The GNAT Hall’s Bediako Hall was filled with joy and laughter last Saturday as a cross-section of Ghanaians were thrilled with the captivating Nii Commey Handwriting Play dubbed: “SKIRTS & SUITS.”
The play which MTN Ghana sponsored and helped stage was performed to honour this year’s International Customer Service Week.
A night of immersive corporate stage dramedy was presented to thousands of theater enthusiasts by the storytelling hub Handwriting Communications.
The story of angels and demons, of customer experience, interlaced with spicy corporate nonsense, knee-slapping, untamed characters a touch of the feminine spirit and masculine ego.
The play focused primarily on what happens in an organization in regard to customer service.
The play is a standard depiction of the comings and goings in a conventional corporate setting, with strong customer service underpinnings.
In Skirts and Suits, the contemporary corporate office was the point of action of all the drama that happens daily, with an urban fusion of exciting characters occupying the roles of customers, employers, customer service people, and the entire workforce who interface with the organization.
The story clearly exposes the good, the bad, and the ugly that happen in a typical office. What is more thrilling is the chronicling of the contemporary corporate woman and the vicissitudes that stare at them: the opportunities, and the temptations, power, position, and romance.
It was a night for service providers, corporate Ghana, and all who are customers in one way or the other. Patrons are being entreated to be expectant of something unusual.
Nii Commey Handwriting has, over the years, plopped the seats of theatre lovers with his timeless plays such as “Romantic Nonsense”, “My Name is Romance,” and “Where Two or More Women are Gathered.”
Handwriting Communications is an indigenous storytelling hub based in Accra, dedicated to using experiential storytelling tools for communication, education, and entertainment.
Pressure group, OccupyGhana has asked President Akufo-Addo to declare a state of emergency in the various mining areas across the country.
OccupyGhana last week wrote to the president asking him to show more commitment towards the fight against galamsey which the group noted had failed abysmally.
In the letter dated September 28, 2022, OccupyGhana said it would write a reminder to the president every Monday until it sees firm actions being taken by the government to stop illegal mining.
In the first of its reminder dated October 3, 2022, OccupyGhana said the current situation of illegal mining impact satisfies the requirements of 31(9) of the 1992 Constitution.
The group thus charged the president to declare a state of emergency.
“In our open letter to you dated 28 September 2022, we promised to send you a Galamsey reminder every Monday morning until your government takes drastic steps to control the situation. This is the first reminder.”
According to the pressure group, the threats of illegal mining to the country require immediate actions such as the declaration of a state of emergency.
“We risk losing our very essence as a nation unless immediate and radical action is taken, first to STOP all unregulated and illegal mining, and then put a process in place to REGULATE artisanal mining, going forward.
“We therefore request that you take immediate steps towards declaring a state of emergency in every mining area in Ghana. In accordance with article 31(1) of the Constitution, these steps would be, first, seeking and obtaining the advice of the Council of State and, second, publishing a Proclamation of the declaration in the Gazette,” the group said.
As stipulated by Article 31(1) of the Constitution, OccupyGhana said it also expects parliament to be recalled from its break after the declaration by the president.
“We expect Parliament to be recalled from its vacation, for the government to place before it ‘the facts and circumstances leading to the declaration of the state of emergency under article 31(2). Considering the gravity of the situation, we fully expect Parliament to agree with the government and provide that the state of emergency should remain for such period as Parliament may determine, so that the government can get a grasp of the situation.
“For our part, we have, and are willing to offer, suggestions and proposals on how to establish a properly regulated artisanal mining industry in Ghana that would benefit the wider interest of all Ghanaians,” it added.
There is a renewed public conversation about the impact of illegal mining on Ghana’s water and forest reserves.
Currently, several water bodies are under threat from the galamsey activities while forest covers are being depleted by the day.
The Old People’s Association of Ghana, a non-governmental organisation, has celebrated the International Day for Older Persons (UNIDOP), calling on the state to establish care centres across the country where old people can go and socialise.
The Founder of the association, Nathaniel Botchway, explained that many old people were suffering from loneliness, and as such the establishment of such centres would offer them the opportunity to meet their age mates, interact with them and have fun.
“The way the nation takes care of older people is not the best. We have a long way to go. If you go to the homes of many old people, you see them sitting at a corner, and lack company,” he said.
Mr Botchway made the call last Saturday at a gathering of members of the association, mainly old persons above 60 years, to celebrate UNIDOP.
They also went on a float through some streets of Bubuashie in Accra to raise awareness about the association.
What is UNIDOP?
On December 14, 1990, the United Nations General Assembly — by Resolution 45/106 — designated October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons.
Globally, according to the United Nations, there were 703 million persons aged 65 or over in 2019.
The region of Eastern and South-Eastern Asia was home to the largest number of older persons estimated to be around 261 million, followed by Europe and Northern America — of over 200 million.
The umbrella theme for UNIDOP in 2022 is “2022 UNIDOP: Resilience of Older Persons in a Changing World”.
Citing the practice as existed elsewhere, Mr Botchway said in those countries, once a person turned 50 years, they started to enjoy free medical care and there were homes and day care centres for older people to go and have fun.
Highlighting the challenges they faced as old people, he said even though the country had a universal pension scheme, because it required the beneficiaries to contribute before benefitting, many pensioners were left out and as a result were suffering financially.
He said the most difficult challenge they also faced had to do with the fact that many of them who purchased landed property in their hey day went ahead to put structures on them without acquiring the necessary documents, and as a result, they were facing litigation problems on those lands.
He said older persons had rights and responsibilities and as an association, they would assist them to know those rights.
UNFPA concern
In a message to older persons on the celebration, the Programme Manager, Youth Leaders Fellowship Programme of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Michael Ige, said the organisation was always concerned about inclusion and not leaving anyone behind, whether girls or boys, and that older people were an integral part of their work system.
He called for continual engagement with older persons, stressing that the theme for this year’s celebration was to enable them to get feedback on how the United Nations could come in to provide the kind of assistance older persons needed.
CHRAJ
Meanwhile, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has advocated that ageing issues must be mainstreamed into national development policies to ensure their active participation in society.
It said the active participation of older persons in society and development would provide them with the opportunity to continue contributing to society.
“The commission further recommends to the government to pay attention to, and challenge negative stereotypes and misconceptions about older persons and the aged, pursue age-friendly environments free of physical and social barriers, and enable older persons to realise their potentials, while promoting policy dialogues to enhance the protection of older persons’ human rights, and recognise their contributions to sustainable development,” the CHRAJ said in a statement signed by its Commissioner, Joseph Whittal, to commemorate this year’s International Day of Older Persons.
The statement said in spite of the National Ageing Policy (NAP) which sought to address several ageing issues, there were instances where older persons, especially older women, were abused, violently assaulted and tortured to death by family and community members.
The statement added that the NAP, promulgated in 2010 to achieve the overall social, economic and cultural re-integration of older persons into mainstream society, was yet to be fully implemented.
The National Pension Scheme, the statement said, had a limiting scope, as majority of older persons in the country who worked in the informal sector were unable to contribute to the scheme and were excluded from any pension benefits or any other income support in their old age.
“Also, the National Ageing Bill, which is to integrate the rights and needs of older persons into national policies, is yet to be finalised and passed into law.
“In addition, Ghana is yet to ratify the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Older Persons,” the statement said.
Statistics
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has also revealed that the elderly population (60 years and older) has increased almost 10 times in the past six decades — from a little over 200,000 (213,477) in 1960 to almost two million (1,991,736) in 2021.
The elderly population comprises 861,830 (43.3 per cent) males and 1,129,906 (56.7 per cent) females.
“The report further indicates that 341,960 elderly persons are living alone with 62,480 out of that number being 80 years and older.
“The findings also indicate that one out of every four (25.7 per cent) elderly persons is multidimensionally poor, slightly lower than prevails in the total population (29.9 per cent),” a statement issued by the GSS on the occasion of the day of the aged said last Saturday.
The Chancellor of the Kumasi Technical University (KsTU), Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor, has entreated lecturers of the university to support artisans at the Suame industrial enclave to develop technologies to support the industrialisation of the country.
In doing so, he asked them to drop their academic degrees and big vocabularies and come to the level of the artisans in order to get their collaboration.
He said experience had shown that it was easier to get the collaboration of people when they had a sense of belonging, hence the need for the lecturers to rather make the approach.
“If you speak all the big English, there is no way they will be willing to collaborate. However, if you go to them speaking the local language and explain things to them, they will listen to appreciate what you are telling them,” he said.
This is because discussing mechanical problems in the local languages with the artisans will lead to finding solutions and enhancing performance.
Dr Kufuor made the call during his investiture as the first Chancellor of KsTU in Kumasi last Friday (September 30).
Ceremony
First of its kind, the ceremony was quite a colourful one and attracted a host of dignitaries as well as the family of the chancellor.
The dignitaries included the Guest of Honour, Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, former president John Agyekum Kufuor, who is an elder brother of the Chancellor, former Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Sir Sam Jonah, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simeon Osei-Mensah, and Apagyahene Oheneba Owusu Afriyie IV, the family head of the new Chancellor.
Also present were Mrs Addo Kufuor and their two sons, as well as some senior lecturers of the KsTU.
Investment
In his address, Vice-President Bawumia paid glowing tribute to the chancellor, who he said had paid his dues to the nation through his service in the public sector.
“The university could not have picked a worthier leader than you.
“Your worth of experience as Board Chairman of Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organisation (SMIDO) indicate your in-depth knowledge and already established interest in Vocational and Technical Education,” he said.
He said it was apt that the first chancellor of the university was a son of the land of Ashanti Kingdom who has been put in good stead to help propel the university onto greater heights to achieve world-class university status.”
Role
Dr Kufuor said the call to be a Chancellor was an opportunity to help develop the young university students into world class talents in order to serve Ghana and raise the image of Africa on the world stage.
He also acknowledged that his new role would require him to lead the university and provide the necessary support and assistance to the council, faculties and administration to transform KsTU to one of the “topmost institutions for information and communication development and training in Ghana and beyond.
“I have confidence in the ability, creativity and ingenuity of the Ghanaian youth.
“It is my firm belief that with the right type of education and training, our young people can create and achieve whatever their counterparts have attained anywhere in the world,” he said.
Collaboration
To achieve this, the KsTU Chancellor called for more collaboration among the academia, industry and agriculture to drive industry and practical work experience for students.
He thus advised KsTU to reach out to share knowledge of mutual value with local senior institutions like the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and also other universities in the country.
Such collaboration, he explained, would also ensure that “graduating students come out of the university with considerable exposure to the workplace and the confidence to work in such an environment.”
Appreciation
He was grateful to the university governing council for selecting him as a chancellor and pledged to bring his experience and expertise in academia and administration to bear during his reign.
The Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana, Samuel Dubik Mahama has said he can not deny nor confirm that the company’s prepaid vending system was hacked.
He said the inability of some customers to load credit onto prepaid meters last week was an IT related challenge that was being resolved.
Addressing a press conference today, he said the challenges would be fully resolved by the close of the day.
“Yes we do know exactly what the problem is and clearly we’ve solved the problem. We can clearly say that over 95 percent of our customers are back. So we are still working on the challenges that we have and by close of day, we will solve it”, the MD said in response to a question on what exactly the problem was.
Asked if it was a hack that caused the challenges, the ECG MD said, “to be very honest, I cannot confirm or deny. All I can is that it is left with the necessary investigations for us to do the right thing and to make sure that the right things are established, for the good people of Ghana.”
The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has taken a swipe at President Akufo-Addo for his government’s handling of illegal small-scale mining (‘galamsey’).
In a tweet shared on Monday, Braimah, who was reacting to a picture of multicoloured water samples from rivers in Ghana, said that the state of the water bodies shows how successful the Akufo-Addo administration has been in the fight against ‘galamsey’.
He intimated that in spite of all the investments the government has made in the fight against ‘galamsey’ and the many government agencies that are supposed to be fighting the menace, the situation seems to be getting worse, which shows the kind of leader Akufo-Addo is.
“This is how successful President Akufo-Addo’s fight against galamsey has been. These are samples from Ghana’s rivers & streams.
“Despite this, all ministers, DCEs, CEOs of all the relevant sectors, regions and districts are all at post. Akufo-Addo’s leadership is a strange one,” parts of the tweet read.
The executive director was reacting to a news report by Joy News which showed discoloured and muddy samples of water from nine water bodies in the country.
The water bodies included the River Ankobra, River Ofin, Afu Afu Stream, River Bonsa, Totoa Stream, NWUI, Tano River and River Bia.
A 16-year-old class six pupil, name withheld, allegedly was raped by a 50-year-old Opanin Kwame Nkrumah.
Maame Pokua and Mr Kwaku Osei, aka Dwen Wo Daakye, mother and father of the victim, narrating the incident to Class 91.3 FM’s correspondent said upon seeing the signs of rape, they interrogated their daughter and she disclosed that she had indeed been raped by the suspect.
The case was forwarded to the chief’s palace for the necessary actions to be taken, while he, Nana Abredu Somuah II, the chief of town, had travelled.
Nana Osei Wiafe, one of the chief’s elders who stood in his stead, settled the rape case and awarded a GHS 1,000 cost for the suspect to pay for allegedly raping the class 6 pupil.
Nana Somuah Abredu upon hearing this after returning from his journey was very angry with his elders for mishandling the case.
He has therefore called on the police to intervene and make the necessary arrests to deter others in the area from such actions.
The suspect has taken to heels upon hearing of the recent decision by the chief.
The Gas Tanker drivers alleged that there has not been any accountability or elections over the past 10 years since the establishment of the association.
Members of the Gas Tanker Drivers Association have accused its leadership of alleged corruption and abuse of power and have, therefore, threatened to demonstrate against them to register their displeasure.
At a press conference held in Tema, Monday, 3 October 2022, the Gas Tanker drivers alleged that there has not been any accountability or elections over the past 10 years since the establishment of the association.
The members noted that this is in contravention of the Association’s Constitution referring to Article 3 of the Gas Tankers Association By-laws which states
“there shall be an election every four years to elect its executives and eligible leaders.”
However, the interim leadership, since 2013, has refused to conduct new elections and also account to members of the association on whether or not their monies are being saved.
According to the Gas Tanker drivers, they are made to pay daily tickets of GHS10.
They stressed that the practice has been ongoing since the establishment of the association though there has been no accountability to the members.
They members have, therefore, called on the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) to intervene.
The Managing Director of the power distributing company, noted that the ECG acknowledges its fault of failing to distribute power to customers.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has apologised to customers for the inconvenience caused by the challenges it experienced with its prepaid vending system.
The company has also disclosed that its vending stations are currently working so customers can purchase their prepaid credit.
Speaking at a press conference held on Monday, 3 October 2022, in Accra, the Managing Director of the power distributing company, Samuel Mahama noted that the ECG acknowledges its fault of failing to distribute power to customers and apologised for the interruption in service delivery.
Mr Mahama said: “That was our fault that we were not on top of our game to deliver a service. Let us not forget that in such a business the customer is the one that always gets hurt when you don’t deliver on your promise. So when I said I admit my fault, I admit my fault in not being able to deliver the service that we promised to deliver.
“I will like to apologise to all customers of the Electricity Company of Ghana who attempted to purchase power and they were not able to purchase power, the company admits its fault, the company admits that it was not able to deliver on the service.”
He however, hinted that, the company is still experiencing some challenges in the Ashanti Region.
“But the company will like all its customers to also know that most vending stations are up and running.
“I used most because we still have some few challenges in the Ashanti region that we are working on. Hopefully, by close of day today, it will be resolved.”
Meanwhile, the MD, is optimistic, that challenges with the power distributing company’s prepaid vending system will be fully resolved by Tuesday, 4 October 2022.
According to the ECG MD, customers will be able to purchase prepaid credits without challenges.
Power consumers across certain parts of the country have, for the past six days, been unable to purchase power on their prepaid meters because of a technical challenge that affected ECG’s prepaid metering systems.
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has called on the private sector to support the public sector in creating awareness on the relevance of cybersecurity in the country.
Speaking at the official launch of the National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) 2022, today, Monday, 3 October 2022 at the cedi conference centre, University of Ghana, Accra, on the theme: “Regulating Cybersecurity: A Public-Private Sector Collaborative Approach,” Dr Bawumia, said creating greater awareness of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038) and building synergies among all relevant stakeholders to ensure compliance with them is absolutely critical.
He noted that the law and the relevance of cybersecurity regulations among children, the public, businesses and government, whilst highlighting the need for public-private sector cooperation must be paramount.
The awareness month, therefore, he noted was important to ensure that everyone is involved in cybersecurity activities to ensure a safer digital Ghana.
Dr Bawumia noted that the government is not relenting in its efforts to crack down on cyber-criminal activities, “however, we all have a part to play for our collective security to ensure mutual benefits of the digital space to all users.”
He appealed to the public to relay relevant information to the appropriate authorities for cybercrime prevention and investigations. This he said includes issues that affect children.
“I am reliably informed that victims of child online abuses do not open-up to authorities for investigations and assistance, leaving abusers on the streets to continue their anti-social deeds. The National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) and the established sectoral CERTs are available for incident response and coordination, and I encourage businesses and government organisations to take advantage of them,” he noted.
The vice president added that “the Cybercrime/ Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Points of Contact is also available to the general public to report cybercrimes and to seek guidance.”
Ghanaians can call 292 freely and seek real time assistance on cybersecurity incidents and report same to the National CERT which operates within the Cyber Security Authority.
Dr Bawumia encouraged the public to utilise this contact as “we seek to promote preventive and cyber hygienic practices to protect our citizens and our digital assets.”
Read Dr Bawumia’s full speech below:
KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE VICE PRESIDENT, HIS EXCELLENCY DR. ALHAJI MAHAMUDU BAWUMIA, AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY AWARENESS MONTH (NCSAM) 2022 ON OCTOBER 03, 2022 AT THE CEDI CONFERENCE CENTRE, UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, ACCRA
Hon. Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful,
Hon., Minister for National Security, Mr Albert Kan Dapaah,
Hon. Minister for Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah,
Members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Communications and other Members of Parliament,
Members of the Governing Board of the Cyber Security Authority,
Ag. Director-General of the Cyber Security Authority, Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako,
Members of the Joint Cybersecurity Committee (JCC),
Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Media personnel,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to join you again to launch one of the most important national events in Ghana’s cybersecurity development, the National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM). In October 2018, I opened the National Cyber Security Awareness Month and launched the 5-year cybersecurity awareness programme dubbed “A Safer Digital Ghana,” an initiative of the then Ministry of Communications, which underpins Ghana’s cybersecurity awareness initiatives. Four years on, I must say that I am impressed with our achievements in cybersecurity development, leading to our progress on the Global Cybersecurity Index rating from 32.6% in 2017 to 86.69% in 2020 with respect to cybersecurity readiness.
I thank the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation and her team, the Governing Board of the Cyber Security Authority, the Ag. Director-General and staff of the Cyber Security Authority, Members of the Joint Cybersecurity Committee, and all relevant stakeholders; including the private sector and international partners, for the commitment in achieving this feat. We, however, need to do more towards cybersecurity development as we step up our efforts to transform the economy through digitalisation.
Ladies and gentlemen, I note that the theme for this month-long event, is “Regulating Cybersecurity: A Public-Private Sector Collaborative Approach.” Cybersecurity development everywhere is a shared responsibility, and enhancing understanding of the provisions of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038) and building synergies among all relevant stakeholders to ensure compliance with them is absolutely critical. Creating greater awareness of the law and the relevance of cybersecurity regulations among Children, the Public, Businesses and Government, whilst highlighting the need for public-private sector cooperation must be paramount. This awareness month is therefore important to ensure that everyone is involved in cybersecurity activities to ensure a safer digital Ghana.
Distinguished guests, in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, new and emerging digital technologies and trends, such as Fifth Generation (5G) networks, Quantum Computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud Computing, Mobile Web Services, Internet of Things (IoT) and Social Media, are radically changing the business landscape and reshaping the nature of work and business operations. Building a resilient digital ecosystem is therefore vital for national development. We need robust systems with relevant laws, directives, and guidelines to secure our digital ecosystem and we took a major step in this direction with the passage of Act 1038.
Ladies and gentlemen, the growing desire to accelerate inclusive growth through greater efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the delivery of public services has led to the implementation of national flagship digitialisation projects including Mobile Money Interoperability, the Digital Property Addressing System, Universal QR Code Payment System (GhQR), National Identification System, the Ghana.gov payment infrastructure, the Paperless Port System, e-Justice System, e-Procurement among others. The unique identification number for each citizen provides Ghana with a linked national database as the Ghana card is currently linked to Tax Identification Number, National Health Insurance Cards, Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Passports, and Sim Cards to provide seamless identification of all individuals and promote secure transactions. The Digital Property Addressing System has also solved the problem of lack of functional address systems in the country by leveraging on GPS technology to implement a digital address system which captures every square inch of our land. We can now identify every person and every property in this country and very soon, it will be difficult for criminals to hide behind the anonymity of technology to defraud anyone.
Ladies and gentlemen, notwithstanding these strides, we are keenly aware that the dependence on digitalisation to transform our economy comes with increased risk of cyber threats and attacks. According to the World Economic Forum, cybercrime cost the world at least $6 trillion in 2021 and could lead to over $10 trillion in annual damages by 2025. Research by IBM also indicates that, it takes 280 days to find and contain the average cyberattack, while the average attack costs $3.86 million. There have been a number of attacks on critical infrastructures around the world; recently the Holiday Inn was hit by cyberattacks which disrupted its “booking channels and other applications”. Earlier in the year, SpiceJet reportedly faced ransomware attacks causing several flights to be either delayed or cancelled. Toyota Motor supplier, Denso, was also hacked and sensitive data stolen. These incidents are increasing and affect all sectors of society. These attacks do not only affect the named institutions; they have effects on employment, company finances, national investments and on individuals who interact or do business with affected institutions. These are just a few examples to emphasise the point that in our current digitalised and interconnected environment, a single cybersecurity incident can affect an entire organisation, a whole nation or the world at large. Therefore, it is critical to build a strong shield against cyber threats and incidents that could undermine our capacity to act and develop.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Government of Ghana is committed to putting in place the needed structures to deal with cybercrimes that keep arising as a result of increasing digital connectivity. That is why in 2017, we set up the National Cyber Security Secretariat, which, in three short years, has now evolved into the Cyber Security Authority following the passage of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038). I am delighted that the Authority has continued in efforts to develop cybersecurity in the country, and also, enhanced its awareness creation activities. As businesses and individuals, we must develop the needed cybersecurity consciousness to help mitigate cybercrimes, which according to statistics are caused by human actions in about 90% of the cases.
Ladies and gentlemen, Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) constitutes assets (real or virtual), networks, systems, processes, information, and functions that are so vital to the nation that their incapacity or destruction would have a devastating impact on national security, the economy, public health and/or safety. Thirteen (13) sectors of our economy have so far been designated as CII and these include: National Security and Intelligence, Banking and Finance, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Energy, Transport, Water, Health, Government, Emergency Services, Food and Agriculture, Manufacturing, Mining and Education. A Directive for the Protection of Critical Information Infrastructures (CIIs) was launched by the Authority on October 1, 2021 to assist CII owners in registering with the Authority and guide them to protect their critical systems. I will urge all operators to familiarise themselves with the Directives and comply. I am reliably informed that from January 2023, all Critical Information Infrastructure Owners, whether in the private sector or public institutions, will be required to undergo mandatory compliance checks and audits to ensure the protection of Ghana’s critical systems. This audit and compliance actions will be in line with regulations aimed at reinforcing the resilience and response capacities of these institutions against cyber threats and incidents, as well as to ensuring a resilient, secure economy. This will help protect our critical systems from rising malicious cyber activities in the global landscape. They are also important to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of controls/measures put in place to meet the requirements of the law. Designated CII owners who fail to comply with the regulatory measures to protect our critical databases and systems will be sanctioned in accordance with the Cybersecurity Act.
The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation is committed to the full enforcement of the Cybersecurity Act and from January 2023, no firm will operate a cybersecurity service in the country without a license granted by the Authority. We can no longer take chances to allow access to sensitive and critical data without the necessary legal and technical due process. There must be a way to ensure that the institutions and the people we engage to provide cybersecurity services meet the fit-for-purpose tests and can be held accountable for the services they provide.
Distinguished guests, cooperation is one of the strategic imperatives in our National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy. The Joint Cybersecurity Committee is enshrined in our law and has been duly inaugurated, I’m told. It comprises representatives from all sectors and agencies, both public and private, involved in cyber defence. As cyberspace is borderless and interdependencies keep widening, Ghana is committed to improving collaboration not only at the domestic level but internationally in the fight against cybercrimes. I commend all international and local partners who have been instrumental in Ghana’s cybersecurity development so far. Our modest strides in cybersecurity development have been acknowledged and Ghana is increasingly being noted as a hub for training and capacity building for our sub region by the European Commission, World Bank and ECOWAS.
Several African countries have shown a commitment to work with Ghana as part of efforts to improve cybersecurity in our respective countries and on the continent at large and I am informed that, we have had teams from Sierra Leone, the Gambia and Niger amongst others, visiting us to learn from our modest but significant achievements in cybersecurity. In Ghana, we believe that we will go far when we walk together, and are committed to walking with you all. We believe that international cooperation is an indispensable tool in countering cybercrime.
Today, representatives from Rwanda and Mozambique are here to support the event and sign Memorandums of Understanding for cooperation with Ghana on cybersecurity matters. I welcome you all to Ghana. The MoUs will provide for joint capacity building exercises and training in the relevant areas through the sharing of expertise. It also entails exchange programmes for staff to promote capacity building and talent development in both countries and conduct of joint cybersecurity exercises. The countries involved will learn, share, and promote effective cybersecurity practices to ensure resilience and cyber readiness on both ends.
Distinguished guests, indeed no country can tackle the world’s current challenges alone: from wars and other conflicts, climate change, poverty, inequality, lack of respect for human rights, food insecurity, unemployment – the list is endless and cybercrime ranks high up there. International cooperation is vital if we are to overcome these challenges.
Hon. Ministers, ladies and gentlemen, Government is not relenting in its efforts to crack down on cyber-criminal activities, however we all have a part to play for our collective security to ensure mutual benefits of the digital space to all users. I appeal to the public to relay relevant information to the appropriate authorities for cybercrime prevention and investigations. This includes issues that affect children. I am reliably informed that victims of child online abuses do not open-up to authorities for investigations and assistance, leaving abusers on the streets to continue their anti-social deeds. The National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) and the established sectoral CERTs are available for incident response and coordination, and I encourage businesses and government organisations to take advantage of them. The Cybercrime/ Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Points of Contact is also available to the general public to report cybercrimes and to seek guidance. I am reliably informed that, our citizens can call 292 freely and seek real time assistance on cybersecurity incidents and report same to the National CERT which operates within the Cyber Security Authority. I encourage the public to utilise this contact as we seek to promote preventive and cyber hygienic practices to protect our citizens and our digital assets.
Distinguished guests, in order to gain the full benefits of our digitalisation efforts, we must create a risk-aware cybersecurity culture. I have a lot of confidence in the work of the Cyber Security Authority in implementing its regulatory mandate and the government will ensure that the Authority is provided with the necessary resources to do its work. I urge all corporate bodies, faith based and civil society organisations and the media to collaborate with the Cyber Security Authority and get involved in the awareness creation and capacity building exercises in the month of October as we promote cybersecurity at the national level.
I hereby declare the 2022 National Cyber Security Awareness Month launched.
The Office of the President of Ghana has refused a Right to Information request filed by pressure group #FIxTheCountry.
The pressure group, several weeks ago, wrote to the presidency demanding disclosure of the salaries, allowances, facilities, and privileges enjoyed by some individuals in the president’s office.
The list of individuals included the Director of Communications at the Office of the President, Eugene Arhin; Church Relations Manager, Rev. Ebenezer Saaka Ameyaw; and the president’s appointee responsible for Diaspora Church Mobilization, Fr. Nana K. Ellis.
However, according to a lead convener of #FixTheCountry, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, the presidency has refused to grant the request because it “constitutes unreasonable disclosure of the personal affairs of the individuals concerned.”
While taking exception to the position of the presidency on the request, the convener disclosed the resolve of #FixTheCountry to challenge the refusal of their request.
“We disagree with the president’s assessment that salaries, allowances, facilities and privileges charged on the consolidated fund and paid to public office holders constitute personal information exempt from disclosure. If this logic is allowed to stand, it will become a basis for denying the public access to information on the salaries, allowances, facilities and privileges of the Article 71 office holders contained in the reports of the various Committees.
“In this regard, we have initiated a review process under the relevant legislation towards overturning the President’s decision,” the convener wrote in a Facebook post.
Aimed at promoting public sector transparency and accountability, the Right to Information ACT, 2019 (Act 989) empowers citizens to request information from government institutions and agencies funded by the government.
“We consider that the ability to assess public information relating to expenditure of public funds, without any contrived encumbrances is crucial to the duty of citizens to hold government to account,” Mr Barker-Vormawor added to his Facebook post.
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.
Ya-Naa Abubakari Mahama II says he is always proud to notice that the Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia continues to stick to the training he got from his elders.
He observes the vice president, regardless of his position, has stuck with his principles and values imbibed in him by his elders, which is commendable.
The Overlord of Dagbon made this known when the Vice President paid a courtesy call on him at the Gbewaa Palace in Yendi as part of his two-day working visit to the Northern Region.
“Your exceptional humility is worth emulating and makes us proud of you for that. You have not departed from the training your elders gave you.” He said.
He used the opportunity to acknowledge the hard work Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is doing to ensure that Ghana develops.
“Again, since your occupation of the second most important political seat in Ghana, you have shown sterling performance with your sacrifice and hard work, which has achieved so much for mother Ghana,” he said.
The Manager of Poly Changda Engineering Company, Xue Hui, has been denied bail by the Sekondi District Court.
The Chinese national was arrested last week for allegedly slashing the throat of his employee with a flip knife.
Appearing at the court on Monday, October 3, 2022, the suspect charged with attempted murder had his bail application denied by the presiding judge, Her Worship Nana Abena Asoh Owusu Omenyo.
According to the presiding judge, it behoves only a trial court to grant the accused person bail.
The prosecution, led by Superintendent Steve Addom, told the court that the complainant, Isaac Boateng, is a concrete mixer and an employee of Changda Engineering Company based in Takoradi and managed by the accused.
The prosecution said the complainant, on September 27, 2022, turned up to work at 7:00 in the morning and closed at 3:00 pm instead of 5:00 pm.
The complainant was confronted the following day by the accused person during lunch for closing earlier than usual the previous day.
This led to an exchange between the accused and the complainant causing Xue Hui to inform Isaac Boateng that he had been fired from the job.
The complainant packed his working attire and went to the accused person to pay him off.
Another exchange ensued between the two, and the accused person, without provocation, came out of his office wielding a flip knife with which he slashed the complainant’s throat.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for the accused person, Akpene Darko Cobbinah, according to a report by Onuaonline.com, has said that her client has since the incident shown remorse.
She stated that her client did not intend to cause harm to the victim while adding that the company, through the instrumentation of his client, is paying for all medical expenses.
However, according to the victim, he has been left traumatised by the incident.
“All that I was demanding was for my salary to be paid since he told me he had sacked me. Since the incident, my family members, especially my wife and kids, have always been crying. But I’m trusting that justice will be served”.
Meanwhile, the case has been adjourned to October 11, 2022, for committal proceedings.
Ghana has been re-elected to the Council of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for the 2023 to 2026 term. The elections for the Council membership were held Monday October 3, 2022 at the ongoing ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2022 in Bucharest, Romania.
The ITU Council acts as the Union’s governing body in the interval between Plenipotentiary Conferences, held every four years. Its role is to consider broad telecommunication policy issues to ensure that the Union’s activities, policies and strategies fully respond to today’s dynamic, rapidly changing telecommunications environment. The Council is also responsible for ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of the Union, coordinating work programmes, approving budgets, controlling finances and expenditure.
Ghana has been serving as a member of the Executive Council since 2002 and has also played various leadership roles in Study Groups as well as actively taking part in other ITU activities.
According to the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, who led Ghana’s electoral campaign, the Republic of Ghana will keep up with her sterling contribution to the ITU Council while ensuring that it carries its service to the telecommunication world in a resourceful, transparent and forward-looking manner.
The Hon. Minister reiterated Government’s commitment to ensuring that its citizens across the country get connected. She explained that Government has already done a lot through initiatives such as the innovative Rural Telephony project and Sectoral Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTS) to secure our cyber space amongst others.
Ghana secured 145 votes and ranked 2nd among the 13 countries elected to the Council from Region D (Africa). This is the highest number of votes that Ghana has secured at an ITU Council election.
Each of ITU’s five administrative regions is entitled to a specific number of Council seats. In total, forty-eight (48) ITU Member States were elected to the Council.
ITU Radio Regulations Board (RRB)
In a related development, Rev. Ing. Edmund Yirenkyi Fianko, the Acting Director of Engineering at the National Communications Authority (NCA) was elected to ITU’s Radio Regulations Board (RRB) for the 2023-2026 term. Rev. Ing. Fianko is one of the three RRB members representing Africa on the twelve member Board with the responsibility to approve the Rules of Procedure for the application of the Radio and Regulations and to adjudicate on matters brought before the Board.
Rev. Ing. Fianko is an electronic communications engineer with in-depth experience in radio frequency spectrum management, telecom and broadcasting regulation as well as policy formulation at the national, regional and international levels.
About RRB
The twelve members of the Radio Regulations Board (RRB) are elected at the Plenipotentiary Conference. They perform their duties independently and on a part-time basis, normally meeting up to four times a year, in Geneva. The Board approves Rules of Procedure, used by the Radio communication Bureau in applying the provisions of the Radio Regulations and registering frequency assignments made by the Member States.
About ITU
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs. Founded in 1865 to facilitate international connectivity in communications networks, the ITU allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develop the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strive to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide. Every time you make a phone call via the mobile, access the Internet or send an email, you are benefitting from the work of ITU. ITU is committed to connecting the entire world’s people – wherever they live and whatever their means.
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Lecturer at the Department of Dance Studies, School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana, Dr. Terry Kweku Ofosu, says colonization has led to Africans appreciating their culture less.
“Unfortunately for us, I say very passionately we were damaged by the colonialists so they actually made us repudiate our traditional dance performances. So, in fact even within Christianity you were not allowed to wear cloth and Ephraim Amu was sacked from the church premises for wearing cloth. Imagine if the church was disgusted by the wearing of cloth then how much our traditional dance and all that.”
Dr. Terry Kweku Ofosu made this revelation in an interview with e.tv Ghana’s Fati Shaibu Ali on a special Made In Ghana discussion on the topic; “Passing on the Ghanaian Heritage through Dance”.
As a lecturer, Dr. Ofosu more often than not experiences first hand mockery of students of performing arts who are labeled ‘dondologists’. “These people although Ghanaians have been damaged and that has been transferred from one person to another and it is just sad. Most Ghanaians will prefer for their children to learn ballet dance as they assign prestige to it but these same people will frown on their children learning our traditional dance.”
Citing China as a country which cherishes tradition and has imbued that in its citizens, he shared the country’s dragon dance has been instituted and treated with passion.
“Our psyche is so damaged that we don’t want or like what belongs to us. But what does not belong to us we rush in for that sadly,” he reiterated.
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Registered Ghanaian dietician, Benedicta Kessewah Addo, has revealed too much fried plantain and beans (gob3) cause undue weight gain.
She explained too much oil found in the gob3 and fried plantain has a lot of calories which contributes to excessive weight gain.
“Ghanaian dishes are really healthy but the mode of preparation is where the issue lies. If it is gob3 you are eating, especially if you’re buying from outside then the plantain is obviously going to be fried with oil. The other day I counted about 5 teaspoons of oil the woman used to mix my food. After mixing it she added an extra teaspoon and that was a lot of calories,” she told Samuel Eshun on a special ‘Made in Ghana’ discussion on the topic, ‘Heath Benefits of Local Ghanaian Cuisines’.
Describing gob3 as a healthy meal, Benedicta advised patrons of the delicacy to cut down on the oil and amounts of fried plantain so prevent excessive weight gain.
The dietician reiterated local foods are rich in nutrients, urging all to consume local dishes, prioritizing a balanced diet comprising of proportional amounts of protein, carbohydrates, fats and oil and minerals from fruits and vegetables.
Registered Ghanaian dietician, Benedicta Kessewah Addo, has addressed concerns Ghanaian foods are full of starch, hence unhealthy as compared to foods from other countries.
She described this claim as falsehood, saying every country has foods with starch.
“What do you mean by something is starchy? When someone is educating an audience which is not highly educated in Ghana, one may refer to carbohydrates as foods with starch and not necessarily mean starch or sticky foods.
So, if you say Ghanaian foods are starchy but still like to eat other carbohydrates from elsewhere, then there is a misunderstanding for starters,” she told Samuel Eshun in a special ‘Made in Ghana’ discussion on the topic, ‘Health Benefits of Local Ghanaian Cuisine.’
According to the dietician carbohydrates are a required source of nutrients for a balanced diet. “We need to take that starch thing out of our minds. The issue has to do with whether the carbohydrate is a whole or refined carbohydrate and that’s where the debate lies.”
Whole carbs are minimally processed and contain the fiber found naturally in the food, while refined carbs have been processed more and have had the natural fiber removed or changed.
On the other hand, refined carbs include: sugar-sweetened beverages, white bread, pastries and other items made with white flour
She advised Ghanaians on the importance of eating well balanced diets containing carbohydrates, proteins, fats and oils with the required nutrients from fruits and vegetables.
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One major social force influencing the future of public relations is Globalisation.
Money, products, materials, information and people flow swiftly across national boundaries today than ever.
Advances in technology have enabled and accelerated this flow and the resulting international interactions and dependencies.
These technological advances have been especially pronounced in transportation and telecommunications. Improvements in transportation have made it possible for you, in mere hours, to travel distances that took your parents and grandparents months and weeks to cover.
For Public Relations practioners as previously inaccessible audiences have become more reachable, and the internet penetrates all corners of the globe, many more brands and businesses are developing and implementing global strategies, so has it caused public relations practitioners to face serious challenges and make difficult choices.
Thanks to the global reach of digital communications, crises can now spread easily. The Internet has made it possible for anyone with a cause to become a ‘Citizen Journalist”. It is becoming increasingly difficult for organisations to identify potential threats.
Simply put, advances in communications allow us to know what is occurring in a country half-way around the world instantaneously.
2020 has been a year of lessons for PR practitioners. we continue to see our roles and responsibility evolving. No longer just relationship builders and media relations, we’re molding our clients’ legacies with every picture, placement, and caption.
So many brands have for example found success incorporating TikTok’s unique video meets text storytelling, there is one area of TikTok no brand wants to be. This is where tech-savvy teens and activist millennials share the “receipts,” screenshots, tweets, news articles, and other evidence that points to the need to “cancel” an individual, business, or other entity.
Bad press is nothing new to the PR industry, but there is a key element to this situation. First, TikTok videos travel quickly. They can be downloaded easily and shared across social media. Additionally, TikTok “duet” and split-screen reactions allow for more people to join the conversation not to mention the ability to embed these reaction videos over on Instagram for cross-channel conversation.
As trade expands globally, the most notable audiences drawing attention of public relations practitioners are in places such as Russia, China, India, Latin America, Europe and America. PR practitioners must overcome language barriers and social differences to practice culturally appropriate and locally acceptable public relations. This brings to mind the drink called ‘TruMoo’ chocolate this may just be a drink for many people but those of us in Ghana won’t patronise it because the name of the drink means excuse my language (asshole) in the Twi language. Same way Brazilian men will have a challenge buying a car named ‘pinto’ because its a slang for the male reproductive organ. This situation forced Ford to rebrand its Pinto car brand to Corcel meaning horse. If ‘TruMoo’ or Ford Pinto was made for only people living in their countries of origin, there wouldn’t be a need to rebrand. Differences in lifestyles, customs, values and cultures are not the only unique challenges. Unique aspects of local political, economic, and industrial structural also are challenges.
Working in combination, these forces have given us a sense of interconnectedness and created a world of opportunities for public relations professionals.
In our current digital communication space, bad press is not announced as a newspaper headline, but rather directly among users and consumers. Television, radio and digital articles are often late to the game, eventually “catch up” to many of the trends we see originating on TikTok and even reporting on these new trends as news.
The government of South Sudan said on Friday that it is working to double the collection of non-oil revenue by 380 percent in the next five years.
Addressing journalists after the cabinet meeting, Martin Elia Lomuro, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, said the National Revenue Authority had developed a strategic document that will improve the collection of non-oil revenues.
“The revenue authority is faced with many challenges; it is not able to collect enough money for us to be able to run the government, so we have had that strategic plan for five years, 2022 to 2027,” he said.
“The plan has a number of key strategic objectives, eleven of them. It has 42 implementation metrics, and the aim is to increase collection from the 80 billion that we are collecting now to 367 billion over five years; that is a 380 percent increase,” Lomuro stated.
The cabinet also said the government is working to develop close economic and development ties with the United Arab Emirates to spur economic prosperity.
Lomuro said the two countries signed several bilateral agreements that will allow companies from UAE to South Sudan to invest in a number of areas.
“Bilateral relationship that was reached between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a number of development issues, on agriculture, mining, roads, which affects different entities. Traders, business communities, and some of the business communities have signed an agreement on mining, and there are agricultural companies the president has already met with chiefs to allocate land for agriculture,” Elia said.
Lomuro reiterated that the ministry of justice is developing a document that will help in limiting tax avoidance by the investing companies.
Let’s face it, Absa Bank has got it right. The Bank’s business in Ghana is based on a very simple strategy, which includes a strong focus on supporting the local SME sector.
The bank is sentient enough to know that these local businesses underpin Ghana’s economic growth, so it has laid out a clear strategy to become the bank of choice for the sector.
The strategy is working well and has contributed to making Absa a consistently high performing bank in Ghana.
Last year, for example, the bank also became the first in the history of Ghana’s banking sector, to cross the GHS1 billion mark in profitability and revenues in the country.
Absa’s unique understanding of the needs of the SME market has led to several innovative products and solutions for this specific sector.
One such innovation is the bank’s collateral-free loan which has flourished consistently for many years. Through a partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Absa has increased the facility grant up to GHS1 million for small businesses and startups in Ghana.
Absa also understands that to speedily drive large and positive change, it must strike strategic partnerships as it has done with the Mastercard Foundation and the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA.
The bank is, therefore, currently a leading partner of the Ghana government’s new entrepreneurial initiative – YouStart commercial programme – which is supported bythe Ghana Association of Banks (GAB).
The YouStart programme will mobilise GHS10 billion to support young entrepreneurs, startups and local businesses in a sustainable way. These businesses can access standardized loans between GHS100,000 to GHS500,000 from the participating financial institutions, including Absa bank, at subsidized interest rates.
For Absa, this is the latest addition to its suite of products and services that support and empower the local business sector to grow sustainably.
Commenting after the signing ceremony of YouStart at the Ministry of Finance, Managing Director of Absa Bank, Abena Osei-Poku said:
“The purpose of a bank like ours is to identify the real and present problems confronting our clients, customers and society, and to creatively devise plans to respond to these difficulties with the right products and services. That is the ultimate business of banks, and we will not renege on our mandate to ensure our clients and customers find us useful and responsive all the time. We are always excited about our role in empowering the local economy. We feel a great sense of accomplishment when we see how SMEs, startups and other local businesses are making an impact because of our support.”
Absa Bank is not about to rest on its laurels as it seeks to maintain its leadership in a sector that is central to moving the country into a higher middle-income level. Programmes like YouStart, the Mastercard foundation partnership and other related initiatives, are reasons why the bank has struck a strong chord with its key stakeholders, clients and customers. It reflects the bank’s brand promise of bringing possibilities to life.
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Member of Parliament(MP) for Tamale North Alhassan Suhuyini believes that the fight against galamsey in Ghana must be beyond the usual rhetorics.
He argues that several measures need to be put in place to fight the canker which is destroying water bodies and forest reserves in the country.
Suhuyini who made this known in a post shared via social media called on the Lands Minister to decisively deal with his party’s Ashanti Regional Chairman whose company has been in the news for engaging in illegal mining in recent times.
He believes that dealing decisively with Wontumi will better place the Ministry and other stakeholders in the fight against the menace.
Read His Statement Below
I agree with the Hon Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
The (no) fight against Galamsay must not be partisan. As in the words of Prof Kwesi Anning, it must be beyond flowery political rhetoric, such as the ones we have been regularly dished from the Presidency and Ministry. The fight must be waged and seen in deed, not words.
Yes, Aisha Huang is temporarily caged, what about some of her enablers, some of whom include but definitely not limited to a notorious political kingpin, Wontumi?
His company is referenced lately in news reports to be responsible for brazen illegal mining of Water bodies and forest reserves.
Hon Minister please,
1. Deal with Wontumi, his Companies, and others; that’s how your flowery political rhetoric will reflect indeed.
2. Like all destructive substances and machines, lead a policy position on the importation, deployment, and use of Excavators and Chamfine Machines in Ghana. Like guns etc, their unbridled use has become a threat to life.
3. Adequately resource and restructure the Minerals Commission, the Inspectorate Division especially, to professionally recruit and train guards in every mining District, like the Forestry Commission’s Forestry Guards.
4. Convince your Cabinet to institute a non-political interference, house cleaning of all Security Agencies. Disarm and strip the uniforms of the crooks and thugs in the Services.
5. Like Cocoa, pre-finance gold purchases and restructure licensing to ensure purchases are made only from licensed small-scale miners, operating legally.
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.
“We had a congressional delegation from our House of Representatives, Natural Resources Committee, that was here two weeks ago. And they were looking into water pollution, the impact on fisheries from illegal mining.
“This (galamsey) is something, I think Ghanaians must be aggressive in fighting and enforcing regulations that you do have.
“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.
On his part, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, questioned why Ghana as a country has failed to stop the menace of ‘galamsey’ even after the President Akufo-Addo, has put his political career on the line to stop it.
Asantehene also questioned why the security apparatus in these ‘galamsey’ areas and the taskforce set up by the government have failed to stop the menace.
He intimated that small-scale mining was something that had been done for serveral years but never to the detriment of the environment.
“It (‘galamsey’) has gotten to a point where people are now using equipment and all that. They do not care about the environment.
“But the question is who is in control of the security around the area. From the district level to the highest level. We are all talking about ‘galamsey’. The government set up this military cum police to stop galamsey. Why have we not been able to stop it? Why?” he asked.
According to the party, booing President Akufo-Addo was “uncultured.”
A statement issued by the youth wing of the party and signed by its Acting National Youth Organiser, Mr Muniru Seidu Mohammed, said: “It does not matter whether political opponents engineered it or not; the act was uncultured and should not be repeated anywhere.”
The statement noted: “It is a reality that there are difficulties in the country and the youth are the hardest hit but the youth are also the engine of growth to turn the fortunes of the country around if they are transparent, hardworking, truthful, and incorruptible in their endeavours or dealings.”
It called on the government to organise sensitisation programmes to instil a sense of responsibility among the youth.
“The government must organise sensitisation programmes for the youth to be informed of their responsibilities,” the PNC’s statement stated.
It continued: “Running a country is a shared responsibility, not an individual thing.
The youth should be eager to get the right knowledge that will propel them to contribute meaningfully toward the country’s forward march.”
It added: “A future PNC government shall embark on sensitisation programmes that will educate and create a mindset in the youth to be job creators rather than job seekers.”
Following the booing, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) accused the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of being behind the booing of the president.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, has accused the Minerals Commission of Ghana of breaking the country’s laws by extending the mining license of NPP’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, by 13 years.
According to him, the alleged extension given to Bernard Antwi Boasiako, a.k.a. Wontumi, is illegal because the country’s laws only allow for a three years maximum extension for mining licenses.
The MP, who made these remarks in a TV3 interview monitored by GhanaWeb, questioned the rationale behind Wontumi’s 13 years license extension.
“The issue about Wontumi is not about him engaging in mining for a very long time or not. It is about the criminal extension of his license renewal, 13 years. When the laws are very clear (that the) maximum (renewal should be) 3 years. Why did they make it 13 years? That is the issue,” he said
Murtala also bemoaned the failure of the state to arrest and investigate Wontumi for his alleged involvement in illegal mining (‘galamsey’).
“You have the same Wontumi, who sat on national television and showcased gold bars worth millions of dollars. Did anybody invite him? Did the National Security or the BNI (Bureau of National Investigation) invite him?” he said.
He added that if the government was serious about the fight against ‘galamsey’, it would have arrested Wontumi by now.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has 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.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has described as “disconcerting” news that some $100 million has been diverted from petroleum funds for unapproved expenditure.
Mr. Mahama said Section 3 of the PRMA (Act 815) is explicit that all Petroleum revenue due the Republic derived from whatever source shall be assessed, collected and accounted for by the Ghana Revenue Authority.
In a Facebook post, he quoted Section (15) of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act (Act 919), which states that “Any borrowing exceeding the cedi equivalent of thirty million United States Dollars for exploration, development and production shall be approved by Parliament and shall be in consonance with the Petroleum Revenue Management Act.”
He said there can be no justification for diverting revenues accruing from the nation’s share of petroleum resources into any other account aside from the PHF.
The former President, therefore, called on the Minister for Finance to immediately repatriate all such illegal payments back into the PHF without delay as there is no record to confirm parliamentary approval on any such loans acquired by GNPC in their work programme.
According to him, the money was used to settle upfront, a loan taken from the ministry of finance by GNPC Subsidiaries, to acquire a seven per cent stake in the TEN and Jubilee oil fields on behalf of the state.
In his view, therefore, even though administrative processes may not have been followed in terms of lodging the money in the Petroleum Holding Fund (PHF), no harm was done to the state by the upfront payment of the loan taken by GNPC Subsidiaries using that quantum of petroleum receipts.
Mr Atta Akyea told Kofi Oppong Asamoah on Class91.3FM’s breakfast show on Friday, 30 September 2020: “Well, I think it’s a storm in a teacup because sometimes the impression is being given that the money has been spirited away”.
According to him, “there’s a whole debate, as to whether or not some money should be lodged in the petroleum holding fund, so, it’s an interpretation and accounting”.
The former minister of Works and Housing said his crosschecks show that “there was an opinion from the attorney general to the effect that they needn’t place the money in that account for the simple reason that there’s a seven-per cent equity acquisition in the TEN and Jubilee fields by GNPC Subsidiary and they didn’t have the money so the ministry of finance borrowed them the money so they do this acquisition; they are trying to improve the governmental stakes in these petroleum blocks”.
“When they [GNPC Subsidiaries] took the loan, they were unable to pay, so, they used the petroleum receipts due them to settle it, so, the ministry of finance took the money and paid for the loan upfront,” Mr. Atta Akyea explained.
“The whole problem is simple: that the sheer fact that the money was not lodged in the PHF does not mean the money has been spirited away or stolen. … It’s all a balancing account, but when push it to the political dimension that some money has been spirited away, it leaves much to be desired,” he added.
He said: “The sum of money, if you look at it, is equal to the seven per cent equity stake that the government, through GNPC Subsidiary, has acquired. Let’s look at it from that perspective. So, when somebody is using his ingenuity to confer advantage and benefit to Ghana, ultimately, how can that be a problem?”
“And if the money was not so lodged in the PHF but it is shown that, indeed, the shares have been acquired, and the shares have been paid for, how can that be anything to undermine this country, financially?” he wondered.
He continued: “Are we looking at the substance or the form? The sheer fact that the money was not lodged in the account, but the money has been applied as it can be applied in the share acquisition to the benefit of Ghana”.
Mr. Atta Akyea, who is the MP for Akim Abuakwa South in the Eastern Region, said: “My concern, with the greatest of respect, is that even if administrative processes were not followed, is there any disadvantage to Ghana when seven per cent shares have been acquired in the TEN and Jubilee fields?”
“That is the point of the matter. If administrative procedures were not followed, has it caused any financial loss to the state or it has helped us financially because if we are not careful, anything becomes political and propaganda”.
He added: “My joy is that no money has been lost to the state yet because we have gained. If there are any tax implications on this transition, then they should be called upon to pay the tax”.
The Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, has alleged that President Akufo-Addo knows the top financiers of illegal small-scale mining (‘galamsey’) in the country.
According to Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, the National Security Minister and the other heads of the security apparatus in Ghana have told the president who the kingpins in ‘galamsey’ are.
In a TV interview monitored by GhanaWeb, on Monday, Murtala Muhammed alleged that the president has not caused the arrest of these kingpins because he is involved in it.
“The president knows those who are engaged in galamsey, some of them are in the Flagstaff House. The reason why I say he knows is that the president has breakfast (security briefing) with the ministers for interior and national security, every morning,” he said.
“He (the president) knows. He is an accomplice. The reason why I will say he is an accomplice is that he is the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. He must take action. Now when you have leading members of your party who have been cited and identified, some of them captured on video engaging this and nothing happens, why won’t I say he is an accomplice?” Murtala added.
The MP also alleged that the president is aware of all incidents where the personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces were sent to provide security for illegal miners.
“Military officers were instructed to go provide security for Chinese who are engaged in galamsey. Who instructed them? The Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, the president, knew about their presence there,” he said.
He added that even if the president did not know about the incident, he failed to hold persons who were implicated accountable after videos of military men protecting illegal miners were published in the media.
Murtala made these remarks while commending the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, for comments he made on the failure of the state to fight illegal mining.
The Asantehene, while addressing a delegation from the US Embassy in Ghana, questioned why Ghana as a country has failed to stop the menace of ‘galamsey’ even after the President, Akufo-Addo, has put his political career on the line to stop it.
Asantehene also questioned why the security apparatus in these ‘galamsey’ areas and the taskforce set up by the government have failed to stop the menace.
He intimated that small-scale mining was something that had been done for several years but never to the detriment of the environment.
“It (‘galamsey’) has gotten to a point where people are now using equipment and all that. They do not care about the environment.
“But the question is who is in control of the security around the area. From the district level to the highest level. We are all talking about ‘galamsey’. The government set up this military cum police to stop galamsey. Why have we not been able to stop it? Why?” he asked.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Armed Forces (GFA) has refuted news reports that its officers provide security for groups and individuals engaging in illegal small-scale mining (‘galamsey’).
The GFA, while reacting to audio-visuals published in the media, said that the persons captured in the videos were not military men.
According to the military, investigations conducted into some of the allegations showed that the persons who were captured in military apparel were private security officers who had been contracted to protect legal small-scale mining firms.
Security Analyst, Adib Saani, has bemoaned what he describes as the “porous nature of investigations” by the security agencies in the country.
According to him, Ghana’s investigation regime is so porous that potential criminals believe the possibility of being arrested after committing a crime is so low; hence they are always encouraged to commit crimes.
Adib Saani, who’s also a Criminologist, made the statement in an interview on the Ghana Kasa show on Kasapa 102.5FM/Agoo TV Monday while commenting on the series of murders recorded across the country in recent times.
He noted that the country’s criminal investigation process is mostly manual and concentrated in Accra.
“Crimes that are committed in Wa are investigated by CID officers dispatched to the area from Accra. We’ll recall that when the Takoradi missing Girls incident occurred, it took officers from Accra to go to the Western Regional capital to investigate the matter. Crimes happen in Kumasi, and investigators are moved from Accra to go and conduct investigations. So it looks like we don’t have competent investigations in other parts of the country beyond Accra, and all these make investigations delay unduly and leave perpetrators walking away free.”
Adib Saani, therefore, urged the Police Service to up their game as regards criminal investigations while calling on the government to commit more resources to the Police to enhance their work.
He was of the opinion that by taking on the duty of providing a platform for mentorship to the young generation, they would be able to mould their future and lay a strong foundation for them to prosper and take on leadership roles in future.
Dr Bawumia made the call at the Seventh Edition of the EMY Awards in Accra last Saturday.
“I implore everyone who has been recognised for their outstanding contributions to our society to keep up their responsibilities as mentors to the next generation so that we can create a healthy society based on hard work and sound principles.”
The Vice-President was pleased with the awards selection process, praising their strictness and transparency.
Winners on the night
Some of the winners on the night included Man of the Year, – Kofi Kinata, Woman of the Year -Prof. Elsie Effah Kaufmann, Woman of the Year Prof. Elsie Kaufmann, Communicator of the Year – Bernard Avle, Actor of the Year – Adjetey Annan, Young Achiever – Richie Mensah with Brand of the Year being won by Caveman Watches and ≈.
Other winners were Group of the Year- Rotary Club of Ghana, Continental Music Icon of the Year- Don Jazzy, Lifetime Achievement Award- Joe Lartey, and the ultimate winner on the night Man of the Year was Ibrahim Mahama.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Mr Mahama said he felt honoured to have emerged Man of the Year adding that would urge him to even work harder.
“ I am very happy to win the highest award on the night, Man of the Year. In fact, the journey has not been easy, but winning this award will spur me on to do more. But I want to urge the young ones that what I have done they can do better” he said.
The event started at 9 p.m. with a performance from South African singer, Zahara, who did exceptionally well entertaining the awardees, industry players, guests and high profile people who made it to the event.
There were other great performances from the likes of Kwabena Kwabena, Efe Grace and Akwaboah.
Background.
Put together by Cabon AV, headed by Kojo Soboh, EMY Awards celebrates distinguished men every year.
Since 2015, EMY Africa has celebrated the best in men’s achievements across local industry, community, culture and public service. Dozens of men from all ages and walks of life have been honoured for their abilities, initiatives and contributions to society.
The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has expressed worry over reported incidents of attacks on journalists in the course of discharging their duties, and said harsher sentences may be required to stem the tide.
The GBA noted that reported incidents of violence, thuggery and threats that have been visited on some media personnel in the discharge of their all-important work were a threat to the welfare of journalists and press freedom in the country.
These concerns were expressed by the GBA president, Yaw Acheampong Boafo, at the 2022 Bar Conference held in the Volta Region.
According to Mr Boafo, there were known and reported cases in which mostly persons belonging to the two dominant political parties in this country and in some cases some security personnel have attacked, harmed, assaulted and threatened journalists in the line of their work.
“This unfortunate tendency has not been helped by the seeming lethargy or failure by the state and its relevant agencies such as the Ghana Police Service and the Office of the Attorney-General to swiftly arrest, investigate and prosecute such offenders,” he noted.
Delays
The GBA also expressed worry that even for cases that were prosecuted, there were usually delays and for those that resulted in conviction, offenders were usually given what could be described as ‘lenient or slap-on-the-wrist’ sentences which did not deter others from committing such acts.
The GBA also advised media organisations to exercise greater and more effective control over political programmes to help check the threat of incendiary language on the airwaves
“By way of suggestion, management of media houses and hosts of political programmes may consider reviewing the kind of persons or panellists they invite to their shows,” the GBA president, Yaw Acheampong Boafo, stated in an address at the 2022 Bar Conference held at Ho last week.
The GBA president said it was important for hosts of shows to be alert and proactive to herd panellists and take charge of the discussions to prevent utterances that could unfairly denigrate the reputation of others and even breach the peace and security of this country.
Mr Boafo advised media houses to resist the urge to hide behind dishonest click baits to tarnish the reputation of others who held positions or views they disagreed with.
The GBA president urged Ghanaians and the media to be circumspect in their utterances and publications in order to help protect the country’s fledgling democracy.
He noted that unbridled utterances and the use of intemperate language across the various media outlets, especially by political activists, was an existential threat to the country’s democracy, adding that “the level of vitriol on comment threads on social media at times with tribal undertones is quite alarming”.
“Much as freedom of expression and pluralistic media is guaranteed and protected under the 1992 Constitution, it should not be lost on all of us that attached to such a right carries a corresponding and even a greater deal of responsibility and circumspection,” Mr Boafo cautioned.
He explained that there was general acceptance that freedom of speech was not absolute, and that protection of free speech did not extend to instances in which one’s speech violated the legal interests and rights of other citizens and of society or the national interest or public order.
He noted that although the 1992 Constitution had dedicated the whole of Chapter Five to guarantee and protect the fundamental human rights of Ghanaians, including freedom of expression, there was a caveat or condition, thereby revealing that rights were bereft of absoluteness.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has introduced some five key digital appliances in its operations to ensure a regulated framework for an enhanced and a more effective supervision of drivers and vehicles.
They comprise the vehicle windscreen glasses tint meter, handbrake tester, hand-held tablet computer, tyre tread depth gauge and tyre air presser gauge.
Obuasi station is the first to take delivery of the hand-held tools, while all 32 district offices across the country are to receive the kits for effective operations.
The DVLA says the appliances will help detect approved tinted windscreens, test the brake efficiency of a vehicle, and get instant access to a driver’s particulars upon keying in their registration and certificate of competence numbers to establish the authenticity or otherwise.
In the past, most driver offenders were let off the hook because the authority lacked these standard gadgets to strengthen their checks on the road.
The Compliance and Enforcement Manager of DVLA, Richard Kwasi Eyiah, explained that “after all checks are carried out on a vehicle, an automated gadget instantly issues out a receipt to the driver to know the status of the car as to whether it passed the test or not”.
Field demonstration
The Appliance and Enforcement Unit of the DVLA, last Thursday (September 29), organised a brief demonstration of the tools to the media in Kumasi and later moved on to the streets to test their innovative kits on drivers and vehicles.
During the field demonstration, it was detected that some vehicles had issues, but no arrests were made.
However, the DVLA field officers urged the drivers to update their papers, as well as put their vehicles in shape in order not to fall foul of the law.
Enforcement
Mr Eyiah in a post-test run interview said the tools would be used effectively to ensure compliance on the roads to ensure maximum safety on the roads with only roadworthy vehicles.
“Road rules will only be obeyed if drivers are made aware that not obeying them would result in detection and unwanted outcomes such as fines or licence suspension or cancellation.
“With these gadgets, there will be no hiding place for recalcitrant drivers,” he emphasised.
Mr Eyiah used the opportunity to commend the government for resourcing the authority which had enabled it to play its role more efficiently.
Microsoft has commenced the process of expanding its partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to support youth entrepreneurs on the continent.
The partnership forms part of the bank’s Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks (YEIB) Initiative, a unique value proposition set up by the African Development Bank that anchors and integrates efforts to develop entrepreneurship ecosystems in Africa.
It seeks to bring together all relevant financial and non-financial parties and partners to play their respective roles in supporting youth entrepreneurs through mentorship, coaching, knowledge and experience sharing and more.
Partnership
The partnership also forms an important part of Microsoft African Transformation Office’s ATO’s mission to empower 10 million Small and Medium Enterprise SMEs through access to skilling initiatives and investments and to generate the capacity needed to scale and provide digital skills to 30 million Africans.
Under the partnership, Microsoft will work with the bank to develop youth entrepreneurship ecosystems, creating jobs and dramatically scaling impact in Africa through digital inclusion.
The partnership seeks to support the establishment of national-level institutions through a public-private collaboration model to scale up technical and financial support for youth entrepreneurs and build their capacity.
Under the partnership, Microsoft is expected to leverage its partner ecosystem which covers 54 countries across the continent to act on key technology solutions across four key areas including skilling, connectivity, small-to-medium enterprise (SME) digitisation and hardware.
Skilling
In the area of skills, the partnership seeks to connect youth to economic opportunity and employability skills, the partnership will provide them with career pathway and learning content.
This includes the use of existing e-learning platforms such as coding for employment.
The initiative also aims to build the capacity of enterprise services organisations benefitting youth through the training of trainers.
Connectivity
In the area of connectivity, the partnership seeks to leverage successful connectivity solutions such as Microsoft Airband, the partnership will develop effective infrastructure models to help bridge the digital divide.
At the same time, it will support other innovative solutions on the market either through direct or indirect investment.
The partnership also aims to improve (SME) digital literacy and business skills by creating access to curated learning content, certifications, business solutions, business skills and specialised digital skills. This will be driven in partnership with LinkedIn and through skilling programmes such as MS Learn and the Cloud Academy.
SME access to bundled hardware solutions will be created by Microsoft and its partners.
SMEs will also be able to purchase Microsoft technology at discounted prices.
Youth
The General Manager of Microsoft Africa Regional Cluster Wael Elkabbany, explained that his outfit believed much could be done to help foster youth entrepreneurship by collaborating with the African Development Bank, driving greater economic inclusion for this key segment of the population, and ultimately building a more prosperous society.
Development
The African Development Bank Vice-President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation, Solomon Quaynor, said the strengthening of the partnership with Microsoft on the YEIB was an important development in the journey towards harnessing Africa’s demographic dividend and facilitating the creation of millions of jobs for young Africans by 2025.
The Strategic Partnerships Lead, Microsoft ATO, Angela Kyerematen-Jimoh, said “We are excited about the potential of this collaboration to magnify the work Microsoft is doing around digital inclusion in Africa.”
The Accra office of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) has mentioned difficulty in reading and understanding test items as some of the challenges faced by hearing-impaired candidates in WAEC examinations.
It said such candidates were also affected by the lack of or inadequate sign language interpreters during examinations, and mixing them with hearing candidates in the examination hall.
These, it said, had left them with unencouraging performances at WAEC examinations.
It said while such candidates performed better in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), they did not do well in West African Senior Schools Certificate Examinations (WASSCE), especially in English and Mathematics.
An assessment test accommodations conducted by the Accra Section of WAEC from 2016 to 2021 revealed that with the exception of 2019 and 2020 that hearing-impaired candidates did well in their examinations, their performance over the years, especially in English Language, Mathematics and Integrated Science in WASSCE had not been encouraging.
Seminar
The acting Head of the Accra Section of the Research Department of WAEC, Kwaku Dankwa, who made the disclosure at a virtual seminar to deliver the findings of the assessment, said from the test assessment, the reasons identified for the poor performance of the candidates in their examinations included unsuitable questions, language barrier, limited vocabulary, absence of learning outside the classroom, poor language and poor spelling.
He said the hearing-impaired saw English Language as a barrier because they were taught in sign language although they were examined in English Language.
Furthermore, he said, the hearing-impaired had limited vocabulary because in the sign language, they did not sign every word for which reason they were not familiar with some of the words they met during examination, hence they did not understand them to enable them to answer the questions properly.
“The kind of incidental learning that the hearing child have an advantage of, they don’t have that. At any point in time, somebody has to be with them trying to explain things to them using sign language because that is the mode of learning they are used to,” he added.
Stats
Mr Dankwa said WAEC, as the examining body, would engage stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education to reduce the challenges hearing-impaired candidates faced in their examinations in order that they were not left behind.
In 2016 for instance when 158 hearing-impaired candidates sat for the WASSCE, male hearing-impaired candidates who had between grades A1 to C6 in English Language were 11.4 per cent, while the females were 8.1 per cent.
That of Mathematics for the same grades were 9.4 per cent for males and 4.8 per cent for females, while for Integrated Science in the same year, 4.8 per cent females scored grades A1 to C6 and the males had 9.4 per cent.
Mr Dankwa said the respondents suggested that WAEC should make available sign language interpreters during examinations; recruit special education practitioners and sign language experts to mark scripts of hearing-impaired candidates; modify questions for hearing-impaired candidates as alternative papers, and examine sign language as a core subject as an alternative to English Language.
On the way forward, the assessment called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to train and post more special education experts and teachers who understand sign language to the special and inclusive schools to help hearing-impaired students to build the needed vocabulary.
It further called for WAEC to explore the use of alternative assessment test formats which focused on standard sign language and objective responses such as fill-ins.
Discussion
During the open discussion segment, some hearing-impaired students said when announcements were made during examinations, there were usually no sign language interpreters to interprete to them, causing them to make mistakes.
The Chairman for the programme, Prof. Samuel Kweku Hayford, of the Department of Special Education, University of Education, Winneba, remarked that sign language was being seriously taken care of in the education review policy.
He called for efforts to develop sign language so that right from kindergarten, children would be introduced to it.
The assessment
The study population included all hearing-impaired students and their teachers in the 15 public schools for the deaf in Ghana; heads of schools for the deaf; special education coordinators from GES, WAEC officers, special education lecturers, hearing-impaired university undergraduates in Ghana and officials of the Ghana National Association for the Deaf.
The Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, has assured the public that the judiciary will continue to adopt technology in order to expand access to justice delivery.
In a message at a special church service to usher in the new legal year last Saturday, the Chief Justice said the COVID-19 pandemic showed the importance of technology, with the judiciary adopting many digital tools in order to serve the public, while at the same time, avoiding the spread of the virus in courtrooms.
Justice Anin Yeboah said the judiciary had already started utilising technology in its operations before the pandemic, and would continue to aggressively pursue that to improve access to justice delivery.
Technological drive
The Chief Justice mentioned some of the technological initiatives as the automation of High Courts in Accra under the e-Justice project, the e-Judgement system and the national digitisation project, which was digitising court documents in selected courts across the country.
“Today, with the use of teleconferencing equipment that we have procured, we are able to organise virtual hearings in some of our courts, with incalculable benefits for speed and convenience to all who have to interact with the justice system,” Justice Anin Yeboah said.
However, the Chief Justice said in spite of the technological drive, justice delivery would only improve if all the stakeholders in the justice delivery system performed their duties diligently as ascribed by law.
“Let us remember that the justice system rests on our daily actions and so we should endeavour to place those actions in the best possible light,” Justice Anin Yeboah indicated.
New legal year
The 65th legal year, which commences today and ends on July 31, next year, is the calendar period during which the judiciary fully operates.
In August and September, majority of judges go on vacation, with a few judges staying on call to work in order for the wheel or justice not to grind to a halt.
The 65th legal year is on the theme “Improving Access to Justice in a pandemic through the use of technology.”
Last Saturday’s church service at the Cathedral Church of the Most Holy Trinity of the Anglican Church in Accra was the first church service to mark a new legal year since the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020.
Aside from the Chief Justice, other justices of the superior courts, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, the President of the Ghana Bar Association, Yaw Boafo, and the Director of the Ghana School of Law, Yaw Oppong, also attended the church service.
Expectation
The Attorney-General, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said his expectation of the new legal year was for the judiciary to continue to dispense justice efficiently as it always did, with emphasis on fairness, justice and the rule of law.
“Lawyers must also play their part. Sound advocacy is what enables judges to deliver justice in a manner required by law. The duty is not only on the judges but lawyers also play a major role,” Mr Dame said.
Sermon
Delivering the sermon, Archbishop Emeritus of the West African Province of the Anglican Church, Most Rev. Dr Robert Garshong Allotey Okine, advised judges and officers of the law to uphold integrity and not sacrifice it for expediency.
“Do not fail to do what you know is right. Again, be consistent in your utterances and actions. Inconsistencies are major problems facing our society. Let your yes be yes, and your no be no,” Most Rev. Okine said.
He also urged judges to refrain from all forms of corruption that would affect their duties and derail the effective administration of justice.
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has described as alarming, the current rate of deforestation in the country, estimated at 10 million hectares per year.
He said available statistics indicated that Ghana had one of the highest deforestation rates in Africa and the world, at two per cent per annum, on the average losing 135,000 hectares of forest per year as of 2020.
The development, he said, called for a concerted effort by stakeholders to address the situation, stressing that the managers of the country’s natural resources should up their game and help restore Ghana’s forest cover.
Otumfuo made the call in a speech read on his behalf by the Asakyirehene, Nana Mensah Bonsu, during the 40th anniversary celebration of the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources (FRNR), College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Event
The event was held at the Great Hall last Saturday, October 1, 2022.
A number of dignitaries and stakeholders in the natural resources and environment industry, including the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, graced the occasion.
One of the highlights of the event was the unveiling of a proposed 300-seater computer laboratory being executed by the alumni of the faculty in support of their 40th anniversary celebration.
Mr Abu Jinapor and the Asakyirehene jointly cut the tape to unveil the proposed project.
Challenge, support
Otumfuo, who doubles as the Chancellor of the KNUST, observed that with many rural and peri-urban residents relying on forest products, the forest and natural resources had come under attack for people’s survival.
“With the dependency of rural and peri-urban dwellers on forest products, the challenge of over-exploitation and the spread of agriculture has become one of the factors causing the depletion of our natural resources,” he indicated.
He, therefore, rallied support for eco-system-based programmes intended to enhance the ecology, such as the ones by groups, including FORM Ghana and Miroforestry, to see to the planting of over 15 million trees each year.
“This is critical in reclaiming our lost forest cover,” he remarked, and urged the government to provide the enabling environment for the initiatives to be sustained.
He acknowledged the tremendous progresses made by the FRNR for training over 6,000 graduates and postgraduate natural resources managers – who continued to play various roles in forestry, wildlife, fisheries and water management globally.
Collective responsibility
Mr Abu Jinapor, speaking on the theme: “40 Years of Training Natural Resources Managers: A New Age for A New Focus,” said the theme was absolutely apt and timely.
He said as an educational and research institution, the faculty must take a lead role in educating the general population and local communities on the roles and responsibilities in the management of these natural resources.
He admitted that the government had a greater responsibility for their sustainable management through the promotion of relevant policies and laws.
“But the ultimate responsibility lies on the shoulders of all citizens, residents of Ghana and visitors alike. This is a collective responsibility.
“This new age with its challenges presents us with the opportunity to take stock, re-strategise and adopt new or additional measures for the efficient, effective and sustainable management of our natural resources,” Mr Abu Jinapor emphasised.
Green Ghana Day
The minister also commended the KNUST for being part of history by planting 2,000 trees in commemoration of the Green Ghana Day initiated by the government.
“Let’s continue to support the initiative to restore the lost forest cover of our country and come to grips with the climate crises,” the minister appealed.
Chiefs not to be blamed
Meanwhile, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, at a different forum, has said that chiefs cannot be accused of allowing illegal mining to thrive when licences are issued without recourse to traditional authorities.
He also questioned the failure of the security agencies to successfully fight illegal mining in the country.
Welcoming the US Ambassador, Virginia E. Palmer, to Manhyia, the Asantehene acknowledged the economic drivers for illegal mining operations, but said that should not supersede the environmental devastation.
He blamed leadership of Ghana for failing to tackle galamsey.
“In Ghana, chiefs don’t issue permits and licences for mining. Those are issued from Accra and it is done without consulting the chiefs.
“The law says the state holds the land in trust for the people and so determines those things. How can a chief supervise when he has no control over the licence and who should mine and how it should be done?
“At the district level, we have the political administration – the district chief executive and the security council. Are they all saying that they are unaware of the activities of these galamseyers?” Otumfuo questioned.
The Asantehene emphasised that if the political leaders could not stop illegal miners from operating, then they were not up to the task of leading.
“If they are unable to detect and stop the operation of these galamseyers then they are unworthy to be there, it is as simple as that,” he stressed.
Forest cover
According to the National Forest Plantation Development Programme, approximately less than one per cent of forest cover remained outside of the forest reserves, much of which was in small, scattered patches, swamps and sacred grooves.
Over the years, some measures have been instituted to improve the nation’s environment, including the creation of some 120,000 hectares of forest planting in 2007 by the Forestry Commission.
This, however, fall short of the general commitment needed on the part of the citizenry in tackling the current high rate of deforestation in the country, some environmentalists have argued.
About 100 out of the initial 187 students who expressed their desire to continue their education in Ghana, have successfully been placed in at least one of the country’s seven medical schools.
The number formed part of the over 900 Ghanaian Medical students from Ukraine whose education got truncated due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The decision to integrate the students into local medical schools was contained in the yet-to-be-submitted report of the 13-member Inter-ministerial Committee put together to come out with modalities to integrate these students into Ghanaian universities to continue their studies.
Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, the chairman of the committee, who disclosed this to the media in Accra last Wednesday, said the committee had successfully completed its work and would soon submit its report to the Minister of Education.
He explained that even though the window of opportunity was offered to all the over 900 affected students; less than 200 of them decided to take advantage of it.
Dr. Nsiah-Asare said, out of 187 students who initially expressed interest in the integration process, only 121 registered to take part in an assessment organised by the Medical and Dental Council.
He noted that out of the registered number, 101 availed themselves for assessment, stressing that “We’ve placed the students in first-year level 100, level 200, level 300, level 400 and level 500.
We didn’t place anybody in level 600 because the arrangement or the course structure in Ukraine for level 600 is quite different from the course structure in Ghana,” he said.
However, he noted that one student was not placed in any of the universities due to the fact that even though he started as a medical student in Ukraine, he decided to change course after the third year.
“He actually wanted to take advantage of the window of opportunity given but upon thorough assessment of his documents, it was realised that he abandoned medicine for economics, I think after the third year,” he said.
Dr. Nsiah-Asare who is also the Special Advisor to the President on Health, justified the Ghana Medical and Dental Council’s decision not to recognise certificates issued to students who conducted their studies via online.
The Council, on Monday, September 26, 2022, said it would not recognise degree certificates issued by Medical and Dental Schools from Ukraine citing inappropriate training processes.
The Council explained that, that was not in accordance with the required training process as it threatened the quality and credence of the profession.
Dr. Nsiah-Asare explained that it was wrong to allow persons who had not gone through the required training process to practice as medical and dental officers.
“In medicine, especially in clinical medicine, I am a doctor so I can say it, you cannot say that you’ve done online courses for the rest of your clinical courses and so you are a doctor. I don’t think you will allow anybody who has done online courses alone to come and see you,” he said.
I know that some people are comparing that because of AI, people are even doing virtual surgeries and all those things, but that person has trained as a doctor, he has done postgraduate training and gone to do specialised training as a robotic surgeon…, but not just straight from medical school and you say that you’ve finished your medical school online.
I don’t think you will allow such a doctor to see you. So, we are guarding the profession and protecting the public. The Medical and Dental Council guards the profession and protects the public,” he empahsised.
Philip Bobbie-Ansah, President of the NUGS-Ukraine, attributed the failure of many of the qualified and interested students to participate in the assessment exercise to their inability to afford plane tickets to Ghana as well as the short notice of the exercise.
The NUGS-Ukraine president appealed to the Council to give opportunities to students who still wanted to take advantage of the offer, to do so.
“I have made a plea to the Registrar of the GMC that if possible, already, we’ve done the assessment, and the structures are already there.”
Astute lawyer and former Director of Ghana School of Law, Mr Kwaku Ansa-Asare who is the lawyer for the petitioners in the Okuapeheman chieftaincy dispute has stated that per the ruling of the National House Of Chiefs in Kumasi last week there is no Okuapehene.
Addressing a gathering in Akropong Akwapim after the Landmark ruling at the National House of Chiefs in Kumasi, Lawyer Ansa-Asare said the body of eminent Chiefs has asked parties in the Okuapeman Chieftancy dispute to go back and follow the ruling of the Eastern regional House of Chiefs and that the Queen Mother of Okuapeman and the Asonahene are part of those who are clothed in authority in selecting the next Okuapehene, therefore, the installation process of who becomes the Okupehene must be started all over again.
He said this makes the man who carries himself as Okuapehene Nana Kwesi Akuffo III, so-called installation null and void.
Last year the ‘Okuapehene’ of Akropong-Akuapem, Odehye Kwadwo Kese together with one Abrewatia Lilly Agyemang were convicted of contempt by a Koforidua High Court in the Eastern Region.
The court presided over by Justice Doris Dabanka-Bekoe sentenced them to a fine of GH¢10,000 for which they risked spending 14 days in prison if they fail to pay the fine within seven days of the court’s judgment.
That ruling came at the back of a suit filed by Nana Afua Nketiaa Obuo II, Okuapehemea, and Nana Kwesi Omenako II, Asonahene of Akuapem against the contemnors for blatantly ignoring the judgment of the Judicial Committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs.
The Judicial Committee in a ruling on April 30, 2020, nullified the nomination, selection, and enstoolment of Odehye Kwasi Akuffo as Okuapehene, on grounds that the processes leading to his installation were not carried out in accordance with custom, hence were null and void.
Subsequently, the committee directed the Queenmother of the Akuapem Traditional Area, bestowed with the customary responsibility, to nominate a candidate to mount the Ofori Kuma Stool as Okuapehene to recommence the process of finding and installing a new Okuapehene.
She was to reconduct the nomination and selection process of a new Okuapehene in consultation with the elders of the Sajyiabea family, Asonahene of Akuapem, on the grounds that, “the process of nomination and selection is a matter purely for the Adehye of the Asona Clan, and no other person or entity.”
According to the facts of the suit, The National House of Chiefs ruling came at a time that Abrewatia Lilly Agyemang on May 1, 2020, in blatant disregard of the orders of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs Judicial Committee, ignored the consequential order of the regional house of Chiefs nominated and selected Odehye Kwadwo Kesse for enstoolment as Okuapehene.
Before that, the High Court had held that the Abrewatia acted without the involvement of the other five (5) senior female members, commonly known as Mmeampanyinfo, contrary to the directive of the Judicial Committee.
In the court’s view, the unilateral act of Lilly Agyemang, that is by-passing the Queenmother and the Stool Father of the Akuapem Traditional Area, who had the sole prerogative to nominate and select the Okuapehene, contravened the direct orders of the Judicial Committee and constituted a contempt of court.
According to the suit, the respondents at all material times knew that the applicants had been dragged before the court for committal proceedings, for ignoring the pendency of a motion on notice to restrain them from going ahead with the outdooring of Odehye Kwasi Akuffo and Odehye Kwadwo Kesse as Okuapehene.
The suit again stated that the respondents must have known that the selection, installation, and outdooring of Odehye Kwadwo Kesse as Okuapehene from May 1, 2020, to May 3, 2020, were acts that were in clear contravention of the orders of the Eastern Regional House of Chief.
The applicants thus prayed the court to find the respondents guilty of contempt and make any order determination it deemed fit.
The High Court after hearing the matter determined that Odehye Kwadwo Kese and Abrewatia Lilly Agyemang were guilty of contempt of court and hence convicted them to a fine of GHc10,000 each, or in default go to jail for 14 days. As contemnors, they followed the court order and paid their fine.
The Attorney General and Minister for Justice Godfred Yeboah Dame has urged state prosecutors to be coherent and show clarity of presentation as they appear in court to prosecute cases.
The AG said in filing their written submissions especially, the precision of the arguments is key to achieving convictions.
“In filing your submissions, whether at the submission of no case stage or upon the completion of evidence, the lucidity of the argument and the clarity of the presentation are very key and non-negotiable.
Indeed, I will say that it is same with every aspect of the advocate’s duty. There must be clarity and order of presentation. If there is a combination of clarity and order in a presentation, lucidity of legal arguments constitutes 80% of the work done.
Godfred Yeboah Dame made this call at the 2022 National State Prosecutors’ training ahead of the 2022/23 new legal year which begins today, Monday, October 3, 2022.
The story of this little-known Ga woman started after the death of the warrior king, King Okaikoi.
After his death, Dode Akabi, the Princess of Obutu, immediately came into the scene, usurped power and installed her authority over the people of Akra (now Accra), beginning a tenure of ruthless rule by the woman described as “an intelligent and masculine woman.”
Captured in a book titled, ‘History of the Gold Coast and Asante, Third Edition’ and authored by Carl C. Reindorf, the story of this queen is told.
According to the narration, immediately Dode Akabi rose to the throne, albeit illegally, she exerted her authority over the people, initiating some of the most unheard-of things among the people, such as face-cut marks.
“After the death of King Okai, Dode Akabi, an intelligent and masculine woman and Princess of Obutu, took possession of the king’s property, usurped the government, knowing that after her death, the young Prince Okaikoi might aspire to the throne. Dode Akabi ruled both the Akras and Obutus with a rod of iron. She invented the Akra face-cut marks, although some people are of opinion that the first Akra immigrants had such marks on their faces,” portions of the book stated.
Dode Akabi was also very daring in her commands to her people. Further accounts of her story showed that she once asked for a live tiger or lion to be caught for her – a situation that let to the death of many.
She also commanded that all old men be killed until the last one standing made her take a more forthright decision.
“She also commanded the men not to use the abusive expression ‘bulu’ or brute to a wife, on pain of death. Her other injunctions were very foolish and cruel, such as to capture a live tiger or lion for her. Many lives were lost in efforts made to carry out her orders.
“In giving the order to build her palace, she stipulated that it should not be thatched with grass but with clay. She also commanded the young men in her dominions to do away with all the old and elderly men. This wicked order was executed except in one family where the father’s life was spared.
“When Dode Akabi was urging her people to build the palace and to use swish strings in thatching it, no one knew how to carry out the order. The old man whose life had been saved advised his sons to ask for a sample of the old swish strings used when the palace of her predecessor was thatched so as to imitate it. When this request was made, she knew at once that one of the old men was alive, and ordered the people to tell her the truth. When she was told, she ordered the old man to be brought to her; and he made such a clear demonstration to her that she abandoned her idea of roofing a grass house without the natural materials. This was the origin of constituting seven elders as councillors to advise kings and chiefs in every town,” it added.
And like all tales, there was sure to be an end to the brutality of this queen but she never quite saw it coming.
After one of her usual unbelievably difficult orders, the young men who took out the order saw a small window of opportunity to permanently bring an end to her suppression.
Knowing too well that she insanely abhorred disobedience, the young men hatched the perfect lie and got her to descend into a well she had asked to be dug for her, and when she had, they put to an end to her.
“Dode Akabi’s death is said to have happened through an order she gave to sink a well in the hill known as Akabikenke (Akabi’s hill). The people had no proper tools and were compelled to sink a well some hundred feet deep. Their rigid taskmasters were very hard upon them, in fact, like the European taskmasters; and at last, the poor, oppressed and afflicted people conspired the life of the Queen.
“In order to carry out their plot, it was announced that water was discovered, but a man was at the bottom of the well who forbade them to dig any further. The angry Queen with her women retinue rushed to the spot, arrogantly demanding who the man was who dared to impede her work.
“‘He is at the bottom of the well,’ was the reply. In a great rage she ordered them to lower her down to see the man who ventured to oppose her will. She was lowered accordingly, and when she had reached the bottom, the people shouted: ‘In future that is your abode!’ In a moment a multitude of stones, sticks and rubbish was thrown into the well to fill it up. All the workmen engaged, as well as those from the town, carried stones and earth and threw them in; and those coming late threw stones in heaps all around the well being quite full.
“Thus ended the cruel and wicked reign of Dode Akabi, which is still remembered by two proverbs: ‘Twine should be twisted according to the ancient samples’; and ‘Never cut your hair like that of Tete when your head is not the same shape.’ This referred to the queen who was not of the royal blood of Akra and should not have assumed the supreme power,” it added.
Read even more details in the attached snippets from the book:
The Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Joseph Whittal, has admonished National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) to comply with the criteria of the UN Paris Principles in the implementation process of protecting the rights and freedoms of all persons, and holding governments accountable for their human rights obligations.
Commissioner Whittal who is also the President of the Network of National Human Rights Institutions in West Africa (NNHRI-WA) said functioning per international standards such as the Paris Principles would ensure independence, competence, credibility and accountability of NHRIs, and empower them to be effective in their work.
He was addressing a three-member high level delegation from the National Human Rights Commission of Mali (Commission National des Driots de l’Homme) (CNDH) who had come to visit CHRAJ on experience sharing expedition.
Mr Whittal recalled that in 2016, the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) commissioned a study, titled “Study on the state of National Human Rights Institutions in Africa”, which undertook a comparative analysis of African NHRIs and whether their legal frameworks met the effectiveness criteria of the Paris Principles.
According to him, the study analyzed the independence, competencies, responsibilities, funding, and financial autonomy of NHRIs, and also discovered some limitations in their legal framework, as well as their operational, financial, and appointment autonomy.
He observed that restrictive mandates imposed by enabling legislation, including poorly written legislation, inadequate protection within the enabling legislation with regard to the security of tenure, and ambiguous laws on the powers and functions of these institutions were pointed out as major threats to the legal autonomy of NHRIs.
The CHRAJ Commissioner disclosed that the report revealed inadequate ability of some NHRIs to execute its mandates without external interferences, controls, influence or obstruction from any branch of the government, private bodies and other powerful individuals.
The President of the Mali CNDH and head of the delegation, Mr. Aguibou Bouare, stated that the visit to CHRAJ was critical in light of the new challenges facing Mali under its military regime to draw inspiration from the experience of the Commission which has maintained its ‘A’ status since 1996.
Mr Bouare assured that they would spare no effort in discharging their duty to promote a human rights culture, and also adopt the knowledge gained from CHRAJ, as well as implement the SCA’s recommendations in Mali.
The Paris Principles are a set of standards that frame and guide the work of NHRIs which were drafted at an international NHRIs workshop in Paris in 1991, and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in its Resolution 48/134 of 1993.
The criteria of these Paris Principles require NHRIs to be independent in law, membership, operations, policy and control of resources. They also require that NHRIs have broad mandates, pluralism in membership, broad functions, adequate powers, adequate resources, cooperative methods, and engagement with international bodies to be credible and independent.
The two organisations have also asked the military junta to refrain from acts of violence and comply with a laid down process agreed with transition authorities to return the country to constitutional order by July 1, 2024.
This was contained in separate statements issued by ECOWAS Chairman, Guinea-Bissau’s President, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, and AU Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Maham, at the weekend.
In the country’s second coup in a year, Burkina Faso military leader, Paul-Henri Damiba, was on Friday deposed as army Captain, Ibrahim Traore, took charge, dissolving the transitional government and suspending the constitution.
Traore said on Friday evening that the new group of officers removed Damiba due to his inability to deal with a worsening armed uprising in the country for which he initially toppled the civilian government.
“ECOWAS finds this new coup a major setback at a time when progress had been made, particularly through diplomacy and efforts undertaken to ensure an orderly return to constitutional order by 1st July 2024”, the ECOWAS statement said.
While reaffirming its “unreserved condemnation” of any seizure or retention of power by unconstitutional means, it demanded the scrupulous respect of the timetable already agreed upon with the Transition Authorities for a rapid return to constitutional order.
“ECOWAS hereby warns any institution, force or group of persons who, by their actions, may hinder the planned return to constitutional order or contribute to undermining the peace and stability of Burkina Faso and the Region.
“The ECOWAS Commission remains seized with developments in the country”, the statement said.
The AU statement extended the AU Chair’s support for ECOWAS and expressed his deep concern about the resurgence of unconstitutional changes of the government in Burkina Faso and elsewhere on the African Continent.
It said the support was in conformity with the Lomé Declaration of Year 2000, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance and the Accra Declaration on Unconstitutional Changes of Government.
The Chairperson called upon the military to immediately and totally refrain from any acts of violence or threats to the civilian population, civil liberties, human rights, and ensure strict compliance with electoral deadlines for the restoration of Constitutional order by 1 July 2024, at the latest.
“The Chairperson reaffirms the continued support of the African Union to the people of Burkina Faso to ensure peace, stability and development of the country,” the AU statement said.
President Akufo-Addo has announced plans by the government to upgrade the Kwadaso College of Agriculture in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, to an agricultural university.
He said the government was collaborating with the Mendel University of the Czech Republic to upgrade the status of the Agricultural College.
The President said this at the centenary celebration of the Kwadaso Agricultural College last Friday
With the Kwadaso College established in 1922 to help maintain the then Gold Coast’s enviable position of being the leading producer of cocoa in the world, the President noted that the College has since evolved into a centre of excellence, with increased capacity for training.
According to President Akufo-Addo, “the Kwadaso College of Agriculture can, to date, boast of having trained some one hundred thousand (100,000) young people as agricultural assistants who have since been absorbed by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Local Government Service, Ghana Cocoa Board, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, as well as the private sector over the years.”
Having produced a significant number of graduates, who have moved on to occupy leadership positions in industry, academia, civil society and entrepreneurship, he noted that “the record of the College in contributing to the human resource development of this country is testament to its strength”.
One hundred (100) years after the establishment of the College, the President stated that the time was ripe to reposition the institution to harness its full potential, and that was why the decision has been taken to upgrade the Kwadaso Agricultural College into an agricultural university, with collaborative support from the prestigious Mendel University of the Czech Republic.
“It is my understanding that the agricultural university will take care of the academic and professional development of our human resource for the agricultural sector. If successful, the plan will include establishing satellite campuses in Ejura and Wenchi Agricultural Colleges,” he said.
The President continued, “The reason why the establishment of this University, dedicated to agriculture, excites me very much is because we will produce the requisite numbers of human resource to support research, impart knowledge and provide leadership in the sector.”
Stressing on the need for the country to scale up consciously the number of middle level professionals who provided hands-on support in the sector, President Akufo-Addo acknowledged the fact that the Kwadaso College of Agriculture, and indeed other colleges, are already laying the foundation for developing such category of human resource, as some graduates of these institutions have begun benefitting from training in Government’s greenhouse internship programme in Ghana and Israel.
“The trainees at such centres are prepared for entrepreneurship by being equipped with academic knowledge and practical skills in greenhouse technology. Once established, the transformed agricultural university and other colleges will serve as incubators for the development of more agricultural professionals in the country,” he said.
The President, therefore, pledged the continous support of Government to make the upgrade of the College into a University a reality, and charged the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to step-up efforts, and strengthen the partnership and collaboration with the Mendel University to realise this vision.
“The collaboration between the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Mendel University exemplifies the wisdom of collaborating to make our institutions very valuable to our developmental efforts. I am confident that this celebration will ignite that spirit of togetherness and make this a reality,” he added.
The government is currently upgrading the old railway workshop at Essikado in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis of the Western Region, Minister of Railway Development, Mr John-Peter Amewu, has announced.
The project, he explained, would strengthen local capacity for the repairs and maintenance of locomotives, wagons, coaches and other ancillary railway equipment for delivery of railway services in Ghana.
“The vision is to modernise and equip the facility for it to become a one-stop workshop to serve the railway, mining, petroleum, agricultural and other ancillary industries on Ghana,” Mr Awewu stressed.
He said these during the celebration of rail transport day at UMaT’s School of Railways and Infrastructure Development (SRID) at Essikado on Saturday.
It was on the theme “Ghana’s rail transport: challenges and future prospects.”
Already, the minster recalled that, two out of seven workshops were refurbished by Messrs Rolider Ghana Limited in 2018, with government funding, adding that, Messrs CK Engineering and Construction Limited, was also refurbishing five other workshops.
He said, to ensure that Ghana developed adequate local capacity to manage and maintain the railway system, the old Railway Central Training Institute at Essikado, had since 2021, trained over 600 youthful Ghanaians in engineering degree, diploma and certificate programmes.
Again, Mr Amewu indicated that, the school had been upgraded into a degree awarding institution, adding that the ministry together with Ghana Railway Company Limited and UMaT, had developed academic programmes to ensure students received practical and hands-on engineering training, to strengthen their capacity.
As part of railway master plan to modernise and expand the railway network in the country, he said, the existing narrow gauge of western rail line from Kojokrom to Tarkwa through Nsuta sections, since 2017 had been rehabilitated to ensure the efficient haulage of manganese from Nsuta mines to the port of Takoradi.
“The development of a new standard gauge railway network commenced in 2018 for the construction of the 22km Kojokrom to Manso section of the western line in January 2018.
“The project is currently about 90 per cent and is expected to be fully completed and handed over by the contractor Messrs Amandi Holding Ltd in the first quarter of 2023.”
Even before the completion of the new standard gauge line to Manso, the minister reported that the government had secured external funding to continue the development of the western line from Manso to Huni Valley.
The project includes the extension of the standard gauge into the bulk terminal at the Takoradi Port, Mr Amewu said.
The ministry, he said was working closely with the contractor to ensure completion of tracks up to Nsuta within 12 months to enable migration of the manganese haulage from narrow gauge onto the standard gauge to enhance efficiency in railway operations.
Heavy rains on Saturday ushered in the month of October, causing floods that destroyed property and disrupted many outdoor events, especially weddings and funerals.
The intermittent downpour which started at dawn in Accra restricted movement and caused vehicular traffic especially, delaying many planned ceremonies.
Vehicles and commuters waded through heavy floods to get to their destinations while some drivers had to park their vehicles on the shoulders of roads due to poor visibility.
Event grounds deserted during the rains
Pictures posted on social media showed how seats and tables arranged at some open air events grounds had been abandoned while guests sought cover in nearby facilities.
Determined to go through their events as planned, some hosts and their guests resorted to the use of umbrellas, and in addition, hurried through the activities for the ceremonies.
Throughout last week, heavy rains have been lashing some districts across the country including Accra, Kumasi and its surrounding areas and parts of the Eastern Region.
In Kumasi, the wares of hundreds of traders in the Kumasi Central Market were destroyed in Wednesday’s flooding which has been blamed on the contractors of the Kejetia Redevelopment Project.
The traders accused them of blocking a sewage system at the construction site, leading to the floods although the contractors have denied being responsible for the situation.
Joynews reported that 20 per cent part of the central market space yet to be demolished for the market redevelopment project got flooded, destroying wares worth millions of cedis.
Consultant in charge of the project Emmanuel Danso said they only took measures to gather the debris in the gutters that are connected to the Subin stream at the market.
At least three persons reportedly died in floods in the Ashanti Region; specifically at Oduom-Bebre, Asokwa and Subin.
That same Wednesday in Kyebi in Akyem Abuakwa area of the Eastern Region, heavy rains caused the Birim River to overflow its banks and caused flooding in the area, thereby hindering vehicular movement.
Some vehicles which were in motion ahead of the rains and those that were trying to meander their way through the waters were partially submerged, likewise other structures.
It was reported that it is the first time in over five decades that Kyebi had experienced severe flooding of its kind with the impact of illegal mining on the Birim River being blamed for the scale of flooding.
In a social media post on Saturday, the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi said the Akokoaso community was not spared by the rains this week.
“Floods this week took a life, washed away some trading stalls, roads and oil palm processing plants in the Akokoaso”, he said after visiting the scenes and commiserating with the victim’s family.
Meanwhile the Ghana Meteorological Agency has cautioned Ghanaians to expect more rains and be cautious in flood-prone areas.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has stepped up efforts to increase tax compliance and generate more revenue with the introduction of an electronic (e) invoicing system that eliminates the various abuses used by taxpayers to deny the state huge revenue.
The authority rolled out the e-invoicing system for value added tax (VAT) from October 1 to 600 large taxpayers that generate more than 90 per cent of VAT revenue.
The exercise is expected to cover medium-sized taxpayers by 2023 before being extended to all businesses in 2024.
Unlike the manual system, the e-invoicing system allows the GRA to monitor live transactions in companies where it has been deployed, thereby making it impossible for taxpayers to either under invoice or dodge the payment of VAT.
GRA estimates show that the country’s VAT contributions to tax revenue could be increased to 30 per cent from the current 18 per cent if the various abuses that the manual invoicing system is pronged to decisively be dealt with.
The system was rolled out simultaneously with an electronic tax clearance certificate (TCC) system that also seeks to remove the abuses the current system is prone to.
The Head of the Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) at GRA, Edward Apenteng Gyamerah, told journalists on Friday that the two programmes formed part of a tax digitalization agenda being championed by the authority.
He said the authority was optimistic that the e-invoicing and the e-TCC would help increase revenue generations by removing the malpractices that the manual systems had been subjected to.
Last month, GRA swoops and mystery purchases in various companies that led to the discovery of non-compliant institutions and the temporary closure of their operations.
Mr Gyamerah said together with the e-invoicing, the GRA was hoping to raise VAT contribution to total revenue from the current 18 per cent to 30 per cent by 2024.
He said while VAT collections in Ghana’s peer nations amounted to 30 per cent per annum, that of Ghana was around 18 per cent.
This, he said meant that more VAT revenue was being lost through the abuses that the manual system was subjected to.
To help deal with this, the Head of DTRD said authority and the government amended Section 42 of the VAT Act, (2013) Act 870 as amended to make e-invoicing compulsory and the only medium for issuing VAT invoices.
“Through this, we will be able to improve upon compliance, we will have audit trail and that will allow us to know the volume of transactions every minute for us to assess the taxes appropriately,” he said.
Speaking on the mode of implementation, Mr Gyamerah said the system would be deployed using two different routes.
He said for businesses that had their own platform for issuing VAT, GRA connected its software for generating the e-VAT invoices into theirs to allow for take off.
But for businesses that did not have their own systems, he said the authority would give its software to them at no cost.
On the e-TCC, he said businesses only needed to enter their details into the e-TCC portal created by GRA for the certificates to be generated automatically.
Media personality and political activist, Kwame Asare Obeng, popularly known as A Plus, has urged Ghanaians to resort to illegal connection of electricity if the challenge with purchasing prepaid credit persists.
His comment comes on the back of challenges customers of the Electricity Company of Ghana, (ECG) have faced in getting prepaid credit to purchase from vendors.
In a video shared on his Instagram handle, A Plus lamented the impact of the absence of prepaid on businesses and health of people.
He mentioned that some traders need electricity to refrigerate their meat and fish while some persons with health conditions need it to store their medication at a certain temperature.
“Have you gotten some of the prepaid to buy? ECG is on my lane here. There are a lot of people who have thronged the place wanting the prepaid credits. A poor person has gone to buy a pound of meat to refrigerate.
“The person sells kenkey so she has bought the meat and fish to refrigerate and fry and use it to sell their kenkey. For about one week, the person does not get to buy prepaid and the meat goes bad.
“These days medicines including Covid drugs are frozen. All these people want to buy the prepaid but it is unavailable. Others have machines that has to be plugged when their sickness becomes extreme otherwise the person will die but the light is unavailable.
“If you go to advanced countries, the light does not even go off. Over here, even when you are holding money to buy you won’t get some. What is even more annoying is that after uploading, what you get to buy, there’s light off. What is this?,” he quizzed.
The musician cum political activist further berated the over-politicization of issues in the country lamenting how easily it is to be politically tagged when making general commentary of public interest.
He stressed that even with the partisan nature of some governing New Patriotic Party, NPP, activists, the matter of unavailability of prepaid has equally affected them.
A Plus added that Ghanaians should seek the services of electricians to do the illegal connection for them after searching for prepaid to no avail.
He argued that even if they are caught, the judge who will sit on the matter will be reasonable enough to know the challenges they are facing.
“If you have tried purchasing prepaid for a week now and you are not getting it, don’t bother yourself. Your meat will go bad. Just look for an electrician to do illegal connection for you.
“My prepaid is not finished. When it does, I will try looking for some over a certain period. If I don’t get it and I look in my freezer and things are not going okay, I will do illegal connection.
“We should test the law. No judge is mad. They are sensible … Do illegal connection. Explain to the judge with evidence that you have tried purchasing prepaid to no avail. Nobody can do anything to you when you are arrested. They’ll only take you to court in this democratic dispensation,” he opined.
ECG customers have had challenges purchasing prepaid via the app or vending outlets after the power distributor said it had encountered challenges with it prepaid metering system.
The situation led to many people thronging the district offices of ECG is a bid to have their issues addressed.
There have been reports that it was as result of ECG’s system being hacked. Meanwhile, ECG has assured that the challenge has been resolved while urging customers to visit their any vendor close by to purchase prepaid.
“Customers can now purchase electricity credits from their nearest vending points, and all ECG District offices, including tomorrow Sunday, 2nd October 2022 from 9.00 am – 4.00 pm,” part of a statement released by ECG read.
A family at Nuanua Asubone in the Assin South District of the Central Region is outraged over the missing corpse of their relative which was deposited at the St. Xavier Hospital Mortuary in Assin Fosu for preservation.
The final funeral rite of the 57-year-old deceased, Linda Obiri Akufo, was arranged to be held on October 1 and 2nd October 2022 respectively.
But astonishingly the facility authorities could not provide the corpse when the family went to collect it for burial.
This triggered anger and the police had to intervene to calm down tempers.
According to the husband of the deceased, Nana Atua ‘I’ who doubles as the Ankobiahene of Nunua Asubone, all the necessary arrangements had been made including food and drinks only to be told the body cannot be found.
The family, therefore, had no option but to call off the funeral as the faces of sympathizers who had traveled from the length and breadth of the country to mourn were flooded with disappointment and dismay.
Meanwhile, the Assemblymember of Assin Adiembra Electoral Area, Mr. George Oliver Gyimah said after a series of engagements with the hospital management, the facility authorities have pleaded for two weeks to search for the body.
The angry family members suspect that the corpse has been sold by the Hospital Authorities.
Meanwhile, the Sister In-Charge of the St. Francis Xavier Hospital, Georgina Donzing implored the public to keep reposing trust in them, “though it’s a human institution and such thing could happen once a while, stringent measures are in place to ensure it does not happen at all.
The case has been reported to the police for investigation
Aide to former president John Dramani Mahama, Madam Joyce Bawah Mogtari, has lauded organizers of the annual Ayawaso Basic Schools quiz competition.
Whiles delivering a speech as the guest of honour for the just ended edition of the competition, she tasked the Zongo Inspiration Team, ZIT, to stay the course and improve the event year-in and out.
“I have been following the programme for quite some time and I think it is awesome what Zongo Inspiration Team is doing.”
Addressing the contesting students and others present, she stated: “Many years ago, we were all like you people and somebody had to inspire us and encourage us to do better and to do more.
“I think it is fantastic that you bring all these children here under one roof, spend time preparing m for their exams.”
She noted that, given the distinct and advancing communities that Zongos are, education has been and will continue to be a gamechanger.
She further extended greetings from office of John Dramani Mahama, who she said was out of town and as always held great interest in education.
The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Basic School located in Accra New Town were crowned winners of the Quiz Competition.
The school defeated three others in the final of the event that took place last Thursday, September 29, 2022 at the Nima-Mamobi Kathy Knowles Library, near the National Mosque, Kanda.
The winning team comprised Sagoe Desmond, Donkor Hannah Kissiwaa, Tamora Theresa and Kanyi Bettymood.
The competition which started earlier this month aims at pooling public and private schools in the Ayawaso cluster with the view to promoting out-of-class academic engagement with healthy competition.
The contest is specifically for Junior High School students.
Sixteen schools set out in four groups of four, with elimination of two schools after each contest, culminating in the semis and the finals that had the winning school, St. Kizito Roman Catholic Junior High School, Apostolic Hope School and Ring Road East ‘1’ Basic School.
For their award, the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial team were awarded a giant trophy and sets of books among other prizes.
The event has other strands including entertainment and importantly the issue of role modeling, which entails sharing inspiring stories of professional Muslims with the young ones.
Sarkin Samari of the Hausa Community in Greater Accra, Alhaji Salisu Maude who awarded the finalists with cash prizes, encouraged them to aspire to achieve greater heights in life.
Aside Madam Mogtari, also present was Member of Parliament for Ayawaso East, Yussif Jajah; CEO of youth empowerment enterprise, ZongoVation Hub, Mahmoud Jajah and Umaru Sanda Amadu, a journalist with Citi FM.
Each of them shared their experiences and words of motivation with the students and other members of the audience.
ZIT describes itself as, “a career guidance and mentoring organization aimed at counseling, inspiring and building the capacities of young students in Zongo communities across the country.”
The organizers have expressed fulfilment at this year’s programme with the view to improve on all aspects of the 2023 edition.
The event which is the 4th edition had support from EPP book services, OP Studios, Alfirdaws Modern Bakery and Pastries and Manasseh Azure.
A former constituency chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in New Juaben North in the Eastern Region has questioned why the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is gloating over the booing of President Akufo-Addo by some fans at the Global Citizens Festival held in Accra on Saturday, 24 September 2022.
According to him, the “shameful” incident carried out by some NDC-motivated participants at the concert is not out of the law.
Mr. Kwadwo Boateng Agyemang spoke on Accra 100.5FM’s morning show, Ghana Yensom on Thursday, September 29, 2022, saying booing has not affected the performance of the president in government.
He noted that the president is more focused on delivering his mandate to Ghanaians.
He disclosed that the likes of former president J.J. Rawlings and former president John Dramani Mahama, among others, have all suffered boos.
“Did it affect their performance in government?” he questioned.
“All these individuals continued with their presidency after being booed so it is not out of place for president Nana Akufo-Addo to also be booed like his predecessors,” he argued.
“It is not out of the law for a president to be booed because former President George Walker Bush of the United States of America and Mr. Emmanuel Macron of France suffered it and it did not affect their presidency so what is the NDC’s noise all about”? he queried.
“Nana Addo has been booed and so what?” he stressed.
The John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Heritage has launched a book in memory of the late President Prof Atta Mills in the Volta Regional capital of Ho.
The book christened “Atta Mills Speaks” is a compilation of the late President’s four State of the Nation Addresses which contains his visions, proposed programs and projects.
Atta Mills Speaks which is the second publication by the JEA Mills Memorial Heritage was launched at the John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Lecture held at the Cedi Auditorium on the Sokode campus of the University of Health Sciences.
Students, clergy, traditional authorities, politicians, and people from academia among others converged at the auditorium for the Volta and Oti Region edition of the John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Lecture.
The lecture is part of a series of events to commemorate and mark the 10th anniversary of the demise of the late President.
A Member of the Editorial Team of the JEA Mills Memorial Heritage, Dr Eric Osei, said the idea of the book was conceived with the hope that the current or subsequent governments would implement programmes and projects envisioned by the late President for the betterment of Ghana.
He said the speeches and addresses of the late Prof Mills during his tenure as President between 2009 and 2012 would also be compiled and published later in the year.
He highlighted the proposed establishment of a seaport, the western railway and factories to propel the growth industries and promote export to enhance the country’s economy as some of the visions of the late statesman.
“In 2010, President Mills said, ‘Ghana is poised to be a major producer of oil and gas and I have instructed the Energy Ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport to fast track the investment in the necessary infrastructure including a deep seaport with a dedicated oil service facility and the rehabilitation of the western railway corridor.
With the anticipated commercial exploration of crude oil and gas, we are positioning Ghana for a major industrial take-off. We are laying the foundation for (I) an integrated aluminium industry based on bauxite (II) a chemical industry based on salt and natural gas (III) a fertilizer industry to bring impetus to Agro development (VI) salt-based industrial chemical industry for caustic soda and (V) allied consumer products and export based on oil and gas.”
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Prof. Lydia Aziato acknowledged the leading role of the late President Prof Atta Mills in establishing the University.
She however requested for assistant to further develop the university and listed infrastructure, ICT lab and student accommodation as immediate needs of the University.
The Catholic Bishop of the Jasikan Diocese, Most Rev Gabriel Akwasi Mante, eulogised the exemplary leadership style of the late President Prof. Atta Mills.
The Chief Executive officer of FC Group of Companies, Dr. Mrs. Grace Amet Obeng, shared memories she has of the late Prof Mills.
She entreated Ghanaians to emulate the life of the late President and eschew the love for money.
The Foundation Vice Chancellor of UHAS, Prof Fred Binka, proposed a change of name of UHAS to properly immortalize the late President Prof Mills.
He also suggested that UHAS should restore the John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Lectures which have been renamed Leadership Lectures.
“Finally I call on the government during this 10th-anniversary celebration of the passing of our visionary leader to rename the University as the John Evans Atta Mills University of Health and Allied Sciences”, he said.
OccupyGhana is asking the Lands Ministry to go a step beyond merely directing Akonta Mining Limited to halt operations in the Tano Nimiri Forest in the Western Region.
According to the pressure group, the ministry must invite the security agencies and the Attorney General into the fray by furnishing them with the information needed to ensure that perpetrators are punished.
“We therefore demand that you forthwith refer the facts and evidence in your possession that show that the said mining company is undertaking mining operations in breach of the Act, to the police and the Attorney-General for further investigations and prosecution of the company and its directors and officers.”
The Lands Ministry on September 30 directed mining firm, Akonta Mining Limited to stop operations in the Tano Nimiri Forest.
This was after two persons sustained gunshot wounds at Samreboi in the Western Region after a section of the youth reportedly prevented personnel of Akonta Mining Limited from sending more mining equipment into the Tano Nimri Forest reserve.
The mine is owned by NPP’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako popularly called Chairman Wontumi.
But OccupyGhana says even though the reaction is laudable, there were also some concerns raised in the communique such as the fact that the said company is undertaking the mining operations without a mining lease.
“While congratulating you on this step, we would be taken aback if that was all you did.”
This, per the pressure group, is enough grounds to pursue the case in accordance with the law.
“If the company is engaged in the activities that you have alleged, then it is committing an offence that is punishable by fines and prison terms between 15 and 25 years,” the group said in a statement.
JoyNews investigations recently revealed ongoing destruction to the Tano Nimri Forest Reserve despite the government’s declaration it has not given any entry permit into the forest.
