TIG Post

Author: Phoebe Martekie Doku

  • John Mahama joins Rev. Stephen Wengam to celebrate Cedar Mountain Chapel’s 12th anniversary

    Former president of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama joined Rev. Stephen Wengam, the leader and founder of the Assemblies of God Cedar Mountain Chapel to celebrate their 12th anniversary at their church located as East Legon.

    The church also used the opportunity to break grounds for the construction of their 6,000 Cedar Mountain Cathedral, Children’s Chapel and an 8-storey administration complex.

    Speaking during the celebrations on Sunday, October 2nd, Rev. Stephen Wengam stated that the new facility would host two historic events in the history of Assemblies of God in Ghana if completed on time.

    The construction of this cathedral is historic and would serve Assemblies of God Ghana in future. This facility if completed on time would serve as a world-class facility to host the World Missions Conference in 2024 then in 2026, we will be hosting the World Fellowship Assemblies of God Conference. We can’t bring the whole world here because we are 70 million members, the largest Pentecostal church worldwide.

    Rev. Stephen Wengam also in his address urged the congregation not to relent in their prayers to see the 6,000 Cedar Mountain Cathedral constructed by 2024.

    He also expressed his gratitude to the former president, John Dramani Mahama for standing with the church for over a decade when they first moved to their old church at American House to this day.

    The former president who has been a devoted member of the Assembly of God’s Church expressed his appreciation to the church for his role in his life and family. According to him, the new facility would be one of the greatest edifices to the glory of God.

    “I’m grateful to someone who I consider as brother and friend for inviting me to the breaking grounds of what is probably be the greatest edifice to the glory of God.

    “I keep saying that the principal work of God’s shepherds looking after the flock is to teach the word, spread the gospel and plant churches that is what it’s all about, any other talent is a bonus,” H.E John Mahama stated.

    “But for these two people [Rev. Stephen Wengam and Rev. Ernest Adjei], they preach the word as if they open your head and put the word into it. I’m used to addressing huge crowds at rallies but when you come and stand at the altar of God to preach it is a different curtain of fate. So when they do it effortlessly it amazes me and I believe it is an unction from God,” he added.

    Cedar Mountain Chapel started at a rooftop at East Legon and moved to a Guest Hotel through to American House before arriving at the Cedar City they have built to God’s glory at East Legon.

  • Alleged US$10k trip to US: Presidential staffer insults Facebook user

    Presidential staffer Charles Nii Teiko Tagoe has responded harshly to a Facebook user who accosted him over his alleged deportation from the United States of America in mid-September.

    Tagoe had on October 4, 2022, made a routine post about the government’s intervention in the health sector when the user by the name of Mo Barhama jumped into the comment section with his ‘attack.’

    “The $10000 you wasted on a plane ticket only to get deported could have been put to good use in this regard,” he responded to Tagoe’s post which was an artwork with a child and a caption that read: “The government through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has developed a strategic framework to end child marriage in Ghana,”

    A clearly unenthused staffer responded: “Mo Barhama I just went through your pictures and I won’t say anything again. Kwasiaaaaa saaa no. Internet has worried us paaaaa.”

    An unrepentant Mo Barhama will not back down, going ahead to share the purported boarding pass of Tagoe’s trip and a cedi conversion of US$10,000 while responding to other commenters who were defending the presidential staffer.

    One such defender by the name of IK Bonney was then asked by the presidential staffer to stop minding Barhama.

    “IK Bonney You have time to waste on this idiot? You paaaa. Hunger will continue to kill idiots like that. Don’t waste time and energy,” Tagoe replied.

    Charles Nii Teiko Tagoe was reported by The Herald Newspaper to have been deported from the United States in mid-September, hours after he arrived in the country.

    He has not denied making the trip but has flatly denied having been deported and threatened to sue the paper and its publisher Larry Dogbe.

    Dogbe has since published supposed flight details and dared Tagoe to follow through with his promise to sue.

  • Polio Vaccination: Round two slated for October 6 to 9

    The Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS) are set to vaccinate over six million children below the ages of five against Polio.

    This will be done in a four-day National Polio Vaccination Campaign slated for Thursday October 6, to Sunday October 9, 2022.

    Mr Kwame Gyimah-Akwafo, President of the Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS) who launched the vaccination campaign in Accra on Tuesday said the exercise was expected to increase population immunity against the Type 2 Poliovirus and break transmission of the disease.

    Polio, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus.

    It invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours.

    The virus is transmitted by person-to-person and spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or contaminated water or food and multiplies in the intestine.

    Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck and pain in the limbs.

    One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs.

    Mr Gyimah-Akwafo said the campaign would target about 60,000 households through door to door interactions in all 16 regions and that the vaccination would be done in all public health facilities.

    Mobile teams would also vaccinate children in communities.

    He said in effort to improve upon achievements in the first round in September, the GRCS had deployed over 400 trained volunteers nationwide to mobilise communities and create awareness for the second-round polio vaccination,expecially in hard to reach areas.

    Mr Gyimah-Akwafo said the GRCS’s partnership with the GHS to vaccinate children was in line with the Red Cross (RC) and International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) mission to maintain the focus of governments in ensuring that all other diseases were not left behind due to efforts to immunise populations against COVID-19.

    He urged Ghanaians to join in the fight against polio and other public health emergencies and called on parents to make thier children avaliable for vaccination.

    “We have fought polio for a very long time, it goes, hides and comes back and there is the need to make sure that we protect our under five children,” he said.

    The GRCS President said the World Health Organization (WHO) had supported the government with financial, logistical and technical support to reach out and vaccinate all eligible children across the country.

    Polio mainly affects children under five years of age. However, anyone of any age, who is unvaccinated can contract the disease.

    There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented.

    Polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life.

    There are two vaccines available – oral polio vaccine and inactivated polio vaccine – both are effective and safe.

    The two are used in different combinations worldwide depending on local epidemiological and programmatic circumstances.

    This is to ensure the best possible protection to populations.

  • UTAG, TEWU others to commence an indefinite strike on October 13

    All four labour unions in Ghana’s public tertiary education space have resolved to embark on an indefinite strike effective Thursday, October 13, 2022.

    The unions made up of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Tertiary Education Workers Union (TEWU), Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG), and the Ghana Association of University Administration (GAUA) have given the government up to a week to resolve their concerns.

    “Following the Press Conference by UTAG, GAUA, SSA-UoG, and TEWU-GH with FUSSAG in attendance on Wednesday, 28″ September 2022 at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, the National Leadership of the four Labour Unions have had a series of engagements between some stakeholders of tertiary education in Ghana, including Vice Chancellors Ghana
    (VCG).


    “Upon further deliberations among the National Leaders, we write to communicate that the intended strike action of all labour unions in the public universities in Ghana takes effect from Thursday, 13 October 2022. This gives the employer and all stakeholders of tertiary education in Ghana one crucial week to reverse the directive that seeks to negatively compromise the Conditions of Service of University Workers.

    In the statement signed by the leadership of the various unions, members were entreated to stay calm and cooperate with leadership as we navigate this trying moment.

    According to the unions, displeased with what they refer to as a” blatant unilateral variation of service in the face of hostile economic conditions.”

  • Reality of Ghana’s debt restructuring is on businesses, households

    The rippling effect of Ghana’s debt restructuring will not only be felt by financial institutions but businesses and households.

    This is the “reality” that Ghana finds itself, the Policy Initiative for Economic Development (PIED), an economic policy Think Tank, said as the country looks to restructure its debt with the help of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    Ghana is in negotiation with IMF for a $3 billion loan support for its homegrown economic programme, with a Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSI) currently ongoing.

    The loan facility is aimed at easing the country’s economic hardship by restoring and sustaining macroeconomic stability, ensuring a resilient and inclusive growth and promoting social protection.

    The Government is also setting up a five-Member Committee of prominent financial services professionals to lead extensive stakeholder engagements across all the key segments of the financial sector in the debt restructuring process.

    Dr Daniel Abateye Anim-Prempeh, an Economic and Financial Analyst with PIED, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview on Tuesday that financial institutions would be denied the needed access to liquidity through the debt restructuring.

    He noted that in effect, banks, pension funds and insurance companies who the Government borrowed from would find it difficult to mobilise enough money for onward lending, thereby denying businesses the opportunity to borrow for expansion.

    “If businesses are not expanding, it means that they would not be able to increase output. When output is not increased, jobs will not be created, and they cannot make profit and that will also affect the Government’s ability to mobilise revenue through taxation.” Dr Anim-Prempeh explained.

    Mindful of the reduction in the level of public and investor confidence in the economy and, by extension, the financial sector, he urged the Government to ensure that “the debt restructuring is well done and communicated.”

    The Financial Analyst said many Ghanaians would resort to the traditional ways of keeping money in their homes should the debt restructuring reduce public confidence, particularly in the financial sector.

    “People have invested in treasury bills or bonds with the expectation that when it matures, they can get the money with returns, but now it must now be extended. This means that people’s plan and strategy for the use of that money have been frustrated.”

    He also said: “With this, people who have money will resort to other instruments or alternatively. People who have so much money may resort to other markets other than our domestic market.”

    Dr Anim-Prempeh, therefore, recommended to the Government to “devise a very good communication mechanism and a holistic stakeholder engagement to ensure that the debt restructuring is done and still maintain investor confidence in the domestic economy.”

    He asked the Government to fast-track the negotiations with the IMF and be transparent to everyone, noting that, “once the IMF and the facility comes on board, we’ll earn that credibility from external investors.”

    He told the Government to engage captains of industry, including investors and the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) to incorporate the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme to increase value addition and export to anchor economic growth.

    The Financial Analyst cautioned the Government against “diverting the money into consumption like paying of wages and salaries, and also conduct periodic audit into the use of the funds to ensure accountability.”

    Data provided by the Bank of Ghana shows that the country’s total public debt stock has reached GHS393.4 billion in June 2022, 78.3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    The Central Bank’s Summary of Economic and Financial Data noted that the domestic debt was GHS190.1 billion, and external debt, GHS203.4 billion, and ascribed the increase in debt to exchange rate instability.

    The IMF in its April 2022 Fiscal Monitor predicted that Ghana’s debt to GDP ratio would be 84.6 per cent by the end of 2022 – a debt situation that many economic and financial analysts, and financial institutions have described as “unsustainable.”

  • EC payment system being handed over to a private company – MP alleges

    The Ranking Member of the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, John Jinapor, has alleged that the management of the Electricity Company of Ghana(ECG) is handing over its payment system to a private company called Hubtel.

    According to him, Hubtel is the same company that the previous ECG Managing Director, Kwame Agyeman–Budu, wanted to take charge of the company’s payment system at a commission of 1.5 percent which led to some commotion.

    Speaking in a Good Morning Ghana panel discussion monitored by GhanaWeb, on Tuesday, October 4, Jinapor added that now the current management is trying to privatize the payment system at a 4 percent commission rate.

    “There is an attempt to hand over the ECG app, which was developed locally by ECG staff to a company called Hubtel. Today as we speak, there are Hubtel officials at ECG trying to hook their system on the app.

    “I’m even told that Hubtel is proposing to charge 4 percent commission. So, there is a lot of internal upheaval among some ECG staff.

    “Don’t forget that during Budu’s time he wanted to embark on the same thing and charge 1.5 (percent commission). The ECG staff held press conferences publicly and agitated against the 1.5 percent commission.

    “They (the ECG staff) believe that they have already developed the app and that it should not cost that much to bring on board a third party,” he said.

    The ranking member, who is also the Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu, added that the National Security also entered the discussion and it is demanding some information about the transaction and some details on the payment system.

  • 22-storey Airport building roads minister vowed to halt almost completed

    The 22-storey building that courted the anger of the Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Attah, in December 2019, vowing that he would ensure the construction is halted, is near completion.

    The minister gave the order for the demolition of the structure at the Airport Residential Area after there were several complaints from residents in the community about the project.

    During a personal visit to the site and on seeing the work being undertaken there in 2019, the minister was incensed with anger.

    In the heat of the moment, he ordered the security personnel he was accompanied with, to arrest some three foreign nationals who were supervising the project, which is just adjacent to the Association International School in Accra.

    Captured on video, the minister minced no words when he called for the men to arrested, calling for an immediate stop of work.

    “The chief executive of this area must be questioned. Not even the president will do this. And I don’t care which political power, economic power or traditional power that person has, this will not be allowed and we will not allow this,” the minister fumed.

    However, a recent tweet shared by C-Real on Tuesday, October 4, 2022, shows that the project is near completion.

    The photo shared with the tweet showed the building at full height, needing only some finishing touches for it to be completely done.

    “Remember a minister raised all hell one bright afternoon swearing he would shut down this construction project near Association International? Well. They’re almost done,” the tweet read.

    See the post below. Also, the 2019 video of the minister is shared below for reference:

    Remember a Minister raised all hell one bright afternoon swearing he would shut down this construction project near Association International?

    Well. They’re almost done.

    ☺️???? pic.twitter.com/RVTrtiTlJf

    — C-Real (@C_RealMC) October 4, 2022

  • Strange diseases, babies born with deformities in mining areas alarming – Pathologist

    A forensic pathologist and Head of KNUST School of Medicine and Dentistry, Dr. Paul Ossei Sampene is concerned about the recorded cases of newborn babies with deformities in mining communities.

    Speaking to GHOne News, the pathologist observed that illegal mining activities which continue to contaminate food crops and river bodies have far-reaching consequences on human health, which is partly why the country’s health facilities are overwhelmed by strange diseases and defects in births.

    He stressed the heavy concentration of metallic substances found in river bodies is worrying.

    “We need to appreciate the fact that cumulatively if these patients get even 0.005% of heavy metal, and assuming the person stays there all his life you can imagine the sort of concentration that you can get in a year or in a month, and that is what we should consider. When you live there permanently, that is your place of abode and consume whatever is produced there, you drink the water there and eat the food there, cumulatively it can affect your life. And we need to take action. If care is not taken in the near future we need to import food.”

    Irresponsible small-scale mining activities across mining communities in Ghana continue to have adverse impacts on lands and water resources and threaten human survival in mining areas.

    Newborn babies with deformities, and kidney failure, among others, are on the rise as a result of the intake of polluted water and consumption of food crops in mining areas, the pathologist observed.

    “Per my particular examinations of people that have passed on at certain areas seem to be telling me that there is a lot of heavy metal pollution in our food chain which has found its way into the body of the human.

    “The gastrointestinal tract which we call GIT per our medical term is one of the things that is affected when you consume these heavy metals.

    “I did one work by using placenta and looking at it I think is alarming. Even though I haven’t been able to do more of these things nationwide, but I think that if we allow it to continue, we will be in a position where in the near future we’ll get a lot of babies with deformities.

    “Some of them fortunately the deformities are not compatible with life and so some of them just die immediately after birth. But if you’re not careful and you survive it, you might have somebody with an internal organ deformity.”

  • Wontumi, Samertex PRO clash over rights to Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve

    The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, has clashed with the Public Relations Officer of the timber processing firm, Samertex, Vincent Torgah, over rights to be operating in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve.

    The clash comes after the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, directed the Forestry Commission to cease the operations of Akonta Mining Company in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve of the Amenfi West Municipal Assembly.

    According to a statement issued by the Public Affairs office of the Ministry on Friday, September 30, 2022, the company owned by the ruling NPP Chairman for Ashanti Region, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, alias Wontumi, has been engaging in mining activities in the forest without a permit.

    “The attention of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has been drawn to publications about certain operations by Akonta Mining Limited in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve in the Amenfi West Municipality in the Western Region.

    “Records available to the Ministry show that while Akonta Mining Ltd has a mining lease to undertake mining operations in some parts of Samreboi, outside the Forest Reserve, the company has no mineral right to undertake any mining operations in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve,” the statement said.

    According to the Ministry, while Akonta Mining Company had applied for a permit to mine in the said forest reserve, the Minister had yet to give approval to any such application hence rendering the activities of the firm in the said forest reserve illegal.

    Reaction to this in an Asempa interview monitored by GhanaWeb, on Tuesday (October 4), Wontumi insisted that he has the right to some parts of the Nimiri Forest and he is only awaiting a mining lease from the ministry to start the mining.

    He said that he has documents that show that he has rights to some parts of the forest reserve and that there is even a case that is yet to be determined by the court on who has the rights to the dispute parts of the forest.

    “If Samertex says they have the right to the disputed parts of the forest, they should provide their evidence like I have.

    “Akonta Mining is not mining in the forest; we only entered the forest about two years ago but Samertex knows that there have been illegal miners in the forest since 2013. Why did not report these galamseyers to the forestry commission?” he said in Twi.

    He added that his company together with some security only went into the forest to sack illegal miners who were already in the forest but they were attacked by officers of Samertex which led to the destruction of one of his vehicles.

    But, the PRO of Samertex, Vincent Torgah, who joined in the conversation, said that the claims of the NPP regional chairman were false.

    According to him, the Forestry Commission of Ghana which gives leases to forests in the country has on some occasions informed Wontumi’s Akonta Mining that it has no right to be mining in the forest.

    “The Ministry has told Akonta Mining on a number of occasions that it has no right to be mining in the forest.

    “But anytime we go to the forest with officials of the Forestry Commission, we see that the mining is ongoing. The security of Akonta sometimes refuse to let us leave the forest and we have to be rescued,” he said.

  • Ofori-Atta’s Databank should not play a role in Ghana’s bond issuance – Amoabeng

    Prince Kofi Amoabeng, the former CEO of the defunct UT Bank, has criticised the involvement of Databank, a bank co-founded by the Finance Minister, in the issuance of government bonds.

    According to him, it is ethically wrong for Databank to be in such a position due to the conflict of interest the entity finds itself.

    It has been widely reported that Databank and Black Star Brokerage have been acting as Bond Market Specialists for government bond issuance.

    These two institutions are linked to the Finance Minister, Ken Ofoi-Atta and the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen respectively.

    Reacting to this in a TV3 interview on Monday, Amoabeng wondered if the directors of Databank can sleep soundly after benefiting from the government bonds issuance.

    He noted that: “I think it is ethically wrong, certain things you don’t do, just because there is a conflict of interest.

    “As it is been reported that Databank and Black Stars have brokerage firms that are benefitting, really? If they can sleep in the night then they are tough people.”

  • ‘It’s galamsey galore in Ghana’ – Oppong-Nkrumah’s 2016 tweet re-emerges

    In May 2016, The Economist made a tweet about the effects of small-scale illegal mining (galamsey) in Cote d’Ivoire, to which the current Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, reacted.

    The tweet read, “In Ivory Coast, the government has shut down more than 280 illegal mines since last year.”

    In a retweet, Oppong-Nkrumah, who was at the time a parliamentary candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the Ofoase Ayirebi constituency, called out the government of the day for their poor fight against the galamsey menace in the country.

    “And in Ghana it’s Galamsey galore. Governments can act if they really want to,” he retweeted.

    Today, the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, under which Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah serves as Minister of Information, has been bombarded with perhaps the worst effects of galamsey in the country.

    This is beside the several attempts made by the government to fight the menace, which continues to destroy water bodies as well as forest covers.

    See the tweet below:

    And in Ghana it’s Galamsey galore. Governments can act if they really want to. https://t.co/J3e3Id9iud

    — Kojo Oppong Nkrumah (@konkrumah) May 11, 2016

  • I express my gratitude to my brother the Asantehene and other chiefs for protecting our son – Nayiri

    The Overlord of Mamprugu, Naa Bohagu Abdulai Mahami Sheriga has expressed appreciation to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and other Chiefs around the country, for protecting their son, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

    The Nayiri welcomed Dr. Bawumia and his delegation, made up of members of Government from various parts of the country, to his Palace on Tuesday morning, before the Vice President commenced his working tour of the North East Region.

    As members of the Vice President’s powerful delegation were introduced one after the other, the Nayiri realised that the delegation was made up of people from different parts of the country.

    He acknowledged the diversity of the delegation during his address and commended Dr. Bawumia for being inclusive, adding that the diversity of the delegation is also an indication that the Vice President is widely accepted and also has a very good relationship with people.

    To the members of the delegation, the Nayiri urged them to continue to work together with the Vice President until the right destination is reached.

    “You have come far with the Vice President and since you have not yet reached your destination, you cannot complain of being tired. The plea to all of you is that, continue to lend support to the Vice President so that we will all get to our preferred destination.”

    Expressing gratitude to all present and Chiefs for supporting the Vice President to serve, the Nayiri delivered a special message to the Asantehene, through members of the delegation from the Ashante Region.

    “The Asantehene is a blood brother to the Nayiri and a very good friend. Each time they are together and they speak the same language. So those of you from Ashanti, when you get back, go to the Asantehene and tell him that his brother, his friend extends warm greetings to him and expresses his gratitude to him for protecting our son. I also request his continuous support for his son so that he can get to where he wants to get to.”

    The Nayiri urged Dr. Bawumia to continue to work hard in service to the nation, assuring that God will reward his efforts.

    The Vice President has been on a working visit to the since Sunday. After spending two days in the Northern Region, he started the a tour of the North East Region.

    Members of his delegation is made up of Ministers, MPs, Senior Government and Party Officials, former party executives and other party stalwarts.

  • Almost everything is amiss, we couldn’t even protect our gold and other resources – Kwesi Pratt

    Seasoned journalist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has expressed frustrations over the state of Ghana‘s economy and the attitude of the citizens.

    Discussing national issues bordering on illegal mining (galamsey) and terrorism among others, Mr. Pratt was extremely worried about the future of the country.

    He condemned practices where people build houses at unauthorized sites such as waterways and places earmarked for road networks and so forth.

    He made reference to current conflict on lands at Weija Gbawe where a dam has been constructed to control the flow of the river in the area but the place has been encroached by settlers who have erected buildings there and now risk their houses being demolished.

    He also raised concerns over other places which are designated to be flight zones, hence no building nor project should be constructed there but all warnings have been ignored and today these zones have turned into a real estate dwelling for the rich in society.

    Mr. Pratt also complained about the indiscriminate use of sirens by drivers which, he stressed, should be a grave matter of concern to the State authorities because it could create an opportunity for insurgents to enter the country.

    In Kwesi Pratt’s estimation of the country, almost everything is amiss in Ghana.

    “What one thing is going well in Ghana?”, he asked and challenged “somebody should just tell me one specific thing that’s going on well”.

    With all these and many issues broached by the Editor-in-Chief of the Insight newspaper during Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” show Tuesday morning, Mr. Pratt concluded that if nothing is done to stop these practices, a time may come that every Ghanaian would opt to run from the country.

    “We couldn’t protect our gold. We didn’t get any benefits from it and it’s also destroyed our lands. We have also built houses in the waterways. We are also cutting down our cocoa trees. We are also being threatened by Boko Haram. What is left again? Somebody should tell me. What is left is for us to run from here?”, he questioned.

  • PURC orders ECG to pay compensation to customers who suffered prepaid system failure

    The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has ordered the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to pay compensation to its customers who were affected by the company’s recent system failure.

    Prepaid metre users of the state power distribution company between late September 2022 and early October 2022 experienced challenges in topping up credit.

    The situation affected customers seeking to purchase credit from third-party vending points and the ECG mobile app, leading to several power users being left without supply for days.

    In a statement dated October 4, 2022, the PURC ordered ECG to compensate its affected customers for breaching its obligations.

    “In view of the extent of inconvenience occasioned by the failure with the ECG prepayment meter system, the Commission has determined that ECG shall pay compensation to all affected customers.

    “ECG IS HERBY ORDERED to compensate each affected customer for loss suffered as a show of responsive customer service,” the statement said.

    According to the directive, the compensation is to be affected “in the form of one-time electricity credit commencing 1 October 2022 and ending October 7, 2022.”

    See below the details of the full order by PURC to ECG

    Watch the latest episode of The Lowdown below:

    The Lowdown: Role of the diaspora in the development of Africa

    CEO of the Aaron Manvel Foundation Millie Lorene Tucker and Gary Hope, the CEO of FLCC – Bring Back Hope Foundation underscore the need for the African diaspora to help develop the continent in this episode of The Lowdown on GhanaWeb TV. According to the women trying to make and create a change in Ghana, our forefathers were sold away and made to develop strange lands. Thus, coming back home and developing their home country is the best thing to do especially when resources are available.

  • Agenda 111 closing up 60-year health access gap – Bawumia

    The decision to undertake arguably the largest investment in the country’s health care system, Agenda 111, arose from the government’s determination to close the gaping lack of access to healthcare facilities, especially in remote areas of the country, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has explained.

    Inspecting the progress of work in one of the dozens of new hospitals under construction across the country at Bunkprugu in the North East Region on Tuesday, 4th October 2022, Dr Bawumia said this was the first time a concerted effort has been made to ensure that every Ghanaian, irrespective of where they live, has access to a quality health facility within a relatively short distance.

    “The Agenda 111 Project is to bridge a 60-year gap in access to health facilities across the country. 90 districts in our country do not have District Hospitals. Six Regions do not have Regional Hospitals. Large parts of our country do not have access to Specialist hospital facilities and services. This is despite over 60 years of being Independent.

    “So the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo took the bold decision to build these hospitals and meet the health care needs of the people of Ghana, to ensure that every District has a hospital and every Region has a Regional Hospital. This will greatly increase access to health care, prevent avoidable, preventable deaths and reduce the suffering of our people,” he added.

    The Agenda 111 project involves the construction and/or upgrading of 101 district hospitals, the construction of six regional hospitals in the newly created regions, two specialised hospitals in the middle and northern belts, as well as a regional hospital in the Western Region and renovation of the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital.

    Officials of the Ministry of Health say the Project, when completed, will significantly deepen the delivery of quality healthcare at the district level and boost access to healthcare services for all citizens towards ensuring the attainment of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal Three.

    The Vice President had earlier inspected ongoing works at Savelugu and Yendi, both in the Northern Region, as part of the first leg of his working visit to the five northern regions of Ghana. He was accompanied by Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, Presidential Adviser on Health, Hon Ambrose Dery, Minister for the Interior, and other government officials.

  • Accra’s biggest death trap that is a ‘haunted,’ abandoned 17-storey building

    The La Beach Towers was designed to be a new and unique concept in beachfront residential accommodation comprising three 18 (ground plus 17) storey towers situated at the coast of Accra.

    The project, co-owned by the late Member of Parliament for Abuakwa North, J. B. Danquah-Adu, is said to have come to a halt after the sudden, horrifying death of the legislator in February 2016.

    Years after, the building has been described as a death trap, posing a great danger to the landscape of the capital city, Accra.

    Also, there have been many unconfirmed stories of mysterious encounters happenings at the site of the skyscraper.

    In an attempt to get a closer view of the building and understand some of the stories that have been told of the high-rise building, Kofi Adoma of KOFI TV and KOFI Radio, visited the building and captured scenes that show how much of a death trap the building poses.

    With images shared on his social media handles, it shows the extent of damages caused to metallic equipment and tools abandoned in the building, badly rusted away.

    This is also due to the fact that the building is located right on the coast, a situation that has compounded the rusting of tools in the building.

    “From its position (close to the sea), building materials like iron rods, metals and others that are exposed to the breeze of the sea keep wearing off and corroding, and that makes the building weak and a death trap,” a caption on KOFI TV’s Facebook page read.

    The caption also alleged that there have been deaths recorded at the site of the building, with residents living in fear that the edifice is haunted.

    “Lot of deaths have been recorded from this place, residents living around this place say they are being haunted by the spirits of people who died there as workers or by accident,” it added.

    But the biggest concern of the broadcaster is with how much a threat this abandoned building poses to the communities around it and its people.

    “From afar, it’s just an abandoned building left to rot. From a closer look or view, this building is a death trap awaiting for its big swallow before action is taken,” the caption concluded.

    It is unclear what authorities intend to do about this building, or what the way forward for the project will be but one thing is clear, the longer it remains abandoned, the more threatening it could be, especially considering its position.

    Below are photos from the inside of the building, as well as a video that shows the extent of damage caused to the project:

  • Report wrongful E-Levy charges to your charging entities – GRA

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has directed Ghanaians who have been wrongfully charged the E-Levy on their first GH¢100 transaction to report to their charging entities for redress.

    Some Ghanaians have taken to social media to complain about unlawful charges on their transactions, even though they have successfully linked their Ghana Card details with their SIM cards.

    Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Head of Project Management at GRA, Isaac Kwabena Amoako, explained that the various charging entities may have not updated the Ghana card details of their customers, thus the wrongful deductions.

    “We are aware of these wrongful charges. The good news is that there is an avenue for customers to make complaints when there are wrongful charges. What we have also noticed is that customers have gone to the charging entities, especially the banks, to update their information, but the charging entities have failed to update same with GRA.”

    “Anyone who has been wrongfully charged has an obligation to report to their charging entities. They are not supposed to reach out to GRA. Coming to us means that you are reporting the charging entities. You only report to us when you do not get the desired results after contacting your charging entities.”

     

     

     

  • Weija DA JHS students join colleagues to evacuate belongings as flood engulfs homes

    The students joined efforts to retrieve properties belonging to their colleague’s family.

    Several communities in the Weija Gbawe Municipality have been submerged in flood waters following the spilling of excess water from the Weija Dam.

    The Ghana Water Company Limited on Sunday, October 2, 2022, commenced the spilling of excess water in the dam.

    Visiting Weija and its environs on Tuesday, October 4, 2022, GhanaWeb TV cameras captured several residents who had been displaced by the spilled water flooding their homes.

    Dozens of students at the Weija D/A Junior High School were sighted assisting some schoolmates whose home had been flooded to evacuate their properties.

    A parent of the affected student lamented the impact of the flooding which she noted had destroyed her valuables.

    According to the mother of three, she had lost some GHC1,500 to the flood waters in addition to several belongings.

    Boats take over as homes at Weija ‘drown’ under water after dam spillage.

     

     

  • Galamsey: ‘We all know those involved but it has become difficult to talk about it because of fear’ – MP

    Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, Kobina Tahir (K.T.) Hammond, has said that persons financing illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) are well known but have not been exposed yet because of fear.

    He intimated that they are not talking about ‘galamsey’ because they know the power of the people involved in the menace, adomonline.com reports.

    “How do these visitors get to know these galamsey towns? Our own people hold their hands and take them to the places to do the illegal mining. We all know those involved but it has become difficult to talk about it because of fear,” the MP is quoted to have said on Asempa FM.

    K.T. Hammond, however, urged the government to start putting in place serious mechanisms to stop the menace because it is becoming very scary.

    “The issue of galamsey is a serious issue and should be looked at. Let’s be up and doing as a government and do the right thing.

    “The government should do more to end the galamsey menace. It is not acceptable any longer. Government should tighten the measures adopted in the galamsey fight,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the United States (US) Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, has urged the government of Ghana to put in more effort in the fight against the menace of illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) in the country.

    According to her, Ghana was not making any significant strides in the fight against the menace because only the illegal miners (‘galamseyers’) are arrested while the powerful forces behind them are not touched.

    Virginia Palmer, who made these remarks when she paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, added that if the government fails to take urgent steps to stop ‘galamsey’, the country will be in some serious crisis soon.

    “The galamseyers themselves are people who need to make a living. I think the galamseyers are not active in doing it but the powers behind them are the ones truly responsible for the evils. Indeed, they are wreaking real environmental havoc on your rivers which is having an impact on your cocoa crops. All of these things are going to have really negative consequences on the economy of Ghana,” she said.

  • Dead whale found at Dansoman

    A sea mammal; a whale, has reportedly been found dead at a Beach in Dansoman.

    Photos posted by akokonsafuor on social media platform – Instagram, show that the mammal may have died some time ago, judging from the decolourized carcass that was washed ashore.

    It is unclear however what may have caused the death of the mammal.

    As of the time of going to press, GhanaWeb had not received nor seen any official communication from authorities on what happened at the beach.

    See the photos of the dead mammal below:

     

  • We never said we were not going to borrow – Ex-NPP MP

    Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Okaikwei North, Fuseini Issah, has refuted assertions by some factions in the public that the Akufo-Addo government said it was not going to borrow.

    He intimated that neither President Akufo-Addo nor Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia categorically stated that Ghana was never going to borrow money under their watch.

    Speaking in a TV3 interview monitored by GhanaWeb on Tuesday, the ex-MP added that there is nothing wrong with borrowing money for development and that even advanced countries, including the US, borrow.

    “Nobody said that we were not going to borrow. At no point did we say we were not going to borrow. Aid and borrowing are different.

    “Borrowing is part of normal government business. No government on earth does not borrow; it is part of normal governance and normal fiscal policy. Nobody said that we were never going to borrow. It is not written anywhere,” he said.

    Also, he said that the current hardships in the country can not be blamed on the Akufo-Addo government.

    According to him, the main reasons for the hardship are the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and the mess created by the government of ex-president John Dramani Mahama, which the Akufo-Addo administration is still fixing.

    Prior to the 2016 election, Vice President Bawumia said that there was no need for the Mahama government to borrow because Ghana had enough resources.

    “I worked at the Bank of Ghana, and so I know that Ghana is rich. It is because the managers of the economy are incompetent, and so all they think of is borrowing. The NPP, if voted in, will harness resources to develop Ghana. I am telling you we can develop Ghana without borrowing, the money is here,” he said.

    He has since stated that the statement he made is being misconstrued and that he meant that an NPP government will borrow responsibly.

    President Akufo-Addo also, before he came to power, said that Ghana has an abundance of money needed to transform Ghana.

    “God has not placed us on this rich land to be poor. Ghana is not a poor country. The money is there in abundance. It’s just a matter of priority,” Akufo-Addo said.

     

  • Terrorism threat: Sheikh Dukere was the contact person for Fulanis in Ghana – Adib Saani

    Security Analyst, Adib Saani, has said that the re-arrest of prominent Fulani Imam, Sheikh Dukere, does not mean that he (the Imam) is connected to jihadists or terrorist groups in Burkina Faso.

    According to a Joy News report, Sheikh Osman Dukere was arrested for the second time in Ghana by National Security together with 12 of his followers on Saturday, October 1, 2022.

    Although the reason for his arrest has not been disclosed, the Imam was arrested in 2019 with 20 of his disciples when he was accused of having links with a jihadist group in Burkina Faso.

    The first arrest was made after the security operatives in Burkina Faso informed the National Security of Ghana that Imam Dukuri was the emergency contact of 5 jihadists it had killed in a gunfight.

    But in a statement copied to GhanaWeb, Adib Saani said the five terrorists killed might have had the contact of Sheikh Dukere because he was the contact person for Fulanis who fled to Ghana.

    “Sheikh Siidi Dukere who was arrested alongside 12 of his followers in Karaga in the northern region was arrested in the past and released due to lack of evidence.

    “He came under the radar when killed militants in Burkina Faso had his number on their emergency contact list. But as an individual who was the official focal point and contact person for all Fulanis who fled into Ghana from Burkina Faso, it would have been normal to have his contact saved on many phones even if he didn’t know them,” parts of the statement read.

    Adib, however, urged the security apparatus in Ghana to be vigilant because the five terrorists having the contact of the Islamic cleric might mean that they might have come to Ghana at some point.

    “However, the fact that these individuals had his number saved in their devices meant that they might have accessed Ghana before returning to Burkina Faso,” he noted.

     

  • Don’t go into nursing just because you need a job, you must have the passion for it – Asantehene advises

    Asantehene has urged the youth in Ghana to choose the nursing profession because they have the heart for it and not because of its relative job assurance and other benefits that come with being in nursing training institutions.

    Otumfuo Osei Tutu II said that most people go into nursing and teaching not because of the love they have for these professions and they end up becoming frustrated.

    The Asantehene, who made these remarks when a team from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana paid him a courtesy call, reiterated that only people who have the calling can become good nurses.

    “If you don’t have the heart for the nursing profession don’t go into it because you will not be able to do the work effectively.

    “People who go into nursing because it is a reliable source of employment are mostly not happy. People who are called, who love taking care of people are those who become better nurses.

    “If you want to become a good nurse it must come from your heart. You must have patience. Dealing with sick people is very stressful but you are the person who will be taking care of them. You have to help bedridden people ease themselves, you must bathe them and so on. In all these, it is the empathy that you have that can make you an excellent nurse,” he said in Twi.

     

  • Deputy Chief of Staff rewards first Dagbon female PhD graduate in Applied Statistics

    The first female from Dagbon to bag a PhD in Applied Statistics, Dr. Mumuni Napari Hanifatu continues to receive plaudits from prominent persons from the Northern Region.

    Ghana’s Deputy Chief of Staff Hon Alhaji Aliu Fawaz is the latest to have lauded her for making the region proud after years of study.

    He revealed that Dr. Mumuni Napari Hanifatu undertook the studies through a GETFund scholarship and presented to her a MacBook laptop to assist her in her work.

    “I received in my office today, Dr. Mumuni Napari Hanifatu, a recent PhD graduate in Applied Statistics. Dr. Napari is one of the young ladies from Tamale who took the courageous step to undertake a science program to this high level and deserves our commendation and encouragement. We had a good conversation on STEM education in Ghana, and how to encourage girls to study the sciences. I was, particularly, happy to hear from her that her PhD program was fully funded through the GETFund Scholarship Scheme.

    “Hopefully, her achievement will encourage and spur others to follow her example. I presented her with a MacBook laptop to assist her in her work. May we continue to get more of her kind from our beautiful city, Tamale and Ghana as a whole,” he disclosed.

     

  • ‘There’s no hope; Akufo-Addo and Bawumia are under judgement’ – Sammy Gyamfi

    The National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, has said that there is no hope for Ghanaians under the current  President Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia government.

    He explained that there is no hope because President Akufo-Addo robbed the 2020 elections, and he is now being punished by God, which is why he has been embarrassing himself since the inception of his second term.

    Sammy Gyamfi, who was speaking in an XYZ TV interview monitored by GhanaWeb, added that the only way the current hardship in the country can be reverted is when this current government is booted out of power.

    “There is no hope. President Akufo-Addo and Bawumia are under judgement. Only people with no spiritual discernment are unable to see this.

    “Have you ever seen a Ghanaian president being booed in his own country? He is under judgement. His cup is full. God’s anger is on him. This is what happens when you take something that does not belong to you.

    “You have killed 8 people because of power, and you think you will go scot-free. Nothing in the country is working. They don’t know what to do now. They have given up on the country,” he said in Twi.

    He added that what the country is currently going through is because of the judgement of God on Akufo-Addo.

    “We are suffering because when a country has bad leaders, its citizens suffer just like the cases in the Bible,” he added.

    The effort paid off. I’m A Honky Tonk Girl reached number 14 on the country charts, and Lynn relocated to Nashville, where she was quickly snapped up by Decca Records.

    She released her first Decca record, Success, in 1962, beginning an impressive stretch of hits that continued into the 1990s.

    Lynn earned her first number one with Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind) in 1966, and topped the US country charts another 15 times.

    She recorded 60 albums in total, and was nominated for 18 Grammy Awards, winning three.

  • Robert Gilman: Ex-US marine jailed in Russia for drunken attack

    An ex-US marine has been sentenced to four and a half years in Russian prison for kicking a police officer while drunk.

    Police removed Robert Gilman from a train after complaints from fellow passengers in January.

    He was then arrested for kicking an officer while in custody.

    Gilman told the court in Voronezh, south-western Russia, that he did not remember the incident but “apologised to Russia” and to the officer.

    After being found guilty, Gilman – 28 and from Massachusetts – said the sentence requested by the prosecution was too strict.

    The lawyers told TASS, the Russian state news agency, that Gilman was in Russia to study and obtain citizenship.

    Gilman was reportedly staying in Sochi, but headed by train to Moscow to replace his damaged passport at the US Embassy.

    His lawyers said they would appeal against the court’s decision and contact US officials to seek a prisoner exchange.

    There have been several high-profile cases of Americans being sentenced to lengthy prison terms in Russia recently.

    This could lead to prisoner swaps, a process often seen as “hostage diplomacy”, where countries try to use people as bargaining chips.

    Another ex-marine, Trevor Reed, was freed in April in a prisoner swap after being found guilty of violence against a police officer on a night out in Russia.

    And another former US marine, Paul Whelan, is serving 16 years for spying charges after a short trial was conducted entirely behind closed doors.

    He maintains his innocence, and describes himself the victim of “greasy, slimy Russian politics”.

    US basketball star Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison on drug charges by a Russian court in August.

    The double Olympic winner admitted possessing cannabis oil, but told the court she had made an “honest mistake”.

    The US claims she’s being wrongfully detained. It is unclear how long she will spend behind bars, as the US and Russia have reportedly discussed a prisoner swap involving Russian arms trafficker, Viktor Bout.

     

  • Queen of Country music Loretta Lynn dies aged 90

    Loretta Lynn, whose songs of strength and independence made her a standard-bearer for women in country music, has died at the age of 90.

    Known as the Queen of Country, her songs were rooted in real-life experience, most notably on the autobiographical Coal Miner‘s Daughter.

    Other hits included Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’, Honky Tonk Girl and the feminist anthem, The Pill.

    Lynn’s family said she died on Tuesday at her home in Tennessee.

    “Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home in her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills,” the family said in a statement.

    They asked for privacy as they grieve and said a memorial would be announced later.

    The singer was born Loretta Webb in a one-room log cabin in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky in 1932. She was the second of eight children.

    Just as she would later sing in Coal Miner’s Daughter, her family eked out a living during the Depression, with her father earning a “poor man’s dollar” by working all night in the coal mines, and all day in the fields “a-hoein’ corn”.

    The family made its own entertainment – her mother played guitar, with her father accompanying on banjo – and she grew up on the songs of the Carter Family.

    “I was singing when I was born, I think,” she told the Associated Press in 2016. “Daddy used to come out on the porch where I would be singing and rocking the babies to sleep.

    “He’d say, ‘Loretta, shut that big mouth. People all over this holler can hear you.’ And I said, ‘Daddy, what difference does it make? They are all my cousins.’”

    At the age of 15, she attended a “pie social” – where local girls would bake a pie, and men would bid to win both the food and a meeting with the cook.

    Loretta’s pie, baked with salt instead of sugar, was won by Oliver Lynn, a 21-year-old solider, who swept her off her feet. A month later, they married and moved to Custer, Washington, where they raised four children.

    Her husband, whom she called “Doo” or “Doolittle,” urged her to sing professionally and bought her a $17 (£14.80) Sears guitar, with which she started a band, Loretta and the Trailblazers, that also featured her brother Jay Lee Webb.

    By 1960, she had signed a contract with Zero Records and released her debut single, I’m a Honky Tonk Girl.

    The song was inspired by a woman Lynn befriended in Washington, whose husband had left her for another woman. Lynn said she wrote the song while leaning up against an old toilet in her house, the words pouring out of her in a 10-minute burst of inspiration.

    She and her husband promoted the song relentlessly, driving to radio stations around the country to pester DJs into playing it, and sending out hundreds of free discs.

  • Patricia Ofori-Atta of Zoomlion receives Ghana Environmental Sanitation award

    A Senior Communications Officer at Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL), a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), Ms. Patricia Ofori-Atta, has received an honouring award in Environmental Communications.

    The award ceremony, which was held on Saturday, October 1, 2022, in Accra, was meant to recognise persons who have distinguished themselves in the environmental and sanitation space.

    Ms. Ofori Atta was recognised for her instrumental role in environmental communication ensuring that the environment was given due respect.

    Being the maiden edition of the award scheme organised by the Ghana Environmental Sanitation-Award (GESA), sponsored by Zoomlion Ghana Limited, it formed part of the numerous measures to champion and encourage players in the sanitation management space to ensure the sustainability of the environment.

    Ms. Ofori-Atta’s award was a unique recognition of her relentless effort in the sanitation sector as monitored by individuals, the organisers, and groups in making sure there was always a healthy environment across the country.

    As an experienced multimedia practitioner with an extensive background in waste management, results, and performance-driven professional with over eighteen years of communication experience in journalism and marketing, Ms. Ofori-Atta is committed to providing adequate information on the protection of the environment.

    She holds a Master of Arts in Media Management, Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) and was adjudged the overall best student and a BSc Administration (Human Resources Management, GIMPA, with a Diploma in Communications Studies in Journalism from the Manifold Information Technology (MIT).

    Before joining Zoomlion, Patricia worked with media houses including The Public Agenda Newspaper, Choice FM and also had a one-year national service at the Graphic Communications Group (Junior Graphic) as the Administrative Assistant.

    At her current employment with Zoomlion, she works at the Communication set up with other positions within the Jospong Group of Companies holding in trust the oversight responsibility of ensuring that the team of media personnel engaged provide media coverage for the subsidiary companies of the JGC.

    In an interview with journalists after receiving the award, Ms. Ofori-Atta was positive the award will impact immensely on her job.

    “This award simply tells me that whatever I was doing, there were people observing. I, therefore, entreat everyone to do whatever entrusted into his or her hand with a sense of urgency,” she advised.

    Meanwhile, on the night Zoomlion bagged seven awards in total. These were Environmental and Sanitation Man of the Decade, which award went to the Executive Chairman of the JGC, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong; Distinguished Service in Environmental and Sanitation Communications, Ms. Patricia Ofori Atta, a Senior Communications Officer, and; Distinguished Service and Environmental Sanitation Management, Mr. Ernest Morgan Acquah, General Manager of Metropolitan Waste and Allied Services).

    The rest were Most influential Blogger/Vlogger in Environmental and Sanitation Promotion 2022, Edmond Otu Yeboah, Assistant Communications Officer; Sewage System Ghana Limited, Most Impactful Waste Management Organisation of the Year; Most committed Borla Woman in Ghana, Madam Philomena Dzogbo, Borla Police, and; Most Impactful Clean Ghana Campaign Project. 1 Million Bin.

  • 10 Zongo youth awarded in 1st Season of Zongo Shark Tank

    Ten youth entrepreneurs from Zongo communities across Ghana have been awarded prizes in the first season of a business reality programme for young people in Zongo communities dubbed Zongo Shark Tank.

    Zongo Shark Tank, which is being spearheaded by ZongoVation Hub and ZongoVation Capital, seeks to encourage business development among the Zongo youth as part of efforts to help resolve the growing unemployment rate in the country.

    Under the initiative, three brilliant and sustainable ideas will be selected to receive a cash grant of GH¢10,000 and other business support opportunities, including mentorship from some of the top business experts and entrepreneurs in Ghana.

    The winners are to be selected from Zongo youth across the country with the best business pitches on how they can expand their businesses.

    Jibril Yakubu, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tanko’s Enterprise in Attakrom, a small community in the Oti Region, was adjudged the winner of the first season of Zongo Shark Tank.

    Jibril Yakubu, while receiving the award, could not hold back his happiness and shed some tears of joy.

    In an interview with GhanaWeb, Yakubu said that he shed tears because of the magnitude of responsibility that had been bestowed on him.

    He added that he will be using the GH¢10,000 he has won to expand his business, which will help him save more money for his education.

    Aside from the CEO of Tanko’s Enterprise, the other top three winners were the representatives of Eco Period and Oskhalim Food Processing.

    The seven remaining finalists were given GH¢5,000 each, a certificate plus other items.

     

  • Okyehene’s anti-galamsey taskforce can become a terrorist group – James Agalga warns

    The Ranking Member on the Defense and Interior Committee of Parliament, James Agalga, is worried over the establishment of an anti-galamsey taskforce set up by Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, the overlord of the Akyem Abuakwa State.

    The Bulsa North legislator argued that no civil group, whether associated with a traditional authority or not, should be allowed to wield guns.

    He further explained that the seemingly organized anti-galamsey group could threaten the county’s stability.

    It would be recalled that the Okyeman Environmental Taskforce assisted the Kibi Divisional Police in a special galamsey operation at Asaman Tamfoe on Thursday, September 29, 2022, that turned violent.

    Reacting to the operation, the Ranking Member described the actions of the task force as a breach of the law.

    “What happened was very unfortunate. You find people who are supposed to belong to a taskforce – it doesn’t matter whose taskforce they were, wielding fire arms and engaging in gun fights openly in the street of the town is not the best. It doesn’t also matter that the same taskforce may have been cooperating with the police.

    “What we saw was a breach of the vigilantism and offences act that parliament passed not too long ago. And you know what is even frightening is the fact that they were organized. There’s the possibility that once they are organized and if care is not taken, they can easily metamorphose into a very terror organization and that is why it is not proper for a civil group, whether they are a taskforce associated with a traditional group or not, to openly wield firearms and use them in a gun fight,” he told the morning show host of Kumasi-based Oyerepa TV, Kwesi Parker-Wilson, and monitored by GhanaWeb.

    The MP further explained that the taskforce could rather play other significant roles in situations like these, rather than be seen wielding firearms that could endanger lives.

    “They could act as informants to the police and allow the police to carry out the operations and flush out whoever was perceived to be engaged in galamsey or landgaurdism,” he added.

    However, James Agalga, however, called on the Inspector General of Police, COP Dr. George Akufo Dampare, to order the arrest and prosecution of members of the task force.

    He said this would establish whether the guns used by the men are licensed or not.

    “Those who engaged in the open gunfight need to be arrested and investigated so that it will be established whether the guns they used are licensed or registered with the police. If you watch the video carefully, you would think that these are combatants in a war zone country.

    “The imagery was very bad and should be condemned in no uncertain terms and it should never happen again. I charge the IGP to ensure that arrests are effected and the vigilantism and offences acts are applied,” he added.

  • How Torgbui Gobah eulogized Asantehene at Akwasidae

    There is often this rift between persons belonging to the Akan and the Ewe ethnic groups, with each group accusing the other of some disrespect.

    But this was not the case at the celebration of the 7th Akwasidae in the Asante calendar at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi, on Monday, October 4, 2022, which was attended by many dignitaries, including an Ewe chief, the chief of staff of the Forum for Kings and Traditional Leaders of Africa, Torgbui Gobah Tengey.

    During a speech at the event, Torgbui Gobah Tengey, who is also an International Peace Ambassador, described the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, as the greatest monarch in the world.

    He also praised the Ashantehene for his role in the maintenance of world peace.

    “His Majesty, my great brother, the greatest monarch of the world today by your deeds. Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is a King of Peace. He has performed creditably, to the admiration of the whole world.

    “We call each other brothers. As an Ewe man, he loves me to the narrow. So, when we see each other, we are always smiling at each other. Otumfuo is a great King, a peacemaker, a loving father. Your peaceful overturns are unparalleled. A few years ago, you were at the United Nations, (and) you surprised the whole world with your oratory, ‘The African is a Great Son of the World’.

    “You have proved beyond reasonable doubt that Africans can remake the world. And I rely on you, we rely on you to have that union of fellowship among the rest of Africa so that we can conquer the world,” he said.

    Torgbui Gobah even went on to dedicate his “Development Chief of Africa” award which was conferred on him by the President of Congo, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, to the Asantehene.

    “As a peace ambassador, I’ve been honoured by the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo through the All Africa Conference of Churches because of my peace overtures in the world.

    “It is through your (the Asantehene’s) prayers and blessings that I have reached that level in the world. And I’m showing this honour, for the first time, to you, my mentor, before it goes any were. But I would like you to keep this in your kingdom,” he said.

     

  • We abhor Examination Malpractices – Wisconsin University to freshers

    Council Chairman of the Wisconsin University International College of Ghana, Justice Isaac D. Duose has cautioned the 3749 freshers who have gained admission to study various programs by the University to avoid cheating in Examinations.

    According to him, Wisconsin University International Collage of Ghana does not tolerate examination malpractices in any form and anyone caught in the act will be dealt with.

    Addressing matriculants at the University’s nineteenth matriculation ceremony held on Saturday, 1st October 2022 at the institution’s main campus at North Legon in Accra, Justice Duose explained that the University does not tolerate Examination malpractices in any form or shape because the University does not intend to give half-baked degrees to any student who passes through its walls.

    “We take strong exception to examination malpractices, since we do not and will not go to encourage you to use short-cut to get your degrees. Because if you get a degree here and you go out there to show incompetence, it will be a disgrace to the board, management, and staff of the University”, the Council Chairman of the Wisconsin University International Collage of Ghana reiterated.

    ”We want each and every one of you sitting here today to be our good ambassadors of excellence anywhere you will find yourself now or in the future”, Justice Duose added.

    “One thing I will like to leave with you is the importance of timeliness so that as you go on in life, you will respect time. Because respect for time is respect for everybody else you come into contact with,” he noted.

    The Council Chairman admonished freshers and continuing students to understand that there is no known magic formula for success. Saying what we do know is that those who have achieved true success have consistently displayed a couple of characteristics: Integrity, transparency, accountability, teamwork, and excellence in service delivery.

    These characteristics according to Justice Duose represent the core values of Wisconsin University International Collage of Ghana which the students should believe in and uphold.

     

  • 25-year-old Teshie Fisherman in trouble for stealing goats

    An Accra Circuit Court has convicted a 25-year-old fisherman Emmanuel Laryea after pleading guilty to unlawful possession of some stolen goats.

    He was found in possession of goats stolen by some persons alleged to have embarked on goats stealing spree at Teshie in Accra.

    Laryea will face sentencing on October 18, 2022.

    Another accused person Samuel Tetteh however pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy and stealing and remanded.

    Two other persons are on the run, while the last accused is said to be deceased.

    Prosecuting, Inspector Dzigbordi Nego told the Court that last September 11, at about 11pm, Tetteh who resides at Teshie together with the other accused persons on board a mini bus embarked on goat stealing within the Teshie township.

    Inspector Nego said on their return after a successful operation, the road was blocked by a mob who attacked them.

    She said the alleged thieves managed to escape, but luck eluded one of them who was lynched on the spot.

    The Prosecutor said the mob also caused damage to the vehicle. She said investigations led to the arrest of Tetteh from his hideout.

    He allegedly admitted the offence and mentioned names of his accomplices.

     

  • New Juaben Traditional Council bans broad daylight conveyance of corpse

    The New Juaben Traditional Council in Eastern region has banned broad daylight conveyance of corpses by bereaved families.

    A decision taken by the traditional authority during Akwasidae stated that ” all corpse should not be conveyed from the mortuary before 6:00pm”.

    The statement issued by Maxwell Asante , Registrar on behalf of the Omanhene Daasebre Kwaku Boateng III further stated that “no corpse should pass around the Omanhene’s palace at Srodae, Koforidua when taken from mortuary”.

    The traditional council also took a decision reducing time for observation of one-week funeral from 6:00 am to 12:00noon instead of 6:00 am to 6:00 pm.

    The statement entreated all subjects to comply with the directives to avoid serious sanctions.

     

  • Boats take over as homes at Weija ‘drown’ under water after dam spillage

    Like the floods of Accra that have become a perennial occurrence, residents of Weija have once again had to wake up to the devastating effects of the spillage of the Weija Dam by the Ghana Water Company Limited.

    The annual spillage of the dam is meant to release excess water from the dam.

    The maximum level of water the dam is built to hold is about 46 feet, but the level came up to 48 feet, thereby threatening its safety, hence the decision to spill.

    Residents have been forced to move around in canoes, as many houses have been completely submerged under the water.

    GhanaWeb has been to the area and has captured videos of the extent of damage caused after the spillage of the dam on Monday, October 3, 2022.

    Meanwhile, the management of the GWCL has assured the public that despite the challenges, it is in control and has put in measures to ameliorate the situation to minimize the impact on consumers.

    The management explained further, “the Weija dam is currently at a level of 49.5ft as against the maximum operating level of 48ft. Spillage normally begins when the level gets to 46.5ft. As a result, four (4) spill gates have been opened to safeguard the integrity of the dam, save the dam from collapse, and save lives and properties.”

    Watch the latest episode of The Lowdown below:

    The Lowdown: Role of the diaspora in the development of Africa

    CEO of the Aaron Manvel Foundation Millie Lorene Tucker and Gary Hope, the CEO of FLCC – Bring Back Hope Foundation underscore the need for the African diaspora to help develop the continent in this episode of The Lowdown on GhanaWeb TV. According to the women trying to make and create a change in Ghana, our forefathers were sold away and made to develop strange lands. Thus, coming back home and developing their home country is the best thing to do especially when resources are available.

  • Ghana urged to ratify ILO conventions to curb forced labour in marine fisheries sector

    Ghana’s parliament has been urged to fast-track processes towards the ratification of some ILO Conventions currently before it, to enhance decent working conditions among fishers and other stakeholders in the marine fisheries sector.

    Ghana has been a member of the ILO since 1957 and has ratified eight Fundamental Conventions, with two others; C155 (Occupational Safety and Health Convention) and C. 187 (Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention), yet to be ratified.

    Aside these Fundamental Conventions, the ILO has developed technical Conventions for specific areas including construction, plantations and marine fisheries, among others.

    Under marine fisheries, the ILO has established a Convention to ensure that fishers have decent conditions of work on board fishing vessels, considering the hazardous nature of the occupation.

    The convention – C. 188 which looks at Work in fishing, if ratified, will ensure fishers have the minimum requirements including accommodation and food; health protection, occupational safety, social security and medical care among others while on board a vessel.

    While the Ghana Maritime Authority has confirmed that the Convention – C.188 has been assented and laid before Parliament for consideration, processes to facilitate speedy ratification are yet to be done.

    Touching on the need for the Convention which is currently before Parliament to be ratified for implementation, National Project Officer of the International Labour Office (ILO), Emmanuel Kwame Mensah told GhanaWeb that it will advance efforts to deal with issues of forced labour among fishers.

    “When the convention is ratified then it can be translated into a framework for implementation and we encourage that no hindrances or impediments are put in this part so that all the parties supposed to help implement this convention when its ratified will be given the necessary support in terms of logistics.

    “The expectation is that after the ratification, now you have a national law that contextualizes the ratification because the context of countries differ from one country to the other. The conventions are very general although they provide some international standards,” he noted.

    Mr. Mensah further added that authorization of the Convention will provide the necessary logistics for various stakeholders to work and ultimately lead to measurable results.

    “Although we know that ratification is not the final bit, ratification provides an impetus, for actual work to be done to deal with issues of forced labour and provide a decent working environment for our fishers.

    “For example, in the fishing sector, there are a number of players; the fisheries ministry, labour ministry, you have the maritime authority who in the context of the country should have the leading mandate to do this inspection,” he said.

    Adding,

    “You need to talk about the kind of logistics, resources they need to carry out their work, do they have it? Are the personnel available? Are they well-trained? Properly distributed in the areas where work is needed to be done,” he added.

    Mr. Mensah spoke on the sidelines of a 2-day training held in Accra, in partnership with the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) for journalists nationwide.

    The workshop, among other things, focused on target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 8 which calls on countries to take immediate action against decent work deficits that are an affront to the fundamental principles and rights at work.

    Background:

    Ghana has ratified the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (no 81), the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (no 144) as well as a number of technical Conventions.

    Two fundamental Conventions; C155 (Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981) and C187 (Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006) remain unratified.

    While these are undeniably central to the achievement of the ILO’s goals to promote decent work and protect individuals, specific Conventions which focus on forced labour in the marine fisheries sector also need to be ratified.

  • What Bawumia is really doing with his Northern Region Tour – Spokesperson clarifies

    Following some media reports that Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s recent tour in the Northern Region is a subtle campaign move, his spokesperson has emerged with some clarification.

    Dr. Bawumia began a three-day tour of the Northern Region on Sunday, October 2, 2022, to visit some constituencies as well as inspect some ongoing projects in the region.

    He also took the opportunity to interact with the chiefs and people of the Northern Region.

    There have however been suggestions that the Vice President has intentions of killing two birds with one stone – touring while introducing himself to the people.

    His spokesperson has however emerged to debunk the suggestions, providing clarifications to the issue.

    Speaking in a Citinews interview, Gideon Boako said that the Vice President was merely engaging with people in his community.

    “Some of them are technically not party people, but the fact that he lives within their community, he has a property within their community, and he comes back home after work, they want to visit him and talk to him, and it is quite normal

    “It is time for him to avail himself to the community for people to come and interact with him,” Mr. Boako said.

  • Man dies after stomach bursts over excessive drinking

    In a rather bizarre turn of events, a 37-year-old man, Kwaku Yayente, has met his untimely death after excessive drinking of alcohol at Kansakrom, a suburb of Atwima Mponua District in the Ashanti region of Ghana.

    The deceased reportedly had his stomach exploding after drinking excessively.

    Mr. Aguuri, an eyewitness who spoke to GhanaWeb’s correspondent in an interview revealed that, the late Yayente had been an alcohol addict for many years.

    According to him, the family of the deceased had tried all the necessary means to stop him from drunkenness but all efforts proved futile.

    A senior mortuary attendant, Mr. Kwame Nyamekye aka Last Doctor, also told GhanaWeb, that he was at the mortuary when a family member and three(3) policemen brought the body.

    According to him, the family revealed to him that their late relative’s stomach was bloated due to excessive drinking.

    “Unfortunately for them, they heard a blast inside his room, and upon checks on him, they found out that his stomach had exploded with the intestines gushing out.

    “He did not die on the spot, so they rushed him to the Bibiani hospital here, but unfortunately, he was pronounced dead upon arrival,” he said.

    According to him, the family further told him that their relative had been sick for some days due to drunkenness. “I’m reliably informed he drinks every day, and even before his demise this morning, he drunk,” he concluded.

  • GWCL assures regular water supply despite flooding incidents

    The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has assured customers in the Greater Accra, Northern and Upper West regions of regular service despite flooding incidents at its treatment plants in parts of the country.

    Transformers powering the Nawuni-Dalun treatment plant have been damaged while rain waters have flooded the pump house at the Jambusi plant.

    The Communications Head for the Company, Stanley Martey, gave this assurance in an interview with Joy FM on Monday.

    “Affected areas will have low pressures but will still have water because you have to do water demand management within the metropolis so that you can share the water equitably, so that is under control,” he said.

    Touching the Weija dam, Mr Martey said GWCL had to open four spill gates of the Weija treatment to save the integrity of the dam.

     

     

  • Adopt security measures to deal with violent extremism – Northern Regional Minister charges MMDAs

    The Northern Regional Minister, Shani Alhassan Shaibu, has charged metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to put in place effective security measures to help deal with possible violent extremist activities and other crimes in the region.

    “The threat of terrorism is real and those of us at the realm of affairs should intensify efforts to create awareness in our communities on the need for vigilance and support to our security agencies who are well poised to deal with any situation” he said.

    Alhaji Shaibu made the call while addressing a meeting of members of the Northern Regional Coordinating Council (NRCC) in Tamale last Friday.

    The meeting brought together various heads of institution, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives(MMDCEs) and development partners among others to review activities, projects and programmes in the region.

    It was also to create opportunity for collaboration between the council and development partners.

    Work hard

    Alhaji Shaibu, who is the chairman of the council, charged the MMDCEs not to allow power to take away their responsibilities but rather work hard to develop their areas.

    “It is also important that we continue to remind ourselves of the enormous responsibility reposed in us, as members of this august body and also I urge all to demonstrate selfless commitment and dedication to work so that we can accelerate the pace of development in this region,” he said.

    He indicated that eight districts had so far benefited from the agenda 111 hospitals policy by the government to help make the provision of quality health care available and accessible to the people.

    He added that a number of road projects had been completed, while others were ongoing in the region, saying “the government of the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration has given a major facelift to many roads in the region, particularly the Tamale Metropolis through asphalting and upgrading of major roads.”

    For his part, the Chief Director of the Northern Regional Coordinating Council, Alhassan Issahaku, lauded the MMDCEs for their commitment to work and urged them to do more.

    Writer’s email: mohammed.fugu@graphic.com.gh

  • Publish findings on HIV drug – Funders demand of Noguchi

    After almost two decades of the discovery of the Goat Serum in the fight against HIV and AIDS, funders of the test in the country are calling on the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) to make public the findings of the research.

    The funders, the Grace Eureka Bio-Medical Research Product International based in Accra, on August 5, 2022 wrote to the institute to make available for publication the results of the test with the World Health Organisation (WHO) seal of certification.

    The letter, signed by the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Grace Eureka, Dr Edward Siaw Sefa, a copy of which the Daily Graphic has sighted, had the topic: “Preparation and In Vitro Testing of Goat Anti-Serum to Human Immunodeficiency Virus types One and Two”.

    It requested the NMIMR to make available certified results and attach the requisite contact details of scientists involved in the study to a member of the Council of State, Richard K. Atikpo.

    The letter said the discovery of the serum was Ghana’s opportunity to save the world from the scourge of HIV and AIDS.

    A serum is a protein-rich liquid of an animal used to provide immunity to a pathogen or toxin by inoculation or as a diagnostic agent.

    Positive test

    However, in a sharp rebuttal, a former Deputy Director of the institute, Prof. Michael Wilson, who was at post at the time of the test, said it was not the place of the institute to publish the findings.

    He said the contract between the institute and the researcher of the goat serum, Dr Gary Davis (now deceased), then a Director at Grace Eureka, was for the NMIMR to do a test tube research to ascertain whether the serum was potent in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

    In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, Prof. Wilson said in 2005, Dr Davis and his team from Grace Eureka contracted the services of the NMIMR to run the test on the goat serum.

    According to him, the test came out positive, meaning that the serum in its test tube form was found to be potent.

    He added that the institute then gave copies of the results to Grace Eureka and Dr Davis, who by then had fallen out with each other.

    Prof. Wilson said that was all that was required of the institute and, therefore, he was surprised that almost 20 years later, a letter had surfaced claiming that the institute did not publish the results and should, therefore, make them available to the funders again.

    Asked what should have been the next steps after the results had been made available to the parties involved, Prof. Wilson said there should have been further tests or experiments on animals to determine whether the serum was safe and not toxic and then move on to do clinical trials, which should be preceded by a safety trial.

    Ghana’s opportunity

    However, Dr Sefa said he was alarmed at a recent Daily Graphic report which said 23,495 people had tested positive for HIV in the first half of 2022.

    The figure is two per cent of the 948,094 people who undertook HIV testing from January to June 2022.

    The figure is said to be from different segments of the population, namely: men, pregnant women, non-pregnant women, homosexuals and female sex workers.

    Dr Sefa said the situation of HIV and AIDS in the country was still scary and needed a quick intervention.

    According to him, the goat serum had been used on different occasions in some parts of the world and Ghana where it had been proved to be efficacious.

    He said the scientist, Dr Davies, had already done the test tube test in the USA, which had also proved that the serum was viable.

    He said the goat serum had to be tested in Ghana upon a request by the National Institute of Health (NIH) of the USA to enable Grace Eureka to undertake further work for clinical trials to begin.

    Dr Sefa said the clinical trial could not be done because a lot of impediments were put in the way of Grace Eureka internationally and locally, after which Dr Davies died after he returned to the USA.

    NMIMR test

    In 2005 when the NMIMR did the test and it was published by the Daily Graphic, some HIV and AIDS champions rubbished it as not being the answer to the cure.

    Prof. Nana Kofi Ayisi, who performed the laboratory experiment on the goat serum, however, insisted that the work was significant and “gives cause for hope”.

    Prof. Ayisi, in an interview with the Daily Graphic at that time, explained that “the essence of the laboratory test was to confirm earlier tests that had proved that HIV antibodies could be produced in goats for clinical trails to be undertaken”.

    Writer’s email:rebecca.quaicoe-duho@graphic.com.gh

  • South Birim Rural Bank supports ODASCO

    The South Birim Rural Bank has donated GH¢10,000 to the Oda Senior High School (ODASCO) for the rehabilitation of the school’s girls’ dormitory block which was destroyed by rainstorm recently.

    The Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the bank, Mrs Benedicta Addo-Danquah, made the presentation, saying the gesture was in response to an appeal by the Headmaster of the school, Mr Evans Boafo, to the bank for financial assistance to repair the damaged building.

    She said the appeal fell within the confines of the bank’s corporate social responsibility and, therefore, obliged to assist in the development of its catchment area.

    Mrs Addo-Danquah advised the school authorities to utilise the money for the intended purpose in order to receive more assistance from the bank.

    She also urged the students to study hard to become responsible future leaders to assist in the development of their communities and the nation at large.

    The legal adviser of the bank, Augustus Anim Attafuah, enjoined the students to be disciplined, obedient, submissive and studious in order to achieve their objective of becoming great academicians in future.

    Appreciation

    Mr Boafo, who received the sum in cheque, said the donation had come at an opportune time for the students to get a decent dormitory block.

    He said the students had been sleeping in the school’s library since the rainstorm struck on May 17 this year.

    He appealed to the government, well-to-do individuals and non-governmental organisations to help to rehabilitate the Danquah boys’ dormitory block and the school’s pantry which were also damaged by the rainstorm.

     

  • Roche Ghana commits $400,000 to fight breast, cervical cancer

    Roche Products Ghana Limited, a biotechnology company, is contributing $400,000 to support ongoing efforts to improve cervical and breast cancer outcomes for women in the country.

    The company, in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Programme for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics (JHPIEGO) and the Government of Ghana, is supporting the Ghana National Strategy for Cancer Control.

    It is geared towards increased access to quality screening, early detection, diagnostics and treatment to help prevent or reduce the morbidity and mortality of women with breast or cervical cancer.

    The Country Manager of Roche Ghana, Dr Philip Anderson, who revealed this in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said Ghana was the first to benefit from the global partnership, which prioritised low and middle income countries in Africa and Asia, where the burden of breast and cervical cancers was highest.

    He said cancer was one of the most significant public health challenges in Ghana, and of all cancers, breast cancer was the most pervasive, accounting for more than 32 per cent of all new cancer cases among Ghanaian women in 2020.

    “Women in Ghana face multiple challenges in accessing quality breast and cervical health care during their patient journey including health, mental, social and financial hurdles. Once symptomatic women encounter the health system, the disease is often already in an advanced stage.

    “We estimate that one in every eight persons would be diagnosed with breast cancer in a year, so within a year, we are estimating in excess of 10,000 new cases of breast cancer.

    “Breast cancer is the leading cancer in women, however, cervical cancer turns out to be the one with the leading mortality equally close to the same incidence in a year,” he said.

    Dr Anderson called on the government to incentivise cervical and breast cancer screening to enable more women to utilise screening opportunities.

    That, he said, would boost screening rates, especially in deprived areas, and help improve the outcome of the two diseases affecting women.

    “Government or institutions should make this practice go beyond the October conversation by making vaccination a part of our immunisation programme for women.

    “We must institutionalise and incentivise breast and cervical cancer screening and have them embedded in antenatal care for women to be screened and be tracked whenever they miss their appointments,” he said.

    Sustainability

    The year-long project, he said will design a sustainable model for early detection and treatment of breast and cervical cancer which would be adopted and owned by the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

    He said his outfit launched a pilot in the Bekwai District of the Ashanti Region, adding that “we want it to be sustainable because such programmes are best implemented when the community accepts it.

    “Many a time, we see such projects mentioned at the national level, but then they end up being alien to the communities, where the projects are supposed to happen.

    “We will bring our expertise in diagnostics and build the regional and district health administration’s capacity to support the health system in the region,” Dr Anderson said.

    He said following the implementation and outcome, the project would be extended to other parts of the country.

  • Monitor SOEs’ accounting systems – IAA boss

    The Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), Dr Eric Oduro Osae, has tasked internal auditors to monitor the accounting systems used to prepare financial statements of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to ensure accuracy.

    According to him, the government had been questioning the amount of money paid by most SOEs as dividends over the suspicion that some SOEs might not be paying the precise dividends.

    “Internal Auditors, you are within these institutions, you are expected to ensure that accurate profits are declared and dividends declared are duly paid to the government,” he said.

    Dr Osae was speaking in Accra yesterday when he opened a two day training for internal auditors on the preparation of the 2023 Risk-Based Internal Audit (RBIA).

    RBIA is an audit methodology that links internal audit to an institution’s overall risk management framework with focus on the institution’s limited resources, high risk and high probability of weak controls.

    The Public Finance Management Act, 2016(Act921) mandates Internal Audit Units of covered entities to, within 30 days after the beginning of the financial year, submit an annual audit work plan to the principals spending officer and the audit committee of the entities as well as the IAA.

    The workshop, held three months ahead of the next due date( January 30, 2023)  for the submission of the plan, is aimed at equipping participants with the requisite skills and tools to enable them prepare and submit their RBIA work plans and reports as well as appreciate contemporary practices.

    Dr Osae said amongst other key mandatory areas internal auditors should focus on its 2023 risk assessments as a follow up of recommendations from the Auditor-General Report.

    He said they should also mainstream and conduct performance audits of operations of their institutions to get value for money, while they audit borrowing, outstanding recoverables and debts.

    That, he said, was important because the Auditor-General had made several comments on that issue and it was critical for the internal auditors to get the exact figures before the Auditor-General’s next report.

    Dr Osae said the participants would be guided to prepare their RBIA plans on areas such as protection of public assets, titling of assets, and ownership because the asset ownership of many institutions were questionable.

    “We need you, internal auditors, to plan and make sure that you guide and support these institutions to be able to report on a fair basis. Let us work together to provide the advisory and assurance services our institutions need,” he said.

  • Don’t let power corrupt you – Dr Robert Allotey Okine to Judges

    Judges in the country have been admonished to guard against being corrupted by the power they wield.

    According to the Most Reverend Dr Robert Allotey Okine, Archbishop Emeritus of the Church of Province of West Africa, judges must be guided by the aphorism “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely“ in their dispensation of justice.

    He was speaking at the special church service held last Saturday at the Cathedral Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Accra to open the new legal year which commenced yesterday.

    “As representatives of the third arm of government, you wield tremendous power, power that can determine an individual or a family’s fate in life. Power that can build or destroy,” he said.

    Quoting the late professor William Chadwick, a former professor of history at the Cambridge University, Rev Dr Okine added: “the possession of unlimited power corrupts the conscience, hardens the heart and confounds the understanding” contending that such a position ended in tyranny.

    In contrast. he entreated them to be the salt and light of their practice to stay on the right path.

    The annual service ushering in the 65th legal year was attended by judges, lawyers, traditional leaders, the clergy and other stakeholders in the justice system who gathered to seek God’s strength and guidance for the new legal year.

    Chief Justice, Justice Anin Yeboah, Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame, President of the Ghana Bar Association, Yaw Acheampong Boafo and Director at the Ghana School of law, Yaw Oppong were also accounted for.

    Speaking on the theme “Improving Legal Access to Justice in a pandemic through the use of technology” the retired Bishop of the Koforidua Diocese of the Anglican Church, indicated that technology was one of the ways God wanted mankind to solve problems and this had been made manifest by the coronavirus pandemic.

    He exhorted the judges on ten tenets to guide their practice which included admonition on not sacrificing integrity to expediency, being careful about people they associated with and being consistent in their utterances and actions.

    In a message, the Chief Justice, Justice Anin Yeboah, revealed that training in ICT and other related programmes have been planned to make the justice system more robust, dependable and acceptable.

    Prayers were also offered for departed judges and lawyers who passed on during the last legal year.

     

  • Government must protect financial institutions, households – Economists

    Some Economists have advised the government to protect financial institutions and households as it works towards restructuring the country’s debt with the help of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    The Economists, Dr Patrick Asuming and Dr Priscilla Twumasi-Baffuor, said the government must ensure that the debt restructuring was done in a way that would protect financial institutions, including banks and savings and loans institutions, as well as households.

    In the debt restructuring process, the government will either negotiate with the financial institutions to either reduce the debt or extend the payment duration.

    The Economists explained that the country’s current economic and financial position would force the government to negotiate with financial institutions to cut down on debt interest rates, which would affect their profit.

    The government has announced that it will soon name a five-member committee of prominent financial services professionals to lead extensive stakeholder engagements across all the key segments of the financial sector.

    Mr Ken Ofori-Atta at a press briefing in Accra said the engagement with stakeholders in the banking, asset, management, pensions, and insurance sector was to fast-track the IMF negotiation process in a clear and transparent manner.

    In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Dr Asuming, who is a Development Economist, said debt restructuring would occur, and advised the government to protect financial institutions in the process.

    He noted that the government had over borrowed with rising interest costs making it expensive to repay the debt, noting that “the government is really between a rock and hard place, but it’s more likely to have a domestic debt restructuring.”

    The Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), however, said: “the government must ensure that the domestic debt restructuring as part of the IMF programme does not lead to the collapse of banks.”

    “The restructuring should not lead to the collapse of any financial institution. We spent so much money to just recently clean them up, so it will be shocking to see any collapse,” Dr Asuming said.

    In a media discussion monitored by GNA on a local radio station in Accra, Dr Twumasi-Baffuor also said debt restructuring was inevitable and may lead to losses and called for the protection of households from possible adverse effects.

    She said: “The restructuring should be done in such a way that households are insulated from the adverse possible effects that will happen. As we go through all these, we need to be careful that households’ incomes are protected particularly given that in Ghana we struggle with a lot of Ponzi schemes in the financial sector,” she said.

  • Weija residents displaced after dam spillage

    Some residents of Weija and its environs in the Weija/Gbawe Constituency are displaced following the spillage of the Weija Dam by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).

    Some videos and photos available to GhanaWeb show that most homes within the catchment area have been flooded.

    Some residents who spoke to GhanaWeb on the condition of anonymity say they were not informed by GWCL of the spillage that occurred early Monday, October 3, 2022.

    The annual spillage of the dam by Ghana Water Company Limited is meant to release excess water from the dam.

    The maximum level of water the dam is built to hold is about 46 feet, but the level came up to 48 feet, thereby threatening its safety, hence the decision to spill.

    Meanwhile, the GWCL has indicated that the recent spillage was brought about following the recent heavy rains but “it is in control”.

    GWCL said, the situation has gravely affected its operations leading to “considerable havoc to some water treatment plants” across the country.

    The management of the GWCL assured the public that despite the challenges, it is in control and has put in measures to ameliorate the situation to minimize the impact on consumers.

    The management explained further, “the Weija dam is currently at a level of 49.5ft as against the maximum operating level of 48ft. Spillage normally begins when the level gets to 46.5ft. As a result, four (4) spill gates have been opened to safeguard the integrity of the dam, save the dam from collapse, and save lives and properties.”

     

  • Illegal miners don’t pay tax strengthen mining regulations – Joe Wise to gov’t

    The first Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu has said the government should strengthen regulations in the mining sector to prevent those engaging in it wrongly.

    Speaking in an exclusive interview on GHOne TV with Serwaa Amihere, the deputy speaker indicated that the government must not incur cost in an area he is not getting anything from.

    According to him, mining per se is not the challenge but mining irresponsibly is the issue, adding that they are not protecting the water bodies.

    “Mining has gone on but in a very irresponsible and so regulations should be harder. But the point is that with all the people making the money the government does not even get a portion. So why should the government continue to hire more people and spend it there?

    “Already you are overburdened and the people who are destroying the environment are not putting it back. If there is a way you can get some revenue from them that’s fine. But, one, he is stealing and he doesn’t have a license either. No account for anything revenue he gets and yet you are to add to your cost?” the MP quizzed.

    He has however absorbed the government from the responsibility of creating jobs.

    According to him, the government’s responsibility is to create an enabling environment for businesses to strive.

    The lawmaker also described as outmoded the expectation from people blaming the responsibility of job creation solely on the government.

    “The time that the government took the responsibility for creating jobs is long gone. The government’s position is that I will provide the enabling environment for you to create the job for yourselves.

    “So we should stop placing responsibility where you should not. A lot of the time we make people feel that it is the government’s duty to do this and that and people don’t do what they can do for themselves,” he explained.

    Mr. Osei-Owusu added that he is leaving politics and therefore can voice out, “I will speak boldly on what matters. If we want to move forward people must take responsibility for their lives.”

  • Over 2,000 residents displaced by floods at Nsawam

    Flood waters from River Densu and other tributaries in the Eastern Region have displaced over 2,000 residents of Nsawam with the Zongo community being the worst affected.

    Other affected areas include Gyankrom, Lanteh, Adoagyiri, Okobeyeyie, Owireku, and the lorry station among others.

    The rains which started on Saturday through to Sunday caused the River Densu to overflow its banks, forcing residents in the area to abandon their houses, livestock, and other properties.

    The Member of Parliament (MP) for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Hon. Frank Annoh-Dompreh who was in Accra at the time of the incident quickly rushed to the scene to solidarize with the victims and see how best he can help them.

     

  • I felt embarrassed about all of it – KiDi opens up on resurfaced tweets

    Award-winning musician, KiDi has disclosed how embarrassed he felt when tweets he shared when he was in his teens resurfaced online somewhere last week.

    Speaking on Daybreak Hitz on Hitz FM, the artiste revealed that he was going through so much the day his old posts resurfaced on social media.

    “So, I was already dealing with a lot…I didn’t even have time to breathe and reset…I remember when it happened I was having my EP listening session. I actually had to leave in the middle of it,” he disclosed.

    According to the artiste, he broke into tears in public.

    “I broke down in the middle of people, it was just a lot for me, so I had to leave and go home. I felt really embarrassed about all of it,” he said.

    The ‘Touch it’ vocalist distinguished that although he felt terrible, it was no excuse for some of the things he had said in his old tweets.

    He added that he couldn’t believe some of the posts that were shared came from him.

    “I tweeted things that were inappropriate and unkind. As I mature, I came to be extremely regretful of these actions and how they affected the parties involved,” the ‘Gyal Dem Sugar’ hitmaker noted.

    Opening up on how he has become a better person with time, he added that “a lot of the things and values we hold now, we had to go through certain things in life to arrive at this place that we are, we had to unlearn a lot of things we grew up with and relearn certain things to also know that this is not okay.”

    The singer added that he trusts the public figures whom he rubbished would understand he was a stupid young boy with little sense who said all those things and they find it in them to forgive him.

    “I am guessing and hoping that they know that this was a young foolish boy. I wasn’t even KiDi was Nana Dwamena who just had a phone and was misbehaving so I am hoping they can see through all of that and know that I wasn’t the person I was at the time,” he said.