President Nana Akufo-Addo through the Ministry of Health has appointed Professor Otchere Addai Mensah, a Senior Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.
A formal letter from the ministry of health has been received by the Board Chairman of the teaching hospital, Bompatahene Nana Effah Apenteng.
Source in Manhyia Palace has also confirmed that Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has also received a formal letter from the Health Ministry informing him about the president’s new appointment in line with tradition.
Starr News checks at the referral facility disclosed that the board chairman of the facility at its last Board meeting briefed the board members about the new appointment which requires their approval
The hospital’s board after the approval is expected to formally inform the entire working staff of the Komfo Anokye teaching Hospital in the coming days.
Staff of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) had served notice that they will reject any appointment of non-permanent staff of the Hospital as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
This followed speculations within the premier hospital that the President in consultation with Ashanti Regional Executives of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is considering announcing the appointment of Prof. Okyere Addai Mensah as a successor to the retired CEO Dr. Oheneba Owusu Danso.
The said notice from the staff read: “No KATH staff, No CEO; We are capable of managing our own affairs”
Dr. Oheneba Owusu Danso retired last week after serving the referral facility for over 3 decades.
This was after some residents in the community calling itself Concerned Citizens of Asamang Tamfoe petitioned the Akyem Abuakwa judicial council on November 9,2022 accusing the chief of engaging in illegal mining polluting rivers, and degrading farmlands threatening food security and livelihood of small holder farmers.
The petition was submitted weeks after some illegal miners in Asamang Tamfoe clashed with Okyeman Environmental Taskforce on anti-galamsey operation in the community leading to exchange of gunshots on the streets.
Subsequently, the Benkumhene held a press conference on October 6,2022 calling the bluff of Okyeman Environmental taskforce led by Chief of Akyem Apapam, Osabarima Apagya Ofori IV and dared to violently clash with them should they return to the community.
Acting on the petition, the Akyem Abuakwa Judicial Council summoned the Chief of Asamang-Tamfoe Osabarima Kwame Koh II and the Benkumhene Nana Boakye Darkwa to appear before it on 21st November, 2022 for hearing which they complied.
During the court proceedings, the Benkumhene of Asamang-Tamfoe Nana Boakye Darkwa was asked by the Akyem Abuakwa judicial council that on whose authority did he act to organize the press conference on 6th October, 2022 since the Chief of Asamang-Tamfoe Osabarima Kwame Koh II was in Kumasi on the said date.
Secondly, he was confronted with a daily graphic’s publication which he threatened the Okyeman Environmental Taskforce.
The Benkumhene admitted guilt and lied prostrate to apologize to Okyenhene and Akyem Abuakwa traditional council.
Okyenhene Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin who chaired the Akyem Abuakwa Judicial Council made consequential orders for the removal of the Benkumhene.
“I order that the Benkumhene should not remain as the Benkumhene because he has defied the orders that I instructed the taskforce to protect the Akyem lands from all illegal mining activities”.
“The destruction of lands and water bodies going on at Asamang-Tamfoe, are you happy ? You did something wrong and Okyenhene called you and you refused to come, because of galamsey all our water bodies are destroyed in even Kyebi here, the same as Tamfoe, I am not interested in mining , I hate it” Okyenhene fumed.
Secretary of Concerned Citizens of Asamang-Tamfoe , Ernest Osae Botah expressed his satisfaction with the decision made by the Akyem Abuakwa Judicial Council led by the Okyenhene and was hopeful that their concerns will be addressed after the substantive case is heard next week to end illegal mining in the community.
In the substantive case, the petitioners allege that Osabarima Kwame Koh II ,the Benkumhene and his sub chiefs have all been engaging in illegal mining using foreigners under the guise of community mining.
“People of Foreign descent have been allowed and in conjunction with chief of the town and sub-chiefs are dangerously engaging in illegal mining so close to the only portable source of good drinking water-the Tamfoe river . In face ,some of the mining sites almost end within the river bed causing so much discomfort and damages to the residents”.
“It is rumoured that the chief Nana Kwame Koh II ,himself is part of the illegal miners and indeed on 19 October 2022, 5 excavators were sized under an operation mounted by over 25 soldiers and carried away.One of the excavators is alleged to belong to the chief”.Portions of the petition stated.
The petitioners want Okyenhene to call the chief and other accomplices to order to stop mining activities in the community.
“Whilst we make this appeal for the intervention of Ofori Panin Fie ,we are ready to join hands to look at other means by which this menace can be thwarted legally”.
The petitioners also implicated some political figures in the illegal mining activities.
“We have tried to defend and occasionally defended the allegation that ,the Member of Parliament for Atiwa East Abena Osei Asare and deputy Minister of Finance ,the District Chief Executive, Mr.Kwabena Panin Nkansah ,the immediate past constituency Chairman Mr.Albert Antwi, with support of the Regional Executives of the NPP in Koforidua are behind this illegal act”.
The ranking member of the Works and Housing committee of parliament, Vincent Oppong Asamoah, has cautioned private developers against buying the Saglemi Housing Project from the government.
According to him, the project will be taken from them when the NDC government assumes power if they go ahead to acquire it.
“We the minority are stating our position very clearly that we wouldn’t want any private developer to come in at all. In 2025 we are very confident that the NDC will form the next government, so any private developer that will partner the government to complete this project, project will be taken from them because it should remain affordable and the mortgage system.”
On November 13, 2022, the minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso Boakye, revealed that the government has decided to wash its hands off the Saglemi housing project to allow a private developer refurbish the housing units and sell them to potential owners.
The Saglemi housing project was started in 2012 under the NDC government to build 5000 housing units at affordable prices.
The project was meant to give Ghanaians affordable housing in a bid to bridge the housing deficit in the country.
However, the minority is against this development stating that they will resist any attempt by government to profit from poor taxpayers unduly as the government has not explained why the project should not be given to the public or civil service but instead of some faceless people.
Dr. K.Y. Amoako, Founder and President, African Center for Economic Transformation Sixty-five years ago, our nation was born. It was born out of indomitable courage in the face of colonialism and imperialism. It was born through shared struggle, bloodshed, and tears. And it was born on the backs and hopes of ordinary Ghanaians.
I was 13 years old at the time of independence. I grew up with Ghana, and I have lived through our post-colonial journey—the ups and downs, the successes, and the setbacks.
Ghana has so many reasons to be proud. We have been at the forefront of Africa’s movement not only to independence but also to democracy and citizen empowerment. We are known as Africa’s ‘Black Star’, but we are also its North star. We have led, and others have followed.
However, we have not yet attained the heights that our forebears fought and bled for. We have not yet realized the Ghana we want — for ourselves, but most importantly, for future generations.
Despite occasional periods of economic growth, Ghana continues to grapple with critical social and economic challenges that hold us back from achieving our full potential. Our young people are disenchanted and distrustful of our leaders and institutions as they deal with unemployment. The growing polarization of our politics is drawing us further and further apart when we should be working together for our common good. We struggle to translate our abundant natural and human resources into economic and social well-being. At the same time, we must confront and adapt to the challenges—such as climate change, population growth, financial instability, and public health—that pose direct threats to our survival.
We have reached a tipping point and cannot continue along this path if we are to survive as a nation. As we approach the second half of the 21st century, it is imperative that we stop, adjust our sails, and change course to build the Ghana we want.
We have a window of opportunity over the next twelve months, before the 2024 election campaigns go into full drive, to build a national consensus around Ghana’s biggest opportunities and challenges and to put those issues squarely on the agenda for debate during the next election.
It is not enough for Ghana to experience spurts of economic growth with increasing poverty.
Ghana needs sustained and resilient economic transformation that ensures the lives our people continue to improve.
Faster progress on transformation not only will strengthen our economy but also help us better survive shocks, like inflation, rising energy costs and the rapid depreciation of the cedi and more quickly lift our most vulnerable brothers and sisters out of destitution.
Many countries around the world have successfully traveled the road to transformation. Each country is different, but there are lessons and best practices to follow on our journey. And it all starts with having a plan.
To build the Ghana we want, we need to focus our energies on a number of critical areas and set a unified vision with clear and measurable targets and goals — a national consensus on what to do to turn the tide and address the challenges facing us.
This means, among other things that we need to diversify our industries to be more competitive in global markets; increase productivity, especially of our human resources; and advance technology and innovation — all to improve the well-being of our citizens. For instance, we can increase the capacity of local SMEs so they become investment ready and are able to utilize technology for increased productivity and competitiveness on global markets.
This vision will require the agreement and collaboration of all citizens especially the youth, political, traditional, and religious leaders, prominent community organizations, and technical policy experts. It will be our north star for our transformation agenda and for our democracy. We need to act as citizens and not spectators — citizens with a vested interest in building a Ghana we can all be proud of.
Kwame Nkrumah told us: “We have a duty to prove to the world that Africans can conduct their own affairs with efficiency and tolerance and through the exercise of democracy. We must set an example to all Africa.”
During these challenging times in Ghana and around the world, it is past time for us to live up to that duty and set that example once more. The good news is the work has already begun. A few months ago, a group of Ghanaians representing a cross-section of our society came together at Peduase to define what we can do together to chart a path for Ghana’s future. The youngest person in the group was only 13 years old, and the oldest was older than I am. The group included leaders from policy institutes, media, civil society, and business, and brought viewpoints from every angle to enrich and improve our approach. Most importantly, their political affiliations spanned most of the parties in Ghana.
Together, we are collaborating to develop what we call a Compact for Political and Economic transformation in Ghana. The Compact: will be an agreement between citizens and government, regardless of who is in power, on the direction of travel for our country, and on the vision and values that underpin our democracy and pave the way toward the Ghana we want. It will also be a Compact between all of us as citizens on the values we want to uphold as a nation as we embark on this new agenda.
Agreeing on a common vision and a roadmap for Ghana will help make our elections more about the issues and less about the politics. It will help our governments focus on national interest over party interest. And importantly, it will help us as citizens hold our elected officials accountable and take more responsibility for driving the agenda for our country.
What we are starting now will need the commitment of all Ghanaians, regardless of background, religion, political party affiliation, age, or gender. We have an opportunity today to begin a journey toward a better future, and I hope you will all join us.
My journey will one day come to an end, and the future belongs to my children and grandchildren. And your children and grandchildren. What kind of future will they have? What legacy will we leave them? We all appreciate the challenges that still exist. Let us now work together to turn our fortunes around and strive for the aspirations that nearly all of us have, for the Ghana we want — for ourselves and future generations.
For the past fifty years, Dr K.Y. Amoako has spearheaded many of the issues and policies central to Africa’s development. A pioneer and passionate advocate for African transformation, he has worked alongside African leaders and some of the world’s most prominent development specialists to tackle many of the most pressing African and global development issues. Previously, Amoako served as Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa at the rank of UN Undersecretary General. Before then he was a senior official at the World Bank.
A Human Rights Court in Accra, on Friday 18th November, 2022 has by Ruling of the Court set aside a directive by the Architects Registration Council (ARC), the state licensing body and regulator of Professional Architects to pay their annual dues to the Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA), a private professional association before renewing their annual practicing certificate and publishing their names on the roll of register of architects in good standing.
The Court presided over by Her Ladyship Barbara Tetteh-Charway granted most of the Applicants reliefs, which amongst others, included an order to restrain the ARC from making the payment of dues to the GIA association mandatory. The Court further awarded a cost of ₵5,000.00 against the Respondent.
Two practicing architects, Alexander K.A. Kukah and Charles Amissah-Koomson ( the Applicants in the suit), on 21st March 2022, filed a case at the Human Rights Division of the High Court, Accra. The Applicants, prayed for an Order from the Court to set aside an earlier directive from the ARC to Architects to compel them to ‘exercise due diligence with the GIA’ by paying dues to the before their annual practicing Licence are renewed.
Lawyers for the Applicants, Peter Zwennes Esq and Alfred Enyaah Esq of Gaisie Zwennes, Hughes & Co, argued that such a directive was a misinterpretation of Sections of the Architects Acts, 1969 NLCD 357 and also in contravention of the 1992 constitution that guarantees every citizen freedom of association.
The ARC, an agency of the Works and Housing Ministry and the Respondent in the case was represented by the Attorney- General department.
Speaking after the verdict, the Applicants thanked their lawyers and the Judge for upholding the law by enforcing the dictates of the Act (Architects Acts, 1969 NLCD 357 ) that regulates the practice of Architecture in Ghana.
The Applicants further indicated that their victory was for all Architects. They thanked all their colleagues who supported them in diverse ways.
A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Gabby Otchere-Darko has pleaded with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament to support in approving the yet-to-be delivered 2023 budget statement after its presentation.
He indicated that the the 2023 budget is crucial.
“It can’t suffer a fate similar to the 2022 budget and its revenue measures. It could completely derail negotiations with the Fund if not passed. Critical to this are its revenue generation measures. We plead the NDC joins NPP in this for Ghana,” he tweeted.
Thursday’s 2022 budget is crucial. It can’t suffer a fate similar to the 2022 budget and its revenue measures. It could completely derail negotiations with the Fund if not passed. Critical to this are its revenue generation measures. We plead the NDC joins NPP in this for Ghana.
Already, some aggrieved lawmakers on the side of the government threatened to boycott the presentation if Mr Ofori-Atta is the one assigned to present the document.
Member of Parliament for Asanti-Akyem North Kwame Andy Appiah-Kubi earlier served notice that the aggrieved MPs won’t be in Parliament to support the budget if Mr Ofori-Atta is the one to present the document.
The MPs believe that a new face should replace the Finance Minister due to the current economic challenges.
He told journalists that “We’ve gone back to (our demand for the President to) sack him now and therefore should the budget be presented under the stamp of the Finance Minister, we’ll not participate because as far as we’re concerned we’re never going to do business with him.
“And if we’re not going to do business with him, he does not participate in any process from the Presidency to the House. We will not participate in deliberations too.”
But at a crunch meeting in Accra on Tuesday November 22, the leadership of the party and the Majority group in Parliament in a statement co-signed by Majority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh and General Secretary of the NPP, Justin Kodua Frimpong, said “In the meantime, the leadership of the Parliamentary Group and the leadership of the party counselled the Honourbale Members of Parliamentary party to respect to the caucus communications channel , and to the largest extent possible, work together as one caucus unit. .
“Leadership of the party in this regard call upon the Members of Parliament to attend to all Government Business in the House including in particular the 2023 budget statement and economic policy and all connected matters.”
The National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Stephen Ntim says he is determined to lead the party to victory in the 2024 elections.
According to him, with the support of his party members, defying all odds to win the next elections is his only aim.
Mr. Ntim says it will not be in his tenure that the party will go into opposition.
“You will agree with me that, I have spent 20 years in the political wilderness before getting to where I am right now. I will not become National Chairman only to take the party back to opposition. We are committed to identifying where the previous administration left off for us. We are going to strengthen what they did and build upon their accomplishments.”
Earlier this week, the NPP officially inaugurated all the standing committees of its national council.
The move, according to the party, is in line with measures to further position the party strongly to execute its tasks in preparation ahead of the 2024 elections.
Stephen Ntim indicated that he will ensure that the committees work and deliver on their mandate.
General Secretary of the party, Justin Frimpong Koduah urged the committees to work diligently since the success of the party depends on them.
“First and foremost, your first loyalty is to the party, or matters that come before your committee should be kept at the committee level unless the party hierarchy demands that it comes out. You should be able to execute your duties without fear or favour,” he urged.
Mr. Koduah said the NPP will be the first political party to win elections three consecutive times, come 2024 elections.
“Winning the 2024 elections will be historical. We will be the first political party to have won the elections three consecutive times, and Mr. Chairman Insha Allah it’s possible. In terms of policies, no political party can compare itself to the New Patriotic Party (NPP). In spite of the challenges that we are going through as a country, certainly before the 2024 elections, things would have turned and Ghanaians will still have confidence in the NPP,” he stated.
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has called on all Ghanaians to rally behind the country’s senior national team ahead of their opening match in the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The Black Stars, on Thursday, November 23, 2022, will kick off their world cup campaign against Portugal who are tipped as one of the tournament’s favourites.
Ahead of the Thursday match, Vice President Bawumia has shared a message to the players and the entire nation.
A video shared on the vice president’s Facebook page opens with Dr Bawumia showing off his football skills, including a rainbow flick.
“The moment has come for the Black Stars to take on the world. We have a group of talented players who have been selected and they cannot be intimidated by anyone. I want to urge the Black Stars to play their hearts out for mother Ghana. We can stand the world; we have done it before and we can do it once again. They should go out and emulate the historic deeds of their predecessors. God bless you all, we can do it. Go Ghana go, go black stars go,” Dr Bawumia said.
Ghana is placed in Group H paired with South Korea, Uruguay and Portugal.
The Black Stars, led by Otto Addo as head coach and Dede Ayew as captain, is seeking to qualify from a tight group for the nation’s third appearance at the Mundial.
Beneficiaries of the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) have reminded government OF their nine-months unpaid arrears.
According to the NABCO beneficiaries who have not been paid their allowances under government’s flagship programme, it “will be extremely disastrous” to fail to do so, under the current economic situation in the country.
A statement issued on Tuesday, 22 November 2022, signed by its National President, Dennis Katakyie said: “The programme has been beneficial, but if care is not taken to redress the outstanding payment issues, the pain suffered by trainees will swallow the gains by the initiative on the case of the current administration.”
The President of NABCO beneficiaries also pleaded with government to “settle the nine months arrears to bring some relief to beneficiaries.”
The statement indicated that: “Failure to pay the arrears will create an indelible scar to discredit the good works of government so far as the programme is concerned.”
The Majority Caucus in Parliament has mended all cracks in their front ahead of the November 24 reading of the 2023 Budget Statement by embattled Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
A meeting between the lawmakers and leaders of the New Patriotic Party, NPP, was held on November 23 at which a number of agreements were reached.
The main points are that the Minister will be supported in presenting the budget and seeing through its appropriation as well as be allowed to see through the current phase of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, IMF.
The meeting comes on the back of a renewed call by some 98 NPP MPs who had threatened to boycott the budget presentation if Ofori-Atta appears to present it.
A statement co-signed by Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh and NPP General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong read in part: “At a meeting this evening, the 22 of November 2022, involving the Majority Caucus, the Leadership of the Party and the Council of Elders, it has been agreed by all to refocus and recline to the earlier position requested by the President.”
The three broad areas agreed on were as follows
1. The demand be stood down until the conclusion of the round of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which would feed into the 2023 Budget;
2. The presentation of the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy on the 24th November 2022 by the Finance Minister on behalf of the President; and
3. The subsequent presentation and passage of the Appropriation Bill
“The meeting agreed that the President would act upon the initial request of the NPP Parliamentary Caucus after the conclusion of these matters,” the statement added.
Find the full statement below:
22nd November 2022.
RESOLUTION OF IMPASSE IN THE NPP PARLIAMENTARY GROUP
Over the past two weeks, especially, after the President had engaged the Majority Caucus over calls for the ouster of the Minister of Finance as well as the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and a statement on the engagement had been issued, the country has, witnessed a heightened public/media discussion on same subject matter.
There have been occasional individual interventions some of which have not helped the resolution of the issue in contention. On the other hand, some of these interventions have contributed to escalate tensions and suspicions.
At a meeting this evening, the 22 of November 2022, involving the Majority Caucus, the Leadership of the Party and the Council of Elders, it has been agreed by all to refocus and recline to the earlier position requested by the President, to wit:
1. The demand be stood down until the conclusion of the round of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which would feed into the 2023 Budget;
2. The presentation of the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy on the 24th November 2022 by the Finance Minister on behalf of the President; and
3. The subsequent presentation and passage of the Appropriation Bill
The meeting agreed that the President would act upon the initial request of the NPP Parliamentary Caucus after the conclusion of these matters.
In the meantime, the Leadership of the Parliamentary group and the Leadership of the Party counselled the Honourable Members of the Parliamentary Party to resort to the Caucus ‘communication channels and, to the largest extent possible, work together as one Caucus unit.
Leadership and the Party in this regard call upon the Members of Parliament to attend to all Government Businesses in the House including, in particular, the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy and all connected matters.
SIGNED
HON. ANNOH-DOMPREH, (MP) MAJORITY CHIEF WHIP, PARLIAMENT OF GHANA
JUSTIN KODUA FRIMPONG, GENERAL SECRETARY NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY
Former Commissioner at the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative (CHRAJ) Emile Short has said that the Commission will not ask the Finance Minister to stay out of office following the petition filed by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas against him.
He said the decision to stay out of office or not is a matter for the President to decide.
Speaking on the News 360 on TV3 Monday November 22, Mr Short said “I don’t know exactly what the issue is, but basically, when CHRAJ receives a complaint it will send to the person against whom the complaint is made and that person has to respond within a specified period, normally ten days. The response will be sent back to the complainant, in this case Anas, for his response.
“CHRAJ will not ask the Finance Minister to stay out of office, that is the matter for the President to determine.”
The petitioner, Anas, raised issue of conflict of interest against the Finance Minister for which he should be investigated.
CHRAJ boss Joseph Whittal told journalists on Monday November 21 that “The allegations are that there is conflict of interest in terms of their official duties as public officers and the companies in which they have interest in terms of government bonds and so the case is going through the standard process of assessment in order to make sure that it meets procedural requirement under the Commission’s regulation as well as whether it is really within the mandate of the Commission. Based on that, we will then decide what next steps to take.”
The NDC Minority in Parliament made a number of allegations against Mr Ofori-Atta for which they are seeking to remove him from Office.
The accusations are “Despicable conflict of Interest ensuring that he directly benefits from Ghana’s economic woes as his companies receive commissions and other unethical contractual advantage.
Unconstitutional withdrawals from the Consolidated Fund in blatant contravention of Article 178 of the 1992 Constitution supposedly for the construction of the President’s Cathedral;
Deliberate and dishonest misreporting of economic data to Parliament Fiscal recklessness leading to the crash of the Ghana Cedi which is currently the worst performing currency in the world;
Alarming incompetence and frightening ineptitude resulting in the collapse of the Ghanaian economy and on excruciating cost of living crisis; Gross mismanagement of the economy which has occasioned untold and unprecedented hardship.
Mr Ofori-Atta refuted all these allegations when he appeared before the 8-member committee that was investigating him.
Organized labour is expected to meet government today to continue negotiations on the proposal for a 60 percent increment in the base pay of the single spine salary structure for 2023.
Organized labour says the proposed 60 percent is intended to help workers deal with the rising cost of living as a result of high inflation.
The third meeting with government on Tuesday ended inconclusively, although the 2023 budget reading has been scheduled for Thursday, November 24, 2022.
Deputy General Secretary of TUC, Joshua Ansah, said their demands are reasonable.
“The law says that, finish negotiations by April so that the budget is read in November. So it is not our fault that negotiations have not been concluded and whether or not the budget will be read or not. We are all workers, and we know the inflation and economic challenges in this country. The situation is unbearable.”
The public sector workers explained that the daily base pay is lower than the government’s newly announced daily minimum wage of GH¢14.88.
Organised labour insists that its leadership will not back down on the proposed 60 percent rise in base pay.
In 2021, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) agreed on the base pay increments for public sector workers, as part of labour negotiations with the government.
However, after the agreement, some members of the labour unions expressed their disappointment at the percentage increase, saying it was too small.
Members of a coalition made up of public sector workers thus protested in 2021 to express their anger and demand an upward review of public sector salaries.
They insisted that the four and seven per cent increment were woefully inadequate for their survival, considering the current economic hardship.
The national executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have stepped in to resolve the impasse between some 98 members of the Majority Caucus in Parliament and the President over the demands for the sacking of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
The NPP legislators had threatened to boycott all business brought to the house by the Finance Minister, including the budget presentation expected to take place on Thursday, November 24, 2022.
In view of this, the NPP national executives, held a meeting with the Members of Parliament to ensure that, they do not carry out their threat.
A statement jointly signed by the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh and the General Secretary of the NPP, Justin Koduah as resolution to the ongoing impasse, urged the majority members to put their demands on ice until negotiations for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bail-out are completed.
After the said meeting, the NPP says it has been able to get the MPs to heed to the request by the President and will attend all government business brought to the house.
The government has refuted reports that special forces from the United Kingdom are being brought to Ghana to help fight terrorism.
A report by British newspaper, the Telegraph, yesterday reported that Britain is in discussion with Ghana to send special forces into the country after it was forced to withdraw all of its peacekeepers from Mali.
“The Government of Ghana wishes to state that the information regarding British special forces is false. Neither Ghana nor any other member of the Accra Initiative has discussed with any partner, any such request nor contemplated the involvement of foreign forces in any of the activities”, a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional integration stressed.
The Ministry said the Government of Ghana has had no interaction with the United Kingdom for the deployment of soldiers into the country.
“The Government of Ghana has no interactions with the UK Government aimed at deploying UK soldiers to Ghana for purposes of operations as described in the story”, parts of the statement read.
It further explained that, the Accra Initiative rather aims to prevent spillover terrorism from the Sahel and to address transnational organized crime within the common border areas of member states.
Justin Kodua Frimpong has tasked members of all Standing Committees of the party to put loyalty to the New Patriotic Party, NPP, above all other considerations.
Kodua was speaking on November 22, 2022, in Accra at the official swearing-in of all Standing Committees announced by the Stephen Ntim-led National Executives team.
“For various members of the committee, as you have sworn the oath, please, you should know that first and foremost, your first loyalty is to the New Patriotic Party and issues or matters that come before your committee should be kept at the committee level unless the party decides that it should come out,” he said.
In early November, the National Council of the party appointed members and chairpersons to serve on the party’s standing and ad hoc committees.
In a press release dated November 3, the appointment by the National Council was in line with the party’s constitution.
“Pursuant to Article 10(3)(6) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Constitution, the National Council, at its meeting held on October 5, 2022, and upon further consultations with relevant stakeholders, appointed the following persons to serve on the Standing and Ad hoc Committees of the Party,” parts of the release read.
The appointed members are to serve on the party’s finance, constitution and legal committees; organisation; research; disciplinary and communication committees.
The finance committee will be chaired by Abankwa Sekyere; the constitutional and legal committee by Frank Davies; the organisation committee by Lord Oblitey Commey; the research committee by Osei Bonsu Amoah; the disciplinary committee by Kwasi Amoako-Atta and the communication committee by Nana Akomea.
Lawyer for Twitter Africa employees who were laid-off earlier this month by the social media giant has confirmed that the company has reached out to the former employees after a threat to sue over discrimination.
The unnamed lawyer confirmed to a CNN Africa journalist, Larry Madowo, that the company had “finally agreed to negotiate with the laid-off Africa team.”
Madowo, who has been keenly reporting on the story, reiterated in a November 22 tweet, that the redundant staff “weren’t offered severance until CNN reported” their plight and that they weren’t “allowed to negotiate their separation terms until” CNN report was aired.
Africa office closed down four days after opening
The Africa office was closed four days after employees who had over the last year been working remotely converged at the Africa Headquarters located in Ghana.
They initiated legal action against the new owner of the platform, Elon Musk, over discrimination and the imbalance in the severance pay they were offered compared to others who were laid off in the United States and Europe upon his takeover.
Madowo revealed the contents of their termination emails in his earlier reports, which read in part: “The company is reorganizing its operations as a result of a need to reduce costs. It is with regret that we’re writing to inform you that your employment is terminating as a result of this exercise.
“Your last day of employment will be 4th December 2022. You will be placed on garden leave until your termination date,” the November 4 letter read.
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The staff hired a lawyer who was on the verge of suing the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, over this matter. They also reported Twitter to the Chief Labour Officer in Ghana over breaches in the way their appointments were terminated.
“It is clear that Twitter, under Elon Musk, is either deliberately or recklessly flouting the laws of Ghana, is operating in bad faith and in a manner that seeks to silence and intimidate former employees into accepting any terms unilaterally thrown at them.
“Without pressure from higher authorities, they are clearly not willing to provide a fair or just package in order to minimize the hardship of this takeover and the resulting loss of jobs on their workforce in Africa.”
Assin Central MP Kennedy Agyapong has told his fellow MPs in the majority caucus who intend to boycott Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta’s 2023 budget on Thursday, 24 November 2022 that: “It is not the time to play political games or feed egos”.
The 98 New Patriotic Party MPs insist President Nana Akufo-Addo sack his cousin for messing up the economy or they would have nothing to do with him as far as government business on the floor of parliament is concerned.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, 22 November 2022, however, Mr Agyapong told his adamant fellow majority caucus MPs that their insistence on boycotting the budget reading despite the leadership of the caucus agreeing to give the president up the passage of the budget and conclusion of the ongoing bailout talks with the IMF, “means no more than an attempt to blackmail or unduly force the hands of the president and, or undermine his authority and agenda for Ghanaians”.
“That cannot be right”, he condemned, adding: “The president is our leader and deserves the full benefit of the doubt – if any”.
“In any case”, Mr Agyapong noted: “We have all been elected as Members of Parliament to serve the best interests of the people of our individual and collective constituencies”.
“Given the crippling economic crisis facing the people of Ghana and their businesses, it is the highest level of insensitivity toward the plight of our nation and her people for any elected representative or group of elected representatives to use their public offices to attempt to hold hostage efforts to address the economic problems facing all of us,” Mr Agyapong indicated.
Read Mr Kennedy Agyapong’s full statement:
Statement by Kennedy Agyapong calling on all Majority Members of Parliament to Attend and Participate fully in the 2023 Budget Presentation, related discussions, debate and approval.
The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, is expected to present to Parliament the 2023 Budget and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana on Thursday, November 24, 2022.
Mr Ofori-Atta will be presenting the budget to Parliament for and on behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on the authority of Article 179(1) of Ghana’s Constitution of 1992, which commands the President to “cause to be prepared and laid before Parliament at least one month before the end of the financial year, estimates of the revenues and expenditure of the Government of Ghana for the following financial year.”
Over the last few days, however, I have become aware of a troubling public declaration of intention by some aggrieved New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament that they will neither attend Thursday’s sitting of Parliament nor have anything to do with subsequent Parliamentary discussions and debate on the 2023 Budget should Mr Ofori-Atta be the Minister presenting it to the House.
The said MPs have openly stated that they will only attend proceedings if Mr Ofori-Atta, who they – rightly or wrongly – blame for the country’s prevailing economic difficulties, is removed from office. I find the said public declarations not only unfortunate but regrettable.
I know fully well that calls for the sacking of Mr Ofori-Atta reached the President in September, and he has given assurances that he will revisit the matter after the Budget presentation and a successful end to Ghana’s ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The leadership of the Majority Group later issued a statement agreeing to the President’s request. Therefore, the insistence by some MPs that they will not attend Thursday’s proceedings means no more than an attempt to blackmail or unduly force the hands of the President and or undermine his authority and agenda for Ghanaians. That cannot be right. The President is our leader and deserves the full benefit of the doubt if any.
In any case, we have all been elected as Members of Parliament to serve the best interests of the people of our individual and collective constituencies. Given the crippling economic crisis facing the people of Ghana and their businesses, it is the highest level of insensitivity towards the plight of our nation and her people for any elected representative or group of elected representatives to use their public offices to attempt to hold hostage efforts to address the economic problems facing all of us.
Instead, the patriotic, urgent, compassionate and proper thing to do is first to help the government pass its budget and then later confront and address, if we must, the issue of who is fit or not fit to lead the Ministry of Finance.
These are very challenging global times, with escalating energy and food prices pushing millions in Africa and elsewhere into extreme poverty and threatening the internal security of many nations, including ours. Ghanaians need, therefore, their elected representatives to show up for work and help them survive the worsening global economic turmoil. It is not the time to play political games or feed egos.
I firmly believe that if there is ever any time that Ghanaians expect us to do our duty to Ghana unconditionally, it is now. We must not and cannot sacrifice that responsibility to our people on the side issue of who presents the 2023 Budget to Parliament.
Let us show leadership and demonstrate solidarity with the struggling masses of our people by turning out in our numbers to support the President’s proposed plan to put Ghana back on the path of economic recovery and triumph.
Every NPP MP has to preserve and ensure that the agenda of the Akufo-Addo government for Ghana succeeds, otherwise, the people of Ghana would have no reason to return the NPP to power in 2024.
By this statement, I am also calling on the good people of Ghana to keep the faith and trust that the NPP government has the right plan, strategy, and requisite expertise to steer our country out of the prevailing economic headwinds.
Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu, has asked government to channel its efforts into stabilizing the economy to bring relief to citizens.
The country’s economy has been experiencing a downturn in recent times, with the inflation rate hitting an all-time record high.
Amid the challenges, the National Tripartite Committee announced an upward review of the minimum wage from the initial GH¢13.53 pesewas to GH₵14.88 pesewas.
But speaking to Citi News, Francis-Xavier Sosu said even though the increase was commendable, it will be insignificant if government fails to address the worsening economic situation
“When you review minimum wage and inflation and depreciation are still high, fuel prices are rising, these rises will eat off this increase. This means that government must come again by reviewing the wage. That will be great but more importantly, government must take urgent steps to stabilize the economy otherwise, I do not think that, this revision of minimum wage will have any real impact on the lives of ordinary workers in Ghana.”
Some Ghanaians have expressed disappointment over the announcement of a slight increase in the daily national minimum wage for 2023.
Scores of Ghanaian workers Citi News spoke to complained that they had expected something substantial and not the meagre GH¢2.35 that had been added to next year’s minimum wage.
Joseph Larbi, a taxi driver who drives on the streets of Accra, said he earns way below the National Minimum Wage. He said his daily wage is GH¢10.75 which translates into GH¢160 a month.
In spite of the Labour Ministry’s directive to establishments, institutions, and organizations to adjust their wages accordingly, Joseph Larbi said he has been on a GH¢160 monthly wage for the last decade.
The father of one lamented the rise in fuel prices, accommodation, and utilities and said life has been tough for his wife and child.
A private security guard who also earns below the National Minimum Wage said he has resorted to a bicycle to aid him to commute to his 7-day-a-week job.
Having no idea what a national minimum wage is, Yaw Twumasi Ankrah said it is difficult to come across any private security personnel that is paid beyond GH¢600 and that security guards are one of the worst-hit demographics of the current economic crisis.
He lamented the sufferings and difficulties he has to go through to cater for his family of five children and a wife with his GH¢450 monthly wage.
The challenges confronting the majority of respondents are uniform, ranging from high transport fares to astronomical rises in utility fees.
The ranking member for Works and Housing committee, Vincent Oppong Asamoah, has described the sale of the Saglemi housing project as ‘state capture’ as the beneficiaries will either be members of the government or their families.
According to Vincent Oppong Asamoah, they will resist any attempt by government to profit from poor taxpayers unduly as the government has not explained why the project should not be given to public or civil service but instead of some faceless people.
During a media tour of the abandoned million-dollar project by the minority in parliament, the side called on Ghanaians to join their call against government’s plans to dispose of the project.
“We call on all citizens, home and abroad to join the minority as we resist any attempt by the govemment to dispose of this project through an opaque arrangement that would only benefit a few friends and their families. Our nurses need homes, teaches need homes, the police need homes, drivers need homes, civil servants need homes.
“We are by this press briefing serving notice to government that we shall resist any attempt by faceless persons to profit from the poor taxpayer unduly. After all the loan was financed by the people, the poor worker and we are on the side of the masses in this struggle. The Saglemi Housing Project is certainly not for sale,” Mr Oppong Asamoah added.
He recommended that instead of the project being sold to faceless individuals, civil servants and the public should be allowed to enjoy the facility.
“In any case, if the government has decided to sell these homes built by a loan facility procured by the people of Ghana, shouldn’t the first option be to release them for use by our security services who are in dying need of accommodation? After all, that will go a long way to ameliorate the accommodation hustle at the various barracks.
“We the minority thought that the State Housing Company should be made to intervene and complete these houses and make them available for public servants to procure through the original financing arrangement of Ghana Home Loans mortgage financing. Should we always sell everything that belongs to Ghana and enjoy the proceeds today, like we have done to almost all state assets over years?” he said.
The Founder and Leader of the United Progressive Party(UPP) Akwasi Addai Odike says his party will be operational once again when the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensah leaves office after the defeat of the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP) in the 2024 election.
According to him, Jean Mensah whom he accuses of doing the NPP’s bidding unfairly revoked his party’s license because he’s a known critic of the ruling party.
The EC last week announced the termination of the registration certificates of 17 political parties.
In an advertiser’s announcement in the national dailies, the EC explained that the parties have failed to establish national and regional offices in the country.
The parties include; the United Progressive Party (UPP) led by Akwasi Addae, popularly known as Odike, the United Front Party (UFP), the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), the National Reform Party (NRP), the Reform Patriotic Democrats (RPD).
The others are; the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), United Development System Party (UDSP), Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere (EGLE), Yes People’s Party (YPP), United Ghana Movement (UGM), New Vision Party (NVP), Ghana Democratic-Republican Party (GDRP) and the Ghana National Party (GNP).
The rest are; the Power Unity Party (PUP), People’s Action Party (PAP), United Renaissance Party (URP), and the United Love Party (ULP).
But speaking on Kasapa 102.5FM/Agoo TV Tuesday, Akwasi Addai Odike indicated that he will contest the 2024 Presidential election as an Independent Candidate.
According to him, he will not let the unfair revocation of his party’s operating lincence by the Electoral Commission stop him from contesting the election, as he has good policies and programs to move Ghana forward should he be elected as next President.
“The EC Chairperson purposed in her heart that she’ll not allow me to contest the 2024 election, but the law allows me to contest as an independent candidate and that’s what I’ll do. The EC boss has revoked my party’s license but I strongly believe that the next EC boss who will come will restore my party’s license. This woman will not stay in office beyond 2024 when the NPP loses the election. No party apart from the NPP can work with her because she only does the NPP’s bidding. So, I know she’s knocked us down for only two years, after that UPP will bounce back strongly.”
Ten students of Agogo State Senior High School in the Ashanti Akim North District of the Ashanti Region have been mercilessly beaten by teachers for fetching water outside the school campus.
According to the students, they went to the community near the school to fetch water following water shortage on the campus, and while returning to the campus, the teachers numbering about six called them into a staff room and flogged them.
The students after being beaten went home and were sent to the hospital for treatment by their parents.
The students told Abusua FM reporter, King, that this wasn’t the first time such inhumane treatment had been meted out to students for doing no wrong, adding that the teachers are fond of maltreating them.
Some parents in an interview expressed displeasure over the conduct of the teachers and asked the Ghana Education Service to reprimand the teachers.
The Ghana Education Service (GES) in 2019 banned any form of corporal punishment in primary and secondary schools all over Ghana.
In a statement issued by the then Deputy Director General of GES, Anthony Boateng, said teachers are expected to use alternative sanctions as measures for correcting students in schools.
“This is in view of the Positive Discipline Toolkit containing positive and constructive alternatives to correcting children was developed in 2016 as a component of the Safe Schools Resource Pack.”
The statement added that “apart from the physical pain corporal punishment inflicts on children, this approach also causes significant emotional damage. Some of the lasting effects of this method of disciplining school children include physical scars, emotional scars (trauma, fear, timidity etc.) and violent behaviour.”
Steps suggested in the toolkit to address student behaviour include setting class rules with students, encouraging them to be of good behaviour, getting students to recite statements periodically to confirm their adherence to standards of behaviour set for the classroom.
They also include explaining to the child why a particular behaviour he or she has exhibited is unacceptable.
The toolkit also recommended punishments such as withdrawal of responsibility or removal from a leadership position, cleaning, changing of seating position, assignment of extra tasks and writing of lines, eg. A full book of “I will never talk in class again.”
Staff of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region have served notice that they will reject any appointment of non-permanent staff of the Hospital as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
This comes on the back of speculations within the premier hospital that the President in consultation with Ashanti Regional Executives of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is considering announcing the appointment of Prof. Okyere Addai Mensah as a successor to the retired CEO Dr. Oheneba Owusu Danso.
The said notice from the staff read: “No KATH staff, No CEO; We are capable of managing our own affairs”
Dr. Oheneba Owusu Danso retired last week after serving the referral facility for over 3 decades.
The National Council of Elders and national leadership of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) are set to hold a crunch meeting with members of parliament on the ticket of the party at 5pm today, Tuesday, November 22, 2022.
The meeting with the MPs who form the Majority Caucus of the current parliament is to discuss their demand for the removal of the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, from office.
Amidst their threats to boycott the minister’s presentation of the 2023 budget slated for Thursday, the leadership of the ruling party, according to a report by Myjoyonline.com, has scheduled to meet the MPs at the Alisa Hotel in Accra.
The aim of the meeting, according to the report, is to address the concerns of the MPs and pave the way for a smooth presentation of the budget in parliament.
Amidst public demands for the removal of Ken Ofori-Atta, some members of the Majority Caucus at a recent press conference echoed the demand for his removal, citing the current state of the Ghanaian economy among other issues.
Out of the over 130 members of the Majority Caucus, some 98 of the MPs have announced their intent to boycott the 2023 budget presentation if Mr Ofori-Atta is allowed to make the presentation.
“We’ve gone back to (our demand for the President to) sack him now and therefore should the budget be presented under the stamp of the Finance Minister, we’ll not participate because as far as we’re concerned, we’re never going to do business with him,” a spokesperson of the 98 MPs, Andy Appiah Kubi who is also the MP for Asante Akyem North recently said in a media interview.
The minority side in parliament has indicated that it will not approve any further loan agreement by the government of Ghana in Parliament.
According to the minority, the approval of further loans will worsen the debt situation in the country.
Member of Parliament for Asuogyaman Constituency Thomas Nyarko Ampem said in an interview that “Government of Ghana has brought a loan agreement for us to approve and three different loans agreement. One for two hundred million dollars and two each for one hundred and fifty million dollars. We have taken a very simple decision that looking at our debt situation we are unable to support further approvals for further loans because believe that if you are in a hole you don’t continue to dig further.”
He added that the minority is waiting for the Minister of Finance to give a clear path that government has taken to ensure the country is out of the current debt situation otherwise the minority will not support any additional loans.
The gaming industry is basically the practice involved in the monetization, development, and marketing of video games.
Practicing these three requires a ton of human effort, which results in creating an enormous amount of jobs throughout the globe.
In a few years, the gaming industry in Ghana has grown from focussing on particular customers to the mainstream markets.
Let us explore some basic facts about the gaming industry in Ghana, its market value, and its growth over the years.
History of Gaming Industry in Ghana
The history of Ghana’s gaming industry is almost 50 years old, even older than some of the gaming platforms. Majorly the whole gaming industry is operated under three acts: the 1960 Betting Lottery Act, the 1973 Gambling Machines Act, and the Casino Licensing Act. Digitalization is progressing rapidly in Ghana, helping the entire gaming industry to introduce new laws and regulations in favor of gamers. Currently, the gaming industry in Ghana is regulated under the Ministry of Interior, which was established under the Gaming Act 2006. This act allows all kinds of gaming in the entire country except lottery.
Contribution of the Gaming Industry to Ghana’s Economy
Today anyone can enjoy online games no matter if you have $10 or millions. The gaming industry in Ghana contributes in so many ways to the country’s economy. It supports Ghana’s economy by increasing overall business sales and providing gaming taxes. In the last decade, the gaming industry in Ghana managed to get amazing growth. This directly contributed to the country’s economy. Over the years, online gaming has reached throughout the country and contributed a lot to its economy.
With the advancement of technology, gamers can now play games on their computers, mobile phones, PlayStation 5, Xbox, and various other devices. This directly increased the demand for these gaming setups in the market resulting in business expansion. The main source through which a gaming company generates revenue is advertising and taking percentages in the winning amount. They also charge some fees for downloading the game and buying a membership.
Future of Ghana’s Gaming Market
Ghana’s gaming market is growing amazingly, giving hope for a promising future. As the industry grows, online gaming companies like 22Bet will offer amazing discounts and offers to attract new gamers. These approaches will motivate the mass and help transform Ghana’s gaming industry into Africa’s gaming hub. The public of Ghana is adopting cloud-based technologies and software technologies very quickly, and it has led to an increase in internet awareness. This directly helps in increasing the gaming trends among the public of Ghana.
Based on certain studies, the gaming industry of Ghana will show enormous growth during 2021-27. During the lockdown period, people spent more time at their homes which led to an increase in the usage of interest in playing online games. Due to the increase in the number of mobile users in the country, the gaming industry is going to experience growth in upcoming years. This will lead to an impressive increase in the revenue just by the mobile segment users.
Objectives of Online Gaming Regulators
The gaming commission solely focuses on controlling, regulating, and monitoring all kinds of gaming services allowed in overall Ghana. Below is a list of objectives and practices of the gaming commission in Ghana :
Decides and makes the required proposals needed to improve the facilities provided by the gaming industry.
Provides licensing to the qualified companies interested in providing games to the mass.
When needed, it serves as a body providing advice to the government on topics related to gaming in the country.
Takes care of all the complaints and issues raised by the gaming companies and the players.
Maintain and ensure that all the licensed gaming companies are keeping the minimum bankroll implemented by the government.
Gaming Commission of Ghana: Vision & Goals
The main vision of The Gaming Commission of Ghana is to maintain the integrity and reputation of the online gaming industry in the country. By doing this, they want to make Ghana’s gaming industry a world-class gaming market. The operators follow every law imposed by the government and focus on not violating any of them. The gaming industry also puts effort into supporting the country economically.
In order to do so, the gaming market increases the business of selling, buying, importing, and exporting goods related to gaming. They are also focusing on providing access to play and participate in online games to the citizens of Ghana. Here are some goals of the Gaming Commission of Ghana:
Making the gaming industry’s customer service effective and available for each gamer.
Maintain a healthy and regulatory environment between the gaming industry and the players along with following the laws of government.
Inform their users about the changes in rules and regulations made by the committee.
Promote and advertise the fair and equal for everyone kind of gaming environment throughout the country.
Lawyer Maurice Ampaw has taken a swipe at former President John Dramani Mahama and leaders of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) after the party won the election petition against their Member of Parliament for Jomoro, Dorcas Affo -Toffey.
Ampaw said that Mahama and other leading members of the NDC have been castigating the court, saying that it is biased towards the government, but the party winning the Jomoro election petition proves that courts work with the laws of the country.
“I was not surprised by the ruling … this shows that if you are not diabolic and if you don’t politicize the judiciary, you will realise that the judges use the laws of the country, truth and evidence to work.
“So, I am not surprised that the judge after interrogating the witness, has declared the Jomoro MP as duly elected.
“I commend the NDC lead them and the MP for their victory. But their legal team should go and tell John Mahama and NDC apparatchiks like Ofosu-Ampofo, Asiedu Nketiah that the court that Mahama described as an NPP court, a 7-0 court is the same court that gave them victory,” he said in Twi.
Lawyer Ampaw, who made these remarks in a Nsem Pii interview, which was monitored by GhanaWeb, added that the NDC’s jubilation over winning the petitions shows they are hypocrites because they only praise the court when they win cases.
An election petition case against the Member of Parliament for the Jomoro constituency, Dorcas Affo-Toffey, was struck out by the Sekondi High Court.
This comes after a citizen, Joshua Emuah Kofie, went to court to challenge the eligibility of the MP to contest as a representative of the people in the constituency on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on grounds that she had multiple nationalities, including American and Ivorian citizenships, which is against the 1992 Constitution.
The Sekondi High Court presided over by Justice Dr. Richmond Osei Hwere dismissed the case on grounds that the MP was eligible to contest as she lost her Ivorian citizenship at the very time, she acquired her Ghanaian citizenship.
In regards to her American citizenship, the MP denied having American citizenship.
The case has been in court for over 20 months since she was elected to represent the people of Jomoro constituency.
Top guns of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), were in attendance at the Sekondi High Court when the verdict of the election petition case involving Member of Parliament, Dorcas Affo-Toffey was delivered.
The case which had been ongoing for close to two years was decided when the court presided over by Justice Dr. Richmond Osei Hwere dismissed the case on grounds that the MP was eligible to contest.
The court held that she lost her Ivorian citizenship at the very time she acquired her Ghanaian citizenship, thus, there was no merit in the petition seeking to annul her election on the basis of her having dual citizenship.
GhanaWeb checks indicated that about half a dozen Members of Parliament were around to lend their support to their colleague. Among them were Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, James Agalga, Teddy Nana Yaw, Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe and Emmanuel Armah Buah.
The embattled Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson – who is also battling a citizenship case – was also in attendance.
Other party bigwigs present included Kofi Totobi Quakyi and former Attorney General Marietta Brew-Oppong.
The petition which the victorious MP described later as ‘frivolous’ and a ‘distraction’ was filed by one Joshua Emuah Kofie, who was challenging the eligibility of the MP to contest as a representative of the people in the constituency on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He submitted that she had multiple nationalities, including American and Ivorian citizenships, which is against the 1992 Constitution.
While the court determined that she did not have Ivorian citizenship at the time of filing and contesting in 2020, the MP denied having American citizenship.
The case has been in court for over 20 months since she was elected to represent the people of the Jomoro constituency.
Two officers of the police MTTD have been captured in a video physically assaulting a male suspect to a pulp at Asankrangwa in the Western North region over a bag they suspected contained marijuana (weed).
The suspect was said to be in the company of another man at the back of a Pragya tricycle which was stopped at Asankrangwa Newtown, between Asankrangwa and Asankran-Odumasi.
The Asankrangwa Divisional Police Command MTTD personnel enquired about the owner of a bag at the back of the Pragya.
Though the suspect was hastily deemed to be the owner, he vehemently denied ownership but was brutalized by the men in uniform while some residents watched on and rather blamed the suspect for not admitting the allegation and plead to be set free.
The tricycle rider and the passenger were allowed to go free.
The incident happened on Saturday, 19th November 2022 around 11am. The Pragya rider was stopped by one Inspector Prince Awuah and another.
Checks indicate the police offers are stationed at Asankrangwa Police station.
The hard economic times are now being reflected by the dwindled offerings in church, former President John Mahama has observed and urged Christians to pray for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and him for “rescue” Ghana from the current “suffering”.
At the 175th-anniversary thanksgiving service of the E.P Church in Ho, Volta Region, Mr Mahama urged Christians to be generous with the little they have since times are hard.
“We must always spread Christian love, especially in this time, when money doesn’t like noise”, he told the church, stressing: “Especially, at this time when we all agree that times are hard”.
“This is the time we must show our Christian charity by loving our neighbours as ourselves”, Mr Mahama urged.
“And, so, whatever little you have to share, you should share with your neighbour”, he told Christians.
Using an appeal for funds event at the church as the litmus test of the economic hardships, Mr Mahama pointed out: “I mean, we could tell the hardship in the system from the appeal for funds”.
“When it was GH¢2,000, madam chair and a few people came and donated. Then it came down to ¢1,000, then to ¢500, then to ¢200 and ¢100”.
“And when it got to the silver collection, ¢1, ¢2, the place was full, it shows that the pocket was not too good”, he observed.
He then told the church, which had on its schedule, a prayer session for Christians in Pakistan: “After we pray for Pakistan, Moderator should also say a special prayer for me and for the NDC so that, in some year that is just coming, luck will smile on us, God will smile on us and give us the power to come and rescue this country from the suffering we are going through”.
Ghana is currently experiencing an economic crisis which President Nana Akufo-Addo has acknowledged, forcing him to address the nation on Sunday, 30 October 2022 about measures being put in place by his administration to fix the problem.
The President of the Ghana Road Contractors Association of Ghana, John Afful, says most road projects in the country have stalled due to the non-payment of funds for already executed projects.
Ghanaians over the last few months have complained bitterly over the deteriorating nature of most roads in the country and some road projects which have been abandoned.
Despite some road projects progressing smoothly, several other roads have not received any facelift in the last few years, despite the government declaring 2021 as the year of roads.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, November 22, Mr Afful said the failure of the Ministry of Roads and Highways to pay contractors has saddled them with huge debts.
“Most road projects have stalled, and the contractors are not on-site, mainly because of non-payment of previous work done. If you go to the Road Fund of the Ministry of Roads and Highways, you will notice that there are huge arrears not paid to the contractors from as far back as 2016,” Mr Afful told sit-in host Nathan Quao.
He added, “It is something that is very worrisome that we are chasing, so when people go around, and they find out the projects are not being done, it is mainly because the projects are not being paid for, and it has affected all contractors in the country, and they have huge debts to pay.”
But the head of Public Relations at the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Ahmed Yartey, in a reaction said claims that all Government of Ghana-funded projects have stalled are not entirely factual.
According to him, some GoG-funded projects are progressing smoothly, however, due to inflation and increasing cost of living some projects have stalled.
“I can also say that about 95 percent of the asphalt overlay you see around are GoG-funded projects and not foreign-funded projects.”
Mr Yartey also admitted that some contractors are struggling with non-payment of already executed projects, but added that the government is putting in place measures to pay the contractors.
“Some local contractors are struggling, I will not say it is not a fact some are going through it…prices have gone up, prices of bitumen are up and all those things affect road construction and the capital of contractors.”
A leading member of the New Patriotic Party, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has described as refreshing a decision by a High Court to dismiss a suit challenging the election of Jomoro Member of Parliament, Dorcas Affo-Toffey.
According to him, the decision by the court among other things is a clear indication of the fairness of the judiciary system of Ghana.
“Congrats! It is refreshing to be amply reminded that the legal system works! That, Lady Justice remains blind,” Mr Otchere-Darko wrote in a tweet in reaction to NDC member, Joyce Bawa Mogtari’s celebration of the court’s decision.
The opposition National Democratic Congress has over the period accused the bench of being bias against the party.
Some NDC members have cited the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the party’s petition against the 2020 presidential election result to back their claim.
However, the Sekondi High Court on Monday, November 21, 2022, dismissed a petition against the NDC Member of Parliament for Jomoro.
The case which had been ongoing for close to two years was decided when the court, presided over by Justice Dr. Richmond Osei Hwere dismissed the case on grounds that the MP was eligible to contest.
The court held that she lost her Ivorian citizenship at the very time she acquired her Ghanaian citizenship, thus, there was no merit in the petition seeking to annul her election on the basis of her having dual citizenship.
The petition was filed by one Joshua Emuah Kofie, who was challenging the eligibility of the MP to contest as a representative of the people in the constituency on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He submitted that she had multiple nationalities, including American and Ivorian citizenships, which is against the 1992 Constitution.
While the court determined that she did not have Ivorian citizenship at the time of filing and contesting in 2020, the MP denied having American citizenship.
Congrats! It is refreshing to be amply reminded that the legal system works! That, Lady Justice remains blind. https://t.co/xmsC29EbfY
Statistics available at the Right To Information (RTI) Commission indicate that 247 information were requested by citizens/individuals in public institutions in 2021.
This, according to the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Yaw Sarpong Boateng, is a 974 percent increase from 23 requests made in 2020″, adding that statistics for 2022 could even be higher.
He said, “this is a clear indication that there has been an increased interest in the use of RTI law to access information and hold public institutions accountable for their work”.
Mr Boateng has, therefore, charged public institutions with the right to information law to facilitate access to information to avoid being taken on legally, saying “the RTI law allows citizens to hold duty bearers accountable to provide information”.
He was addressing the opening ceremony of a two-day induction and orientation of RTI officers of the Lands Commission selected from the 16 regions of the country.
The implementation of the RTI law, he said, was an important milestone in the quest for building an enlightened and prosperous society.
“RTI has become a tool to advance our democracy to improve participatory development…you should, therefore, be proactive to disclose information and be aware that giving out false information can land you into trouble”.
He told them that they were not necessarily the information holders and that they should be smart to know where to find the information that an individual would be requiring and also be transparent.
“You should be transparent to make information available as access to public information is seen as an important step towards strengthening democracy, good governance, public service, and long-term development”.
Mr Evans Mamphey, Head of Human Resources of Lands Commission, told the staff that they were, by law, supposed to give out information within the confines of the law to the public.
He urged them to be abreast of the RTI law to be able to discharge their duties accordingly.
Dr Nafisa Mahama, Head of the Access To Information (ATI) Division of the Ministry of Information, observed that some government officials kept the information as their personal property.
According to her, once they are generating information with public funds, “it is not a bonafide property of anyone, but a property of the institutions or organisations.
She cautioned them to be careful because “failure or non-compliance with the provisions or obligations authorised by the Act constitutes gross misconduct and attracts imposition of administrative penalty from the RTI Commission”.
In view of that, she said the Information Ministry had collaborated with the RTI Commission to embark on sensitisation of public institutions to be adequately prepared and test to deliver satisfactorily.
An Accra Circuit Court has granted bail to Joseph Ofosu, a 47-year-old, in the sum of GH¢150,000.00 with three sureties, two to be in the jurisdiction and to be justified.
The accused person was charged with fraudulent transaction of land, contrary to section 277(2)(a) of the Land Act 2020, (ACT 1036).
The court presided over by Mrs. Afia Owusua Appiah adjourned the matter to December 7, 2022.
The court also asked the prosecution to file and serve all disclosures and witness statements on the accused person.
Inspector Cyrus E. Conduah told the court that the complainant in the case was Isabelle Odartey-Wellington, a businesswoman, while Mr Ofosu was an estate agent.
It said Madam Odartey-Wellington, who was looking for a piece of land to buy in December 2021, came into contact with Ofosu and he offered the woman two plots of land for sale at Pantang at the price of GH¢360,000.00.
The prosecution said Ofosu told Madam Odartey-Wellington, he was authorized to sell the land by the Afutu Brempong Family.
It said Madam Odartey-Wellington went ahead to make enquires about the said family and got to know that the land in the area belonged to them and decided to make a part-payment of GH¢194,500.00 to Ofosu.
The prosecution said Madam Odartey-Wellington went on the land to start her development but was driven away from the land by another claimant, who told her the Afutu Brempong family had sold the land to him some years back.
It said Madam Odartey-Wellington called Ofosu and informed him about her encounter and he started avoiding her phone calls.
Five suspects made up of three Nigerian nationals and 2 Ghanaians have been re-arrested after attempting to escape police custody.
The escapees were in detention following their arrest for various offences such as stealing mobile phones, and air-conditioners among others.
According to a Dailyguidenetwork.com report, the suspects made their move on Monday, November 21, 2022, at about 1 am with the help of a chisel and a hammer.
Their attempt was in a bid to evade court arraignment within the week.
The suspects succeeded in breaking the iron bars of the cell but saw their efforts thwarted by the officers on duty who became alarmed by the unusual noise emanating from the cells.
The Awutu Bereku Police Command has since rounded up the suspects and transferred them to a different police station for safekeeping pending their trial.
Former President John Dramani Mahama will today engage Civil Society Organisations (CSO) in the country over Ghana’s prevailing economic crisis.
The meeting will afford the 2020 flagbearer of the NDC the opportunity to listen to the perspectives of CSOs on the challenges and possible solutions for the governance deficits and economic challenges confronting the country.
The said meeting will come off at 10:30 am at the Miklin Hotel, East Legon.
The second largest cocoa producer is currently experiencing economic crisis acknowledged by President Akufo-Addo in his national address on the economy last month.
Ghana is negotiating a program of up to $3 billion with the International Monetary Fund(IMF).
The Deputy General-Secretary of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Joshua Ansah, has suggested that should the government fail to meet the demands of organized labour in the ongoing wage negotiation, workers would begin to regulate their working days.
According to him, taking into consideration the prevailing harsh economic conditions and the low salaries they receive from government, should government fail to upward adjust their base pay by 60%, they would start working fewer days.
He explained that working five days a week under these strenuous economic conditions has taken a huge toll on workers and thus it is only reasonable that the government heeds their request or prepare to accommodate fewer working days for workers.
“So if I’m negotiating with you and you’re unable to be fair, you’re unable to be truthful to yourself to tell us what is in the kitty? Who is taking what? And you tell us the economy is bad and there’s no money, government cannot pay, government cannot afford, then I’m inclined to go with brother Carbonu by saying that okay then we can also say that we’ll stay at home and come to work once in a week or twice in a week.
“Because somebody taking 500 cedis and paying transport of more than 1200 per month, how do you expect that person to come to work every day? How do you expect that person even to get something to eat after paying for the transportation? A family of two; a wife a husband and maybe two kids, how will they live in this very country?
“So all these are the things that are very real in the face of Ghanaian workers and it’s enough. And it is time that we try to bring practicality to bear. The ‘no money’, ‘no money’ syndrome, government cannot afford the ability to pay these things must be looked up once again.
“We don’t think this is the time for government to tell us the money is not there and there’s no way to [pay us] then if the money is not there, let us find a way of regulating our work whether to come to work once in a week, twice in a week and so on and so forth to commensurate the money that we’re being paid,” he said.
Organised Labour has proposed a 60 percent increment in base pay for the year 2023 as they begin negotiations with the government.
In a letter signed by TUC General Secretary, Dr. Yaw Baah and Isaac Bampoe Addo, Chairman of the forum of Public Sector Workers, Organised Labour cited the rising inflation and the 15% Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) granted on the National Daily Minimum Wage as grounds for their proposal.
“Due to the inflationary trends and the fact that 15% COLA has been granted on the National Daily Minimum Wage (NDMw). We humbly propose that a 60% increase on the 2022 Base Pay should be considered,” a portion of the letter read.
According to Organised Labour, a huge gap has been created between the National Daily Minimum Wage and the Base Pay as a result of accepting COLA instead of normal salary increase and granting increases in the National Daily Minimum Wage.
The group said currently, the 2022 daily Base Pay on the 2022 Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) is 16.26% below the 2022 daily minimum wage.
“In order to close the gap and restore the 10% point with respect to the National Daily Minimum Wage (NDMW), the daily Base Pay for 2023 should be GH¢l4.88 plus 10% which is GH¢16.37,” Organised Labour said.
They, therefore, want the annual Base Pay on the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) for 2023 to be increased to GH¢5,303.23 from the current GH¢3,672.84.
The Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) suspects that government has taken an entrenched position on its industrial action.
National President of CETAG, Prince Obeng Hemang tells Citi News, the Association was waiting to hold engagements with the National Labour Commission (NLC), today, Tuesday, November 22, 2022, only to receive a late invitation on Monday to rather engage with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations.
This according to the National President has put CETAG in a dilemma and a potentially contemptuous situation.
He told Citi News, they are yet to decide whether or not to attend the meeting with the Ministry.
“The technicality of we appearing before the Minister when we have been summoned before the NLC -as to whether we wouldn’t be in contempt for seeking to do that arbitration without the express permission of the Commission is something we are seeking advice from our counsel to see whether we are even supposed to proceed with going for that meeting.”
The teaching and non-teaching staff of Colleges of Education are on an industrial strike over the Government’s failure to implement their agreed 2022 conditions of service, as enumerated below:
1. Failure of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to make available to CETAG and CENTSAG a draft Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) which clearly captures what the parties mutually agreed on at the end of our negotiations for us to study before proceeding to sign off.
2. Unilateral variation of the effective date of CETAG’s 2021 Conditions of Service (CoS) by FWSC from 1st January 2022 to 1st January 2023 contrary to the Rules of Engagement for the negotiations.
3. Unilateral determination of April 2023 by the FWSC as effective date for placing First Degree Holders of CENTSAG on 17H on the SSSS, contrary to the Rules of Engagement for the negotiations.
4. Undue delay of the Ministry of Education to give approval for the payment of compensation for the all-year-round work to staff of the colleges of education.
5. Unfair retrospective deduction of office holding allowances paid to some members of CENTSAG and CETAG by the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD).
6. Deliberate variation of Fuel, Vehicle Maintenance and Off-Campus allowances of CETAG and CENTSAG members as compared to our counterparts in other analogous institutions in the face of rising cost of fuel prices in the country.
Akka Kappa, one of Ghana’s prime real estate and property management experts, has been adjudged the Best Real Estate Agency Single Office in Ghana at the International Property Awards in Dubai.
The award-winning real estate firm has a committed team of professionals with over 50 years of combined experience.
Akka Kappa distinguishes itself through its values of ethos, experience, and professionalism, establishing itself as one of the key industry leaders in the Ghanaian market.
This award is one of several recognitions Akka Kappa has garnered. They rightfully also won at the African Property Awards, Real Estate, 2022-2023, and the 5-star Award for Best Real Estate Agency Single Office, Ghana.
In her acceptance speech, Managing Director of Akka Kappa, Jolanda Castagna, emphasised the positive relationships her company has with its customers and expressed gratitude for their support over the years.
“We are so humbled and so grateful to have received this wonderful award from International Property Awards! Without the hard work of our team, we wouldn’t have been able to get to where we are. A special thanks also to our Akka Kappa Friends for their trust and support with new listings, exclusive agreements, and continuous referrals. You played a huge part in our success, and thanks to this, we will be able to bring you an even better service going forward,” she said.
Akka Kappa specialises in single-family homes, commercial spaces, and large-scale developments, assisting individuals in finding the right property in a growing real estate market like Ghana.
The company offers a wide range of services, including sales and lettings, property management, and construction consultancy. They are constantly looking for new ways to improve their service in order to delight their customers.
Their services are tailored to directly address the challenges a customer may encounter.
In the near future, the company intends to achieve recognition as one of the greatest real estate service providers not only in Ghana but throughout West Africa. In order to achieve their mission, Akka Kappa is committed to providing clients with world-class service, ensuring the happiness and motivation of their dream team, and keeping their brand competitive and proactive.
The Akka Kappa team is excited and eager to participate in the upcoming regional nomination award event scheduled for January 2023, where the best performers in the Africa and Arabia region (those who have received the 5-star awards) are recognised. It will be held in London and will crown the best real estate agency on each continent/region.
The employees of the Twitter Africa office in Ghana have initiated steps to take legal action against their employer, Elon Musk, over the imbalance in the severance pay they have been offered.
This is in comparison to other colleagues of the microblogging site in other parts of the world, like the United States, where a proper outline of severance packages have been offered to the sacked employees.
It would be recalled that at the start of November 2022, just a few days after the Twitter Africa office started physical operations from its location in Accra, all the staff of the office received termination notifications via their personal emails.
The CNN’s Larry Madowo reported that this was so because the Twitter Africa staff had been locked out of their work emails as well as from accessing their working machines.
“The company is reorganizing its operations as a result of a need to reduce costs. It is with regret that we’re writing to inform you that your employment is terminating as a result of this exercise.
“Your last day of employment will be 4th December, 2022. You will be placed on garden leave until your termination date,” the termination notices to them on November 4 read.
The earlier story also indicated that unlike other staff of Twitter in other locations of the world, the Africa staff received no indications of severances.
“At least for the African staff, that email did not even mention them by name; it just said ‘see attached.’ And even though Elon Musk said everybody who got fired would be getting at least three months severance above the law – that’s in the US, those in Africa office didn’t get a next step, or if they’re going to get any severance at all, which some lawyers in Ghana are now pointing out could be a violation of Ghanaian employment law,” Larry Madowo added.
But in an updated report by the CNN, it has said that the displeased sacked Africa staff want fairness in the severances they are being offered.
The staff have since taken a lawyer who is on the verge of suing the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, over this matter, Larry has said.
“They are asking to be treated the same way Twitter treated employees who were departing in the US and Europe; they want three months severance pay like Elon promised and other relevant benefits: stock investing, continued healthcare, and that sort of thing.
“But they feel that’s not happened; they have not been treated the same way as everyone at Twitter,” he stated.
The journalist also reported that it was only after the CNN’s first report on this subject that Twitter offered the Africa staff a severance pays.
He added that the team got personal emails that claimed to give them what they called “Ghana mutual separation agreement and it offered a certain figure. They say this email claims to have been arrived at after a negotiation with the staff but they say they have actually never negotiated with anyone at Twitter.
“In fact, they don’t even have a way to contact anyone at Twitter because their emails keep bouncing back. So, they’ve rejected that severance pay offer, they have hired a lawyer and have written a demand notice to Twitter, asking Twitter to comply with Ghanaian employment laws.”
The Africa staff of Twitter have also petitioned the Ministry of Employment in Ghana to compel Twitter to do the right thing, he added.
Here is a portion of that notice to the authorities in Ghana:
“It is clear that Twitter, under Elon Musk, is either deliberately or recklessly flouting the laws of Ghana, is operating in bad faith and in a manner that seeks to silence and intimidate former employees into accepting any terms unilaterally thrown at them.
“Without pressure from higher authorities, they are clearly not willing to provide a fair or just package in order to minimize the hardship of this takeover and resulting loss of jobs on their workforce in Africa.”
It is worth mentioning that the Twitter Africa staff includes some employees who were hired from Nigeria and other countries and they want to be paid to move back to their countries.
Fitch Solutions has projected that Ghana’s cedi will continue to depreciate until the first quarter of 2023.
According to the international research firm, inferring from previous studies of the Ghana cedi, it is likely that the cedi will continue depreciating till an IMF programme is secured.
In its latest article on Ghana published on November 14, Fitch said: “Our view is further informed by the fact that previous periods of significant exchange rate weakness in Ghana all lasted roughly 12-14 months suggesting that the cedi will continue to depreciate into the Q123 (the current sell-off started in January 2022). This keeps inflation high, weighing on living standards and eroding support for the government.”
Fitch also projected an increase in strikes and protests due to the increasing cost of living in the country.
“While we expect to see an uptick in protests against austerity measures that would likely be implemented under an IMF programme, we do not believe they will threaten the overall stability of the government. This is factored into our Short-Term Political Risk Index, in which Ghana scores 62.0 out of 100 (a higher score implies lower risk), above the Sub-Saharan African average of 50.3,” Fitch added.
Fitch Solutions also projected that in the possible event of the removal of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund will not be affected.
According to Fitch, this is because the next person tipped to be Ofori-Atta’s replacement is Mark Assibey-Yeboah who it believes “would take a more accommodative approach towards negotiations with the Fund.”
Patrons of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) market introduced by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture are calling on government to make available, a variety of foodstuffs.
According to them, plantain is not the only commodity they consume.
“Bring rice, kontomire, cocoyam, yam why have you brought only plantain without others?” they requested.
The patrons made the request when a mobile version of the PFJ market made a stop at Circle (Kwame Nkrumah Interchange), Obra Spot on Monday.
The market which has been running for nearly two weeks has offered only plantain for sale.
However, the patrons suggest that the Ministry should bring some of the foodstuffs whose prices have become unbearable at the local markets.
“We want rice and oil. Those items are expensive,” they said.
But special Advisor to the Agric Minister, George Oduro says government is working to add more food items to its basket.
According to him, other foodstuffs are available at the Agric Ministry.
“When we started, we have done plantain, yam, oil rice, kontonte and we keep on adding,” he said.
British troops are expected to arrive in Ghana after their withdrawal from Mali following the involvement of Russian mercenaries in the fight against terrorism in the country and the growing strength of jihadist groups in the area.
In view of this, British ministers are expected to arrive in Ghana to throw their support behind the Accra Initiative and reach a new security agreement which will position Ghana and by extension Burkina Faso as the new frontline against jihadist terrorism.
This was contained in a news article by the Telegraph.
The UK Minister for Armed Forces, James Heappey is expected to arrive in Accra to try and carve out a new security policy to curb the southward trajectory of the jihadists who are currently pillaging and laying siege to entire towns in neighbouring Burkina Faso.
Ghana, Togo, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire all signed up to the Accra Initiative in 2017. This a coalition which aims at stopping insecurity spilling over their borders from the Sahel.
Background from BBC
Last week, the UK’s Defence Minister James Heappey announced that it was withdrawing troops from Mali earlier than planned due to political instability in the country.
Since 2020, around 300 British soldiers had been in the country as part of a UN mission to protect the local population from Islamist extremism.
Mr Heappey said two coups in Mali in three years had “undermined” efforts.
He also attacked the current Malian government for working with the Russian mercenary group Wagner.
“The Wagner Group is linked to mass human rights abuses and the Malian government’s partnership with the Wagner Group is counterproductive to lasting stability and security in their region,” he told MPs.
The operation in Mali had been described as “the most dangerous peacekeeping mission in the world” and 288 UN soldiers have lost their lives there since 2013.
While in the region, British troops had conducted long-range reconnaissance patrols against Islamist militant groups in the area such as al-Qaeda and Islamic state.
The UK is the latest country to pull its troops from Mali, with France formally ending its decade-long presence last week.
French troops had been in Mali at the request of the then-government, however, since seizing power in 2020, Mali’s military rulers have fallen out with France and have instead turned to Russia to help in their fight against Islamist insurgents who are wreaking havoc across much of the country.
There are widespread and credible reports that Russia’s Wagner group of mercenaries has been helping Mali, although this has never been officially acknowledged by either Russia or Mali.
However, human rights groups have accused the Russians working with Mali’s army of atrocities, such as the killing of around 300 civilians in April.
Meanwhile, the Islamist insurgency, which was the soldiers’ justification for taking power has only gotten worse.
More than 4,000 people have been killed in the past year and many parts of the country are outside the control of Mali’s military junta.
The 98 MPs of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have reacted to the Finance Minister’s decision to present the 2023 budget despite their demand that he should resign or be sacked.
According to the lawmakers, they would stick to their decision to boycott the budget presentation and other Finance Ministry-related business if Ken Ofori-Atta is not sacked.
Last Friday, Mr Ofori-Atta in an interview with JoyNews confirmed that he will present the 2023 budget on Thursday, despite the request by the NPP MPs.
He further stated that he had not been officially informed about the threat of the 98 NPP MPs.
Reacting to this, the MP for Asante Akim North, who is the spokesperson for the group, said the Minister’s response to their concerns is unfortunate.
Mr. Andy Appiah-Kubi further noted that the Majority Group has lost confidence in the Minister.
He added that Mr Ofori-Atta should have resigned long ago.
“I give him the benefit of decision whether or not he has heard, but we are also resolute. So if he hasn’t heard, in the course of time, he will hear. So let’s wait for him to come to the point of hearing.
“As I continue to say, we are not probing him on legalities, we are probing him on politics and currently, we’ve lost interest in him,” he explained on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday.
Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta has described as ‘weird’ a question about whether he expects to be the one to present the 2023 budget statement later this week.
He told journalists in Parliament on November 18 that he expected to be the one to deliver the budget stressing that he had not been officially communicated about opposition to that move by lawmakers of his own party.
He had just finished giving evidence to the Parliamentary ad hoc committee probing a censure motion brought against him by the Minority Caucus, which committee is to present its report to the House today.
Asked about the work of the committee, he responded: “I guess it is democracy in play and we just seek fairness and we are confident in how the process will evolve.”
On whether or not he will deliver the budget, he said: “Yes, I expect so, that seems to be a weird question.”
“I don’t know, I haven’t heard that officially but we will see,” was his response when asked about the group of 98 New patriotic Party MPs who were opposed to him presenting the budget.
An economy in distress
The economy is facing major headwinds that have been characterized by galloping inflation, consistent depreciation of the cedi and general high cost of living and of doing business.
The government is hoping to reach a deal with the International Monetary Fund, IMF, for an economic support programme aimed at shoring up the economy and easing the burden on ordinary Ghanaians.
President Akufo-Addo and his government have come under heavy scrutiny for failing to address the current economic challenges in the country.
The prices of goods and services have been continuously rising all year round, with inflation currently at over 40 per cent.
The Ghana cedi has been ranked the worst currency in the world among 148 currencies tracked by Bloomberg, overtaking Sri Lanka’s rupee, having depreciated by nearly 50 per cent so far in 2022.
Top guns of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), were in attendance at the Sekondi High Court when the verdict of the election petition case involving Member of Parliament, Dorcas Affo-Toffey was delivered.
The case which had been ongoing for close to two years was decided when the court presided over by Justice Dr. Richmond Osei Hwere dismissed the case on grounds that the MP was eligible to contest.
The court held that she lost her Ivorian citizenship at the very time she acquired her Ghanaian citizenship, thus, there was no merit in the petition seeking to annul her election on the basis of her having dual citizenship.
GhanaWeb checks indicated that about half a dozen Members of Parliament were around to lend their support to their colleague. Among them were Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, James Agalga, Teddy Nana Yaw, Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe and Emmanuel Armah Buah.
The embattled Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson – who is also battling a citizenship case – was also in attendance.
Other party bigwigs present included Kofi Totobi Quakyi and former Attorney General Marietta Brew-Oppong.
The petition which the victorious MP described later as ‘frivolous’ and a ‘distraction’ was filed by one Joshua Emuah Kofie, who was challenging the eligibility of the MP to contest as a representative of the people in the constituency on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He submitted that she had multiple nationalities, including American and Ivorian citizenships, which is against the 1992 Constitution.
While the court determined that she did not have Ivorian citizenship at the time of filing and contesting in 2020, the MP denied having American citizenship.
The case has been in court for over 20 months since she was elected to represent the people of the Jomoro constituency.
After representing the Chinese national for five years, Captain Nkrabeah Effah Dartey (rtd), has been sacked by his client Aisha Huang, the embattled illegal smal-scale mining, galamsey, kingpin.
She has since replaced him with two new lawyers in the persons of Miracle Attachey and Hope Agboado.
This was made known by the presiding judge, Lydia Osei Marfo.
It is unclear what may have necessitated this new development.
Nkrabeah Effah Dartey, a former New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP has been legal counsel for the controversial Chinese national since 2018, representing her both at the Circuit and High Courts since Aisha Huang’s first galamsey prosecutions that were eventually discontinued by the state.
Lawyer Effah Dartey also represented Aisha Huang on the new charges bothering on illegal mining and illegal entry into the country; both of which cases are running concurrently at the Circuit and High Courts.
The lawyer has already cross-examined the 1st and 2nd prosecution witnesses and was scheduled to cross-examine the 3rd witness on Monday until the presiding judge made known to the court that new lawyers have taken over the case.
GhanaWeb has gathered that Ken Ofori-Atta, the embattled Finance Minister, will be meeting an empty Parliament when he appears on November 24, to read the 2023 budget statement.
According to sources, both majority and minority MPs are likely not to be present on the day of the budget presentation, which will make it impossible for the minister to present the budget to the House because there will be a lack of quorum as required by the Constitution.
Ken Ofori-Atta had already indicated that he was going to present the budget despite some NPP MPs and the Minority MPs wanting him out of office.
The minister after facing censure committee on Friday told an Accra-based Joy News that Ghanaians should expect him to present the budget on November 24.
When he was quizzed by journalists that will he go to Parliament to present the 2023 budget, he responded, “yeah, expect so. That seems to be a weird question.”
Ken Ofori-Atta further stated that he has not heard officially that some NPP MPs have indicated boycotting his budget presentation.
“I don’t know; I haven’t heard that officially…,” Ofori-Atta stressed.
The 98 NPP MPs insist that they will boycott the budget presentation if the minister appears before the House.
“We’ve gone back to (our demand for the President to) sack him now and therefore should the budget be presented under the stamp of the Finance Minister, we’ll not participate because as far as we’re concerned we’re never going to do business with him,”
The Asante Akim North MP further explained on JoyNews’ PM Express programme on Tuesday, November 15, 2022, that they will only participate in the budget presentation and appropriation if the President appoints someone else other than Ken Ofori-Atta to present the budget.
“We’re not saying we won’t do the President’s business. We’re saying we won’t do President’s business through Ofori-Atta. So if anybody else comes with President’s business, we’ll participate,” Appiah-Kubi said.
Andy Appiah-Kubi, Member of Parliament for Asante Akim-North is of the view that Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta should have resigned on July 1, when the government ordered talks with the International Monetary Fund, IMF, amid an economic downturn.
Of the two major reasons the MP who is the leader of a group of 98 New Patriotic Party MPs seeking the immediate resignation of the Minister; cited Ofori-Atta’s dogged anti-IMF stance and the lack of credibility to lead the IMF talks due to his public pronouncements.
“Indeed, for me, I would have thought that the very day president said we were going to the IMF, that should have been the day he would have resigned…because he had promised that we will never have to get there.”
He said the resignation would also have signalled that the minister was being honest to himself and Ghanaians, “…because where is your credibility in going for the programme and leading it? You had spoken against it and you said it to Ghanaians and the whole world and the IMF heard you.
“What would the IMF think of you and of our whole programme? So, you should have left the scene for someone else to carry the mantle,” he said in an interview on Joy FM, November 21, 2022.
Ofori-Atta is currently the subject of a censure vote brought against him by the Minority Caucus in addition to the 98 NPP lawmakers also demanding his immediate sack.
An eight-member ad hoc committee that probed the seven grounds for censure struck out two of the grounds and is set to present its report to the plenary today.
An economy in distress
The economy is facing major headwinds that have been characterized by galloping inflation, consistent depreciation of the cedi and general high cost of living and of doing business.
The government is hoping to reach a deal with the International Monetary Fund, IMF, for an economic support programme aimed at shoring up the economy and easing the burden on ordinary Ghanaians.
President Akufo-Addo and his government have come under heavy scrutiny for failing to address the current economic challenges in the country.
The prices of goods and services have been continuously rising all year round, with inflation currently at over 40 per cent.
The Ghana cedi has been ranked the worst currency in the world among 148 currencies tracked by Bloomberg, overtaking Sri Lanka’s rupee, having depreciated by nearly 50 per cent so far in 2022.
With the withdrawal of some 300 British peacekeepers from Mali in the wake of frosty relations with Bamako over the involvement of Russian mercenaries in the fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel, some special forces are expected to arrive in Ghana.
In a report by UK-based ‘The Telegraph’ and sighted by GhanaWeb, British ministers are also expected to be in Accra to hammer out a new security agreement which will position Ghana and by extension Burkina Faso as the new frontline against terrorism.
It is unclear if the move is a face-saving operation in the wake of the mission in Mali being shut down or something more significant as British forces already train troops in Ghana.
Ghana, Togo, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire all signed up for the Accra Initiative in 2017. This is a coalition which aims at stopping insecurity spilling over their borders from the Sahel.
It was reported on Monday, November 14, that the UK will be withdrawing all of its troops from Mali, which until only a few months ago, Whitehall officials were describing as “the new frontline of the war on terror”.
Former Africa Minister Rory Stewart, who championed the so-called “pivot to the Sahel” under Prime Minister Theresa May, was scathing about the real purpose of the Ghana trip, suggesting it was no more than a face-saving operation.
“We struggled to maintain 300 troops in Mali, partly because it cost perhaps as much as a hundred million pounds from tightly stretched budgets,” he told The Telegraph. “I fear that the ‘pivot to Ghana and Burkina Faso’ is largely a way of excusing our retreat from the Sahel and will ultimately add up to less than people pretend.”
“We have been worrying about Burkina Faso for some time. But without an embassy there or any significant investment, there is a real limit to what the UK can do,” Stewart added.
