TIG Post

Author: Phoebe Martekie Doku

  • New cocoa producer price will kill the industry – Coalition for Cocoa Sector Reforms

    The Coalition for Cocoa Sector Reforms (CCSR) GH has called on government through COCOBOD to reconsider the 2022/23 producer price announced to avoid negative implications impact the new GH¢800.00 per bag of cocoa beans will have.

    “Farmers over the last two decades were always assured of over $100.00 out of the world market price for each bag of cocoa sold through the FOB pricing mechanism used in setting the price for the commodity. It is however unfortunate and surprising that government this year awarded to farmers, less than $80.00 for a bag of cocoa”

    “This is rather a decrease in producer price than an increase hence COCOBOD must come again. In these times of increasing inflation, prices of inputs, fuel and economic hardship, this treatment to our hardworking cocoa farmers must change”.

    This was in a statement jointly signed by Ayisi Kumah Thomas Kwesi, and Mr Hedidor Alexander Yaw, President and Secretary of the coalition respectively and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra.

    The statement said the producer price announced by the Minister of Food and Agriculture was not only low, but demotivating and should therefore be reviewed.

    It said the analysis carried out by the Coalition showed that, further reduction of Cocoa price was disincentive to cocoa farmers and would lower productivity, given the fact that both Cost of living and Cost of production had increased astronomically in Ghana, owing to inflation and rapid depreciation of the cedi against the Dollar.

    It said hopes of cocoa farmers would be shattered by the new price especially when neighbouring Ivory Coast who had comparatively maintained relative stable currency and economy.

    “It is clear and beyond all doubts that with this lowering of cocoa prices (dollar terms), Government and COCOBOD will render Cocoa farming unattractive to the youth by worsening the economic plight of cocoa farmers.”

    “Cocoa farmers are already impoverished and overwhelmed by our current economic situation and to further reduce the price of Cocoa will worsen their plight.”

    “This is an industry that has supported this country for over 30years with revenue from exports, but there seems to be a clear lack of foresight, or an ill-will in the management and sustenance of the sector by its current managers: COCOBOD. ”

    The statement said the decision of reducing cocoa price (in dollar terms) came in the midst of reports of cocoa farmers selling their arable land to illegal mining operatives (Galamsey), neighboring country Ivory Coast raising its farm gate price to CFA900 equivalent to GH¢852.00, increasing prices of inputs, increased unemployment, and ageing farmer population.

    The statement said about 19,000 acres of cocoa lands were lost to galamsey activities last year and it would not be surprising that the figure would be tripled in the ensuing year, while cocoa beans would be further smuggled along the border towns, with farms receiving little or no investments.

    It said the credibility of COCOBOD in acquiring future loans would be impaired and eventually the industry would suffer existential threat and called on government to review the current situation

    “We believe that any government interested in discouraging smuggling, fighting against galamsey, increasing annual cocoa volumes, and improving the lives of its gallant cocoa farmers should rather increase prices to discourage negative tendencies and sustain the economy.”

    “Before the dust could settle on the topic of this Cocoa price reduction, BOG came with a hike in monetary policy rate to tighten the economy”.

    “This came after drawing down on the $1.13bn syndicated cocoa loan to be used to shore up its Forex reserves and stabilize our currency. The hike in monetary policy rate which will directly or indirectly increase lending rates, the cost of goods and services including cost of cocoa inputs. Closure of shops in Kumasi and the intentions of GUTA to also close shops in Accra is evident of an expected increased cost of living which farmers cannot escape”.

    It said the once revered once revered cocoa industry that had pillared the country for over three decades and hitherto provided dignified living conditions to its farmers, purchasing clerks and District

    Managers of LBC’s, Depot Keepers and Port Officers, was suffering an imminent collapse if good measures were not taken.

    “In this period of rising youth unemployment, it will be sad to witness the collapse of another vibrant sector of our economy and we therefore call on all stakeholders in the supply chain to throw their weight behind CCSR GH to compel government and COCOBOD to review the price or come out with a bonus package.”

    “Though the significant depreciation of the cedi has been a major contributory factor to the degrading economic fundamentals, the dichotomy is that increased exchange differential gives government room to relieve cocoa farmers with a higher producer price for the season. The voices of Cocoa farmers must be heard for if there’s No cocoa, there will not be COCOBOD.”

  • Gh Mouthpiece lied, President Akufo-Addo never ordered me to sack her – Kingdom FM CEO

    The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Unique of Kingdom Communication Limited, Dr. Jonathan Kwame Amofa has quashed reports by Gh Mouthpiece saying that she was dismissed from Kingdom FM on the orders of President Akufo-Addo.

    According to him, those reports are false, untrue and they must be treated with the needed contempt it deserves.

    Dr. Amofa said, he is really surprised by the kind of posturing being put up by Gh Mouthpiece and Ola Michael hence is a calculated attempt to disgrace President Akufo-Addo and himself.

    “Is never true President Akufo-Addo ordered the sack of Gh Mouthpiece, the truth of the matter is that she resigned from Kingdom FM citing personal reasons for her resignation which we could not stop her. Gh Mouthpiece sent a WhatsApp message to the General Manager of Kingdom FM citing her inability to continue her job in which I have WhatsApp evidence to support that, I don’t understand why she decided to bring President Akufo-Addo’s name into this issue to disgrace him. I never sacked her she resigned herself, “Dr. Jonathan Kwame Amofa told Fiifi Pratt on Accra-based Kingdom FM 107.7.

    “Ola Michael and Gh Mouthpiece should be very careful in life because in these media jobs you don’t where you will end one day. Today you can trend on social media but one day it will affect you in your life why must you tarnish someone’s image to trend on social media? “he asked.

    Background

    A former radio presenter at Kingdom FM, known as Gh Mouthpiece, has alleged that Ghana’s president,  Akufo-Addo pressured her director to sack her over comments made against his government and economic hardship under his leadership.

    According to Gh Mouthpiece, the CEO of Kingdom FM, Jonathan Kwame Amofah, was put under pressure to take her off air based on an “order from above”, he told Neat FM.

     

  • We have to pray; a dollar will be selling for GH¢50 before Akufo-Addo leaves power – Odike

    The founder and leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Akwasi Addai Odike, has urged Ghanaians to seriously start praying for divine intervention with the rapid depreciation of the Ghana Cedi.

    According to him, the current government seems to have no clue as to how to stabilise the cedi against the major currencies, including the US dollar, and without God’s intervention, one might need GH¢50 in order to acquire $1 before 2025.

    He added that the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who, as the head of Ghana’s Economic Management Team, is supposed to outline measures to get the country out of the current situation, has suddenly gone quiet.

    “During the time of Atta-Mills, the dollar to cedi rate was relatively better. During the time of Mahama, it depreciated, but now the depreciation is worse.

    “We have to pray because if care is not taken, the dollar will be falling at GH¢50 before Akufo-Addo leaves power.

    “We need someone who will come and tell us that these are the measures we are implementing to stop the cedi from depreciating. Because this can’t continue. Is the vice president still alive,” he said in Twi in a Power FM interview monitored by Ghanaweb.

    Meanwhile, the Ghana cedi is currently the world’s worst-performing currency against the US dollar, Bloomberg reports have indicated.

    The currency has continually depreciated against the dollar in the last couple of months.

    This has been attributed to the situation where “wait-and-see investors continued to squeeze foreign capital to the west African country before its deal with the International Monetary Fund.”

    Bloomberg noted that the cedi lost about 45.1% to the US dollar this year to sell at GH¢11.2625 per dollar.

    This makes the cedi’s depreciation the worst among 148 currencies tracked by Bloomberg, overtaking Sri Lanka’s rupee, whose depreciation has been 44.7%.

  • Man dies after falling from a coconut tree at Offinso

    A man identified as K2 has been reported dead at Offinso Dome in the Offinso South Municipality of the Ashanti Region.

    The deceased, believed to be in his 30s, is said to have died after he fell from the coconut tree at about 3:00 pm on Monday, October 18, 2022.

    According to a report by Otecfmghana.com, the deceased hit his head on some concrete blocks following the fall.

    It is, however, not known what may have caused his fall from the tree.

    Meanwhile, the body of the deceased has been deposited in a mortuary by the police, pending investigations into his death.

  • Being in Lebanon feels like a prison, I earn GH¢600 monthly – Lebanon-based Ghanaian

    Ghanaian based in Lebanon, Ghanaian based in Lebanon, Samira Mohammed has shared her three-year-old experience as a house help in Lebanon, the struggles, and the meager salary she earns.

    In an interview on Daily Hustle Worldwide, Samira mentioned that she works 12 hours a day, all week but earns GHS600. Besides the meager salary, the 22-year-old revealed that living in Lebanon feels like a prison.

    “The monthly salary equivalent to Ghana cedes is GHS600. I send it all to my family because my father lost his cocoa farm, and my mom needs money for her health. The family I work with don’t maltreat me, but the workload is too much, and the salary isn’t enough,” she said.

    Samira implied that she regrets her decision to travel to Lebanon sometimes, but “I thank God because I get something small to send to my family. I want my younger siblings to get an education.”

    Speaking about the living atmosphere in the city she lives in, the young lady revealed that it isn’t as peaceful as Ghana.

    “It hasn’t been peaceful since the explosion. We often hear gunshots and bombs. So we only go out to buy groceries. Many people die here every day. It’s more than living in prison. Everybody is scared. You won’t even hear a car pass by,” Samira noted.

    Miss Mohammed travelled to Lebanon in 2019 and has worked with two families. She was convinced by travel agents who promised good-paying jobs in the Middle East.
    has shared her three-year-old experience as a house help in Lebanon, the struggles, and the meager salary she earns.

    In an interview on Daily Hustle Worldwide, Samira mentioned that she works 12 hours a day, all week but earns GHS600. Besides the meager salary, the 22-year-old revealed that living in Lebanon feels like a prison.

    “The monthly salary equivalent to Ghana cedes is GHS600. I send it all to my family because my father lost his cocoa farm, and my mom needs money for her health. The family I work with don’t maltreat me, but the workload is too much, and the salary isn’t enough,” she said.

    Samira implied that she regrets her decision to travel to Lebanon sometimes, but “I thank God because I get something small to send to my family. I want my younger siblings to get an education.”

    Speaking about the living atmosphere in the city she lives in, the young lady revealed that it isn’t as peaceful as Ghana.

    “It hasn’t been peaceful since the explosion. We often hear gunshots and bombs. So we only go out to buy groceries. Many people die here every day. It’s more than living in prison. Everybody is scared. You won’t even hear a car pass by,” Samira noted.

    Miss Mohammed travelled to Lebanon in 2019 and has worked with two families. She was convinced by travel agents who promised good-paying jobs in the Middle East.

  • Ofosu Ampofo’s courage was tested at Ayawaso West by-election – Asiedu Nketiah

    The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, says the National Chairman of the party, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo’s courage as a leader was tested during the violent Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election.

    According to him, Mr Ofosu Ampofo’s announcement of the NDC’s withdrawal from that crucial by-election was an outright wrong move.

    The Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election held in 2019 was marred by violence after National Security Operatives brutalized voters resulting in some having their legs broken and being admitted to the hospital.

    Mr Ofosu Ampofo has said he arrived at the decision for the NDC to pull out based on the advice given by the party’s security experts, adding that both ex-President John Mahama and Asiedu Nketia were consulted before the decision was made public.

    But Asiedu Nketiah in an interview on Kasapa 102.5FM/Agoo TV denied consenting to that decision.

    “I was attending a conference in the Dominican Republic as the Vice President of Socialist International when Chairman Ofosu Ampofo called me saying that some vigilantes had fired gunshots all over the place and so he thinks the NDC should withdraw from the election. I told him don’t, it is a bad decision, and that he’ll set a bad precedent in the NDC. I told him with violence or not, the NDC will win so the party shouldn’t withdraw.”

    He added: “Right after I was done with him, I received a call from ex-President Mahama telling me he’s picked up information that Ofosu Ampofo intends to announce the party’s withdrawal, it’s a bad move, tell him he shouldn’t do it. I told him I’d spoken to him (Ofosu Ampofo) not to do so. Shortly after, I saw news flashing of Ofosu Ampofo flanked by the party’s security capos announcing the NDC’s withdrawal from the election. One of the reasons he cited was that the NDC Parliamentary candidate is unable to step out of his room. So if the candidate is not able to come out, should the party withdraw from an election,” Asiedu Nketia asked.

    Asked by the host, Bonohene Baffuor Awuah whether he sees Ofosu Ampofo as a weak leader, Asiedu Nketia responded: “his (Ofosu Ampofo) courage was tested at the battlefield and we all saw the results.”

    “During the election in Jaman North and Banda, I was there at the forefront confronting security officers. The good thing about this is that when you are a leader and there’s any frightening situation where soldiers or police officers are intimidating people and the leader steps up and confronts the situation, your followers become empowered and also stand their ground. It is easy for foot soldiers to be attacked when the leadership abandons them,” Asiedu Nketia added.

     

  • Ukraine professor: Russia must be defeated to restore world order

    Oleg Nivievskyi, a professor at the Kyiv School of Economics where he serves as vice-president of economics education, is encouraging Ghana and other African countries to support Ukraine in the fight against Russia.

    On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in an unprovoked act of aggression.

    The aftershocks of the war are being felt by people around the world, including Africa.

    Speaking on The Big Bulletin on Monday (17 October 2022), Nivievskyi said: “At the moment we have to find a way to win [over] Russia, otherwise it’s going to be difficult; it’s going to last for God knows how long.

    “So, Russia has to be defeated, otherwise the world will be insecure. Because what I would like to stress is we, as a civilised world, we need trustful partners, secured partners that we can trust.

    “Russia at the moment is not a trustful partner and it really undermines the world order.”

    Rallying behind Ukraine

    Nivievskyi said that African countries need a “unified voice” to back Ukraine in the fight against Russia.

    “I think African countries can have a stronger voice,” Nivievskyi told Asaase 99.5’s Beatrice Adu. “There was a summit recently in UN in terms of recognising the ‘fake referendum’ which was recently done in Ukraine by Russians, and in that vote there were a couple of African countries that were kind of voting against although the majority were supporting Ukraine.”

    According to him, Russia has to be defeated for the world to get back to normal.

    “So, I will like for the African countries to be more united so that everybody understands the consequences and who is to blame. So, that’s the purpose of this visit. And by establishing platforms for discussions, we really hope the message is getting through and everybody is on the same page.”

    Russia’s war in Ukraine has disrupted the promise of Africa’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by raising food and fuel prices, disrupting trade in goods and services, tightening the fiscal space, constraining green transitions and reducing the flow of development finance around the continent, said United Nations Assistant Secretary General Ahunna Eziakonwa.

    Eziakonwa, who serves as the UN Development Programme’s assistant administrator and regional director for Africa, said the war has put households, communities and countries across Africa in a “very precarious situation”.

    While the level of trade between the African continent as a whole and Russia/Ukraine is insignificant, some African countries rely heavily on these two countries for critical imports, particularly wheat, fertilisers and steel. Disruptions to supplies of these imports has adversely affected African countries.

  • About 60% of banks have approved ESG plans – PwC

    More than half of banks in the country have approved plans to adopt and integrate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies into their business operations, a recently-released study by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) has shown.

    In its 2022 Ghana Banking Survey Report – wherein it surveyed 21 out of the 23 registered universal banks – the advisory notes that 62% of bank executives it surveyed confirmed the existence of such plans, with 86% indicating that the subject is discussed at board level, at least, once every year.

    “Insights from the survey show a clear-cut interest in embracing ESG strategies by banks, both at the board and senior management levels,” PwC’s Country Senior Partner, Vish Ashiagbor, noted in remarks accompanying the report.

    Additionally, 71% of the survey’s respondents believe ESG should be an integral part of their credit decision-making; 63% say the concept is at its nascent stage, and 48% of them describe regulatory leadership and initiative as the main drivers of implementing ESG.

    The top executives pointed to customer satisfaction and employee engagement as the top-two non-financial metrics they are prioritising – ostensibly because these have the most direct consequences on their bottom line.

    PwC attributes the growing ESG focus, in part, to the Sustainable Banking Principles and Sector Guidance Notes introduced as a consequence of sustained collaborative efforts from key industry stakeholders – including the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB).

    “Even though some banks seem to have had some form of ESG strategies in place prior to the release of the principles and sector guidance notes on the subject matter by the regulator, many woke up to the issue only after the regulator’s publication – with only a very few having in place a clear strategy which goes beyond just satisfying the regulator compliance matters required as at now,” Ashiagbor elaborated.

    Despite gains made in awareness and adoption of self-initiated ESG frameworks by the banks, the survey showed that only 48 percent of them have more than 50% of their management team with formal training on the subject. This prompted a call from PwC to accelerate training.

    “There is a need for banks to intensify training on ESG for their staff to advance the ESG agenda and harness its full potential… It may be difficult to achieve more in ESG if key decision-makers in the industry lack adequate knowledge on the subject,” PwC noted.

    This further prompted the advisory firm to advocate the development of a roadmap for implementing sustainable banking practices, with the conviction that “banks will show more commitment and be more accountable to the implementation process”.

    On his part, the chief executive officer of the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB), John Awuah, said the growing interest in ESG is unsurprising, as banks had even before lessons from the pandemic begun shifting away from a narrow focus on shareholder investment maximisation to a broader scope that incorporates long-term sustainability, healthy financial systems and the transition to a green economy.

    “Banking institutions’ strict adherence to sustainable banking principles in prior and recent years has seen some demonstrable improvements. The adherence is a reflection of society’s desire to engage and transact business with banks characterised by strong ethical standards and values,” he said, noting that charting this course will see banks lower their costs, have stronger governance structures, attract environmentally-conscious capital and contribute to sustenance of the world.

    He is confident that the medium-term will see growth in the subject, as the approach adopted by local banks is not only consistent with global best practices but also fits into the country’s development needs.

    Tax lead at PwC, Ayesha Bedwei Ibe, also believes that in addition to policies which incentivise sustainable finance and provide punitive measures for harmful practices, the pressure from investors will see more banks embrace sustainability and enhance their tax transparency.

    These developments come as concerns over sustainability of the planet have come into sharper focus, with a growing interest in ESG. Sources such as the ESG and Thematic Investing unit for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Bloomberg Intelligence is forecasting that ESG assets will grow 10x between now and 2025, from US$530 million to more than US$53 billion.

  • Appointments C’tee disturbed as SC nominee advocates ADR for galamsey cases

    Supreme Court Justice nominee Barbara Frances Ackah-Yensu has shocked some members of the appointments committee including the chairman Joseph Osei-Owusu with her advocacy for applying Alternative Dispute Resolution, (ADR) in environmental crimes including galamsey.

    She opined that the current ADR laws must be amended to that effect.

    “Speaking as a Judicial officer, we will determine if any case comes before us on the harmful nature of galamsey, we’ll look at the particular circumstances of each case and apply the law and make a determination. But as a propenent of ADR, I think that a section of environmental matters in the ADR Act, probably will have to be looked at again so that we can try applying ADR mechanisms in resolving galamsey.”

    The Supreme Court nominee made the suggestion when answering questions from minority leader Haruna Iddrisu on the galamsey menace during her vetting Tuesday.

    When asked the role ADR will play specifically in dealing with galamsey cases, the nominee said:”ADR will come between the communities and the perpetrators if they are made to sit together and have a conversation.”

    Her answer drew in chairman of the committee Joseph Osei-Owusu who questioned whether the nominee has ever been to a galamsey site before to appreciate the level of devastation, but the Justice nominee answered, No!

    On the dwindling confidence in the judiciary by the public, Barbara Frances Ackah-Yensu though conceded some level of confidence has been lost argued majority of the public still has trust in the judicial system thus the increasing number of cases judges have had to deal with every day.

  • Akufo-Addo opens US$173.9-m, 330-kV Kumasi-Bolga transmission line for power export to Burkina Faso

    The French Development Agency (AFD) financed the project at a total cost of US$173.9 million.

    President Akufo-Addo on Sunday, the 16th of October 2022, opened the 330-kilovolt Kumasi-Bolgatanga Transmission Line project at the start of his four-day tour of the Ashanti Region.

    The project, which is an integral part of the West Africa Power Pool Project, seeks to reinforce the Ghana Transmission System, and ensure the export of, at least, 100 megawatts of electricity to Burkina Faso, as well as increase the reliability of the Ghana-Burkina Interconnection project.

    To help achieve this objective, GRIDCo also constructed a 330kV Transmission line from the Aboadze Power Generation enclave through Prestea to Kumasi.

    The 330 kV Kumasi-Bolgatanga Transmission Line Project consisted of the construction of approximately 550km of 330kV Transmission Line from Kumasi to Bolgatanga, the construction of 330kV substations at Kumasi, Kintampo, Tamale and Bolgatanga, as well as the expansion of the existing 161kV Substations at these locations, and the implementation of Environmental Mitigation Measures and a Resettlement Action Plan for the Project.

    The French Development Agency (AFD) financed the project at a total cost of US$173.9 million.

    Not only has the project succeeded in supplying 150 megawatts of power to Burkina Faso, but it has also increased transmission capacity to meet growing demand in Ashanti, northern Ghana and beyond.

    The Minister of Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, also noted that the projects have also contributed to the reduction of transmission line overloads and associated high transmission losses and improved voltages, particularly in Ashanti, Bono and Bono East regions.

    He stressed that the 330kV transmission lines have also helped to improve the quality and reliability of power supply in the country.

    History of WAPP

    The West Africa Power Pool ( WAPP)projects commenced with the Coastal Transmission Backbone Projects (CTB) which involved the construction of 330kV Aboadze-Volta (Tema)-Momehagou (Togo) Transmission Line and associated substations as well as the upgrade of Power Generation facilities in Ghana.

    The projects were jointly implemented by the Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) and Communauté Electrique du Bénin (CEB) of Togo/Benin and completed in 2014.

    The developmental objective of the CTB project was to increase access of WAPP “Zone A” coastal states (Cote-d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin & Nigeria) to more stable and reliable electricity to alleviate power supply deficits and to reduce their collective vulnerability to drought-induced power supply disruptions.

    The subsequent project was the Interzonal Hub Transmission Project. The development objective of the first phase of the project was to reduce the cost of and improve the security of electricity supply to Burkina Faso while increasing Ghana’s electricity export capacity.

  • Akufo-Addo’s convoy booed in Kumasi

    The Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi, was on Monday, October 17, the scene of jeers and catcalls for President Akufo-Addo, who was inspecting the Phase II of the Kejetia/Central Market Project.

    On their way to the Kumasi Central Market, the president’s convoy was met by scores of traders at Adum in the central business district who had displayed their wares for sale.

    On seeing the vehicles conveying the president and government officials, the group of market women, hawkers and artisans wasted no time in voicing their displeasure with the prevailing economic situation.

    In a video posted on the microblogging platform, TikTok, the traders and passersby are seen in the chorus of boos as the convoy advanced.

    In good times, the stronghold of the ruling New Patriotic Party would be most welcoming of the President, with residents waving their approval, with some offering their cloths for a carpet for him to walk on.

    The economic downturn and its attendant increasing hardships appear to have eroded all of that love.

    This is the second time the President has been booed in public. During the Global Citizens Festival, the youth who gathered at the concert jeered at him.

    Social media users joined the discussion on whether or not booing President Akufo-Addo is was justified.

    Meanwhile, the President has commissioned a 20-unit residential facility for justices of the Appeals Court in Kumasi.

    The project, which comprises four bedrooms each, a swimming pool and recreational facilities, has been completed on schedule.

    It is expected to ease the accommodation pressure of the justices and fast-track adjudication of cases at the Appeals Court in Kumasi.

    This means justices of the court, who commute from Accra to Kumasi, can be accommodated in Kumasi to help reduce the cost and time to promote justice delivery.

    Ahead of the commissioning, Project Manager of FeDems Limited, consultants for the project, Benjamin Fosuhene Asante, told JoyNews the facilities are tailor-made for the justices.

    About three weeks ago (September 24, 2022) President Akufo-Addo was treated to a similar unfriendly reception by youthful partygoers at the Global Citizen Festival in Accra.

    During the festival, the president who had been introduced to tout the government’s initiatives in prioritising vital causes in line with the organisers’ mission for social justice, was interjected by the youthful revellers who simply wanted him ‘away’.

    Akufo-Addo commissions 20-unit residential facility for justices of Appeals CourtThe facility would accommodate justices who usually commute from Accra to Kumasi to sit on cases

    Some government communicators later described the development as the doing of the opposition National Democratic Congress while, a Deputy Tourism Minister called the jeers as cheers for the President.

     

  • AGHA partners GIZ, GHS to organise Covid-19 workshop for healthcare service providers

    The African German Health Association (AGHA) have organised a Covid-19 workshop for healthcare service providers within the Ga East and Ablekuma North districts in the Greater Accra region.

    This is in partnership with the German Development Cooperation implemented by GIZ and government through the Health Ministry and Ghana Health Service.

    The project, which will span three months, will focus on five main working packages.

    They include Infection Prevention and Control Knowledge Exchange and Capacity Building for Covid-19 Vaccines; Healthcare Waste Management Knowledge Exchange and Capacity Building for Covid-19 Vaccines; Supply Chain and Cold Chain Logistics for Covid-19 vaccines; Increase Acceptance of Covid-19 Vaccination for Clinical and Non-Clinical Healthcare Facility Personnel.

    Addressing the media after one of the workshop sessions, the Project Manager for AGHA, Nana Ama Konadu Aning, said the team started the training with Infection Prevention & Control because they believe it is very vital at vaccination centres.

    She explained that the outcome from the assessments, workshops and mentoring sessions at the vaccination centres will be shared with their counterparts in Germany, and the German team will also do the same to enable both countries to compare their approaches and where necessary, bridge the gap to improve Covid-19 vaccination.

    “With funding support from the German Development Cooperation implemented by GIZ, AGHA undertook a Covid-19 vaccination campaign project. This is a training and workshop program that focuses on five main areas. Today we came to do the Workshop for Infection and Prevention Control at vaccination centres.”

    “We are engaged in a knowledge exchange and capacity building between Germany and Ghana in order to better understand the situation at the vaccination centres in both countries and find ways to bridge any gaps that exist”

    Among other things, the workshop will also aim at identifying the challenges that the districts face in discharging their duties which is the administration of the Covid-19 vaccines.

    She said the two districts were settled on for the campaign because they were recommended by the Ghana Health Service. According to her, the workshop was also used to educate healthcare personnel on the need to get vaccinated.

    What Has Been Uncovered?

    Biomedical Engineer and Infection, Prevention & Control expert with AGHA, Josephine Owusu-Akyaw who represented Ghana as part of the campaign indicated that their visit to the two districts brought to light an array of issues that healthcare service providers are facing in administering the vaccines.

    According to her, some vaccinators have to deal with being given very little space to operate and sitting under trees where they are exposed to harsh weather conditions.

    “There are a lot of struggles at the various vaccination centres. For example, in Ablekuma North, there are no government hospitals so most of these vaccination centres are forced to attach to private hospitals where they are given just a small space to operate. Some have to sit under trees exposed to the weather, insects and other forms of conditions.”

    She said the team from AGHA also took note of items that were lacking at the vaccination centres and are planning on contributing their quota to ensure that the vaccinations are carried out under strict adherence.

    Outcome compared to Germany

    Marcus Ricken, a German representative of AGHA said the same exercise took place in Germany where vaccination centres were assessed to check their compliance with international standards. He said;

    “The concept was basically to exchange knowledge so that the participants could draw their own conclusion and witness how certain Covid-19 vaccination-related challenges were handled.

    “We provided templates and guidelines to hygienic concepts which the participants used as free samples useful for adaptation purposes.”

    Mr Ricken said that based on their visits, the major challenge faced by vaccinators is largely logistics hence their inability to fully discharge their duties.

    Indeed, the Covid-19 Vaccination Campaign is timely and needs all the support as it will help increase acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination in Ghana to reduce the infection burden.

  • Illegal miners forcing residents out of their homes

    Some residents in the Eastern Region town of Apinamang are intimidated and frustrated as they are being forced out of their homes by illegal miners.

    Activities of illegal mining popularly called ‘galamsey’ is beginning to wreak havoc and is threatening the livelihoods of residents.

    In the case of Joyce Wowornyo, the ‘galamseyers’ have dug around her house in a bid to take over her land in search of gold.

    She lives far in the Apinamang forest and has witnessed the terrible effects of illegal mining firsthand.

    The miners offered to buy her out of her land.

    “One day, the miners came and asked me to pack out. I refused. So they excavated the land around us. They made a circle round my house. Now my farm land has been destroyed. I put all my energy into it,” Joyce lamented.

    The 43-year-old mother of five recounted that her experience with the illegal miners was scary.

    “Many times they threatened me. They even told me they had already bought the land from someone. I still didn’t move. Sometimes, I would be cooking in my kitchen and they would digging just in front of me.”

    Illegal miners forcing residents out of their homes
    The illegal miners leave the mining pits uncovered
    Illegal miners forcing residents out of their homes
    Joyce Wowornyo says she is being threatened by the illegal miners because she refused to sell her land to them.

    Touring some illegal mining sites in the area with the Christian Council, JoyNews discovered that Joyce Wowornyo is not alone in the Apinamang forest.

    Illegal miners forcing residents out of their homes
    A galamsey site in the Apinamang forest

    Many small households are seen abandoned with the lands excavated.

    The chief of the area, Osabarima Bibiarawonemere Oware Asare Pinkro III, noted that activities of illegal mining is getting out of hand.

    “I am helpless. If you go to check the extent of damage caused by these illegal miners and how they have left the pits uncovered, you will be sad. I will not, and cannot be part of the galamsey activities.

    Illegal miners forcing residents out of their homes
    Osabarima Bibiarawonemere Oware Asare Pinkro III

    “The streams and all the water bodies have been polluted,” he bemoaned.

    Members of the Christian Council of Ghana also visited the area to assess the level of devastation caused by illegal mining as they prepare to take a stand against activities of galamsey.

    Illegal miners forcing residents out of their homes
    Houses left abandoned in the Apinamang forest

    Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has given yet another verbal assurance his government will stop the illegal mining menace.

    He was speaking at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi at the start of a four-day tour of the Ashanti region.

     

  • 46-year-old man arrested for allegedly raping, and murdering his ex-wife

    A 46-year-old man, Kwabena Mawuli, has been arrested for allegedly raping and killing his former wife at Suminakese in the Kwahu District of the Eastern Region.

    The victim, Yaa Kesewaa, and the suspect were married for five years without a child and have been divorced for the last five years.

    According to a report by Onuaonline.com, a nephew of the deceased, Kwasi Ofori, said Kwabena Mawuli, on Friday, October 14, 2022, went to his farm where he shares a boundary with his ex-wife.

    The suspect waited for Kesewaa to arrive and pounced on her, and forcibly had sex with her. The suspect, fearing that his victim would file a complaint, subsequently slashed the back of her neck with a cutlass.

    Mawuli then sneaked back home but was spotted by some residents who were sceptical about his unusual early return from the farm.

    The suspect, however, confessed to committing the crime after being picked up and interrogated over the death of his former wife.

     

  • Meet Adolf Hitler’s top personal pilot who was also Nkrumah’s pilot

    In Ghana, the name Hanna Reitsch may not readily mean much to most people, but it is a name that has relevance because of her direct link to Kwame Nkrumah.

    The German pilot is considered one of the few people to have seen Adolf Hitler, the German dictator who ruled with iron hands, alive.

    But more relevant to Ghana is that while Hanna Reitsch was Hitler’s pilot, she also served as Ghana’s presidential pilot, flying the country’s first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, until his government was toppled.

    Hanna Reitsch’s link to Ghana:

    The first time Hanna came to Ghana was in the 1960s.

    This was after she was sponsored by the West German foreign office as a technical adviser in Ghana and elsewhere, according to wikipedia.com.

    Other details shared by the Daily Graphic showed that Hanna Reitsch, described as a “mysterious” woman, arrived in the country during the 1962 independence celebration.

    In its caption on her arrival, the newspaper captioned it as, “The Lady Who Dares the Heaven,” with the general assumption that she was in for a visit and would leave after the anniversary.

    However, it emerged that Kwame Nkrumah had other plans. The details showed that Nkrumah had sold the idea of relocating to Ghana and overseeing the country’s aviation development to Hanna Reitsch.

    As a German war hero, she is reported to have agreed and went on to pitch camp in Ghana for the rest of Nkrumah’s government.

    With Reitsch in the saddle, Nkrumah is said to have set in motion his plans for Ghana’s aviation. Historical records also show that Reitsch founded the first African national gliding school at Afienya.

    While overseeing her training of male and female pilots at the school, Hanna Reitsch also worked with the Ghana Armed Forces as an instructor and imparted her knowledge.

    Reitsch’s operation in Ghana had the approval of the then-West German government.

    Reitsch’s official role was as a technical advisor, but she went beyond that. History indicates that she became Nkrumah’s most preferred and trusted pilot.

    Between 1962 and 1666, when the Kwame Nkrumah government was toppled, Reitsch lived in Ghana and flew with Kwame Nkrumah.

    Who was Hanna Reitsch?

    Born in Hirschberg, Silesia, of the German Empire, on March 29, 1912, to an upper-middle-class family, Hanna Reitsch, was the daughter of Dr. Wilhelm (Willy) Reitsch, who was an ophthalmology clinic manager, and his wife, Emy Helff-Hibler von Alpenheim, who was a member of the Austrian nobility.

    Details on wikipedia.com show that her mother was a devout Catholic, and so she was raised as a protestant. She had two siblings, her brother Kurt, a frigate captain, and her younger sister Heidi. Reitsch began flight training in 1932 at the School of Gliding in Grunau.

    While a medical student in Berlin, she enrolled in a German Air Mail amateur flying school for powered aircraft at Staaken, training in a Klemm Kl 25.

    Along with Melitta von Stauffenberg, she flight tested many of Germany’s new aircraft during World War II and received many honours. Reitsch was among the very last people to meet Adolf Hitler alive in the Führerbunker in late April 1945.

    Reitsch set more than 40 flight altitude records and women’s endurance records in gliding and unpowered flight, before and after World War II.

  • ‘The Lord knows best’ – Ofori-Atta to Kwasi Kwarteng after sack

    Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has shared his sentiments on the firing of British-born Ghanaian UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.

    The Minister stated that it was painful to realize tha t a Ghanaian has strived to achieve such a feat but has had to lose the job just a few days after the appointment.

    Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked as UK’s chancellor after 6 weeks in office.

    According to a Reuters report attributing the development to the UK Times newspaper, Liz Truss is preparing to reverse a decision announced in the country’s mini-budget which was delivered by Kwasi Kwarteng.

    The mini-budget has since sparked financial turmoil in the markets and caused a revolt among Conservative MPs in the UK.

    Ofori-Atta added that he has reached out to Kwesi Kwarteng with a message that says God knows best.

    “The pain or sadness is that he is a Ghanaian reaching almost the highest level, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Yes, we sat together three days ago.

    “I am always very optimistic, if one is really doing things in truth there might be some waves but the Lord will see him through. I was surprised at what happened. I have sent an email to him, I told him the Lord knows best,” Ofori-Atta is quoted by 3news.com.

     

  • Government should have held on with fuel price increment till 2023 – GPRTU

    General Secretary for Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Godfred Abubire has stated that government should have held on till next year before increasing the fuel price, noting very well that times are hard for Ghanaians.

    This follows the recent increment in fuel prices.

    The Institute for Energy Security (IES) projected that fuel price will increase by October 16, 2022.

    This was due to the increases in price of the products on the international market, and the significant decline in the value of the local currency against the American greenback or US dollar.

    Speaking on Atinka TV‘s morning show, Ghana Nie with Ekourba Gyasi Simpremu, Mr. Godfred Abubire said it is possible transport fares will be increased by 40 per cent.

    He said anything less than 40 per cent would affect their businesses.

    When asked if GPRTU does not care if the passengers can pay or not, he said, “If the situation in Ghana is something to talk about, then there is no need for the review of government fares. The government should have held on for next year after January 2023, but at this last moment that it has reviewed charges and all other things, all the insurance bills will also go up.” “We are looking at the action taken by the government and whatever happens, we will get back to the public,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the President of Ghana Committed Drivers Association, Charles Danso also on Atinka TV predicted that the increment in transport fares will be about 18 to 20 per cent and not 4o percent as stated by GPRTU.

     

  • Fuel hikes: Energy Ministry to engage stakeholders over price methodology

    The Ministry of Energy has said it will soon meet the National Petroleum Association (NPA), the Ministry of Finance, and the central bank to find solutions to the rising cost of fuel in the country.

    The Ministry’s assurance comes on the back of unprecedented hikes in fuel prices in recent times.

    Petrol is currently selling at GHC13 and diesel has closed the Ghc15 mark as the current increment is likely to affect transport fares shortly.

    However, speaking on the Morning Starr with Francis Abban Monday, the Deputy Minister for Energy, Andrew Egyapa Mercer indicated that the pricing methodology does not favor the consumer.

    He added that the Ministry of Energy is therefore taking pragmatic steps towards ensuring that the pricing methodology does not affect the consumer.

    “So the plan is to engage the NPA together with the Bank of Ghana and officials from the Ministry of Finance and Energy to see how these pricing methods will create value for consumers,” the deputy minister stated.

    However, the Institute of Energy Security (IES) has predicted a further increase in fuel prices because of the continuous depreciation of the Ghana cedi.

    IES also hinged a hike in fuel prices on the decision by Oil Producing Countries to scale down on the production of crude oil.

    “I will not say there is an end in sight. I am not convinced because if you look at the international market, Italy and others are cutting down on production of supply. The key one being the crude oil that will impact on price negatively,” the Executive Director of IES, Nana Amuasi VII told Starr News.

  • Food and Beverage Association joins GUTA’s protest to close down shops

    The Food and Beverage Association of Ghana (FABAG) has served notice that its members within the retail sector will close down business effective Wednesday, October 19, 2022.

    The move, according to the association is in line with the Ghana Union of Traders Association’s (GUTA) planned protest to close down shops on Wednesday.

    A statement issued by FABAG’s General Secretary, Samuel Ato Aggrey reiterated that the action has become necessary due to government’s failure to address issues affecting their businesses.

    “From beginning of this year, businesses have accumulated losses through some of government’s unfriendly policies. All efforts to engage government to remedy the situation has proved futile,” the statement said.

    FABAG in its statement berated the economic management team for no meaningful efforts towards remedying the situation in the face of the current economic hardship.

  • ‘Involve more informal sector players in financial investment portfolios’ – Investment Advisor

    Banking Executive, Ramat Ebella Whajah Ellis has called on African financial systems to involve more informal sector players in the development of financial investment portfolios.

    “We should not assume that all people understand stocks, bonds, treasury bills, fixed deposits, cocoa bills, trust accounts, shares, and mutual funds among others.

    “As financial players, we must help people with a marginal understanding of the financial language to appreciate these terminologies, and translate them into the informal economy,” Mrs. Ellis who is an Investment Advisor to the Centre for Greater Impact Africa (CGIA) stated at the Ghana News Agency Tema Industrial News Hub Boardroom Dialogue platform.

    Speaking on the topic, “Investment and Sustainable Development”, Mrs Ellis also called on players in the financial sector to explain certain financial and economic terminologies to the understanding of non-financial people.

    Mrs. Ellis who is also a financial planner noted that understanding some basic information about financial investments can be a great first step in learning how to invest, “knowing your path to retirement or maximizing the rate of return on your money.

    “A financial investment is an asset that you put money into with the hope that it will grow or appreciate into a larger sum of money, the idea is that you can later sell it at a higher price or earn money on it while you own it.”

    She explained that investment is an asset that you put money into with the hope that it will grow or appreciate into a larger sum of money. The idea is that you can later sell it at a higher price or earn money on it while you own it.

    Mrs. Ellis, therefore, called for the broadening of the scope of financial investment education to liberate citizens from poverty, adding that, “You may be looking to grow something over the next year, such as saving up for a car, or over the next 30 years, such as saving for retirement.

    Mrs. Ellis, who is also a financial analyst stressed that it is important to note that there is also an economic definition of financial investments that deal with how businesses invest in products, equipment, factories, employees, and inventories.

    She advised potential investors to “sit down and take an honest look at your entire financial situation – especially if you have never made a financial plan before.”

    “The first step to successful investing is figuring out your goals and risk tolerance-either on your own or with the help of a financial professional.”

    She explained: “If you get the facts about saving and investing and follow through with an intelligent plan, you should be able to gain financial security over the years and enjoy the benefits of managing your money.”

    Mrs. Ellis stressed that all investments involve some degree of risk, and said, “if you intend to purchase securities-such as stocks, bonds, or mutual funds – it’s important that you understand before you invest that you could lose some or all of your money.”

    However, she noted that the reward for taking on risk is the potential for a greater investment return, “if you have a financial goal with a long-time horizon, you are likely to make more money by carefully investing in asset categories with greater risk, like stocks or bonds, rather than restricting your investments to assets with less risk, like cash equivalents.”

    On the other hand, Mrs. Ellis noted that investing solely in cash investments may be appropriate for short-term financial goals, the principal concern for individuals investing in cash equivalents is inflation risk, which is the risk that inflation will outpace and erode returns over time.

  • GEPA building capacities of SMEs to increase exports

    The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) is building the capacities of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) to help empower and strengthen them to increase production base to enter the international market.

    Francis Fosu Kwakye, Deputy Zonal Officer for Ashanti, Bono and Bono East regions, who stated this said improvement of standards of products of SMEs and exporting more, would help the country achieve the National Export Development Strategy (NEDS) target of 25.3 billion dollars by 2029.

    He was speaking at a day’s export school organised by GEPA in Ashanti region for registered SMEs and prospective exporters in Kumasi aimed at equipping participants in the knowledge and skills needed for export.

    They were taught contract negotiations, social media marketing, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), trade agreements, skills in non-traditional exports (NTEs), among others.

    Mr Kwakye said GEPA was building capacities of more exporters to expand production and add value to manufactured goods.

    He said among the products that were being supported to help increase their export targets and improve the economy, were sugar, salt, cocoa products, pharmaceuticals and textiles.

    Diana Bosompem, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of 360 Naturals Cosmetics, said the export school was a refreshing course to equip them with skills to enhance their exports activities.

    She encouraged all SMEs to register their businesses with GEPA, to acquire the knowledge needed to improve their businesses and be export worthy.

     

  • Ghana Cedi is the world’s worst performing currency against dollar

    Ghana’s cedi slumped to the world’s worst-performing currency to the dollar as wait-and-see investors continued to squeeze foreign capital into the west African country before its deal with the International Monetary Fund(IMF).

    The currency of the world’s second-biggest cocoa producer depreciated 2% on Monday to 11.2625 per dollar, taking its losses this year to 45.1%, the most among 148 currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

    The currency that derived its name from ‘sedie’, the local Akan language name for cowrie shell, switched position with the Sri Lankan rupee, which is now the second worst performer with a 44.7% drop to the greenback this year.

    Ghana started engaging with the IMF in July but only began formal negotiations for an extended credit facility program with the lender last month.

    The country is hoping to receive up to $3 billion in loans over three years under the arrangement to spur its finances and support the balance of payments.

    Ghana reversed course to seek IMF help after homegrown policies, including cutting 2022 discretionary expenditure by up to 30%, failed to stem a selloff in its international bonds.

    The premium investors demand over US Treasuries to hold Ghana debt has widened to 2,669 basis points.

  • Salaga South: MP donates 1,200 mathematical sets to BECE candidates

    Hajia Zuwera Mohammed Ibrahimah, the MP for Salaga South Constituency, has donated 1,200 pieces of mathematical sets to BECE candidates in the East Gonja municipality.

    The external examination will start on Monday (17 October) across Ghana.

    The donation is to help the students, especially those who are unable to afford mathematical sets to pass their exams.

    Officials of the East Gonja education directorate received the items. The Municipal director in charge of finance and administration Braimah Mahama expressed gratitude to the MP for her kind gesture and gave assurance to the lawmaker that they will be distributed to the beneficiaries.

    The MP, who had earlier made a cash donation of GHC 4,000 to the directorate to conduct mock examinations for the candidates, is also absorbing the transportation, accommodation and feeding for candidates from far places to the capital Salaga throughout the examination period.

     

  • YEA employs 6,000 community health workers across Ghana

    Over 6000 youth passed out on Friday (14 October 2022) under the Youth Employment Agency’s (YEA) Community Health Worker (CHW) module across the 16 regions of Ghana.

    For the very first time, the beneficiaries are going to receive a monthly allowance of GHC500, an improvement on the GHC250 that was received by their previous cohorts.

    CHW is a module of the YEA that is focusing on the selection of young indigenes of the various communities, trained and posted to work in selected districts, sub-districts and communities across the country to assist community health officers, nurses and midwives in their health service delivery, particularly in the area of health promotion, disease surveillance and disease prevention.

    The current CHW module, in partnership with the Ghana Health Service, is an improved version of previous ones with a new focus of improving the impact of beneficiaries in their communities, improve the wellbeing of citizens, and most importantly contribute immensely towards supporting the beneficiaries to identify their career paths.

    Speaking at the national passing out ceremony in the Eastern Region on Friday, the CEO of YEA, Kofi Baah Agyepong, announced that for the first time, formal arrangements have been made with the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service to give a special dispensation to the beneficiaries during admissions into nursing training schools, premised on the requisite field and practical knowledge.

    He eulogised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his commitment to youth employment and development, and further dedication to the sustainable development goals. He said even in the face of severe economic hardships, both locally and globally, funds to run the CHW and other modules have been made available by the government to ensure that the youth have jobs.

    The visibly elated beneficiaries praised President Akufo-Addo for the opportunity, especially the 100% increment of their allowance.

    Agyepong admonished the beneficiaries nationwide to be very hardworking and diligent in their work as the agency will not countenance truancy, laziness and misbehaviour during their engagement period.

    Agyepong also hinted that over 15,000 personnel will also be recruited in the YEA’s Community Protection Assistants Module in the coming months.

    The Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Kwame Acheampong, assisted by some MCEs praised the government for the numerous interventions geared towards creating more opportunities and alleviation or reducing the impact of the current global economic crises on Ghanaians, especially the youth.

    The national event took place in the Eastern Region, hosted by the Eastern Regional Director of the Youth Employment Agency Jerry Osei-Poku and his team, whilst all other regions held

  • Ghana fully committed to global slum upgrading plan, says Asenso-Boakye

    Ghana’s Minister of works and housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has given assurance to world leaders that the country is committed to upgrading existing slums, while preventing the emergence of new ones in the country.

    He made this known while addressing participants at a high-level meeting to launch the “Global Action Plan Framework on Informal Settlements and Slums” being held in Pretoria, South Africa by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the government of South Africa.

    Asenso-Boakye said there is the urgent need for a coherent and integrated national urban and housing policies, which prioritises the implementation of national developmental plans, policies, and result-oriented programmes and projects for slums.

    “Ghana has taken the bold step in the development of a draft slum upgrading and prevention strategy, following the country’s active participation in the implementation of Phases 1 and 2 of the “Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme (PSUP)” and the emergence of this Global Action Plan will help shape our strategy for effective implementation,” the minister added.

    Asenso-Boakye said the importance of the Global Action Plan Framework on Informal Settlements and Slums, cannot be over-emphasised as it will consolidate, and amplify the world’s collective resolve to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the New Urban Agenda (NUA).

    The Executive director of the UN-Habitat, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, while speaking at the launch lauded various governments for their resolve towards upgrading of existing and prevention of slums.

    The high-level meeting also brought together ministers, top government officials, as well as civil societies who continue to play active roles in upgrading and transforming informal settlements.

    Global action plan framework

    The international meeting will see to the launching of a Global Action Plan Framework to transform Informal Settlements and Slums in the Decade of Action, accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda. The International Meeting leverages the momentum of the Urban October and the preparation process for the UN-Habitat Assembly in June 2023.

    The Global Action Plan Framework Initiative is anchored in the Slums and Informal Settlements Network (SiSnet) launched during Habitat III in Quito as part of the global Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme (PSUP), initiated by the Organization of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), financed by the European Commission and implemented by UN-Habitat.

    The Global Action Plan Framework is informed by the co-creation of a global publication in search of solutions to the challenges of informal settlements and slums. The publication provides a snapshot of the current global status quo of slums and informal settlements, reflects on lessons learnt in the past 20 years and identifies sustainable and inclusive solutions for transforming informal settlements and slums. The Government of South Africa invites Member States to launch a resolution formulation process shaping commitments and endorsement in support of the Global Action Plan Framework.

    The intention of the Global Action Plan Framework is to take coordination, collaboration, commitments and partnerships to the next level. It consolidates and amplifies efforts for accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda (NUA) in the Decade of Action. It provides a joint vision to inform actions framed by partnerships and is the basis for Member States to elevate commitments in form of a resolution to be pledged in the UN-Habitat Assembly process.

  • US$330 million Boankra Inland Port to be completed by March 2024

    The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has been assured that the US$330 million Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal project, popularly referred to as the Boankra Inland Port Project, which has been on the drawing board for some eighteen (18) years, will be completed by the first quarter of 2024.

    The concessionaire, Ashanti Ports Services Limited, a joint venture of Afum Quality Limited of Ghana and DSS Associates of the Republic of Korea, made this known on Sunday, 16th October 2022, when President Akufo-Addo visited the site of the construction.

    Covering a total land area of 413 acres, the President was informed by the Concessionaire that “we are working to deliver this job within the schedule date. By the end of 2023 eighty percent (80%) will be done, and, by the end of the first quarter 2024, we will finish the project.”

    The Concessionaire was hopeful that the eastern and western railway lines will be completed on schedule, which will further improve the viability of the Boankra inland port.

    The idea of the Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal project has been in the pipeline since the days of the Government of the 2nd President of the 4th Republic, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor. In attempting to bring it into fruition, it encountered a number of challenges, a significant one being the exit of the NPP government in 2009.

    2020 Sod-cutting

    Cutting the sod for the construction of the Port on Thursday, 5th November 2020, the President explained that the Boankra Inland Port project has been initiated to provide service to importers and exporters in the middle and northern parts of the country, and also to act as a major conduit for the efficient transportation of transit traffic to and from our neighbouring landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

    After completion of the Terminal, it will be fitted with an inland clearance depot, customs bonded and unbonded estates, commercial areas such as banks, offices and trading facilities, vehicle parking areas, light industrial areas, and an administration complex.

    The Project will also offer significant employment opportunities for both skilled and unskilled labour during the two phases of construction and operation. Beyond the creation of jobs, there are other ancillary small and medium scale businesses that will be located within the enclave to support the operations of the Terminal.

    “It is noteworthy that the transformation of the Ghanaian economy, from a raw material producing and exporting one, to an industrialised one, will be given a huge impetus with the coming on stream of this facility.

    Government’s commitment to establishing firmly the economy of Ghana on a solid path of industrialisation, with the view to delivering a vision of self-reliance, development and prosperity for all, is unwavering,” he added.

    The Concessionaire, Ashanti Ports Services Limited, a joint venture of Afum Quality Limited of Ghana and DSS Associates of the Republic of Korea, according to President Akufo-Addo, is committed to investing a total of $330 million for the realisation of this project.

    Additionally, the Concessionaire is expected to design, engineer, finance, procure, construct, operate, and maintain the project, and transfer title to the Government after a thirty (30) year period.

    “It is my hope and expectation that the Concessionaire will not renege on the confidence reposed in it, and will take all the necessary actions to deliver the project on schedule and on budget,” he added.

    One of the success stories of the Africa economic integration agenda is the coming into force of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

    The objective of the AfCFTA is to promote trade among African countries, with the President stressing that “this will be buoyed by the presence of an effective and efficient transport system, especially as Ghana is playing host to the Secretariat”.

    President Akufo-Addo was hopeful that “this project and other similar infrastructure projects, such as the development of the Keta Port, the Tema-Akosombo Railway Line, and the ongoing port expansion projects at Tema and Takoradi Ports, would make a positive contribution in ensuring that Ghana derives maximum benefits from the AfCFTA.”

  • It’s your problem if you vote for NDC – Akufo-Addo to residents of Kwabre and Manso

    President Akufo-Addo has stated that threats of voting against him or the New Patriotic Party(NPP)  due to unfulfilled promises or lack of development under his tenure, especially, is a personal decision which he cannot be bothered about.

    “People make those kinds of threats; they don’t frighten me. Somebody votes for you, and somebody supports you. It’s because they want you to do certain things for them. I understand that. But there is no need for people to say that if I am unable to do this and that… those are their own issues to deal with. Of course, I will do it (the road).

    “But if it comes to the election and you choose to vote for the NDC, that is your own issue that is not my worry because nobody holds your thumb to vote; it is your own work. The important thing is that I understand my responsibility, and we will deal with it,” the president said during an interview on Kumasi-based Otec FM.

    The president was reacting to a message sent into the radio programme by a listener who stated that residents of Kwabre and Manso would vote against the NPP if President Akufo-Addo’s government failed to construct their roads.

    The message, as read by the host of the programme, Captain Koda, stated that the residents of the area, being a stronghold of the NPP, voted massively for President Akufo-Addo.

    “Our plea through you (roads minister) to the Mr President is that when you look at the voting pattern, residents of Kwabre voted massively for Nana. They said I should tell the president that they will be pained if you don’t construct their roads for them in 2024; they will vote against the NPP,” the host, sending the message through the Minister for Roads and Transport, Kwasi Amoako Atta, who was in the studio with the president, said.

     

  • NSS allowance hasn’t been increased since 2016 – Agbana pleads with Akufo-Addo to increase GH¢559 allowance

    The Deputy National Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress, , has urged President Akufo-Addo to as a matter of urgency increase the allowance given to personnel of the National Service Scheme (NSS).

    In a letter addressed to the president, which was sighted by GhanaWeb, Agbana said that the GH¢559 allowance has not been increased for the past 6 years despite the worsening economic conditions in the country.

    He added that the fact that the Akufo-Addo government has not increased the allowance since 2016 is very worrying because every government since the inception of the scheme has increased it to help improve the livelihood of the personnel.

    “Your excellency, there can be no doubt that the country is facing unprecedented economic challenges. This is evidenced by the rising inflationary pressures on basic food supplies, fuel and transport, the depreciation in the value of our local currency and the ripple effect these have on other vital sectors of the economy.

    “For the young people of this country, national service personnel, in particular, there seems to be no end in sight as they reel under the pangs of the economic hardship. A monthly allowance of about US$43, being the equivalent of GH¢559, is simply unsustainable as the value of the cedi plummets against the rising cost of living.

    “More than ever before, Mr. President, we must match the enthusiasm and hard work of our national service personnel with improved allowance packages to cushion them and enable them to navigate these hard economic times,” parts of the later read.

    Meanwhile, the Management of NSS has announced the release of the 2022/2023 National Service postings.

    A total of One hundred and fifteen thousand, two hundred and forty (115,240) prospective national service personnel enrolled to undertake their mandatory national service for the 2022/2023 service year.

    A statement issued by the NSS said: “The prospective service personnel include the year 2022 eligible Ghanaian graduates from accredited tertiary institutions in the country, defaulters who submitted their applications for postings, and private registrants.”

    The NSS urged prospective service personnel to log onto the scheme’s website, “to check their placements.”

  • 2022 BECE: Students express joy after first paper in Accra

    The 2022 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) commenced today, Monday, October 17, 2022.

    Over 552,000 final-year students from 18,501 Junior High Schools (JHSs) across the country are expected to take part in the examination.

    GhanaWeb visited some of the centres in Accra to interact with the students, teachers, and supervisors on how the examination is going so far.

    At the Accra Academy School BECE centre, most of the students were elated after completing the first paper of their first external examination in Ghana.

    Some of the students said that even though they were nervous at the start of the examination, they became calm after a few minutes after the first paper of the day, Social Studies, had started.

    “The social studies paper was good; it was manageable. We are just hoping for the best,” a candidate from the Kaneshi Bishop School, Martha Boateng, said.

    “At first, there was a little fear in me, but later I became calm because it was just like the normal papers we used to write, like the mock examinations,” she added.

    The teachers who spoke to GhanaWeb also indicated that they were getting good feedback from their students.

    The Assistant Headteacher for Kaneshi Bishop JHS, John Kolou, said that his students told him that all expectations were met.

    He indicated that he was also impressed with how the examination was going so far because there was no delay in the commencement of the exams.

    “When they (the candidates) came out, they said it was okay. I believe it was because we covered a lot during the preparation that made them have it on the easier,” he said.

    The supervisor of the centre, who is also the assistant headmaster of the Accra Academy in charge of academics, John Odame Adjei, said that all the students expected for the examination were present on the first day.

    Odame Adjei added that no examination malpractice was recorded at the centre.

    “We had a total of 367 candidates; 205 were girls, and 162 were boys. The exams started on time. We had no malpractice. All the students were present. The head teachers of the various JHS were very cooperative. They brought their students too, very early,” he said.

    Ten schools, including Pentecost JHS, Class Peter JHS, Idle Community School, Bubuashie SDA JHS, Bubuashie Cable and Wireless JHS, and Happy Home Academy, will be taking the exams at Accra Academy.

    The 2022 BECE is expected to end on Friday, October 21, 2022.

    Social Studies and Information Technology are to be written today (October 17); on Tuesday, October 18, Mathematics Basic Design and Technology; on Wednesday, October 19, English Language and Religious and Moral Education; on Thursday, October 20, Integrated Science and Ghanaian Language; and on Friday, October 21, French.

  • Excellent Ofori-Atta will not be sacked – Akufo-Addo

    President Akufo-Addo says there is no basis for him to sack the Finance Minister Ofori-Atta.

    According to him, Ken Ofori-Atta has discharged his duties “excellently” and he cannot relieve such a person of his position.

    President Akufo-Addo speaking on OTEC FM on Monday said he has full confidence in the Minister who is his cousin.

    He insisted that Ofori-Atta cannot be blamed for the current economic woes the country is facing.

    “I came to office in 2017 under a stringent IMF programme. This same man was able to manage the affairs of our economy in such a way that in my first term, we were one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

    “An average growth rate of 7% which allowed us to initiate programmes such as Planting for Food and Jobs. So somebody who has been able to do that. The current difficulties are not his fault. So how do I do it (sack him)? What will be the basis? What will be the rationale.”

    There is no basis to sack Ofori-Atta - Akufo-Addo

    President Akufo-Addo thus said calls for him to sack the Minister is unjustified.

    “If we were to say he didn’t do well in the first term, then why did I renominate him for my second term? So for me, his performance in my first time was excellent. Let me use that word. Excellent,” he added.

    Some Ghanaians have called on the President to relieve the Minister of his duties due to the poor state of the Ghanaian economy.

    Ghana is currently seeking support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stay the economy afloat, but despite the gloom, President Akufo Addo insists he will keep the Finance Minister.

    Meanwhile, the Ghanaian cedi exchanged for ¢12 to $1 in many places on Friday, selling at ¢12.10 at most forex bureaux or the retail market.

    This development comes within a week after the cedi earlier depreciated against the dollar.

    Meanwhile, scores of Ghanaians have taken to social media to bemoan the situation; urging the government to take urgent steps to address the persistent depreciation of the country’s currency.

  • There is massive investment waiting for you, through free SHS – Deputy Education Minister tells BECE candidate

    Deputy Minister of Education, John Ntim Fordjour, has urged BECE candidates to do their best during their 2020 examination.

    According to him, several investment plans have been put in place to give them great opportunities after their examination.

    This investment, he says, includes the flagship Free SHS/TVET policy, which has been put in place by the Akufo-Addo administration.

    In a Twitter post, he said, “best wishes to all 552,276 BECE candidates across the country. The future is bright with you. The massive investment awaiting you through government flagship Free SHS/TVET policy is to give you a future of great opportunities and economic empowerment. Now therefore, put in your best possible efforts and make us proud.”

    A number of 552,276 candidates will on Monday 17th begin the 2022 Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE).

    The candidates include 276,988 males and 275,288 females.

    The exams will end on Friday, October 21, 2022, and will be taken across 2,023 designated centres across the country.

    In a statement issued and signed by the Head of the Public Relations Unit, GES, Cassandra Twum Ampofo advised candidates to play by the rules governing the conduct of the examinations and abide by them in order to ensure incident-free examinations.

    “All Candidates and Stakeholders are assured that Management has worked very closely with the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to ensure the smooth conduct of the examinations throughout the country.

    “We wish to remind all Candidates, Parents, Invigilators, and Supervisors to appreciate the fact that the basis of success in life is honesty and hard work and therefore urge all Candidates and Stakeholders to eschew all forms of examination malpractices before, during and after the exams and to indicate that all cases of reported examination malpractices will swiftly be investigated and dealt with decisively,” he said.

    Best wishes to all BECE candidates across the country. God’s speed! pic.twitter.com/9OSsHcYlEc

    — John Ntim Fordjour MP (@NtimFordjour) October

  • Current economic hardships: I’ve prudently managed Ghana’s economy well – Nana Addo to critics

    President Akufo-Addo has refuted claims by his critics that mismanagement by the ruling government has led to the current economic hardships in Ghana.

    “I am opened to all manner of criticisms but I won’t take those mismanagement accusations from anyone”. The president said.

    The President in an exclusive interview on the Kumasi-based OTEC 102.9 FM’s breakfast show Nyansapo on Monday, October 17, 2022, said Ghana’s current economic turmoil was caused by external shocks.

    “We are all aware of the difficulties we went through during the COVID-19 era and the subsequent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, these shocks from the two unforeseen factors have heavily impacted the economy and are to be blamed for the country’s woes and not mismanagement by the government.”

    “Like everybody on this planet you have been hurt by exogenous shocks. First the pandemic, then Russia-Ukraine. And then we need to realise it is not because of bad policies in the country, but because of this combination of shocks,” he told the host of the show Captain Koda.

    The President, once again assured the people of Ghana that his government is determined to bring relief to the Ghanaian people and return the economy back to the high rates of growth that characterized the management of the economy in the three years preceding the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.

  • Group petitions Dery over alleged murder of three persons at New Drobo

    A group calling itself Justice Alliance of the Jaman South Municipality in the Bono region has written an open letter to the Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery over the alleged murder of three natives of Japekrom by assailants at New Drobo four years ago.

    The group is requesting the Minister to set up a commission of enquiry to look into the circumstances leading to the member of the three persons.

    “You will recall that as part of the cerebration of the 2018 version of the annual Munufie Yam Festival, the Chiefs and People (elders, the elderly, young women and children) of the Mpuasu-Japekrom Traditional area travelled to Mpuasu, their ancestral home on 17th October 2018, to perform some cultural rites in company of police personnel from Sunyani Regional Headquaters, Berekum Divisional and Drobo District Police Service in Two Pickup Trucks.

    “On their return with the crowd in procession, the Police Officers suddenly jumped into their trucks and took-off without any word to the people or the organizers. Just about that time, the crowd walked to a group of men who had mounted a barrier at New Drobo preventing them from passing by, and before they could negotiate their way through, gun shots started falling on the crowd from people hiding in a nearby story-building (eyewitness and police account),” the group narrated.

    According to the group, the peaceful commemorative cultural walk ended in bloodshed leading to the death of the three persons.

    “We are by this petition appealing to the Honourable Minister for the setting up of a Commission of Enquiry, independent of the stalled criminal investigations by the Police, to establish the underlying motivations for the unprovoked violence by the people of New Drobo against natives of the lands of the Jaman South Capital area.”

    Below is the full statement

    Since 17.10.2018

    The Honourable Minister
    Ministry of the Interior,
    Accra.

    Dear Sir,

    OPEN PETITION FOR THE SETTING UP OF A COMMISSION OF ENQUIRY TO LOOK INTO THE CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING TO THE MURDER OF THREE (3) NATIVES OF JAPEKROM BY ASSAILANTS AT NEW DROBO

    On behalf of the Justice Alliance of the Jaman South Municipality of the Bono region, we present complements to the office of the Minister of the Interior and do submit this petition in reference to the GRUESOME MURDER of THREE INNOCENT PEOPLE from Japekrom at New Drobo on the 17th October 2018.

    You will recall that as part of the cerebration of the 2018 version of the annual Munufie Yam Festival, the Chiefs and People (elders, the elderly, young wo-men and children) of the Mpuasu-Japekrom Traditional area travelled to Mpuasu, their ancestral home on 17th October 2018, to perform some cultural rites in company of police personnel from Sunyani Regional Headquaters, Berekum Divisional and Drobo District Police Service in Two Pickup Trucks.

    On their return with the crowd in procession, the Police Officers suddenly jumped into their trucks and took-off without any word to the people or the organizers. Just about that time, the crowd walked to a group of men who had mounted a barrier at New Drobo preventing them from passing by, and before they could negotiate their way through, gun shots started falling on the crowd from people hiding in a nearby story-building (eyewitness and police account).

    Unfortunately, this peaceful commemorative cultural walk ended in bloodshed. Known assailants, including Kwame Baah, Yaw Tawiah, Rashid (all were arrested by the police), etc., and their accomplices, ambushed the procession, firing gunshots from a story-building at the roadside (eyewitness and police accounts) into the crowd, killing three (3) natives, including a one-year-old baby, the youth chief of Japekrom and a Senior High School Student. Dozens more people suffered gunshot wounds whiles other hundreds sustained various degrees of injuries as they run for their lives. Some of the pilgrims, including old women had to hide in the bush from about 5:20pm when the crime occurred till 10:00am the next morning, when they had military escort to their homes.

    Whilst commending the Interior Minister and the Brong-Ahafo Security Council for the prompt action taken to prevent mayhem in the municipality by imposing a dawn to dusk curfew and the arrest of three of the murderers, we however wish to suggest that the imposition of curfew alone WILL IN NO WAY RESOLVE THE FUNDAMENTAL PRECURSOR(s) TO THIS COWARDLY ACT BY THE CHIEFS AND PEOPLE OF NEW DROBO.

    May it also be noted that the quest for JUSTICE for the deceased and wounded natives is one engrained in the consciousness of the Natives (the living and so shall it be for the yet unborn). The cowardly murders of the 17th October 2018, was a planned and orchestrated unprovoked attack and must be seen as such.

    We are by this petition appealing to the Honourable Minister for the setting up of a Commission of Enquiry, independent of the stalled criminal investigations by the Police, to establish the underlying motivations for the unprovoked violence by the people of New Drobo against natives of the lands of the Jaman South Capital area.

    The attention of the Honourable Minister is being brought to the basis for our frustration and call for a Commission of Enquiry into the murders of the 17th October 2018 and prosecutions concurrently.

    It would be recalled that, on the 1st May 2004, Yaw Tawiah, a prominent associate of the Drobohene shot at natives of Japekrom whose farmland at New Drobo was being encroached on by unknown settlers from the latter community. The said case is still under lock at the Attorney General Department at Sunyani without prosecution.
    During the Munufie Festival celebration of 2016, a diplomatic attempt to invite the Drobo Traditional Council to the festival was met by the fatal beating of the messenger sent by the Omanhene of Mpuasu-Japekrom and the customary schnapps smashed by Yaw Tawiah, among others. The case has since stalled at Berekum Circuit Court without prosecution.
    III. On the 20th August 2018, the people of New Drobo assaulted the family and property of the Pastor of the True Faith Church, burning down his church, destroying his house and chasing the inhabitants into the bush. Reason: the Pastor was noted for praying for the people of Japekrom. Unfortunately, the Pastor’s wife lost her twin babies consequent to the assault. As at today, the Pastor and his family are in refuge at Japekrom. This case is still at the Courts.

    It may also be recalled that on the 18th October 2018, a day after the gruesome murder under reference, and in defense of the shameful act, the Drobo Traditional Council issued a Press Statement (copy attached) stating; “the shooting was an act of self-defense”.
    Again, at a Court hearing at the Berekum Magistrate Court, a Lawyer for three suspects arrested by the Police in connection with the murder stated to the shock of all that, the said barrier (at which point the shooting started) was mounted because “the of Japekrom were walking through New Drobo”.
    Further to the above, it is obvious that the murder of the 17th October 2018 was planned and premised on an underlying laxity towards the prosecution of criminal acts involving the Drobos at New Drobo who consider violence as their sole preserve.

    It is our firm conviction that the establishment of an independent Commission of Enquiry shall unearth the underlying triggers of these unprovoked attacks by the people of New Drobo on Natives of the lands on which they are and remain settlors, and thus make necessary proposals to maintain the peaceful coexistence of old.

    In lieu of the foregoing, the above guiding questions begs for responses.

    Why did the Police who had been with the celebrants suddenly abandon the procession at the point of the gunshots?
    Who ordered the Police to abandon the celebrants?
    Why were the Police ordered to abandon the procession at the fatal moment?
    What is the status of the criminal investigations into the 3 Murders of 17th October 2018 at New Drobo?
    In pursuit of Justice!!
    The Justice Alliance
    justicealliance4.3@gmail.com

     

  • Watch how galamsey activities have destroyed an NPP sympathiser’s cocoa farm

    A new video has emerged of a farmer standing in water at the level of his chest, on his farmland, as he bitterly complains about the devastating effects of galamsey in the country.

    The man, who explained that he campaigned passionately for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to win political power, expressed his disappointment at how badly the situation of small-scale illegal mining has been.

    He also painted a picture of how much damage the activities of galamsey have caused to their livelihoods, as well as their farms.

    “In the era of the NPP, things have deteriorated so badly. Look at the cocoa trees I have planted for close to 13 years. To think that we worked for the NPP to come to power to make things better, then we should have just allowed the NDC to stay. Look at what galamsey has done to my cocoa farm..

    “Since we came to meet our forefathers on these lands, even when it floods, it does not come here… look at all these cocoa trees on about 10 acres of land that has been destroyed by water. Why? If this was what it was, then we should not have even gone into this type of farming,” he lamented.

    The man continued that there was even a time when they were unable to even salvage any of their harvested cocoa beans because the flood waters had washed through their lands.

    He further regretted giving all of his energy and time to working for the NPP to come into office, with the hope that their coming would help make his life better.

    “We even had cocoa bags numbering about ten bags here but they have all been washed away, and the little that was left behind, we came by only to see that it had also been washed away. Is this how we will continue to live on this land?

    “We all thought that we were helping the NPP to come to power so that our lives would be comfortable, but if we knew this is how it would come about, then what was the benefit? Since they came into power, galamsey activities have go on and on such that immediately there is small rain, then it rushes through our cocoa farms. The damage is all over this area,” he said.

    It is, however, unclear which part of the country the man was speaking from, but there is no doubting the extent of the damage that the activities of people engaged in the illegal trade in small-scale mining (galamsey) have caused to the environment in recent years.

    Galamsey, as it is widely known, has become a matter of great concern for many, with traditional rulers, politicians, social groups, and nearly every Ghanaian making it a point to contribute to discussions or calls for the menace to be stopped.

    The infiltration of foreigners, especially Chinese nationals, into the illegal trade, with the use of their heavy equipment, has further escalated the destruction of the mining activities in the environment.

  • Children opt for galamsey instead of school

    The talk about illegal gold mining, locally referred to as galamsey, has gone on for years with the pollution of water bodies and destruction of environment always taking centre stage of discussions.

    However, there appears to be a serious component of the menace that also has a rippling effect on the country but has been left out of the conversation.

    This has to do with the effect of illegal mining on education.

    In this report, 3news.com explores how children in mining communities are prioritizing galamsey at the expense of their education.

    EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTIONS

    Several interventions like Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE), capitation grants, free feeding program, free school uniforms, free SHS, among others, have and are being rolled out by governments to increase school enrollment, attendance and academic performance in all parts of the country.

    This is in line with efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 4 target of ensuring access to quality universal education for all by 2030.

    Also, the 1992 Constitution gives further push to the provision of education as a basic right for all Ghanaians. Article 25(a) states: “All persons shall have the right to equal educational opportunities and facilities and with a view to achieving the full realization of that right – basic education shall be free, compulsory and available to all”.

    However, a great deal of Ghana’s success in growing enrolment is being thwarted by increasing student drop-out rates in several mining communities.

    CHILDREN ABANDON CLASSROOM TO DO MINING

    Scores of children are abandoning the classroom to do galamsey in mining areas like Peminase in the Juaben municipality of Ashanti Region.

    The small mining town with a population of about 800 is struggling to deal with the negative impact of the illegal activity on education.

    At Peminase M/A JHS, only 12 out of 30 Form 3 students were in school preparing for their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), which was barely two days ahead at the time the news team visited.

    “You can find most of the 18 students who are absent today at the mining site working,” says Kwabena Asiamah, a teacher.

    Opoku Clement Sebastian is the headteacher of Peminase M/A JHS.

    “The enrolment in the school is always declining due to the increasing illegal mining activities. Because the school serves other adjoining communities, we used to have a population of close to 200 some five years ago but currently we only have 83. Even with the 83, the truancy rate among the male students is alarming.”

    Opoku Clement, Headteacher, Peminase M/A JHS 

    At the mining site, six school-age going children between the ages of 13 and 17 are busily working instead of being in the classroom.

    These children engage in mining for several reasons but the common is owing to financial constraints of their parents.

    “Together with 3 of my friends, we have stopped schooling and now engaged in illegal mining. The money we earn is what we use to cater for our needs and that of our parents. I would wish to one day continue with my education,” a 14-year-old JHS 2 pupil shared.

    For 15-year-old Adusei, “this is the only work in this community and we involve ourselves because our parents don’t have the financial strength to cater for us”.

    The job, according to him, is based on luck because on a good day “each of us earns 700 cedis a day”.

    The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has indicated that the prevalence of children in mining is growing. Thousands of children are into gold mining activities in areas within the Western, Central and Ashanti regions and this according to the organization is “a serious violation of children’s rights that puts children’s health and safety at risk and deprives them of an education”.

    More worrying is the worst-case scenario where some of the pupils lose their lives while mining.

    “At least six of our students have lost their lives at the mining site within the past 3 years. But still, this appears not to deter most of them from going to the site to work,” visibly worried Mr Sebastian said.

    At Yapese in the Bosome Freho District in the Ashanti Region, the situation has improved a little bit with the clampdown on illegal miners.

    Some of the children have returned to school but others are yet to.

    Asare Bediako

    Chairman of Yapese Methodist Primary School Management Committee Asare Bediako noted that “it is the responsibility of parents to make sure their children have come to school. Government will do its part of providing infrastructure and conducive learning environment, teachers will also play their role of teaching so it is the duty of the parent to ensure the child goes to school. We have engaged parents several times to conscientize them on the need to prioritize the education of their wards but others are adamant”.

    PEMINASE COMMUNITY LEADERS INTERVENTION

    The increase in these illegal mining activities has brought about retrogression in education at Peminase.

    To reverse this disturbing trend, the traditional authority and unit committee of the community have proffered some sanctions to parents who look on for their children to do galamsey at the expense of their education.

    “Any child caught doing galamsey instead of being in school, his parents would be fined GH¢1,500 and the owner of the concession will also be fined GH¢2,000. We want our children to be educated for a better future,” caretaker chief and Akwamuhene of the area, Nana Kofi Owusu II, stated.

    Nana Kofi Owusu II

    The unit committee members have sought the assistance of the police to aid them move to sites and arrest school-going age children who involve themselves in mining at the expense of their education.

    “Some parents are uncooperative because their children bring them money when they go and mine. So, they’re more interested about the money more than the education of the children. We will soon go after them because we can’t allow this to continue. Education for children at the primary and JHS level is compulsory,” Peminase Unit Committee Vice Chairman Kwasi Owusu Sekyere explained.

    Kwasi Owusu Sekyere

    The district and regional education directorates have admitted to this challenge but yet to speak to on the issue.

    Ghana is signatory to the international convention of the rights of the child that declared education a right of every child of school age.

    To give meaning to the access and participation component of the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education programme, there is the need for all stakeholders in the education sector to join hands and ensure children of school age remain in the classroom.

     

  • No government has shown resilience to fight galamsey than mine — Nana Addo

    President Akufo-Addo has reiterated his commitment to end illegal mining popularly called galamsey in the country.

    He disclosed that no government in the history of Ghana has embarked on a more rigorous galamsey fight than his government.

    He made this known at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi at the start of a four-day tour of the Ashanti region.

    He said the galamsey menace that has been generated in recent times explains the importance Ghanaians attach to the issue.

    According to him, “We are here to eradicate galamsey and surely, it would be eradicated…No government has shown that resilience in the fight against galamsey.”

    “One issue that has generated negative public criticism is galamsey. Though it attracted less public discussion before my tenure, it is the talk of the town, even among traditional leaders.

    “This means the issue is common and calls for all hands on deck to bring it to an end, he stated.

    Earlier, the President said he was being truthful in his commitment when he proclaimed in 2017 to end galamsey.

    He disclosed that his fight against the menace five years ago cost him and the NPP “significant losses in the mining communities” during the election 2020.

    Galamsey is heavily criticized in Ghana due to its detrimental environmental effects which many believe outweigh any possible economic and cultural justifications.

    The practice of galamsey activities contributes tremendously to the local economy of the communities within which the practice is conducted.

    The number of galamseyers in Ghana is unknown but believed to be from 20,000 to 50,000, including thousands from China.

    The major cause of galamsey is unemployment among the youth in Ghana.

     

  • GMA threatens to shut down all health facilities nationwide in protest of new tax system by GRA

    The Ghana Medical Association says it will force government to shut down health facilities nationwide in protest of a new tax system by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) that aims at shortchanging them.

    The president of GMA Dr. Frank Serebour disclosed that GRA is introducing a new tax system that will take taxes from the association’s generated funds.

    The Association believes GRA’s move to ask them to pay such taxes is unfair arguing that their members have already paid taxes on the salary they deduct their dues from.

    Dr. Frank Serebour has therefore threatened to lead the association to an unprecedented nationwide protest if GRA fails to rescind the decision to surcharge them.

    Speaking on Pure FM on Saturday, October 15, 2022, Dr. Serebour said this was the first time GRA is calling on the Association to pay such tax since its inception in over six decades.

    “We won’t sit down to allow anybody, whether it is a government agency or the government itself, to collapse the association. That will not happen under my watch.”

    He stressed that there should have been more dialogue on the taxes by the GRA.

    “If anything at all, the first point was engagement. If something like that is going to happen, somebody should be engaging and not write that kind of letter.”

    GMA threatens to shut down all health facilities nationwide protest of new tax system by GRA.

  • My ministers have met my expectations – Akufo-Addo shoots down calls for reshuffle

    President Akufo-Addo has, in the clearest terms, declined the call on him to reshuffle his ministers.

    The president, who is currently on a tour in the Ashanti Region during a radio interview with Otec FM on Monday, October 17, 2022, said there is no need to make changes to his list of ministers as they have all met his expectations.

    “I feel many of them for me have done outstanding work. Their output has been considerable, and that is what I look at. If the output measures expectations, then I don’t have any strong reasons to heed the call,” the president is quoted in a report by Modernghana.com.

    The president has been under intense public pressure to reassign and sack some of his ministers over what is described by some critics as their incompetence in discharging their duties.

    The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has dominated the list of individuals whose heads are being demanded.

    Calls for the minister’s sacking have heightened in recent months due to the current performance of the Ghanaian economy and its resulting economic hardship.

  • 4 times Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has threatened to block SIM Cards

    The announcement by the Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, that persons who have linked their Ghana Cards to their SIM Cards but have not proceeded to fully reregister their SIM will lose data and voice services at the end of October 2022 has given rise to many questions.

    The questions have raised concerns about whether or not the government of the day is actually serious about its attempts to streamline the SIM registration system in the country.

    Critics have questioned whether or not the sector minister will ever go by her word with regards to the blocking of unregistered SIM cards in the country.

    The latest announcement by the minister, which she describes as a grace period, brings the number of times she has given a deadline for the registration to four.

    Here are all the times Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has given deadlines for the SIM re-registration but has not lived up to them:

    March 2022

    The government of Ghana stated in 2021 that effective October, all SIM cards in the country should be re-registered.

    This was because the government has identified that there was a challenge with the 2010/2011 SIM registration where there were records of fake ID numbers as well as fictitious names for existing SIM registration databases.

    The government explained that the integrity of existing SIM registration databases was therefore compromised by the non-verification of the identities used for registration.

    The deadline for that registration was supposed to be in March 2022.

    July 31, 2022

    When the March 2022 deadline ended, the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, announced an extension of the date.

    This was the second time a new deadline had been given.

    The new deadline was said to be at the end of July 2022.

    September 30, 2022

    Again, at the end of the previous deadline, the minister returned to give a new extended date for September 30, 2022.

    In this instance, however she indicated that the end of August 2022, people who had not fully or partially registered their cards would be prevented from undertaking certain services on their networks.

    When the time came, a number of such culprits did experience this ‘punishment’ but it was short-lived.

    October 31, 2022, grace period

    In the most recent statement, the sector minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, stated that the government had decided to give a grace period to persons who have linked their Ghana Card to their SIM in the reregistration process.

    She added that this was a moratorium to serve as encouragement for such people to complete their registration.

    “All SIM Cards that have been linked to Ghana Cards (i.e. completed Stage 1 registration), but have not completed their Stage 2 registration will be blocked from the end of October.

    “This is not an extension of the deadline but a temporary moratorium to encourage these individuals to complete the process. If they have any peculiar challenges, they should contact the NCA.

    “These good people have the Ghana card, have started the process and will be encouraged to complete it with this gentle reminder. All other unregistered SIMs will also be blocked progressively,” part of the statement read.

     

     

     

  • UTAG, 3 others declare indefinite strike

    Four tertiary labour unions will today October 17, 2022, begin a nationwide industrial action to press home their demand for better conditions of service.

    The unions are the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), the Tertiary Education Workers Union (TEWU), the Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG), and the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA).

    In a statement signed by executives of the unions, it detailed that the strike has been occasioned by the government’s failure to honour fuel, vehicle maintenance and off-campus allowances.

    It recounted that following the union’s decision to embark on a strike on Thursday, October 13, 2022, over what it describes as a “blatant unilateral variation of agreed conditions of service in the face of hostile economic conditions”, the National Labour Commission intervened and ruled that “the parties to engage within one week on the terms of payment and other related matters”

    However, the government rather opted to establish a 10-member committee to address only issues about the ‘Off-campus allowance’ – a move which was rejected by the union leaders.

    The union leaders instead proposed enforcement of the 2022 adjusted fuel ex-pump rate of GH¢10.99. The meeting ended in a stalemate over the matter which has compelled the unions to declare an indefinite strike.

    “The NLC ruling stated that the meeting was for “… the parties to engage within one week on the terms of payment and other related matters …”. However, the Employer failed to present the “terms of payment” for the Vehicle Maintenance and Off-Campus Allowances, which are the main issues in contention, as directed by the NLC.

    “Rather, they suggested the formation of a 10-member committee to address only the Off-Campus Allowance. The leaders of the four (4) Labour Unions rejected the “suggestion” and rather pushed for enforcement of the 2022 adjusted fuel ex-pump rate of GH¢10.99, thus, the meeting ended in a stalemate

    “As a result of this development, we write to communicate that the intended strike action of all Labour Unions in the public universities in Ghana is to commence from Monday, 17th October 2022 as the Employer has, once again, failed to adhere to the directive of the NLC,” part of the statement read.

  • Clergy: We visited galamsey sites on fact-finding tour, not to pray

    The Christian Ecumenical Bodies of Ghana have denied reports that the clergy visited galamsey sites in the Eastern Region last Friday to pray against the illegal menace.

    Speaking on The Asaase Breakfast Show on Monday (17 October 2022), the president of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) Rev Prof Paul Frimpong Manso, said they went to the sites solely on a fact-finding mission.

    The clergy came under severe backlash on social media over a viral video of them praying and singing praises at the sites for the illegal activities to cease.

    Reacting to the claims, Rev Prof Manso described such conclusion as irresponsible.

    “Some of your colleagues are irresponsible, destructive and they are a disaster to the profession,” he told the host Kwaku Nhyira-Addo. “I have been very angry this weekend to read that the pastors went there to pray.”

    “These are the people who are nation wreckers. We can pray in our rooms and our churches and will not mobilise journalists to galamsey sites to go and pray. We are not children… The Bible says ‘you cannot talk about what you have never seen and heard’. We’ve seen a lot of things trending on social media and others. As a church we have fought individually and it’s not working, so we said we want to come as a collective body to ascertain the facts,” Rev Prof Manso said.

    Purpose of visit

    He said as religious leaders, it was incumbent on them to begin every activity with a prayer, so they decided to commit the day’s activity into the hands of God when they got to the site.

    “The purpose was not to go and pray. We mobilised ourselves to the site and when we went there the first thing we did was to pray then followed by other things. But irresponsible journalists and irresponsible politicians who have lost their moral conscience come and be saying ‘this is not what to do’.

    “We prayed before we did everything and that is the logic. We went there to ascertain the facts ahead of our press conference [today]. We went there to convey the right message to Ghanaians. And the message is that galamsey is a disaster,” he added.

    Among the clergy who visited the sites were the immediate past chairman of the Christian Council of Ghana, Bishop Dr Paul Boafo, and the chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Ghana Apostle Eric Nyamekye.

    Although Ghana requires permits to mine on a small scale, it is estimated that about 70% of small-scale miners are unregistered and operate illegally. They are known locally as galamsey, meaning to “gather and sell”.

    While illegal mining supports livelihoods, it has caused severe damage to the environment. It is blamed for destruction of farmlands and pollution of water bodies. It also denies the state revenue: an estimated US$2.3 billion in 2016, reports The Conversation.

  • Importers and Exporters Association backs GUTA’s threat to close down shops

    The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG) has thrown its weight behind the planned closure of shops by members of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) come Wednesday, October 19, 2022.

    “We the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana believes the Nana Addo-led government has been given enough ample time to fix the country but has shown little seriousness in doing so. And we believe this action by GUTA and its stakeholders, will compel the government to do the needful,” the Association said in a statement Monday.

    The IEAG in its statement signed by Samson Asaki Awingobit, the Executive Secretary believes the impending action by GUTA members backed by Importers and Exporters across the country, will send a strong signal to the government to sit up and fix the economy.

    The leadership of GUTA has since last week, served notice of their intention to close down their shops on Wednesday the 19th of October 2022, as a sign of their disappointment in the government for its failure to address the economic challenges which have hampered their businesses.

    This comes on the heels of protests by some traders in Kumasi last week against killer taxes imposed on their businesses.

    GUTA President, Dr Joseph Obeng maintains the action being replicated in Accra is in solidarity with the Kumasi traders.

    According to him, the rising cost of doing business, the poor performance of the Ghana cedi and the new tax policy among others is largely pushing them out of business.

  • Dynamite blast kills two, others injured at Abura Tetsi Quarry

    Two persons have died while several others were reported injured after a dynamite blast at a stone quarry site at Abura Tetsi in the Abura Asebu Kwamankese District of the Central Region.

    Locals told GHOne TV that three people have lost their lives, while at least ten have also been injured just this year as a result of the stone quarry dynamite blasting in the enclave.

    Many of the residents say they’re now living with diseases such as High Blood Pressure and Asthma as a result of the dynamite blasting in the community.

    They also complained their buildings have become death traps due to huge cracks developed in their walls. Several buildings according to reports have also collapsed as a result of the constant blasting.

    The company which has been operating for about a year now in the area allegedly blasts the dynamite at night when most residents are asleep causing fear and panic to them.

    Meanwhile, the Chief of Abura Tetsi, Nana Okogyeaman Preprah X says he’s not aware of any permit granted to the quarry company to operate on his land.

     

  • I’ll end galamsey before end of my tenure – President Akufo-Addo assures

    The President Akufo-Addo, has emphasised his stance on illegal mining and said he will put a stop to it before his tenure of office ends.

    He mentioned that of late, there had been so much talk about the illegal mining activities, popularly called “galamsey” and that “means that serious work to end the menace was ongoing.”

    The President had paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene at the Manhyia Palace, yesterday, as part of a four-day working tour in some parts of the Ashanti Region.

    Addo (right) exchanging greetings with Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II

    Prior to the interaction, the President and his entourage had worshiped at the St Cyprian’s Diocese at Fanti Newtown, where a visiting Bishop of Warrington, Liverpool in the United Kingdom, Bishop Beverly A. Mason, preached the sermon and offered a special prayer for him.

     Many people, the President noted, had been saying my government had done nothing in the Ashanti Region, “but after the four-day tour, they would see what have been done.”

    As part of the tour, which begun yesterday, the President would inaugurate  some projects such as the residential accommodation for the Court of Appeal judges at Danyame.

    The sod cutting for the commencement of work on the complex which would be  permanent residential facilities for Court of Appeal judges, was performed by the President with the support of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Chief Justice Anin Yeboah, on April 20, this year.

    With the collaboration of the Ministry of Local Government and the District Assembly Common Fund, 20 townhouses and a guesthouse have been built to be used as permanent residences for Court of Appeal Judges, who would be mandated to handle cases in the northern part of the country.

    He would also commission the ECG KATH 33/11kv primary substation constructed under the EDSTREP project, at Subin, in Kumasi.

    There would be a durbar of chiefs and people of Toase for the inauguration  of the Town’s Magistrate Court.

    The President would have a crunch meeting with MMDCEs, Regional Executives and Constituency chairmen only, perhaps to reiterate his stance to stop illegal mining(galamsey) and to punish culprits in the party.

    Other programmes outlined included the inauguration of maize processing factory at NsutaKwaman under the 1D1F and also inspect agenda 111 project at Beposo.

    Inspection of Anwia-Nkwanta-Obuasi, Santasi-Apire roads would also be undertaken.

     

  • TMPC vows to clamp down on unlicensed, unregistered herbal medicine practitioners

    The Traditional and Alternative Medicine Council (TMPC), under the Ministry of Health, is to clamp down on unlicenced and unregistered herbal medicine practitioners that continue to infiltrate the industry.

    Acting Registrar, Dr Mrs Anastasia Yirenkyi, has thus asked practitioners yet to register with the Council or renew their annual licence to do so or risk the consequences.

    She was speaking in a media interview at the inauguration of a 12-member governing board of the TMPC in Accra last Friday.

    “Our primary aim now is to properly regulate the industry and weed out the quacks in the system who sit on the radios, televisions and in the communities selling products and sharing unproven knowledge and claims.

    We have set up a taskforce to ensure that all persons purporting to practice herbal medicine are in conformity with the law and their products do not pose a risk to consumers,” she said.

    Dr Yirenkyi, who is also Director for Traditional and Alternative Medicine Directorate (TAM-D) at the Ministry, explained that perTMPC Act 575, 2007, practitioners ought to renew their licences, premises and certificates annually to stay in practice.

    She said,the Council, as part of sanitising the sector, was working at merging all herbal medicine practitioners into one body under the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Associations (GHAFTRAM)to enhance knowledge and technology transfer among other interventions to improve the practice.

    According to Dr Yirenkyi, traditional and herbal medicine had enormous value not only for the health of the populace but to boost economic growth.

    “Just as countries like China, India and others have been exploring their plant medicine and raking in billions for their economy, we can have same if we build the sector well.

    We can promote job creation, derive enough funds for instance from the cultivation of medicinal plant, harvesting of the plants, manufacturing of herbal medicine, support research etc to build the economy.

    Dr Yirenkyi said with the incorporation of science in herbal medicine practice, the industry had a bright future and called for unity, empathy and professionalism among practitioners to uphold trust in the sector.

    “Everybody is now turning to nature for their health. Everybody wants healthy living now and resorting to our naturally grown herbal plants and medicines as their primary health care and we must ensure we do not fail them,” she advised.

    The Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu charged the new board to ensure that beyond licensing, Ghana’s herbal products and knowledge are commercialised.

    “The same plants and herbs used by the Chinese to make the green teas we highly export can be found here locally. These were what we used to prepare “odido” for malaria and other diseases as children yet till date we haven’t been able to package these well for export.

    “We still do not produce a single active ingredient for medicine production in the country, all are imported and the board must sit up and work hard to position traditional medicine as a highly effective and patronised alternative.”

    For his part, the Chairperson of the board, Mr William Kojo Odum Eduful, promised that “before our term ends, we shall do our best to help achieve a healthy population with traditional medicines.”

  • Bosome Freho DCE suspended over ‘galamsey’

    President Akufo-Addo has suspended Mr Yaw Danso, District Chief Executive (DCE) of Bosome Freho, over his alleged involvement in illegal mining “galamsey” in the district.

    This comes after the leaking of a video in which he was allegedly encouraging “galamsey” activities in the area.

    A polluted river
    A polluted river

    The suspension is contained in a letter from Mr Dan Botwe, Minister for Local Government and Regional Organisation, which asked the DCE to step aside for investigations into the audio.

    The minister stressed in the letter that the suspension was to pave way for investigations to verify the authenticity of the tape.

    President Akufo-Addo, in his resolve to address the illegal mining menace, has called on all stakeholders, including government officials, chiefs and community members, to join in the fight.

    The President, at a recent meeting with traditional leaders and metropolitan, municipal, district chief executives, among other government officials, warned that persons caught in the act would face full rigours of the law.

     

  • How the new ultra-modern judges complex looks like

    President Akufo-Addo will today commission a residential complex for Appeals Court Judges at Nhyiaeso in the Ashanti Region as part of his four-day tour of the Ashanti Region.

    The residential complex has about twenty (20) bungalows for Court of Appeal Judges in Kumasi.

    The sod for the construction was cut in April last year by President Akufo-Addo with support from the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah.

    Ahead of the commissioning later today, Ghanaweb shares images of the ultra-modern judge complex.

    See the photos below:

  • We will prove Akufo-Addo hasn’t abandoned Ashanti Region – Regional Minister

    Ashanti Regional Minister Simon Osei Mensah has said that claims that President Akufo-Addo has abandoned the Ashanti Region are false.

    According to him, Akufo-Addo is embarking on many projects in the region and people who have made such claims will be exposed in due time.

    Speaking on Okay FM’s Adeakyeabia show, he said, “… Akufo-Addo will commission some projects under Agenda 111 during his tour in the region today, so if anybody sits somewhere to say Ashanti Region has been abandoned in regards to developmental projects, it’s false, and we are going prove them wrong. We are deliberately quiet, and because some contractors have abandoned their sites due to hardship, we are quiet. We are going to expose them big time.”

    President Akufo-Addo has commenced a four-day tour of the Ashanti Region.

    He arrived in the region on 16th October 2022, where he will commission projects, inspect ongoing ones, and confer with traditional leaders of the area.

    On Sunday, 16th October, President Akufo-Addo visited the Manhyia Palace to interact with the Asantehene and Asantehemaa.

    He is expected to inspect the Boankra Inland Port Project and proceed to commission the Konongo Municipal Hospital in the Asante Akyem Central Constituency.

    He will later inspect the Agenda 111 Hospital Project at Kokoben and commission the 30kv Kumasi-Bolgatanga Transmission line.

    Day 2 of the tour will begin with a radio interview on Otec FM and the commissioning of a residential complex for Appeals Court Judges at Nhyiaeso.

    He will depart to inspect the Kejetia/Central Market Phase II Project, the Maternal and Children’s Block Project at KATH and the commissioning of the ECG KATH 33/11kv Primary Sub-station, all in the Subin Constituency, among others.

  • Meet Ghana’s first 2 helicopter pilots

    On Friday, March 1, 1963, The Ghanaian Times reported how Ghana had gotten its first two helicopter pilots in the persons of Flying Officers Koranteng and Aholu.

    The two, officers of the Ghana Air Force, had become the first of the ten men selected by the Force to carry out duties as pilots of the country’s helicopters.

    While little is known about the lives of these two gallant officers, the old newspaper report provides the only details that GhanaWeb has found on the two men as follows:

    “Meet the first two of ten pilots chosen by the Ghana Air Force for (sic) to helicopter duties. They have successfully completed their basic and operational rotary wing training in Accra.

    “They are Flying Officer Koranteng and Flying Officer Aholu. Both are experienced fixed wing pilots. The Ghana Air Force is equipped with helicopters for rescue, army support and other military duties.

    “The high standard achieved by these Ghanaian pilots promises a highly-effective helicopter force in Ghana, a British helicopter expert commented,” it read.

    See the photo snippet of the report below:

    About the Ghana Air Force via wikipedia.com:

    The Ghana Air Force started on 24 July 1959 as a Flying Training School with Israeli instructors and technicians, under the command of Lt. Col. Adam Shatkay of the IAF. The School was established as a cradle of a service to complement the Army and the Navy. Later that year a headquarters was established in Accra under the command of Indian Air commodore K. Jaswant-Singh who was appointed as the first Chief of Air Staff (CAS).

    In 1960 Royal Air Force personnel took up the task of training the newly established Ghana Air Force and in 1961 they were joined by a small group of Royal Canadian Air Force personnel. In September 1961 as part of President Kwame Nkrumah‘s Africanization program, a Ghanaian CAS was appointed, with the first being J.E.S. de Graft-Hayford, born in the U.K. of Ghanaian descent.

    The Ghana Air Force was in the beginning equipped with a squadron of Chipmunk trainers, and squadrons of Beavers, Otters and Caribou transport aircraft. In addition a DH125 jet was bought for Kwame Nkrumah, Hughes helicopters were bought for mosquito spraying plus DH Doves and Herons. British-made Westland Whirlwind helicopters and a squadron of Italian-made MB-326 ground attack/trainer jets were also purchased.

    In 1962 the national School of Gliding was set up by Hanna Reitsch, who was once Adolf Hitler’s top personal pilot. Under the command of Air Commodore de Graft-Hayford, she served as director, operations instructor and trainer of the school. She also acted as the personal pilot of Kwame Nkrumah from 1962–1966.

    The GHF headquarters is located at Burma Camp and the main transport airfield is the Air Force Base Accra, which shares the same runway with the Kotoka International Airport. Other GHF airfields include:
    • Air Force Base Tamale, which shares its runway with the Tamale Airport.
    • GHF Air Force Station Sekondi-Takoradi started as RAF Station Takoradi, then became Ghana Air Force Station Sekondi-Takoradi on 1 March 1961. The Chipmunk Basic Trainer Aircraft was the first aircraft used at the Station with an all Rank Air Force Station.
    • GHF Air Force station Accra came into being soon after the Royal Air Force (RAF) had taken over the administration from the Indian and Israeli Air Force officers at the beginning of 1961. The station was housed at No 3 hangar at the Accra Airport (Kotoka International Airport) with hardly any aircraft. The Unit had four main sub-units, i.e. the Administration Wing, Flying Wing, Technical Wing and Equipment Wing. The School of Technical Training was also located at this station. The Station moved from No 3 hangar to its present location in Burma Camp towards the end of 1965.

    The role of the Ghana Air Force, as defined in the National Defence Policy, is to provide “Air Transport and Offensive Air Support to the Ghana Armed Forces and to protect the territorial air space of Ghana”. The National Defense Policy states certain specific tasks which the Ghana Air Force is expected to perform:
    • To maintain Fighter Ground Attack capability and provide Close Air Support during operation.
    • To provide transport support to the Ghana Armed Forces.
    • To provide surveillance over the air space of Ghana and over the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
    • To provide liaison and recce flight capability.
    • To provide VIP flight capability.
    • To provide transport support for civilians as government directs.
    • To provide medical evacuation and air rescue assistance.

    The Ghana Air Force is also responsible for the co-ordination and direction of Search and Rescue (SAR) within the Accra Flight Information Region.

     

     

  • Gov’t has shown negligence in galamsey fight – Inusah Fuseini

    Former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Inusah Fuseini says the government has failed to demonstrate commitment to the fight against illegal small-scale mining in the country.

    His comment comes on the back of the government’s renewed commitment to the fight against illegal mining popularly known as galamsey.

    The Minister of Lands and Natural Resource, Abu Jinapor at a press conference said the government is adopting new strategies in the fight against illegal small-scale mining and enumerated some steps the government will take.

    According to him, over one hundred and eighty people have been jailed and over two hundred are on trial for their involvement in illegal mining adding that the government will also deal with those behind the menace.

    But, the former Lands Minister says the government has never acted on its words on the numerous promises made towards the fight against illegal mining since they came to power.

    According to him, the government lacks the commitment to prosecute people who are engaged in illegality.

    “Does it mean that all along they don’t know those who are financiers and kingpins of the galamsey. What is conspiracy, abetment and facilitating in our laws for? If you know that some people are those facilitating the commission of a crime, are they not guilty of that crime?

    “For them to say that we are changing gear, it looks weird because we have all known and always known most of the young men who are in the galamsey sites are just workers. And because of the capital-intensive nature of the activity people have to sponsor and invest in that activity,” he told Joshua Kodjo Mensah on Starr Today Thursday.

    He continued: “If you are a government and you know those who are the enablers of that activity and you sit and watch them, then you are now saying you are changing gear. If they (government) have admitted that they are now going after those people then they have been negligent or probably have not been committed to the fight against illegal small-scale mining.”

    The former lawmaker also indicated that the government knows those behind the menace but has failed to go after them.