Media personality, A Plus, has warned that the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government must brace up for a massive protest.
He adds that the protest will incidentally come from within the governing New Patriotic Party‘s youth wing.
In a November 16, 2022 post describing why and how the protest will come about, the political activist cum musician said the demand of the youth will be for the removal of the president from office.
“The next big demonstration against Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will be by the NPP youth. They will hit the street to demand his removal or early congress,” his post noted.
It continued: “That is when Gabby will remember a conversation we had in London some time ago. Apparently, Kwame A Plus is not the only traitor in the party. The fruits of the spirit include long suffering. Kwame A Plus the vindicated soul.
“Now all those who insulted me will be the president’s worst critics. I feeeel gooood, tanananananana. I knew that I would…God is good, God is good, god is good,” the post concluded.
The government has been hit in the last few months by a number of protests over the economy and its mis/management.
The most recent was the ‘Kume Preko Reloaded’ which was led by lawyer Martin Kpebu along with a number of anti-government groups. They marched through the streets of Accra demanding Akufo-Addo resign over the economic hardships Ghanaians are facing.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) for October 2022 rose to 65.2% up from the 45.9% recorded in September.
The report from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) indicates that between October 2021 and October 2022, year-on-year, the PPI increased by 65.1%, representing a 19.3 percentage points increase in producer inflation relative to the rate recorded in September 2022: 45.9%.
The month-on-month change in the PPI between September and October 2022 was 15.4%.
“Mining and quarrying (86.4%), manufacturing (73.1%), transport and storage (71.4%) recorded the highest rates, while information and communication activity recorded the lowest rate of 1.4% in October 2022,” the GSS report released on Wednesday, November 16, 2022 said.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures the average change over time in the prices received by domestic producers for the production of their goods and services.
The Interbank forex rates from the Bank of Ghana today, November 17, 2022, have shown that the Ghana Cedi is trading against the dollar at a buying price of 13.0872 and a selling price of 13.1022.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0742 and a selling price of 13.0872. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 14.35 and sold at a rate of 14.95.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 15.5617 and a selling price of 15.5799 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 15.5334 and a selling price of 15.5503.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 16.40 and sold at a rate of 17.00.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 13.5969 and a selling price of 13.6105 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.5497 and a selling price of 13.5623.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 14.30 and sold at a rate of 14.90.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7573 and a selling price of 0.7577 compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 0.7557 and a selling price of 0.7559.
At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.65 and sold at a rate of 1.10.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 33.8271 and a selling price of 33.8806 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 33.9717 and a selling price of 33.9722.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 17.00 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 21.00.
For the CFA, it is trading at a buying price of 48.1949 and a selling price of 48.9062. At a forex bureau in Accra, CFA is being bought at a rate of 19.70 CFA for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 23.50 CFA for every 1 Cedi.
One of the hottest songs on the planet now is ‘Cough (Odo)’ by Nigerian singer Kizz Daniel.
The singer has finally revealed why he chose a Ghanaian word for the title of his song.
He explained to Lexis Bill on Drivetime on Joy that his choice for a Twi word ‘Odo’ which translates to ‘love’, stems from the realization of how much Ghanaian fans were endeared to his preceding single, ‘Buga’.
“Buga stayed at number 1 in Ghana the longest, out of all the African countries. So I was like ‘big love to Ghana’, Kizz Daniel disclosed. The song, which currently has 91 million views on YouTube, enjoyed massive airplay in Ghana and was streamed by millions of Ghanaians.
Kizz Daniel, who is billed to perform at the 2022 Qatar World Cup this month, will later be in Ghana for his ‘Kizz Daniel Live in Ghana’ concert at the Untamed Empire Event Garden in Accra. The event is scheduled for December 23, 2022, powered by Joy Entertainment and has already proven to be one of the most-anticipated concerts for the ‘December in GH’ line-up.
According to Kizz Daniel, he hasn’t “been to Ghana in a while, it’s been like 5 years”, and he “can’t wait to come back home”.
He stated, “I am really excited, Ghana it’s been a while, I miss you, and I want to come back home. I need you to accept me. I promise you, it’s going to be an epic experience”.
Organizers of the event, Play Network Africa and Pepperdem Worldwide Entertainment have announced that Ghanaian acts, Kidi, Gyakie, Camidoh and Herman Suede will also perform live at the ‘Kizz Daniel Live in Ghana’ concert, come December 23.
“My brothers out there are coming to support me as well, so I can’t wait to see you guys. Let’s make it a memorable day for myself and for you guys”, Kizz Daniel told host Lexis Bill on Wednesday, November 16.
Music fans in Ghana and beyond can access tickets by visiting eventbrite.com.
Other contending nominees in the category include Arooj Aftab and Anoushka Shankar, Matt B and Eddy Kenzo, Burna Boy, Wouter Kellerman, Zakes Bantwini and Nomcebo Zikod
Rocky Dawuni announcing his nomination on his official social media handles appreciated his recognition.
“I am truly honoured to be nominated for another #Grammy award for my song “Never Bow Down” feat. @blvkh3ro,” he said.
He also acknowledged how huge the honour was, with “Africa and the Caribbean coming together on this global roots anthem.”
He added “Thank you to everyone who was part of this project, and congrats to my fellow nominees. This is a song of the times to inspire all of us to #nevabowdown. Ghana to the world! Africa to the universe.”
Rocky Dawuni in 2015 became the first Ghanaian to be nominated for a Grammy award. His sixth studio album, ‘Branches of The Same Tree’ qualified him for the Best Reggae Album category.
This was followed by another nomination last year with his ‘Voice of Bunbon Vol. 1’ album, also in the Best Global Music Album category.
I am truly honored to be nominated for another #Grammy award for my song “Never Bow Down” feat. @BLVKH3RO This is huge for Africa and the Carribean coming together on this global roots anthem! Thank you to everyone who was part of this and congrats to my fellow nominees. pic.twitter.com/FcsdMy6zYV
Former United Nations Senior Governance Advisor, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, says he is hoping that in the coming days, the Finance Minister would quietly resign from his position or the President would terminate his appointment.
According to him, their refusal to do so could possibly lead the country into a constitutional crisis which could further exacerbate the economic crisis the country is going through.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, is currently facing a vote of censure motion filed against him by the Minority side in Parliament over accusations of corruption and gross incompetence.
The Speaker of Parliament has constituted an eight member committee to probe the accusations leveled against the Minister and provide a detailed report within seven days.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, Prof. Agyeman-Duah noted that should the ongoing stalemate happening in Ghana’s Parliament over the vote of censure continue, it may negatively affect the country’s financial relations with the outside world.
“Well my hope is that we will not get there. What I expect to happen in the coming days or weeks is perhaps the Finance Minister taking himself out of this dilemma, or the President just announcing that he’s displacing the Finance Minister because it will just be tragic for these two individuals to lead the country into such a constitutional jam. We don’t want that.
“We all know the difficulties we face, and in fact what we’re not even thinking about is the very negative impact of this crisis, or this stalemate I should say on our international partners and our financial relations with the outside world. Somewhere else our market would have plummeted further.
“So in fact we are doing ourselves a lot of ill if in fact the President and the Finance Minister continue to be intransigent on this matter and not to appropriately respond to the ground swell of public demand for the displacement of the Finance Minister,” he said.
Prof. Agyeman-Duah who has described the formation of the eight member committee as a face-saving measure by the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, to pacify both factions of the House, says the entire hearing process is unnecessary.
According to him, no matter the path taken, it will still end with the Finance Minister getting censured.
“I think we’ve come to a point where this matter should be resolved. It’s not necessary to go through this whole process. And I do agree with Amoako Baah and the others that look, this matter should have been settled right on the floor of Parliament. All this process of committee and… I don’t think it’s necessary. We are prolonging something that is inevitable,” he said.
Ace broadcaster Elizabeth Ohene has submitted that investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas has some serious questions to answer.
She said this has become necessary due to some grey areas and questions arising out of the ‘Galamsey Economy‘ video he aired at the Accra International Conference Center earlier this week.
According to the former Information Minister, the name ‘Galamsey’ suggested illegal mining activities was the subject of the video but that was not the case.
She also questioned why the main corruption video was recorded in February 2018 but released in November 2022, more than 4 years later.
“I was looking for the definitive exposé that will stop the speculation and leave the authorities with no choice but to move decisively on the problem. It turns out I was wrong and the person that was in the crosshairs of the Anas treatment this time was Charles Adu Boahen, Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance.
“It is not clear if our intrepid underground investigator was playing on the nickname, GALANSEY, that Mr Adu Boahen has been known and called by his mates since his childhood days,” she said.
“I believe Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his team owe us some explanations.
“If, as it turns out, this incident with Charles Adu Boahen was filmed back in 2018, why have they kept it under wraps all this while and why have they chosen this time, November 2022, almost five years later, to release it?
“If, in their judgement, they saw what transpired in that hotel room in the United Arab Emirates as so reprehensible, why have they kept it for almost five years?
“They have looked on while Charles Adu Boahen served a full term as Deputy Minister of Finance in the first Akufo-Addo government.
“They looked on while Charles Adu Boahen was nominated by the re-elected President Akufo-Addo as a Minister of State and vetted by Parliament and sworn into office.
“They have looked on as Charles Adu Boahen has performed his duties as Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance.
“In the intervening four plus years, one must wonder what they were doing with their film and what relationship, if any, they had with the Minister of State,” she added.
Read Elizabeth Ohene reaction to Galamsey Economy
I have not seen the latest Anas video, dubbed Galamsey Economy. I am following the stories surrounding the video and I acknowledge that many of us had been sent off track when the first announcement of the approach of the video was made.
I did, like many other people, think that this was going to be a documentary on illegal mining and the devastation being wrought on our lands and water bodies.
Yes, I was holding my breath to find out the big names that were behind the galamsey phenomenon, the names that people hint at, but do not ever disclose.
A number of queasy things emerge from the accounts of this video, not sure if it qualifies as a documentary, but that is another story.
I believe Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his team owe us some explanations.
If, as it turns out, this incident with Charles Adu Boahen was filmed back in 2018, why have they kept it under wraps all this while and why have they chosen this time, November 2022, almost five years later, to release it?
If, in their judgement, they saw what transpired in that hotel room in the United Arab Emirates as so reprehensible, why have they kept it for almost five years?
They have looked on while Charles Adu Boahen served a full term as Deputy Minister of Finance in the first Akufo-Addo government.
They looked on while Charles Adu Boahen was nominated by the re-elected President Akufo-Addo as a Minister of State and vetted by Parliament and sworn into office.
They have looked on as Charles Adu Boahen has performed his duties as Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance.
In the intervening four plus years, one must wonder what they were doing with their film and what relationship, if any, they had with the Minister of State.
Hello, Mr Adu Boahen, good morning, just calling to check up on you and to make sure you remember your encounter with the Sheikhs in the hotel room.
Hello, Mr Adu Boahen, good evening, we saw a picture of you today with a high-powered delegation from some foreign country talking high finance and we just remembered your encounter with the Sheikhs in the hotel room in the Emirates.
Hello Mr Adu Boahen, good afternoon, we do hope you are having a good day, you are on the radio speaking about the government’s plans for the next five years and we thought you might want to remember your encounter with the Sheikhs in the hotel room.
Hello Mr Adu Boahen, long time, we are doing a clear-out of the closets in our offices and we came across some old canned films and we were wondering if you still remembered your encounter with the Sheikhs in the hotel room so long ago.
Nobody is ever likely to emerge smelling roses when associated with dollars in black plastic bags and once there is a scene captured on camera of the then deputy minister stuffing monies into a plastic bag, it was fair to conclude his fate was sealed.
In spite of the fact that he said in the course of his unnecessary premature counting of dividends that he believes in working for his money, that stuffed plastic bag paints a picture of greed.
It is not disclosed in the video how much there was of the dollars given to him as shopping money and he must have cursed himself a thousand times since that day he didn’t turn down the offer.
Surely, he didn’t need that money and he could have done without whatever shopping he did that day, but I suppose we can all think of some things we would have done differently and we are just lucky our moments were not captured by hidden cameras.
Some have made the point that it would have been culturally unacceptable to turn down “shopping money” offered by millionaire Sheikhs in the Emirates. Maybe we should all not be so concerned about upsetting the cultural sensibilities of unknown rich people.
As far as the parts in the video in which the Vice-President was the subject are concerned, I am going to stick to the then Deputy Finance Minister saying: the Vice-President is not really like that. I am also mindful of the fact that we were taught to resist what lawyers call leading questions when conducting interviews.
Tiger Eye says this was a documentary aimed at exposing those making Ghana unattractive for investors and cut deals at the expense of the state.
If indeed, they had managed to “penetrate the modus operandi” of these people and had then kept silent for almost five years, they must be almost guilty of collusion. We need some answers.
Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe, a founding member of the New Patriotic Party, has wondered why President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is hesitant to dismiss Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, despite calls from NPP lawmakers.
According to him, this can be interpreted to mean that, the finance minister is sitting on some rot the president trusts that he is the only one who can fully protect.
He noted that a new minister might expose what the president and the finance minister are hiding from Ghanaians.
Speaking on Accra-based Joy FM, the former soldier added his voice to the numerous calls for the dismissal of the minister.
He said, after the minister had bragged that Ghana is a sovereign nation and it is capable of managing its own affairs and does not need any external help, he would have resigned the very day Ghana decided to seek support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“So you ask yourself, why is he still there? When a person is in position and the populace says ‘we’ve had enough of you, go away’ and still he wants to be there, the simple thing that should come to the mind of any ordinary Ghanaian is that he is sitting on the rot. When he’s not there, we’ll see how massive that rot is,” Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe explained.
When asked who Ofori-Atta is covering up for, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe said, “Who is the appointing authority of this country? And has the President approved of his removal?
“The President should have asked him to go away. Here we have a situation where even an ordinary person in the streets says, ‘Ofori Atta must leave’.”
The national daily minimum wage has been increased from GH¢13.53 in 2022 to GH¢14.88 pesewas for the year 2023, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffuor Awuah has announced.
Organized Labour, the Ghana Employers Association and government have been meeting on the determination of the national daily minimum wage for 2023 since Monday November 14.
This afternoon, the Minister said at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday November 16 that, the national tripartite committee concluded the negotiations and “we think this is the best time to communicate to Ghanaians on the outcome of the negotiations.”
The committee, he said, took into account the current economic challenges, cost of living, sustainability of businesses and desirability of attaining higher levels of employment.
“The committee concluded on the need to increase the national daily minimum wage by 10 per cent over the 2022 national daily minimum wage which translates into new national daily minimum wage of GH¢14.88 pesewas and a cost of living allowance of 15 per cent over the 2023 national daily minimum wage.
“The effective date for the implementation of the 2023 national daily minimum wage shall be 1st January 2023.
“All establishments, institutions, organizations whose daily minimum wages are below the new rate should adjust accordingly effective 1st January 2023,” he said.
Kwame Sefa Kayi, the host of Peace FM’s Kokrokoo’s program could not believe the allegation by his colleague, Dan Kwaku Yeboah that the government spends $1million on every Black Stars game.
Dan Kwaku Yeboah claimed during a panel discussion on Ghana’s squad for the 2022 World Cup that the Ministry of Youth and Sports has confirmed that every Black Stars game costs Ghanaians a million dollars.
Kwaku Yeboah was bemoaning what he views to be the profligacy and mismanagement of funds on the Black Stars.
He noted worryingly that the wastefulness is to be blamed for the failure of the country to channel funds from the World Cup into major projects.
“We’ve been told by the ministry that we spend $1million on every Black Stars game. The ministry says we spend $1million on every Black Stars game,” he said.
A gobsmacked Sefa Kayi retorted in disbelief “a million dollars a game? Do you know what a million dollars is? I don’t want to believe it. It has shocked me.”.
On the same show, Dan Kwaku Yeboah lamented the inclusion of Reading defender Baba Rahman in the Black Stars.
He asserted that the left-back is in the squad due to his association with GFA boss, Kurk Okraku, and not because he merits a call-up.
Coach Otto Addo on Monday, November 14, 2022 announced a 26-man squad for the tournament which will be held in Qatar.
The team had some new faces as well as some old faces led by skipper Andre Dede, his deputy Thomas Partey and his brother, Jordan Ayew.
Ghana will begin the tournament on November 24 against Portugal before taking on Uruguay and South Korea in Group H.
The family of a woman in her 40s reported to have been arrested for wishing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo dead in a viral video has confirmed the arrest.
A family member who spoke to GhanaWeb said that her relative is currently being held by the police at the headquarters of the Ghana Police Service.
The relative indicated that the name of the woman who has been arrested is Salamatu Mohammed, a mother of four who stays at Nyamekye Ward in the Ablekuma North Constituency.
She added that the police have not given them any reason as to why they arrested Salamatu and have also not told her family of the crime she is accused of.
“We are waiting on our lawyer. We have not heard anything from them (the police),” she said.
GhanaWeb’s earlier report indicated that Salamatu Mohammed was arrested for wishing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo dead in a viral video.
In the said viral video, which was sighted by GhanaWeb, the woman, who was berating the president for the current economic conditions in the country, questioned why witches and ritualists from the northern parts of Ghana have not killed the president yet.
“Akufo-Addo we are begging you in the name of God, we cannot even afford pots to cook our food. Do you want us to use your head to cook?
“Now the price of an aluminium cooking pot has increased from 6 million (GH¢ 600) to 12 million (GH¢1200). Why?
“God will punish you. The witches in Ghana and the ritualist from the north can’t you kill this man… I have four children; do you know the feeding fees I pay? Do you know the feeding fee, I am going to pay today… Idiot,” she said in Twi.
The third prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Chinese national, Aisha Huang, has stated that the illegal activities of the accused person badly affected his business.
Nana Kofi Sarfo Prempeh during a sitting at the Accra High Court on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, gave his evidence in chief in a statement which detailed the impact Aisha Huang’s illegal activities have had on his minerals prospecting business.
Nana Prempeh who is the Managing Director of Volta Resources Company Limited said his company in 2013 legally acquired a concession land from Realistic Company Limited for mineral prospecting.
The witness tendered into evidence documents, letters of correspondence and receipts detailing the transaction between his company and Realistic Company Limited as well as approval and permission from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Lands Commission.
The witness said he came to know the accused person through her illegal mining activities which encroached his company’s prospecting concession covering a land mass of 70.82 square kilometers and stretching through communities such as Komamyem, Kromkrom, Bepotenteng, and Nimbreso in the Ashanti Region.
Nana Prempeh said the prospecting activities of his company were rendered ineffective because of the illegal mining activities of the accused person.
He added that various attempts by his company to evict the accused person from the land proved futile.
According to the witness who is also a divisional chief of the Asante Akyem Agogo Traditional Council said his company among other efforts reported the issue to the Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) as well as the traditional leadership of the Bekwai Traditional Area.
The witness tendered evidence proof of a letter dated June 3, 2015, and addressed to the REGSEC complaining about the illegal activities of the accused person on his Nimbreso Concession.
Volta Resources according to the witness also filed a court suit on February 11, 2017, at the Bekwai Circuit Court for which the court in April 2017 granted an ex parte injunction against the accused.
The witness also tendered into evidence news publications about the illegal activities of the accused person as well as a letter written to the Inspector General of Police on June 8, 2017, complaining about the failure of some arresting officers to seize equipment used by employees of the accused when they were arrested on in 2017.
“In conclusion, I wish to state that the activities of the accused have caused tremendous damage to Volta Resources,” the witness told the court.
Aisha Huang is facing charges for engaging in mining and the sale of minerals without a license.
She was recently arrested in Ghana following her repatriation in 2018.
Aisha Huang, who is said to have been engaged in illegal mining upon her return to the country, according to the prosecution entered the country using forged documents and identity.
Hearing of the case is scheduled to continue on Monday, November 21, 2022, with the defence counsel expected to cross-examine the prosecution’s third witness.
Ghanaian politician, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Samuel Aryeequaye has told African leaders to make youth empowerment their focus instead of giving them ‘peanuts’ for votes.
Speaking at this year’s edition of the Africa Humanitarian Actions Conference which took place in Abuja, Nigeria over the weekend, the Best Diplomat United Nation Simulation’s representative to Ghana said, the only way to see Africa get better is by having leaders who pay more attention to youth empowerment.
Research has shown that among all the continents on the globe, Africa has majority of its population being youth — more than 60% of its population is under the age of 30 — and many of them are desperate and have no or little hope.
According to him, most African leaders instead of educating the youth and creating jobs for them to be independent, rather hoard monies and share to electorates which he believes is a bad practice.
The central regional chairman of the Liberal Party of Ghana and 2020 parliamentary candidate for Agona East mentioned that, there is a higher rate of unemployment in Africa because majority of African Leaders hardly empower the youth, create enabling environment for them to create jobs for themselves and others.
According to him, as a politician and philanthropist, one of his major priorities is to see the African youth get better and by so doing, while other politicians are sharing money for votes, he chooses to give young people in his constituency vocational training — a great way of reducing the ‘galloping’ rate of unemployment.
He cited in his speech at the said conference that, in the constituency where he lost an election, he organized a skills training session for over two thousand young people of which majority of them are making a living out it.
Revealing one of his happiest moments in life, he gave an account on how some of the young people he trained walked up to him to say thank you and how the training is contributing to the betterment of their lives.
Samuel Aryeequaye is the brain behind ‘Saye Foundation’ — an Advocacy for change and growth.
The Director of St. Patrick D’Pious, Patrick Agblehor, has appealed to the government to relook at the current policy of reserving 30% of slots in ‘Category A’ Senior High Schools for only students from public Junior High Schools.
According to him, the policy has been negatively affecting enrollment in private Junior High Schools since its introduction.
“The governmental policy of giving attention to children from public schools is affecting us.” The parents now know; therefore when their children get to form one or two, they withdraw them from the private schools to the public ones so the government may think it is the public schools that are doing well but at the end of it, it is the private school students who go there to make the grades,” he explained
The appeal came during the 25th anniversary celebration of St. Patrick D’Pious Academy in Ashaiman.
The Free SHS Secretariat announced that the Free SHS policy, which aims to achieve equity, will reserve 30% of placement in Category A’ Senior High Schools for only students from public basic schools who did well during the BECE.
But the private schools have objected to the move. “If the child in a private school scores an aggregate 8 for example and a child in public school scores an aggregate 14, preference is given to the child with an aggregate 14 from the public school, and that is affecting our enrollment here,” said, Mr. Agblehor.
Meanwhile, private school teachers have attributed the proliferation of telenovelas in the Ghanaian media and the lack of parental control to poor academic performances among a majority of the pupils.
According to Patrick Agblehor, the proprietor of the St. Patrick D’Pious Academy in Ashaiman, the rapid growth of telenovelas is distracting pupils from taking their studies seriously.
On the sidelines of the school’s 25th anniversary celebration, Mr Agblehor revealed that their analysis of students’ performance shows that those who watch these contents on a regular basis perform worse.
“Nowadays, children always watch telenovelas, and when you give them homework, they don’t pay attention to do them. And for those parents who are not controlling their children, we found that it is affecting their performances in class as compared to those whose parents supervise their homework. We make follow-ups in their homes to find out why a child who has been performing well is declining all of a sudden, and we found out they’re exposed to telenovelas due to ineffective parental control,” he disclosed.
In addition to the time spent viewing telenovelas, the school proprietor stated that these children are exposed to immorality as the majority of them feature explicit content and romance. Mr Patrick Agblehor went on to say that it is completely inappropriate for parents to enjoy watching these contents with their children as opposed to watching them while their children read their books.
“We have to go back to our olden times. It looks like parents nowadays are too permissive as we permit our children to do whatever they like; let us control them, ” he emphasised.
Other teachers from different schools who graced the 25th Anniversary Celebration of St. Patrick D’Pious Academy corroborated his point, saying it is a general problem that needs to be addressed with urgency.
They have therefore called on parents and other stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service, the Ministry of Communication, and the National Communication Authority, to pay proper attention to the rise of telenovelas as they pose a significant threat to the quality of education.
In a related development, the grand durbar for the 25th Anniversary Celebration took place on November 12, 2022, under the theme; “celebrating 25 years of excellence.” It was graced by dignitaries from the education directorate in the Ashaiman and Kpone Katamanso Municipalities, the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) and representation from traditional authorities.
The chairman of the occasion, Patrick Adjison, Assistant Headmaster, Administration of Sege Senior High School, urged all stakeholders to take a keen interest in providing quality education for children to “future-proof” them against any shock in the future, be it socio-economic or socio-political.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has advised the general public against making non-important travels to Abuja in Nigeria.
In a statement dated November 16, the Ministry explained that this is “due to the unpredictable security situation in the city, and the high danger of terrorism, criminality, inter-communal conflict, armed attacks and kidnappings” happening.
The Ministry also warned about the subsequent directive by local authorities to hotels operating in residential buildings to shut down.
Meanwhile, the Ministry has noted that it will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates to the public when the situation improves.
A local chief in Nigeria has been shot dead by suspected separatists in his palace in the Oguta council area of Imo State.
Ignatius Asor and two of his aides were killed on Monday, November 14.
According to spokesperson for police in Imo, Michael Abattam, the attackers are members of the leading pro-Biafra group.
Reports have it that the gunmen arrived at the local palace in Imo’s Obudi Agwa village, where they were received by the chief after disguising themselves as “persons in distress” and who had come to report an emergency situation to him.”
However, Emma Powerful, a spokesperson for IPOB, has denied the group’s involvement in the attack. They accused the police and government of trying to “implicate them in every criminality going on in our territory.”
The Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has told world leaders that the aim of Africa is to develop without being caught up in a place of pollution.
He said that the need for the developed world, including Europe, to transition in the area of energy, should be done hand in hand with Africa and not in a way that gives the continent the impression that it is not invited.
Making a spirited contribution as a guest during a forum held on the sidelines of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt, the minister urged the world’s leaders to be equally interested in Africa’s transition.
“Africa doesn’t want to pollute to develop. We want to have clean, sustainable, reliable, affordable energy to develop but someway somehow, somebody must pay for it. If you want Africans to pay for it, it will take a longer time so don’t tell me that when I say I’ll transit in 2070, you say it’s not ambitious. It is very ambitious in Ghana if I have to find 562 billion to do my transitional plan,” he said.
Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh explained further that Africa needs support to go through the right channels in doing this right alongside the rest of the world.
“So, for those who are talking, and we all know for the poor person who is hungry, he doesn’t care about where the food is coming from; he has to feed the family. So, if you want the food to come from a place, then provide him the access, the ability to be able to cultivate and do the needful.
“So, all Africa is saying is that this transition, we all want to participate. It must be just, it must be fair, it must be equitable and not at the expense of Africa,” he stated.
The minister also stated that there is the need for the world leaders to know that energy is a must for all.
He said that while he calls for support for Africa, should it not come, the continent will develop nonetheless but not through the right channels.
“Energy is not a luxury; it’s a fundamental right and so governments must work to ensure that the whole population has access to energy, to develop socio-economically… when a person doesn’t have energy, how does the person become productive?… the world should understand that if they don’t support Africa through grants, leverage funds, concessional funding, and also taking the hard work out, Africa will develop anyway, and they might develop through the bad way,” he said.
Founder and leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Akwasi Addae, widely known as Odike, claims the Electoral Commission (EC) is being used as a tool against him.
According to him, the arbiter for all political parties has now turned into a tool for President Akufo-Addo to do as he pleases.
Reacting to the cancellation of his party’s certificate by the EC during an interview with Happy98.9FM’s ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ political talk show, he said, “Jean Mensa was brought in to destroy me by Akufo-Addo. As a party, all our documentations are intact. We have our head office around the Top Radio area and have offices in every region in the country. The UPP had its certificate cancelled because of me and not because we didn’t meet requirements.”
Odike claims he saw this coming as far back as the 2020 elections when Wontumi told him he will be unable to contest in the general elections.
The politician at the initial stages of the election went through all checks and was successfully okayed for the elections. He was even congratulated by the EC Chair, Jean Mensa only to hear in the news he had been disqualified 2 weeks after.
Decrying the unfair treatment meted out to him and his party by the EC, he called on Ghanaians to gather courage and support parties and individuals who speak against the government and its ills.
The Electoral Commission has struck out the names of some 17 political parties from Ghana’s political parties register.
Between May and June 2022, the EC embarked on a nationwide exercise to inspect the offices of all registered political parties in Ghana.
But after the exercise, the EC invoked Section 15 (3) (c) of the Political Parties Act of 2000, Act 574, which mandates it to cancel the registration of Political Parties which do not have offices at the National and Regional levels.
The affected political parties are; the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), United Front Party (UFP), United Development System (UDSP), Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere, Yes People’s Party (YPP), United Ghana Movement (UGM), Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), New Vision Party (NVP), Ghana Democratic Republican Party (GDRP), Ghana National Party (GNP), Power Unity Party (PUP), United Progressive Party (UPP), Reform Patriotic Democrats (RPD), People’s Action Party (PAP), United Renaissance Party (URP), National Reform Party (NRP), United Love Party (ULP).
A woman in her 40s has reportedly been arrested for wishing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo dead in a viral video.
A source close to GhanaWeb indicated that the woman, who is from the Ablekuma North Constituency in Accra, is currently being held at the Headquarters of the Ghana Police Service.
In the said viral video, which was sighted by GhanaWeb, the woman, who was berating the president for the current economic conditions in the country, questioned why witches and ritualists from the northern parts of Ghana have not killed the president yet.
“Akufo-Addo, we are begging you in the name of God; we cannot even afford pots to cook our food. Do you want us to use your head to cook?
“Now the price of an aluminium cooking pot has increased from 6 million (GHC 600) to 12 million (GHC 1200). Why?
“God will punish you. Can’t you kill this man, Ghanaian witches and northern ritualists?I have four children; do you know the feeding fees I pay? Do you know the feeding fee, I am going to pay today… Idiot,” she said in Twi.
A leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Richard Amoako Baah has said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo deserves to be sacked not the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
According to him, Mr Ofori-Atta cannot be faulted for running the economy down because it is the president who looked on for the economy to take a nose dive.
The former political science lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) made the call for the president to be sacked while speaking in an interview with the sit-in host of the Ghana Yensom morning show, Nana Otu Darko, on Accra 100.5 FM on Wednesday, November 16, 2022.
He said the president cannot be exonerated from the gross mismanagement of the economy by the finance minister.
He alleged the president and his finance minister benefit from the huge borrowings in the name of bonds.
He said all the finance minister did, he did in the name of the president and with the approval of the president.
“The president cannot turn around to tell Ghanaians he did not see what the finance minister was doing with the management of the economy,” he stressed.
He further alleged that when the president met with the Majority of NPP Members of Parliament pushing for the removal of the finance minister, he threatened to ensure they all lose their primary if they did not back down on their call.
He said: “The president [asked] them where they were when the finance minister was using his Databank to finance his campaigns.”
For these reasons, he said the President deserves to be fired.
The chairman of the Competitive African Rice Platform, Yaw Adu Opoku, pushed back against concerns that profiteering from some traders and producers is driving food inflation.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr. Opoku noted that he was not making excessive profits from his investments in the rice value chain.
“I invest not less than GH¢6,000 on a ton, from farm gate to the retail levels. My margin is not GH¢200. So check. What is the percentage? So if someone talks about profiteering, I beg to differ.”
“It is passion, not profiteering. That is what is driving us, not profiteering. We are not making money out of this,” Mr. Opoku added.
Food inflation is currently at 43.7 percent and traders have been accused of profiteering amid Ghana’s economic crisis.
Ghana was earlier ranked 1st by the World Bank for having the highest food prices in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022.
According to the World Bank’s October 2022, Africa Pulse Report, food prices have gone up by 22 percent since January.
On some of his costs, he said last year, he was paying GHS 14,000 to transport 100 tons of rice from Tamale to Tema.
This has gone up to GHS60,000 to transport the same amount of rice from Tamale to Tema.
At the farm gate, he also said he last week, was paying GHS3,200 for a ton of paddy but this week, he is paying GHS4,800 from the same farm.
Despite this, Mr. Opoku said his rice has been selling for GHS750 for 50 kg, up from GHS500 last week.
He believes the current economic situation is bleak and “we are caught in a vice, all of us.”
“Fuel has jumped up. When the pump price goes down, the transporter will not go down. And the dollar has also gone up so when these two things class, we the ones who deal in them suffer.”
A Security and Foreign Policy Analyst, Adib Saani has said he has no confidence in the Office of the Special Prosecutor to do a good job in the investigation of corruption levelled against Charles Adu Boahen, the sacked Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance.
The Special Prosecutor on Tuesday announced that he had started a probe into allegations of corruption levelled against the former Minister.
This comes after the Secretary to the President, upon the directions of the President, referred to the Office of the Special Prosecutor for further investigations, allegations contained in an investigative exposé published by Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ Tiger Eye P.I. titled “Galamsey Economy”.
Charles Adu Boahen, Minister of State in charge of Finance at the Office of the President, captured in an undercover documentary, revealed to Tiger Eye that the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, needs just USD200,000 token as an appearance fee and some positions by an investor for the Vice President’s siblings to get his backing and influence in establishing a business in Ghana.
This revelation was made in a meeting with Tiger Eye investigators, who in an undercover investigation, posed as businessmen, in a hotel room in the United Arab Emirates. This was an investigation into top-level corruption that undermines investor confidence in Ghana.
But commenting further in an interview on Ghana Kasa show on Kasapa 102.5FM/Agoo TV, Adib Saani stated that the public should not expect anything progressive from the Office of the Special Prosecutor as it has not done much in the past to prove its efficiency.
“I have absolutely no trust in the Office of the Special Prosecutor. The number of cases that, that office is investigating and the way some of the matters have been treated leaves much to be desired. For instance, the Labianca case. You see, the Special Prosecutor’s Office is a political office and the same people who appointed the Special Prosecutor are the very people he will be investigating.
“So, you don’t expect anything progressive to come out of that Office’s investigations. Who has the Special Prosecutor’s Office successfully prosecuted? So, as for that office, to be honest, it’s not worth saying so much about it or attaching much seriousness to it,” Mr. Saani stated.
A member of the Alan for President 2024 campaign team, Hopeson Adorye, has indicated that the Trade and Industry Minister; Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, will heed the calls to resign to pursue his ambitions of leading the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the 2024 general elections only if the economy stabilises.
According to him, Mr Kyerematen has a role to play in ensuring Ghana’s economy is brought back on track.
He said Mr Kyerematen cannot afford to put his ambition ahead of the overall interest of the party going into the next elections.
He said the party, and for that matter the government’s successes will be the vehicle Mr Kyerematen will run on as flagbearer for the 2024 general elections.
He admitted there have been calls from all quarters pushing for the Minister to resign from the government to pursue his dreams of leading the party to break the eight-year political jinx.
“Even last night, I had calls from as far as the Upper East and Upper West Regions seeking answers to why Alan was still part of the government when he is supposed to be campaigning to make his ambitions of leading the party a reality,” he revealed.
“Alan Kyerematen is not resigning now because as a country we are in crisis and all hands are needed on deck,” he explained.
He was quick to add that the trade minister will humbly tender his resignation if the party opens nominations for the position of flagbearer.
Mr Adorye made the revelation in an interview with Nana Otu Darko, the sit-in host of the Ghana Yensom morning on Accra 100.5 FM on Wednesday, November 16, 2022.
“I know many people are worried about Alan’s delays in resigning to pursue his ambitions,” he noted and added “Alan would have to campaign on the successes chalked on the economy that will be bequeathed to him by the current president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
After facing a tough time from three solid contenders in his quest to retain the seat, Augustus Andrews Nana Kwasi has still emerged as the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the opposition NDC.
The incumbent regional chairman, Nana Kwasi who secured 637 votes scored against his contenders like Evans Amankwah who also had 572 votes, Yaw Owusu Obimpeh 137 votes, and Enoch Amoako Nsiah 4 votes.
After being declared winner, Augustus Andrews Nana Kwasi thanked delegates for the trust reposed in him and called for unity.
Reiterating his commitment to making sure the party gains power in 2024, the re-elected chairman urged members to dissolve the various camps and fight in unity to secure power in 2024.
“No particular person won, and nobody lost. We’ve all won it together. Now that we’ve won, let’s dissolve all camps like camps A, B, C, etc, and get united.
Fighting in unity is the only means through which we can retrieve power from this incompetent NPP government with ease,” he said.
1422 out of 1354 delegates cast their votes on Sunday. The regional election which was initially characterized by a lot of interruptions started late around 2:20 pm, and as a result, ended around 10:41 pm.
Meanwhile, the final results of the election were stated as follows:
ZONGO CAUCUS:
Tijana Abdul Mummin 282
Osman Naziru Hamza 631 (Winner)
Sumaila Amin 334
Omar Farouk Gado 53
DEPUTY TREASURER:
Prince Atta 729 (Winner)
Bamba Adam 334
Hajara Mohammed 288
TREASURER:
Hopeson Kwaku 669
Marvin Philip Norman 680 (Winner)
DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER:
Amo Kamel 869(Winner)
Bernard Kusi Poku 188
Patrick Attua 295
COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER:
Alex Kwaku Asafo Agyei 443
Abass Nurudeen 909 (Winner)
DEPUTY ORGANISER:
Bashiru Amissa Dombiri 353 (Winner)
Seidu Alhaji 101
Abban Bilson Yeboah 232
Acquah Kwabena 183
Anyas Ibrahim 126
Robert Owusu 169
Isaac Ofori 115
Joe Tetteh 72
An eight-year-old boy met his untimely death at Ahwetieso in the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality after a fuel tanker knocked him down and ran over his head.
Joel Nana Baidoo, who is a pupil of Ideal College in Tarkwa was crossing the road to the other side when the tanker moving from Takoradi towards Tarkwa knocked him down on Tuesday morning.
Cars have been knocking people down all the time at Ahwetieso and this has become a concern for the citizens in the community who have expressed their displeasure on the recurrent incident.
This accident angered youth of the community who blocked the road to prevent cars from moving. This caused huge vehicular traffic on the road which took the intervention of the Tarkwa Police Commander for a free flow of traffic.
Some community members who spoke to GhanaWeb indicated that” we have called for speed rumps for so many years now, but nobody listened to us, and this boy has died just like that”, we shall find a way of doing our own speed rumps, to prevent our children from dying.
This has made community members call for speed rumps on that stretch of road in the community to stop this menace.
Speaking to GhanaWeb in an interview, Assembly Member for the Area Hon Fuseini Rashid Amadu noted that this is not the first time this is happening, adding that “two months ago, another person was knocked down in the Ahwetieso school, hence the agitations by the youth for speed rumps”.
He said he reported the intention of the youth to create their own speed rumps to the assembly where he was assured that the assembly will find a temporal measure to reduce speed on the road.
He added that the assembly has decided to put ropes on the road as temporal speed rumps while they wait for a discussion with the Ghana High Way Authority on a permanent solution to the problem.
The remains of the boy which was deposited at the morgue yesterday is expected to be buried today.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Chief Executive for Tarkwa Nsuaem, Hon Benjamin Kessie has visited the family to commiserate with them.
Hundreds of jobseekers thronged to the Prempeh Assembly Hall in the Kumasi Metropolis to participate in the second edition of the SNV GrEEn Regional Job Fair, to explore employment opportunities in the Ashanti Region.
The fair, which was held on Tuesday November 15, 2022, brought together jobseekers and employers with the aim of matching both parties with available vacancies while creating networks for future employment opportunities for those unable to get jobs.
Held under the theme, “Green and Circular Economy: A sure way to creating decent & sustainable employment and jobs’’, the fair brought together over 500 job seekers, employers, and exhibitors from the green and circular economy.
Over 46 businesses were present with more than 120 vacancies and openings being offered to qualified job seekers.
Speaking to OTEC News Kwame Agyenim Boateng at the sidelines of the event, Project Manager of the GrEEn Project at SNV Ghana, Laouali Sadda said prior to the 2022 Green Regional Job Fair, SNV Ghana organised a CV Review Clinic in collaboration with the Ashanti Regional Labour Department, AGI and the Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs to edit the CVs of job seekers and prepare them for the job openings at the fair as well as educate and sensitise job seekers on Ghana’s labour laws.
He added that, the job fair was held with support from the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Labour Department and the Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs.
He pledged the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation’s commitment to training the youth in green and circular businesses.
“Our experiences and leanings from these job fairs have resulted in our gathering here today. Today’s Green Regional Job Fair has, as main objective: to properly match job seekers, who we call talents, to employers. We will also be providing business development support to entrepreneurs and inspiring more youth to kick starts their green businesses”. He said.
He commended the European Union in Ghana for their consistent support in creating sustainable jobs in the green economy.
“I would like to deeply acknowledge the wonderful work of the European Union for their dedication to skills development, sustainable job creation and support for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)”. He added.
He disclosed that, SNV Ghana and the European Union through the GrEEn Project, aside supporting job creation and skills development also promote growth of local businesses and SMEs that are green in their operations by making use of waste materials or not engaging in activities that adversely affect the environment.
“Businesses with innovative ideas also receive matching grants so they can scale up and create jobs at the local level. In 2021, under the GrEEn Innovation Challenge, 12 businesses received a totalling matching grant of GHS 1.17 million. In September while 51 green businesses received matching grants totalling GHS 1.5 million under the second GrEEn Innovation Challenge in 2022?”
The Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Hon. Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Commended the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation for their efforts in training and support start-ups in the country.
In a speech read on his behalf by Gloria Bortele Noi Director, Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, at the Ministry, Hon Baffour Awuah said the youth need the requisite employable skills to get job opportunities.
He therefore urged the youth to take advantage of opportunities in the SNV GrEEn Project to develop enough employable skills.
About SNV
SNV Netherlands Development Organisation is a not-for-profit international development organisation that makes a lasting difference in the lives of people living in poverty by helping them raise incomes and access basic services. SNV specialises in three sectors: agriculture, renewable energy and Water and we are present in over 25 countries. SNV has been working in Ghana since 1992.
About GrEEn Project
The Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) project is a four-year action from the European Union, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).
The project aims at creating greater economic and employment opportunities for youth, women and returning migrants by promoting and supporting sustainable, green businesses and providing employable skills training to youth job seekers in two selected regions in Ghana: Ashanti and Western in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development.
GrEEn is implemented under the European Union Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa with a total contribution of EUR 20,600,000.
A former chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), in the Afigya Kwabre South Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Chairman Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, known in political circles as (COKA), has pinpointed dishonesty, greediness and corruption’ as the core bane to Ghana’s under development.
The NPP stalwart, believes Ghana is not developing because the country has been infested with large number of dishonest and greedy individuals with high tendency of engaging in corrupt practices to serve their own parochial interest.
“I personally describe these individuals as, “Economic Demons”, their toxic nature has collapsed thousands of both private and state owned companies which had the potential of employing more youth and generating massive revenue at the same time in the country “.
Expressing his frustrations on his social media handles, on Tuesday November 15, 2022, Chairman COKA described as worrying, what he says is the increasing incidence of greed and selfishness exhibited by a large number of Ghanaians.
“When you take your time to research, you will find out that the demons in Africa are powerful than those in Europe. You travel to Europe and you will see a company which was established 80 years go and the founder is no more yet the company is thriving. In Africa, a company dies after the founder is no more all because we are always thinking about today”.
“However, those in the other part of the world think of today, tomorrow and their next generation to come. All our visions and dreams die with us all because there are people who are envious of our progress”. Plan for the future and stop selfishness”. He said in a Facebook post.
Mr Odeneho Kwaku Appiah further noted that, the slow pace of the country’s development can only be blamed on such tendency, adding that, Ghana needs what he describes as service citizens and leaders to change the course of development.
Some residents in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, have kicked against the directions by the leadership of some religious leaders to declare fasting and prayers aimed at reviving Ghana’s ailing economy.
According to them, “prayers and fastings alone won’t solve our economic hardship, but what Ghana needs is strong, incorruptible leaders with the very strong mentality to formulate and implement good policies to revive the economy.”
The current economic hardship, which has been widely speculated about by many Ghanaians and admitted by the president, has resulted in many people suggesting solutions on how to propel the country to greater heights.
Church of Pentecost
The Church of Pentecost (COP) declared a three-day fast and prayer session for all members starting on November 10, 2022.
The Church’s Executive Council arrived at the decision in the wake of economic hardship being experienced in the country.
“It is apparent that the country for some time now has been going through some economic challenges which threaten the peace and security of the nation.
“The church in times like this has a divine responsibility to intercede for the nation,” he said. Addressing the congregation on Sunday, the Chairman of COP, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, told the members to adhere to the directive.
Recognizing that the announcement was made on short notice, he urged the gathering to do so in order to invite divine guidance into Ghana’s leadership and put the economy on a better footing.
He highlighted a biblical reference to buttress his point. ‘So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He answered our prayer’ (Ezra 8:23).
On the back of this, he indicated that “we should also pray for wisdom for our leaders to find immediate solutions to these challenges.”
The fasting and prayers are expected to take place from November 10th to November 13th.
Presbyterian Church of Ghana
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana also declared a three-day fast and prayer for Ghana’s economy.
The church noted that most economies around the world are facing economic difficulties, and Ghana is not an exception.
The church said they remain hopeful that the Lord will step in and put an end to these difficulties.
“In light of this, the Moderator of the General Assembly, with the support of the General Assembly Council, has declared a three-day fasting and prayer from November 28th to November 30th, 2022, to fervently intercede for the wellbeing of Ghanaians.
“We encourage all congregations to set aside these days to pray for the nation,” a statement issued by the Church on Thursday, November 10, said.
But speaking to OTEC News on Friday, November 11, 2022, some said they would not participate in the fasting and prayers for the country because it is a waste of time and energy, adding that “if prayers and fasting were the solutions to Ghana’s problems, we would have been a prosperous nation by now.”
Instead of fasting and praying all the time, they charged religious leaders to advise their church members on proper ethical behaviour, discipline, and adhering to the responsibilities of the state and the community.
Another noted that, if praying for the country’s economy was the answer to the problems in the country, the economy would have been fixed already.
Another citizen said traders increasing the prices of their goods at an unreasonable price also affects the economy, so if they do not refrain from that, the economy will never grow no matter the number of prayers and fasting.
The identity of a civil servant who is currently a Principal Economics Officer at the Ministry of Finance (MoF), believed to be the first port of call for Tiger Eye P.I. investigators in their endeavour to secure contact with the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta and the then Deputy Minister for Finance, Charles Adu Boahen, has been revealed to Asaase News by a reliable source.
The civil servant, Solomon Amponsah, who works at the External Resource Mobilization and Economic Relation Division of the Ministry of Finance, is believed to have received a call from the late Ahmed Hussein-Suale, a Tiger Eye P.I. investigator, who suggested to Mr Amponsah to arrange a meeting between him (Ahmed Hussein-Suale), a Ghanaian Lawyer and the two Ministers of Finance in Dubai, towards a desire to open a bank in Ghana with about $500 million dollars.
Subsequently, the Ghanaian lawyer and Charles Adu-Boahen on the strength of the arrangement made by Solomon Amponsah, met with the undercover team posing as investors in a hotel suite in Dubai on 8 February, 2018, just 13 months after the Akufo-Addo administration assumed office.
After the meeting with Charles Adu Boahen, Tiger Eye’s next move was to meet the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta. Solomon Amponsah, came in handy again to continue with his arrangements towards a meeting between the Finance Minister and the Tiger Eye P.I. investigators who had posed as investors in Dubai.
They (Tiger P.I) were to have their chance, they thought, when after several attempts Mr Ofori-Atta agreed to meet them at the airport in Dubai on transit to Tokyo, Japan.
In the company of his then Personal Assistant (PA), Michael Bediako, Mr Ofori-Atta, met the supposed investors (investigators) at one of the terminal hotels at the Dubai International Airport hotel on Sunday 8 November 2018 at around 6:30am.
Mr Ofori-Atta according to the source, was informed the meeting was with the Chairman of Al Baraka Islamic Bank of Bahrain, whose interest was to invest $500m to set up an “ethical” bank in Ghana.
The meeting, per our checks, which had Mr Solomon Amponsah, and the Ghanaian lawyer present, lasted some five minutes. Ken Ofori-Atta, left very peeved when he was offered a “gift”, which he refused to accept, and walked out with his PA who was also offered a gift that was rejected as well.
It remains to be seen if these engagements with Solomon Amponsah were part of the Tiger Eye P.I. investigation and whether or not it will feature in future releases by Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
The Ghana Standards Authority is informing the public and more specifically importers of used vehicles that beginning January 1, 2023, all used vehicles imported into Ghana shall be accompanied by a valid Certificate of Conformance (CoC) from an approved body.
The certificate must thus demonstrate conformance of the used vehicle to requirements of the Ghana Standard for used vehicles GS 4510:2022 Road vehicles — requirements for imported used motor vehicles.
This is in line with the Customs (Amendment) Act 2020, Section 61 of Act 891 amended and related legislation.
Enforcement of this aspect of the law shall ensure improved safety, quality and asset value of used vehicles imported into Ghana, while sustaining the value chain of the used vehicle industry. Certificates of Conformance can be obtained from approved third-party inspection bodies or through trained and licensed used vehicle dealerships.
The GSA said an updated list of approved inspection bodies and licensed used vehicle dealerships with contact details shall be provided on the website of the Authority.
It, therefore, wished to take this opportunity to remind all importers and assemblers of new vehicles to register with the authority and ensure that vehicle models imported or assembled are homologated (certified) by the authority in line with the relevant Ghana Standards for new vehicles of categories M1 (Passenger cars and SUVs), M2 (Minibuses), and N1 (Pickups and cargo vans).
New vehicles of models not homologated (certified) by the authority shall not be permitted for importation from January 1, 2023.
Ghanaian artiste, Rocky Dawuni, has received a nomination for the upcoming 65th Grammy Awards.
This will be a record-third nomination from the award scheme as far as the Ghanaian music scene is concerned.
The selection of his song ‘Never Bow Down’ for the Best Global Music Performance category comes after the musician was considered by the Grammys back in 2015 and 2021.
The development was announced on Tuesday, November 15, 2022, by the Recording Academy.
The reggae artiste says he is “honored to be nominated.”
I am truly honored to be nominated for another #Grammy award for my song “Never Bow Down” feat. @BLVKH3RO This is huge for Africa and the Carribean coming together on this global roots anthem! Thank you to everyone who was part of this and congrats to my fellow nominees. pic.twitter.com/FcsdMy6zYV
“I am truly honored to be nominated for another #Grammy award for my song “Never Bow Down” feat. @BLVKH3RO. This is huge for Africa and the Carribean coming together on this global roots anthem! Thank you to everyone who was part of this and congrats to my fellow nominees,” he posted on Twitter.
The other songs gunning for the same award are Burna Boy’s ‘Last Last’, ‘Udhero Na’, by Arooj Aftab and Anoushka Shankar, and ‘Gimme Love’, by Matt B and Eddy Kenzo, and ‘Baythe’ by Wouter Kellerman, Zakes Bantwini and Nomcebo Zikode.
The main event, however, comes off on Sunday, February 5, 2023.
Last year, Rocky Dawuni’s project ‘Voice of Bunbon Vol. 1’ secured a place in the Best Global Music Album category after his ‘Branches of The Same Tree’ was nominated for Best Reggae Album in 2015.
The Institute for Energy Security(IES) says Ghanaians will enjoy some relief in relation to the increasing prices of fuel if the Cedi continues to maintain stability against the Dollar.
This follows the latest prediction by the energy think-thank in the reduction of fuel prices due to the stability of the Cedi. The IES has however predicted an increment in the price of LPG.
Speaking to Starr News, the Research and Policy Analyst with IES, Derick Hadzi said the local economy will feel the impact of the reduction soon enough if the Cedi stabilizes.
“Two major factors that affect fuel pricing is that of the international price and the strength of the Cedi. At the international level, we do not have control over it. It depends on the forces of demand, what we have control over is the strength of our local currency. For the ending of October, the Cedi depreciated almost 30% to 45%. So for this second pricing window from November the Cedi has been a little bit stable.”
Leading Oil Marketing company GOIL on Wednesday announced a reduction in the prices of
Ghana’s leading indigenous Oil Marketing Company, GOIL, has announced a reduction in the pump prices of both types of gasoline (petrol) and gasoil (diesel) at all its retail outlets across the West African nation.
A litre of petrol is now selling at Gh16.82 while diesel is selling at Gh20.50 per litre.
Previously, a litre of petrol sold at Gh17.99 while diesel was selling at Gh¢23.49 per litre.
This means that a litre of petrol has been reduced by Gh¢1.17 while diesel saw a reduction of Gh¢2.99 per litre.
The Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has questioned whether the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, has the power to extend the contract of justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana.
A Supreme Court Judge, Justice Clemence Jackson Honyenuga, announced in court on Thursday, July 28, 2022, that Chief Justice Anin-Yeboah had extended his retirement to enable him to complete the ongoing criminal trial of former COCOBOD Chief Executive, Dr. Stephen Opuni.
“The Chief Justice, as the Administrative Head of the Judiciary, has the power under the Constitution to grant an extension to a retiring judge.”
“In pursuant to Article 112(2) of the Constitution, 1992, the chief justice has granted me a limited time to conclude this case. In the circumstances, this court shall, in addition, sit on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. for early disposal of this four-year-old case. In view of the pending vacation, the case is adjourned to October 3, 2022, at 10 a.m. for continuation,” he said.
But Dafeamekpor, in a tweet he shared on November 15, insinuated that the move by the chief justice was wrong since the President of the Republic is the only appointing authority and he alone can extend the contract of his appointees.
He also questioned whether the vetting and approval of the president’s appointees are valid after their retirement age.
“In re the extension of time of Hoenyenuga JSC by the CJ: the Constitutional Question is: Can the CJ extend the life of a Supreme Court Judge beyond his statutory 70yr tenure?
“Remember, the Prez is the Appointing authority. Also, is the Parliamentary vetting valid beyond 70yrs?” the MP’s tweet read.
View the MPs tweet below:
In re the extension of time of Hoenyenuga JSC by the CJ: the Constitutional Question is: Can the CJ extend the life of a Supreme Court Judge beyond his statutory 70yr tenure? Remember, the Prez is the Appointing authority. Also, is the Parliamentary vetting valid beyond 70yrs?
— Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, Esq. MP. (@etsedafeamekpor) November 15, 2022
The Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has donated GH¢100,000.00 in support of the construction of the Ejura-Sekyedumase Divisional Police Command in the Ashanti Region.
The money was to fund the roofing of the storey building which is almost ready to house about hundred police officers in the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipality.
This donation followed Dr. Bawumia’s first presentation of one thousand bags of cement during the initial stage of the project which was the brainchild of the chief of Ejura Traditional Area Barima Osei Hwedie II in 2021.
Dr. Bawumia made the donation during a short meeting with the chief of Ejura Traditional Area, Barima Osei Hwedie II in Accra on Sunday, November 12, 2022.
Dr. Bawumia during the presentation said it was his utmost wish that the project will be completed on time to help beef up security in the area.
He pledged his commitment to supporting authorities at Ejura to maintain law and order in the area.
Chief of Ejura Traditional Area Barima Osei Hwedie II who welcomed the support said, Dr. Bawumia’s kind gesture was timely.
He praised the vice president for his continuous support of the development of the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipality and Ashanti Region as a whole.
“Dr. Bawumia’s efforts to ensure that Ejura Traditional Council’s vision of putting up a place for the municipality’s Divisional Police Headquarters come through is unprecedented”
“We are very lucky to have the support of no other than the vice president who is keen on working towards enhancing peace and security of Ejura Residents”
“We at Ejura are wishing him well in all his future endeavors and we hope he will continue to shine in his political career and help others ”
Customers of the Electricity Company of Ghana in the Lower Manya and Yilo Krobo Municipalities of the Eastern Region have expressed divergent experiences over the use of prepaid meters.
Backed by the military, most parts of the Krobo area have been successfully rolled onto the new meters by the ECG after several months of hostilities between the power distributors and their customers over the deployment of the meters.
Months after some communities have been rolled onto the new billing system, GhanaWeb interacted with some residents and business operators on their experiences with the meters.
For Georgina Ametepey Ghalley, the meter was installed at her shop in August 2022. A seamstress at Somanya said purchasing Ghc50 worth of credit is always enough to last her for over a month compared to her average monthly bill of Ghc 70 on the postpaid meters. To her, the meter has proven to be a better option as she’s in a position to monitor her consumption.
“My experience so far, the prepaid meter is okay, not like the postpaid. At times the bills that will come are very high at times too they say it’s a network problem so the prepaid is better,” she said. “Because I can check my balance, what I’ve used for the day and everything so I think the prepaid is okay.”
Having used this type of meter before, she had no fears prior to its deployment, contrary to the reservations of most people in the locality.
According to her, she still uses the same items and does not have cause to adjust their usage in any way.
Auntie Victoria Mamle, a waakye (rice and beans) seller and also a resident of Mampong had the meters installed for her some three months ago.
Admitting that she was one of many opponents to the introduction of the new meters, she said her reservations were over buying of credit, adding that her fears were being confirmed.
“We didn’t want it because of the credit you’ll buy,” she said. “If we had the old one, we can get the money to pay for the monthly bills but this one if you don’t have money today and it is finished, you’ll go off.”
Expressing her frustrations over the situation, Auntie Mamle complained that she buys about Ghc200 worth of credit in a month, twice her monthly bill on the postpaid meters. She said, “I think the old one is good because since I got this meter, if I buy the credit like Ghc50, I don’t even get one week and it’s finished so I think the old one is good because with the old one, in a month, I get a bill of between Ghc90 and Ghc100.”
Some customers however believe the ECG is using the new meters to defray its old bills.
Though the power consumer assured the residents that the old bills would not be passed onto the new meters, some of the residents believe the ECG is subtly defraying the existing bills on the old meters with the deduction of what it calls service charges.
According to them, the service charges of about 15% of the amount bought, are deducted with the remaining credit lasting them relatively shorter periods compared with the postpaid meters.
Auntie Doris Odonkor, a fishmonger at Ayikpala, a suburb of Kpong owns three meters in her house. She explained that the service charges being deducted were mere smokescreens behind which the Company hides to deduct the accumulated bills on her meters.
“When the meters were fixed, they were each credited with Ghc10.00. The ten cedis ran out after three days and I bought an additional Ghc100. Out of this Ghc15 was deducted,” she said.
According to her, the charges were explained as processing and maintenance fees, adding that these deductions were repeated when she returned to buy more credit.
The elderly woman furthered that her fears that she would struggle to understand how the meter works due to her poor education were manifest.
Assemblyman for Kpong Ahudzo, honorable Raymond Gborson observed that there was very little difference between the postpaid and prepaid meters.
Estimating his monthly expenses on the prepaid meters compared to the postpaid bills, the Assemblyman said his consumption was around the same amount.
“Using this for a month, I don’t see any difference between this one and the postpaid ones. This one is paying as you go, the only difference is that if you don’t have credit on it, you can’t use it as compared to the postpaid ones that you can use as and when you have money,” he said.
Contrary to complaints of deductions from some consumers, Hon Gborson said he only paid the statutory charges through the deductions whenever he bought credit although he admits he had unpaid bills on the postpaid meters.
To him, the agitations that greeted the proposed installation process stemmed from the low education ahead of the deployment of the meters.
He added that following the instructions on the meter was easy and called for understanding and acceptance by all and sundry.
He noted: “The agitation of people before the installation of the prepaid to me has been that proper and vivid education has not taken place…for years, decades Krobos and for that matter we Ghanaians were used to the postpaid meters.”
Three Nkrumahist political parties have kick-started talks to join forces to wrestle power from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The three Nkrumahist parties are the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and the People’s National Convention (PNC).
The National Chairman of the PPP, Nana Ofori Owusu, gave this hint on Accra 100.5 FM’s 6 a.m. news on Wednesday, November 16, 2022.
According to him, there is a need for the Nkrumahist parties to unite to prosecute the 2024 general elections with one accord.
The Nkrumahist political parties are parties that believe in the ideologies and principles of Ghana’s first President Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
He charged that the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is not a reliable alternative as he decried how abysmally the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has managed the affairs of the country under the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
He asserted that the NPP/NDC will not take Ghanaians anywhere, adding that it is only the Nkrumahist party that has the track record of driving the country’s industrialisation agenda as evidenced in the First Republic.
Parliament has announced a raft of stringent security measures such as mandatory body scan for everybody including the speaker of Parliament.
The House through the Marshall’s office is also considering the idea of banning the use of mobile phones by journalists in the press gallery.
This idea is however vehemently opposed to by leadership and members of the Parliamentary Press Corps.
In announcing some of the security measures on the floor, speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin explained the decision to enhance security in the legislative house is for the good of members, staff and visitors given the times the country finds itself.
“It’s compulsory for all Members including me, Speaker to pass through the machine to be scanned before we enter the Chamber of Parliament. All strangers who are also to do so, who intend coming in, whether to the public gallery, or to the Press gallery, or to the important visitors’ gallery are all to pass through the scanning machine. It’s for your own good that we want to implement this rule.
“So please, starting from tomorrow, any person who is not willing to pass through this machine will definitely not be allowed to enter this chamber.”
The Chairman of the Competitive African Rice Platform, Yaw Adu Poku, has dismissed claims of unnecessary profiteering by retailers of food products on the local market.
Commenting on the Planting for Food and Jobs market at the premises of the Ministry of Agriculture, on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, Mr Adu Poku revealed that his profit margin is insignificant considering the cost of transportation and price of raw materials.
“Last July for a 50,000 tonne truck, I was paying GH¢14,000, that is the 50kg bag [of rice], a thousand of that… Today I am contracting two articulated trucks taking 50 tonnes, and I am paying GH¢60 cedis per bag and that is GH¢60,000 to move from Tamale to Accra.”
“I was [recently] buying from the farm gate at GH¢3,200 a ton of paddy. This week I am paying GH¢4800 from the same farm and I haven’t moved from that farm, so the difference now is GH¢1600 on the raw material, and I am paying in excess of 44,000 for transport so all this comes together and makes it exorbitant… This is the reality on the ground.”
“I invest not less than 6000 cedis on a ton from a farm gate to retail level and my margin is 200 cedis so check what is the difference. So if someone says that we are profiteering, then I beg to differ.”
We lack leadership and innovative thinking
Mr Adu Poku also admonished the government to be innovative and find ways to make food products accessible and affordable to Ghanaians.
He said the project must be maintained only as a pilot project while the Minister comes up with new ways to ensure that prices of food products at the market are made cheaper.
“The [Agric] Minister wants us to know that food is in the hinterlands and carting it to Accra is the issue, so it is not the market woman nor the aggregator, it is all of us caught in this situation that we cannot put our fingers on.”
“What we need to do, is to isolate it as a pilot project and think around it how we get food to the urban areas where it is needed. We need to go back and rethink. The problem we are facing is leadership; they are not giving us what makes us call them leaders.
“We should think, what will make food affordable is that when the farmer is well resourced, then food will be more affordable. When the value chain is well resourced, then food will be available. This is what we have to do,” Mr Adu Poku told Sit-in host Nathan Quao.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture on Friday, November 11, started piloting food items at its premises to the general public.
According to the Ministry, the move forms part of efforts to cushion Ghanaians and mitigate the impact of rising food prices.
Some members of the NPP in Anloland asked the Spokesperson of the Awoamefia, Agbotuada Kumasah, to render an unqualified apology to Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, over his comments in regards to the booing of the Vice President at the just-ended Hogbetsotso durbar.
According to the youth, the comments suggest that there was a deliberate attempt to embarrass the vice president.
“Such comments from no less a person than Agbotadua Kumasah, made it look like the Vice President was deliberately invited by the Anlo state to be disgraced,” the group said in a letter signed by the convener, Augustine Ocloo.
The statement also added claims that the vice president was booed for touting achievements that were untrue as there have been developmental activities in the Anlo-land since the NPP assumed office.
“Agbotadua Kumasah cannot be too naive not to have seen the developmental activities that this government had undertaken in Anlo-land, a government Agbotadua Kumasah is an appointee for in the Keta Municipal assembly.
“We, the disgruntled NPP youth of Anloland, cannot stand aloof while this disgraceful, uncalled for, uncultured, and developmentally crippling behaviour goes unanswered.”
The youth thus urged the President of the Anlo Traditional Council to take disciplinary action against Kumasah.
“The Anlo Traditional/State Council should explain to we the youth why they allowed members of the Hogbetsotso planning committee to set and lay the Vice President such ambush.
“We also demand that disciplinary action be taken against Agbotaduah Kumassah for displaying such infantile attitude when he was rather expected to use the fine opportunity to emphasize the positives of the celebration,” myjoyonline.com quoted.
Former Minister for Youth and Sports, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, has noted how several false allegations were made against him following Ghana’s participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil.
Mr Afriyie Ankrah shared some of the outrageous allegations leveled against him with GhanaWeb’s Edward Smith Anamale on the Election Desk program.
According to him, he was alleged to have put his mother in charge of the sale of replica jerseys, but stated that his mother had absolutely no knowledge of football.
“There were all manner of wild stories. I’d give you just a few. There’s this story that my wife was a caterer… I mean, my wife has absolutely nothing to do with cooking. The only reason she went was because we had buried her mother three weeks earlier. So, I took my wife and my two kids because the other one was in boarding school, and I bought the tickets myself – Air Portugal, and took them. It was not at government expense, but there was the story out there. They said my mother was in charge of replica jerseys. What they didn’t know is that my mother doesn’t live in Ghana; my mother has never lived in Ghana since I was six months old. She doesn’t know the difference between a corner kick and a penalty. She has no idea, so when I told her, ‘Mummy, they said you are in charge of replica jerseys, she said, what is that?’ “She has no idea,” he said.
He shared other allegations made against him but expressed happiness about the report of the Dzamefe Commission, which, according to him, vindicated him.
“I woke up one day and there was one of the papers with me sitting with some ministers, with coconut in front of us. They said coconut was $200, $2000. There was nothing about coconut. I always drink coconut because I’m a health-conscious person, and at the camp, coconut was virtually free. And even if you buy it, it’s less than $1. Nothing; it was all manufactured.”
“It was later that I found out that there were some unseen hands behind it, but I keep saying that if those things hadn’t happened, and especially if the commission hadn’t been put in place and a report officially there, which clearly shows that I was audited by Ernst and Young,… by the time I was leaving office, the World Cup money itself, which the government gave to us, was still in the account,” Afriyie Ankrah, who is vying for
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil saw Ghana get eliminated at the group stage of the competition, but it also came with several camp-related stories, among other stories of corruption allegations.
A member of the NPP communications team, Adomako Baafi, has raised concerns over the referral of Charles Adu Boahen to the Office of the Special Prosecutor for further investigations on allegations of corruption in the investigative exposé, ‘Galamsey Economy‘.
According to him, there is a conflict of interest as the Special Prosecutor was once the lawyer for investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas in the case between former Ghana Football Association (GFA) president Kwesi Nyantakyi and Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
“The president referred Adu Boahen’s case to the Special Prosecutor. My worry is that the same Special Prosecutor is Anas’ lawyer. So, why will the president give him a case involving Adu Boahen? There is a conflict of interest here because how come the Special Prosecutor is Anas’ lawyer,” the MP noted.
In a press release, the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Adjabeng, said his office has commenced an investigation into the actions of Charles Adu Boahen and any other implicated persons contained in the investigative exposé, ‘Galamsey Economy’.
Charles Adu Boahen alleged on video that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia needs just USD 200,000 as an ‘appearance fee’ and some positions from an investor for his siblings to get his backing and influence in establishing a business in Ghana.
Government Spokesperson on Governance and Security, Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, has expressed optimism for Ghana’s economy to rebound soonest despite the prevailing economic challenges.
Palgrave Boakye-Danquah assured Ghanaians that the Akufo-Addo-led government would leverage the economic policy initiatives to drive growth and prosperity.
The government, he indicated, had outlined a series of economic measures, including seeking the assistance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in the short term, to help repair our finances.
The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Palgrave Boakye-Danquah stated, had greatly compromised the country’s economy.
He stated that “the government would revive and revitalize the country’s economy and put it back on the path of rapid growth,” Palgrave Boakye-Danquah exclusively told Kwaku Owusu Adjei (Patoo) on Adwenekasa on Accra-based Original FM 91.9.
He attributed the situation to “so many malevolent forces,” which he said have come together at the same time to cause the current economic turmoil bedeviling the country.
He mentioned that no party in Ghana has displayed the organizational skills and capacity that the NPP has.
Host of Good Evening Ghana, Paul Adom-Otchere has criticised the modus operandi of investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, following his recent expose implicating Minister of State for Finance, Charles Adu Boahen.
According to the journalists, he ever escaped two attempts of entrapment when some people sought to cause him to implicate himself.
“These things happen all the time and I have had experiences that I will share with you. First one happened many years ago in 2006 or 2007. I had some job to do in Takoradi so I was in a car going to Takoradi with two or three friends of mine.”
“The guy called me with some Arab sounding tone, he says he likes my programme and I said okay. Then he says he wants to appear on my programme. I said Okay you can appear on my programme, what do you want to say? He says he wants to talk about how my programme is good but the reason why he is calling me is that he wanted to know how much it costs to appear on my programme,” he recounted.
Paul Adom-Otchere noted that despite the insistence of the caller, he declined the invitation from the man who said he will ‘treat him well’
“I said please I am not interested in you making me happy. I am happy already, if you want to do something on the programme go to commercial,” he stated.
The programme host added that it later turned out that the call was a prank call from programme aired on Peace FM.
He further recalled his second experience where another anonymous caller sought to induce him with a proposal of leading him to meet the president.
“2018 or 2019, somebody called me and says he has 19 million dollars to give to Bank of Ghana but he is having difficulty in bringing the money to the Bank of Ghana so he called me. I said so what do you want me to do? He says I want you to take me the president and I said really? You want to bring money to Ghana and you want to go to the president, okay, go to Bank of Ghana and talk to them about it or go to finance ministry and talk to them about it.”
“Then he said I have 54 million. I said your 19 has now jumped to 54? He said yes, we have a lot of money we want to bring to Ghana but we want influential people we can take us…” he recalled.
He noted that he ignored the proposal by the anonymous caller insisting that he takes his business proposal to the appropriate government quarters.
“Should we be doing that as a country? I don’t agree. Should we engender, facilitate and encourage this kind of way in which we find corruption? I am not sure we should do that,” he cautioned.
Aremeyaw Anas’s latest exposé dubbed ‘Galamsey Economy’ has compelled President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to sack the Minister of State in Charge of Finance, Charles Adu Boahen from office.
Charles Adu Boahen on video alleged that Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia needs just USD200,000 as an ‘appearance fee’ and some positions by an investor for his siblings to get his backing and influence in establishing a business in Ghana.
Former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, has signaled that the constitution of the ad hoc committee set up by the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, could pose an obstacle at the end of the proceedings.
The committee which was set up by the Speaker to investigate allegations of corruption and incompetence leveled against the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta by the Minority side of Parliament in their motion of censure is evenly constituted with members from both divides of the House.
The 8-member ad hoc committee is chaired by the Adansi Asokwa MP, K.T. Hammond and Bolgatanga East MP, Dominic Ayine.
Other members of the committee from the Minority side are; North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Klottey-Korle MP, Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings and Akatsi South MP, Bernard Ahiafor.
The rest from the Majority side include; Okaikoi Central MP, Yaw Boahmah, Ashanti Akyem Central MP, Emmanuel Anyimadu-Antwi and Sekondi MP, Andrew Egyapa Mercer.
According to Inusah Fuseini, while the membership of the committee may be trying to communicate a sense of neutrality, recent developments in the house may suggest otherwise.
“After the time that the Speaker established this committee, you could see the partisanship. And you could see the various actors in Parliament lining up behind their various leaders. So I’m not surprised at all that even though there had been attempt to appear to be neutral and interested in [presenting] the facts for people to understand what is at stake, those who are disputing the facts have laced their objections with political undertones.
“And there has been an attempt by the Minority to prove beyond doubt that Ken must go, and equally the Majority who are unrelenting in their defence of the Finance Minister. So then you have for the first time in our parliamentary democracy, apart from the censure motion, this is the only time a committee of Parliament has been formed which has no Majority, which has no Minority,” he said.
He noted that this membership structure will prove to be a problem at the end of the seven days when members are expected to come up with a resolution to be presented before the House.
According to him, with the even distribution of the committee and the unyielding stance of both sides, it is unlikely that a consensus will be easily reached, that is, even if it is reached at all.
“Committees of Parliament take decisions based on unanimity or consensus. So if it is going to be consensus, the issue would have to be put to a vote and I don’t know whether Speaker in establishing the eight member committee with co-chairmen had also thought of the custom vote. Because if the vote is taken and there is a tie, what happens?
“The constitution says that when there is a tie in parliament on an issue, the issue fails, it falls. What will happen at the committee level? So there are many around that. We’re waiting cautiously to see what happens after Friday because the issues cannot be resolved at the committee level. And like I told you when the committee was established, this issue will finally be resolved on the floor of the House,” he said.
President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo waits to speak during the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021.
Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement at the Centre for Democratic Development Ghana (CDD-Ghana), Dr. Kojo Pumpuni Asante, has bemoaned President Akufo-Addo’s refusal to remove his Finance Minister.
According to him, had the President heeded to calls for a Ministerial reshuffle or simply gone ahead to remove the Finance Minister, Parliament would not be locked up in a censure motion proceeding; further derailing the business of government.
He stated that the country is in a crucial situation where a Finance Minister is expected to be drawing a budget while leading the Ghana team in the IMF negotiations, however, currently all of that has been put on hold while the incumbent Minister is being ‘tried’ by an ad hoc committee.
The Minority in Parliament has filed a motion of censure against the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, accusing him of corruption and gross incompetence.
In proceedings currently ongoing in Parliament, the Finance Minister is expected to answer to these charges before an eight member ad hoc committee evenly constituted by members from both sides of the political divide.
With both sides polarized on the matter, Dr. Kojo Pumpuni has noted that such polarization is not what a country in crisis needs to resolve its issues.
“I don’t understand why the President has ground his teeth on this matter. Because now we’re in a process, the Finance Minister was supposed to go and present the budget next week. Now the Finance Minister is spending his time in a court room trying to respond to charges against him and so on and so forth when he should be, if indeed he’s the one preparing this budget for our consideration, he should be doing that work.
“Some of these steps should have been taken by the President a long time ago and I don’t know why he’s not seeing the bigger picture that we’re going to diffuse a lot of the tension. Because in a country where you have crisis, the last thing you need is more polarization and more time spent on this kind of actions rather than focus on the business of actually dealing with the problems that Ghanaians are facing,” he said.
Ghanaian statesman, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe is disappointed in the way President Akufo-Addo has managed the country’s affairs.
According to the politician, the personalities surrounding the president have not done much in pushing the country in the right direction.
For him, the downturn the country is currently experiencing is a testament to the fact that the President’s disciples have contributed little in nudging the President toward national development.
“These are people who are afraid to tell him exactly what is happening. This has happened to a lot of Presidents in this country. If Nana Addo will listen, I’m sure the way he is going right now he will never go there,” he added.
Speaking to JoyNews, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe insisted that his advisors and helpers have failed to tell him the true situation.
Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe says that if the President were abreast of all the issues, persons accused of corruption under his watch should have been axed by now.
“People have been accused of several things, there have been infractions all over since Akufo-Addo came to power, what has been done to them?” he asked.
“I know Nana Addo was not like that, so what has happened? I’m surprised. The Nana Addo that I knew is not the one that is ruling Ghana now,” he told JoyNews‘ Benjamin Akakpo.
So far he believes the country has retrogressed under the Akufo-Addo administration adding that the President and his cohorts are to blame.
He listed a number of people who could have coerced the President in the right direction if govern the chance.
They conclude; “Charles Brobby, myself, Kwesi Pratt. There are people who will tell him exactly what is happening.”
The leadership of striking public university worker unions will today, Wednesday meet the National Labour Commission (NLC) to continue ongoing negotiations about their conditions of service.
The unions on strike are the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU), Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG) and Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA).
The strike by the four unions in public universities has entered its 6th week, forcing some academic activities on various campuses to be at a standstill.
UTAG’s concerns, for example, are with the adjusted ex-pump rate of GHS10.99 being implemented to affect Vehicle Maintenance and Off-Campus Allowances.
The union has complained that the agreed Conditions of Service of University Workers by the Employer were not being adhered to.
Speaking to Citi News ahead of the meeting with NLC today, National Secretary of the UTAG Dr. Asare Asante Annor said they are hopeful today’s meeting will yield the desired results.
“The issue in contention is still about the variation of our conditions of service and as we speak, we have made certain offers to the government, but we have not received the same from them.”
“Until the vehicle maintenance and off-campus allowance and the ex-pump rate of GHS10.99 is used, unfortunately, we still have to be on strike,” Dr. Annor said.
The government has recently appealed to striking workers pushing for improved conditions of service to consider the current economic crisis.
Gabby Otchere-Darko, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party, has disputed claims by the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, that he said the Majority Leader was behind moves to get the Finance Minister removed.
Responding to reports that the Majority Leader also accused him of trying to undermine his attempt to be the Suame MP, Mr. Otchere-Darko said on Facebook: “I have since sent him a message on this denying same.”
Reports indicated that Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said Mr. Otchere-Darko had called him the ringleader behind the NPP MPs calling for the resignation of the Finance Minister.
Mr. Otchere-Darko is alleged to have sponsored a failed candidate against the Majority Leader in the NPP parliamentary primaries in Suame leading to the 2016 general elections.
These claims by Mr. Otchere-Darko are said to have come during a broadcast on Asaase Radio.
But he refuted these claims in his Facebook post.
“I have said no such thing on Asaase Radio or any other radio station or media house, whether on air, online, or in print, either directly or indirectly. Indeed, my position, so far, on this issue in Parliament within the Majority Caucus, has been to deliberately stay away from commenting on it publicly.”
“I have never sponsored any candidate against the Majority Leader for the Suame seat. I would never do such a thing to a person I considered a strong loyalist, even within the NPP,” he posted.
The first day of the public hearing of the committee on the motion of censure against the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, was characterized by heated exchanges and clashes between the Minority members and some members of the Majority side.
The Member of Parliament for the North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, also engaged in heated exchanges with counsel for the Finance Minister, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko.
Mr Otchere-Darko had sought to advise Mr Ablakwa to reserve some of his comments for a press conference and not the committee sittings, but in a sharp rebuttal, the North Tongu MP asked the seasoned lawyer not to attempt to teach him his job.
“You can’t come here and teach me how to do my work,” Mr Ablakwa said, adding, “you can’t come here and throw your weight about. This is Parliament, you can’t tell me what to do, you are not the chairman so don’t tell me what to do,” a livid Ablakwa retorted.
Mr. Otchere-Darko had earlier expressed concern that his client would be caught off guard by the evidence and requested “full particulars of the facts in support of the allegations against the [Finance] Minister.”
He also said there would not be enough time to scrutinise the evidence outlined by the Minority.
“It would not be fair for the Minister of Finance to be ambushed right here without any preparation to start answering questions.”
The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, also dismissed suggestions that the current economic crisis in Ghana was mainly caused by the war being waged on Ukraine by Russia.
Addressing the Committee, the Tamale South MP said the “reckless borrowing” and “reckless spending” by the Finance Minister are the cause of Ghana’s woes.
“Did you borrow to support the war in Ukraine,” Mr Iddrisu asked, arguing that, it was because of Ofori-Atta’s recklessness that caused Ghana’s economic woes.
Mark Darlington Osae, the manager of Reggie ‘N’ Bollie and Skrewfaze has dragged the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame to court over the ban on celebrities from advertising for alcoholic beverages.
The FDA’s directives bar the use of celebrities in plugging alcoholic beverages.
This according to the Authority is to protect minors from being influenced by celebrities into alcoholism.
Prior to this suit, a lot of stakeholders in the creative industry including, Wendy Shay, Shatta Wale, Brother Sammy, Kuami Eugene, and Camidoh, had spoken against the law and had called on powers that be to repeal it.
On November 11, 2022, the plaintiff, Mark Darlington Osae, also a music publisher at Perfect Note Publishing, issued a writ of summons, saying the FDA’s 2015 regulations are discriminatory against the creative arts industry.
Mark, who is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Ghana Music Alliance, says the FDA directive which ordered that, “no well-known personality or professional shall be used in alcoholic beverage advertising,” is inconsistent with and in contravention of articles 17(1) and 17 (2) of the 1992 Constitution.
Articles 17(1) and 17 (2) of the 1992 Constitution guarantee quality before the law and prohibit discrimination against persons on grounds of social or economic status, occupation, among others, and consequently null, void, and unenforceable.
In February 2017, Mark Darlington led his artistes, Reggie ‘N’ Bollie, to sue Fan Milk Ghana Limited for using their song titled ‘New Girl’ for commercial purposes without their consent.
The Greater Accra Regional Hospital, popularly known as the Ridge Hospital, has set up a seven-member bed management committee to deal with the issue of “no bed syndrome” in the health facility.
The “no bed syndrome” has over the years been a topical issue as some health facilities have been rejecting emergency cases because of the shortage of beds, which sometimes leads to the death of patients.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark the Greater Accra Regional Hospital’s 5th anniversary, Medical Director Dr Emmanuel Srofenyoh disclosed that the “no bed syndrome” is gradually becoming a thing of the past at the facility.
“To respond properly to this, we established the bed management committee, and they go round every four hours, once there is a bed space somewhere they identify the space, and they inform the emergency department for patients to be transferred, so we create space within the emergency.”
“So at all times, we have a bed space within the emergency to receive any emergencies that are transferred,” Dr Srofenyoh said.
