TIG Post

Author: Phoebe Martekie Doku

  • Transport Ministry backs Airport company’s service charge review

    A Deputy Minister of Transport, Hassan Tampuli, has backed the Ghana Airport Company Limited’s (GACL) request to have their user fees and services reviewed upwards to enable them to maintain the new airports that are springing up across the country.

    “The government is committed to improving the aviation sector to ensure that the country becomes an aviation hub, however, one of the critical agencies responsible for planning, developing, managing and maintaining all airports and aerodromes in Ghana -GACL is pushing for a review of its Airport Passenger Service Charge (APSC) in order to properly maintain and manage effectively the new airports being developed in some of the regions”, he said.

    Speaking to the press on the sidelines of a day’s visit to the Kumasi and Tamale airports by the leadership and members of the Select Committee of Parliament’s Roads and Transport, and officials of GACL, led by the sector minister, Hassan Tampuli, he said “now revenue from APSC for Accra is also a subject of a loan facility so payment more or less goes to amortise those loans, so we need excess funds to be able to maintain these facilities.”

    He, therefore, underscored the need for a sustained revenue stream, even itemise them in the budget and the purpose it was going to be used for.

    He said the ministry was excited that leadership and members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transport appreciated the fact that the GHC5 that was in the price buildup of domestic air travel was woefully inadequate.

    Mr Tampuli said “ so we appreciate the fact that they recognise it needs to be reviewed, so they have asked that we come with a justification paper for us to be able to go through the numbers and see whether there is a justification.”

    Expected benefits

    Mr Tampuli also explained that “we have not moved into these facilities yet, in order not to get to a point where it would be difficult to maintain the facility, we need to be proactive and get revenue stream put in the price build up way before the opening of these airports.”

    “We need to be ahead of the curve and get a stable revenue stream and I believe when Parliament resumes from recess, these are matters that would be considered in the next meeting”.

    The Chairman of Parliament’s Road and Transport committee, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, urged the ministry and officials of GACL to submit the law mandating them to review the user fees and charges to the committee.

    He expressed concern about the paltry amount GACL charged for domestic passengers “now they use to charge GHC5 for all our domestic airports, [Ho,Wa, Tamale] every passenger passing through domestic airport.

    “All international passengers are charged $200 at Terminal 3, and that is the money they are using to support the domestic airports, how can you have a domestic facility so viable and vibrant’’? He asked.

    “I have instructed them to bring back the law so we will be able to amend it, they should not be charging less than 50ghc to maintain this airport. But we want them to run the numbers with us and justify it.

    ‘‘I can assure you that if we don’t look for revenue stream to maintain it, in less than a year, all these beautiful edifices would go down the drain”, he said.

    GACL

    The Managing Director of GACL, Pamela Djamson Tettey, indicated that the company was resolved to push through with the APSC and also work closely with the sector minister to ensure that GACL met with Parliament when it resumed to attain the objective.

    Ranking member of the Parliament’s Select Committee, Kwame Governs Agbodza, advised the GACL to be more innovative to raise funds to sustain the domestic airports without recourse to the government.

    Both Kumasi and Tamale airports are nearing completion and are expected to be fully handed over sometime next year, according to management of GACL.

  • Golden Star supports 1,162 adolescent girls

    The German International Development Cooperation (GIZ) has partnered with some major mining companies to build economic and health resilience for pandemics, including COVID-19, and beyond.

    GIZ and its mining partners, including Golden Star Wassa Limited (GSWL), are investing €13 million in various projects to run concurrently for three years.

    Menstrual health

    As part of the GIZ health programme, dubbed “Pandemic Management in Catchment Communities in Times of COVID-19 & Beyond”, Golden Star recently donated sanitary towels to 1,162 females in 14 basic schools in the Wassa area.

    In a release, Gold Star said the year-long distribution programme was being coordinated by the Wassa East District Health Directorate, and would see 1,162 pupils and students receive a set of sanitary pads every month for the period.

    This was after the company organised a forum and a float for all basic schools in its host communities to create awareness on menstrual hygiene under the theme: “Making menstruation a normal fact of life”.

    Forum

    The forum at Daboase, the district capital, discussed and promoted access to science-based information about menstruation and hygiene.
    Some of the issues touched on included discrimination and stigma due to the natural process of menstruating.

    The Community and Health Coordinator of GSWL, George Amankwah-Kumi, expressed happiness that Golden Star, under a new ownership of Chifeng Jilong Gold, had continued to support the communities.

    He said the company continued to collaborate with strategic development partners such as GIZ and the Ghana Health Service to deliver projects with long lasting positive impacts for its host communities.

    Partnership

    The GIZ partnership to develop health also has Asanko Gold and AngloGold Ashanti working in partnership with the extractive communities in the Western and Ashanti regions.

    GSWL said the project was expected to mitigate the negative social impact of COVID-19 and to increase economic and health resilience of communities.
    Some of the projects include enrolment onto the National Health Insurance Scheme, COVID-19 vaccination, medical screening and care, financial literacy and improved social protection.

    The programme will also benefit staff of the health systems of the various communities and families, it added.

  • Anomabo climaxes Okyir festival

    The chiefs and people of Anomabo in the Central Region, at the weekend, climaxed their annual Okyir festival with a call on the government to reinforce discipline as a critical component in the nation’s educational structure for sustainable development.

    In a message delivered on his behalf by Nana Baffoe IV, the Kontihen of the area, the Omanhen of the Anomabo Traditional Area, Nana Amonoo Kantamanto XI, said disciplined educated citizens remain a significant ingredient for the nation’s accelerated socio-economic development.

    He indicated that while there was so much attention on developing education through financial investments, little attention was given to the attitudinal and behaviourial growth of students.

    This year’s durbar themed “Education and discipline: Tools for development” was in its full grace and colour, as hundreds turned out to celebrate the festival after its two-year break due to COVID-19.

    Kantamanto Amonoo said the country needed a discipline-oriented education system to shape behaviour and attitude for an accelerated sustainable development.

    Meaning of Okyir

    Okyir, which literally translates as “abomination”, is used as a platform to campaign against social vices, including poor sanitation, teenage pregnancy, greed and injustice.

    The week-long festival, which is celebrated in the second week of October, is also used to thank the ancestors for their protection and guidance and engender unity for progress among all citizens in Anomabo.

    Kantamanto Amonoo called for a shift in focus, saying that discipline remained an invaluable asset needed for development in Ghana, stressing that no country could attain a meaningful growth without educated and disciplined citizens.

    He thanked successive governments for their contributions to the development of Anomabo and appealed to the government to expedite work on ongoing or abandoned projects in the town.

    Government pledge

    In a message delivered for him by the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Mfantseman, Ike Lord Enu, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia said government would continue to impact every community with development.

    He said Anomabo had had the greatest share of government’s support in the area, with, among others, a five-million-dollar sea defence project, a gari factory and a fisheries college which was 97 per cent complete.

    He stated that these projects and the Anomabo new market, which would be completed next year, would all promote the well-being of the people of the area.

    A management consultant and chairman for the occasion, Mr Ernest Egyir De-Graft, touching on the theme, said discipline should be an integral part of education and adopted as a major Key Performance Index.

    Eschew greed

    The chairman further urged leaders on all levels to eschew selfishness and greed that enrich themselves at the expense of the people they served in order to support development efforts in their communities.

  • Poultry farmers call for stakeholder engagement to save industry from collapse

    The chairman of the Ashanti Regional Poultry Farmers Association, Boris Baidoo, has called for a national stakeholder engagement to find solutions to save the poultry industry from collapsing.

    He said a road map for mitigating the bottlenecks facing the industry had to be discussed extensively by stakeholders in order for them to appreciate and comprehend the existing challenges.

    He made the call during a Fund Summit jointly organised by Fidelity Bank and eco.business for poultry farmers in Sunyani.

    The summit was held on the theme: “The future of poultry production: Economical and sustainable solutions to the sector’s current challenges”.

    Summit

    The two-day summit brought together about 100 poultry industry players from the Ashanti, Ahafo, Bono, Bono East, North East, Upper West, Upper East and Savannah regions.

    The participants included farmers, experts in animal husbandry, insurance companies and agricultural products exporters, among others.

    The participants brainstormed on sustainable solutions to the challenges currently facing the local poultry sector in order to sustain the industry.

    Lack of favourable policies

    Addressing the participants, Dr Baidoo, who is also the Managing Director of Boris B’s Group of Companies, said the industry lacked favourable policies to drive its agenda of restricting the influx of frozen chicken.

    He said despite the implementation of several government interventions, the agenda had not been achieved, making it difficult for the industry to realise its full potential.

    Dr Baidoo expressed the need for the enactment of favourable policies to improve crop and livestock sectors, saying, “Ghana has no excuse for not producing enough maize and soya, which form an integral part of our feed formulations, considering the availability of vast arable lands”.

    Cost of raw material

    He said it was sad to note that the poultry industry had been hit with scarcity and high cost of raw materials, because of the current global recession, leading to a drastic decline in the operation of the poultry sector.

    Dr Baidoo said the poultry industry was not spared by the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed the vulnerability of the sector in particular and Ghanaian industries at large.

    He stated, however, that irrespective of the challenges, poultry farmers could not live in denial of the many potentials in the areas of job creation through the poultry value chain, revenue generation, health and helping to alleviate rural poverty.

    Importation

    Dr Baidoo said currently about 90 per cent of chicken consumption in the country was imported.

    He said due to the absence of ready market for the broiler meat, most poultry farmers had turned to table egg production, as an alternative to keep their farms operational.

    Dr Baidoo said the industry used to be very vibrant in the 1980s, meeting the protein needs of the country to the extent of exporting some of its produce to the neighbouring countries.

    The Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the eco.business Fund, Jens Mackensen, said the support of the eco.Business Fund went beyond access to finance.

    He explained that the summit, co-hosted with Fidelity, demonstrated their commitment to support farmers and industry stakeholders in the country by equipping producers with the skills they needed to withstand potential threats to their businesses and adapt to the challenging global environment and climate change.

     

  • Freddie Blay’s firm should not have accepted to defend alleged illegal miners – Obiri Boahen

    In my candid opinion, former Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Freddie Blay’s law firm should not have accepted to defend accused persons in the ongoing illegal mining case pending before the Accra High Court, Mr Obiri Boahen, a former General Secretary of the NPP has said.

    In a radio interview monitored by Graphic Online on Accra based Okay FM on Wednesday morning, Nana Obiri Boahen said Mr Blay’s firm should have allowed other lawyers to stand in for the accused persons.

    On Tuesday in court, Lucy Ekeleba Blay, a private legal practitioner, told the court that she was holding brief for Mr Freddy Blay in the case of the four accomplices of En Huang, popularly known as Aisha Huang, who has been charged with the others for engaging illegal mining activities in Ghana.

    The four accomplices are Gao Jin Cheng, Lu Qi Jun, Haibin Go and Zhang Zhipeng.

    Mr Freddie Blay is the lead counsel for the firm in which Lucy Ekeleba Blay works.

    Already, Mr Blay has clarified that he is not the one who is personally handling the case but confirms that it is the law firm he belongs to that is handling the case.

  • Court finds receipts of galamsey site purchase with Aisha Huang’s accomplices

    The Attorney General, Godfred Dame, on Tuesday, told an Accra High Court that, the state has evidence to prove that some four foreigners charged as accomplices of galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang were indeed engaged in illegal mining activities.

    The Attorney General, during proceedings on October 11, 2022, told the court that the evidence gathered by the state against the suspects include five receipts issued to the foreign nationals as proof of purchase of small-scale mining sites.

    According to the Attorney General, the suspects were engaged in criminality as the laws of Ghana bar foreigners from engaging in small-scale mining.

    The four suspects are made up of three Chinese nationals; Shi Yang alias Philip, Li Wei Guo and Shi Mei Zhi, as well as a Vietnamese national, identified as Nguyen Thi Thanh Tuyen.

    They are all facing a provisional charge of engaging in small scale-mining without a licence, contrary to section 99(2)(a) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) as amended by Act 995 of 2019.

    However, the Vietnamese national is facing a separate charge for remaining in Ghana after the expiration of a permit contrary to sections 20(1) and 52(1)(d) of the Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573).

    The three Chinese nationals have all pleaded not guilty to their charge while the court was compelled to defer the plea of the fourth suspect due to the absence of an interpreter.

    Responding to the prosecution’s evidence against the suspects, their lawyer, Lucie Ekelebe Blay who was holding brief for Freddie Blay challenged the substance of the receipt.

    According to the lawyer for the accused persons, the supposed purchase of mining sites by her clients did not materialise as they were duped in the process.

    Her argument nonetheless was deemed as enough grounds to prove the prosecution’s case according to the Attorney General.

    In his response to the defence lawyer, Godfred Yeboah Dame maintained that the suspects breached the law by their attempt to own a mining concession as the law prohibits foreigners from engaging in small scale mining.

    The court, citing various factors such as the nature of the alleged offence committed by the suspects, their flight risk possibility and the severity of punishment if they are found guilty, denied the four bail till the end of their trial.

    The case against the four has been adjourned to Tuesday, November 1, 2022.

    Aisha Huang

    The state’s case against alleged galamsey kingpin Aisha Huang was called after that of her alleged accomplices was adjourned.

    Presiding Judge Lydia Osei Marfo, during a sitting on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, refused the plea of her lawyer, Nkrabea Effah Dartey, after the latter argued that his client deserved bail.

    According to the judge, all arguments previously made against his plea for bail, including his client’s flight risk, remain and will not be changed.

    She added that his constant presence in court with his client would be the only way to ensure the case is heard accordingly for the determination of his client’s fate.

    State Prosecutor Godfred Dame, on his part, reiterated government’s commitment to ensuring the case is duly heard and that the accused are prosecuted if found guilty.

    Aisha Huang is in court over charges of mining without a license and engaging in the sale and purchase of minerals, four other charges, including undertaking a mining operation without a license.

    She is also facing four other charges, including undertaking a mining operation without a license, facilitating the participation of persons engaged in a mining operation, illegal employment of foreign nationals, and entering Ghana while prohibited from re-entry were filed at the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court on Friday, September 16, 2022.

    Her case has since been adjourned to October 24, 2022, for case management.

  • There won’t be a miscarriage of justice – NPP on Freddie Blay’s role in Aisha Huang trial

    The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) is of the view that justice will be served in the matter involving the state versus Aisha Huang and four others in a case involving illegal small-scale mining activities.

    This according to the party is despite the fact that lawyers affiliated with it are representing the accused persons.

    Speaking on Accra-based Joy FM, the party’s Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagbah maintained that the court will at all times deal with evidence put before it by parties to the case.

    He contended further that it was within the right of an accused person to get legal representation in court and consequently it was also right for the NPP-affiliated lawyers to render professional services to such persons.

    “If it is a matter of conscience then we should say that there shouldn’t be legal representation for criminals or for somebody who has killed somebody or is alleged to have killed somebody. As conscience will dictate, we should all abhor such behavior and therefore no lawyer as matter of conscience should want to defend any such act

    “I don’t think there will be any miscarriage of justice because the lawyers in the case are NPP related or have affiliations with the New Patriotic Party. The idea is that every client deserves a representation.

    “Our laws allows for that, so the client have exercised their right to have legal representation and those happens to be people affiliated with the NPP. I don’t think that necessarily changes the rules of the court which is evidence,” Ahiagbah said.

    It emerged that former NPP Chairman, Freddie Blay, is the main lawyer for Aisha Huang’s accomplices namely Gao Jin Cheng, Lu Qi Jun, Haibin Go and Zhang Zhipeng, in the prosecution.

    Aisha Huang together with her four other accomplices made a court appearance yesterday October 11 for the state to continue with their prosecution.

    Private attorney Lucy Ekeleba Blay said in court that she was holding brief for Freddie Blay in the case of the four accomplices. Another NPP affiliated lawyer, Nkrabea Effah Darteh is representing Aisha Huang.

    Meanwhile, Attorney General Godfred Dame has indicated his readiness to fast-track the prosecution of Aisha Huang for her past and previous crimes.

    Ms. Huang and her accomplices have been remanded into custody until November 24, 2022 following the judge’s refusal to grant them bail.

  • Barker-Vormawor: High Court to commence treason felony trial against #FixTheCountry convenor on Thursday

    An Accra High Court on Thursday, October 13, 2022, will begin hearing the case involving #FixTheCountry Convenor Oliver Barker-Vormawor.

    This comes after the Ashaiman District Court on Monday, August 1, 2022, committed the activist to stand trial at the High Court on a charge of treason felony.

    The High Court trial was scheduled to commence on September 1, 2022, after the circuit court concluded the committal proceedings with a bill of indictment indicating the state’s readiness to prosecute the activist.

    Meanwhile, the #FixTheCountry convener, through his lawyers, has filed an application to quash the circuit court’s committal proceedings and also to strike out the charge against him.

    “Last week, Oliver Barker-Vormawor’s lawyers filed two motions at the High Court in respect of the Treason Felony charges that the Ghana Government has brought against him.

    “The first motion is for an order of certiorari to quash the committal proceedings of the Ashaiman District Magistrate Court on the grounds that the Magistrate breached the committal procedure.

    “The second motion is a prayer for an order to strike out the charges in the bill of indictment on the grounds that they offend the rule against duplicity and the rule against multiplicity,” a statement by #FixTheCountry noted.

    According to the statement, the applications will be heard by the Criminal Division 3 of the Accra High Court on Thursday, October 9, 2022.

    Barker-Vormawor was arrested in February this year for allegedly threatening to stage a coup after the government passed the controversial Electronic Transfers Levy (E-Levy).

    A Tema High Court in April granted him bail pending the outcome of his trial.

  • Deputy Lands Minister declares war on illegal miners

    The Deputy Lands Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, responsible for Lands Forestry Hon. Benito Owusu-Bio has sounded a clear warning to illegal miners to stay off forest reserves as he stressed that regardless of positions, they will be driven out and sanctioned.” No matter who you are, we don’t care, if you enter the forest reserves we will drive you out and sanction you as well”

    He intimated that the forest reserves are not for mining but was quick to add that unless for exceptional cases like that of Chirano mines and Newmont who have been granted legal licences to operate “but that doesn’t mean that anyone can just jump into the forest to mine and if we find you like that, we will deal with you”

    The Deputy Minister said this when he paid a working visit to Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve to ascertain the veracity of news of Akonta Mining Company still operating in the forest even after the directive by the Lands Minister to the Forestry Commission to halt the company’s operations in the Forest through a Press Release on 30th September, 2022.

    It will be recalled that the Ministry’s Press statement pointed out that “while Akonta Mining Limited has a mining lease to undertake mining operations in some parts of Somreboi, outside the Forest Reserve, the company has no mineral rights to undertake mining operations in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve.

    After an aerial view of the entire forest, Hon. Benito Owusu-Bio and his team spotted about three site in the forests with some equipment but no operations and immediately charged the forestry officers to burn and decommission everything on the site upon arrival.

    The team also discovered a different group of illegal miners, working along the banks and edges of the river and a few in the forest. Per the map guiding that aerial view 98% of the miners were outside the restricted area, which are the banks and edges while the remaining 2% worked in the Forest reserves itself. It could however not be determined which mining company these miners belong to.

    Addressing the issue of this new group of illegal miners found mining on the river he said “these are not small scale miners, these are obviously people who are just burnt on destroying our forests, waterbodies and the entire environment but I cannot tell wether that is Akonta or any other company because this is not organised so I can say it’s purely illegal mining that is going on there!”

    He assured the media that as a matter of urgency the Ministry will unleash Operations halt II to the area who with speed boats and the right equipment will bring a halt to all activities ongoing in the river. “With what we have seen here, I will report to the Minister and we would immediately see how we can strategize and bring the operationas to a halt with the speed boats recently pocured to chase them out”

    He also noted that together with the Forestry Commission and Samartex, a timber company in the enclave they will soon beef up the number of forest guards who patrol the 300sq kilometer forest with support from the military.

    The Deputy Lands Minister warned that with the help of the military, the Ministry and the Forestry Commission will embark on similar operations in all forest reserves across the country to ensure they rid all forests of illegalities of any sort. “This will not stop here, we know this is not the only forest reserves under attack and so we will continue to ensure all forest with any illegal activity is brought under scrutiny”

    Hon. Benito called on the community members and traditional leaders of the Amenfi West Municipality of the Western Region to join in the fight against illegal mining for their own sake and for the betterment of the environment and the country.

    The Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, Mr. John Allotey on his part gave details to the extent of the devastation saying out of a total area of 205sq kilometer, close to about 0.12sq kilometer of the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve has been impacted upon by the illegal activities.

    He noted that since August when the Commission started having the challenge of groups trooping into the forest to mine, the Commission have sent out the military to the area about 8 times all in efforts to keep them out of the forest.

    He assured that heeding to the directives of the Hon. Minister, the Commission is committed to ensuring that all those found culpable to this matter will be dealt with in accordance with the Law.

  • Africa needs ‘ethical and moral uprightness as guiding principles’ – Mahama

    Former President John Dramani Mahama has shared nuggets that can put Africa on the right footing in seeking to better the lot of people on the continent.

    He identified among others absolute accountability of institutions, ethical and moral uprightness and stoic fidelity to the truth as three such values Africa needs.

    His views were contained in a Facebook post dated October 9 sharing portions of a speech he delivered at the Liberty University’s convocation event last week in the United States.

    “Absolute accountability, not just by government but by the institutions of state in service to the people and not themselves, will go a long way to remedy many of the systemic problems that affect our African people.

    “In Africa, we need ethical and moral uprightness as guiding principles, and a stoic fidelity to the truth and to do right by our people above all other considerations,” his post accompanied by photos of his engagement read.

    Mahama was a special guest of honour at the 2022 Liberty University Convocation in Lynchburg, Virginia where he delivered a speech to a packed auditorium.

    He described Ghana as “an island of religious calmness in a sea of turbulence,” citing how “almost all our surrounding neighbours have in recent times experienced some major form of insurgency, coup d’etats or other conflicts, including religious conflicts.”

    He explained the situation in Ghana’s northern neighbours, Burkina Faso and Mali, where insurgents are running roughshod.

  • ‘I started working in a chop bar at age 8’ – Dep Info Minister opens up about her childhood

    The Deputy Minister of Information, Fatimatu Abubakari, has opened up about her childhood, describing how she used to work with her mother in a chop bar as an 8-year-old girl.

    She explained that it was from working in such a place at a very young age that she was exposed to human relations and interacting with people from all walks of life.

    She added that unbeknownst to her, she was preparing herself for a life in communication and law, which today is her life.

    Speaking at the Power of a Girl Conference organized by Power To Girls GH to mark this year’s International Day of the Girl Child, the deputy minister said that she didn’t start out big.

    “I was born in Moshi Zongo in Kumasi and I attended Foundation of Jesus Preparatory School in Kumasi, and also Bukrom MA JHS in Kumasi, and then I attended Kumasi Academy, also in Kumasi before I came to University of Ghana for my first degree in psychology and subsequently for my law degree. And then I went to the Ghana School of Law and then I’m back on the road, thinking about my LLM and by the grace of God, hopefully start a PhD program.

    “All that I want you to take from all these things I’m mentioning is that I never started big. I didn’t even start as the most intelligent person in my school; I took baby steps, starting with my passion,” she said.

    Fatimatu Abubakari added that in the days that she worked in her mother’s chop bar, she endeared the hearts of many people because of how opinionated and knowledgeable she was, even as a little girl.

    She added that eventually, she was nicknamed ‘lawyer,’ a tag that has followed her till today and as such, she encouraged parents not to shut up their outspoken and opinionated children because it could just be the thing they need to be properly set up in life.

    “… when I was younger, I was a born advocate – I was a talkative. I didn’t know anything about communication but my mom had a chop bar at Kumasi and I started working at the chop bar at age 8.

    “So, I talk to everybody and anybody. I was very social growing up so they just gave me a nickname, ‘lawyer,’ because anything you want explanation for, if you called Fati, I have answers for everything and I know there are sisters or daughters here that when they start talking, they will say ‘You, shut up. Everything you have answers to it,’ ‘Ei this girl is a talkative o.’ it’s good to express yourself and maybe, it is even going to lead you to a career,” she explained.

    The Deputy Minister of Information also talked about other passions that she developed as a child that have continued to guide her life and provide a source of income for her.

    This year’s Power of a Girl Conference was themed: ‘Girl Force, Unscripted and Unstoppable’.

     

  • Take up fight against ‘galamsey’ – Trinity Theological Seminary President urges church leaders

    The President of the Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon, The Very Rev. Prof. J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu has charged church leaders to take up the fight against the activities of ‘galamsey’.

    He was speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Christian talk show, A Walk With Jesus, over the weekend, during which he outlined the relationship between humanity, the environment and God.

    He explained that, “When the scriptures mention that God gave humanity dominion over the earth, what it simply means is that God has asked humanity to take care of the environment.”

    When asked why, in Ghana, instead of caring for the environment, the opposite is more common, with ‘galamsey’ being the most prominent example, and all efforts to stop it having failed, he explained that, “The fight against the menace has become difficult because, the people who are involved in it do so as a result of greed, covetousness, and lack of respect for the environment.”

    He went on to state that, “Political leaders on both political divides are to blame, Their campaign promise to voters that, when they come to power, they will help them to do proper ‘galamsey’ is out of place, insisting that, there is nothing like proper ‘galamsey’ anywhere in the world and that politicians should stop singing that song so the fight can be won.”

    His called for the church to step in as a result of God’s expectation of us to be stewards and admonished the church to mainstream the care of the environment through its messages.

     

  • Credibility of our university certificate must be maintained – Dr Bawumia

    Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has indicated that it came as a shock to him when the Auditor-General’s report revealed that some universities in Ghana are running unaccredited programmes.

    He said the prestige of the country’s university system, the credibility and recognition of the certificates issued rest substantially on the time honoured and generally acknowledged quality assurance system.

    The Vice President said it is therefore critical for the protection of the country’s higher education system.

    Credibility of our university certificate must be maintained - Dr Bawumia

    He said this at the Fifth Investiture ceremony of the New Vice Chancellor of the University for Development Studies, Professor Seidu Alhassan in Tamale, the Northern Regional capital.

    Dr. Bawumia said the country must have a zero tolerance for such lapses.

    “As a country, we must have zero tolerance for such development. That is why I applauded the efforts of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and the Ministry of Education (MoE) to ensure that there is strict adherence to the regulatory requirements of the education regulatory body’s Act 2020, Act 1023,” he said.

    He charged all Vice Chancellor’s in Ghana to ensure they get all their courses accredited.

    Credibility of our university certificate must be maintained - Dr Bawumia

    “So may I suggest to you Mr. Vice Chancellor that one of your immediate tasks should be to take inventory of your programs and make all ongoing and new ones accredited before you enroll students into them,” Dr. Bawumia said.

    The Vice President also charged the leadership of the University for Development Studies (UDS) to realign their programs and research activities with the government priority agenda for creating a critical mass of impactful human capital.

    He said as the Vice Chancellor assumes office, he expects the University to stay the cause it has carved a niche in and reinvent itself as a university that takes pride in its relevance.

    Credibility of our university certificate must be maintained - Dr Bawumia

    He said the dual task for tertiary institutions is to achieve a gross tertiary enrollment ratio of forty percent overall and the proportion enrollment of science and technology programs relative to humanity ratio of 60:40 to 40 by the end of the year 2030.

    “It is the expectation of government that the UDS will prioritise the role of programs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines while re-accessing the relevance of others,” he noted.

    Dr. Bawumia said the Ministry of Education is working to create a pipeline of well prepared students to feed into the tertiary system.

    Credibility of our university certificate must be maintained - Dr Bawumia

    “The Free Senior High School policy, curriculum reforms, rolling out of specialised STEM senior High Schools and Technical Colleges are only but a few of these pipeline interventions,” he added.

    He gave the assurance that government would continue to invest in the provision of appropriate infrastructure and the core personnel required for effective and efficient operations of the universities and other tertiary institutions.

    “I am informed that the GETFUND has put together a plan to complete all ongoing infrastructure projects in tertiary institutions within 18 to 24 months,” he said.

    He said investment in infrastructure through the educational system has been one of the very tangible interventions of the Nana Addo government and they intend to continue in spite of the current economic challenges.

    Credibility of our university certificate must be maintained - Dr Bawumia

    The Vice Chancellor for UDS, Professor Seidu Alhassan said his aim is to provide effective leadership and a cordial environment that would further develop the University into a practical-oriented institution that is internationally recognised for academic excellence.

    He said an excellent academic foundation has been laid already, hence the need to build on it.

    Prof Seidu said the University’s academic planning must tap into the frontiers of knowledge that cut across, academic excellence and community service, especially in areas they have a comparative advantage.

    He added that the overall goal is to strengthen existing programs and introduce innovative ones in line with current realities.

    He said academic infrastructure will be enhanced, adding that the UDS strategic research plan will be actualised to guide research excellence.

    Credibility of our university certificate must be maintained - Dr Bawumia

    In a speech read on behalf of the Overlord of Dagbon Yana Abukari by the Zangbalun Lana Naa, Dr. Jacob Mahama, said the UDS was created to address certain needs of the area and urged the new VC to be guided by the objective for which it was created.

    He urged the University’s authorities to blend its academic work with the community in order to provide a constructive interaction between the two for the total development of Northern Ghana and Ghana as a whole.

    The Yana said the role of the UDS in the development of the area is enormous, therefore he is ready to offer all the support they need to bring development to the area.

    He thanked the VC and government for their assurance to transform the Yendi Campus of the UDS.

  • Ghana committed to protecting dignity of refugees and asylum seekers – Ken Attafuah

    Chairman of the Ghana Refugee Board (GRB) and Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, has stated that Ghana remains committed to its obligation to protect the safety and dignity of refugees and asylum seekers in the country.

    Addressing the 73rd Session of the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, Switzerland today 11October 2022, Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, said Ghana is living up to its responsibility of ensuring that refugees are not left behind.

    According to Professor Attafuah, the Ghana Refugee Board and the National Identification Authority, who are both under the Ministry of the Interior, in collaboration with the UNHCR, are taking steps to ensure that refugees will be registered and issued with the National Identity Card, also known as the Ghana Card” shortly.

    “This has become a mandatory requirement for all nationals and residents in accessing various services and facilities such as banking and financial transactions, accessing social security, insurance and healthcare, paying taxes, applying for a driver’s license, registering an interest in land, and registering a SIM card” Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah said.

    “The Issuance of the Ghana Card to refugees is a major step aimed at guaranteeing social and financial inclusion for all refugees. Our policy is that whoever they are, wherever they come from, wherever they find themselves within Ghana and at whatever time, refugees must be able to access services at the same levels as their Ghanaian hosts. This is what we aim to achieve as a refugee-hosting country” he added.

    Safety of refugees

    On the safety and dignity of refugees and asylum seekers in Ghana, Professor Attafuah, noted that Burkinabe nationals who have sought refuge in Ghana due to the security situation in their country are being accorded the needed protection by the State.

    Ghana he added “continues to live up to its obligations in this regard. Notwithstanding the interrelationships that exist across our borders and the already frequent seasonal movements into Ghana by Burkinabes to engage in livelihood activities, Ghana will register Burkinabes nationals and continue to guarantee international protection for those who have crossed into our country to seek asylum”.

    Buduburam refugee camp

    In his remarks, Professor Attafuah assured the gathering that the Akufo-Addo administration will properly decommission the Buduburam Refugee camp in a safe, secure, humane and efficient manner consistent with domestic and international law and Ghana’s human rights obligations.

    Ghana, he said “has taken note of the special appeal to the UNHCR by the Government of Liberia to assist with the repatriation of Liberian refugees from Ghana”.

    “We note, however, that, as reported last year, the Ghana Refugee Board successfully intervened to stop the planned decommissioning of the Buduburam Refugee Camp in September 2021 which used to host Liberian refugees from 2003 but now serves as unauthorized home to some former Liberian refugees and Ghanaian nationals.

    Some of the Liberians had benefited from voluntary repatriation but have returned to Ghana and to the Buduburam Camp at their own accord. High-level meetings have since been held between Ghana and Liberia and a roadmap developed to repatriate the non-refugee Liberians from the former camp to Liberia” Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah said.

    “Ghana remains committed to ensuring that the former Liberian refugees are duly repatriated to Liberia in a safe and humane manner, subject to the availability of funding from the appropriate quarters” he added.
    .
    Ghana lauded

    In his remarks following Ghana’s address, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, His Excellency Mr Filippo Grandi, expressed delight over the concept of including refugees in the acquisition of the Ghana Card and enabling them to access diverse facilities and services, describing it as “extremely important”.

    He expressed appreciation for Ghana’s handling of the influx of Burkinabe nationals seeking refuge in Ghana because of the security situation in their country, which he said was worrying.

    Mr Grandi added that “when refugees start to move to coastal areas”, it justifies “the concern and provides one more reason to invest more to bring to an end or to improve the situation in the area of the root cause of those influxes”.

    He also lauded Ghana for “being one of the main actors in bringing to a close the situation of the Ivorian refugees with the invocation of the Cessation Clause” and other measures.

  • UEW level 400 GPA saga: Records of 8000 students updated

    The Management of the University of Education, Winneba has indicated that it has resolved the challenges it had updating the academic records of some of its students.

    In a press release dated October 10, 2022, the university indicated that the level 400 students, who were mainly affected by the issue, can now access their portals to get the proper record of their academic work.

    It explained that 8000 students were affected by the challenge which began in 2018 but it has now been resolved due to the instrumentality of the current university administration.

    “The Management of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), wishes to inform level 400 students of the university and the general public that student portals have been successfully updated, and level 400 students have full access to their portals.

    “The challenge at hand is a four-year-old issue that dates back to 2018. The current Management took the audacious initiative to resolve the challenges with the results of over 8,000 students as far back as June 2022.

    “Having come this far to successfully update students’ portals based on bulk data collated from the activities of the Students’ Help Desk, we expect our level 400 students to access their portals to check the updated results and resort to the laid down processes to address their concerns if any are identified,” parts of the statement read.

    On Monday, October 11, some final year students at the University of Education, Winneba protested what they say are disparities between results on the school’s online system and notice boards.

    Sources at the school indicated that students are unhappy about the inability of the school’s management to determine their various classes, although they have completed most courses and received their marks and transcripts for same.

    This comes following earlier protests in September when students had to be dispersed by police after they protested discrepancies in their results posted online and on the university’s notice boards.

    The students, who were disappointed about the cancellation of a scheduled meeting between level 400s and management to resolve the issues, broke some sign posts and tree branches and blocked some roads on campus.

    Ahead of what they say are their final papers, some final-year students recently protested again, citing the inability to determine their final marks as the reason.

    The students said the school system for checking grades, which was the notice board, had been upgraded such that students now have to log into a portal to access their grades, but the grades they have received, which were previously posted on the notice boards, differ from those on the school’s portal.

    Read the full statement issued by the university below:

  • Gov’t is determined to make Aisha Huang face the law – Lands Minister

    Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor has said the Akufo-Addo administration is determined to make all persons who are caught engaging in illegal small scale mining (Galamsey), to face the full rigours of the law.

    He indicated that the Chinese national, Aisha Huang popularly known as Galamsey Queen, who was arrested for allegedly re-entering Ghana without permission after her deportation, and the others with her will all face the law for their actions.

    Aisha Huang was denied bail yet again on Tuesday October 11.

    She was denied bail by an Accra High Court, where she is facing four charges pressed by the Attorney General.

    Speaking to journalists after the case, Mr Jinapor said “One of the key pillars on which we are seeking to deal with this issue of illegal small scale mining is law enforcement and prosecution, particularly as it relates to foreigners.

    “As you can see, the Attorney-General himself was in court and he himself is conducting this trial, prosecuting the cases in a very spirited and enthusiastic manner.

    “I think it helps my work, when you have an Attorney-General who is diligent and serious about prosecution and ensuring that all perpetrators are brought to book, I think it is a big boost and I am very thankful to him for the work he is doing.

    “We will continue with our efforts on all fronts – law enforcements, reforms as well as the prosecutorial part, which we are fully committed .

    “As you can tell, this Aisha Huang lady, the government of President Akufo-Addo is committed to bring her and other persons who are involved in illegal mining to face the full rigors of the the laws.”

  • I haven’t commented on Wontumi’s Akonta Mining issue; produce my voice if you have it – Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi

    President of the National House of Chiefs Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II, has denied publications in a section of the Ghanaian media that he has asked persons claiming that mining firm, Akonta Mines, belonging to the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bernard Anwti Bosiako (Chairman Wontumi) is engaged in illegal small scale mining (Galamseny), to produce evidence to that effect.

    He dared persons who say he made that comment to produce his tape if they have it to back their claims.

    Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II is reported to have asked persons with evidence to back the claims that Chairman Wontumi is involved in galasmey.

    “I have heard that Wontumi is doing galamsey. Whether it is true or not, I don’t know and I don’t have any evidence, so how do I tell the president about Wontumi in such a forum or expect me to speak about an issue on national television when I don’t have any facts or direct evidence on Wontumi’s activities?

    “So, if you have the evidence or anyone has evidence that Wontumi is into galamsey, make it available to the president and he will act on it,” he is reported to have toldsaid after a meeting President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had with Chiefs in Kumasi last week Wednesday October 5 on the issue of galamsey.

    But speaking in interview with TV3’s Ato Kwamena Haizel on Tuesday October 11, he said he never made that comment.

    He said “After my statement, the press went out…on His Excellency’ statement with [the Chiefs]. The [President[ said ‘Every village has a chief, and then he, as a lawyer will want to have hard facts to add on. I even suggested that your Excellency, sometimes some of these rumours should be investigated, that was indoors. At no point did anybody including me mentioned Antwi Boasiako or Wontum’s name at the meeting.  So, if anybody has any evidence , my voice anywhere  that person  come out with it .

    “I remember one of the members raised the issue of Akonta Mines in Samroboe Forest and I intervened to say that yes, I was aware the paramount chief in the area had wanted to send a team there but he had a call somewhere and so had to stop them. Even at that point, I didn’t know the owners of Akonta Mining but what I said is that, people go under the guise of prospecting license to do mining, and so we were pleading with his excellency just as he is also pleading to [Chiefs], we will also plead with him to also involve his MMDCEs and politicians so that all of us will fight the menace of galamsey.

    “Because we are the custodians of the lands and all these forest reserves were given to Forestry Commission to manage for us. Again, I made the point the regulatory framework  of mining, [the Chiefs] are not part of it and so we were demanding that at least the small scale mining licenses regime should be handled at the MDAs offices instead of we getting  from Accra. This is what went on other chiefs also gave their dimensions.”

  • Judges’ residential complex in Kumasi to be commissioned on Monday – CJ reveals

    The Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah has announced the judges residential complex in Kumasi in the Ashanti region is going to be commissioned next week Monday.

    The Chief Justice said this when he was speaking during a meeting with the leadership of Judicial Service Staff association of Ghana in Accra on Tuesday October 11.

    Explaining why he appeared late at the meeting, he said “Please accept my apology for not being here on time. Indeed, yesterday I was unable to come to work because I had to attend to more pressing matter in Kumasi and I came just this morning. As some of you may be aware, we are going to commission the residential complex in Kumasi on Monday  and we have invited some of the Directors to be with us.

    “So, I had to spend the whole time with the consultant, the contractors, and the regional  Minister.”

    In April last year, President Akufo-Addo cut sod for the construction of 20 residential facilities for Court of Appeal judges in Kumasi.

    Supported by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, President Akufo-Addo cut the sod to signify the beginning of construction works for the accommodation facilities.

    “With the collaboration of the Ministry of Local Government and the District Assembly Common Fund, 20 townhouses and a guesthouse are being built to be used as permanent residences for Court of Appeal Judges based in Kumasi, who will be mandated to handle cases in the northern part of the country,” Mr Akufo-Addo said.

     

     

     

     

  • I will support Bawumia on the basis of competence if he decides to contest as flagbearer – Abu Jinapor

    Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Abu Jinapor has declared, in no uncertain terms, that he will support the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia when the “time comes, and he decides to run” for the flagbearership of the NPP.

    Speaking in Kpalbe on Sunday, in the Savannah Region, during the visit of the Vice President, as part of his working visit to the North, Abu Jinapor, who is also the Member of Parliament for Damongo, said, in his view, the best person to lead the NPP to the 2024 elections if he decides to contest when the time comes is none, but Dr Bawumia.

    “At this moment, considering many things, including his competence and hard work, there is no other person. When the time comes and His Excellency the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia decides to contest, I will support him fully and work hard together party stakeholders in the Savannah Region for his hard work, and competence.” Abu Jinapor said.

    The Lands and Natural Resources Minister noted further that the 2024 Election won’t be an easy battle and for the NPP to retain power, the party needs someone like Dr. Bawumua, who will be widely accepted and can effectively communicate everything the government and the party have done.

    “Dr Bawumia has served with humility and honour and I can say without a doubt that, he has Savannah, the north and Ghana at heart,” Abu Jinapor noted.

    The Vice President resumed his working tour of the northern regions on Sunday in the Savannah Region.

    As part of his programme, he paid courtesy calls on traditional rulers, and inspected government projects, including the Agenda 111 District Hospital in Kpalbe and the ongoing works on the Fufulso-Bunjai Road, before commissioning a market complex in Salaga.

    Part of the Vice President’s delegation are; Minister of Interior Ambrose Dery, Minister of Defence Dominic Nitiwul, Presidential Advisor on Health Dr. Nsia Asare, and Former Chief Whip Frederick Opare Ansah.

  • Bawumia’s visit to Savannah region wasteful – NDC

    The Savannah Regional branch of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described as whimsical and unnecessary the recent visit by the Vice President, Mahammud Bawumia to the Savannah region.

    Vice President Bawumia during his tour of the region over the weekend indicated that the newly created Savannah Region has witnessed much development under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.

    According to him, the creation of the region by the Akufo-Addo led administration was the strongest indication that the growth and development of the region was at the heart of government.

    Dr. Bawumia inspected some on-going projects in the region as part of his visit to the region.

    But, the NDC in the region says the tour by the Vice President is ‘hollow’.

    “The desperate attempt by the Vice President Bawumia to recover his lost integrity and redeem his bruised reputation by touring the country appears whimsical and a waste of the tax payers money,” the Communication Officer for the Savannah region, Malik Basintale said in a press release.

    He continued: “It is rather unfortunate that among the comic attitudes of the vice President Bawumia, he chose to travel several miles from the seat of government with over 25 luxurious land cruiser V8’s and over 100 staff just to commission an old rural market, an NGO-owned borehole and water system and the foundation of a building labelled “Female surgical ward”, “Laundry block” etc in the name of agenda 111. (Pictures attached).”

    Below is the full statement by Savannah NDC

    BAWUMIA’S DESPERATE VISIT TO THE SAVANNAH REGION WHIMSICAL AND A WASTE OF THE TAX PAYERS MONEY.

    We have keenly monitored the Vice President’s visit to the Savannah region and still find it difficult to comprehend the motive and rational behind his hollow tour around the region.

    The desperate attempt by the Vice President Bawumia to recover his lost integrity and redeem his bruised reputation by touring the country appears whimsical and a waste of the tax payers money.

    It is rather unfortunate that among the comic attitudes of the vice President Bawumia, he chose to travel several miles from the seat of government with over 25 luxurious land cruiser V8’s and over 100 staff just to commission an old rural market, an NGO-owned borehole and water system and the foundation of a building labelled “Female surgical ward”, “Laundry block” etc in the name of agenda 111. (Pictures attached).

    It is shameful, that after 6 years in office and with the failed promises, pledges absolutely nothing to show, Dr. Bawumia still finds comfort in campaigning to the people of the Savannah region after admitting himself that he was used for the “dirty works” by the NPP in a recently leaked tape which obviously leaves his reputation and credibility questioned.

    To zoom in, Let me request from Dr. Bawumia the whereabouts or current state of their old promises to the people of the Savannah region:

    1. Where is the Damongo water project you promised the people of Damongo in 2018 after truncating the contract signed by the erstwhile John Mahama government.
    2. Where is the Daboya bridge you promised the people of North Gonja in August 2021?
    3. Where is the regional house of chiefs you cut sod for in 2020?
    4. Where are the factories you promised the people of the Savannah region under 1D 1F?
    5. Where are the permanent jobs your government promised the Nabco retirees in the Savannah region?
    6. Why is the Busunu-Daboya road still in a deplorable state after funds were made available by the erstwhile John Mahama government and why is the contractor not being paid to go back to site?
    7. Where is the senior high school your boss, Akufo-Addo promised the people of the North East Gonja?
    8. What is the state of the Salaga -Makango road and why are works slowing on it?
    9. Why is the fufulso-Sawla road not being maintained after 6 years of being in office?
    10. Why has your government abandoned the Bole teacher training college started by H.E John Mahama.

    These are the first ten (10) basic questions we need answers to as we haven’t seen or heard the Vice President, Bawumia mention the state of all these promises they made to us, throughout his 2- day tour and just in case they have forgotten, we will always be here to remind them.

    Signed:

    Malik Basintale
    Communication Officer
    NDC- Savannah region.

  • GRA shuts down 4 branches of Palace Mall in Accra

    The Labone, Spintex, Atomic roundabout and Weija branches of Palace Mall have been shutdown by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) for non-compliance with the authority’s E-VAT Invoicing system.

    According to GRA, a number of selected shops have deliberately failed to issue VAT invoices electronically when customers walk in to make purchases.

    The GRA says failure of these shops to abide by its directive sends signals that they are under-declaring tax.

    The Weija branch of China Mall has also been shut down, bringing to five, the total number of China Mall branches closed down in the last 24 hours.

    Speaking to the media, the Area Manager of GRA’s Accra central office, Joseph Annan, cautioned managers of the shops not to tamper with the Commissioner’s seal as that may compound their situation.

    At the Labone branch of Palace Mall, managers of the facility locked themselves inside the shop while observing officials from GRA who were embarking on the enforcement exercise.

    They refused to exit the premises after several efforts by the taskforce.

    The entrance to the mall has since been sealed.

    The Commissioner General of GRA, Dr. Ammishaddiah Owusu-Amoah, earlier spoke to the media and urged businesses that were yet to subscribe to the new VAT policy to do so or bear the brunt of the authority.

    “There are 50 taxpayers that have been enrolled in this project. We have started in earnest and the response is quite encouraging. However, what is happening is that, for some of the taxpayers, the deadline had elapsed, and some people are still not on the system.”

    “GRA has decided that then compliance enforcement is the way to go. What we are doing now is that for those taxpayers who we have engaged, and are not hooked up unto the system, our compliance team will close down their shops. We are going to ensure that they are not restored until they comply.”

  • Eight witnesses to testify against Aisha Huang, four accomplices – Godfred Dame

    The Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Godfred Dame, indicated that the state would present eight witnesses in the case against alleged small-scale mining (galamsey) kingpin, Aisha Huang, and her four accomplices.

    This is after the Attorney General withdrew the four witness statements he had previously filed against the alleged ‘galamsey’ kingpin.

    Speaking during the trial on Tuesday, Godfred Yeboah told the Accra High Court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, that the prosecution had to withdraw the four witness statements to enable it to file the full set of eight witness statements.

    He added that the prosecution was ready for a trial because all eight statements were ready and would be filed as soon as possible.

    Justice Lydia Osei Marfo granted the request of Dame and adjourned the case to October 24, 2022, for the AG to file the documents.

    Meanwhile, the court has remanded Aisha Huang to police custody.

    Presiding Judge Lydia Osei Marfo, during a sitting on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, refused the plea of her lawyer, Nkrabea Effah Dartey, after the latter argued that his client deserved bail.

    According to the judge, all arguments previously made against his plea for bail, including his client’s flight risk, remain and will not be changed.

    She added that his constant presence in court with his client would be the only way to ensure the case is heard accordingly for the determination of his client’s fate.

    State Prosecutor Godfred Dame, on his part, reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring the case is duly heard and that the accused are prosecuted if found guilty.

    Aisha Huang is in court over charges of mining without a license and engaging in the sale and purchase of minerals, four other charges, including undertaking a mining operation without a license.

    She is also facing four other charges, including undertaking a mining operation without a license, facilitating the participation of persons engaged in a mining operation, illegal employment of foreign nationals, and entering Ghana while prohibited from re-entry were filed at the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court on Friday, September 16, 2022

    Also, four others, who appeared in court, 3 Chinese nationals and a Vietnam national, have all been remanded to reappear in court on November 1, 2022.

    The 3 Chinese nationals – Shi Yang alias Philip, Li Wei Guo and Shi Mei Zhi are on a provisional charge of engaging in small scale-mining without a licence, contrary to section 99(2)(a) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) as amended by Act 995 of 2019.

    Vietnam national; Nguyen Thi Thanh Tuyen is, however, being charged for remaining in Ghana after the expiration of a permit contrary to sections 20(1) and 52(1)(d) of the Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573).

    Hearing their cases separately, the sitting judge heard the pleas of the 3 Chinese nationals but reserved that of the Vietnamese, Nguyen Thi Thanh Tuyen, who had difficulty understanding the Chinese and English languages through which she was communicated.

  • Lands Minister defends Mireku Duker over galamsey allegations

    The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has jumped to the defence of his Deputy, George Mireku Duker who has been hit with allegations of involving himself in illegal mining activities.

    According to the minister, he has no reason to believe such allegations as he is confident that his deputy would not be involved in such illegality.

    “I think that the matters are still at play and the minister has denied it flatly. I have full confidence in the minister in my ministry and I don’t think he will ever be involved in any such conduct,” the minister told the press on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.

    Amidst public calls on the government to take drastic measures in the fight against galamsey, George Mireku Duker and some members of the current government, as well as members of the ruling New Patriotic Party, have been accused of being involved in galamsey.

    But the minister for lands and natural resources emphasised that it will only be through an investigation that the allegations against his deputy can be established or otherwise.

    “They have denied it and if there is any substance to any such allegations, I think the best way to proceed is to conduct investigations,” he said.

    Mr Jianpor who was addressing the press after alleged Chinese galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang was brought to the Accra High Court noted government’s commitment to fight galamsey by all means possible, including through prosecutions.

    “As you can tell, this Aisha Huang lady, the government of President Akufo-Addo is committed to bring her and other persons who are involved in illegal mining to face the full rigours of our laws in this country,” he said.

    Aisha Huang remanded indefinitely for trial

    Chinese National, Aisha Huang, who is in court for her involvement in illegal mining activities (galamsey) in Ghana, has been remanded to police custody by the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court.

    Presiding Judge Lydia Osei Marfo, during a sitting on Friday, October 11, 2022, refused the plea of her lawyer, Nkrabea Effah Dartey, after the latter argued that his client deserved bail.

    According to the judge, all arguments previously made against his plea for bail, including his client’s flight risk, remain and will not be changed.

    She added that his constant presence in court with his client would be the only way to ensure the case is heard accordingly for the determination of his client’s fate.

    State Prosecutor Godfred Dame, on his part, reiterated government’s commitment to ensuring the case is duly heard and that the accused are prosecuted if found guilty.

    Aisha Huang is in court over charges of mining without a license and engaging in the sale and purchase of minerals, four other charges, including undertaking a mining operation without a license.

    She is also facing four other charges, including undertaking a mining operation without a license, facilitating the participation of persons engaged in a mining operation, illegal employment of foreign nationals, and entering Ghana while prohibited from re-entry were filed at the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court on Friday, September 16, 2022.

    Her case has since been adjourned to October 24, 2022, for case management.

  • OCTP partners hand over 11 schools to Ellembelle

    Eleven newly constructed school buildings with ancillary facilities, have been handed over to the people of Ellembelle in the Western Region by the Offshore Cape Three Points partners (OCTP).

    The project initiated by the OCTP partners such as Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Vital Upstream Ghana Limited and took 16 months to complete was funded by Eni Ghana Exploration and Production Limited.

    The beneficiary schools are Anyanzinli D/A Basic School, Bakanta Catholic Primary School, Sanzule/ Krisan Basic School, Eikwe Catholic Primary School, Eikwe Catholic JHS, and Ngalekyi/Baku Basic School,

    The rest are Anokyi Methodist Primary School, Anokyi D/A JHS, Atuabo Methodist Primary School, Atuabo Methodist JHS and Asem-Nda Suazo Methodist Primary School

    The new school buildings have facilities such as canteens, staff common rooms, libraries, toilet facilities and AstroTurf parks.

    Also the schools have been installed with solar panels to enjoy uninterrupted power supply and connected to water supply to improve sanitation.

    The event was attended by Country Manager of Vitol Upstream Ghana Limited, James Thorburn, Deputy Minister of Energy, Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer and District Chief Executive (DCE) for Ellembelle, Kwasi Bonzoh, was also witnessed by representatives from the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Petroleum Commission and the World Bank Group.

    Addressing the chiefs and people of the Eastern Nzema Traditional Council to hand over the facilities to them, the Managing Director of Eni Ghana, Valenti Giuseppe, said the renovated school facilities would help improve teaching and learning in the schools in the district, adding that the new school would provide a good learning environment for the school children to learn.

    Mr Giuseppe applauded the OCTP Partners, World Bank and the Chiefs and people of beneficiary communities for their contribution in ensuring the buildings were in line with their needs, while charging them to put the infrastructure to good use and well maintained.

    The Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah expressed gratitude to Eni Ghana and the OCTP Partners for investing in Ghana and the region in particular through their corporate social responsibility activities.

    Awulae Amihere Kpanyinli III, Paramount Chief of the Eastern Nzema Traditional Council commended Eni and its OCTP partners for financing the renovations of the schools and urged other companies operating in the area to emulate the example of Eni and OCTP partners.

  • Jomoro MP grilled in court over renounced Ivorian citizenship

    The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Jomoro, Dorcas Affo-Toffey, was the subject of an intense cross-examination at the Sekondi High Court on Monday, October 10, 2022.

    The MP, whose citizenship at the time of filing her nomination for parliamentary election is being challenged in court, was subjected to questioning over documents of her Ivorian citizenship renunciation presented to the court.

    Counsel for the petitioner in the case, Bright Agyekum, sought to present to the court that the MP’s attempt to allude to the documents renouncing her Ivorian citizenship is nothing less than an afterthought.

    Challenging the MP’s testimony, Mr Agyekum argued that the documents of renunciation alluded to by Dorcas Affo-Toffey did not exist before the commencement of the trial against her.

    The lawyer for the petitioner referenced a letter dated January 24, 2019, in which the MP wrote to the Attorney General of Ivory Coast that she was renouncing her citizenship.

    The lawyer further mentioned another letter dated January 29, 2019, in which the Ivorian Attorney General’s Office acknowledged receipt of the letter issued by the Jomoro MP on January 24, 2019.

    “I am putting it to you that both letters were complete afterthoughts,” Mr. Agyekum is quoted in a report by Dailyguidenetwork.com in his argument that Affo-Toffey did not qualify to run for the Jomoro seat as MP in 2020.

    The petitioner’s lawyer also questioned Dorcas Affo-Toffey on why she had to remind the Ivorian authorities in March and April 2021 about her intention to renounce her citizenship way back in 2019.

    The defendant, in response, said she was minded to do so because of the case in court.

    “So the Ivorian authorities issued you with an attestation on April 12, 2021,” the petitioner’s lawyer further questioned, to which the MP responded in the affirmative.

    Bright Agyekum further said that the stamp appearing on the documents attached to her witness statement was not an original one emanating from the Ivorian Justice Ministry, but the MP disagreed with the assertion.

    In her case, Madam Affo-Toffey alluded that her Ivorian citizenship renunciation was automatically effected by her showing of interest in doing so. This, she said, was provided for in Article 48 of the Ivorian Nationality Code.

    But the petitioner’s lawyer, during his cross-examination of the MP, suggested that the provisions she alluded to do not cover her.

    “I cannot answer. I will leave it with my lawyer to answer that question,” she responded.

    Background

    A resident of the Jomoro Constituency, Emuah Kofie Nuba-Mpataba, in 2021 filed a suit accusing Dorcas Affo-Toffey of not being a Ghanaian citizen at the time of filing her parliamentary contest nomination.

    According to the petitioner, the NDC MP, by the provision of Ghana’s electoral laws, was not qualified to contest in the 2020 parliamentary election because she held dual citizenship.

  • Two jailed for 15 years for stealing GH¢102,000

    A manager and a fuel station attendant of the Kwabeng branch of Ready Oil in the Eastern Region have been sentenced to a total prison term of 15 years for stealing GH¢102,000.

    According to asaaseradio.com, the manager, Emmanuel Ohene Amankwah, 27, and the fuel attendant, Douglas Twumasi, 25, were found guilty of stealing and conspiracy to commit a crime and will serve prison terms of 8 and 7 years, respectively.

    The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Joseph Damfei, told the court that the complainant in the case, Samuel Kwaku Owusu-Manu, the CEO of Ready Oil Limited, indicated that the two accused persons had been siphoning fuel from the Kwabeng branch of the company.

    The prosecutor explained that the CEO reported that he found a driver siphoning fuel and, after several interrogations, found that the two accused persons were behind the crime.

    Inspector Joseph Damfei said that the complainant, after the interrogations, also found that daily sales for May 20, which was supposed to be GH¢48,000, was only GH¢17,617.

    He added that the CEO also found petrol and diesel shortage in the underground tank valuing GH¢19,109.50.

    Kwaku Owusu-Manu then called for an audit which revealed that revenues for fuel sold on credit to some customers amounting to GH¢53,800 could not be accounted for.

    In addition to the custodian sentences the two suspects received, the judge also directed that an unregistered Toyota Camry the manager had bought should be sold to offset part of the cost.

  • GRASAG Central University swears-in new executives

    The Central University chapter of the Graduate Students’ Association of Ghana (GRASAG) swore in new Executives for the 2022/2023 academic year on Sunday, October 2, 2022, at the University’s Christ Temple campus.

    The names of the executives are Mr. Eugene Senumape Adonu, President; Mr. Wisdom Agorsor, Vice President; Mr. Mensah Gademor, General Secretary; Mr. Emmanuel Yaw Marb-Organizer; Mr. Saviour Ahiataku, Financial Secretary and Ms. Nana Ama Frimpomaa, Women’s Commissioner.

    The ceremony was attended by Dr. Gloria Dzeha, Dean of Students at the University, Dr. Evans Sokro, GRASAG Patron, and Mr. Emmanuel Owusu, GRASAG National PRO, who presented Mr. Thomas Elorm Tagbortor, GRASAG National President.

    In her speech, Dr. Gloria Dzeha charged the new executives with creating programs that are relevant to the needs of graduate students. She emphasized the importance of publicizing GRASAG programs and activities as a means of projecting the Central University Graduate School.

    Mr. Abednego Quarshie, the outgoing President, thanked his team for their cooperation and unity, as well as the Dean of Students and the GRASAG Patron for their immense support during their tenure. Some of his administration’s accomplishments included uniting and coordinating graduate students from the three University campuses; Miotso, Christ Temple, and Kumasi, and producing some souvenirs to generate revenue for GRASAG activities.

    Mr. Eugene Senumape Adonu, President of GRASAG, congratulated the outgoing President, Mr. Abednego Quashie, and his team on their commendable efforts, dedication, and commitment to making GRASAG Central University vibrant during their tenure.

    He also emphasized the importance of graduate education, saying, “Mr. Chairman, Graduate students form a unique group of individuals who defy all odds to pursue further education in the quest to gain knowledge that can transform their lives, careers, and the country.”

    He assured the audience that his administration will ensure the continuation of previous projects started by his predecessors and improve GRASAG’s image on campus and beyond.

    Dr. Evans Sokro, the patron, also congratulated the outgoing and new executives. He advised the executives not to let their leadership responsibilities interfere with their course work because that was the primary reason they were in school. He assured the executives of his unwavering support and his availability for consultation on their intended programs.

    Mr. Emmanuel Owusu the GRASAG National PRO delivered a speech on behalf of the National President, Mr. Tagbortor. In his speech, he hinted at projects the national secretariat is currently working on to benefit postgraduate students in Ghana.

    Some of these projects include; a Laptop Project with unlimited data for academic work, job opportunities for postgraduate students through a private HR firm, and the recently rolled out Graduate Research Trust Fund.

    This fund will sponsor policy-oriented research for national development. He also encouraged the new executives to be involved in the activities of GRASAG National.

    The program ended with the Dean of Students, the Patron, outgoing executives, and some key University staff receiving awards and citations.

  • Young lady dies during liposuction surgery

    A 28-year-old lady identified as Amelia Pounds has unfortunately died whiles undergoing a liposuction surgery.

    Plastic Surgery, Liposuction, cosmetic surgery, collagen injections, BBL (Brazilian Butt Lift), etc are some of the professional terms used to describe the process of going under the knife to enhance one’s body parts.

    From what we gathered, the beautiful young lady happens to be a socialite and businesswoman from Nigeria. According to reports, Amelia died in New Delhi, India as a result of complications following the liposuction surgery.

  • Shop owners flee, others arrested as GRA, VAT invigilators chase tax defaulters in Accra

    The VAT Invigilation taskforce inspecting the receipt and sales books of one of the businesses.

    Operators of eight cold stores at the Takyi Yard Cold Stores Enclave in Tema on Friday closed their stores and absconded before officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), undertaking a Value Added Tax (VAT) inspection exercise, arrived at the premises.

    The VAT invigilation taskforce was in the area to conduct the exercise following an intel that the operators, although registered to issue VAT receipts, were not issuing to customers.

    The very busy enclave, usually characterised by brisk business on Fridays, turned into a ghost town when news went round that the GRA taskforce was conducting a VAT invigilation exercise.

    Earlier, the Taskforce locked up The Underbridge, a popular event centre at East Legon, Accra, for failing to register and issue VAT invoices to customers.

    Also, the operators of Josnartey Ventures, Isaac Glavi Trading Enterprise, Perez Frozen Foods, all at Tema, were arrested and taken to the head office of the GRA to answer why they failed to issue VAT invoices to their customers.

    Sales and receipt books belonging to the operators were also confiscated for VAT assessment.

    Mr Joseph Annan, Area Enforcement Manager of Accra Central, GRA, who led the exercise, said the taskforce would review its invigilation strategy at areas where business operators absconded to ensure they all complied with the VAT provisions.

    He said the arrested business operators would be investigated and charged for their actions.

    Mr Annan stated that they would be assessed preemptively and investigated to pay the taxes lost before a full audit was undertaken to determine the full impact of their actions on other levies they were expected to pay.

    He noted that they would then be prosecuted by the GRA legal unit for failing to comply with the tax law.

    “Once VAT is under-declared, other taxes will be affected. The investigations will help to determine the impact of their actions so the expected sanctions are applied,” Mr Annan added.

    He urged businesses registered for VAT to issue the VAT invoice at all times as required by law to avoid facing the sanctions and prosecutions.

    “We are in town enforcing the issuance of VAT invoices. I urge all businesses to do the right thing as expected of them. We will continue the exercise until all businesses comply with the law,” he stated.

    Mr Annan further advised the public to demand the VAT invoice whenever they make purchases to support government’s efforts to raise revenue.

  • Ghana ranks 1st with highest food price increases of 122% in Sub-Saharan Africa – World Bank

    Ghana is ranked 1st by the World Bank with the highest food prices in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022.

    According to the Bretton Wood institution’s October 2022 Africa Pulse Report, food prices have since January 1, 2022, gone up by 122 per cent.

    Since the start of 2022, food prices have increased sharply in many countries, largely due to the Russian/Ukraine war.

    According to the Food Price Index in Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana has recorded very sharp prices in food on the African continent.

    Food inflation in Ghana has been high, recording a year-on-year inflation of 34.4 per cent in August 2022, the Ghana Statistical Service disclosed.

    On month-on-month basis, inflation was even higher.

    The drivers of food inflation in Ghana are oils and fats (67 per cent); fish and other seafood (42.9 per cent); water (42 per cent); cereal products (40 per cent); milk, dairy products and eggs (39.7 per cent), fruits and vegetable juices (37.7 per cent) and live animals and meat (34.5 per cent). All of the items recorded inflation rates higher than the national average of 33.9 per cent.

    Overall, the World Bank said inflation breached the ceiling of the central bank target bands for all countries with an explicit nominal anchor.

    In Nigeria, headline inflation started the year above the central bank limit of 9.0 per cent and accelerated to 20.5 per cent in August 2022 – the highest since September 2005. Food and fuel prices were the key factors behind the rally in inflation.

    Meanwhile, Senegal followed Ghana closely with food price increases of 110 per cent

    Uganda is 2nd with 107 per cent increase in food prices.

  • Trade Minister lauds McDan for pushing frontiers of African Free Trade

    The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kojo Kyeremateng has commended the McDan Group for acquiring cargo planes and sea trade vessels to facilitate trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

    The commendation came at the back of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of McDan Group, Daniel McKoley and the AfCFTA Agreement to signify the beginning of a partnership which will facilitate trade among African Countries.

    Speaking at the launch of the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative which was held at the McDan Private Jet Terminal in Accra, the Trade and Industry Minister singled out Dr Daniel McKorley for praise for making the long dream of free movement of goods in Africa a reality.

    He expressed the confidence thatthe agreement would enhance the contribution of the private sector in building a robust economy among African Countries.

    “Let me commend one business man who has taken a bold step to make the dream of AfCFTA a reality, Dr Daniel McKorley who tonight signs an agreement with AfCFTA to commence cargo services within Africa.

    This is exemplary and other businessmen on the continent must take a cue from this,” he said.

    On his part,Dr McKorley said the company had acquired two cargo planes and one vessel worth over $100M to facilitate trade among African countries.

    The Secretary-General of AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene encouraged Africans to support small and medium scale enterprise to alleviate poverty in Africa.

    He was optimistic that in 15 years, AfCFTA would succeed in lifting many Africans out of poverty and hence the need for Africans to support indigenous businesses.

  • NPP is like the mother in 1st Kings who wanted the baby divided – Fifi Kwetey

    The ex-Deputy Minister of Finance, Fifi Kwetey, has accused the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) of being full of selfish individuals who do not have the country’s interest at heart.

    According to him, the party has never supported policies or agendas that will lead to the country’s development which they will not benefit from.

    In an XYZ TV interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Fifi Kwetey added that the party can be akin to the woman in the Bible who, after killing her child, wanted the child of another woman divided because they would rather see Ghana destroyed than implement the much-needed policies that do not benefit them.

    “The larger spirit that drives our friends in the NPP is the spirit that does not hold well for the country. They opposed independence. They opposed our effort to become a republican state. As far as they are concerned, if we are not going to have it, then nobody should have it.

    “You know the story of King Solomon and the two women, where one of the women slept on her child, which caused his death while the child of the other woman was alive. And the one who had slept on her child said the baby alive was hers and should be divided. Unfortunately, the NPP represents that woman that wanted the child to be divided.

    “NPP, unfortunately, has that behaviour; if we are not going to get it, let it be killed, let it be destroyed. So, they opposed the Akosombo Dam, they opposed that Motorway, in 1992, they opposed the Constitution of Ghana, they opposed VAT, they opposed GetFund, they opposed ESLA. It is like once we are not in charge, we don’t want it,” he said in Twi.

  • Gov’t must ban import of mercury if it’s serious about fight against galamsey – Abronye DC

    The Bono Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, a.k.a. Abronye DC, has said that the government is failing in the fight against illegal mining because it has not stopped the factors that encourage it.

    Abronye said that one of the main things that fosters ‘galamsey’ is the easy access to mercury in Ghana.

    He added that if the government is serious about fighting illegal mining, it has to ban the import of mercury.

    “We say we want to stop galamsey, but people have easy access to mercury, which is used for galamsey. Without mercury, illegal mining will cease. Where do they get the mercury from? Does it fall from the sky for them to go and collect it?

    “We import the mercury from other countries. So, if we really want to stop galamsey, one of the main things we can do is to make sure that mercury is not imported into this country.

    “If mercury continues to be imported into the country, whether we like it or not, illegal mining will continue. So, if the lands minister is serious about fighting galamsey, he should make sure import of mercury into Ghana is curtailed,” he said in Twi.

    He also said that the soldiers and other people who have been tasked with stopping the menace are not taking it seriously because they know nothing will happen to them if they fail.

    Speaking in a Neat FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, the NPP regional chairman added that the government should make sure the taskforce charged with stopping the menace swears an oath by the gods.

    “I said that from day one, the taskforce to fight galamsey should be made to swear by the gods. I said this because the members of the committee that was set in 2013 to fight galamsey have all of a sudden become rich. The committee that was set by this government has also been dissolved.

    “Soldiers are sent to protect water bodies, but the waters keep getting polluted, and nothing happens to them,” he noted.

  • Your victory is a forgeone conclusion – Bolewura tells Dr. Bawumia

    The Bolewura Sarfo Kutuge Feso (I) has made a bold and emphatic prediction about the political future of the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

    Welcoming the Vice President to his Palace in Bole on Monday October 10, 2022, the Bolewura commended the Vice President for his service and care to the region and nation, and capped his complimentary words with a bold statement on the future of the Vice President.

    “Your Excellency, this is the 3rd or so time that you have familiarised yourself with this Palace. The first time you came here during the campaign, I gave you only one sentence; that victory is a foregone conclusion. So victory for you is a forgone conclusion,” the Bolewura boldly told Dr. Bawumia.

    “Take that sentence from this place. Your victory is a foregone conclusion,” the Bolewura added.

    Dr. Bawumia, who briefed the Bolewura on a number of projects the Government is undertaking in the Savannah Region, thanked the Bolewura for his warm words and encouragement.

    The Vice President was accompanied by a number of ministers of State, including the Minister for Works and Housing and MP for Damongo Abu Jinapor, Minister for Interior Ambrose Dery, Minister for Defence Dominis Nitiwul, as well as some senior Government officials.

    The Vice President and his delegation were given a rousing reception into Bole, which is the hometown of former President John Mahama.

    Your victory is a forgone conclusion – Bolewura tells Dr. Bawumia

    Dr. Bawumia, who briefed the Bolewura on a number of projects the Government is undertaking in the Savannah Region, thanked the Bolewura for his warm words and encouragement.

  • How Agradaa tried to leave the country – Prosecutors tell court

    Prosecutors told an Accra Circuit Court that it is false that the embattled founder of Heavenway Champion International Ministry, Evangelist Mama Pat, popularly known as Nana Agradaa, voluntarily turned herself in.

    The former fetish priestess was in court over an alleged new scam after scores of her church members cried foul recently about an advertised money-doubling service that did not go as planned.

    After many calls for her arrest, the police began investigations into the matter and on Sunday, October 9, 2022, she was arrested.

     Making her first appearance in court on Monday, October 10, 2022, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Maxwell Oppong told the court that they had to block all access to Nana Agradaa’s hideouts upon intelligence it received.

    He explained further that it was only because of this that the accused was forced to report herself to the police, knowing very well that she had no fixed place of abode.

    A report by The Chronicle newspaper said that the police “virtually had to block the airport to prevent the accused from taking a flight out of the country.”

    On how they arrested her, the prosecutor told the court that they had to resort to tracking her phone because she was not available in all of the places they thought she would be.

    The video purported to be the genesis of Agradaa’s new scam:

    A report shared by GhanaWeb on Saturday, October 8, 2022, showed how scores of people who went to her church, Heavenway Champion International Ministry, were crying foul in what they described as a scam by the repented woman.

    In several short video clips that have since gone viral, a number of the victims were seen running away from the church building of Evangelist Mama Pat and raising alarm that they had been deceived and scammed.

    GhanaWeb’s further checks showed that the people were at the church in their numbers on the day because the repented priestess had earlier advertised through her television channel that she was going to give out monies to people.

    She is also alleged to have advertised that she would double monies that are brought to her church, Heavenway Champion International Ministry, on the day.

    GhanaWeb eventually sighted the said video that advertised the church service, resulting in the alleged scam.

    In the one-minute, fifty-six seconds video from her TV station shared by a Facebook user, the repented fetish priestess is seen calling on people to throng her church on October 7, 2022.

    “This month is spiritual transformation month and that is why Heavenway Champion is donating 3 billion in the church. Come this Friday for the all night. If you want money for a job, if you need rent money, startup money, you need money to take care of your health, so, if you miss this Friday all night, then you are really going to miss out,” she said in Twi.

  • ‘It is not true, the chief is a liar’ – Tarkwa MCE denies involvement in galamsey

    Municipal Chief Executive for Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Assembly, Benjamin Kesse, has denied any involvement in galamsey activities within his municipality.

    The MCE was accused by Nana Nyowah Panyin IV, the Chief of Dompim-Pepesa in the Tarkwa municipality of engaging in galamsey activities.

    In an interview with Joy FM, the Chief indicated that he has evidence to prove that the MCE together with Member of Parliament for the area, George Mireku Duker and Kobby Okyere Darko Mensah, the Western Regional Minister are all involved in polluting the water bodies with their galamsey activities.

    But in a response, the MCE noted that the accusations smack of malice.

    The MCE explained that the Chief is accusing him and two others because they did not support his bid as a Chief, hence this allegation when he got an opportunity on national radio.

    “It is not true. Whatever he said is a lie, a total lie…There is an issue here in Dompim and it is purely chieftaincy; and he knows that we do not support his bid so he started this long ago about three years ago and he has been running around.

    “Today, he knows that the President is very much particular about the fight against galamsey so he feels that he is taking the opportunity to make this wild allegation so that he will get a hearing for what he is saying. So that the President will call somebody and disappoint the person. I have documentation to the effect that he wrote to the President not to appoint me. He has done everything,” Benjamin Kesse stressed.

    What the Cheif said about the MCE

    Nana Nyonwah Panyin IV, on Monday, October 10, 2022, to Joy FM that he has incontrovertible evidence to implicate the trio in galamsey activities.

    “I know not of any company but I know of the very people who are behind the operations of ‘galamsey’ in my area. First and foremost the Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah is involved.

    “The MP for the area, Tarkwa Nsuaem, Honorable George Mireku-Duker is also involved and the MCE, Benjamin Kessie is also involved. I have told you I am not going to disclose my arsenals to you.”

    He did not state the exact nature of their involvement in galamsey, which has become an issue of national concern with increasing pressure on government to curb its growing spread.

    “They said they were going to sue, so let them sue. I’ll let out my arsenals at the right time,” Nana Nyonwah Panyin IV alleged.

  • Thugs attack Suame Corn mill operators, 19-year-old sustains severe injury

    Kwadwo Abdulai, a 19-year-old corn mill operator, has sustained a severe injury on his right hand after being stabbed by thugs who attacked occupants of the Suame market corn mill base.

    An eyewitness disclosed that the sad incident happened on Sunday morning after a group of thugs numbering over 15 stormed the area occupied by the corn mill operators.

    The attack was said to have been perpetrated by an unidentified group who later demolished the entire place.

    According to the victims, the thugs attacked them with offensive weapons before destroying their corn mill machines and subsequently demolishing the entire place.

    The 19-year-old Abdulai, narrating his ordeal, said he was asleep when he heard shouts that some attackers were coming after them.

    “We all started running since we didn’t know what was happening, and in the course of running, I met some of these macho men, some of them holding offensive materials. One of them tried stabbing me in the stomach with a knife, but I was able to prevent the action with my hand, hence the stabbing on my hand,” he said.

    According to him, about three of the boys were known persons from Tafo.

    Mr. Abdullah Amoako, one of the victims and a corn-mill operating machine owner, told GhanaWeb that the occupants owning the place have legal documents.

    Mr. Akwasi Ofei, another victim showing his documents, revealed that the place was given to them by the Otumfuo Sanaahene with all the requirements.

    Meanwhile, most of the victims have accused the Suame MCE, Maxwell Ofosu Boakye, of being the person behind the attacks.

    Backing the claims, they said, the MCE for the last two months had been threatening with an eviction on several occasions.

    They, however, appealed to the authorities to immediately investigate the issue and bring perpetrators to book.

    Reports further reveal that the police are now investigating the issue.

  • Danfa-Otinibi road yet to be fixed months after Madina MP’s protest

    The Member of Parliament for the Madina Constituency, Francis-Xavier Sosu, October last year led residents of La Nkwantangang-Madina Municipality to demonstrate over the bad roads on the Ayi-Mensah, Danfa, and Otinibi stretch.

    The protest which was to call for immediate attention and work on the road almost led to the Madina MP’s arrest by the Ghana Police Service.

    In an account by Lawyer Sosu, he narrated how he was manhandled adding that his car was also damaged by the police in their attempt to arrest him over the protest.

    Despite all the efforts and cries by the affected communities and their legislator in getting their roads fixed, authorities are yet to commence work on the busy stretch.

    According to people living in Danfa and its environs, the terrible state of their road is affecting lives and business, especially with the current heavy downpour.

    In a news report by GhanaWeb’s Paula Amma Broni, residents pleaded with authorities not to politicize the construction work but instead deploy a constructor to start work on the deplorable road.

    Rosemond Amasa, a resident of Danfa highlighted the effect their road has had on business.

    “Our roads are in terrible condition. The rains have even worsened the situation. It has affected business, especially with the heavy downpour. I am not exaggerating; you should see it for yourself. We need the government’s support now more than ever,” she said.

    Lord Dzokoto also admonished the Madina MP not to give up on his effort in getting them help despite the many failed attempts.

    “This used to be a preferred route for the people living in Amamfrom, Oyibi and its environs. They no longer use this road due to its bad state. There is always traffic on the Amamfrom road. I hope my request gets to the president, come and fix the Danfa road. It is terrible,” he told GhanaWeb.

     

  • Battle lines drawn: Asiedu Nketia and Ofosu Ampofo lock horns for NDC chairmanship

    Two big names for a big party position, is the kind of story headline that is fit for this kind of political race that is expected in Ghana’s current, biggest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

    On either side, both Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, and Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo have credits of giant political achievements to ride on, but now, the two men have to face it off for the top position of Chairman of the NDC.

    While there is no official final list from the party, it already looks like there is going to be a straight fight between the two personalities: Asiedu Nketiah as the longest-serving General Secretary of the NDC, and Ofosu-Ampofo as the one-term Chairman seeking re-election.

    In this political pedigree article by GhanaWeb, we take a look at all of the things that put either of these two candidates ahead of each other, as well as what NDC delegates might be looking out for when they go to the polls in November 2022.

    Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo:

    Currently the Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo has declared his intention for re-election.

    This is due to the fact that his election as chairman in November 2018 comes to an end soon and he would need a reaffirmation of his performance through another endorsement from his party members.

    But it has been a long political career for him, starting off in this trade in 1994, when he was appointed as the District Chief Executive for the Fanteakwa North District of the Eastern Region, by Jerry John Rawlings.

    In 1996, he run for parliament on the ticket of the NDC in the same district and won, representing the people of the constituency until he lost his third re-election bid in 2004 to the New Patriotic Party’s candidate, Kwadwo Agyei Addo.

    Having served in the second and third parliaments of the fourth republic of Ghana, Ofosu-Ampofo again tried his shot at the parliamentary seat in 2008 but got unlucky once more.

    His next political job came when he won the National Organiser position of the NDC but on the assumption of power in 2009, John Evans Atta Mills appointed him the Regional Minister for the Eastern Region.

    Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo then moved on from there to serve as Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, his last political portfolio before he was elected as the NDC’s National Chairman in 2018.

    Under his tenure, he was unsuccessful in helping the party and John Dramani Mahama in wrestling power from the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government in the 2020 general elections.

    But that loss gave the country a historic win: the first time parliament is hung, with a split of a perfect number of Members of Parliament, as well as the Speaker of Parliament being a member of the opposition for the first time ever.

    Speaking in a Ghanaian Times report, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo stated that one of his achievements is that that the party had become more attractive under his leadership.

    He has also likened himself to the biblical Jesus Christ.

    “The delegates must look no further than Ofosu-Ampofo as I am prepared to take the NDC to the Promised Land because you do not change the team that turned around the fortunes of the party after it suffered a humiliating defeat in 2016 and I liken myself to Christ when he was asked by the disciples if he is the Messiah.

    “Jesus said to them, the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, what more do you want to see? I am the National Chairman of NDC and the party was in disarray due to our humiliating defeat in 2016 since it was not attractive at the time but I played key roles together with my team to turn the around fortunes of the party during the 2020 elections,” he said.

    He has also stated that but for the use of state-sponsored security personnel, the NDC would have won more parliamentary seats in the 2020 elections, including Techiman South, Tarkwa Nsuaem, Zabzugu, Essikado-Ketan, and others.

    “I have what it takes to bring the NDC back to power again however, I believe together with my team, we also managed to snatch seats that have never been won by the party in a long time, including Tema East, Ayensuano, among others, which demonstrates our competence and I am hopeful members, supporters, sympathisers, faithful and well-wishers of the party to renew my mandate to serve for another four-year term,” he appealed.

    Johnson Asiedu Nketiah:

    Asiedu Nketiah, the man popularly known as General Mosquito, is the face of the other main contender for the National Chairman position of the party.

    As the current General Secretary of the NDC, he is one of the most powerful people in the party, having served in the role since 2005.

    Born on December 24, 1956, at Seikwa in the Brong Ahafo Region, he trained in petty trading, Akpeteshie distilling, palm wine tapping, and a drinking bar.

    After educating himself at the University of Ghana, he practiced as a banker before entering into politics.

    His entrance onto the political scene came when he contested and won the Wenchi District Assembly elections of 1989, following which he was elected to the Consultative Assembly in 1992.

    He held that position for 12 years, being part of the team that drafted Ghana’s current constitution – the 1992 constitution.

    In 1992, he entered parliament as the Member of Parliament for the Wenchi West constituency and served for 12 years.

    During his time in parliament, he served on several committees such as the Appointments Committee, Finance Committee, Public Accounts Committee, Chairman Mines and Energy Committee, and Minority spokesperson on Food, Agriculture, and Cocoa Affairs.

    From 1997 to 2001, Asiedu Nketiah served as a Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture (Crops).

    After he decided to say goodbye to parliamentary work, he stood for the General Secretary position of the NDC and won overwhelming in the 2005 party elections.

    As the third General Secretary of the party, he led the party to win the 2008 and 2012 elections, giving the country presidents John Evans Atta Mills and John Dramani Mahama.

    There have been several achievements accorded to his credit, including the same glory his other contender, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo boasts of: giving Ghana its first hung parliament and first Speaker of Parliament from the opposition party.

    After serving as General Secretary of the NDC for 17 years, he had announced the hanging of those boots and the desire to continue to lead the party, but this time as the National Chairman.

    The pedigrees of both Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo and Johnson Asiedu Nketiah would play massive roles in the decisions of National Democratic Congress delegates when the party goes to the polls later this year.

     

  • Make galamsey fight part of bailout conditionalities – Odike ‘petitions’ IMF

    Founder of the United Peoples Party (UPP), Akwasi Addae Odike, has hinted that he will be petitioning Ghana’s international partners over illegal small-scale mining activities, popularly known as galamsey.

    He listed three institutions that the UPP will be petitioning to put pressure on the government to take more decisive steps in combatting the ever-growing scourge of galamsey.

    In an interview on Joy News channel, October 10, 2022; Odike stressed that from where he sat, the government was still not taking the galamsey fight seriously hence the need to employ external pressures.

    “We want to send a petition to United Nations, European Union and International Monetary Fund, IMF, we want this to be part of the conditions, the strings attached to the bailout. I am imploring the IMF to bring galamsey issues as part of the conditionalities to secure this bailout.

    “This will push the government harder, to take decisive decisions to mitigate this menace. United Nations Security Council too must come in, because now the effect of illegal mining is creating a health hazard,” he submitted.

    He also cited the issue of security submitting that people into galamsey “are possessing a lot of guns, apart from that, HIV/AIDS is on the ascendency at these mining areas,” he alleged insisting that he had evidence to back the claims.

    He is also worried about the fact that galamsey was gradually posing a health threat, especially to tubers that are grown in affected areas.

    “It is contaminating our food, the tubers. You are sitting in Accra here and unbeknownst to you, you buy a yam which has been contaminated with cyanide and you will have a kidney or some infection,” he added.

    Galamsey has become topical in recent months with the resurgence of news on its continued negative impact on the environment.

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at a recent meeting with the National House of Chiefs and selected Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, MMDCEs, restated his resolve to root out the canker.

    The issue has also been given impetus following the rearrest last month of a notorious galamsey kingpin in the person of Aisha Huang.

    The Chinese national who had as of 2018 been repatriated from Ghana after the state discontinued a criminal trial against her for galamsey, reentered the country on the blind side of the authorities.

     

  • Chairman Ofosu-Ampofo sets the records straight on Ayawaso by-election

    The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, has set the record straight on the NDCs decision to withdraw from the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency by-election in 2019.

    The decision by the NDC to withdraw from the by-election came after people believed to be National Security operatives allegedly caused harm to scores of voters who were at polling stations to exercise their franchise.

    In an interview with Citizen Kofi Owusu, the host of the Adekyee Mu Nsem Morning Show on Ahotor 92.3 FM, Mr. Ampofo said, “for the first time state security agencies with police cars, wearing police uniforms, with assault rifles were attacking ordinary civilians who are coming to vote.”

    While attempting to paint a picture of the gory scenes of the day, the NDC Chairman said, “people were injured and admitted to the hospital, people with broken legs. In the candidate’s house, it looked like a war zone with blood on the ground.”

    Narrating the series of engagements and incidents that followed the brutality that was meted on the voters, the National Chairman said both the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Asiedu Nketia, and former President John Dramani Mahama were widely consulted.

    “When we assessed the situation, we were like we should give ourselves time to see how things will go. There was a man who didn’t get the reason why he should leave his home to go and vote,” Mr Ampofo said.

    He said security experts were marshalled to assess the situation and advice on the way forward for the party.

    “I never just got up to say that we were pulling out completely,” he continued adding that the candidates also decided against going to their polling station to cast their ballot based on the security situation at the time.

    “President Mahama was busy, so I called him and explained everything to him. I consulted him, and he said that if that was going to save lives, we should take a decision,” Mr Ampofo said.

    “There was a major consultation before that decision was taken,” he added, further explaining that though the General Secretary of the party was out of the country at the time, Mr Asiedu Nketia was still consulted to advise on the necessary steps that ought to be taken.

    “I have never regretted my decision,” he stated categorically, arguing that “if people are saying I’m weak, then so be it, but it was not a weak decision because as a result of that decision, the whole world’s attention was brought to Ghana.

    Mr Ampofo claimed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was forced by the international community to take action. “They were forced to set up a commission of inquiry, and he didn’t use the report for anything. He quickly passed a law to outlaw vigilantism and other related offences, and it attracted world attention,” he said.

    Based on what the NDC has experienced in the past, the National Chairman said the party was “doing those things that are necessary to ensure that this does not occur in 2024.”

    “There are a number of urgent actions we are taking to ensure that the use of military and police brutalities on election day will be outlawed through our parliament and through laws, and through advocacy with other key international and national civil society organizations and diplomats,” maintained.

     

  • Dr. Michael K Obeng begins free reconstructive surgeries in Ho

    Barely three months after performing free reconstructive surgeries in Yaounde Cameroon, R.E.S.T.O.R.E. Worldwide Inc., the Foundation for Reconstructive Surgery led by renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Michael K. Obeng is currently in the Volta Regional Capital, Ho on a humanitarian mission.

    The team of selfless and dedicated health officials arrived in Ghana on October 8 and are expected to conduct some 120 free reconstructive surgeries within the one-week period.

    Screening of patients at the Ho Teaching Hospital began Sunday, October 9.

    The mission will be the team’s third medical mission this year after successful programs in Gambia and Cameroon early in the year.

    This will be the 15th year that the R.E.S.T.O.R.E. team has embarked on such a humanitarian mission. The team of selfless volunteers has visited and performed reconstructive surgeries in Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Senegal, and Vietnam.

    CEO of the Ho Teaching Hospital Dr. John Tampuori expressed gratitude for R.E.S.T.O.R.E.’s medical mission.

    He pledged his full commitment to the initiative and called on other Non-Governmental Organisations to emulate such humanitarian initiatives.

    R.E.S.T.O.R.E. at 15

    Dr. Michael K. Obeng recently announced that R.E.S.T.O.R.E. Worldwide Inc., The Foundation for Reconstructive Surgery reached its 15th anniversary this year.

    As founder and CEO, he looks back at those years with nostalgic fondness and is proud of the continuous expansion and growth, all made possible with the assistance of a strong donor base that helped RESTORE reach the milestone.

    Since its inception in 2007, R.E.S.T.O.R.E. and its dedicated group of admirable volunteers have completed missions in 11 different countries on three continents. The team has performed over 1,600 surgeries all free of charge, with a great humanitarian aim to change people’s lives, and was not afraid to tackle complex reconstruction cases.

    The monetary value of surgeries performed has exceeded well over $80 million USD. Moreover, a countless number of patients of all ages have indirectly benefited from the foundation’s work through non-surgical management and the education and training of local doctors.

    As R.E.S.T.O.R.E. races towards its 15th anniversary, Dr. Obeng states he is not only keen on replicating the same success, but also envisions reaching new horizons with a goal of raising $2.5 Million USD in a year to make even greater impact. He says it is no secret that there is strong demand and constant requests for R.E.S.T.O.R.E. missions in new regions and countries, all unfulfilled because of the heavy weight of logistical costs associated with providing medical and surgical supplies and transporting the team. While some donors provide value by donating time and volunteering, the non-profit needs donors to provide crucial financial support.

    This past June, R.E.S.T.O.R.E. completed a mission to Cameroon and has upcoming trips that include the Volta Region of Ghana in October and Senegal in December. If RESTORE reaches its fundraising goal, it can envision expansion to Central and South America, as well as Southeast Asia, and grow to become one of the leading non-profit, charity organizations across the globe.

    Dr. Obeng says that any support, great or small, helps RESTORE to get closer to its very special goal to change lives and give hope, function, and aesthetic form to those in need. He is deeply grateful for everyone’s generosity and hopes it will inspire others to make the same move, by supporting R.E.S.T.O.R.E.’s noble cause.

    Dr. Obeng says that any support, great or small, helps RESTORE to get closer to its very special goal to change lives and give hope, function, and aesthetic form to those in need.

    He expressed dee gratitude for everyone’s generosity and hopes it will inspire others to make the same move, by supporting R.E.S.T.O.R.E.’s noble cause.

    He made special mention of Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa , Member of Parliament for North Tongu, the management of Volta Serene Hotel in Ho, Ms. Penelope M. Jones-Mensah, lawyer and founder of the 40 Roses Foundation, Labadi Beach Hotel, Accra and Mr. Yaw Boakye, CEO of West One Ghana Limited for their support and generousity of spirit.

    On his part, Okudzeto Ablakwa expressed excitement that the R.E.S.T.O.R.E mission is in the Volta Region this year. He applauded Dr. Michael K. Obeng and the team of volunteers for their humanitarian assistance to the people of the Volta Region and urged them to continue touching lives with their incredible benevolence.

    About R.E.S.T.O.R.E. Worldwide Inc.; The Foundation for Reconstructive Surgery

    RESTORE is an acronym that stands for Restoring Emotional Stability Through Outstanding Reconstructive Efforts. It is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit medical service organization that provides free reconstructive surgery and related medical services to children and adults with disfiguring deformities from birth, accidents, and diseases involving not only the head and neck region, but also the trunk, breasts, extremities, and genitalia. It was founded in 2007 by Dr. Michael K. Obeng.

    As part of its mission, R.E.S.T.O.R.E. also educates and trains local medical professionals on the latest techniques and safety measures in plastic and reconstructive surgery, effecting change long after the R.E.S.T.O.R.E. team leaves these communities.

    About Dr. Michael K. Obeng

    Dr. Michael K. Obeng, popularly known as The Surgeon’s Surgeon is a Harvard-trained, board-certified plastic surgeon.

    In March this year, Dr. Obeng reached an agreement with Sushen Medicamentos PVT LTD. to build a $50 million WHO GMP-certified first-class pharmaceutical plant in Akwamu in the Eastern Region of Ghana to curtail the importation of fake drugs into the country.

    He also runs Global Health Solution, a consulting firm that is bridging the gap between “morbidity and healthy living” in developing countries.

    Dr. Obeng is among the rare few plastic surgeons in the world to successfully reattach a limb and remove ribs to streamline the waist. He specializes in cosmetic surgery and complex reconstruction, hence the nickname, “The Surgeon’s Surgeon” as dubbed by his colleagues.

    The Ghanaian-born surgeon gained global recognition in 2021 after successfully removing Gorilla Glue from the hair of “internet sensation” Tessica Brown by using bio-friendly chemicals he put together in less than 48 hrs.

    He is a father, an award-winning motivational speaker, a philanthropist, a humanitarian, and a global health strategist.

    Dr. Michael K. Obeng was named among “America’s Top Plastic Surgeons” by the Consumer Research Council of America in 2011 and 2014.

     

  • Debts owed local contractors creating unemployment – GhCCI

    The Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry (GhCCI) says the government’s inability to pay monies owed to local contractors is compounding the unemployment situation in the country.

    Speaking on the Morning Starr with Francis Abban the Chief Executive Officer for the Chamber, Mr. Emmanuel Cherry indicated that the government is collapsing the few jobs created in the system through the nonpayment of debts owed them.

    “The contractor has employed the services of artisan, suppliers and what have you. So just imagine how many employment just one contractor has generated. So if you deliberately decide to punish them by not paying him just imagine how many jobs have been lost.

    “Today most of our frontline contractors have laid off workers. I know a contractor who has over 900 full-time employees. He has laid off over 500 and he is still going through the list to lay off more. Already we are struggling with unemployment in the country,” Mr. Cherry stated.

    He continued: “Now with the contractor who has laid off 500 workers, he may not be able to pay tax for his workers. Which means the government has lost directly. You have lost a lot of revenue from there and the contractor’s withholding tax, service taxes that he is supposed to pay you will also not get it.”

    Mr. Cherry added that the local banks are also suffering because contractors are unable to pay their debts owed to these banks.

    “There are a lot of debt portfolios in their books. They are chasing contractors here, left right center. What kind of business is this, is this the kind of governance we elected our leaders for? Let’s change the status quo and look at national development with a national lens,” he stated.

  • Kasoa ritual murder: Don’t be influenced by money – Judge warns jurors

    The High Court in Accra presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo has admonished a seven-member jury panel selected to try the two boys standing trial for the ritual murder of a 10-year-old Ishmael Mensah Abdallah to stay away from the influence of money.

    According to the judge, as jurors, “you are the accredited representatives of the society,” and “You are expected to be present in court at all times to listen, to see and hear the witnesses that will be called by the prosecution in their quest to establish the guilt of the accused persons.”

    The court said the accused persons have both been charged with conspiracy to murder and murder for which reason if they are found guilty their punishment is to suffer death.

    The two ‘Kasoa boys’, a 15-year-old juvenile and an 18-year-old young offender have been held for the murder of Ishmael Mensah and are facing the charge of murder.

    In court on Monday, October 10, the jurors were empaneled after the pleas of the accused persons were taken on two charges of conspiracy and murder.

    Though the 15-year-old accused pleaded guilty to conspiracy, he denied the charge of murder.

    But, the law allows the court to enter a not-guilty plea for him and allow the case to be tried by the jury. For the 18-year-old young offender, he denied charges.

    Justice Marfo who was addressing the jurors after their empanelling urged them to do their work diligently without any external influence.

    “It is a duty that has been conferred on you by the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. The accused persons have both been charged with conspiracy to murder and murder for which reason if they are found guilty their punishment is to suffer death,” the court admonished the jurors.

    “The same Constitution places a duty on the court to have them tried by a seven-member jury. This is the reason why you have so carefully been selected. Note that, you are the accredited representatives of the society. You are expected to be present in court at all times to listen, to see, and hear the witnesses that will be called by the prosecution in their quest to establish the guilt of the accused persons.”

    She added: “You are supposed to arrive at a verdict which is unanimous and your verdict is binding on this court. In other words, if your decision is that of not guilty it has to be unanimous, and if your decision is that of guilty, it has to be unanimous.

    “You are not supposed to be influenced by anything you hear or see in relation to this matter on social media or society. You are only bound by the evidence that you hear or see in this courtroom.

    “You are expected to comport yourselves inside and outside of the courtroom diligently. You must not be influenced by money or any other consideration whatsoever. No discussion about the case in which you are involved outside of this courtroom.

    She said, “the court expects maximum cooperation from you as far as timing and dates are concerned. The court will not hesitate to apply the needed legal sanction to any recalcitrant juror.

    “You are going to be judges of the trial of fact in the case and anything legal is left to the court and you will be directed as and when the same comes up during the trial,” the court urged.

    The case has been adjourned to October 24 for prosecution and defense lawyers to address the jury.

  • Be impartial – Mahama to Judiciary; urges EC and media to be independent

    Former President John Dramani Mahama has called on the Judiciary to take keen interest in investigating criminal cases and delivering impartial justice.

    The former President, in a tweet on Sunday, was not excited about the execution of works by some institutions while asking them to do better.

    “A judiciary owes it a duty to deliver impartial justice to the people; an Ombudsman owes a duty of care to the people to investigate all issues of malfeasance; a police force should exist to serve the people and not rein terror on them.”

    In the same tweet, he added that the Electoral Commission (EC) must also take responsibility to include citizens in the electoral processes and desist from satisfying the interest of the incumbent government.

    “An electoral commission owes a sacred duty of care to the people by ensuring they are included in the electoral process & not excluded in the interest of the incumbent administration; an independent media owes it to the people to not only report facts without bias, but to hold the government of the day accountable.”

    In Africa, we need ethical and moral uprightness as guiding principles, and a stoic fidelity to the truth and to do right by our people above all other considerations. pic.twitter.com/SITGKSatSw

    — John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) October 9, 2022

    Absolute accountability, not just by government but by the institutions of state in service to the people and not themselves, will go a long way to remedy many of the systemic problems that affect our African people. pic.twitter.com/AbtNHvO2TH

    — John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) October 9, 2022

    A judiciary owes it a duty to deliver impartial justice to the people; an Ombudsman owes a duty of care to the people to investigate all issues of malfeasance; a police force should exist to serve the people and not rein terror on them; an electoral commission owes …
    1/2 pic.twitter.com/PIWJYsZ1tS

    — John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) October 8, 2022

    Absolute accountability, not just by government but by the institutions of state in service to the people and not themselves, will go a long way to remedy many of the systemic problems that affect our African people. pic.twitter.com/AbtNHvO2TH

    — John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) October 9, 2022

     

  • Ghost names: Prosecute those in charge of payrolls – Vitus Azeem

    Anti-corruption campaigner, Vitus Azeem, has urged the government to prosecute those responsible for payrolls that have ghost names on them.

    His comments come following the suspension of the salaries of some public workers.

    On October 3, 2022, a letter by the Controller and Accountant General indicated that the September salaries of some public sector workers had been suspended.

    “As a result of the quality assurance and other validation processes undertaken by the Controller and Accountant General Department, there has been the need to suspend the payment of September 2022 salaries to some employees whose bank names are mismatched on the GOG payroll system whiles others had invalid bank account numbers on the system,” the letter stated.

    The Controller and Accountant General noted, “For employees whose bank names are mismatched, kindly arrange for the employee to report to the payroll coordination unit of the GAGD at block ‘A’ room 32 with the under-listed documents under a cover letter from the MDA confirming they are at post.”

    Employees with invalid bank account numbers were urged to submit their correct bank account numbers to the PPSs for an update.

    Speaking on Atinka TV’s morning show, Ghana Nie with Ekourba Gyasi Simpremu, Mr. Vitus Azeem questioned what the Controller and Accountant General was doing about the ghost names and those who were in charge of the payrolls.

    “You don’t have to come out and say that you have removed 500 ghost names from the payroll, what have you done to the people who have put those names on the payroll, what have you done to the people who are the ghosts that have been claiming those monies?” he quizzed.

    Mr. Vitus Azeem continued, “If somebody legally puts a name on the payroll, it must be a Controller and Accountant General staff. There are sanctions, they should be punished, suspended, sacked, or even prosecuted for putting those names that are not supposed to be there. And then those whose names are there, and they are not supposed to be there, maybe for no fault of theirs, at least efforts should be made to recover the monies from them. That is where you say that they are working, but for several years now, anytime you will come out to say that you have identified 500 ghost names on the payroll, what have you done to the people, have you recovered the monies? How about somebody responsible for the payroll? How did the names get onto the payroll?”

  • I am Evangelist Doctor – Agradaa corrects prosecutor in court

    Drama ensued during proceedings in an Accra Circuit Court on Monday, October 10, 2022, when the founder and leader of Heavenway Champion International Ministries was brought before the court.

    Evangelist Patricia Oduro Koranteng was put before the court on charges of defrauding by false pretence and charlatanic advertisement in the media.

    According to Angel FM’s court correspondent, Ama Brako Ampofo, the suspect took exception when the prosecutor mentioned her name while reading out her charges in court.

    “When she was brought in, her name was mentioned as Patricia Oduro but when she entered the box, she objected that she is not Patricia Oduro Asiedu but her name is Reverend Doctor Patricia Oduro,” the correspondent narrated.

    Charged on counts, Agradaa is said to have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

    The court which denied her bail has scheduled her reappearance for Thursday, October 13, 2022.

  • Vivo Energy Ghana launches 2022 ‘Stop, Think & Drive’ road safety campaign

    Energy retailing giant, Vivo Energy Ghana, in collaboration with the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), has launched a road safety campaign dubbed, “Stop, Think & Drive”.

    The campaign aims to improve road safety consciousness among commercial drivers and motorcyclists to help ensure the reduction of road accidents involving public transport vehicles.

    As part of the campaign, Vivo organized training sessions for the drivers on best practices in driving and first aid among others.

    Speaking to commercial drivers at the launch of the campaign in Accra, on Thursday, the HSSE Manager of Vivo Energy, Joseph Kankam, said that the campaign will abreast drivers with the needed knowledge they will need to ensure that they continue to drive safely.

    He added that Vivo will be sharing the best practices its drivers have been using to transport their products with the commercial drivers.

    “Because we transport our product on the same road as you (commercial divers). We want to collaborate with you so that today together with the National Road Safety Commission, the DVLA and other partners, we can resolve the major challenge on our roads which is road accidents and its related deaths and injuries.

    “This campaign will enjoin on us the need to drive safely so that we can avoid needless deaths and injuries on our roads,” he said in Twi.

    As part of the programme, the drivers were also taken through an eye screen exercise.

  • Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death worldwide – Clinical Psychologist

    A clinical Psychologist at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Isaac Newman Arthur says suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in the world, especially among 15 to 29-year-olds, with the majority occurring in low and middle-income countries.

    According to him, about 1,500 suicide cases are reported annually.

    Dr. Arthur stated that death by suicide among men are dominant than in women, stressing that many men who go through depression and traumatizing situations do not try to seek help. He said several, rather choose to commit suicide to salvage the situation rather than opening up and seeking support.

    Dr. Arthur who was speaking on the GTV Breakfast Show during the celebration of World Mental Health day encouraged people to be each other’s keepers.

    He emphasized that among all professions in Ghana, health practitioners stand a higher risk of suicide due to overly stressed work and addictive behavior regarding clinical-related issues coupled with their personal problems.

  • NPP people are the problem in the fight against galamsey – Titus Glover

    Former Member of Parliament for Tema East, Titus Nii Kwartei Glover, has blamed elements within the ruling New Patriotic Party for the government’s failure to defeat illegal mining.

    According to the former MP, while some members of the party are embroiled in the galamsey menace, those appointed at the local level to fight the menace have failed to discharge their mandate.

    “The difficulty is our own people in there. My own NPP people. Do you think I am afraid to talk about it? It is my own NPP people who are making the fight against galamsey difficult. It is a fact. The law says don’t mine on our river bodies.

    “If the soldiers are sent in to drive away the galamseyers and they leave, the District Security Council led by the MCE what do they do? The Regional Security Council is also responsible for security at that level what do they do? So every time soldiers have to be moved from Accra to these areas to fight the menace? That is not good,” he said on Adom TV’s morning programme.

    Rampant illegal mining activities have resulted in the degradation of several forest covers and the pollution of various water bodies.

    This has resulted in a renewed public discussion on illegal mining activities.

    Various calls have been made for the government to take drastic steps to curb the menace.

    Last week, President Akufo-Addo met with members of the National House of Chiefs and MMDCEs in galamsey areas.

    The meeting by the president was to fashion out some solutions to the galamsey issues.