of H. E. President Akufo-Addo, the Accra Marine Drive Project would become the single largest tourism investment project to be initiated by the Government of Ghana since independence.
According to Dr. Nyantekyi-Owusu, the 241-acre prime beachfront tourism enclave would further enhance Ghana’s position as the most sought-after tourist destination within the West African sub-region as well as provide job opportunities for the Ghanaian youths. The Accra Marine Drive Project will also provide essential infrastructure to support the country’s developing cultural and creative industries.
Dr Nyantekyi-Owusu explained that the plan is to develop the entire parcel of land, stretching from the Osu Klottey Lagoon (behind the Christianborg Castle) to the Accra Community Centre.
He indicated that the area has been re-zoned in line with the Project vision and to allow for more modern developments to be undertaken.
The Project scope has however been defined to cover the provision of key infrastructure such as roads, drains and telecommunications, construction of a public spaces and amenities including a promenade and boardwalk.
Upon completion, the Project SPV, which is a wholly Government of Ghana-owned entity, will issue leases on commercial basis to prospective developers.
All developers will be vetted to ensure that their proposed development schemes are consistent with the vision and masterplan of the Accra Marine Drive Project.
The infrastructure and facilities development has been grouped in phases to allow for a market-driven rollout of the horizontal infrastructure and vertical developments by private developers.
The total infrastructure development budget has been estimated to cost some US$ 214,000,000, for all three phases.
The enclave will focus on key tourism categories such as: business activities to be situated along the Accra High Street; leisure, along the seafront; and cultural tourism, which involves the preservation of noteworthy national heritage sites such as the Osu Castle, Black Star Square, Asomdwe Park, Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum. The facilities to be developed as part of the Project vision include an amphitheatre and facilities to encourage street arts and cultural displays at the promenade.
After the extensive presentations, which included the viewing of a 2.5-minute artists impression video, honourable members of the committee asked questions to the Project Coordinator.
Present at the meeting were, Hon. Freda Akosua Prempeh Minister of State, for the Office of the President, Members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism, led by the Chairperson of the Committee Hon. Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, MP; the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Klottey-Korley Constituency, Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings; Board Chairmen for Ghana Tourism Authority and Ghana Tourism Development Company, Hon. Seth Agyei Baah and Lawyer Kwame Boateng, representatives of the Ghana Tourism Authority led by the CEO Akwasi Agyemang, ABP Consult represented by a Director J. B Asafo-Boakye and the Marine Drive Accra project team among others.
The engagement was held at Alisa Hotel on February 1, 2023.
A $55 million judgment against Ghana sought by a Chinese business for a traffic control project has been rejected by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, the Netherlands.
The disputed project; the Accra Intelligent Traffic Management System (AITMS) — was signed between the government of Ghana (GoG) and Beijing Everyway Traffic & Lighting Technical Company Limited (simply known as Everyway Tech) in 2012.
Under the contract, Everyway Tech was supposed to install new traffic signal systems in Accra, improve existing systems and reduce traffic congestion in the capital city through a coordinated traffic signal system.
In 2022, Everyway Tech dragged Ghana to the PCA with a case that the GoG had cancelled the contract and unlawfully expropriated its investment in the country, in violation of the China-Ghana Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT).
Among other things, the claimant (Everyway Tech) sought damages of $55m from the GoG for the money it had expended on the AITMS before the alleged abrogation and unlawful expropriation.
Under international law, a country can expropriate (take over) properties or investments of individuals or companies in its territory, provided the expropriation is done lawfully, is in the public interest and the country pays the required compensation to the affected entity.
No jurisdiction
In a unanimous decision last Monday, a three-member panel of the PCA dismissed Everyway Tech’s claim on the basis that the tribunal had no jurisdiction over the legality of the alleged expropriation of the company’s investment by the GoG.
It was the considered view of the arbitral tribunal that although the China-Ghana BIT allowed investor-state arbitrations to settle disputes, such arbitrations did not include the issue of legality of expropriation.
The China-Ghana BIT, the PCA held, rather gave jurisdiction to arbitral tribunals over the amount of compensation to be paid to entities affected by expropriation by the two states under the agreement.
“The China-Ghana agreement contains a provision for investor-state arbitration in Article 10(1) of the treaty which is limited to disputes concerning the amount of compensation for expropriation.
“As such, neither China nor Ghana intended to arbitrate and made no arbitration offer to investors of the other contracting state in respect of disputes concerning the entitlement of expropriation or the breach of equitable treatment and protection under the treaty,” the tribunal held.
The arbitrators of the tribunal were Prof. Stavros Brekoulakis (Presiding Arbitrator), V.K. Rajah SC and Prof. Richard Oppong.
A-G’s case upheld
The PCA gave the decision after it had upheld an objection raised by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal to entertain the action.
“The tribunal upholds the respondent’s (GoG’s) objections to the tribunal’s jurisdiction and finds that it has no jurisdiction to decide the claimant’s (Everyway Tech’s) claims in this arbitration,” the PCA ruled.
Mr Dame had argued before the PCA that under the China-Ghana BIT, it was only the courts of the two countries that had jurisdiction over the legality of expropriation made in each country’s territory.
In that regard, per the argument of the A-G, since the dispute related to a contract in Ghana, only the courts of Ghana had jurisdiction to determine the legality of the expropriation, as alleged by Everyway Tech.
AITMS project
On December 16, 2011, Ghana signed a credit facility with the China Development Bank for a loan facility to develop 12 infrastructure projects in Ghana, including the AITMS project.
Based on the credit facility, Everyway Tech was awarded the AITMS project in April 2012 and it subsequently signed an engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) contract with the Ministry of Roads and Highways on September 17, 2012, valued at $100 million.
Under the EPIC contract, Everyway Tech was to “supply equipment and provide technical services to the GoG in respect of the planning, design, construction, supervision, operation and training for the AITMS project”.
Per the terms of the contract, Everyway Tech was to, among other things, construct traffic signal control sub-systems at 257 junctions in Accra, provide 394 comprehensive violation capturing sub-systems, provide traffic guidance display systems at 20 locations and traffic flow collection and speed capturing sub-systems at 425 locations.
The company was also to provide high-definition video monitoring sub-systems at 259 locations, 240km of fibre optic, 1,718 wireless magnetic detectors, road signs, lane markings and pedestrian handrails.
Everyway Tech was expected to commence work on August 26, 2019, with the work scheduled to be completed in 24 months.
Information available in the arbitral award shows that on December 22, 2018, Parliament approved the EPIC contract.
Case of claimant
Everyway Tech made a case that in November 2019, a delegation from the Ministry of Roads and Highways visited its factory in China and saw that it had manufactured equipment for shipment to Ghana for the AITMS project.
The company also claimed that in January 2020, the Department of Urban Roads granted it permission to ship the equipment it had manufactured and which had been inspected by officials to Ghana for the AITMS project.
“On February 21, 2020, about six months after the commencement of the AITMS project, the first installations at two intersections in Accra were switched on, indicating the official launch of the AITMS project in Ghana,” it said.
However, on November 19, 2020, the Parliament of Ghana rescinded its decision of December 22, 2018 to approve the EPIC contract.
It was the case of Everyway Tech that the EPIC contract was rescinded unlawfully, unjustifiably and at a period when it “had completed a substantial amount of work”.
The Chinese company then dragged Ghana to the PCA, with a case that the GoG had breached Article 4(1) of the China-Ghana BIT.
The respondent (GoG), however, argued that the decision of Parliament to rescind its approval of the EPIC contract was in the interest of the country’s national security. f
Furthermore, the PCA had no jurisdiction over the matter.
Over 4000 residents of Burkina Faso, as well as some Ghanaians who residing in the area have escaped to Ghana’s borders in search of safety.
According to a graphic.com.gh report, this has come about following attacks on Burkinabes by some suspected terrorists and militants.
Among those seeking refuge are women and children, with a number of them coming from such places in Burkina Faso as Bugri, Zouga, and Asongo.
So far, the majority of the refugees have landed in the Bawku West District in the Upper East Region, hopeful that they can find asylum there.
The report also said that some of the communities in the Bawku West District housing these Burkinabes are Adasiga, Soogo, Agoogo, Kperigu, and Kperigzousi in the Soogo Electoral Area.
Others are also residing in places like Natinga, Googo, Weari, Kanlesi, and Fulbes in the Widnaba Electoral Area.
“More than 1,000 of the refugees are living in the Soogo Electoral Area, 1,773 are currently living in the Widnaba area, while 1,325 are staying in the Akasooga Electoral Area.
“The large number of refugees has put undue pressure on food and social amenities in the areas, a development which continues to be a source of worry for the local people and needs urgent attention from duty bearers,” the report stated.
Speaking on the development, the Assembly Member for the Soogo Electoral Area, Atampuri Osben Asaki, said that the situation in the area is serious and needs urgent attention.
He also complained about accommodation challenges, seeing that most of the refugees have been forced to live with local community members.
The report added that the situation is such that those who have could not be accommodated with the locals have resorted to the only available options in uncompleted buildings, while others too use makeshift structures.
“Sadly, some children, including newborn babies and their nursing mothers, sleep in the open, especially during the day, due to the unavailability of homes to accommodate them,” the report added.
In the meantime, it is reported that the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), through its grant support to the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocesan Development Office (NABOCADO), of the Catholic Church, has presented food and non-food items to the refugees, summing up to GH¢1.3 million.
The Bawku Naba, Zugraan Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, has also made a donation of food items and clothing to the Burkinabe asylum seekers in the area.
The Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC) is also reported to have held a number of meetings to assess the security situation in border communities, and also strategise on measures to prevent the terrorists from crossing over into Ghana.
It will be recalled that in June 2022, more than 1,872 refugees, including Ghanaians, fled a troubled spot in Burkina Faso to seek refuge in Ghana due to terrorist attacks by militants against local militia.
The Deputy Energy Minister, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, has said that government’s first shipment of oil imported into Ghana under the “Gold for Oil” scheme was not paid with gold as speculated.
According to a report by citinewroom.com, the minister stated that the first consignment of 40,000 tons of oil brought into the country was paid for with cash.
Egyapa Mercer explained that the government could not exchange gold for oil because the company it dealt with initially did not have the capacity to exchange gold for oil.
“The policy actually started with an intent to do strict barter for gold and petroleum products, but it became apparent that any of the international oil trading companies that do not have a commodity wing to deal with gold on their behalf will be excluded from the policy.
“We developed the policy such that we were operating two streams; one was direct barter, and the second was monetising the gold so we can pay for IOTs that were not other commodity focused but solely petroleum products,” he is quoted as having said on Citi News.
Meanwhile, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia is reported to have bragged about the Gold-for-Oil policy after the first product under it was delivered.
He said that the delivery of the first batch of oil shows that the policy will work.
“…Ghana took delivery of its first cargo under the gold for oil policy. This is our test cargo, it is the cargo to test the framework if everything that has been put in place will work, by the grace of God the Framework will work and if that should happen we are going to save a lot of foreign exchange and reduce the pressure on our currency,” Bawumia is quoted to have said at 2023 New Year School event.
Background:
Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia in November 2022 first announced the government’s plan to undertake the gold-for-oil initiative. The deal hinged on buying oil products with Ghana’s gold instead of the US dollar.
Dr Bawumia on Facebook earlier explained that the usage of gold to purchase oil would also address Ghana’s dwindling foreign reserves as well as reduce demand for US dollars by oil importers.
“It will fundamentally change our balance of payments and significantly reduce the persistent depreciation of our currency,” the vice president earlier wrote.
Under the policy, the government believes that using gold to purchase oil products would also bring stability to the exchange rate market and ensure domestic oil operators do not solely depend on foreign exchange to import products.
The West Hills Mall management has issued a statement, following a confrontation between a young man and a police officer.
Shadrach Arloo, 32, is said to have died after he was beaten by a policeman around the West Hills area in Accra.
The incident reportedly happened on Monday afternoon on January 30, 2023 when the refusal of the young man to hand over his bag to a police officer who demanded to search it led to a confrontation at the mall area where he went to withdraw money.
The police officer who is said to have gotten agitated hit and pushed him to the ground, leading to his death.
But in a statement from management of the West Hills Mall, the incident was misreported.
According to them, eyewitness and mall security personnel accounts indicate that the deceased was confronted by a police officer and asked to present his bag for examination upon suspicion that he was possessing drugs or banned substances.
Shadrach, is said to have taken out something from his bag and swallowed it as the policeman approached him.
The mall’s cameras subsequently captured a footage of the officer apprehending the young man together with another he was with as they headed for the main entrance of the mall.
An attempt by the police to handcuff him resulted in a struggle between the parties. The statement further noted that after the police officer succeeded in handcuffing him, the struggle stopped as the man in question appeared to be unwell.
The handcuffs were then removed by the police officer and he was taken to the medical facility on-site but he was pronounced dead on arrival. The Weija District Police have since retrieved the body.
Below is the full statement as sighted on citinewsroom.com
PRESS STATEMENT
Incident at West Hills Mall on Monday, January 30, 2023
The Management of West Hills Mall hereby confirms that an incident occurred on its premises in the afternoon of Monday, January 30, 2023 which unfortunately resulted in a fatality.
By eyewitness and mall security personnel accounts, at approximately 3:15pm on January 30, 2023, a visitor was confronted by a Police Officer and asked to present his bag for examination. The Police Officer ostensibly suspected the customer, a young man between 25 and 30 years, of possessing drugs or banned substances. The accounts indicate that the young man hesitated, removed something from his bag and swallowed it as the policeman approached him.
West Hills Mall’s 24-hour security surveillance system captured footage of the officer apprehending the young man, as well as another man who accompanied him, as they headed for the main entrance of the mall. In an attempt to handcuff the young man, a struggle between the parties ensued while the Police Officer tried to handcuff him.
He was eventually handcuffed but stopped struggling and appeared unwell after that. The Police subsequently removed the cuffs from his hands, and Mall Security arranged for transportation for him to be taken to the medical facility on-site. Sadly, he was pronounced dead by Medics upon arrival.
The Weija District Police have since retrieved the body of the deceased.
The Management of West Hills Mall is shocked by this ill-fated incident. We convey our sincerest condolences to the deceased’s family as we trust that the Police will handle the matter further.
Thank You.
Olympio Agbodza Assiastant Asset Manager, West Africa Asset Management
Sister’s Account:
Sister of the deceased who is a gospel musician, Perpetual Didier, narrating the incident in a viral video said that her brother who was scheduled to travel to Germany the next day had gone to the mall for shopping on the said day of the incident.
He had therefore gone to withdraw money in order to purchase some items intended to be sent to his sister in Germany.
She added that, from what an eyewitness told her, the police demanded that her brother hand over his bag to be searched, but he refused.
This then led to the police officer getting agitated and then hitting and pushing him to the ground.
Perpetual added that her brother fell to the ground and hit his head on the floor, breaking his neck in the process.
He is said to have lost consciousness, at which time the police officer tased the motionless man on the floor.
It is believed that this worsened the state the young man was already in, leading to his death.
While the police have yet to respond officially to these claims, the gospel musician is demanding justice from the IGP.
Kennedy Agyapong, the presidential candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has stated that he must run for president in 2024 if his party is to secure an unprecedented third consecutive term in office.
According to him, the NPP will struggle to win the 2024 presidential elections if he is not the substantive flagbearer of the party.
“We have two years to make a difference in society in terms of development. If were are able to do it I think Ghanaians will give us another chance.
“But you know with, me we will break the 8… without Ken Agyapong well it will be tough,” he said during a Good Evening Ghana interview monitored by GhanaWeb on Tuesday, January 31, 2023.
“With Ken Agyapong as the number one on the ticket, we will break the 8,” Ken Agyapong, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, stressed.
The MP for Assin Central is expected to face stiff competition from the likes of the former Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the former Food and Agriculture Minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto and ex- Mampong MP Francis Addai-Nimoh for the flagbearership position of the NPP.
A former national chairman of the Peoples National Convention (PNC), Bernard Mornah, has hinted that Ghana’s bars are the only progressive businesses in the country.
According to him, the hardships and frustrations in the country have made people stick to drinking in order to forget about their transgressions.
He mentioned that before the president assumed office, he promised citizens to move the country away from taxation into production, saying “that was a major policy statement Akufo Addo has made.”
“The only industry that is booming in the country is the beer bar industry; people go there to drink away their frustrations, that’s why Akpeteshi and the rest are moving fast,” he told Don Kwabena Prah on Happy 98.9 FM’s Epa Hoa Daben show.
He further noted that most young people in business cannot meet their clients “due to the difficulty they encounter, and by the time the person would get there, they are drunk, and the client must leave in frustration.”
When asked if the government had demonstrated any form of local production within a reasonable time frame, the managing partner of Ndaana Ghana Limited responded, “What are you producing?” The increase of Value Added Tax by 2.5percent is that production, the introduction of a thievery tax called the electronic transfer tax or levy is that production, the imposition of Covid -19 tax on citizens is that a tax or it’s a production?” he quizzed.
The Ghana Maritime Authority management has been reported to the Attorney General for prosecution over procurement violations by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.
The Auditor General in its 2020 report cited the institution for seven procurement breaches and recommended that the management of the Authority be sanctioned in accordance with the procurement laws.
Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, James Klutse Avedzi endorsed the recommendation.
“This is a straightforward matter that you are to be sanctioned in accordance with section 92, so we are therefore referring the case to the Attorney General.”
Meanwhile, the National Communications Authority (NCA) appearing before the Public Accounts Committee said it is doing everything possible to retrieve $22 million debt from Vodafone Ghana following the sale of spectrum to the telecommunication company.
The 2020 Auditor General’s report revealed outstanding revenue of $26.6 million and GH¢32. 2 million Ghana by the NCA due to weak internal controls over revenue accounting and management which could lead to loss of public funds.
Out of the stipulated figure, Vodafone Ghana paid one million dollars owed to the NCA.
Speaking at the Public Accounts Committee meeting, the Director General of the NCA, Joe Anokye said efforts are being made by the government to address the situation due to its 30 percent shares in Vodafone.
The National Identification Authority (NIA) has affirmed it granted a Ghana Card to Kwabena Adu Gyamfi and not Secretary of the National Cathedral Board of Trustees, Reverend Victor Kusi-Boateng.
The NIA’s justification follows a double identity allegations by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member for Paliament for North Tongu .
According to Mr Ablakwa, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, “a popular prophet,” fraudulently received a Ghana Card from the authority, adding that the entire National Identity Program lacks legitimacy.
Mr Ablawa alleged in a Facebook post on Monday, January, 30,”the National Identification Authority (NIA) must explain to Ghanaians how a popular prophet arrived at their registration premises as Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng but was mysteriously issued a Ghana Card bearing the name Kwabena Adu Gyamfi”.
“Having concluded a rare and comprehensive analysis of the NIA database, I can authoritatively disclose that the biometrics (fingerprint mapping, facial templates and iris recognition) of Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng matches that of Kwabena Adu Gyamfi”.
In a lengthy statement, the NIA described the allegations by the MP as baseless, without merit and called on Ghanaians to completely ignore the allegations.
According to the NIA, there is no record of Rev. Kusi Boateng in its database as claimed by Mr Ablakwa.
The NIA added that one of its registration centres in Kumasi duly issued an identity card to Kwabena Adu Gyamfi after he presented all the necessary documents but no ID card has been issued bearing the name Victor Kusi Boateng.
“During the mass registration exercise, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi went to an NIA registration centre called Vicandy School at Asuoyeboah in Kumasi on 15th January 2020 to register for the Ghana Card;
“He submitted to NIA registration officials a valid Ghanaian passport issued by the Passport Office on 16th May 2018, with the name Kwabena Adu Gyamfi; the expiry date in the said passport is 15th May 2023. NIA registration officials registered Kwabena Adu Gyamfi using his valid passport as the base identity document for his registration, and duly issued him with a Ghana Card;
“NIA has no record of anyone bearing the name Victor Kusi Boateng in the NIR, and NIA has no record in the NIR of any person born on 7th September 1971 or any other day with the name Victor Kusi Boateng.”
Below is the full statement by the NIA
NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION AUTHORITY (NIA) PRESS RELEASE
Issuance of Ghana Card to Kwabena Adu Gyamfi by NIA
The National Identification Authority (NIA) has noted with concern allegations against the NIA by Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu Constituency, in his Facebook post of Monday, 30th January 2023, and published by GhanaWeb and other media portals.
Essentially, Hon. Ablakwa alleges that NIA has fraudulently issued a Ghana Card to Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, “a popular prophet” and former Secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral Secretariat, who had apparently presented himself at NIA premises with that identity but was issued a Ghana Card bearing the name Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, with a different date of birth.
Hon. Ablakwa describes this as mysterious and asserts that his “rare and comprehensive analysis of the NIA database” discloses that “the biometrics (fingerprint mapping, facial template and iris recognition) of Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng matches that of Kwabena Adu Gyamfi”.
On these bases, Hon. Ablakwa, who is also the Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Ghana, “calls to question the credibility of the entire national identification exercise, particularly after the recent embarrassing Aisha Huang Affair” (emphasis added). Hon. Ablakwa then laments that “it is the sloppiness and or complicity of state institutions that embolden certain characters to entrench their sophisticated conflict of interest machinations.”
The NIA wishes to react to the above allegations, insinuations and attacks as follows:
1. Alleged Fraudulent and Mysterious Registration and Issuance of Ghana Card
NIA is required by law to register applicants onto the NIA database, properly called the National Identity Register (NIR), based on the information supplied by applicants. Section 8(1) of the National Identity Register (Amendment) Act, 2017 (Act 950) provides that, the Authority shall require an individual who applies for an entry to be made in the Register to submit any of the following identity documents: a. a birth certificate; b. a valid passport; c. a valid residence permit; d. a valid certificate of acquired citizenship; and e. any other information as may be required by the Authority.
The amendment of Section 8 of the National Identity Register Act, 2008 (Act 750) by the 7th Parliament of Ghana in 2017 was made by all Members of Parliament including Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa.
Thus, NIA registration officials are bound to register and issue a Ghana Card to an applicant who presents any of the documents specified above, unless on the face of the record or based on information gathered from the interview process, there is a reasonable basis to suspect fraud.
NIA operates in accordance with law and public policy. A person’s popularity is immaterial to the NIA registration process. Indeed, a popular name is not necessarily a person’s real name. NIA officials register applicants based on the names the applicants present to the officials, as captured in any of the above-specified identity documents, such as their birth certificates or passports.
Alternatively, as is commonly known, where an applicant is unable to submit any of the specified documents, they may be vouched for by a relative or other qualified people before a Commissioner for Oaths at the registration premises. In that event, the registration officials will use the name indicated by the applicant and vouched for by the guarantor(s) as the applicant’s name.
Thus, there is nothing mysterious about Kwabena Adu Gyamfi being issued with a Ghana Card as such, even though Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa knows Kwabena Adu Gyamfi as Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng as well. Hon. Ablakwa has not presented any evidence that there is a person known as Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng whose biometrics exist in the NIA’s database or NIR with which he made his rare and comprehensive analysis.
Contrary to Hon. Ablakwa’s assertions, the following constitute the facts in the NIR in connection with the issuance of a Ghana Card to Kwabena Adu Gyamfi:
a. During the mass registration exercise, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi went to an NIA registration center called Vicandy School at Asuoyeboah in Kumasi on 15th January 2020 to register for the Ghana Card;
b. He submitted to NIA registration officials a valid Ghanaian passport issued by the Passport Office on 16th May 2018, with the name Kwabena Adu Gyamfi; the expiry date in the said passport is 15th May 2023;
c. NIA registration officials registered Kwabena Adu Gyamfi using his valid passport as the base identity document for his registration, and duly issued him with a Ghana Card;
d. NIA has no record of anyone bearing the name Victor Kusi Boateng in the NIR; and
e. NIA has no record in the NIR of any person born on 7th September 1971 or any other day with the name Victor Kusi Boateng.
In these circumstances, NIA registration officials at the Vicandy School Registration Center did everything right, and absolutely nothing wrong; they could not reasonably have been expected to know that Kwabena Adu Gyamfi also apparently bore the name Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng as Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa claims. A popular name may not be a person’s real or official name, and this is rather trite or commonplace.
2. Attacking the Credibility of the National Identification Exercise
Hon. Ablakwa questions “the credibility of the entire national ID exercise”. We beg to differ. Surely, the credibility of the exercise cannot be questioned simply because Hon. Ablakwa is apparently unable to accept the science and law behind the issuance of a Ghana Card to Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
The credibility of the entire registration exercise is solidly intact. Indeed, with stoic determination and focus, NIA has, since 2017, conducted a national identification exercise that has resulted in the capture of the biometrics and alpha-numeric data of over 17.3 million Ghanaians and qualified foreigners in Ghana, each with a unique identity, and issued smart, dual-interface biometric identity cards to over 16 million of them.
The registration exercise continues at 276 District Offices and 16 Regional Offices of NIA. The register built from “the entire registration exercise” captures biometrics, date of birth, citizenship, residential address, and digital address, among others.
In addition to the comprehensive national identity register, NIA and its technical partner, Identity Management Systems II Limited (IMS II), have built a credible and robust National Identification System (NIS) which includes:
a. A state-of-the-art back-end (technical) system;
b. A dependable data verification system platform that is currently being used by various businesses nationwide including:
c. i. All 25 universal banks in Ghana ii. All 145 Rural Banks iii. 19 Savings and Loans institutions iv. Five Micro-Finance/Micro-Credit institutions v. Five Finance and Leasing institutions vi. 16 Fintechs vii. Nine state institutions including SSNIT, GRA, NHIA and Students Loan Trust Fund viii. Six Telecommunications companies (telcos);
d. A Ghana Card issued to applicants – the card is integrated and harmonized with other databases such as those of SSNIT, GRA, NHIA, and all banks and telcos in the country. The Ghana Card is secure with high-level encryption, digital certificates, and Public Key Infrastructure, and meets the highest global standards. It is a contact and contactless smartcard with a 148k memory chip as well as secure printing that meets the global standards of ICAO and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, with open standards. In addition, the card is unique and operates with a biometric verification system that is fast, accurate and not limited by geography.
So far, there have been more than 7.2 million biometric verifications without a single hitch. The Ghana Card verification system also has the capability to track and trace all transactions and return accurate and up-to-date information on the status of each individual, including banking and voting transactions.
Finally, as the single truth anchor for the verification of persons, the Ghana Card constitutes a single source of truth in identity management in Ghana, and will ensure political stability and development, as well as economic and social inclusion. So far, NIA has shared vital data with the Ghana Police Service, EOCO and the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), to assist in crime detection, investigation and prosecution.
Hon. Ablakwa is entitled to pursue all reasonable measures to tackle the spate of conflict of interest in our beloved country. He is, however, not entitled to attack and undermine the credibility of the National ID exercise, the NIS or any state institution without just cause.
3. The Kusi Boateng – Adu Gyamfi Ghana Card Revelation
Hon. Ablakwa notes that the “latest Kusi Boateng – Adu Gyamfi Ghana card revelation” fortifies his conviction even more that investigations are warranted into some dubious monetary transfer involving Victor Kusi Boateng/Kwabena Adu Gyamfi in connection with the National Cathedral Project. That may be so. But as far as NIA is concerned, there is nothing revelatory in Hon. Ablakwa’s post about NIA. He provides the application details of only Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, with 30th December 1969 as his date of birth, but not those of Victor Kusi Boateng, with 7th September 1971 as his date of birth. Hon. Ablakwa does not provide any records of Victor Kusi Boateng from the NIA database because none exists!
Again, Hon. Ablakwa’s claim that his “rare and comprehensive analysis of the NIA database” discloses that “the biometrics … of Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng matches that of Kwabena Adu Gyamfi” rings hollow. The claim is false because there is no biometric record of any person in the NIA database called Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng and, therefore, Hon. Ablakwa could not have conducted any comparative analysis of that non-existent data with that of Kwabena Adu Gyamfi”.
The claim to having conducted “a rare and comprehensive analysis of the NIA database” is a mere self-praise; indeed, it is both rare and uncanny. Hon. Ablakwa provides no empirical evidence of the biometrics of Victor Kusi Boateng precisely, as there is none, and if there is, it is not derived from the NIA database!
4. Invoking the Spectre of the Aisha Huang Affair As far as NIA is concerned, there was nothing embarrassing about its handling of the Aisha Huang affair. On the contrary, there was everything celebratory about NIA’s handling of Aisha Huang’s attempted fraudulent registration for the Ghana Card, in that it was the vigilance of its personnel and the robustness of its technical system that resulted in her exposure.
The NIR does not contain any record of a person named Aisha Huang, a point that was made abundantly clear by the NIA when the “Aisha Huang Story” broke. Raising the spectre of the dead Aisha Huang non-story is both unnecessary and disingenuous. NIA’s verification system functioned as designed to enable NIA to prevent En Huang (the so-called Aisha Huang) from registering under a new name and date of birth for a new Non-Citizen Ghana Card, despite her being in possession of two different Chinese passports. NIA deserves commendation, not condemnation!
In short, the allegations against NIA by Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa are without merit or foundation and must be ignored by Ghanaians. NIA urges Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa respects state institutions doing their best to build the nation. The insinuations and castigations will not change NIA’s resolve to remain focused, rigorous and coherent in fulfilling its statutory mandate. End.
