Twenty-six African countries voted in favour of the resolution, rejecting Moscow’s controversial referenda in four Ukrainian regions. Nineteen others abstained.
Mali, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, the Republic of Congo, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe were among the African countries that abstained. Eritrea, which had previously voted to reject a UN resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, also abstained.
Three of these countries hosted Russian diplomatic chief, Sergei Lavrov, during his tour of the region in July.
Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Sao Tome were absent from the assembly.
The General Assembly of the 193 member states had met in an emergency meeting. It adopted the resolution with 143 votes in favour, with five countries against and 35 abstaining, including China, India, Pakistan, and South Africa, despite diplomatic efforts by the United States.
The five states that voted against were Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea, and Nicaragua.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian Foreign Minister,DmytroKuleba, toured Africa in an effort to counter Russia’s apparent hold on the continent. The goal was to persuade leaders to support Kyiv.
He was forced to cut his visit short after Moscow intensified its bombing of Ukraine.
The Director-General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Eric Nana Agyemang-Prempeh, has called on the public to desist from politicising moves to demolish unauthorised structures along waterways.
According to him, the country was sitting on a time bomb with the continuous encroachment and illegal activities around ecological sites and the worst could happen if ‘harsh’ decisions were not taken.
Speaking to journalists at an event to commemorate this year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction in Accra yesterday, Mr Agyeman-Prempeh said a case in point was the recent flooding of communities in the Weija-Gbawe and Ga South constituencies due to the Weija Dam spillage.
“Had it not been for the level of encroachment around the dam and its passageway we wouldn’t have seen this extent of damage. A lot of the buildings there do not have permit yet you go in to demolish and it turns into NPP, NDC.
“Ghana will move forward, we will reduce the flooding’s if we stop politicising everything and allow the District Assemblies to do their work and go all out to demolish all unauthorised structures in our waterways causing floods.”
Touching on the local theme for the commemoration; “Earthquake disaster risk reduction through effective early warning,” the Director-General although Ghana was far away from major earthquake zones in the world, it was prone to earthquake and earth tremor disasters.
He recalled incidences as far back as 1981 and recent earth tremor in 2019 prompting the establishment of a technical committee to propose interventions that would improve Ghana’s earthquake preparedness and response.
Following the adoption of the committee’s report, Mr Agyeman-Prempeh said, eight earthquakes early warning equipment has been installed at vantage locations within the capital including the Weija-Gbawe Municipal Assembly, NADMO Headquarters, Parliament and the Jubilee House.
“The government considers earthquake to be a most serious occurrence that can set us back on our development journey and more importantly militate against safety of our citizens and we are committed to taking all needed measures to avert future disasters,” he said.
The Chief Director of the Ministry for the Interior, Mrs. Adelaide Anno-Kumi, delivering a speech on behalf of the sector minister, underscored the importance of early warning systems to reducing disasters significantly.
While expressing sympathy to recently affected persons of the Weija Dam spillage, Mrs Anno-Kumi stressed the need for the populace to be well-informed on evacuation and disaster management methods to reduce extent of destruction.
The Country Director of United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Mr Abdourahamane Diallo, gave highlights of a newly produced documentary and educational materials to sensitise the public particularly students, on disasters.
“There is still a lot more that we need to do collectively to ensure that Ghana gets the holistic capacity development that it needs to prepare adequately for an earthquake disaster or any other disaster.”
He thus invited all key stakeholders to explore additional ideas that “can be brought on board to design effective interventions towards disaster risk reduction.”
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that Ghana will end the year with a Debt-to-GDP of 90.7 per cent.
This according to myjoyonline.com was captured in its Fiscal Outlook Report released on the sidelines of the on-going IMF/World Bank Annual meetings in Washington DC, USA.
The report, also forecasts that the Debt–to-GDP could reduce to 87.8 per cent in 2023.
According to the IMF, revenue expressed as a ratio of GDP could also hit 14.1 per cent at the end of 2022.
It will subsequently increase to 14.7 per cent in 2023 and 15.4 per cent in 2024”, the report said, classifying Ghana as a Low Income Developing Country.
Ghana is currently undergoing Debt Sustainability Analysis with the IMF and the World Bank. This is expected to help the country ascertain the true levels of the debt stock.
The country was recently classified as a High Risk of Debt Distress by the World Bank and IMF in its Debt Sustainability Analysis.
The two Bretton Wood institutions are currently conducting a new Sustainability Debt Analysis on Ghana – a situation that could influence the outcome of an economic programme with Ghana by the end of 2022.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has already indicated that government is working hard to reach a programme with the IMF by November 2022.
The government is hoping to secure a programme with the IMF before the 2023 Budget presentation in parliament within the same period.
In October 2022, data from the Bank of Ghana pegged the country’s debt stock at ₵402 billion as of July 2022, representing 68 per cent of GDP.
Some financial observers have stated that with an expected expansion of the economy and an IMF programme, the country’s debt stock may not reach “unsustainable levels”.
The World Bank in its Africa Pulse Report released in October 2022 projected that Ghana will end 2022 with a Debt –to –GDP ratio of 104 per cent.
The Ghana Police Service says it has received new complainants in the ongoing case of fraud involving the founder and leader of Heaven Way Champion International Ministries, Evangelist Patricia Oduro Koranteng alias Nana Agradaa.
According to the police, it is in the process of taking statements from some 30 persons who were also victims of the alleged money-doubling scam perpetrated by Nana Agradaa on her own church members.
This was stated in court on Thursday, October 13, 2022, when Agradaa appeared before the Accra Circuit Court 9 for a second time.
Agradaa was arrested on Sunday, October 9, 2022, following widespread allegations that she had scammed some members of her church.
She was put before court on charges of defrauding by false pretences and engaging in charlatanic advertisement in newspapers contrary to Section 137 of Act 29/60 on Monday.
With seven complainants involved in the case at the time, the counts were separated into seven on same charges when the court remanded her into custody to reappear on Thursday.
Arguing for an extension of her remand on Thursday, DSP Sylvester Asare of the prosecution informed the court about the 30 new complainants whose statements are now being taken for investigations to be carried out.
According to the prosecution, the suspect will most likely interfere in police investigations when granted bail.
DSP Sylvester Asare hence prayed the court to remand the suspect for two weeks to give the police enough time to conduct its investigations.
In opposition to the prosecution’s request, the defence bench led by Reynold Twumasi Ankrah said the accused is a mother whose infants need her at home.
He emphasised that the accused is ready to meet bail conditions and appear before the court for her trial.
The presiding judge, Mr Bright Acquah having been convinced by the prosecution’s argument however remanded the suspect into custody but for just 4 days and urged the police to conclude its investigations by the adjourned date.
The case was thus adjourned to Monday, October 17, 2022.
The Ghana Police Service have stated that the management of Today TV, owned by embattled founder and leader of Heaven Way Champion Ministries International, Evangelist Patricia Oduro Koranteng, has refused to assist in its ongoing investigations.
Evangelist Oduro Koranteng, alias Nana Agradaa, was arrested on Sunday, October 9, 2022, on allegations of fraud and put before the Accra Circuit Court 9 on Monday.
During her second appearance in court on Thursday, October 13, 2022, the prosecution led by DSP Sylvester Asare prayed to the court for an extension of Agradaa’s remand in police custody as she is likely to interfere in investigations if granted bail.
The defence bench led by Reynold Twumasi Ankrah, in praying the court to grant his client bail, argued that the police have yet to establish any concrete evidence to back its charges against the accused.
He revealed that the police, now on a fishing expedition for evidence, have written to the management of his client’s TV station for some footage.
But responding to the issue of the letter to the management, DSP Asare argued that the police already have in their possession the video contents which have gone viral on the internet.
He, however, confirmed that the police have indeed written to the management of Today TV extending an invitation for assistance in its investigations.
The prosecutor indicated that the invitation was ‘’blatantly refused’’ by the managers, who said their response was solely dependent on the instructions of the accused person.
The prosecution, which was arguing against granting the accused person bail, said the decision by the managers of the TV station was a direct confirmation of her ability to interfere in police investigations if granted bail.
“It will go a long way to thwart police investigations and amount to an acquittal before trial,” DSP Asare told the court.
In his decision, the presiding judge, Mr Bright Acquah, agreed with the prosecution that the suspect may interfere in investigations if granted bail and therefore remanded the suspect into custody.
“She could end up paying off the complainants,” the judge stated.
The court adjourned the case to Monday, October 17, 2022.
Agradaa was arrested in connection with allegations of a money-doubling scam she perpetrated against members of her church.
She is facing two charges for defrauding by false pretences and engaging in charlatanic advertisements in newspapers contrary to Section 137 of Act 29/60 on Monday.
Former New Juaben North Constituency Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwadwo Boateng-Agyemang, has lashed out at the party’s former National Chairman, Freddie Blay, over his involvement in the case of four foreign nationals facing trial for illegal mining activities.
Three Chinese nationals and a Vietnamese national are facing trial in Accra High Court as accomplices of alleged galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang.
During the trial on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, Lucy Ekeleba Blay announced in court that she was holding brief as counsel for the defence in the place of the former NPP National Chairman.
This has led to widespread criticism over the decision of Freddie Blay to represent the accused persons in the face of the government’s fight against galamsey.
Sharing such sentiments on Top FM’s Final Point hosted by Kwabena Owusu Agyemeng, the former constituency chairman accused Freddie Blay of making a mockery of the government’s fight against galamsey.
He thus called on Freddie Blay to render an apology for his actions and withdraw his services as counsel for the accused persons charged with engaging in illegal small-scale mining.
“How many people have had the opportunity of being a national chairman? And the benefits that you have got from the NPP as a party; from parliament as a second deputy speaker, as first deputy speaker and as a national chairman. God has been faithful to you. If he is listening to me now by tomorrow morning, he and his partners must issue a statement to apologise and withdraw from the case,” he said.
He emphasised that the fight against galamsey is a collective fight which requires every official to play a role and not be left to only the president to deal with.
“We need to address issues right; leadership is not only the presidency. Everyone has a role to play, so if we focus our expectations on one person, we have failed. That is why I allude that fighting galamsey is like fighting drug barons trading in cocaine,” he added.
Gao Jin Cheng, Lu Qi Jun, Haibin Go, and Zhang Zhipeng have been charged as accomplices of Aisha Huang who is also facing charges in a separate trial on galamsey charges.
However, for some critics, the former NPP national chairman’s representation of the accused persons is a decision that lacks discretion considering the fight against galamsey and its impact on Ghana’s water and forest bodies.
The Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) staff across all sixteen regions of Ghana are threatening to withdraw validation services to public sector workers and subsequently boycott the forthcoming production of third quarter national accounts of the Consolidated Fund, over nonpayment of Special Duty Allowance (SDA) and other administrative issues.
In a latest petition dated October 11, 2022 intercepted by Starr News, the aggrieved staff stated that “Our petition has become necessary following the worsening conditions of all CAGD staff and failure on the part of leadership to prioritize our welfare.
We are by this calling on management to address these issues within fourteen days failure of which we will advise ourselves including abstinence from the forthcoming production of 3rd quarter national accounts of the Consolidated Fund.No SDA, No accounts validation exercise”
According to the CAGD staff, their action has become necessary following delays in payment of the allowance at every year-end, an allowance that used to be part of staff salaries in the past.
Detailing their grievances they stated that “We, the staff of CAGD across the Sixteen Regions of Ghana hereby call upon you and your leadership to address the following issues bordering us, with immediate effect:2021 SDA be paid immediately and that of 2022 be paid by the end of the year whiles subsequent SDAs be consolidated into our monthly salaries”
Additionally, they demand that “maintenance allowances for 2021 and 1st,2nd and 3rd quarters of 2022 should, as a matter of urgency, be paid without further delay”
The angry Controller and Accountant General Department staff also want management to initiate steps to prepare and implement better salary structure to reflect what other staff in sister Departments enjoy.
The staff wants CAGD to be elevated to Authority to empower it to work independently.
“Besides ensuring efficient disbursements of public funds, the Department also withholds and pays taxes into the consolidated fund.
Steps should be initiated to make the department either a Service or Authority. This will enable the Department to ensure professionalism without undue interference”.
They are also demanding that “Transfer or posting grant for all CAGD staff be borne by the department henceforth. Management should see to the formation of a vibrant labour union for all staff of the department. This will put to rest, the perceived sabotage by CLOGSAG so far as our SDA is concerned”.
The staff also requested for quarterly and timely government of Ghana releases to all Finance Units of the District Assemblies as its being done for other Departments.
According to them, delayed releases to CAGD Regional Directorates should be addressed and the amount increased to enhance smooth administration of the offices.
They also want Chief Accountants of the Department to be placed on level 23 and ACAG moved to level 24.
The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department is mandated by the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) to: “Receive all Public and Trust monies payable into the Consolidated Fund (done through its staff stationed in all government departments including the revenue collecting ones).
Government has directed that, henceforth, no mining concession or licence should be granted to any applicant unless the Paramount Chief of the area is formally consulted to seek his input.
Additionally, the regional ministers and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) of that particular jurisdiction should also be formally consulted to bring their views to bear on the granting of mining concessions to any individual or company.
Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources announced this at a media briefing in Accra on Thursday, 13 October 2022, to update the public on new measures being implemented by the Government to combat illegal small-scale mining, otherwise known as “galamsey”.
In view of the President’s directive, Mr Jinapor has issued a Ministerial Fiat to the Minerals Commission to halt all processes leading to the recommendation for granting of mining concessions and licences until the Commission has sought the inputs of the aforementioned authorities.
The directive, the Minister said, had become very necessary to enable the traditional and local authorities to play a central role in the fight against illegal small-scale mining, which had wreaked havoc on the environment and water bodies.
Mr Jinapor stated that when the President met the National House of Chiefs in Kumasi recently, the chiefs raised concerns about them being neglected regarding issuance of mining licences and granting of mining concession to individuals.
Therefore, whenever there was illegal mining within their traditional areas, they had no power to stop it because they did not play any meaningful and active part in the granting of the licences and concessions.
With the enforcement of the Ministerial Fiat, traditional rulers and MMDCEs would play a central role in the fight against galamsey.
The Minister highlighted gamut of measures implemented by the Government so far to stop the galamsey menace including the procurement of speed boats to patrol rivers, training of river guards, forest reserves declared as “red zones” for mining and distribution of mercury-free gold processing machines (gold kachas) to small-scale miners.
The others are the collaboration between the Lands Ministry and the Attorney-General’s Office to prosecute illegal miners, both Ghanaians and foreigners, rolling out of Community Mining Schemes for local people, recruitment and engagement of about 80,000 people for alternative livelihood programme, frequent operations by the military (Operation Halt) to mining sites to arrest and burn excavators belonging to illegal miners and setting up of 83 district mining committees to oversee mining at the district level.
It has also launched another Operation Halt II campaign being spearheaded by the Military High Commands in the southern, middle belt and northern commands, which would be sustained until galamsey is brought to a satisfactory situation.
The government has, therefore, allocated significant funds and logistics to the new military operation, Mr Jinapor stated.
He, thus, called for collaboration with all stakeholders and change of attitude by all Ghanaians to help in fighting the menace.
Prices of petroleum products are expected to see a rise again beginning Sunday, October 16 as part of the adjustments for the 2nd pricing window of this month.
Fuel prices across pumps within the country are projected to see an increase of an average of 10% for both petrol and diesel, according to the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC).
From observed figures within the downstream industry, and forex movements, COPEC anticipates an average price escalation of about 10.12% for both petrol and diesel based on the increase in price of crude oil on the international market and the depreciation of the cedi.
“Between the current window and the next window due, 16 Oct 2022, Crude oil price is observed to have seen an increase of 3.66% from $89.46 to $92.73 per Barrel, whilst the Dollar index has further gone up by about 4.08% from GHS10.21 to GHS10.627 per Dollar as per Government rate (Conservative figures) though actual market rates are quite higher currently,” COPEC observed.
The corresponding international processed Petroleum prices for the next window averages as follows:
Petrol: $964.75/MT (up by 15.72%)
Diesel: $1,097.15/MT (up by 9.60%)
Internally, the projected average price of both Petrol and Diesel for the next window are expected to be GHS13.77/L, showing a price jump of 10.12% over the current Mean fuel Prices for both products across the various OMCs trading.
From observed data, Petrol, which is currently selling at an industry average of GHS11.06/L is likely to be sold at GHS12.38/L (11.88% higher) from 16 October 2022 whilst Diesel currently selling at an industry average of GHS13.95/L is likely to be sold at GHS15.16/L. (8.72% higher)
For LPG, the international price is estimated to hit $618.34/MT (up by 3.81%); the price of LPG is likely to go up by 5.04% to sell around GHS10.21/kg.
Considering no sudden jerks in Crude Oil pricing, that may lead to changes in Petrol, Diesel and LPG Prices on the International market, the Mean Ex-pump prices are expected to be within the projected figures by +/-2% as indicated below:
Petrol: GHS12.12/L to GHS12.63/L
Diesel: GHS14.86/L to GHS15.46/L
LPG: GHS10.01/kg to GHS10.41/kg
COPEC in a statement, therefore, implored the petroleum service providers to be considerate of applying the full force of the indexes in their pricing.
It added: “We are without equivocation, mindful that, the projected figures are conservatively lower than what the actuals could be due to the continuous depreciation of the local currency.”
It further admonished: “Government to do whatever it deems necessary, to ensure an urgent stabilisation of the cedi to the Dollar exchange rate in order to prevent pricing of petroleum products getting to an impending disaster as the effect of these steep increases in fuel prices cuts across all sectors of the local economy and to also further ensure some drastic reductions of some of the existing taxes and levies on Petroleum products to help ease the burden on consumers.”
Traders in the Ashanti regional capital – Kumasi – have called on government to take all revenues at the point of entry of goods and desist from harassing traders with other taxes.
According to the Executive Secretary of the Ashanti Business Community, Charles Kusi Appiah-Kubi, the business community was poised to pay corporate income tax and Pay As You Earn.
However, traders can no longer pay Value Added Tax (VAT) to government.
Mr Appiah-Kubi added that it is about time government finds more innovative ways to collect taxes for the betterment of the country.
Speaking at a press conference in Kumasi on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, he said, “Government should take all its revenue from the points of entry. Take all the charges you want to charge at the point of entry or at the manufacturing and leave us alone.”
“We are ready to pay our corporate income tax and our Pay As You Earn (PAYE), but we can’t pay the VAT again,” the Executive Secretary of Ashanti Business Community stressed.
On Monday, October 10, 2022, some traders in Kumasi locked up their shops in protest of the frequent depreciation of the cedi.
They also cited the high cost of doing business and the collection of exorbitant taxes by the government as some reasons for the protest against the government.
According to the traders within the central business district, the demonstration will last for three days.
They explained that the protest also aims to kick against the decision by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to station their officers at each shop to record Value Added Tax (VAT) on products they sell.
At least GH¢2 million will be pumped into the construction of the controversial astroturf in Tumu in the Upper West region, the Contractor for the project, Sinkare has clarified.
He told Francis Abban, host of Morning Starr on Starr 103.5 Fm, that the 100 by 120 feet pitch alone will cost 1.1 million cedis.
The rest of the money is for floodlights and ancillary works, Mr Sinkare said.
There has been a hue and cry over the project cost after the sod-cutting by Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.
The average cost of astroturfs has been between 300,000 and 600,000 Ghana cedis, according to the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC).
Some Ghanaians on social media reacted to the cost of the Tumu astroturf project questioning why government will splurge GH¢2 million to construct an artificial pitch.
In July 2022, government revealed that it constructed 30 astroturfs at a total cost of GH¢40,779,395.79.
However, a report by PIAC also quoted that the cost of the astroturfs amounted to GH¢8,188,000 million, a massive variance of GHS32,591,395.44.
President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Joseph Obeng, has dropped a hint concerning the closure of shops in Accra to protest the unfair implementation of tax measures by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
This development comes after traders in parts of the central business district of Adum in Kumasi locked up their shops in protest against rising taxation on their goods.
The traders attributed the action to the pressure to honour payment of income tax, high cost of store rentals and charges from the metropolitan assembly.
They have argued that the cumulative taxes are crippling their businesses and have vowed to sustain the action until the GRA withdraws their personnel stationed at shops to record sales of products for tax purposes.
Reacting to the protest on Atinka FM’s AM Drive with host Kaakyire Ofori Ayim, President for the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Joseph Obeng described the compulsory implementation of the new electronic platform by GRA as imbalanced.
He added that what GRA has done to the VAT system makes compliance very difficult.
According to Joseph Obeng, the Greater Accra Regional Branch of GUTA will meet to take the necessary steps to protest GRA’s unfairness.
“The capital of most traders have depleted over 50%. The value of our monies has reduced. You have a system that does not ensure fairness, you have a system that does not ensure equity, you have a system that runs trade concurrently in the same market that we have the standard rate that one pays 90.25 percent and then we have VAT rate of four percent and then we have those who do not pay the VAT at all and they are all legitimate. What system is this? We will make a definite statement come Tuesday and everyone will know the way forward,” GUTA President Joseph Obeng told Kaakyire Ofori Ayim.
In her usual praise-singing mood, the founder and leader of Heaven Way Champion Ministries International, Evangelist Patricia Oduro Koranteng, turned up at the Accra Circuit Court on Thursday, October 13, 2022, for her second appearance on fraud charges.
Agradaa, who is facing two charges of defrauding by false pretences and engaging in charlatanic advertisement in a print media, was remanded by the court on Monday.
Prior to her arrival at the court premises, some of her church members had already turned up awaiting her presence.
The sombre mood of the church members was replaced with enthusiasm when a police pickup truck arrived with Nana Agradaa sandwiched in between some officers in the back seat.
Spotting her usual heavy makeup, Agradaa, who was wearing a white overall dress, alighted from the truck and started singing a gospel tune, and in unison, the church flock gathered at the court premises joined in the singing until she was led into the courtroom and the doors of the court banged in their faces.
While the court was hearing an application by Agradaa’s lawyers to grant her bail, her church members who remained on the premises of the court engaged in frantic prayers.
Their prayers however failed to yield the desired result as the court presided by Mr Bright Acquah, declined the request for bail following a marathon of legal arguments between the defence and prosecution bench.
The judge, who was convinced by the prosecution’s argument that the former fetish priestess may interfere in police investigations when granted bail, ordered that the suspect be taken into custody to reappear on Monday, October 17, 2022.
With a transparent pair of sizable Gucci fashion sunglasses sitting across her eyes, Agradaa, who made it a point to correct prosecutors about her title as “Evangelist Doctor” during her first appearance in the court, rather spotted a pensive mood during the hearing on Thursday.
Her exuberant self, however, came to light once again when she was brought out of the court to be taken away back into police custody.
With her church members available to back her up, the evangelist elevated into praise singing mode.
The police pickup truck that had to take her away had a bit of a challenge navigating through the crowd of singing church members who had swamped the car.
In her parting message to her church leader, one of the church members was heard shouting, “we will die for you, we will die with our last blood.”
Evangelist Patricia Oduro Koranteng was arrested by the police on Sunday, October 9, 2022.
Agradaa, was arrested in connection with allegations of a money-doubling scam she perpetrated against members of her own church.
The former secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Bissue, has urged the then Chairman of IMCIM and ex-Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, to come clear on the 500 excavators that were alleged to have gone missing.
Speaking in an Adom FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb on October 10, Charles Bissue intimated that Prof Frimpong Boateng’s claim that the 500 excavators seized from illegal miners in 2020 went missing is not false.
He added that because of the former ministers’ irresponsible utterances on the excavators the government is always ashamed when the issue comes up.
“Prof (Frimpong Boateng) was the one who said the excavators were missing but he has stepped aside and left it hanging on the government. This is what is hurting me now and that is why I have been calling for him to come out and speak on the matter.
“Because people keep referring to the 500 missing excavators as a failure of the government but this is not the truth. He has to come and explain to Ghanaians what actually transpired for peace to prevail.
“Prof Frimpong-Boateng owes a duty of care to the state… you have made a reckless statement which is now hanging on the government, come out and tell Ghanaians what you said is false for the government to be exonerated,” he said in Twi.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng in 2020 alleged that some members of the ruling NPP including former First Vice-Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Central, Horace Ekow Ewusi, had sold 500 excavators, the government seized from illegal miners.
The General Secretary of Convention Peoples Party (CPP), Nana Yaa Jantuah, has called for the immediate resignation of the past Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Freddie Blay, as the board chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
She explained that Blay had to resign because his law firm is representing the accomplices of the alleged illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) kingpin, Aisha Huang, who the government, which he is part of, is prosecuting.
Speaking in a TV3 interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Jantuah berated Freddie Blay for defending Aisha Huang’s accomplices.
He reiterated that the action of the former NPP chairman is ethically wrong and amounts to a clear case of conflict of interest.
“This is a man who is part of the governance of an organization in the NPP government and his law firm is defending galamsey. What do they seek to achieve? Are they just playing?
“I thought he had even left GNPC, but he is still there. Being the board chair is not of GNPC, it means you are part of the government. It is the people who are in government who become board chairmen because it is assumed and believed that they believe in the agenda of the government in power. That is why they put them there, to direct governance as board chairman.
“You are in government and your firm is defending a government that the president of this country has put his job on the line to stop. I think he should resign as board chair of GNPC. I don’t know why he is still there because it is a conflict of interest. You can eat your cake and have it,” she said.
She indicated that she is very disheartened that a member of the government is supporting something that is killing Ghanaians and destroying the country’s lands and water bodies.
Freddie Blay, who is the immediate past chairman of the NPP, has come under heavy criticism after it emerged that he is the main lawyer for Huang’s four co-accused in a case related to galamsey.
Lucy Ekeleba Blay, a private legal practitioner, in court on Tuesday (October 11), said that she was holding brief for Freddie Blay in the case of the four accomplices in the persons of Gao Jin Cheng, Lu Qi Jun, Haibin Go and Zhang Zhipeng.
Dr Kofi Amoah has charged the powers that be to go the whole nine yards in dealing with persons and companies that flout the nation’s laws on mining.
The astute businessman and economist was reacting to news that structures and machinery belonging to Akonto Mining had been burned by government officials because it had no permit and thus was illegally mining in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve.
In a tweet shared on Thursday, Dr Amoah wrote, “No More Tin “gods” in Ghana. AKONTA MINING must be prosecuted for engaging in illegal mining in an area it had no permit. Burning of structures must not be the end but the beginning of having the laws of Ghana to work Hon Jinapor must show his mettle now!
Akonta Mining which has been in the news lately is owned by New Patriotic Party, NPP, Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Bosiako, alias Chairman Wontumi.
According to reports, the destruction of the properties took place on Wednesday, October 12, 2022.
Pictures shared by myjoyonline.com showed several structures made of wood and roofing sheets burning along with some amount of machinery believed to be used in the firm’s operations.
Akonta Mining, which Wontumi insists was into regular mining and not illegal small-scale mining, that is galamsey, was operating from the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve until recently when the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources ordered a halt to their operations.
No More Tin “gods” in Ghana
AKONTA MINING must be prosecuted for engaging in illegal mining in an area it had no permit
Burning of structures must not be the end but the beginning of having the laws of Ghana to work
Hon Jinapor must show his mettle now! https://t.co/XkfRxuxlo2
— CitizenKofi (@amoah_citizen) October 13, 2022
The operation was thus undertaken almost 24-hours after deputy Lands Minister, Benito Owusu-Bio had toured the affected forest reserve.
In a statement issued on September 30 and signed by minister Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Ministry said the firm did not have license to operate from “the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve in the Amenfi West Municipality in the Western Region.”
The ruling government has had a difficult time fighting the illegal mining menace which threatens the food and water security of the country.
According to experts, if the rate and scale of the galamsey destruction is not halted, Ghana will have to import water in the next few years due to the obliteration of the various water bodies.
Former deputy General Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Koku Anyidoho, has said that the outgoing General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, should have been sacked from the party after the 2016 election.
According to him, Asiedu Nketia, who was the party’s National Campaign Director in the 2016 elections, should have been sacked because he was mainly responsible for the NDC losing that election.
In a tweet shared on Tuesday (October 12), Anyidoho added that Nketia was responsible for the loss of the Tain parliamentary seat even though the constituency is a stronghold of the NDC.
“Asiedu-Nketiah should have been SACKED from NDC at the end of the 2016 General Election, when, as GS & National Campaign Manager, he was viciously responsible for the disgraceful loss of his TAIN constituency – a very safe NDC Seat. His evil antics shall no longer be tolerated,” the tweet Anyidoho shared read.
Meanwhile, Johnson Asiedu Nketia has officially declared his intention to contest for the chairmanship position of the NDC.
Mr. Nketia made the declaration in a joint interview on Accra100.5FM and CTV morning shows, today, Thursday, October 13, 2022.
“Yes, I have the intention of picking up a form to contest the chairmanship position when nominations are opened,” the NDC scribe told joint hosts Emmanuel Quarshie (The Hitman) and Nana Out Darko.
Mr. Nketia also debunked assertions that the General Secretary position might be weakened when he hangs his boots from that role.
The NDC goes to congress on the December 17, 2022.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has been charged to continue to pursue the vision of renowned Ghanaian politician, teacher and king Simon Diedong (SD) Dombo.
Chief of Duori, Naa Dombo III during a courtesy call on him by the Vice President as part of his official working visit to the Upper West Region, tasked him with the responsibility of pursuing to the letter, the vision of the late Member of Parliament for Jirapa-Lambussie, who was a key founder of the Northern People’s Party, the forebears of today’s New Patriotic Party.
According to him, the family acknowledges his contributions in re-igniting the link between the two families that championed the vision of the tradition.
He described his intervention as timely and prayed God grants him the strength and fortitude to soldier till the dream of the two families that started decades ago is achieved.
“We acknowledge your intervention in re-establishing the link between the Dombos and the Bawumias. I am by this tasking you to pursue the vision of your father Dombo from where he left off. You have henceforth been tasked with the responsibility as a true son to achieve this dream that was birthed decades ago”, he charged.
Naa Dombo III also bestowed on him a Chieftaincy title “Leweh” to wit “the chief (Dombo) has returned”.
He explained that it was as a result of the traits of the late SD Dombo seen in Dr Mahamudu Bawumia that led the Dombo family to honour him with the title to encourage him to achieve his assigned task. Dr. Bawumia was also named as co-Chairman of the SD Dombo Foundation.
An elated Bawumia later paid glowing tribute to one of the pillars of the NPP at his graveside where he laid a wreath and prayed for his peaceful repose.
The late Douri-Na, was reputed to be the first educated chieftain in the Upper Region of Ghana.
He was one of the founders of the Northern People’s Party and became its first Chairman with Mumuni Bawumia (the Vice President’s father as Vice Chairman). The Northern Peoples Party later merged with other parties to form the United Party.
During the Second Republic, Dombo was also a member of the first Parliament under the membership of the ruling Progress Party after he was elected in the 1969 Ghanaian general elections.
He was Minister for Health and then Minister for Interior in the Busia administration.
Social media activist and convenor of the #FixTheCountry pressure group has filed an application at the High Court praying the Court to throw out the Attorney General’s bill of indictment and summary of evidence filed against him to stand trial at the High Court on two counts of Treason felony.
Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor has been indicted by the State on two counts of treason felony contrary to section 182(b) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and treason felony contrary to section 182(b) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
In Court
In Court today 13 October 2022, a lawyer for #FixTheCountry convenor, Justice Srem-Sia told the Court presided over by Justice Mary Yanzuh, that he has filed the said application and served it on the State.
Assistant State Attorney, Alice Odame Koranteng when she stood up on her feet indicated in Court that the Attorney-General’s department is yet to see the application.
However, the state she said will get it and respond appropriately to it. She, therefore, asked the Court for an adjournment so she can do the needful.
By Court
Justice Mary Yanzuh’s Court after hearing the parties ruled that the case cannot continue until the application of the accused person has been heard.
To that end, she adjourned the sitting to Friday 21 October 2022, for the applicant’s lawyers to move their motion.
Bill of Indictment
The Bill of Indictment dated 30 May 2022 and signed by the Director of Public Prosecution, Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, which is now being challenged by #FixTheCountry convenor, notes that “Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor, in February 2022, in Ghana, through a post on your Twitter social media account published to people in Ghana and the rest of the world, endeavoured to usurp the executive powers of the Republic by advocating for the violent overthrow of the constitution”.
Witnesses/Exhibits
According to the summary of the evidence, the state indicates that it intends to call three witnesses at trial. They are Andrew Okyere, No 55341 D/CONST Dunstan Guba and D/CPL Mark Owusu.
The state will also be tendering some eight exhibits to support their case at the trial. They are the investigation cautioned statement of the accused (Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor) dated 11 February 2022, Charged statement of the accused dated 11 February 2022 and the investigation cautioned statement of the accused dated 16 February 2022.
The remaining exhibits are the charge statement of the accused dated April 1, 2022, Facebook and Twitter posts of the accused person from February 2021 to February 2022, the Facebook post of the accused person on 30 April 2022, an Intelligence report from the Cybercrime unit, and an Intelligence report from National Security.
Background
In a series of Facebook posts that led to the arrest of Barker-Vormawor on 11 February 2022 and his ongoing prosecution, he described the Ghana Armed Forces as “useless” for not acting despite the public uproar against the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy), which came into effect on 1 May 2022.
“If this E-Levy passes after this cake bullshit, I will do the coup myself. Useless Army!” Barker-Vormawor wrote in one of his posts.
In another post, he said: “Okay, let’s try again. If this E-Levy still passes after this cake bullshit, then may God …. Help us to resist the oppressor’s rule, with all our will and might forevermore. (2x). Useless Army. Anaa, the value is the same?”
Police arrest
Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor was picked up by the Tema Regional Police on Saturday 12 February 2022, for allegedly saying that he would stage a coup in Ghana if Parliament passed the E-Levy Bill.
A police statement published on 12 February 2022 said that Barker-Vormawor is being kept at the Tema Regional Police Command to assist with further investigations into his social media post.
First court sitting
After his charges were read to him in open court on 14 February, Assistant Superintendent of Police Sylvester Asare, read the brief facts. Barker-Vormawor’s lawyer, Akoto Ampaw, applied for bail for his client but the state opposed the application.
In her ruling at the Ashaiman district court, Magistrate Eleanor Barnes Botchway said she did not have the mandate to grant bail in a case involving a charge of treason felony.
She subsequently remanded the accused into police custody and, working with the two-week timeline required by law to have the accused on remand make an appearance in court, she adjourned the sitting to 28 February 2022.
Brief facts
The brief facts as presented in court by DSP Sylvester Asare state that “the accused person is a lawyer and convenor of a social movement, namely ‘FixTheCountry’.
Sometime in February 2022, the Ashaiman Police received a report that the accused person was inciting some groups of persons believed to be members of the FixTheCountry movement.
“That on receipt of the report, the police mounted surveillance on the accused person until his arrest at Kotoka International Airport on Friday 11 February 2022, when he arrived from the United Kingdom (UK). Preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused is a lawyer and a PhD student at Cambridge University, UK.”
The facts further say that “it has also been established during investigation that the accused for some time now has been inciting some group[s] of persons through the social media [sic] to undertake an unlawful enterprise to usurp the executive powers of the Government of Ghana”.
“Pursuant to his preparation to usurp the executive powers of the Government of Ghana, accused further published on his Facebook wall that the Ghana army is useless and went ahead to declare his intention in a Facebook post to stage a coup if the Electronic Transaction Levy [E-Levy] is passed by Parliament.”
The National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has stated that he will be filing a notice of appeal and an application for stay of execution to challenge a decision of the High Court that went against him.
Sammy Gyamfi had been dragged to court by the Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, for alleging that one of the suspects arrested in connection with the kidnapping of some two Canadian girls in Kumasi, Seidu Mba, was his (Dr. Prempeh’s) errand boy.
This was during the period when Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh was the Minister of Education in 2009.
After years in court, the General Jurisdiction High Court (12) in Accra, presided over by Justice Charles Gyamfi Danquah on Thursday, October 13, 2022, ruled against Sammy Gyamfi, ordering him to pay GH¢500,000 damages to the complainant, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh.
In his response in a post on Facebook, Sammie Gyamfi stated that while the court ruled against him, he disagreed with the decision, adding that the court erred.
“After three years of litigation, the court today held that the said comment was defamatory and consequently awarded damages of GH500,000.00 and cost of GH50,000.00 against me.
“It is my considered view that the honorable court erred as its decision is contrary to the evidence that was put before the court. More importantly, I hold the view that the court’s decision to totally disregard the testimony of my witness, DW1, Mafus Jibril who testified that the said Seidu Mba was in fact the errand boy of Plaintiff and was in his company when he (DW1) was attacked in Manhyia sometime in 2012, constitutes a grave miscarriage of justice,” he wrote.
He added that he will take up the case in a higher court, hopeful that he will be served justice.
“Consequently, my lawyers will be filing a notice of appeal and an application for stay of execution to challenge the decision of the High Court forthwith. It’s my hope that justice will be served,” he added.
Commenting on his victory, the Minister of Energy, who is also the Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, issued a statement to express his happiness about the outcome of the case.
“A declaration that the words complained of and published by the defendant and contained in paragraph 14 herein are defamatory of the Plaintiff’s character.
“An order of the honourable court directed at the defendant to publish an unqualified retraction and an apology with the same prominence of the defamatory words received within seven days after the judgment.
“An order of the honourable court for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, his agents, assigns, servants and any person claiming authority from the defendant from further making/or publishing any defamatory words against the Plaintiff.
“The sum of One million Ghana Cedis (GHS1,000,000) in damages for the defamation,” the statement said.
The National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Sammy Gyamfi, has been ordered to pay GH¢500,000 damages to the Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, by the General Jurisdiction High Court (12) in Accra.
This comes after the court, which was presided over by Justice Charles Gyamfi Danquah, ruled in favour of the minister on a defamation suit he filed in 2019 against Sammy Gyamfi.
Dr. Opoku Prempah, when he was the education minister, sued the NDC communicator for alleging that one of the suspects arrested in connection with the kidnapping of two Canadian girls in Kumasi, Seidu Mba, was his (Dr. Prempah’s) errand boy.
The energy minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Manhyia North, asked that the court awards him GH¢1,000,000 in damages against Gyamfi.
“A declaration that the words complained of and published by the defendant and contained in paragraph 14 herein are defamatory of the Plaintiff’s character.
“An order of the honourable court directed at the defendant to publish an unqualified retraction and an apology with the same prominence of the defamatory words received within seven days after the judgment.
“An order of the honourable court for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, his agents, assigns, servants and any person claiming authority from the defendant from further making/or publishing any defamatory words against the Plaintiff.
“The sum of One million Ghana Cedis (GHS1,000,000) in damages for the defamation,” a declaration statement by the energy minister read.
During the hearing on Thursday (October 13, 2022), Justice Charles Gyamfi Danquah ruled that Sammy Gyamfi, by his comments, defamed Dr. Opoku Prempeh, asaaseradio.com reports.
In addition to the GH¢500,000, the judge ordered Sammy Gyamfi to apologise and retract the defamatory statement he made with the same prominence the defamatory words received within seven days after the judgment.
He also ordered the NDC National Communicator not to make or publish defamatory words against the energy minister.
He said the committee was obligated to initiate pragmatic policies and actions to prepare the Authority to effectively deliver on its mandate in the nation’s nuclear power programme.
Dr. Kwaku Afriyie (middle) with the members of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority Board
Inaugurating the board, in Accra yesterday, he also tasked the board to ensure that nuclear devices for medical and agriculture purposes that would come into the country were well regulated.
The seven-member board which is the thirdfor the NRA is chaired by Professor Aba A. BentilAndam, a fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences with members including Professor Isabella A. Quakyi also from the Academy.
Others are Colonel Tim Ba-Taa-Banah, National Security Ministry; Daniel Adumuah, Adentan Municipal Chief Executive; Ebenezer Appah-Sampong, Environmental Protection Agency; DrNii K. Allotey, NRA and Prof. Edward Akaho, Former Director-General of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission.
After many years of preparations, President Akufo-Addo, last month, approved the inclusion of nuclear power into the country’s power generation mix, indicating readiness to go nuclear.
The announcement of the government’s approval, called the National Position, is one of the key 19 infrastructure issues under phase one of the programme, a guideline set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“The board is a requirement in international circles, because if it does not exist we would not have the IAEA permission to proceed and that would be against international law, so this board is very important,” said Dr Afriyie.
He said the country, having completed the first phase, had initiated the second phase with a call for expression of interest from vendors and identification of sites for the project.
“Your inputs should ensure the proper management of the resources of the Authority, and also ensure that the Authority is abreast with all emerging new technologies.
“I urge you to be passionate about this duty, bring your years of experience, expertise and excellence which all of you are noted for, to bear on the task ahead. Above all, take your mandate as a “sacred calling” for which posterity would applaud your memory,” he said.
Prof. Andam thanked and assured the president that the board would be committed to the task ahead, initiate policies and see their quick implementation, and ensure good governance in the NRA.
“I can attest to the fact that members of this board are known for their lives of service and commitment to the nation. This gives me the confidence that history will show that in our day we met the demands which our time requires of us,” she said.
A total of 187 persons charged with different mining offences have been convicted and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment in the Eastern Region since 2017.
They include 29 Nigeriens, seven Nigerians and three Chinese.
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame told journalists that prosecution was conducted by the Eastern Region Office of the Attorney-General headed by Chief State Attorney, Mrs Emily Addo-Okyireh.
Mr Dame said since the designation of the High Court 3 and Circuit Court B, in Koforidua as courts to deal with illegal mining cases by the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, the Office of the Attorney-General prosecuted all cases on illegal mining brought to its attention.
He said most of the cases were tried in Circuit Court B, Koforidua presided over by Mrs Mercy Adei-Kotey, now a Justice of the High Court.
The Attorney General said that most of the accused were tried and sentenced under the old section 99 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703).
The Section 99(1) of Act 703 prescribed a penalty of a minimum fine of three thousand penalty units or imprisonment for a term of not more than five years for the offence of buying or selling minerals without a licence.
For the offence of undertaking a small scale mining operation without a licence or acting in contravention of a provision of Act 703 in respect of which an offence is created, section 99(2) of Act 703 stipulated a penalty of a minimum fine of one thousand penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not more than three years.
Mr Dame said in spite of that provision, prosecutors succeeded in getting custodial sentences imposed on the accused in 40 out of the 48 cases being prosecuted, with the court exercising discretion to impose a fine in eight of the cases.
Under the new law, Mr Dame noted that 33 of the convicted persons including 11 foreigners were convicted and sentenced under the new Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 995) between August 2021 and September 2022 and are currently serving various prison terms of 15 years, 20 years and 18 years together with fines imposed in the various cases in which they were convicted.
Mr Dame, however, expressed displeasure with the decision of the Circuit Court to impose sentences between three years and five years on the accused in five of the cases involving the trial of 47 persons, which were filed before the passage of Act 995 but which were determined after the Act had come into force on August, 19, 2019,
This, he said, was contrary to the law as Act 995 substituted the punishment regime provided for under Act 703 with a new punishment regime which increased the penalty for engaging in illegal mining operations and illegal trading in minerals.
In the view of the Attorney-General, the substitution of the former section 99 of Act 703 with a new section 99 under Act 995 implied that a court of law engaged with the conduct of a case pending before it, was obliged to apply the new penalties provided for by the law rather than applying the old penalties existing under the law which was no longer in force.
The Attorney-General indicated that of the 48 cases tried in the Eastern Region since 2017, in respect of which convictions have been secured, only one is on appeal.
He said that there were currently about 43 new cases involving the trial of about 250 persons including Chinese at Circuit Court B, Koforidua.
The Attorney-General said an update on the prosecution of illegal mining cases in other regions, particularly, Ashanti, Western and Greater-Accra Regions will be provided in due course.
The face of Plastic Partnership in Ghana, Naa Ayele Nobaatse, has reiterated the need for education on plastic waste in the country because of the irreparable damage it causes to the environment.
She explained that the effects are so damaging that they last for generations, especially since plastics never rust or degrade.
Speaking to a gathering during the Power of a Girl Conference organized by Power To Girls GH to mark this year’s International Day of the Girl Child, on the theme, “Girl Force, Unscripted and Unstoppable,” she stressed the importance of discouraging the improper disposal of plastics.
“If I ask you to name everything you’ve ever come across that are made of plastic, we’ll be here all day, if not more. Plastic is one of the most enduring and most powerful materials in the world. For example, put a piece of wood in the ground, and within a few years, it will be rotten. Put a piece of metal in the ground and within a few years, it will rust and decay but put plastic in the ground, above the ground, anywhere, and it remains there forever.
“This is a scary thing for the environment, and that’s why environmentalists are so concerned about how we recycle plastic,” she said.
The Power of a Girl Conference was organized by Power To Girls GH, headed by Aisha Addo.
The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, on Tuesday, cut sod for the construction of a $2 million Astroturf at Tumu in the Upper West Region.
Measuring 100 by 120 feet respectively, the multi-purpose pitch being sponsored by Ghana Gas will be completed in six months.
Speaking at the ceremony the Vice President stated that the government was doing its best to bring development to every sector of the country, although it sometimes appeared slower than expected and said the needs of the youth was at the heart of government’s agenda.
“As a country, one of our biggest challenges is youth unemployment, so government has paid close attention to this area so that even though the problem has not been solved entirely, the New Patriotic Party government has created more jobs than any other government in the 4th Republic and you can bear witness to this,” he said.
He mentioned that 600,000 people were on government’s payroll at the time the party came to power and said an additional 400,000 people had been recruited in the last five years in the health and education sectors as well as the various security services.
To ensure that the youth measured up to the human resource needs of the country, the Vice President said the government had dedicated resources to ensuring that every young person in the country attained at least a senior high school certificate hence the introduction of the free senior high school policy.
“The policy has led to a surge in enrolment into senior high school by 50 per cent and more girls are being enrolled leading to gender parity; government is also paying attention to vocational education by establishing a Technical Education Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training (TEVET) service and also included them in the free SHS policy.
He mentioned that government was building ultra-modern technical educational institutions across the country and retooling existing ones as in the case of St Claires in Tumu.
Touching on the Tumu-Wa road, Dr Bawumia promised the people of Tumu that the government would deliberate on how to acquire a dedicated fund to pay road contractors in the area to ensure that they expedite action on the construction of the road.
“I have been briefly informed that five contractors are supposed to work on the Wa-Tumu road but only one is currently at work due to non-payment of contracts as a result of challenges with disbursement of the internally generated funds (IGF) at the assembly so it is necessary that we have an input as a government to see how these contractors can be paid to make them get back to work”, he stressed.
The senior manager for Community Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility at the Ghana Gas, Mr Stephen Donkor, said the astroturf pitch was one of the numerous ways the company would want to support the development of northern Ghana and appealed to the Municipal Chief Executive to monitor the project to ensure it was delivered on time.
In a speech, the Chief of Tumu, Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton IV lauded the project as relevant and said it would provide the youth the opportunity to nurture their talents in sports and enable them to spend their leisure prudently away from social vices.
Mr. Sam Codjoe, the defence lawyer for the ex-CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Stephen Opuni, has strongly argued against a suggestion by Chief State Attorney Evelyn Keelson, that his client, who, recently, had four surgical operations on his left eye, and, as a result, has been given a six-week excuse duty by his medical doctor from participating in any stressful activities, should be made to continue sitting in his trial regarding the GHS271 million financial loss case, virtually.
In his view, granting that request by the chief state attorney will be taking Ghana to the “Dark Ages”.
Four separate surgeries on his left eye compelled Dr. Opuni to miss the resumption of his trial on Tuesday, 11 October 2022, after a two-month break.
Dr. Opuni, the first accused person, is being tried with private businessman Seidu Agongo, the second accused person, in connection with the prosecution’s assertion that they caused the state to lose some GHS271 million in a fraudulent procurement of Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser from the latter’s agrochemical company, Agricult, the third accused person.
They have all pleaded not guilty to the offences and are on a GHS300,000 self-recognisance bail in the more-than-four-year-old trial.
During the hearing on Tuesday, Dr. Opuni’s lawyer informed the court, presided over by Supreme Court judge Clemence Honyenuga that his client had been given a six-week excuse duty by his doctor so he could stay away from all activities that risked straining the surgically operated eye to enable proper healing.
“My Lord, the first accused [person] is not in court today due to the fact that he’s had surgery on his eye and we have given this court a copy of the medical report indicating that he has had four different surgeries on his eye. My Lord, as contained in the medical report, he’s been given a six-week excuse duty to enable the left eye to heal. My Lord, this is the reason why he is not present in court,” Mr Codjoe explained.
He added: “And my Lord, yesterday [Monday, 10 October 2022], I showed the prosecution a copy of the medical report but because it is a confidential document, which is, it contains details of the exact surgery, so, I informed my learned friend of the exact surgery, so, I did not give them a hard copy of the actual medical report because of the confidential nature.”
“My Lord, this explains the absence of the first accused [person] in court and my Lord, as a result of his absence due to ill health, we pray that this court adjourns this case to the end of the six-week period commencing from the 23rd day of September 2022,” he pleaded.
He indicated: “My Lord, the basis of our seeking this adjournment is because the first accused person, in the exercise of his constitutional rights under Article 19(3) of the 1992 Constitution, wants to be present during the trial. Unfortunately, he’s unable to because of ill health.”
Mr Codjoe, thus, prayed the court to adjourn the matter to a time after the expiration of the six-week excuse duty, “in accordance with this constitutional provision,” which, he noted was interpreted in the case of George Bonson, alias Benjillo v the Republic.
In a rebuttal, chief state attorney Evelyn Keelson argued: “My Lord, the first accused person, who is on bail, is required to be present in this court, as undertaken in his bail conditions. My Lord, we have seen a medical report indicating that the first accused [person] has had surgery on his left eye; and in that report, the medical director has indicated that he needs six weeks to rest the eye for proper healing.”
“Respectfully, my Lord, this statement by the medical director is not binding on this honourable court. My Lord, the medical director did not indicate the basis for the six weeks he has indicated in the report. My Lord, under section 169(2) of Act 30, this honourable court cannot adjourn this matter for more than one month; and has already indicated that this court is not bound by the report, I pray that the court invites the medical director to give further and better particulars to his request for the first accused [person] to be excused for six weeks,” she went on.
She also proposed: “My Lord, in the alternative, this court can sit virtually to accommodate the first accused [person]. Indeed, my Lord, during the vacation, we were sitting virtually and it worked very well.”
Mrs Keelson also said: “My Lord, I want to state that nobody has taken away or seeks to take away the first accused person’s right under article 19(3) to be present at his trial. The first accused person is on bail and is at liberty to attend the trial.”
Citing the same case referred to by Dr Opuni’s lawyer to counter a point made by the defence team, Mrs Keelson said: “My Lord, these matters were clearly explained in the case my learned friend cited; the Benjillo case, so, my Lord, it is, therefore, our submission that this court, in the exercise of its discretion, can proceed with the case without infringing Article 19(3) since, as I have stated, the doctor’s opinion for the accused person to stay away for six weeks, is not binding on this honourable court.”
In her view, “My Lord, this court can grant the accused person some days but certainly not six weeks as suggested by the medical doctor, especially when he is not admission.”
However, Mr Codjoe counter-argued that the reasons for the six-week excuse duty were stated in paragraph 2 of the medical report contrary to the assertion by the chief state attorney, who interrupted and insisted the reasons had not been elaborated by the medical director and wondered where Dr Opuni’s lawyer was reading the alleged reasons from.
Mr Codjoe noted that though his team had no objection to the proposed summoning of the medical doctor before the court, it was “most unfortunate” for the chief state attorney to suggest that the first accused person, who is “not supposed to sit” and is “not supposed to engage in any activity which will put stress on his left eye, sit in a virtual trial and lie down in a virtual trial. My Lord, this is most unacceptable even in military regimes.”
“My Lord, even under section 170(2) of Act 30, once the person is ill and the court is satisfied that the person is ill, which can only be done through a medical report and not by a physical examination by the chief state attorney, the court grants an adjournment,” he further argued.
Mr Codjoe noted: “My Lord, by this section, it does not limit this court to the period of adjournment and my Lord, we submit that insofar as the person is ill and recovering from surgery on his eye, then the court should grant the adjournment for the accused [person] to recuperate.”
Adjourning the matter, he noted, would not be unusual in the circumstance.
“My Lord, I would add that this court will not be doing anything unreasonable or illegal, in that, the attorney general’s department, as recently as August of this year, adjourned the Ato Forson case, for very good reasons, to January.”
“My Lord, the final point is the suggestion by the prosecution that in spite of the fact that the first accused [person] is ill, the court should still put him on trial. This will take us to the Dark Ages of Ghana when we didn’t have a Constitution and/or a democracy,” he told the court.
The lawyer for the second and third accused persons, Mr Emmanuel Kumadi, said: “My Lord, respectfully, we associate ourselves with the submission by counsel for the first accused person, especially where some of the offences for which the accused persons are standing trial before this honourable court, is based on conspiracy. My Lord, it’s our humble submission that the presence of the first accused person will be needed for the continuation of the case, especially when he did not elect not to be present.”
After hearing both sides, Justice Honyenuga said: “Looking at the circumstances of this case, it is my view that in order to clear any controversy or doubts about the medical report before this court, I will order the medical director … to appear before this court with all the records on the first accused [person].”
“The Registrar of this court is to ensure that this order is served on the said medical director per his address as stated on the medical report. In the circumstances, I will adjourn this matter to Monday, the 17th of October 2022 at 10 a.m.”
The founder of Heavenway Champion International Ministries, Evangelist Patricia Oduro Koranteng has again been denied bail by an Accra Circuit Court.
The court presided over by Justice Bright Acquah on Thursday, October 13, 2022, struck out a bail plea by her lawyer, Reynold Twumasi.
This was after an initial bail denial during her first hearing in court on October 10.
State Prosecutor, represented by DSP Sylvester Asare during today’s hearing, had prayed the court for a 2-week extension of remand for the accused on the basis that, investigations were still ongoing and needed to be concluded.
This was countered by counsel for the accused who argued that there are no ongoing investigations as prosecution seeks to establish and that nothing substantial had so far been found on his client. He added that his client will be able to meet all bail conditions.
The prosecution however noted that some 30 new witnesses had emerged who had to be investigated and results concluded.
Presiding Judge, Bright Acquah subsequently granted the plea for extended remand, but however indicated that prosecution has 4 days instead of an additional week to conclude investigations for trial to proceed.
The case has since been adjourned till Monday, October 17, 2022.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service have arrested repented fetish priestess, Nana Agradaa, now known as Evangelist Mama Pat.
This was announced in a statement by the Service shared via its social media handles on Sunday, October 9, 2022.
“The Police have arrested Patricia Asiedua alias Nana Agradaa following allegations of money doubling scam levelled against her by some members of the public. The suspect is currently assisting police investigation,” the statement said.
Nana Agradaa’s arrest comes on the back of allegations made by scores of her church members, who claimed that she had scammed them after an all-night service.
The former fetish priestess had advertised in a viral video that she was going to give out monies to people who would attend her all night church service on Friday, October 7, 2022.
Things however did not go as planned for many of the people who attended the service as many of them cried foul that they had given out monies to her but she failed to keep to her side of the agreement.
She eventually is reported to have sent the people away from the church, prompting the alarms they raised online.
The police have since called on all persons who were affected by the supposed scam to report to the Accra Regional Police Command to help with the investigations.
“Anyone who is a victim of the alleged money doubling scam should report to the Accra Regional Police Command for further action to assist the investigation,” it added.
Speaking in a Peace FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, the deputy minister alleged that persons accusing him of engaging in illegal mining are part of a cartel who what him to support their chieftaincy bids.
The deputy minister, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tarkwa Nsuaem, made this remark while reacting to contrasting statements by different factions of chiefs from Tarkwa on his involvement in illegal small-scale mining, otherwise known as ‘galamsey’.
“There is a whole chieftaincy issue. If you monitored the 2020 elections, you would have observed this. There is a cartel against me. They think I have to support their chieftaincy bids.
“That is all this hullaballoo is about. Otherwise, why this counter and all that? As I have stated earlier, it does not matter even whether this person is a chief or not. What is important is the allegation. And whether he (the chief making the allegations against him) is a non-entity or not, it is important for us to observe that whatever you allege, you must provide it.
“You can not just speculate and go free,” he said in Twi.
Nana Nyonwah Panyin IV, the Chief of Dompim-Pepesa, a community in the Western Region, had accused some government officials, including the deputy lands minister, of being behind the illegal mining menace in the country.
George Mireku Duker had denied this allegation levelled against him by the chief and has filed a suit in court.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has said the Electoral Commission(EC) is reluctant in accepting the largest opposition NDC back into the Inter-Party Advisory Committee(IPAC).
The former leader disclosed that several moves undertaken by the Peace Council toward reaching a middle ground with the EC, and the two leading parties on the NDC’s return to IPAC have proved futile.
“The Peace Council has invited them for the last 8 months. The Electoral Commission can’t find time to sit with the Peace Council and after that have a joint meeting between the two biggest parties so that we can go back to IPAC. They’re not interested,” Mr Mahama told the Voice of America in Washington.
However, the Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC) in charge of Corporate Services, Dr. Bossman Asare has indicated that the EC is under no compulsion to force all political parties to attend IPAC and other EC-related meetings.
“One thing which must be clear is that parties coming to IPAC, the EC cannot force any political party to come to IPAC,” he told Joy FM after the NDC withdrew from the IPAC last year.
Meanwhile, the NDC has proposed that the IPAC and its advisory role in the electoral process should be given legal backing, without encroaching on the constitutional independence of the Electoral Commission.
The National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has been ordered to pay GH¢500,000 damages to the Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, by the General Jurisdiction High Court (12) in Accra.
This comes after the court, which was presided over by Justice Charles Gyamfi Danquah, ruled in favour of the minister on a defamation suit he filed in 2019 against Sammy Gyamfi.
Dr. Opoku Prempah, when he was the education minister, sued the NDC communicator for alleging that one of the suspects arrested in connection with the kidnapping of two Canadian girls in Kumasi, Seidu Mba, was his (Dr. Prempah’s) errand boy.
The energy minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Manhyia North, asked that the court awards him GH¢1,000,000 in damages against Gyamfi.
“A declaration that the words complained of and published by the defendant and contained in paragraph 14 herein are defamatory of the Plaintiff’s character.
“An order of the honourable court directed at the defendant to publish an unqualified retraction and an apology with the same prominence of the defamatory words received within seven days after the judgment.
“An order of the honourable court for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, his agents, assigns, servants and any person claiming authority from the defendant from further making/or publishing any defamatory words against the Plaintiff.
“The sum of One million Ghana Cedis (GHS1,000,000) in damages for the defamation,” a declaration statement by the energy minister read.
During the hearing on Thursday (October 13, 2022), Justice Charles Gyamfi Danquah ruled that Sammy Gyamfi, by his comments, defamed Dr. Opoku Prempeh, asaaseradio.com reports.
In addition to the GH¢500,000, the judge ordered Sammy Gyamfi to apologise and retract the defamatory statement he made with the same prominence the defamatory words received within seven days after the judgment.
He also ordered the NDC National Communicator not to make or publish defamatory words against the energy minister.
The Chief State Attorney, Evelyn Keelson, ruffled feathers in court on Tuesday when she requested that former COCOBOD boss Dr. Stephen Opuni who is recuperating from eye surgeries, should be tried virtually.
Dr. Opuni, who had four different surgeries on his left eye in September, has been advised to rest his eye to ensure proper healing.
The former COCOBOD Chief Executive, Dr. Stephen Opuni, and businessman Seidu Agongo as well as Agricult Ghana Limited, have been facing 27 charges, including defrauding by false pretences, willfully causing financial loss to the state, corruption by public officers and contravention of the Public Procurement Act in the purchase of Lithovit liquid fertiliser between 2014 and 2016.
They have pleaded not guilty to the charges and are on a GH¢300,000.00 self-recognisance bail each.
When the High Court reconvened on October 11, counsel for Dr. Opuni, Mr. Samuel Codjoe, informed the court that his client was unable to make it to court because he had been excused for six weeks due to ill health and had been advised not to get involved in any activity.
Counsel showed the court medical records as well as the excuse notice to that effect and prayed for adjournment, stressing that his client was not waiving his right under Article 19 (3).
But the Chief State Attorney was averse to the adjournment and therefore contested it.
Evelyn Keelson, who has been at the forefront of the prosecution’s case, having signed the charge sheet which formed the basis for the trial in 2018, suggested means the court can circumvent Article 19 (3) cleanly.
“My lord, in the alternative, this court can sit virtually to accommodate the first accused…It is, therefore, our submission that this court, in the exercise of its discretion, can proceed with the case without infringing on Article 19(3) since the doctor’s opinion for the accused to stay for six weeks is not binding on this court,” Evelyn Keelson told the court presided over by Justice Clemence Honyenuga who recently retired from the Supreme Court.
She had earlier conceded: “My lord, I have seen a medical report indicating that the first accused has had surgery on his left eye, and in that report, the medical director has indicated that he needs six weeks to rest the eye for proper healing.”
Evelyn Keelson, nonetheless, told Justice Honyenuga, “respectful my lord, this statement by the medical director is not binding on this honourable court. My lord, the medical director did not indicate the basis for the six weeks he has indicated in the report.”
She, therefore, prayed to the court to invite the medical director who gave the excuse notice to Dr. Opuni to give further and better particulars to his request.
Lawyer Samuel Codjoe however, told Evelyn Keelson that her submissions were “not only factually inaccurate but seek to infringe on the right of the first accused.”
He pointed out paragraph 10 of the medical report to the. Chief State Attorney to counter her claim that the doctor didn’t give reasons for the excuse duty.
“My lord, the chief state attorney has not gotten any medical knowledge to speak the way she is doing.
“My lord, we don’t have any problem with inviting the medical doctor because no one has a monopoly over good health.
“My lord, what is unfortunate is that the prosecution is saying the first accused, who is sick and is not supposed to engage in any activity, should sit in a virtual trial. So he should lie down or what? My lord, this is unacceptable even in military regimes,” he asserted.
Lawyer Codjoe further remarked, “My lord, the prosecution is saying that despite the fact that the first accused is ill, the first accused should be put on trial. This will take us back to the dark days when we did not have a constitution.”
Meanwhile, retired Justice Clemence Jackson Honyenuga, who is sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, ordered the medical director to appear before him on the next adjourned date “in order to clear any doubts about the medical report before this court”.
The retired judge has therefore directed the Registrar of the Court to ensure that the doctor is served with the order for him to tell the court about the medical records of Dr. Opuni.
The sitting was adjourned to Monday, October 17 2022.
Former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, has observed that Ghana’s four-year term for every government is insufficient for the needed investment in developing the country.
He indicates that, unlike other countries where governments have ample time to roll out their ideas and ensure seamless development, the same cannot be said about Ghana.
“We have a four-year term like they have in America and not as they have in other countries where there are five terms, so it is very little you can do in terms of infrastructure; we will do our best.
We will Invest in the health sector, invest in Education, invest in the economic infrastructure, but all these must be geared towards creating opportunities, especially for young people to be able to realize their full potential and be able to find jobs in the economy. I think that’s what we will be looking at,” he said in an interview on Voice of America.
The leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2020 election said another focus of a new NDC government would be strengthening public institutions in the country and intensifying the fight against corruption.
He reiterated his calls for the review of the 1992 constitution. He believes that after 26 years of using the constitution, it will be right that some tweaking is done to help build the country.
A Christian group named Ghana Need Ghana has waded into the recent arrest and controversy surrounding the founder and leader of Heavenway Champion Ministries International, Evangelist Patricia Oduro Koranteng.
According to the group, the recent arrest of the former fetish priestess for allegedly duping her church members is a clear confirmation of their concerns about her supposed conversion into Christianity and subsequent ordination as a priest.
At a press conference held on Wednesday, October 13, 2022, the group emphasised some of its concerns earlier raised about Agradaa’s conversion and ordination.
“She bought a church building for her husband whilst in her fetishism craft, but retrieved it,” in a statement read by its President, Reverend Mrs. Patience Mensah, the group said
“We don’t hate Agradaa, but as the bible states, we are implored to call out bad character so that in the end we will all not be grouped as the same. You are all aware that we raised concerns about Agradaa’s supposed calling by God. She was never called by God which is why we called on everyone to be careful about her ordination. She eventually become a priest but now we have been vindicated that she was all about the money,” Bishop Seizer George Ofori Atta, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Ghana Need Ghana, added.
Agradaa was arrested by the Ghana Police Service on Sunday, October 9, 2022, following widespread reports that she had duped some members of her church in an alleged money-doubling scheme.
According to the victims, they attended her church and gave out their monies in various amounts after she had advertised to give them multiples of their offerings.
An Accra Circuit Court on Monday remanded Agradaa into custody after she was charged with two counts of defrauding by false pretences and engaging in charlatan advertising in a newspaper.
She is due back in court later today, Thursday, October 13, 2022.
It will be recalled that Ghana Need Ghana in July this year led a protest calling for the arrest of Agradaa.
According to the group which presented a petition to the Ghana Police Service, there was a need to prosecute the former fetish priestess for her alleged fraud schemes.
The protest was mostly attended by alleged victims who claim Agradaa duped them during her fetishism days.
Director of Legal Affairs for the National Democratic Congress, Abraham Amaliba has advised the former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Chairman, Freddie Blay to recuse himself from defending Chinese illegal miners in court.
The former Chairman is representing some Chinese nationals standing trial for their alleged involvement in illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey in the country.
Critics say Mr. Blay’s move defeats the government’s effort in fighting the menace which has left many water bodies and forest reserves destroyed.
Commenting on the issue on Starr Today with Joshua Kodjo Mensah, the NDC’s legal director indicated that Mr. Blay should not be seen as compounding issues for the government as it wages war against the galamsey menace.
“So for the sake of the people of this country who are also fighting the galamsey menace,let me not involve myself in the matter. Sometimes your conscience should tell you what you should do.
“What has even compounded the issue is that in this whole saga of galamsey, the government officials have been fingered to be engaging in it. That is a new dimension.
“Our fight against galamsey, we are now seeing that names of appointees have been mentioned. Then you (Freddie Blay) compound the problem for the government by defending those who have been mentioned as accomplices,” Mr. Amaliba stated.
He continued: “I think he is a senior lawyer, it is not always that you follow money. He will get his money alright but his image will be tarnished.
“I have done similar cases and where I feel that the people see my services will create the wrong impression I’ve given those cases to colleagues, who are not in the same situation that I find myself.”
The NDC legal director further added that Mr. Blay should hand over the case to any of his lawyers who are not connected to the NPP to handle it.
“Don’t forget Nkrabea Effah is also there as a lawyer and you are also there as lawyer and the government officials have been fingered as contributing to the menace,” he said.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has issued a word of caution to companies that are yet to enroll on a Certified Invoicing System for the administration of Value Added Tax (VAT) in Ghana, following the amendment of the VAT Act 870.
The Authority, in the past days has closed some major shopping malls including Palace and China mall branches.
This comes after the GRA began an exercise to ensure compliance by some 50 selected tax-paying companies to be enrolled on the Certified Invoicing System.
The move, according to the GRA, is necessary to help improve Ghana’s domestic tax mobilization efforts.
According to the Deputy Commissioner, Operations-DTRD, Kwesi Eghan, the China and Palace malls are part of the 50 selected tax-paying companies which have failed to comply with the GRA’s requirements.
Mr. Eghan further went on to caution other companies who he noted have also duly been informed about the system and the need to enroll, to do so before the law catches up with them.
“For the 50 people we are talking about, if you have not yet enrolled, we plead with you to do so before the enforcement officers get to your businesses otherwise we will close your shops until you follow due process, he said while speaking in an interview with the UTV.
Mr. Eghan indicated despite these companies having been informed about the deadline for enrolment on the system – October 12, 2022, only 25 out of the 50 entities have so far complied.
“We want to improve compliance. We are more interested in collaboration than chasing businesses to pay their taxes. But we have no option at this moment than to move swiftly to ensure the right thing is done,” he said in an interview with the media.
Meanwhile, Kwesi Eghan has noted that the GRA hopes to enrol 600 large taxpayers into the system in its first implementation phase, which is expected to end in December 2023.
He added that by 2024, all taxpayers would have been fully integrated into the platform.
Parts of the Koforidua Jackson Park which was undergoing major renovations have collapsed, following a rainstorm in the area, citinewsroom reports.
The roofing of the building reportedly came off after heavy winds.
According to the report, two construction workers at the site were injured after a section of the building collapsed on them and are currently receiving treatment at the Koforidua Government Hospital.
Some residents in the area have since blamed the New Juaben South Municipal Assembly for what they say is the supervision of substandard work.
“It is unfortunate that, government invested money into this new project, and it has just collapsed. I doubt the competence of the contractor. I am shocked and blame the Assembly.”
“The Assembly must take lessons from this incident and ensure that something similar does not happen in future”, citinewsroom quoted some residents as having said.
The project which was launched in July 2021 had former Mpraeso Member of Parliament, Seth Acheampong, leading same.
New Juaben South Municipality received funding from the World Bank to embark on the project which is being executed by four separate contractors.
A Communication Team Member of the National Democratic Congress(NDC), TT Caternor, has advised government to intensify its fight against illegal mining by adopting technological innovations to monitor mining equipment and concessions.
He is advocating the use of trackers to monitor excavators’ operations, which he said are critical industrial machines.
Speaking with Kwaku Owusu Adjei on Adwenekasa on Accra-based Original FM 91.9, he said, “Just put a tracking device on the excavator, and so when it is registered, you will track it. Any time it is moving, you will be told where they are. Immediately you see that a lot of them are converging around Dunkwa, for instance, it should trigger something, like a probe, as to what those excavators are doing in Dunkwa.”
He tasked the government to implement measures and enforce mining regulations to bring sanity to the small-scale mining (SSM) sector.
Excavators are one of the main pieces of equipment used by illegal miners in their operation, which leaves devastating effects on Ghana’s land and water resources.
President Akufo-Addo believes the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, can be won if it is not politicized.
He holds the view that until the menace is treated with a nationalistic approach, the fight against it cannot be won.
In the first place, this is not gold that comes from the ore that is mined from many kilometers beneath the earth’s surface per se, but this product is as cherished as the jewelry you wear on your wrist or neck.
Known differently to different tribes in Ghana by name: Agatawoe in Ewe; Ayilo for the Gamɛi; shirew by the Akans; and kaolin in English, this product is also known as food that is loved by mostly pregnant women.
It is believed that it is because of its unique smell that pregnant women are so drawn to it.
Formed from a type of clay, ayilo is used for many other things including it being a reliable material for electro-porcelain fabrication, as well as a major material used for making wall and floor tiles.
In Ghana, Anfoega is one of the locations where this product is mostly produced from, through a process of moulding the freshly mined clay soil into lumps, oven-baked and distributed to markets.
The industry in Anfoega in the Volta Region, for instance, is such a big one, almost everyone in the town has benefited from the economic gains that come with it.
According to a Facebook post shared by Kofi Semamu Atsu Adzei, he said that this ‘white gold’ has created many rich people and prominent business people from the community.
“This is white Gold, yes you heard me right. This can be found in Anfoega and it’s called Agatawoe, the Gamɛi call it ayilo, it is shirew by the Akans and kaolin in English.
“Almost everyone in Anfoega has benefited from the economic gains of this white gold. Anyone into the white gold business is a rich person. Ask anyone from the holy village of Anfoega about it and you will marvel,” he wrote.
Uses of Ayilo:
Apart from the already stated uses of kaolin, the product is also used by many to manage nausea, while others claim it helps in the prevention of things like diarrhoea, discomfort and other pregnancy-related conditions, a report by graphic.com.gh said.
Further details online show that some experts explain that kaolin has absorbent qualities that make it a good addition to helping with diarrhoea.
Also, the use of kaolin is said to help improve conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and leaky gut.
Ayilo is also used for as a beauty enhancement and is said to be used for many traditional and medicinal purposes.
“It is also a key ingredient in some cleansers, shampoos, toothpastes and beauty products, as it is claimed to gently cleanse and pull impurities from the pores
without causing redness,” a report stated.
Effects of Ayilo:
But there have also been reported after effects of using this product, some of which researchers say is that when pregnant women, for instance, consume too much of it without taking more nutritious foods, it can expose them to anemia.
Besides, because of its source and composition, it is believed that ayilo could carry some amounts of worm eggs, and as such, should it be consumed, the eggs could hatch in the body, leading to the worms feeding on the red blood cells and posing great health risks to an individual.
With chemical elements such as Aluminium, Arsenic, Boron and Nickel, the product poses even more harmful threats to anyone who consumes it.
The former Chief Executive Officer of the Public Procurement Authority, Mr. Adjenim Boateng Adjei, is expected to appear again in court today, Thursday, October 13, 2022, following charges preferred against him by the Special Prosecutor earlier this year.
The ex-PPA Boss has been slapped with 17 charges by the Special Prosecutor.
He pleaded not guilty to all the charges when he was arraigned on May 25, 2022 before the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court.
Mr. AB Adjei denied seven counts of using Public office for profit and 10 counts of directly and indirectly influencing the Public Procurement process using his office.
The second accused person Francis Kwaku Arhin, his brother-in-law also pleaded not guilty to one count of using Public officer for profit.
The two were months ago granted bail in the sums of GHc5 million cedis each with two justified sureties.
Contender for General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Elvis Afriyie Ankrah has said his ability to speak in various local languages is a major boost for his campaign to be elected General Secretary of the opposition NDC.
Speaking on Asempa FM monitored by MyNewsGh.com, Mr. Afriyie Ankrah said he considers his local langauge skills a major selling point to delegates across the country with whom he relates well, although he didn’t mention any other candidate’s name.
“I can speak many local languages. Everywhere I go I speak their language.”, he boosted of his human relations and language skills.
The NDC General Secretary hopeful said a similar language statement he made in the past was misconstrued to mean another contender cannot speak Twi but according to him, he didn’t mention anyone’s name or referred to any person.
Another contender, Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey has been accused of being unable to speak the popular local language Twi or Akan lanaguages. His critics said this could affect his relationship with the predominantly Akan speaking Radio and TV stations across the country.
However, Mr. Ankrah said he never referred to any other aspirant when he was touting his local language skills.
He said he was only “marketing” himself and language was one of his skills and selling advantages.
“I didn’t say someone cannot speak Twi… I said Twi language is my plus… it is one of my major selling points. I speak Ga.. I speak Ewe, I speak Twi…. … There is no constituency in Ghana that I don’t have a contact…” He said.
Mr. Afriyie Ankrah spoke Ga, Ewe and Twi to listeners of Ekosii Sen to prove his point.
The race to replace Johnson Asiedu Nketia as General Secretary has become very heated.
Among persons who have expressed interest in the position including, former Obuasi district chairman of the NDC, Abdul Ishaq Farrakhan; ex-Deputy Minister of Finance, Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey; current Deputy General Secretary of the party, Dr. Peter Boamah Otokunor and Elvis Afriyie Ankrah.
Mr. Fiifi Kwettey and Elvis Ankrah both won opinion polls conducted by Kevin Taylor and Ghanaweb respectively.
About 400 women-led Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will benefit from the Women SME Innovation Programme – Digitalize for Jobs (D4J) to fully leverage the potential of digitalisation and to better organise their business information.
The programme will also support the women with efficient record-keeping and financial management practices to facilitate their access to finance, expand their customer base and turnover and develop new products and services.
Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) at the launch of the programme, said SMEs today were critical to the growth, employment, and poverty reduction in the country.
The programme is supported by the special initiative on training and job creation, which operates under the brand ‘Invest for Jobs,’ an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Implemented by GEA and supported by “Invest in Jobs”, the project sought to provide capacity-building to women-owned/led SMEs on different aspects of digitalization and how their companies can grow from its use and increase their process efficiency and competitiveness by providing access to knowledge, and digital tools.
It will create a digitalized business environment conducive to the rapid growth of SMEs in Ghana and this will ensure that they are creating jobs after the programme
The SMEs will also be trained to build their online visibility via company-owned websites and social media to reach more clients.
The CEO said the SMEs account for over 50 per cent of private output, nearly 70 per cent of employment, and 90 per cent of businesses in Ghana.
“Consequently, the importance of the SME sector and the role it plays in national development and economic transformation cannot be underestimated,” she added.
She said the Programme was a scale-up measure of the COVID-19 SME Innovation and Digitalisation Support Scheme, which helped 500 SMEs to ensure business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby sustaining 6,750 jobs.
Mrs Yankey-Aryeh said SMEs, with a focus on those that were women-owned/led, were faced with challenges that compromised their ability to function effectively and to contribute to the economy.
He said over the years, GEA had encouraged SMEs, especially women-owned to adopt digital methods to augment business growth and competitiveness.
“So far more than 11 million dollars have been utilized to train or support over 10,000 Women Entrepreneurs,” she said.
Mr John Duti, Team Leader of Invest for Jobs at GIZ Ghana, said if SMEs were to remain competitive in the global world, they have no choice but to digitalise.
He said focusing on women-owned and led enterprises represented an opportunity to reduce the digital gender gap, which brings social and economic benefits for the whole country given the significant role of women and their enterprises in Ghana’s socio-economic development.
“Female empowerment is a powerful tool to make everybody’s life richer and successful,” Mr Duti said.
He commended the entire GEA team which ensured the excellent delivery of the first phase and subsequently played a major role in securing the scale-up of our partnership.
He said digitalisation involved a lot of investments in modern software and hardware, as well as capacities in its applications and these costs involved indeed, could not be borne by most of the SMEs.
He expressed optimism that the programme would provide the tools and skills to benefit from digitalisation and harness SMEs’ potential for sustainable growth and job creation in the digital area.
The Chief Executive of the SnB Group, Odelia Ntiamoah, has charged businesses to adopt a holistic approach to maximize customer experiences.
According to her, when customer experience becomes a priority for the entire brand, revenue will be generated even in difficult times.
Speaking at the 2022 CPX Ghana Conference, she noted that even though most companies think about money when it comes to delivering good customer experiences, strategy is the most important step to take.
She said “There are so many institutions that we have engaged in recent times then again coming back to the research and what we have seen is that they are not engaging their customers, it’s not money now it’s about strategy.
“So, for example, if these companies are sitting on digital platforms how are they engaging their customers within that space. Most of the time we have left that sort of engagement sitting with the CopiComs department. If the customer experience and the customer engagement are not left in one department but it becomes a holistic responsibility of the whole brand it will surprise you that our behaviours and how we decide to treat customers will bring us even the revenues in difficult times,” she noted.
Many Ghanaian contractors hardly present their building materials to the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) for standardized testing in direct contravention of the building code.
The building code mandates that materials for building and road construction must be tested.
Genevieve Baah Mante, Head of the Material Science Department, GSA, disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency in Tema in an interview that local contractors do not willingly do so.
“But on the contrary, the foreign companies mostly visit the GSA for testing for the specification of their building materials, which include water, concrete mixtures, sand, and iron rods, aggregate for road construction, thermoplastic marking paint, among others,” she said.
Madam Mante explained that “the GSA has developed a building code that gives specifications for different products for the construction of buildings, and roads, but we have observed that mostly it is the foreign companies that bring their products there for checking.”
She stated for example that foreign contractors of a lot of the buildings at the airport area, and the motorway interchange construction tested the materials and even the water used for the projects.
She said more awareness must be created among the local contractors while urging the district assemblies to make it a requirement for the issuance of building permits.
Giving the benefit of testing building materials, she indicated that the land that the building would be put on must be tested because if it contained a lot of organic matter the buildings would have problems.
“The water that you use to mix the concrete if it contains a lot of salt and other materials, it will not help you to get the kind of binding property of the concrete that you need to have for a consistent product,” she said.
Madam Mante observed that roads and buildings that could not last for their expected life span could be attributed to the lack of testing of the materials.
She explained that the GSA is legally mandated to undertake national standards development and dissemination, testing services, inspection activities, product certification scheme, calibration, verification, and inspection of weights, measures, and weighing and measuring instruments.
The Authority also undertakes pattern approval of new weighing and measuring instruments, destination inspection of imported high-risk goods, and promoting quality management systems in the industry.
Madam Mante said the Authority also advises the Ministry of Trade and Industry on standards and related issues.
She emphasized that the services rendered by GSA were essential for economic growth, stressing that, “this is because standards bring technological, economic and societal benefits.
“It helps to harmonize technical specifications of products and services making the industry more efficient and breaking down barriers to international trade as conformity to standards helps reassure consumers that products are safe, efficient and good for the environment”.
For business organizations, Madam Mante said standards are strategic tools and guidelines to help companies tackle some of the most demanding challenges of modern business.
“Standards ensure that business operations are as efficient as possible, increase productivity and help companies and institutions to access new markets,” she said.
A member of the communications team of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Solomon Owusu, has bemoaned the exorbitant tax policies which he says are slowly killing Ghanaian businesses.
According to him, too much tax and the increasing exchange rate have left business people with sleepless nights as their businesses are struggling to survive.
His comment comes on the back of traders in the Kumasi Central Business District having to close their shops in protest over what they say are exorbitant tax policies affecting their businesses.
The traders have vowed not to rescind their decision until the Government intervenes to address their concerns.
The traders have also been concerned with the strength of the cedi. The Ghana cedi has depreciated by 37.5% to the US dollar as of the end of September 2022 according to the Bank of Ghana.
Commenting on the development on Ghana Kasa show on Kasapa 102.5FM/Agoo TV Wednesday, Solomon Owusu who himself is a businessman urged the governent to step up its efforts at stabilizing the Cedis while reviewing aspects of the tax policy to address concerns of business persons.
“Taxes paid in this country are too much, and the exchange rate keeps increasing by the day and people are losing their capital. Businessmen and women are in great difficulty, where we find ourselves is very scary. No businessman is able to have a good sleep and because the policy rate increases, the loan repayment rate also increases. Business people are dying slowly, it is not funny, it’s very serious.”
“The country will see the effect of the action of the traders between December to February 2023. It takes some time before vessels arrive with imported items, so if we don’t encourage traders to import early, but import later, it will take about a month or two before the items will arrive in Ghana. So between that period when the items will arrive in Ghana, how are people going to survive,” he asked.
The Minister for Justice and the Attorney- General, Godfred Dame, has disclosed that up to 187 illegal small-scale miners (galamseyers) have been jailed in the Eastern Region since 2017.
According to him, out of the 187 illegal miners jailed, 29 were nationals of Niger, seven Nigerians and three Chinese with the remaining 148 being Ghanaians.
The Attorney-General indicated that most of the ‘galamseyers’ were given a minimum fine of three thousand penalty units or an imprisonment term of not more than five years for the offence of buying or selling minerals without a licence under Section 99(1) of Act 703 of the 1992 Constitution.
He also indicated that some of the illegal small-scale miners were sentenced for the offence of mining without a licence and were given a minimum fine of one thousand penalty units or an imprisonment term of not more than three years under Section 99(2) of Act 703.
Also, the AG indicated that 33 persons involved in small-scale mining were convicted under the new mining laws, the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 995), between August 2021 and September 2022 and are currently serving various prison terms of 15 years, 20 years and 18 years.
The AG, who disclosed these details at a press briefing, added that 11 of these 33 people are offering nationals.
He also indicated that his office has secured convictions for 48 new cases with only one on appeal.
Dame added that 43 new cases are being trialled in courts in Koforidua with 250 other cases which involve some Chinese pending.
The AG further stated that details of the prosecution of illegal miners in other regions, particularly, the Ashanti, Western and Greater-Accra Regions will soon be provided.
A 75-year-old man, Emmanuel Tetteh who was wrongfully sentenced to death for murder has been finally released from prison after thirty-three years.
Tetteh, Tengey [who was the murder suspect], and one Grumah who was also innocent, were jailed together.
According to Tengey, Tetteh and Grumah were innocent of the crime but he accused them of being his accomplices in the murder case when he was being tortured by the police to name his accomplices.
“I was tortured by police officers at gunpoint to name my accomplices. I could not withstand it so initially, the name that came to my mind was Tetteh. The beatings did not stop so I mentioned Gruma’s name too as another accomplice. They arrested him too and they arraigned us before the court. I regret my actions and I ask for forgiveness,” he pleaded.
Despite heavy protestations from Tetteh and Grumah that they knew absolutely nothing about the case, they were still sentenced to death with Tengey after police investigations.
In an interview with Tettey, Grumah died out of shock after spending three months in prison.
Tetteh said his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.
During a crimecheckghana.org’s interview with Tengey and Tetteh four years ago at the Ankaful Maximum Security Prison, Tengey confessed that his so-called accomplices knew nothing about the murder but he deliberately named them with the hope that he will be spared the torture.
After spending thirty-three years in prison, Tetteh has been freed through presidential pardon but unfortunately without compensation.
Mr. Tetteh’s sad story did not end after his release as his best friend back in the village in the Western Region has taken over his household and married his wife with whom they now have four children.
He said his wife, when she heard of his return jilted her new husband to come back to him.
“When I was released, I went to the village. Many people thought I was dead so it was difficult for them to believe it was me. They thought I was a ghost. It was after five days, my wife heard I had returned. I did not bother to see her because of what she did. However, she came to see me and I forgave her.”
Background to the story
Mr. Tengey said he was hired by a neighbor to work for him on a payment term.
He claimed the neighbor did not pay him for ten months and when he demanded what was due him, the neighbor attacked him with a broken bottle.
“I worked for him in his house and did any other job he wanted me to do for him. After ten months, he sacked me without paying me and when I went to ask for my money he rather attacked me with a broken bottle with which he injured me. There was no nearby police station to report the issue so I could not let go,” he said.
Mr. Tengey said three months later, he met his neighbor whom he had worked for on his way to his farm. He said he demanded his money and a misunderstanding ensued between them.
He said during the altercation, he butchered his neighbor with the machete he was holding resulting in his untimely death.
“I was arrested the following day after the incident. At the police station, I was subjected to severe torture, which I could not withstand. The police officers pointed a gun at my head amid the torture to mention the name of my accomplice. I committed the crime alone but they insisted that I did it with somebody. I only saw Tetteh when he came to visit the man I had worked for to collect a refund of his money. His name came to my mind so I mentioned it to them,” he recounted.
Tetteh, Tengey, and Grumah who was later named as an accomplice were sentenced to death by hanging in 1988.
The CEO of the GFZA, Amb. Mike Oquaye Jr has kicked off a week-long engagement with licensed free zone companies in the Ashanti and Western Regions of Ghana.
With two enclaves in the western region and one in the Ashanti region, Ghana’s lead agency for regulating the free zones scheme and Ghana’s Special Economic Zones remains ready to do more.
Amb. Mike Oquaye Jnr. and his team kicked off the customer-facing engagement in the Ashanti Region.
His first stop was at Angel FM, where he answered questions from listeners and the presenter centered on the mandate of the institution and the plans Ghana has to accelerate the development of the Great Kumasi Industrial City Project.
The CEO stressed the need for Ashanti-based industrialists with export orientation to take advantage of available incentives.
“It is our mandate as an institution to support you to achieve more exports as Ghana takes the needed steps to address its structural economic setup. Accelerating our export drive is imperative to becoming the Ghana we want,” Amb. Mike Oquaye Jr.
As part of the regional tour, the team visited Juaben Oil Mills Limited, an agro-processing company at the heart of adding value to oil palm, among others.
After touring the factory and engaging with its leadership, the GFZA team then paid a courtesy call to the Omanhene of the Juaben traditional area, Nana Otuo Siriboe II.
Amb. Mike Oquaye thanked Nana for his continuous support for industrialization and for guiding and shaping the growth of Juaben Oil Mills from inception to date.
Nana Otuo Siriboe II commended Amb. Mike Oquaye for his stellar performance at the GFZA and urged him to do more to achieve the mandate given to him by the President on behalf of the Good People of Ghana.
The GFZA then visited OLAM Ghana Limited, one of Ghana’s largest licensed agro-food processing firms. OLAM Ghana is an adept buyer and exporter of processed cocoa, cashew, and rice in Ghana.
Amb. Oquaye encouraged OLAM to do more for the sector as he committed to working closely with the company to clear bottlenecks that might impede their growth
The next company visited by the team was Logs & Lumber Ghana Limited, one of the leading timber logging and processing companies in Ghana and the West African sub-region. Amb. Mike Oquaye noted the company’s concerns and committed to working with other state actors to address them.
In the Western Region, Ambassador Oquaye and the team paid a working visit to the Regional Minister, Hon. Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah, to discuss pertinent land-related issues before heading to the Lands Commission with the team.
Before meeting the Regional Minister, Amb. Mike Oquaye was interviewed extensively on Skyy FM during which he updated listeners on a wide range of issues about Free Zones and its activities in the Western Region.
The GFZA team then met with the CEO and management team of Wayoe Engineering & Construction Limited, one of the largest privately-owned Ghanaian engineering and construction companies in West Africa.
The group toured the new factory of the company to get a sense of the investment the company had made and its growth potential. Amb. Mike Oquaye committed to working closely with the company to find lasting solutions to some identified problems.
The team then visited Amalitech Limited, a social enterprise that harnesses the potential of remote work to build the future of work in sub-Saharan Africa.
Speaking at the end of the one-week working visit, Amb Mike Oquaye expressed satisfaction with the achievements of many of the institutions in the two regions.
He also charged the regional heads of the GFZA to continue delivering value to all GFZA-licensed businesses.
Mr. Ziblim Alhassan, Director of Administration and Human Resources; Mr. Jesse Agyepong, Director of Corporate Affairs; and Mr. Lawrence Osei-Boateng, Director of Business Development and Research, accompanied Ambassador Mike Oquaye on the working visit. He was also accompanied by Mr. Ricky Osei Owusu, Regional Head of the Ashanti Region; Hajia Hanatu Abubakar, Regional Director for the Western Region; Mr. Fred Agyei-Gyane, Manager in Charge of Compliance; and Mr. Harry Ansah, Personal Assistant to the CEO.
Evangelist Patricia Oduro Koranteng, alias Agradaa, is expected to be in court on Thursday, October 13, 2022.
The founder and leader of Heavenway Champion Ministries International has been charged with two counts of defrauding by false pretences.
This comes after an Accra Circuit Court on Monday remanded her into custody and ordered that she appear at the adjourned date.
Agradaa was arrested on Sunday after widespread reports that she had duped some members of her church in an alleged money-doubling scheme.
According to the victims, they attended her church, and gave out their monies in various amounts after she had advertised to give them multiples of their offerings.
The charges against Agradaa, who pleaded not guilty at the court’s previous sitting, include charlatanic advertisement.
According to her, she is innocent of the charges as she never duped anyone, as being alleged.
Meanwhile, there is divided public opinion over the arrest of Agradaa, who had in the past been hit with similar allegations.
According to some members of the public, the former fetish priestess has mastered the use of religion to con gullible persons.
There are, however, those who have accused the victims of being victims of their own greed.
“It is sheer greed that led people to her. It is just like lotto. It is either a won or a loss for you,” a trader stated in an interview with Oman Channel.
“This same woman was accused of duping some people in her days as a fetish priestess. Now she is saying God has called but has asked people to bring money to be doubled. I don’t blame her but those who fell for such a ploy. I would rather ask that she is freed and her church closed down because she didn’t force any of them to bring their money to him,” another trader who sells some few metres away from Agradaa’s church said.
There is, however, a growing call for her prosecution to serve justice to her alleged victims.
An International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEC) to enhance the capability of participants to address Africa’s security challenges is underway in Accra.
The two-day event, which is also aimed at improving combined combat operations and regional development initiatives on the continent, is on the theme: “Strengthening international collaboration to combat terrorism and transnational organised crimes.”
It is being participated by Defence Chiefs of Staff and senior officers and executives of security agencies and global partners, as well as advanced solution providers in the field of military technology and manufacturing.
The delegates are from Brazil, Italy, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Senegal.
The rest are Cameroon, Ghana, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Uganda, among other countries.
Military gear, including weapons and vehicles, as well as defence technological tools, such as drones and communication equipment, are also on display at the event.
The Dubai-based Great Minds Events and Exhibitions organised the event, in partnership with the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Institute (GoGMI).
Collaboration
The Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, called for effective collaboration among armed forces on the continent and their counterparts around the globe to deal with terrorism and transnational crimes.
He also said establishing strong cooperation and agreement among states worldwide would facilitate mutual legal assistance and extradition to help in the prosecution of cases transcending national borders.
According to him, transnational organised crimes presented great challenge to the rule of law, economic and social development and the protection of human rights and security, as countries usually had to readjust on trade, economic growth and development after terrorist incursions.
The minister said political turbulence and corruption continued to hinder Africa’s economic development and technological innovation.
“It is, therefore, important that we build on the endeavours of Africa’s armed forces to enhance combined capabilities to counter the insecurities that plague the continent.
“Insecurity directly affects the public financing capabilities of states and can obstruct economic development through tax evasion.
“Our gathering here today is because our countries’ armed forces and security architecture have a huge stake in dealing with matters governing regional instabilities and security,” Mr Nitiwul said.
Development
The minister also said the measures and strategies put in place to revive economies across the African region would largely depend on how countries cooperated and collaborated to eradicate the menace of transnational crimes and terrorism, adding: “International trade cannot flourish without a secure sub-regional peace and security.”
“My expectation is that concrete networks will be established at the sub-regional, continental and global levels to integrate our strategies and efforts at holistically dealing with these threats,” he added.
Mr Nitiwul expressed the hope that the delegates would come up with meaningful and workable solutions to issues of transnational organised crime, terrorism and related threats to global peace and security.
Strategy
The Chief of the Defence Staff, Vice-Admiral Seth Amoama, said combating transnational crimes required a multi-dimensional strategy that safeguarded the citizenry and broke the financial strength of criminals and terrorist networks.
Such collaboration, he added, disrupted illicit traffic networks, defeated transnational crime organisations, fought corruption, strengthened the rule of law, bolstered judicial systems and improved transparency.
“The major outcomes that we expect from this conference and exhibition, in line with the theme, are a common understanding of the problem and developing a regional and international framework to deal, in particular, with the challenges of terrorism and transnational organised crimes, “ Vice-Admiral Amoama said.
For his part, the Managing Partner at Great Minds Event, Noel Greenway, said peace and security had become a necessary tool for every nation, and that it could only be achieved through collaborations.
IDEC, he said, provided an ideal platform for global defence suppliers to showcase their latest products and services and also meet defence buyers to negotiate fresh supplies.
The book also captures the social, cultural and economic values; facts that settle the indistinct and blurring stories about kente.
This translates into a much greater appreciation for the kente industry.
Titled “Kete/Kente- A Priceless gem of Ghana”, the 64-page book also provides an elaborate history of how the early weavers in Ghana, Gobtensed Kente Limited, have sustained the family Kente business since 1821 to date.
Written by Togbi Gobah Tengey Sedoh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gobtensed Kente Limited, the book additionally tracks the strides of Kete/Kente from the 11th century in the Ancient Ghana Empire, detailing every developmental phase by putting together catalogued sources of information.
Some of the highlights of the book included; the step by step breakdown of the weaving process, names of kente and their meanings, kente weaving tools and terms, among others.
The book was launched last Sunday and it coincided with Togbi Gobah Tengey Sedoh’s 78th birthday celebration.
Appreciation
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Togbi Gobah Tengey Seddoh noted that it was time Ghanaians appreciated their own and what they brought to the table.
“It has become common that we don’t appreciate ourselves, what we have and stand for, this must stop. Let’s appreciate goodness, because Africa is one of the greatest species in the world,” he said.
Reading
He added that Ghanaians should cultivate the habit of documenting and reading what belonged to them.
“So, you read about the history book of Jews, among others, but do not read what is written about you, why? because we do not believe in what we have? this must stop, no one can tell our story better than ourselves. I thank you all for being with us and I know God will bless all of us and when he does, keep on blessing others closer to you,” he said.
A teacher
Trained as professional teacher at Amedzofe E.P Training College, Togbi Gobah Tengey Sedoh taught from 1968 to 1980 in various parts of the Volta Region and beyond before wearing the amour of an astute kente weaver.
He was elected as the District GNAT Secretary from 1972-79. Togbi Gobah Tengey Sedoh has travelled extensively in the United States of America giving lectures and exposition in universities on our cultural heritage and the history of kente weaving.
The family business, which spans more than 200 years with the late Liberty Yao (LY) Gobah being the first Managing Director, Wellington Gobah, Sylvanus Gobah, Alice Adjormadoh, David Gobah, Mary Gobah and Timothy Gobah as directors.
Political life
Apart from being a businessman, industrialist and philanthropist, Togbi Gobah Tengey Sedoh has had a stint with politics. He was once upon a time appointed Volta Regional Treasurer of Action Congress Party, led by Col. Bernasko.
