The Greater Accra Regional Minster, Henry Quartey, has issued a stern warning against individuals engaged in the sale of government land, especially at the Ramsar site.
According to him, the Regional Security Council will deal with individuals engaged in the lawless act of selling government’s land.
“I caution those engaged in selling government lands and deploying land guards to desist from it, as the Regional Security Council will deal swiftly with any acts of lawlessness from such groups”, citinewsroom quoted the Minister.
He added occupants of the Ramsar sites will also be removed especially those who have structures on the waterway.
“I am being told by some people; I will not be going after [those occupying Ramsar sites]. Tell them, I am coming. Very soon, we will beat the Ramsar sites and if we find that, a church is sitting on a waterway, mark my words, we will pull it down,” he added.
Henry Quartey in June this year, led some members of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) to demolish illegal structures at Frafraha in Accra.
The exercise was part of efforts by the Minister to reclaim some encroached acres of fenced land belonging to the State under the care of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
At the announcement of Kwasi Kwarteng as the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom (Minister of Finance), many celebrated him because true to their predictions, he was handed over the job.
For many others, including Ghanaians across the world, it was another feather in the cup of its people breaking barriers in other parts of the globe.
And while the job of the Chancellor of the Exchequer is not expected to be any easier on the British-born Ghanaian, many did not quite anticipate that so early into his reign, there would be some major, negative happenings.
Kwasi Kwarteng under fire for smiling during Queen’s funeral
On Monday, September 19, 2022, people from all walks of life attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at the Westminster Abbey in London.
Per GhanaWeb’s checks, four Ghanaians were formally invited to the event for different reasons. Ghana’s First Couple were in London for the event as were two other personalities with Ghanaian parentage who are British.
Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah, a one-time equerry of the Queen was in attendance, escorting the cortege on its last journey from the Westminster Abbey to the Royal Vault. The fourth Ghanaian was Kwasi Kwarteng.
Kwarteng, who is British-born but of Ghanaian ancestry, and the current UK Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister), was also in attendance.
He, however, courted controversy on social media after he was captured in a viral video smiling at a point during the ceremony – specifically when a two-minute silence had been declared for the memory of the queen.
Angry social media users – especially on Twitter – called for his head for desecrating what was a solemn occasion for the nation.
Others also alleged that Kwarteng was smiling at himself because he was most likely picking a personal call and had been told something that gave him cause to smile at a rather off time.
Kwarteng, as a senior member of Prime Minister Liz Truss’ government, had a prominent seat at the venue of the service.
When Kwasi Kwarteng delivers his mini budget on Friday all opposition MP’s should coke up, wipe their brows, sway uncontrollably, and laugh like the laughing policeman. pic.twitter.com/mxPRaQ3aNG
British MP suspended for calling Kwasi Kwarteng ‘superficially’ black
In the most recent instance, a British Member of Parliament (MP) from the Labour Party, Rupa Huq, has been suspended by her party for alleged racist comments she made against British-born Ghanaian MP, Kwasi Kwarteng.
According to news.sky.com, the party suspended Rupa Huq for describing Kwasi Kwarteng as a “superficially” black man, pending investigations.
The report indicated that the suspended MP made racist comments against the chancellor in an audio recording posted online by the Guido Fawkes website.
“Superficially he is a black man. He went to Eton, I think, he went to a very expensive prep school, all the way through, the top schools in the country.
“If you hear him on the Today programme, you wouldn’t know he is black,” Rupa Huq was quoted to have said by news.sky.com.
The Labour Party condemned the remarks by the MP and urged her to apologise.
Rupa Huq in a post on social media indicated that she had contacted the UK finance minister to apologise to him in person for the comments she made.
“I have today contacted Kwasi Kwarteng to offer my sincere and heartfelt apologies for the comments I made at yesterday’s Labour conference fringe meeting.
“My comments were ill-judged and I wholeheartedly apologise to anyone affected,” the post she shared read.
Background on Kwesi Kwarteng:
Kwasi Kwarteng became the first black person to become UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister) following his appointment by UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss, on September 6, 2022.
Kwarteng was born Akwasi Addo Alfred Kwarteng in Waltham Forest, East London, in May 1975 to Ghanaian parents, Alfred and Charlotte, who had both immigrated to the United Kingdom a decade earlier as students.
His parents, who went on to become an international economist and a barrister respectively, sent him to an expensive private prep school that produced numerous Cabinet-level politicians. He then attended the famous Eton college — a production line for British leaders including Boris Johnson and David Cameron.
The former Tema East Member of Parliament, Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus Glover, has berated the Medical and Dental Council of Ghana for its decision not to recognise degree certificates of Ghanaian doctors trained in Ukraine.
According to him, the decision of the council is not only unfair but also illogical because the nation badly needs the services of doctors.
The council said that it will no longer recognise degree certificates issued by Medical and Dental Schools from Ukraine, as some schools have resorted to studying online.
According to citinewsroom.com, the council said that the training of these students online is not in accordance with the required process and will not be accepted as it threatens the quality and credence of the profession.
“Training to be a doctor must be in accordance with established strategies. Will potential patients be happy to be treated by a doctor who was trained online? We have to take our public interest responsibility seriously. The point is what is the kind of training that is acceptable in the world? If it is not standard, then, I am afraid, this regulator will not give any stamp of approval,” citinewsroom.com quoted the Council’s Registrar, Dr. Divine Ndonbi Banyubala.
He, therefore, urged students to take advantage of the government’s intervention to continue their training in Ghana rather than taking online lessons.
But speaking in a Multimedia interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Titus Glover, who is also a former deputy minister of transport, intimated that there is nothing wrong with students studying online given the advancement in technology.
He added that the students not being able to complete their education through in-person tutoring was no fault of theirs.
“Parents paid money for their wards to have some education in Ukraine and because of the Russian invasion, they had to come back home.
“During the COVID-19 era were the universities not running online programmes? The online courses are still going on in the country.
“We plead with the Medical and Dental Council to reverse their decision. Lawyers who train abroad are given the chance to take the professional exam when they come back home. Why are we not giving the doctors from Ukraine the chance to write the medical examination because we need more doctors? For them to tell them that we don’t recognise doctors from Ukraine is unfair,” he said in Twi.
Ex-District Chief Executive for Atwima Nwabiagya, Nana Asare Bediako, has alleged that the Electoral Commission’s insistence on using only the Ghana Card for a limited registration exercise it wants to hold for the 2024 Elections, forms part of a ploy to disenfranchise members of opposition parties.
According to him, because the government had foreknowledge of what it was going to do, it intentionally made the National Identification Authority (NIA) spend more time in New Patriotic Party strongholds to issue more Ghana Cards to its members.
Asare Bediako, who made these remarks in a Hello FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, on Tuesday, added that if the proposal of the EC to use only the Ghana Card for voters’ registration stands a lot of National Democratic Congress members will be disenfranchised.
“We know that the Ashanti Region and the Eastern Region are the strongholds of the NPP. If you would recall during the mass Ghana Card registration exercise, the NIA spent more time in these two regions. They were there for several days after the deadline for registration in these regions had passed.
“We complained bitterly about it but they did not listen, not knowing that they had an agenda. Even in the Eastern Region, the registration in the Akan-dominated areas continued for serval weeks after the deadline,” he said in Twi.
He, however, urged the EC to resend its decision because it will have a negative impact on Ghana’s democratic tenets.
The EC has stated that the guarantor system will no longer be used for the registration of voters in Ghana because it has a lot of issues that affect the quality of the electoral register, citinewsroom.com reports.
Deputy Chairman of the commission in charge of operations, Samuel Tettey, who disclosed this, said that his outfit would only be using the Ghana Card for the next voters’ registration.
He added that no Ghanaian would be disenfranchised because persons who do not have the voter’s card can go to the district offices of the commission to get registered anytime they get the Ghana Card.
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has welcomed the decision of the Electoral Commission of Ghana to abolish the guarantor system and the use of only the Ghana Card for the upcoming continuous voters’ registration for the 2024 election.
The current state of an 85-year-old man who served as a bodyguard to Ghana’s first president is sadly one that speaks of neglect by the state he served.
Christian Blukoo was a bodyguard of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah but now in his retirement, the old man who is now visually impaired is finding life difficult.
Amidst the current economic hardship, Mr Blekuu lives on a meagre GHC47 monthly pension allowance despite his history of dedication and service to the state and the first president of the land.
More sadly, the 85-year-old visually impaired old man who resides at Mafi-Adidome in the Volta Region’s Central Tongu District, does not receive the ¢47 monthly pension allowance on time.
“Because the money is small, I go to the bank every three months. Even that does not come regularly,” he lamented in Joy Prime documentary dubbed ‘The Last Guard.’
He indicates that various attempts aimed at getting the government to effect an upward adjustment to his pension allowance have proved futile.
The efforts include an appeal letter written on his behalf by the Ghana Government Pensioners Association in 2014 to the Controller and Accountant General.
Further attempts to alleviate Mr Blukoo’s plight by seeking support from the government’s Disability Fund which was introduced to empower persons living with disabilities have also failed.
“Up to now…Ghana! They took my pictures and particulars but I haven’t gotten anything. They said they will send it to my phone but up to now [nothing has come]. So, I don’t want anybody to suffer for me,” the pensioner shared his frustration in seeking support from the Fund.
Despite his predicament and disappointment over his neglect by the state, Mr Blukoo finds a bit of comfort in listening to his three radio sets, and is hopeful of living to celebrate his 100th birthday.
A former bodyguard of Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, has recalled the days when he would accompany his boss to the beach in the dead of the night.
During those outings, Christian Blukoo said the former president would engage in some spiritual acts.
Always preoccupied with how to keep the president safe, the former bodyguard explained that he and other reliable guards at the Christiansborg Castle (Osu Castle) – the seat of government at the time- would be dutied to follow him.
“After I was successful, I was sent to Castle and then they confirmed me as a bodyguard to Nkrumah, and then they put me in protection because Nkrumah at times went out at night. When he was going, those who were smart at the Castle had to follow him because bodyguards will not be in the house at night,” he said.
Christian Blukoo explained further in an interview with JoyNews that although he could never speak about these things in the past due to the oath of secrecy, he feels safer now to talk about them. He described how on some of those days, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah would spend time on the beach behind the Independence Square, praying and engaging in other spiritual activities.
“They used it call it secrecy but now, I’m free to speak. At times, he used to go to the seaside at the Black Star Square to consult the spiritual (sic) and like we do here by praying, he also used to do that: he’ll go to the seaside and pray. There were certain other things that he would do,” he narrated.
The former bodyguard of the president also shared some deep details of some of the security operations he and others undertook for Kwame Nkrumah.
A young man based in Ashaiman, Wisdom, has stated that the government of Ghana must provide jobs for the youths of Ashaiman, otherwise, the government must legalise the sale of weeds.
According to Wisdom, he has been jobless for a long while and depended on weed to cater for himself and his family.
Speaking on Ghetto Life Story on SVTV Africa, Wisdom revealed that he has been arrested severally for selling weed and remanded to two years in prison. He noted that the authorities sometimes arrest them without reason because they “know this area is a ghetto.”
“I started selling because my family had nothing, and my work collapsed after my boss travelled. So I decided to get into that business to support my family.
There are no jobs here, and we must ask the government why there are no jobs here. Imagine you have no food to eat in the morning, won’t you find ways to get money? I’ve done a lot of bad things.”
Moreover, Wisdom pleaded with the government to provide jobs for the youths here because “companies do not even employ us when we mention Ashaiman. If they allow us to sell the weed, there will be no criminals.”
Wisdom shared some of the effects weed has had on his life. According to him, he smokes for the calming effects because he is quick-tempered.
“Cocaine is not good, but the youths mix it with weed these days. For me, I don’t do cocaine, but weed makes me think well,” Wisdom told DJ Nyaami.
Four passengers including a pregnant woman have died in a gory accident at Kronum in the Suame Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
The victims, a pregnant woman, her husband, and her two children reportedly died on Tuesday, September 26, 2022, when a sprinter bus with registration number AS 8293-21 crashed into a Techiman bound Ssangyong bus with registration number AS 9700-22 At Kronum New York Junction.
The impact according to witnesses caused the sprinter bus to sit on the roof of Ssangyong’s vehicle, killing the pregnant woman and her two children on the spot.
Her husband was however pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital
Some residents who eye witnessed the unfortunate incident told OTEC News that, the driver of the sprinter bus suffered severe injuries and is currently receiving treatment at the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
The identities of the victims who died remain sketchy.
The four were said to have boarded the Ssangyong bus from Kumasi to Techiman.
When contacted the Ashanti Regional Police Command said they were not aware of any such accident.
The Public Relations officer for police in the region, ASP Godwin Ahianyo said they had not received any report of the accident and so could not speak to it.
This was after Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) at the Saume Divisional Headquarters who were reported to have gone to the scene denied giving information on the accident to OTEC News with an excuse that only the regional police command has the information.
Labour Analyst, Austin Gammey says the Akufo-Addo administration will suffer should it accept to increase the salary of public sector workers by 20 percent.
Workers in the public sector want a 20 percent salary increment in replacement of the 15 percent Cost of Living Allowance agreed by the government which will end in December 2022.
According to the workers, the skyrocketing level of inflation in the country is a huge blow to them hence their current demand.
However, speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, Mr. Gammey stated that there is a possibility that the government will resist the demand from the workers.
“The obvious thing for anybody to do is to pay based on productivity but in Ghana, we don’t pay based on productivity. So once we are paying people based on inflation and political consideration this is what they will demand,” the analyst stated.
He said paying workers based on inflation has some dire consequences on the government’s purse due to the huge numbers of public sector workers.
“I don’t think that if you speak directly to the IMF for this to be part of the approval of our budget for the year 2023, they will never accept that if the government itself as an employer cannot afford to accept that. Because you want 20 percent and if inflation is about 32 percent and we have to suffer a 12 percent shortfall in our income then they are bearing with you. This is not based on productivity,” Mr. Gammey explained.
The Labour analyst further said if there is a disagreement on the demand by the workers then both sides will end up at the National Labour Commission for the issue to be addressed.
“Because the government as an employer cannot afford to pay 20 percent increase on the base pay, it will be suicidal and so they will not be able to do it and they can’t do it. It will be extremely sad and surprising if they are able to do it because the consequences are very obvious,” he added.
A 55-year-old Kenkey Seller is in critical condition after an overspeeding driver crushed her at Mankessim in the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region.
An eye witness, Derick Barnes, a teacher, narrating how the incident happened in an interview with Kasapa News Yaw Boagyan said the victim was crossing the road at a time when several vehicles had stopped for school pupils to cross the road and from nowhere, the speeding vehicle overtook all the stationary vehicles and crushed her in the middle of the road.
The victim was rushed to the Mankessim Roman Catholic Hospital but transferred to Kolerbu Teaching due to the severity of her injury.
The Assemblyman for the Nkusukum Electoral Area, Mohammed Ekow Arthur attributed the frequent knocking down of pedestrians, notably school children to the lack of speed ramps on the road.
According to him, all attempts to get speed ramps erected on the road after several demonstrations and also petitioning the Mfantseman Municipal Assembly and the Ministry of Highways have proved futile.
Mohammed Ekow Arthur appealed to the Mfantseman Chief Executive Officer, Hon. Ike Lord Enu, the Member of Parliament for Mfantseman Hon. Ophelia Mensah Heyford, the Ministry of Roads and Highways to assist them to get speed ramps to curb the rampant knockdowns.
The National Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Stephen Ntim has commissioned the party’s Regional Directors of Communications to lead their respective regions in propagating the good works of the government.
According to him, the Regional Directors of Communications have a crucial role to play in ensuring that the NPP “breaks the eight” in the upcoming 2024 general election which promises to be keenly contested.
He was speaking at a meeting with all the Regional Directors of Communications of the party at an event held on Tuesday in Accra.
Present at the meeting were the National Director of Communications, his deputies, and the party’s Director of Finance and Administration.
At least 76 protesters have been killed by Iranian security forces during 11 days of unrest sparked by the death of a woman in custody, activists say.
Iran Human Rights (IHR), a Norway-based organisation, accused authorities of using disproportionate force and live ammunition to suppress the dissent.
State media have put the number of dead at 41, including several security personnel, and blamed “rioters”. Hundreds of people have also been arrested, 20 of them journalists. “The risk of torture and ill-treatment of protesters is serious and the use of live ammunition against protesters is an international crime,” said.
IHR’s director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. “The world must defend the Iranian people’s demands for their fundamental rights.” The UN human rights office also said it was very concerned by the authorities’ violent response and urged them to respect the right to protest peacefully.
How Mahsa Amini became a symbol of defiance in Iran The anti-government demonstrations have spread to more than 80 cities and towns across Iran since the funeral of Mahsa Amini on 17 September.
The 22-year-old Kurdish woman from the north-western city of Saqez had been visiting the capital, Tehran, on 13 September when she was arrested by morality police officers for allegedly violating the strict law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf.
She collapsed after being taken to a detention centre to be “educated” and died in hospital following three days in a coma. The police said Ms Amini died after suffering sudden heart failure, but her family have dismissed that and
alleged that she was beaten by officers.
Iranian morality officer: Why we tell women what to wear the protests against the morality police and hijab law triggered by her death quickly evolved into the most serious challenge that Iran’s Shia Muslim clerical establishment has faced in years.
Videos posted on social media have shown women defiantly burning their headscarves on bonfires and cutting their hair in public to cheers and chants of “Women, life, freedom” and “Death to the dictator” – a reference to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
On Monday, protests were reported in Tehran and a number of other cities, including Yazd, in the centre of the country, and
Tabriz and Sanandaj, in the north- west. Students and teachers at more than 20 universities also staged a strike and walked out of their classrooms.
1px transparent line Iran Human Rights said it had recorded the deaths of 76 protesters across 14 provinces as of Monday, including six women and four children, although it warned that restrictions on the internet were causing delays in reporting.
Thirty-five of the deaths were reported in Mazandaran and Gilan provinces, north of Tehran, and 24 in the Kurdish-populated, north-western provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kermanshah, Kurdistan and Ilam, it added.
IHR said that videos and death certificates it had obtained confirmed that live ammunition was being fired directly by security forces at protesters – something Iranian authorities have denied.
Iranian officials have also announced the arrests of more than 1,200 people. The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists demanded the release of at least 20 reporters and bloggers who had been detained, as well as human rights defenders, lawyers and civil society activists.
“Iranian security forces must drop their repressive measures against the journalists telling this critical story and restore the internet access that is vital to keep the public informed,” the CPJ said.
The BBC’s Kasra Naji says there are reports that the unrest has stretched the security forces to the limit, with the head of the judiciary seen in one video saying that riot police had been deployed “24 hours a day” and that “they did not sleep last night and the nights before”.
There are also claims of serious doubts among security personnel about engaging with the protesters, our correspondent adds.
The commander of the riot police in the capital was filmed telling his men not to hesitate and to fight the protesters, just as Iranians fought invading Iraqi forces in the 1980s.
President Ebrahim Raisi has meanwhile spoken of the need
to “take decisive action against opponents of the security and peace of the country”.
Japan bid farewell to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in an elaborate state funeral Tuesday, despite public opposition to the cost of the event as the
country grapples with their late leader’s legacy.
Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, was shot dead during a campaign speech in Nara in July, stunning a nation where gun violence is extremely rare.
More than 4,300 guests attended the service at the Nippon Budokan Arena in Tokyo, including foreign dignitaries such as US Vice President Kamala Harris, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Abe’s ashes were carried into the venue, where the government played a video tribute honoring his life and career. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida then delivered a memorial address, praising Abe’s “courage” and dedication.
Other government figures including former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga – who was Abe’s right hand man for many years – also gave remarks, before attendees laid flower offerings and bowed in turn.
Other ceremonial rites on the program include an honor guard, gun salute, and musical performances, before a government reception for visiting foreign dignitaries.
Police ramped up security for the event, with public broadcaster NHK reporting that about 20,000 police officers were deployed to keep the peace. But altercations broke out anyway between police and demonstrators outside the funeral venue.
Divisions over legacy
On Tuesday morning, crowds of people lined up outside designated memorial sites to leave flowers and pay their final respects to Abe, who dominated Japanese politics for a generation. But as they mourned, thousands of others took to the streets in anti-funeral protests across Tokyo, illustrating a deep public divide over the occasion, Japan’s first state funeral for a Japanese leader since 1967.
Some crowds chanted slogans as they marched near the funeral venue, waving banners that urged a stop to the proceedings. Protest leaders rallied the crowd through loudspeakers, and a van rolled past with music blasting from a boom box.
The protests grew tense at times, with several loud confrontations and scuffles between demonstrators and police. Abe’s death sent shock waves
through Japan and the international community, with thousands of mourners gathering in Tokyo in July as his private funeral took place.
But in the months since his assassination, the outpouring of grief has given way to a growing discontent. Abe’s state funeral comes as the country grapples with rising inflation and anger stemming from revelations that half of Japan’s ruling party members had ties with the controversial Unification Church, which has faced backlash over fundraising practises.
Some critics have also pointed to Abe’s more unpopular policies while in office as a reason for the shift in mood, and questioned why so much taxpayer money is going to the state funeral – which will cost some $12 million (1.66 billion yen) – at a time of acute economic strain.
“It was a tragedy that Abe was gunned down and lost his life, but we shouldn’t make him a hero out of this tragedy,” one protester, Shinsaku Nohira, told CNN at a recent anti-state funeral demonstration outside Japan’s parliament.
“At least half of Japan’s population is against this state funeral, so I don’t want the government’s messaging to get out there, I want people out there to know that there are citizens in Japan who are opposing this event.”
An opinion poll by NHK earlier in September showed that 57% of respondents opposed the state funeral, compared to 32% who
supported it – and the rest said they didn’t know, or declined to answer.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has tried to appease the public, saying a state funeral for Abe was “fitting” given his achievements as former
leader. The ceremony is not meant to “force people to mourn” or to become a “political issue,” he said in August. Abe’s tenure and assassination
Abe held office for two separate terms, during which he transformed Japan’s security posture, raising questions over the country’s status as a pacifist
nation, and passed a major security legislation in 2015 that expanded what Japan could do militarily to support the US.
He also was a prominent figure on the world stage, cultivating strong ties with Washington and seeking better relations with Beijing – while also trying to counter Chinese expansion in the region by uniting Pacific allies. One of his final successes in office was securing the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – though the Covid-19 pandemic forced the competition to be postponed to 2021.
After stepping down in 2020, citing health reasons, Abe remained active in politics, often campaigning for his party – which is what he was doing at the time of
his assassination.
NHK reported in July that thesuspected shooter, Tetsuya Yamagami, had targeted the former Prime Minister because he believed Abe’s grandfather –
another former Japanese leader– had helped the expansion of a religious group he held a grudge against.
CNN has not been able to independently confirm what group Yamagami was referring to, or links between Abe and any group the suspect harbored
hatred towards.
Controversial church under the microscope after assassination
But the assassination saw a backlash against the Unification
Church, which said Yamagami’s mother had been a member who attended church events, though Yamagami himself was never a
member. It also said that the church had received a message of support from Abe at an event it organized,
but that the former prime minister was not a registered church member, nor did he sit on its advisory board.
The Ministry of Finance has confirmed that its officials and that of the Bank of Ghana have commenced a comprehensive debt sustainability analysis with the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3 billion support programme.
A statement from the ministry said: “the Government of Ghana is putting together a comprehensive post-Covid-19 economic programme, which will form the basis for the IMF negotiations.”
“The programme seeks to establish a macro-fiscal path that ensures debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability, underpinned by key structural reforms and social protection.”
The ministry added that it is “optimistic about making progress in our discussions.” “Government remains
committed, and shall continue to actively engage all stakeholders, both public and private, in a clear and transparent manner as we seek to fast-track this process.”
An IMF team is in Ghana until October 7 to continue discussions with the government on policies and reforms that could be supported by a lending arrangement. The meeting with the IMF comes amid concerns that Ghana is about to start talks with domestic bondholders on a restructuring of its local-
currency debt.
Reports indicate that major local investors, including local banks and pension funds, are preparing to engage in discussion on debt
reorganization. This could entail the extension of maturities and haircuts on principal and interest payments.
Ghana’s debt-service costs in the first half amounted to GH¢20.5 billion, equivalent to 68 percent of tax revenue.
A report by the Bank of Ghana has revealed that Ghana’s pension industry has not been negatively impacted by the economic challenges facing the country.
The latest Financial Stability Review by the central bank shows that private pension fund assets rose from GH¢28 billion in 2021 during the fourth quarter to
GH¢31.4 billion by the end of June 2022. Pension funds’ assets are assets bought with contributions to a pension plan for the exclusive purpose of financing pension plan benefits.
The report attributed the success to the “increased contribution mobilization through effective prosecution of defaulters and favourable investment
outcomes.” However, the Bank of Ghana says “preserving the value of private pension funds and achieving a positive real rate of return on the investment of contributors’ funds, given the upsurge in the inflation rate, is becoming increasingly difficult.”
The country’s inflation has been on a consistent rise since May (27.6%). In June, the inflation rate stood at 29.8%, increasing by 1.9% to 31.7% in July. It has so far risen to 33.9% as of August. Still on the downside of matters, assets available for benefits of the SSNIT-managed Basic National Social Security Scheme (BNSSS)
dropped marginally by 2.3% to GH¢11.28 billion in March 2022.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, the assets available for benefits were worth GH¢11.54 billion. “The benefits paid under the BNSSS continued to outstrip
contributions received. The scheme also continued to post a negative real rate of return, recording -12.6 per cent at the end of the first quarter of 2022,”
the central bank also noted in its report.
The central bank, headed by Dr Ernest Addison, is optimistic about an improvement, which is dependent on public indebtedness being redeemed. Also, “it is expected that macroeconomic conditions will improve in the 2nd half of the year to enable the private pensions industry to achieve a positive real rate of return on investments of pension assets.”
Meanwhile, the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) as intensified its outreach to the informal sector to improve pension coverage.
Outlook of pension funds in 2021 Total pension funds of the Three-Tier Pensions Scheme, which is fully-funded and privately managed, increased to GH¢39.6
billion at the end of December 2021.
There has been an increase of 18% in pension funds (savings accumulated during the working life of an employee) as 2020s figure stood at GH¢33.5 billion. However, last year’s percentage increase was less compared to the growth witnessed from 2019 to 2020; 27 percent. According to the central bank’s
report based on figures provided by the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), the decreased growth rate can be attributed to “the ongoing lump sum payments under the private pension schemes and the marginal growth of the Basic National Social Security Scheme (BNSSS).”
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust, a statutory public trust, is charged under the National Pensions Act, 2008 Act 766 with the administration
of Ghana’s Basic National Social Security Scheme. SSNIT’s mandate is to cater for the First Tier of the Three-Tier Pension Scheme.
Private pension funds, on the other hand, continued on a positive growth track in 2021, as it recorded GH¢28.02 billion from the GHc22.02 billion computed in 2020. “The sustained growth in private pension funds could be linked to better returns on investments and also the prosecution of defaulting Tier 2 employers, which increased contribution inflows,” the central bank explained.
Tier 2 is a mandatory, fully- funded and privately managed occupational scheme. As part of its mandate, the
NPRA prosecuted all employers who defaulted on their Tier 2 contributions in 2021. A total of 10 employers who defaulted in paying their Tier 2 contributions
were prosecuted. In carrying out its mandate, the authority retrieved a total amount of GH¢7.8 million, the central bank added.
Residents of Wuru, a community in the Sissala East Municipality of the Upper West Region, have reportedly avoided using the Ghana cedi as a legal tender for trading following its continuous depreciation.
The Wuru residents have resorted to using the West African CFA franc, which is used by a number of West African countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, and Togo in their trade with people from neighbouring countries. Upper West Region: Wuru community residents refuse to trade in Ghana cedis prefer CFA
“People come here to tell us that it is illegal for us to spend the CFA other than the cedis. We also tell them it is not our fault because the only way for us to survive is to accept the CFA since all the goods come from Burkina-Faso,”he said.
The area’s head, Wurupio Mahama Bataachia Dawuri IV, who spoke to the media, argued that residents’ decision to not trade in the Ghana cedi is not far-fetched as they are yet to see a major development in the area by the government.
According to him, members of the town no longer regard themselves
as Ghanaians and, therefore, are on the lookout for themselves. ”We think of ourselves as being in a neutral zone. Nobody cares about us, so we don’t know if we
belong to Ghana or Burkina Faso,”he said.
The lack of good roads is one of the major challenges facing the community, with a population of over 3,000 that engage in animal
and crop farming. Also, there is no network service available in the area, so residents have been unable to register for their Ghana cards.
To ensure the use of the Ghana cedi during commerce, the people of Wuru have called on the government to see to it that the Sissala East Municipality sees an
uplift.
Available research has proven that knowing your HIV status does not only decrease the risk of an infected person spreading the disease to others, but also offers the person the opportunity to seek early treatment.
Consequently, the President of the Ghana HIV & AIDS Network
(GHANET), Mr. Ernest Ortsin, is entreating the public to get tested for HIV in order to eradicate the disease from the country’s territory.
The advice to the public follows recent data which indicates that there has been a surge in the number of people affected by HIV/ AIDS in the country. According to the National STIs and HIV/AIDS Control Programme, a total of 23,495 people tested positive for HIV in the first half of this year.
He explained that this helps in achieving the UNAIDS’ 95-95-95 ambition, which seeks to diagnose 95% of all HIV-positive individuals, provide antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 95% of those diagnosed, and achieve viral suppression for 95% of those treated by 2030.
USAIDS is the Joint-United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. It is an innovative joint venture of the United Nations family, which brings together the efforts and resources of 11 UN system organizations to unite the world against AIDS.
Speaking at a workshop held at the Mensvic Hotel in Accra, Mr Ortsin further mentioned that one factor derailing the fight against HIV is fake antiretroviral drugs on the
market.
He, thus, advised Ghanaians to desist from the use of unapproved and fake medication, particularly herbal medicine labelled as a cure for HIV, since there is no proof that herbal medicine can cure the disease.
“Even the anti-retroviral medication does not cure HIV/ AIDS, they only suppress the viral load, so there is no cure as of now for the disease. People should be bold to report when they get to know their HIV status for the right treatment to lead normal lives,” he added.
About HIV
HIV, an abbreviation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. If not treated, HIV can lead to AIDS. It is a deadly disease that has resulted in the death of many.
According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), the rate of infection, heightened since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with
84.2 million [64.0–113.0 million] people infected and about 40.1 million [33.6–48.6 million] people dead from the disease. Additionally, 38.4 million [33.9–43.8million] people were living with HIV at the end of 2021 globally.
Also, data from UNAIDS indicates that 1.5 million [1.1 million–2.0 million] people will become newly infected with HIV in 2021. It adds that 650 000 [510 000–860 000] people died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2021. 28.7 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy in 2021.
In efforts to curtail the spread of the disease, there have been various initiatives and sensitization programmes introduced globally to help combat the disease.
This includes the use of medicines to treat HIV, using medicines to prevent HIV, using condoms, having only low-risk sex, only having partners with the same HIV status, and not having sex can all effectively reduce risk. On how Ghana can significantly reduce the rate of spread, Mr Ortsin called for public education on a new therapy, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PreP) and other treatment processes.
More arrests in relation to illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, have recently been carried out across the country, in efforts to clamp down on the canker.
About two weeks ago, 164 arrests were made in Anyinam and Mampong in a three-day operation by the Operation Halt task force.
In a related development, one more person has been arrested, and 12 excavators have been seized by the soldiers under the second phase of Operation Halt.
The latest arrest was carried out after members of the task force stormed mining sites within the Atwima Mponua and Amansie South districts of the Ashanti region.
One car and a motorbike were also impounded at some mining sites during the operation. The activities of illegal miners have become rife in the country despite laws and measures instituted to clamp down on their activities.
The activities of these illegal miners have immensely destroyed water bodies such as the River Pra, Offin, and Birim; land resources have also been spared.
According to recent statistics from the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), over 19,000 hectares of cocoa farmland have been destroyed as a result of the activities of illegal miners. With the current happenings, a section of the public has come to the conclusion that the galamsey fight is a lost cause.
Meanwhile, the government has vehemently contested this claim, insisting that it will not relent on clamping down on illegal miners and their activities.
Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has, on many occasions, re-echoed the government’s commitment to
battling malaria in the country.
In addition to the Operation Halt task force introduced to check the canker, the government also launched a small-scale mining awards programme, which seeks to promote and encourage responsible small-scale mining last year.
Speaking at the launch of this year’s award programme, Mr. HIV: Don’t be scared, get checked – GHANET assures Jinapor noted that the government remains unwavering in its efforts to sanitise and regulate the small-scale mining sector, which provides an estimated 40 percent of Ghana’s total gold output.
“The government is very mindful of the consequential and important nature of the small-scale mining sector of our country,” he noted, although he acknowledged that there are pertinent challenges that need to be addressed.
He further mentioned that the government has introduced several reformative measures, including the start of the community mining scheme, the introduction of mercury-free mining equipment, and the alternative livelihoods
programme.
More than one million network subscribers will have their unregistered SIM cards deactivated after September 30, 2022, as they are without a Ghana card, the
sole identification document for the ongoing SIM registration exercise.
The Independent Ghana has arrived at this conclusion following careful analysis of statements by relevant stakeholders in the communication sector who are to
ensure the smooth running of the SIM registration exercise.
The institutions involved in this analysis are the National Identification Authority (NIA), the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, and the National Communications Authority (NCA).
The NIA is responsible for the issuance of the Ghana card and, according to the authority, it will not be able to issue all the Ghana cards needed to enable network subscribers to register their SIM cards.
On September 9, 2022, the Director of Corporate Affairs at the NIA, Dr Abudu Abdul Ganiyu, told JoyNews that NIA has issued 15,859,251 Ghana cards and is yet to print 528,360 cards, as well as issue 763,877 cards. In total, 1,292,237 Ghana cards are yet to be received.
A week after his comment, the Executive Secretary of the Authority, Professor Kenneth Agyeman Attafuah, while addressing the press on the provision of Ghana cards ahead of the September 30th deadline, said “we cannot do that.” “There is no way that the NIA can register those people. It is technically, physically impossible. We had said way back in March that it was impossible. I have said it is like expecting a maiden to make a baby every three months,” he said.
Professor Kenneth Agyeman Attafuah explained that the NIA will not be able to provide all eligible Ghanaians with their Ghana cards owing to a lack of officers at its registration centres. “Today, there is only one office in a district. At the 200 registration centres, you may have about 16 NIA officials serving the people.
Today, there is only one office per district, and there are four people in that district office. The maximum is five at the regional offices. We augment the staff
numbers with national service personnel,” he said.
Weeks before the NIA made this revelation, the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization for the second time extended the SIM card registration
deadline from July 31 to September 30.
The exercise was extended because of challenges involved in the issuance of the Ghana card, Communications Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful admitted on July
31, 2022, in a press briefing. Days after the extension, it emerged that the number of people who trooped to the registration centres to register their SIM cards
had plummeted.
According to figures from the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, the number of subscribers re-registering their SIM cards fell to 5,861 on August 19, 2022, from about 235,000 recorded on July 31, 2022, when the extension was announced. This represented a 98% decline. The data also showed that by August 1, 2022, the number of registrations fell to 62,715, compared with the 235,460 recorded on July 28, 2022.
The trend continued until it dropped further to 5,861 by August 19th, 2022. Despite the decline in numbers and the NIA’s inability to provide all Ghana Cards, the NCA and the Communications Ministry have made no move to extend the registration deadline to ensure the affected Ghanaians are not disadvantaged.
Even though the NCA has been dragged to court, the Authority is yet to rescind its decision and provide the NIA more time to provide citizens with their Ghana
cards. Galamsey: 12 excavators seized; one arrested in Ashanti region Effects of blocked SIM cards on the economy should the NCA block SIM cards after September 30, as stated earlier, the government risks losing some of the taxes it generates from citizens who make use of voice and data services.
A communication service tax of 5% is levied on charges payable by both individual and corporate users of electronic communication services (ECS) provided by
service providers other than private electronic communication services.
Government will lose a large sum of money it would have generated from network service providers through the over one million network subscribers who have not registered their SIM cards. Also, network service providers will lose subscribers, thereby reducing their revenue. The assertion is that a number of Ghanaians yet to retrieve their Ghana cards engage in mobile money transactions. Government is able to generate revenue through its electronic transaction levy (e-levy) of 1.5% on mobile money transactions above the GHS100 threshold.
The revenue generated from this tax will decline as over one million network subscribers will be without an active SIM card.
Interior Minister Ambrose Dery has advised residents in Bawku, in the Upper East Region, to aim at embracing peace in order for the curfew imposed on them by the government to be raised.
According to him, the existing state of lawlessness and disorder in the region is detrimental to the development of the area and the country as a whole.
“If you give us peace, we will see how we will review the curfew in the next few weeks. But if you tell us the only thing you know is war, we will increase it. “I am not sure, that is what you want,” he said.
The Interior Minister’s remarks follow appeals for the government to lift the aged curfew that has been imposed on the community.
On Wednesday, November 24, 2021, the Interior Ministry imposed a 14-hour curfew on the Bawku Municipality, where inhabitants remained indoors from 4:00pm to 6:00am.
Also, individuals found to be in possession of a weapon or ammunition within the municipality were to be detained and prosecuted. However, on Monday, December 27, 2021, the township witnessed the loss of lives and the destruction of property as a result of gunshots in the area. In January this year, four people
were shot dead, and eight others sustained injuries during renewed clashes between Kusasis and Mamprusis in Bawku.
This went on despite a curfew imposed by the Interior Ministry. Due to the insurgence, the Minister for the Interior by Executive Instrument renewed the
curfew hours imposed on Bawku Municipality and its environs from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am, which took effect Monday, September 26, 2022.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah and the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council have signed up to sponsor 2000 children below the age of 18 years in the Ashanti Region unto the National Health Insurance scheme.
The gesture was in support of an initiative of the Ashanti Regional Office of the NHIA dubbed, “the 1000k for Health Project,”
meant to court the support of well-meaning Ghanaians, whose donations would pay for the NHIS registration fees of at least 1,000 vulnerable children below the age of 18, in the Ashanti Region. Speaking to the media after CEO of the NHIA, Dr. Bernard Okoe-Boye, paid him a courtesy visit, Hon. Simon Osei-Mensah
remarked that the project is a significant milestone that will aid in addressing a significant problem with access to healthcare in the region and the country as a
whole.
The Regional Minister stated that he is aware of the various policies and strategies the NHIA management is putting together for a successful NHIS because he
served on the Health Committee for eight years while serving as a Member of Parliament. Mr. Simon Osei-Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister, personally paid GH¢6,000 to register the first 1000 children, while the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council also paid GH¢6,000 to help register more children in the region into the scheme.
He said the intervention was not only a formidable initiative to improve NHIS and increase the numbers, but also marked a milestone in the success story of the scheme in seeking good health for all citizens in the country.
Mr. Osei-Mensah assured the support of the Regional Coordinating Council and called on all stakeholders to get on board to transform the health sector and build a healthier nation. Dr. Okoe-Boye revealed that the 1,000 for health project is an initiative to augment the government’s support for vulnerable children, of which the enrollment of children with childhood cancer onto the NHIS is key.
70 years and above to get instant access after registering for NHIS The CEO of the NHIA, Dr. Bernard Oko Boye, also announced to the
Ashanti Regional Minister that people 70 years old and above who register with the NHIS can access health care on the same day.
This, according to the CEO, has become necessary due to the frustration some elderly people go through in the bid to access health care.
The waiting period of 30 days has therefore been waived for subscribers who are 70 years old and above, just as pregnant women. The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was established by the government of Ghana in 2003. The program is a form of national health insurance established to provide equitable access and financial coverage for basic health care services to Ghanaian citizens.
The United Nations (UN) Office in Ghana has pledged $260 million (GH¢2.6 billion) to support the country’s efforts to accelerate and achieve
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063.
The UN in Ghana, represented by more than 30 of its agencies, funds, and programmes, will concentrate on empowering individuals and institutions via capacity development and other initiatives, ensuring that no one is left behind by reaching out to the most vulnerable.
The UN Resident Coordinator for Ghana, Charles Abani, announced this at the Global Citizen Festival, co-hosted by Ghana and the UN in Accra over the past weekend. The commitment represents about 50 percent of the proposed funding by the UN to support the UN Cooperation Framework, which will soon be signed by the UN and the Government of Ghana. It will cover the period 2023 to 2025 to support inclusive economic growth, equitable access to services, and durable peace in Ghana and across the sub-region.
The festival, which was broadcast live across the world, brought together renowned artistes, Ghanaian leaders and thousands of young people from all walks of life, determined to add their voices to accelerate the attainment of the SDGs and create a just, equitable and sustainable world.
Flanked by the World Food Programme Director for Ghana, Barbara Clemens, and the Executive Secretary of the National Council of Persons with Disabilities, Esther Akua Gyamfi, Mr Abani said: “Today is the best time to rally the needed support for Ghana.”
“The UN stands with Ghana on this forward-looking ambition to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs and Agenda 2063,” he added.
The Global Citizen Festival is an annual music festival started in 2012 and organized by Global Poverty Project. It was founded Ashanti RCC to sponsor 2000 children under NHIS – Simon Osei-Mensah Aisha Huang and accomplices denied bail again Simon Osei-Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister by Ryan Gall and Hugh Evans.
Gall said he was inspired by visiting Austin City Limits and seeing the branding on the stage, but wanting to replace the corporate branding with branding from charities.
The National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has impulsed the Electoral Commission to accept other identification documents as alternatives to the Ghana Card during the upcoming voter registration drive.
Though the EC has assured that no willing Ghanaian of voting age will be left behind, he argued in a panel discussion on TV that, “If it happens that by that time [future voter registrations happen], everybody has the card, nobody suffers anything.”
“Why don’t you put in some safeguards in case that projection doesn’t turn out to be as you expect, then there is a safeguard to deal with the shortcoming, and you are rather closing all the safeguards and banking your hope on somebody’s promise.” Director of Electoral Services at the Electoral Commission, Serebour Quaicoe has said on several platforms that the EC intends to make the Ghana Card the sole means of identification during the
voter registration exercise.
According to him, the decision to use the Ghana Card is to prevent chaos at polling stations during elections. He cited confusion that emerged out of the 2020 election at the polling stations.
Meanwhile, on the EC’s website as of September 27, 2022, only two modes of identification have been outlined. They are; a valid National
Identification Card (Ghana Card) and a passport. This could mean that the EC is yet to update their website on the new identification process. In the absence of the valid ID’s above, an applicant must submit one completed Identification Guarantee Form endorsed by two voters. A proposed C.I. titled Public Regulations 2021 is anticipated to govern the next continuous voter registration campaign and is intended to replace these documents with the Ghana Card as the new law. Mr. Nketiah also stressed that the EC should not only rely on the National Identification Authority to execute its plans for future elections.
Some nine residents in the Ningo-Prampram Constituency have filed an interlocutory injunction to restrain the National Communications Authority (NCA) from implementing punitive measures against unregistered SIM card subscribers.
The NCA has said network subscribers who default will not have access to any services, as their SIMs will be deactivated after September 30, 2022. In a writ shared by Member of Parliament for the area, Sam Nartey George, on Tuesday, the applicants want the High Court of Justice to restrain the “blocking, deactivating, restricting, churning and/ or in any other way or manner limiting the Applicants’ use of their Mobile Phone SIM Cards and Network Services until the complete and final determination of the substantive application for judicial review.”
“Subscribers will have a period of six months to register to redeem their SIMs, failing which their numbers will be churned – that is, re-assigned to the pool to be sold to potential new subscribers,” the Authority added in its statement dated September 4, 2022.
Mr George, speaking to the media, explained that the applicants have been deprived of their Ghana cards despite registering with the National Identification Authority, thus the need to seek legal redress as their current situation is no fault of theirs. “These are citizens who have complied with the directive and taken every reasonable step to get registered. Whatever is left is outside their control. Either for the NIA to provide them with the card that they have registered for,” he worriedly revealed.
“Some registered as far back as 2019, and they still haven’t received their cards. Others have registered, and the NIA has asked them to come for it in December. So in this case, they can’t do anything except what they have done,” he added.
The major challenge affecting the ongoing SIM card re-registration exercise has been registrants not receiving their Ghana Card promptly after registration. This is because the national identification authority issued card is the sole identification document for the SIM card re-registration exercise.
On July 31, 2022, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communications and Digitalization, “reluctantly” extended the SIM card registration deadline for a second time to September 30, 2022, with conditions. Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful acknowledged that the government was having difficulties with the exercise because of the delays in the issuance of the Ghana card during a press conference to announce the extension.
“Upon consultation with the industry and in view of the challenges enumerated above, I have very reluctantly decided to grant a conditional extension. The programme will be extended to September 30th to end on the anniversary of its commencement, “she said.
Delays in the issuance of the Ghana card was the largest challenge bedevilling this exercise. My information is that the NIA has not been able to issue all eligible
persons with the Ghana card,” she explained.
Due to the challenges it is facing, the NIA has said it will be unable to register all Ghanaians before the September 30th deadline. “We cannot do that. There is no way that the NIA can register those people. It is technically, physically impossible. We had said way back in March that it was impossible. I have said it is like expecting a maiden to make a baby every three months,” Executive Secretary of the NIA, Professor Kenneth Agyeman Attafuah, told the press on Friday, September 16, 2022.
Some Ghanaians have challenged the Authority to implement its initiatives as planned in light of public concerns regarding the sanctions implemented by the
NCA. The Communications Minister, in rebuttal to the numerous public concerns, has however, advised mobile network subscribers “not to blame your service provider” for the sanctions yet to be implemented, stating that “to be forewarned is to be forearmed”.
The Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi will host the second edition of the National Fitness Day on Saturday, October 15, 2022.
The National Fitness Day is a day dedicated to encouraging Ghanaians to exercise and stay fit.
The Sports Ministry, in collaboration with Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, who also serves as the ambassador for National Fitness Day, organized the maiden edition on Saturday, September 10, 2022, at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Several Ghanaians exercised alongside Dr. Bawumia, Azuma Nelson, professional cyclists, soccer teams from a few selected
second cycle schools in the Greater Accra Region, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the King of the Ga State, Sports Minister Mustapha Yusif, and a few other politicians during the first edition in Accra.
The Vice President capitalized on the occasion to encourage Ghanaians to incorporate physical activity into their daily routines.
He argued that the government cannot achieve a strong economy without a healthy populace because healthy Ghanaians significantly contribute to the development of the nation.
“I encourage all to embrace regular physical activity to improve our well-being. If we are healthy in body, we are healthy in mind, and so we want to make sure that Ghana is healthy, and the national fitness day should help us build fitness, and that means better productivity for us,” he added.
Additionally, Dr. Bawumia lauded the Sports Ministry for successfully administering the event as well as individuals who observed the maiden edition across the country.
“After mooting the idea to the Ministry of Youth and Sports last year, and following President Akufo-Addo’s full backing and subsequent approval by Cabinet, it was really exciting to exercise with Ghanaians from all walks of life, especially the youth, who demonstrated admirable passion throughout the nearly two-hour
exercise,” he stated.
Also, the National Sports Authority’s Board Chairman, Seth Panwum, said the project is the beginning of a more unified and
healthy country.
“This is a national event which covers the whole country. The people in the Ashanti region also organized one which I am told the numbers, too, are great. If you cannot do it every day, you can set aside one day of the month to burn some fat and put the mind in a healthy body for mother Ghana, I think it is a welcome idea,” he added.
On August 20, 2022, the Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Yusif, launched the National Fitness Day initiative, which will take place across the country every
second Saturday of the month.
At least 12 excavators were on Monday seized by the personnel of Operation Halt II in the Atwima Mponua and Amansie South districts of the Ashanti Region in a special operation on Monday.
At the Amansie South District, the military team handed over the seized excavators to the police at Datano as the control boards were removed, while others were handed over to the Atwima Mponua District Assembly.
The visit to the various sites showed that vast lands within the two districts have been badly destroyed due to illegal mining.
Hectares of arable land were still being destroyed by the galamseyers within Atwima Mponua district.
The operation, according to the team leader, Colonel Ansah Akrofi, would continue for days to curb the illegal mining menace following the wanton destruction of the environment.
About three weeks, 300 chanfans used in illegal mining in rivers were impounded and burnt during a two-day operation carried out by a task force put together by the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners (GNASSM), in collaboration with the Atwima Mponua District Assembly.
Five persons, including the Assembly Member for the Kotokuom Electoral Area, Akwasi Poku, were arrested in connection with illegal mining activities in some communities along River Offin.
Four other suspects were picked up at Abompe, Abaasua, Amaada, and Agogoso in the Atwima Mponua District.
Nana Yaw Owusu, Nana Appiah, Opanyin Kuffour, and Opanyin Kwaku Duah were among seven elders that had been selected to serve as Dikro in the absence of a chief for Kokotuom.
They have been handed over to the Nyinahini Police for the necessary legal action.
A large number of illegal mining operators, on seeing the task force, fled, leaving their mining equipment behind.
The task force led some selected media houses on a tour of the polluted Offin River and destroyed forest reserves as part of the campaign against illegal mining in the area.
The Vice-President of GNASSM, Sampson Kofi Wiredu, explained that the tour was to give the media an insight into what was happening and confirm that, indeed, some traditional leaders and people in leadership roles were deeply involved in illegal mining which was threatening their jobs.
He said the association was keen to lend support to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to fight the social menace.
“People are very much involved in galamsey and it is affecting all of us. We will expose and report any traditional leader who will be found in connection with illegal activities in his community,” Mr. Wiredu cautioned.
He commended residents for giving the hint which led to the arrest of the assembly member, saying that all needed to come on board to fight the menace.
Sir Sam Jonah KBE, has revealed the circumstances under which he was allowed to attend his British knighthood ceremony at the Buckingham Palace with his entire family.
According to him, the event was to be undertaken by the late Queen Elizabeth II but due to another engagement along diplomatic lines, Prince Charles (now King Charles III) took that responsibility.
In an interview on the BBUM show, a personality profile programme on Ghana Television (September 25), the former Ashanti Goldfields CEO explained why instead of his wife alone accompanying him, his children were allowed to attend.
He described the opportunity as a “privilege to have been invited and honoured by the British Royal Family.”
“I had the privilege to be knighted by Prince Charles in 2003, it was quite an experience, I was fortunate I took my entire family with me, which was very unusual. Because usually, they would ask you to come with your spouse.
“I was fortunate because what happened was, that same day, the reason why I was not knighted by the Queen was that, the Queen was hosting President Putin to a state lunch and therefore it fell on Prince Charles.
“Therefore, Prince Charles said, bring your entire family and so I took my entire family,” he added.
Sam Jonah attended the ceremony with his wife and five children according to a PA photo sighted by GhanaWeb.
In his view, the new King is a “hugely understated and underappreciated person,” adding that he has a commanding presence, and unenforced authority and he is a delight to be with.
He said he felt hugely privileged and fortunate for one-hour meeting his family had with the new monarch at the Buckingham Palace.
In June 2003, Jonah became the first Ghanaian to be knighted in the 21st century when he was presented with an honorary knighthood (KBE) by the then Prince of Wales, in recognition of his achievements as an African businessman, a leading business executive from the Commonwealth, and an international public figure.
A gravedigger has been apprehended over allegations that he was selling body parts of the dead.
The suspect by name Haruna was ‘exposed’ by a Facebook user, Junior Muntari 1, after he was tricked by some residents of Kasoa who had gotten a hint that he was into that ‘trade.’
In a nearly three-minute video shared on Facebook, Haruna is accosted by some men demanding that he unwraps some black polythene bags he had brought.
“You are selling bones of people; I have caught you with people’s bones live, unwrap it,” one person is heard saying in Hausa.
The video shows some material from one polythene, which the commentator says is human flesh and another, as bone from the skull.
“He is used to doing this at the cemetery for a long time, I raised the issue, but people thought I was exaggerating; here it is, you are all seeing it live. He brought it from Awudome,” the commentator added.
According to the narrative, Haruna had been asked by someone for body parts of dead people, and another person had confirmed being the medicine man who had demanded it.
“We tricked you, but if you were a good person, you would have asked how we got your contact, but did you?” the supposed medicine man asked.
He reportedly charged 400 cedis for the consignment, out of which GHc100 was paid to him via mobile money.
Prof Jane Naana Opoku- Agyemang, the former Minister for Education during former President John Dramani Mahama’s presidency has assigned a reason for the then National Democratic Congress (NDC) government’s decision not to roll out a Free Senior High School programme.
According to her, the NDC in government chose the progressively Free SHS as against the en-masse Free SHS implemented by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) today.
“We refused to do the NPP’s kind of Free SHS to prevent the students from fighting over food,” she said.
“There is no food to feed the children because of the NPP’s free-for -all programme,” she explained.
My team at the Ministry knew that the NPP’s concept of Free SHS is problematic because the research was available for them to read.
She said research from the West African Examination Council (WEAC) among others abound for them and the handing over notes were all available for them.
“Now the National Buffer Stock Company is in shambles and cannot supply food to the schools and they are blaming the NDC for it after six years of leaving power?” she queried.
Prof Jane stressed that the NPP arrow cannot be pointed at the NDC.
The former Education Minister who became the running mate to former President John Dramani Mahama in the 2020 general elections said these in an interview on the Ghana Yensom morning show hosted by Emmanuel Quarshie (The Hitman) on Accra 100.5 FM on Tuesday, September 27, 2022.
“In 2020, when we said the implementation of the Free SHS was problematic and that we will review it, the naysayers said we will cancel it,” she said.
“They have come to terms with the teething problems of the implementation of the Free SHS so they should review it and make it better,” she told the governing NPP.
She called on the NPP to review Free SHS and find out what is wrong with the policy.
Paul Adom-Otchere, host of Good Evening Ghana on Metro TV, has taken investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni to the cleaners over a recent tweet on the September 24 booing incident that President Akufo-Addo suffered.
Addressing the incident in the editorial segment of his show on Tuesday, September 27, Adom-Otchere advanced that Manasseh’s reference to chiefs as part of people who can for selfish reasons sing the praises of the president was unacceptable.
“Mr President, for their selfish goals, chiefs, paid praise singers and sycophants will continue to sing insincere praises of you. But what you heard at the #globalcitizensfestival is the truest voice of the people, a referendum on your regime. You have two years to salvage it,” the tweet of September 24 read.
He went on to cite the case of Togbe Afede, whose picture with Manasseh he projected on the screen, stressing that Togbe will not praise sing for Akufo-Addo because of his stature and for other reasons.
He suggested that Manasseh respected Togbe Afede as a chief, so why would he create the impression that all chiefs are praise singers of the government. “Respect Togbe Afede, I know you respect him.”
He continued that for someone from a traditional area, Bongo, “there is a chief over there, I don’t know him but I believe you respect him,” he added.
Adom-Otchere requested a photo of Manasseh be projected on his touchscreen following which he admonished the journalist to repent from his ways and desist from denigrating chiefs.
Thousands of patrons were at the Black Star Square to witness the concert that had a number of local and international artistes performing.
As host of the event, the president was called upon to give his remarks, which happened to be a prepared speech that lasted over six minutes.
The booing happened when he started his speech saying: “The whole world is in Ghana today.”
What started initially as people showing their disapproval of his presence on the stage, turned into loud clapping and chanting of the words: “away, away…,” the president, however, stayed the course and delivered his full speech.
As if that was not enough, people on social media latched on to the development to mock the president.
Global Citizen is the world’s largest movement of action takers and impact makers dedicated to ending extreme poverty NOW.
The voices of millions of Global Citizens around the world are driving lasting change towards sustainability, equality, and humanity by taking action every day.
The Global Citizen Festival started as a music festival where fans take actions to end extreme poverty in order to earn free tickets to attend.
While visiting Kenya to attend President Ruto’s inauguration a few days ago, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia spoke about current global economic challenges and how Ghana is coping.
Speaking with Kenyan media, Dr. Bawumia also highlighted the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) of which Ghana is the secretariat and how it will play a large part in Africa’s continued economic growth.
“It is important that Africa trades by itself… we are very passionate about it. There are a lot of opportunities and potential to realise’ he mentioned to The Standard.
When asked about the current economic situation facing Ghana specifically with high levels of inflation, Bawumia emphasised it is a problem affecting all global economies following the global pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We are trying to deal with the issue in this context of very squeezed and tight budgets. On the monetary side, the Central Bank is trying to contain inflation through a number of interest rate increases. Ultimately, you deal with this crisis by expanding your production. If it is a food crisis, then we need to increase food production” he told KTN News in an interview.
To further lessen the burden on families in Ghana in terms of increasing living costs, Dr. Bawumia said government continues to offer free secondary school education to citizens and is exploring other ways in which it can help all Ghanaians cope with the global crisis.
“For the government, central to Ghana’s recovery is a bottom-up economic model that includes all Ghanaians from all over the country, from all backgrounds. The NPP’s ongoing digitisation agenda is an example of this strategy that is helping all Ghanaians move forward and not be left behind,” Dr Bawumia said.
The Vice President, during his time at the Bank of Ghana, helped to reduce inflation from 40 percent to just 10 percent and is now drawing on his decades of experience to help Ghana move forward and recover.
Residents of Juaboso in the Western North region are gradually falling out of business as Chinese nationals have taken over their daily petty trading.
Speaking on Okay FM’s ‘Ade Akye Abia’ programme, the Member of Parliament(MP) for Juaboso constituency, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh lamented that Chinese nationals are not only engaging in galamsey but are also selling provisions and spare parts.
A trading activity that was hitherto reserved for the indigenous community members of Juaboso and its environs.
Hon. Mintah Akandoh who is very much worried about the unpalatable situation says the government’s fight against illegal mining popularly known as galamsey has become a mere rhetoric with the Chinese mining with impunity.
“The NPP government do not have the desire to fight or end the illegal mining because they are not committed to it. A number of NPP foot soldiers and even top hierarchy are heavily involved in the galamsey business. For instance, with what happened at Elubo, an NPP constituency Secretary was among those who were arrested for destroying a whole village in the name of Galamsey,” he said.
He further explained that though government claims to have invested heavily in the fight against illegal mining, it looks more attractive now than before because those who are caught destroying the water bodies and the forest reserves are left to go unpunished which will at least serve as a deterrent to others.
“How can we allow Chinese nationals with the aid of Ghanaians to destroy our water bodies and forest reserves and also take over businesses meant for Ghanaians,” he rhetorically asked.
Expressing his disgust for the rate at which illegal miners have taken over his constituency, he noted that government’s abysmal performance in the fight against galamsey clearly shows that they are losing it.
A 34-year-old businessman has been remanded into police custody by the Ashaiman District Court for allegedly engaging in ‘landguard’ activities.
Nathaniel Alabi is also alleged to have discharged guns in town.
The prosecution told the court that both the complainant, Stephen Derry, and the accused person resided at Santeo near Adjei Kojo, Accra.
It said on September 22, 2022, the complainant reported to the Ashaiman Divisional Criminal Investigation Department (CID), that on September 19, 2022, whiles at Santeo, Alabi, wielding a gun and in the company of some young men came to his vicinity firing gun and claiming ownership of the land.
The prosecution said the accused person had ordered everyone to either vacate the land or renegotiate with him.
It said on September 22, 2022, the Accused person was arrested in connection with a similar case at Katamanso Police Station where the two weapons, which he used on September 19, 2022, were retrieved from him.
The prosecution prayed for the court to remand the Accused person, saying it had information that other victims were yet to report their cases and that his release would interfere with the investigation.
Counsel for the Accused person argued that the offence committed by the accused and others were all bailable and that his client was not a person who would flee from the jurisdiction.
He also said there were “persons of substance” ready to stand surety for the accused, but the Magistrate insisted that he be remanded to reappear on Friday September 30, 2022, to enable the police to conclude the investigation for the appropriate court to hear the case.
A British Member of Parliament (MP) from the Labour Party, Rupa Huq, has been suspended by her party for alleged racist comments she made against British-born Ghanaian MP, Kwasi Kwarteng, who was recently appointed UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister).
According to news.sky.com, the party suspended Rupa Huq for describing Kwasi Kwarteng as a “superficially” black man, pending investigations.
The report indicated that the suspended MP made the racist comments against the chancellor in an audio recording posted online by the Guido Fawkes website.
“Superficially he is a black man. He went to Eton, I think, he went to a very expensive prep school, all the way through, the top schools in the country.
“If you hear him on the Today programme, you wouldn’t know he is black,” Rupa Huq was quoted to have said by news.sky.com.
The Labour Party condemned the remarks by the MP and urged her to apologise.
Rupa Huq in a post on social media indicated that she had contacted the UK finance minister to apologies to him in person for the comments she made.
“I have today contacted Kwasi Kwarteng to offer my sincere and heartfelt apologies for the comments I made at yesterday’s Labour conference fringe meeting.
“My comments were ill-judged and I wholeheartedly apologise to anyone affected,” the post she shared read.
Background on Kwesi Kwarteng:
Kwasi Kwarteng became the first black person to become UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister) following his appointment by UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss, on September 6, 2022.
Kwarteng was born Akwasi Addo Alfred Kwarteng in Waltham Forest, East London, in May 1975 to Ghanaian parents, Alfred and Charlotte, who had both immigrated to the United Kingdom a decade earlier as students.
His parents, who went on to become an international economist and a barrister respectively, sent him to an expensive private prep school that produced numerous Cabinet-level politicians. He then attended the famous Eton college — a production line for British leaders including Boris Johnson and David Cameron.
There are reports of growing agitation among University teachers following the high cost of living and what some describe as worsening conditions of service
There is however uncertainty if the agitation is related to any possible breaches of pledges made after the nationwide action by all 15 public Universities in January this year which was called off after nearly two months.
A communique sighted by myxyzonline indicates a joint press conference to be addressed by UTAG leadership and all Labour Unions in Public Universities, is scheduled to take place on the afternoon of Wednesday, 28th September, 2022.
The event according to the notice shall take place at the University of Professional Studies, Accra.
The agenda has been clearly spelt out, ‘Conditions of Service of University Workers’.
The development comes as government meets representatives of the IMF on expenditure cuts and how to restructure the economy.
General Secretary of the University of Ghana branch of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Professor Ransford Yaw Gyampo, however, hinted at an imminent strike.
In a write-up on social media he sarcastically spoke the minds of his peers as he commented on the booing of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Global Citizen Concert held at the Black Star Square in Accra.
“We will speak against this act of disrespect against the President and the PRESIDENCY, regardless of how angry we are, and the fact that, we would even be leading labor once again to go on strike very shortly,” Professor Gyampo wrote.
“Yes, we are hungry but we cannot eat with both hands when we find food. A few party appointees are enjoying, even in times of hardships, and are asking the rest of us to keep tightening our belt.”
It will be recalled that on January 10 this year, all 15 public Universities embarked on an indefinite strike. That lasted till the first week of March, 2022 when they reluctantly called it off.
The Managing Director of Inter City STC, Nana Akomea says he has not lost hope in Ghana and called on Ghanaians to be confident in the government to salvage the economy.
Speaking on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” morning show, Nana Akomea asserted that “there is so much good news” in Ghana, therefore asking the citizenry to heave a sigh of relief.
He pointed out why one should be proud of this nation stressing, “we are very stable. We are one of the most stable countries in West Africa, if not Africa. We have peace in this country. When you look at our tourism figures, it’s overwhelming. We have stability and security. We are modernizing rapidly. When you look at the digitization programme by Dr. Bawumia, it is changing the society”.
He continued; “We are ahead of other African countries by far and now, in the world economy, if you don’t become digital; you will die. We are moving very, very quickly on this digital [economy]. When you take our security, we have maintained the peace and security and stability of this country…These are all very good news that you can’t even calculate its value.”
The STC Boss, after highlighting the pride in being a Ghanaian, however called on the leaders of the country to stop their corruptible practices.
Staff of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital have been directed to undergo mass testing and vaccination following the renewed COVID-19 cases reporting to the facility.
Within the last two weeks, the hospital has confirmed about 45 positive cases compared to only three as of 11th September, 2022.
“Surveillance data from the Public Health Unit of the Hospital indicate that from the week ending 11th September 2022 to the week ending 23rd September, 2022, the number of confirmed COVID-l9 cases has risen from 3 to 45,”…. an internal memo sighted by myxyzonline said.
Subsequently, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital has directed heads of all Units, Directorates, Departments and Sub-BMCs (UDSs, to mobilize staff for an ongoing COVID-19 vaccination mop-up exercise.
The notice said a desk has also been set up at the Public Health Event Park for staff and patients interested.
It urged departmental heads to ensure that staff, patients and relatives adhere strictly to COVID -19 protocols at all entry points to OPDs, wards, offices and waiting areas within their buildings/structures.
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Pius Enam Hadzide, has asserted that United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a strategic partner whose contribution to executing the implementation of the National Youth Policy is paramount.
At a brief meeting held at the premises of UNESCO to present copies of the recently launched National Youth Policy and its implementation plan, Pius Enam Hadzide said his presentation to UNESCO is in the right direction as the mandate of UNESCO aligns with the work of NYA.
He said the Authority is pleased to be partnering with UNESCO in this regard and asked for strengthening of ties between the two institutions to efficiently work for the development of the Ghanaian youth.
He seized the opportunity to educate the team at UNESCO on some projects by the authority such as STEP, which seeks to train both skilled and unskilled people for economic empowerment, and the NYVP.
According to him, it also places value on volunteerism and will increase employability skills among the youth whilst they contribute their quota to national development.
The CEO on behalf of the governing board and staff of NYA thanked them for their unwavering commitment to the successful celebration of this year’s International Youth Day (IYD).
The Country Director for UNESCO Mr. Abdourahamane Diallo commending the NYA for their efforts in youth development said his outfit has taken notice of the projects and programs of the Authority and congratulated NYA for its handwork in bringing together such an august gathering of young people for IYD22.
He said the National Youth Policy is a blueprint that will guide them to identify areas of the policy in the various sectors to work on.
“We will also share the policy document with our global youth community whom we have a constant dialogue to facilitate the overall development of the youth.”
He expressed interest in collaborating with the authority in the areas of education, youth advocacy, culture, STEM, digitization, and I.C.T.
Former Deputy General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen, has said that the party remains popular despite the booing of President Akufo-Addo at the Global Citizen Festival at the Black Star Square on September 24.
He said the founding traditions of the party come second to none in placing Ghana on the path of prosperity.
According to him, only the NPP can steer Ghana to the ‘promised land.’
On the booing of President Akufo-Addo, he said it only goes to show that everyone has their highs and lows in life, stressing that life is a mixture of good and bad times.
“It demonstrates that for every human being, there must be ups and downs. In life you won’t always have it rosy at all times. These are issues you will encounter as a politician, as a human being.
“Does this show NPP is not popular? No. NPP is popular today, tomorrow and beyond. NPP and the UP tradition, no tradition is capable of moving Ghanaians to the promised land apart from this tradition,” Obiri Boahen said.
Economic conditions have been worsening under the NPP administration and government has partly blamed the situation on the adverse effect of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
While the economy has suffered downgrades from credit rating agencies such as S & P and Fitch, Ghana has initiated contacts with the International Monetary Funds hoping to secure a US$3 billion facility over a three-year period.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) believes the prevalent economic situation is the reason President Akufo-Addo was booed as a sign of frustration at the government.
The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, has said that he is confident that the party’s successes since he took over its leadership will lead to him being re-elected in the upcoming national executive elections.
Speaking in a Power FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, on Friday, Ofosu-Ampofo said that under his watch, the NDC which is in opposition,, for the first time in the history of Ghana has the Speaker of Parliament from its side and also has the same number of parliamentarians as the party in government.
He, however, indicated that his focus is currently on ensuring that the party’s reorganization at the regional and district level is done smoothly.
“From the period I assumed the leadership of the party all the indicators have been very positive. We have the Speaker of Parliament from our side even though we are in opposition. We also for the first time in the history of Ghana, as the opposition party, have the same number of parliamentarians as the government in power.
“I will withhold my ambitions for now as we work on the process to reorganize the party at the polling stations, constituencies, districts, the regional and national levels. But I will definitely be defending my title because I believe that my performance has been very good. My indicators are very good, my benchmarks are very high. When the time comes, I will go to the delegates and give them an account of the leadership they entrusted to me.
“I will enumerate all the successes the party has chalked under my leadership including the unity I have brought to the party,” he said in Twi.
Meanwhile, the outgoing General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has stated his intention of contesting in the party’s chairmanship race.
In an interview on Radio Gold on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, Asiedu Nketia unequivocally declared that he will not seek re-election for his position which he has held since 2005.
According to Asiedu Nketia, his options are now limited to two, which are to either retire from serving as a party official or elevate to the position of national chairman.
“I will not contest the general secretary position for the NDC. I have two other options at hand; either I go for the chairmanship or retire from politics,” he said.
The General Secretary has also stated that contesting for the party’s chairmanship position will not bring any division in the party, as has been asserted in some quarters.
A former Member of Parliament for Mampong, Francis Addai-Nimoh has advised Akufo-Addo to replace finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta with former Member of Parliament for New Juabeng South, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah.
According to him, Ken Ofori-Atta has been in the same position for too long and needs to be replaced.
He suggested that Ken Ofori-Atta should be taken to the Ministry of Health or Foreign Ministry.
“A reshuffle of the finance minister would have been ideal but the backstops with the president.
“Of course, I would have reshuffled him to another ministry like Health or Foreign Affairs and replace him with people like Assibey-Yeboah. Assibey-Yeboah is no more an MP and Ofori-Atta is also not an MP,” he said New Day show on TV3 Tuesday September 27.
Meanwhile, Akufo-Addo has insisted he is currently impressed with the work of his appointees hence there will not be a reshuffle anytime soon.
He explained that his ministers’ outputs have been considerable and outstanding and that is what he looks out for in his appointees.
“Many of them for me have done outstanding work. Their output has been considerable, and that is what I look at.
“If the output measures expectations, then I don’t have any strong reasons to heed the call,” he said.
Security Analyst, Dr. Adam Bonaa, has said that the situation in the Upper West Regional capital, Bawku has become more precarious and is similar to conditions in war-torn countries.
According to Dr. Bonaa, the situation has become so tensed that an innocent person who mistakenly crosses to the territory of a different faction is immediately killed.
In a post shared on Facebook on Monday, September 27, the security analyst added that the once vibrant region has virtually become a ghost town.
“It’s a needless conflict, the killing of innocent people in Bawku must stop. Mamprusis and Kuasis can’t go into each other’s community/territory, if you cross mistakenly, you will be killed for sure, it’s completely needless and barbaric.
“The people of Bawku feel very neglected. Bawku remains and will also remain an important part of this country. Once a vibrant thriving commercial hub of this country has now become a WAR ZONE where guns and conflict dominate,” parts of the post read.
Dr. Bonaa, who made these remarks after attending a peace dialogue to help resolve the impasse, commended the Inspect General of the Ghana Police Service (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, the Minister for Defense, Dominic Nitiwul and the Interior Minister Ambrose Dery for the initiative.
“I must congratulate the ministers of interior, defense, IGP, CDS, UE regional minister, the MCE of Bawku and all the others for the various parts they all played in this peace dialogue initiative, the first of its kind for decades. Hopefully, in October 2022 the second peace dialogue would take place. The guns must be put down,” he noted.
A Senior Research Fellow at Kumasi Technical University, Dr. Smart Sarpong, has refuted assertions by some factions in Ghana that the Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP) is the third force in the country’s political landscape.
He explains that for any political party to become the third force behind the two leading parties, the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party(NPP), it must be able to amass at least 5 percent of votes in national elections.
Speaking in a TV3 interview monitored by GhanaWeb, on Monday, the political scientist added that the only political party that has come close to being the third force in Ghana’s political space is the Peoples’ National Congress (PNC) under the late former President Dr. Hila Liman.
“Apart from Dr. Liman in 1992, who provided a third force on the ticket of PNC, there hasn’t been any third force in the republic. The last Nkrumahist to have provided a third force was Dr. Hila Liman.
“Third force is not merely placing 3rd in any election we hold with any count of votes or any percentage of votes. You need to do at least 5 percent or more of the votes that will be counted and Dr. Hila Liman did 6.7 percent.
“As for CPP, it has never been the third force, let us put that on record. After His Excellency Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, CPP has virtually disappeared. All through the years coming down to the recent election, you and I know that we do not have a 3rd force,” he said.
“Nobody should think that a third force is just coming and getting something and placing 3rd. You need to work and enter into the plus 5 percent mode, then Ghanaians will feel that you have organized yourself a little and you need a little push,” he reiterated.
A former Minister of Defence under the John Agyekum Kufuor government, Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor, has intimated that the first cabinet put together by the former president was one of Ghana’s best ever.
According to him, the calibre of the people handpicked by the former president, many of whom cut across many spheres of life, made it a delight for him to work with them.
Contained in his memoir titled, Gold Coast Boy, Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor, the former minister carefully outlined the qualifications of the people who made up that cabinet, stressing that they made meetings a delight to be in.
“I have taken the trouble to highlight the professional and political backgrounds of the members of the first cabinet put together by President Kufuor for two main reasons. First is to exemplify Micheavelli’s wisdom in the quotation at the beginning of the chapter. The ‘men’ the president had ‘around him’ were ‘capable and faithful.’
“The second reason is to stress the point that citizens who wish to serve their nation at the executive level must have acquired the requisite training and experience, in their respective fields, so that they are better able to serve. Ideally, politics should be regarded as an avenue of service to one’s compatriots, and not a platform for employment.
“The quality of the president’s cabinet was such that it was almost always a pleasure to attend meetings and listen to discussions on proposals and position papers. It always appeared that members had researched and prepared for discussions; they showed so much familiarity with the documents and their content. And they spoke and argued cogently, logically and with some authority,” he wrote.
Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor added that due to this, he was of the belief that Ghana had been blessed with some of the finest brains in any political dispensation in the country.
“I always felt that the people of Ghana were lucky to have men and women of such calibre helping the president to manage the affairs of state at the time,” he added.
In the photo snippets of the book below, you can read the full details of all that he said in this regard:
A prison inmate, Richard Ofosu Dame has been confessing his evil deeds when he was a free man.
His confession included his attempt to kill his own mother but God had His hand on the life of the prayerful woman and protected her from her evil son who had been throwing snares at her.
Narrating his vile deeds to crimecheckghana.org, Dame said he had already killed three people spiritually, which he was contracted to do.
According to him, he became possessed by an evil spirit and he used the powers to cause atrocities including killing people.
He said when he was possessed, people consulted him to do evil for them and that became his job.
Dame said the evil powers he possessed enabled him to summon people’s souls through his chants.
He indicated that he even went to Peki in the Volta Region to buy a snake, which could vomit money.
However, his mother who was against his deeds hindered his acts with her prayers.
Dame said his mother’s prayers did not sit well with him so he attempted to kill her in the same manner he had done with the other deceased individuals.
He said his attempt failed and rather got blind while he was chanting to get her mother’s soul to appear in a calabash for him to stab her. He lost his sight for two years.
“I have a small stone under my bed which I worship. A man gifted it to me. When I want to kill, I get a small doll and pins around it with a red piece of cloth. After that, I put it in a calabash containing water. When the water turns reddish in colour, then it means that the person has been killed. I used the same method to kill three. I also summon people’s souls to kill them.
“It got to a time, my mother’s prayers were obstructing my work. She advised me to stop but I refused. I wanted to take her life the same way I did with the others but it was unsuccessful. I was chanting in a bid to summon my mother’s soul. She was praying that evening and when the incantations got intense, some sort of strange wind blew over my face and that ended my sight. I went blind for two years,” he confessed.
Like Apostle Paul in the Bible, Dame said he repented after his sight was restored.
“When I lost my sight, I realized that God’s power reigns supreme. I was taken to many places to seek help and through that I encountered God,” he said.
Circuit Court Judge Samuel Bright Acquah is making a case for courts to take a strong stance against illegal mining.
Ruling on a bail application by lawyers for Galamsey Kingpin Aishà Huang, Justice Acquah said the future of the nation is under threat.
He indicated that the accused will, therefore, remain in police custody as investigations continue.
Ms Huang and three others are accused of engaging in illegal mining and engaging in the sale of minerals without a license. They have pleaded not guilty but remain in police custody.
Lead Counsel Nkrabeah Effah Dartey on Tuesday made a second application for bail.
The court had on September 14 remanded the accused persons to police custody.
Mr Dartey questioned the work done by investigators insisting they have not been fair to the accused persons.
“Where is the evidence? Why should this take more than one month? The element of they being foreigners should weigh on your mind. Ghanaians are all over the world. I am pleading with you, to admit them to court bail. We will satisfy the conditions.” He stated.
He urged the Judge to be bold and grant bail and that no one can question him should he do so.
“His Excellency the President, the Attorney General cannot say anything if you grant them bail. You can perfectly do that. They are keeping the accused persons in total incommunicado. Going to BNI is like attacking a virgin’s home,” he added.
Prosecutors however opposed the request. They insisted the facts presented to the court so far make a compelling case for the refusal of bail.
“Fact is that these persons are charged, investigations show they entered this country illegally. That is enough to draw a conclusion that they have no fixed place of abode let alone gainfully employed.
“We invite you to avert your mind to the fact that in as much as they deserve justice, the laws of the land which have been desecrated also deserve justice. They are remanded as we continue with investigations.”. Prosecutors stated.
Justice Samuel Bright Acquah turned down the request for bail.
“This is an activity that is destroying our water bodies. Look at how it is destroying our forest. We the humans are complaining, the animals in the forest are suffering, it’s very sad. If we should allow this to go on, Ghana Water says they will soon shut down their machines.
“We will have to import water to drink? The courts and everyone must take a strong stance. Aisha Huang especially, how she entered the country. She can’t even tell. If I grant bail, and tomorrow the case is called and she can’t be found. What happens? The motion for bail is refused,” Justice Acquah stated.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Dome-Kwabenya Sarah Adwoa Safo has bagged a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Procurement Law and Policy from the University of Nottingham.
She took to her Facebook page to announce this achievement with the caption, “What God cannot do does not exist.”
The lawyer who was the first Minister of State in Charge of Public Procurement in Ghana before her reappointment as Gender Minister has been away from the country for some months now.
Due to her long absence, the president revoked her appointment as Minister for Gender and Children.
Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery says government will only lift the curfew in Bawku if there is total peace and security.
Mr. Dery says the current breakdown of law and order in the area affects development.
Ambrose Dery’s comment comes after calls for government to lift the age-old curfew necessitated by conflicts in the area.
But the Minister says all other bans will be lifted if peace is restored.
“If you give us peace, we will see how we will review the curfew in the next few weeks, but if you tell us the only thing you know is war, we will increase it. [I am not sure that is what you want]”, he said.
Last week, the Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC) announced the enforcement of additional security measures in Bawku.
The revised security actions are to stem the renewed fighting in the community.
After its emergency meeting, REGSEC resolved on the following measures:
The Police, Ghana Immigration Service and the Military are allowed to use official motorbikes between 6:00am to 6:00pm.
Temporary ban on ‘yellow, yellow’ operations until further notice.
Curfew hours to cover Nayoka, Kpalgu and Manga.
“Please ensure strict compliance”, a statement from the Office of the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council said.
The decision came after at least three persons were reportedly shot by unknown persons.
A transformer belonging to the Northern Electricity Development Company was also destroyed during the shooting incident.
Police at Ejisu are investigating the death of a 23-year-old female house help at Awomaso in the Ashanti Region.
The deceased, Akua Kyem died on Sunday and her relatives suspect foul play alleging her mistress could be behind her death.
Police have, however, picked up the woman who the deceased lived with and worked for.
According to the relatives of the deceased, the 23-year-old worked as a house help at an apartment at Awomaso with her mistress.
The mistress however reported the death of the 23-year-old girl to them on Sunday after depositing the body at a morgue at the Emena Hospital.
The deceased’s grandfather, Kwarteng Peprah who narrated the incident to Citi News said “I had a call, and I was informed that my granddaughter who lives with a woman at Ahomaso was butchered to death. I called the woman to get some details. She told me that the girl left the house and returned home at about 1 am. I asked if the girl’s movement had changed when she came back home. I also asked her if there was blood coming from any part of the body since she was butchered and even if the girl was taken to the hospital. She said It was her 12-year-old daughter who drew her attention that the demise of the house.”
The mistress whose name has been given only as Mama Jane is currently in the custody of the Domeabra Police while the Ejisu Divisional Command has taken over investigations.
Mr. Peprah added that he and other relatives suspect foul play in the death of the house help.
“The body of my granddaughter was deposited at the Emena Hospital morgue. The upper part of the body seemed like she struggled with another person who inflicted wounds on her. I will not believe it if the woman tells me that my granddaughter was attacked outside. I suspected that she maltreated the deceased, which led to her death. We want the police to ensure the truth is brought to bear. We want the woman to also be responsible to contact relatives of her house help if there is an issue”, he alleged.
Police have picked up some implements from the residence of the mistress as part of their investigations.
The Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, has called for the youth of Bawku in the Upper East Region to smoke the peace pipe and stop the killing and destruction of properties.
This follows an imposed curfew in Bawku in August 2022, after a series of clashes that led to the loss of human lives and the destruction of properties.
Security measures to deal with the situation have been extended to neighbouring communities with an outright ban on the use of tricycles in Bawku and its environs.
Heads of Basic schools in the area have therefore requested the Ghana Education Service to shut down schools for fear of their lives.
The Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, speaking at a gathering at Bawku, which was attended by the Interior Minister, IGP, Chief of Defence Staff, the General Officer Commander, Northern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces, said the youth should calm down for peace to prevail.
“…The fighting in Bawku must stop from today…I come and plead with you that we are citizens, the firepower of Ghana, all the big guns, it is the security agencies that have it, and you can’t fight the security agencies. But we will not use the guns on you; we want to come and talk to you and appeal to you that put down whatever guns you have. So that if anybody has a case, I feel I’ve been wronged, I will go to court and make my case heard so that we don’t kill each other.”
