More than 150 individuals from Somanya and neighboring towns in the Yilo-Krobo district of the Eastern region, including children, adults, and seniors, showed up to get examined for various health-related ailments yesterday, September 21.
Traditional leaders from the town and other nearby communities weren’t left out either, as they alternately went through the vetting procedure.
The event, which was sponsored by the National Lottery Authority’s (NLA) Good Causes Foundation in collaboration with the Lafiya Clinic, involved screenings for conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, hepatitis B, and hypertension.
The screening began at 10 am with the people seated patiently under tents waiting to take turns to go through the screening process and also receive medical attention as well as advice from medical officers present.
Medical officers took the opportunity to educate the people who had turned up for the health screening on health issues using the blend of the English language and the local dialect for better understanding.
A Physician Assistant at the Lafiya Clinic, Ms Clara Nyarko, said she realised during the screening process that some of the people were suffering from hypertension and were resorting to the use of herbal medicine for treatment.
She was of the view that resorting to herbal medicine was not a bad idea but it becomes problematic when the herbal treatment are received from unlicenced herbal clinics.
Additionally, Ms Nyarko said “most of them had the impression that the orthodox medicine have side effect so they want to take the herbal medication because those ones do not have side effects.”
Ms Nyarko, therefore, implored the people to visit a licenced or authorised medical centre at least twice a month for regular medical check-ups.
The Coordinator of the Good Courses Foundation, NLA, Ms Amma Frimpong said the health screening was the second of many nationwide health screening exercise to be organised under the mandate of the Director-General of the NLA, Mr Sammy Awuku.
She further added that it also afforded the NLA the opportunity to improve its relations with the community and educate them on its activities and operations while advising parents to ensure that their children below 18 years did not get involved.
According to Ms Frimpong, the Foundation budgeted an estimated amount of GH¢80, 000for the exercise which included the payment of medical staff, medications and other expenses.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Yilo-Krobo, Mr Eric Tetteh, lauded the NLAfor the exercise saying it was important for the improvement of health among people living in the 33 municipalities in the Yilo-Krobo district.
The Assembly, he opined, was committed to ensuring that the health of the people in the district was improved through consistent education on sanitation leading to attitudinal change.
He, therefore, advised the people to observe good sanitation practices such as constant cleaning of the environment, regular exercising and the taking in of healthy diet.
The Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, who disclosed this during the signing of agreements with the Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) of the YouStart programme in Accra on Tuesday, said the government would provide GH¢3 billion while development partners provide GH¢2 billion to support the implementation of the GH¢10 billion programme meant to support the youth to create their own businesses.
While the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, signed on behalf of the government, representatives of the participating banks signed on behalf of their respective organisations.
The partner banks are GCB Bank Plc, Absa Bank Ghana Limited, Access Bank Ghana Plc, Ecobank Ghana Plc, FBNBank Ghana Limited, Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited, and Universal Merchant Bank.
The others are Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited, CalBank Plc, OmniBSIC Bank Ghana Limited, Zenith Bank Ghana Limited, Bank of Africa Ghana Limited, ARB Apex Bank and GAB.
Mr Ofori-Atta said government intended to “anchor the post-COVID-19 recovery on the young people’s renewed hope and dynamism” and ensured that “none of them was left behind on the path toward building an entrepreneurial state.”
“Fundamentally, we had to adopt this approach because the pandemic taught us we must re-orient our approach towards structural transformation and react with a clear plan to “reap the benefits of our population dividend by building an entrepreneurial state,” he said.
He said data from the Ghana Statistical Service suggested that the unemployment rate for those aged 15-35 was 19.7 per cent, adding that “Even for those who are perceived to be working, 50 per cent of them were classified as underemployed.”
“These statistics underscore the dire need to resolve this spectre of youth unemployment across our communities,” he said, adding that “We must all work together (public and private sectors) to ensure we create a culture and mindset that leaves our young people unafraid to challenge themselves.”
He explained that the YouStart programme had three models, namely the Commercial Programme, District Entrepreneurship Programme, and the YouStart Grace, would be implemented with faith-based organisations.
Mr Ofori-Atta said the implementation of the YouStart was starting with the Commercial Programme, which offered a standardised loan product between GH¢100, 000 and GH¢500, 000.00 from PFIs to cover working capital requirements, business expansion needs and the purchase of equipment or machinery for the beneficiaries.
The Chief Executive Officer of GAB, John Awuah, said the YouStart was “a positive development.”
“As a nation we all recognise that we need to help build our own. If the impact of COVID-19 has taught us any lesson at all, it is that we need to have a home-grown economy, an economy that is owned and managed by Ghanaians,” he said.
He said the signing of the agreement would pave way for the partner banks to start preparatory works to start disbursing the money.
The YouStart Programme is a vehicle through which Government intends to provide funding and technical support to youth-led businesses who fall within this category to assist them start, build and grow their business.
Introduced in last year’s budget, the programme formed part of the GH¢100 billion Ghana Cares “ObaatanPa” programme to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, return the country to a sustainable path of robust growth and to create a stronger, more resilient and transformed economy.
The Chiefs and Landowners of Torgorme in the North Tongu District of theVolta Regionare calling on the government to return to them the 17,000 hectares of land to enable them to engage in commercial farming.
According to them, the land was acquired by government under Legislative Instrument (LI) No 162 in 1975 from the chiefs and people of Torgorme and had not been used for the purpose for which it was taken.
“We wanted to put on record that to date no compensation has been paid for the acquired lands,” Mr Emmanuel Worlanyo Essoh, Chairman and spokesperson for the chiefs and people has disclosed.
Addressing a press conference on Friday at Torgorme, he said the landowners had not benefited anything even “we the smallholder farmers don’t get a place to farm now.”
According to him, the land, under the Kpong Left Bank Irrigation Project (KLBIP) was being used by Ghana-Millennium Development Agency (MiDA) and Ghana Commercial Agricultural Project (GCAP) to go into commercial farming.
Mr Essoh noted that now that the project had come to an end, “the new investors are not willing to offer us the smallholder farmers the land to do farming to improve our livelihoods.”
“We therefore, took the matter to court and judgment was delivered in favour of the landowners on December 2008 at Koforidua High Court,” he added.
This, notwithstanding, the Lands Commission continued to exercise authority on all Torgorme lands, allocating the lands to such investors like Vegpro, Goshen Farms without any input from the Torgorme Traditional Area.
“Since August 2021, all attempts to get allocation for our 1,500 smallholder farmers have proved futile.
We have also reported the matter to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to intervene but nothing was done.”
“So all that we are demanding from the government is to give back our lands so that we would do individual farming to improve our living conditions,” Mr Essoh stated.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for North Tongu District, Osborne Divine Fenu when contacted said he came to meet the issues but was doing everything possible to ensure it was resolved as soon as possible.
A business consultant and entrepreneurship lecturer, Isaac Tweneboah-Kodua, has urged students to be dedicated to learning more in order to be well-packaged and marketable for the job market.
According to him, the curriculum program of the country only fills the gap for students between their education and their readiness for the corporate sector.
“The first one has to with the curriculum we teach the younger people at the universities. Some of them are not really connected with what the employers are looking for.
“So, when the people come out of school especially those who did not do anything directly with what the industry is looking for, it because very difficult for them to stick themselves into the industry,” he told Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show.
He did, however, proposed that despite the shortcomings of Ghana’s curriculum activities, students might prepare themselves by making an investment in enhancing their knowledge and skills in other academic areas.
“But that does not warrant that if for example someone did a course that there is no readily available job in the market the person shouldn’t prepare him or herself.
“I did Geography and Political Science when I was in Legon but at the time I got to know that if I didn’t find myself something to improve myself, I would be unemployed after school.
“So right away I did Marketing at along my main courses as did my roommate. From that time till now I have never known unemployment. Not that I’m superhuman but the fact is I got to understand my talent alone doesn’t warrant me to automatically get a job after school.
“If I did my main courses alone, my best bet would have been to teach in the classroom. At the same time my colleagues at Winneba and UCC were doing the same course with education. If we both were looking for the teaching jobs, they would be favorited ahead of me,” he added.
The Eastern Regional Minister,Seth Acheampong, has stated that government is still committed to the fight against illegal mining in spite of the many failures experienced so far.
In an interview with Citi TV he said claims that the government has never been devoted to the struggle against the threat is untrue.
The Minister mentioned that government losing out in the last election is somehow proof that state actions are yielding results.
“The president, in putting his office on the line, the party suffered heavily in the 2020 election in areas that had illegal mining. They voted against us. That is the risk we took,” he added.
Mr. Acheampong emphasized that, “as we face this issue humanly and squarely, unfortunately, it is being made a matter of politics and it’s so depressing when you try to put your life on the line. This administration is poised to be responsible”.
In 2017, President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo declared that he was prepared to put his presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey.
His declaration was amidst new measures such as the deployment of police and military personnel to arrest illegal miners across the country and the introduction of a community mining programme aimed at regulating small-scale mining in communities in an environmentally sustainable manner.
There have been complaints that the water bodies that were regaining their natural state at the height of the fight against galamsey are becoming polluted again due to the increasing activities of illegal miners in various parts of the country.
President Akufo-Addo again made public statements on the development, saying that there is a need for an open discussion on the subject.
The government, through the Ministry for Lands and Natural Resources, subsequently held a two-day National Consultative Dialogue on Small-Scale Mining that, among other things, urged the government to firmly enforce the country’s laws on mining.
Recently, the debate on whether the government is in control of the fight has been renewed following controversies surrounding the re-arrest of galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang.
The outspoken lawmaker is one of the candidates in the race who is actively engaged in activities geared towards emerging as the NPP candidate for the 2024 presidential polls.
In an interview on the sidelines of a social event that he attended on September 15, he was asked about the claim that candidates like himself will likely drop out late into the race.
“If NPP opens nominations, I will pick forms… those who pick forms and quit, does he look like me? At 62 years, how can I declare my flagbearership ambitions in the NPP and quit, I am not quitting,” he said.
He, however, called for clean campaigns stressing his disinterest in what he described as ‘dirty politics.
“We are all going to run, just that what I don’t want is dirty politics. I am not going to do dirty politics. I will go to the people and tell them what I have done for the NPP and Ghanaians and for which reason they should vote for me,” he emphasized.
A confident Agyapong said he was upbeat that he will prevail over all the other candidates and called on delegates to vote for him for his track record in serving the party and the country but also for the fact that he is the overwhelming candidate of the youth.
Kennedy Agyapong declares intention
Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, MP, Assin Central, in May this year became the first to publicly announce his bid to lead the NPP
He said if the governing party wants to break the eight as their mantra for 2024 is, then they must break the eight with Kennedy Agyapong.
“Yes, it is true. I have decided that when the NPP opens nominations, I will pick a form and file my nomination to contest the party primaries as the flagbearer…I will stand on the ticket of the NPP and nothing will change,” Kennedy Agyapong said in a Facebook live interview with The Announcer Newspaper, Wednesday, May 26.
Other contenders – rumoured and announced
There are other contenders in the race to lead the NPP. Two on record to have declared their intentions are former NPP General Secretary, Kwabena Agyapong and former Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko.
The Agric Minister is also rumoured to be lacing his boots to contest as is Joe Ghartey, one-time Attorney General and Railways Minister.
He explained that the salary differentials has been occasioned by President Akufo-Addo taking a 30% salary cut in July this year as a result of economic crunch.
Addressing a press conference on September 19, Abronye DC reiterated that the government continues to fund the activities of Mahama despite he being out of office.
“In 2021, we all saw in the Emolument Committees report and the salaries of ministers up to that of the president. As I speak today, John Dramani Mahama receives more salary than Akufo-Addo.
“He receives GH₵35,000 without a Cedi deduction but for Nana Akufo-Addo’s GH₵35,000, 30% percent is deducted from it and other government appointees also take the cut since 2021. So you [Mahama] who is sitting at home not working, when you are traveling the state funds it, your salary is bigger than that of President Akufo-Addo and his Vice Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia ,” he charged.
Abronye DC has in recent times taken on the former president over issues concerning his finances, particularly ex-gratia.
Background
Abronye DC has alleged that former President Mahama took ex-gratia of GH¢14 million in 2013 and GH¢15 million in 2017, a claim the former president has denied.
He alleged that the former president took the GH¢14 million ex-gratia through his Agricultural Development Bank Account and that he (Mahama) also received retirement benefits including his salaries, accommodation allowances, travel allowances, and salaries of his staff that summed up to GH¢15 million.
But Mahama has denied the GH¢14 million and has also said that he does not receive his full retirement benefits.
“They haven’t given me an office, I rent an office in East Cantonments, I pay the rent myself, I pay for my own fuel, the state doesn’t give me fuel. I pay my own domestic staff; I pay my own medical bills. I pay for my own air tickets when I travel,” the ex-president said in a TV3 interview last week.
According to GWCL, the region was using 20gallonsof alums to treat water in the region but it has now shot up to 60 gallons of alums each day because of the bad nature of water bodies due to galamsey activities.
Speaking on the Morning Starr with Francis Abban Monday, the Central and Western Regional Communications Manager for GWCL, Nana Yaw Baanie said “the situation is really getting worse” adding that, the government is losing the fight against galamsey in the region and urgent steps must be taken to salvage the situation.
According to him, if the operation of illegal mining had really stopped the water bodies should be clear by now but that is not the case in the region.
“The color is over 9,000NTU and then the turbidity is 3,000 so this is what Ghana Water will have to deal with. We are supposed to reduce these figures to five (5) in order to make the water potable. That is the guideline we have been given. So this is our story in Takoradi Daboase to be specific where we get water from the Pra.
“If there should be anything that can be done it must be done now and it must be drastic. Recently, my boss Stanley Mantey said a time will come when Ghana Water Company will cease operation, yes. It may be coming very soon but we don’t know when,” Mr. Baanie stated.
He continued: “Because if it comes to a point that the water is untreatable what do we do? When we stop operation for even one day in Sekondi Takoradi can you imagine what will happen? We have a big hospital at Effia Nkwantan and when we should stop operations where will they get water? The Universities and the second cycle schools what will happen if we stop operation?”
He said the galamseyers were operating close to GWCL operation point at Daboase but when the ban of galamsey was announced they moved.
However, he claimed their analysis shows that the galamsey activities are still ongoing despite a national crusade to fight the menace.
A mother and her three children were among the four people that drowned in a dyke that was purportedly built in alagoon by a salt mining firm in Laklevikope, Ketu South Municipality, Volta Region.
The family of 5 who went fishing along the lagoon in the enclave got drowned with the man of the family being the only survivor.
The event, which occurred on September 17, 2022, has left the neighborhood in shock and sadness.
The victims, a mother in her late 30s and her three children, aged between 9 to 14, died while attempting to save one of the kids who had fallen into a dyke built by the Seven Seas Salt Mining Limited salt mining company.
The dyke, which is about 12 feet, has now become a danger zone for residents here who are fisherfolks.
Assembly member for the area, Victor Ayaku said the activities of the salt mining company have put them in danger.
“Residents who are fisherfolk are now living in fear as they can no longer go fishing.”
He also noted that, the community is in no way benefiting from the activities of the company.
Some residents who spoke to Citi News appealed to the authorities to ensure safety measures are followed by the company to prevent future occurrences.
They also urged the mining company to put safety signposts along the lagoon, to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Meanwhile, the Public Relations officer of the Seven Seas Mining Limited, Adams Mensah said, “the company is not to be blamed for the death of the family.”
He however noted that, the company is putting measures in place to put up signposts warning residents of the dyke.
505 trainee artisans enrolled in the 2021/2022 edition of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation’s (GNPC) Skilled Artisans Project in the Ashanti Region have completed their National Vocational Training Institute’s (NVTI) skill proficiency exams organized and funded by the GNPC Foundation.
Beneficiary artisans from several centres across the region including Mampong, Bekwai, Offinso and Kumasi had their competencies tested in various vocational skills such as the Domestic module which is made up of cookery, bakery, dressmaking, tailoring, hairdressing, make-up artistry, and interior designing and decoration.
Others were also tested under the Technical module which is made up of plumbing, carpentry, auto-mechanics, general electrical, and aluminium fabrication.
Speaking during a visit to the Kumasi Vocational Technical Institute centre on the final day of examination, the Executive Director of the GNPC Foundation, Dr. Dominic Eduah, said the NVTI certification phase of the project is necessitated by the need to boost their employability and credibility as trained artisans.
He explained that the Skilled Artisans Project as a livelihood empowerment programme is designed to support the youth across the country with the much-needed technical and vocational skills that could match up with the best standards anywhere while offering young people who are inspired to learn these important trade skills the requisite tools and equipment needed to start their own entrepreneurial businesses in a bid to make them economically independent.
The project is being implemented in 5 regions of the country comprising Western, Central, Greater Accra, Eastern and Ashanti.
The project is seeking to positively affect the lives of some 2050 artisans with more expected to benefit from other regions in subsequent editions.
The main suspect in the killing case at Wa in the Upper West Region has been apprehended, according to the police.
The suspect, identified as Kankani Adongo, was arrested today, Monday, September 19, 2022, at Bamahu, a suburb of Wa.
This was after extensive collaboration between the police and community searchparties.
“The suspect is in custody and will be arraigned before the court to face justice”, the police added in a brief statement.
Police have already assured that they will continue to maintain law and order in the Wa Municipality and surrounding communities after a string of killings.
Police have special purpose police intelligence and investigation teams working with members of the community.
10 private security men have been killed by unknown assailants in Wa within the last nine months with the latest incident happening last Friday.
This angered youth in the area, who protested the incessant killings.
The Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery has been meeting with leaders of the Waala traditional area and has assured of thorough investigations into the matter.
On Sunday, a body was found in a shallow grave at Bamahu, a suburb of Wa.
“The body was later identified by family members of the deceased as Seidu Baga who was reported missing on 16th September 2022,” police noted in the statement.
The body was subsequently exhumed and conveyed to the Regional Hospital, Wa for autopsy and investigation.
Police have also said they are providing clinical psychologists to offer psycho-social support to the family.
IGP heads to Wa
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare is in Wa, the Upper West regional capital, following the killing of private security personnel in the area.
He together with some members of the Police Management Board and the Upper West Regional Police Command also paid a courtesy call on the Overlord of the Wa Traditional Area, Wa Naa Seidu Fuseini Pelpuo IV.
Earlier, the IGP and some members of the Police Management Board and the Regional Police Command embarked on a security tour in the municipality.
The maiden visit of the IGP to the area is to update the service on the new security measures put in place to bring peace in Wa and the Upper West region at large.
The Ghana Revenue Authority(GRA) has stated that it intends to crack down even harder on companies that are refusing to pay taxes.
A posh event and trading center called “De Icon” in East Legon, Accra, had its facilities locked up by authority representatives on Friday, September 16, 2022, for not paying their taxes to the government.
The goal of the GRA’s intervention is to make sure that all tax payments owed to the state are obtained from culpable companies.
The team locked up the facility to restrain the owners and customers from doing business until the tax registration process is concluded.
Chief Revenue Officer at the office of the Commissioner General, Nathaniel Tetteh told Journalists that the company will be made to comply with the law and pay penalties before it can resume operations.
“We have information that this facility has been operating since December 2021 without the necessary tax requirements. So our assignment here is to lock the place until the right thing is done”.
“We also need some tax documents from the administration, so we can use it to track the business they have done and apply the charges” he told Joy Business.
Friday September 16, 2022 operations was part of an ongoing nationwide Valued Added Tax Invigilation exercise by the authority to retrieve some taxes due the state.
The GRA as part of the nationwide invigilation will continue to embark on mystery shopping exercises across the country to apprehend culprits evading tax.
Meanwhile, all efforts to get the managers or the directors of ‘De Icon’ to speak to the media was not successful.
Speaking on behalf of President Akufo-Addo, theEducation Ministerrecounted how Ghana is making prudent investments in education to make the country and the world a better place.
He told the Summit that education is not just the birthright of every child but it is also a powerful co-creator for progress in poverty reduction, health and sustainable development.
He emphasised the need for a new way of working that reimagines education in a win-win partnership with the entire 2030 Agenda.
Speaking at the launch dubbed, “Rewiring Education for People and the Planet Report”, Dr Adutwum highlighted the number of strategies that have been employed to reposition the entire education to produce a critical mass of empowered Ghanaian equipped with essential skills for socio-economic transformation.
These and many other interventions, he said, have changed the face of Education in Ghana.
“No country can deliver quality education where children are not able to learn because they are hungry, required to work or take care of their families,” he pointed out.
He further added that “No country can attain sustainable economic growth where entrenched poverty and Inequalities in learning and skills undermine human capital
He, therefore, called on everyone to work collaboratively across sectors, levels and stakeholders to rewire education for people and the Planet.
Dr Adutwum also advocated collaboration between all nations, international organisations and the private sector to tackle global educational challenges collectively.
Ghana’s Mobile Telecommunication Company, MTN, has hinted at plans to launch an initiative to help manage plastic waste in the communities.
Senior Manager in Charge of Corporate Communications at MTN Ghana, Georgina Asare Fiagbenu, said the MTN Plastic Waste Management and recycling project would complement other efforts to ensure the environment is not covered with plastic waste.
“Today we are looking at our communities, we are facing challenges with our environment and so we are launching a plastic management and recycling project for our communities so that people would be mindful of how we treat plastic wastes in our communities”.
She stressed that without measures to control plastic waste, “then within a few years we may not be able to plant, we may not have water, and our trees may not grow because our environment would be covered in plastic wastes”.
Though not many details about the project were provided, she emphasized it forms part of the company’s initiatives, beyond their core mandate, to drive a sustainable society.
Georgina Asare Fiagbenu spoke at the MTN stakeholder and media forum in Sunyani in the Bono Region.
The forum is aimed at updating participants’ happenings at the Telecommunication giant and what is being done in the regions, including the network transformation.
Participants included selected personnel from the media in the erstwhile Brong Ahafo Region, security, and other state institutions. They were provided answers to their questions after group discussions on some selected topics on MTN services.
MTN currently provides Voice, Data, Fintech, Digital Enterprise, Wholesale, and Application Programming Interface (API) services.
The corporate communication manager of MTN, Georgina Asare Fiagbenu noted that their services keep evolving due to the dynamic nature of the industry and that the company intends to lead the digital solutions for Africa’s progress.
To achieve this, the company is prioritizing building the largest and most valuable platforms, driving industry-leading connectivity operations, creating shared value, and accelerating portfolio transformation.
Because of that, she said the company plans to invest about $1 billion by 2025 to help maintain its network leadership, with $220 million as capital expenditure for 2022.
She also revealed that they are investing ¢20 million in 2022 on their 25th-anniversary projects, ongoing projects in education, health, and economic empowerment, and their community support initiatives.
Ms Asare Fiagbenu encouraged participants to also encourage their friends and family members to register their sim cards to continue enjoying MTN services.
TheGhanaian community in Britain is getting ready to perform a funeral service for the late queen in accordance with Ghanaian customs as the British government and monarchy conduct the last funeral rites of the deceased, who was the first Head of State of Ghana.
The ceremony’s venue was decorated with Ghanaian flags and red and black fabrics, according to a video posted by GhanaWeb.
Additionally, there were royalumbrellas, drums, and other artifacts that were typical of Akan festivities.
The lady who recorded the video indicated that the venue of the burial was Conel, Victoria Line, a community in London, the capital town of England.
She invited all Ghanaians in the UK to join them to celebrate the late queen.
“We are inviting all Ghanaians to Conel as we celebrate our queen mother, Elizabeth and also mourn with the family and wish them all the best,” she said.
The MP for Wa Central, Dr. Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, has disclosed that the 58-year-old security guard‘s eyes and tongue were cut out and put in a garbage bag after he was discovered dead on Sunday, September 18, 2022.
Alocal search team discovered the security guard’s body in a small grave on Sunday after he disappeared last Friday.
In an interaction with 3FM On September 19, 2022, Mr Pelpuo stated that he received photographs of the body parts on his phone.
He added that he was anticipating for more advanced investigations and interventions from the security forces.
Last Friday, some residents showed up in their numbers at the Technical Institute to protest the security situation in Wa.
Out of the ten people that have lost their lives, only three bodies have been found.
On Monday, the police released a statement assuring residents they are working hard to bring the perpetrators to book.
“The police continue to maintain law, order and security in the Wa municipality and surrounding communities,” the police said in a statement on Monday (September 19 2022).
“We wish to assure residents of the Wa municipality and its environs that the special intelligence and investigation teams will continue to work around the clock with assistance from the affected communities to bring the perpetrators to face justice. Operations and combat teams have also saturated the area to ensure the safety and security at all,” the statement added.
A customer who bought tins of Peak milk powder and Ovaltine discovered that the content of the two products were reduced.
The customer’s post on social media has stirred up debate particularly at a time when prices of products have nearly doubled as a result of inflation and the dollar rate.
“This is not right!!! Prices of these are higher than before, yet you reduce the content? Why? At least be considerate knowing as school reopens now, this is gonna be the preferred breakfast for the children. Sometimes, we too, we’re the problem. Cheating each other” the customer posted on social media platform Facebook.
Several people have shared their thoughts over the post, with several claiming to have experienced the same thing.
Others falsely accused Nestlé, however it was later found that the involved items are not theirs.
Although the product’s manufacturers have been informed, there has still not been any official reaction from the company.
I’m sorry about your experience, but it’s a real thing, unfortunately. It’s called “shrinkflation”. Sometimes, to not raise prices too high, consumer goods companies resort to reducing the volume / size of the product. For example, instead of a 10-cedi raise, the company may apply a 5-cedi raise and in parallel reduce the volume of product. Other times, companies resort to re formulation and using more affordable ingredients. That was partly what we saw in the recent Ideal curding issue. These are hard times.
I was going to write on Ideal Milk, Carnation Milk, etc and Beta Malt. It’s like they have divided the original contents into two, then topped up with Water to sell back to us at higher cost.
I think it’s time we start to call them out.
I will do the post today…. With pictures. It’s sooo irritating…. Those things are so diluted.
The Bono Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP), Kwame Baffoe, alias Abronye DC, has revealed how several state-owned vehicles were purchased at a discount by former National Democratic Congress (NDC)government officials as they prepared to leave office.
According to the document sighted by GhanaWeb, 361 automobiles at $110 each were sold to government appointees for a pitiful $3 million.
Abronye asserted that the state lost $107 million as a result of this.
“The table above shows 40 out of the available 361 documents exposing how various state cars were purchased by high-rank NDC officials after they had lost the 2016 polls. The total value of all 361 cars was $110, but John Mahama sold it to his appointees at $3m, causing a financial loss of $107m equivalent to GHC1.5 billion to the state,” he shared as part of a press conference organised by the Patriotic Forum for Accountable Governance at the International Press Centre on Monday, September 19, 2022.
The press conference was on the back of a statement by former President John Dramani Mahama that he will review Article 71 of the 1992 Constitution, which covers emoluments such as ex-gratia for senior government officials if he wins power in 2024.
But according to Abronye, the former president’s promise is aimed at scoring political points and has no actual commitment behind it.
He tagged former President Mahama as being the biggest beneficiary of Article 71.
Per details of the document shared by Abronye, some of the cars, including a 2015 model Toyota Avensis registered WR 2798-15 with a market price of $28,965.00 (GHC167,846.38), were sold to former Deputy Education Minister Alex Kyeremeh for a paltry GHC500.
Some other beneficiaries of the 361 cars include Alhaji A.B.A Fuseini, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, Collins Dauda, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Sylvester Mensah, Murtala Mohammed, Victor Smith, Dr Raymond Atuguba and Dzifa Attivor.
Abronye noted that a good number of persons who benefited from the sale of the cars were cronies of former President Mahama and officials of the NDC and did not merit an ex-gratia in the first place.
According to a post shared by AJ+, a social media publisher owned by Al Jazeera Media Network, the amount will now add to the estimated $116 million bill UK taxpayers pay every year to support the royals.
“Queen Elizabeth’s funeral cost an est. $9 million — adding to the est. $116 million bill UK taxpayers pay every year to support the royals. Due to the ceremony, hospitals canceled “non-urgent” services like cancer treatment and many food banks have closed “out of respect,” the post shared on Twitter read.
On Monday, September 19, dozens across the world witnessed the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II who died on September 8, 2022.
The British Monarch has been lying in state from Edinburgh in Scotland all through to Westminster Hall in London with a final ceremony held at Westminster Abbey, where her final funeral rites was held in front of an expected crowd of about 2,000 persons.
Dozens of heads of state and dignitaries including Ghana’s President Akufo-Addo and first lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo have travelled from all over the world to London for the funeral.
After the service, the Queen will be taken in a procession across London to Windsor Castle. Her interment will take place at the St. George’s Chapel inside Windsor Castle after a committal service.
Queen Elizabeth’s funeral cost an est. $9 million — adding to the est. $116 million bill UK taxpayers pay every year to support the royals.
Due to the ceremony, hospitals canceled “non-urgent” services like cancer treatment and many food banks have closed “out of respect.” pic.twitter.com/fFRKGWIG5a
The royals cost UK taxpayers $116M a year — almost half used for upkeep of their land holdings.
Meanwhile,
▪️ 2.4 million people in the UK can’t afford to eat every day
▪️ 2.6 million children without regular access to healthy food
▪️ Food insecurity up ~60% from start of year pic.twitter.com/LtWQ8iCZZC
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, is in Wa of the Upper West Region today, September 19, 2022.
Mr Dampare’s visit comes in response to the most recent purported claims of murders and disappearances in Wa.
The IGP was accompanied with other top officers, additionally, his visit comes after police in Wa’s “Napogi-ba Kolee” expansion uncovered a body buried in a shallow grave.
The deceased identified as Seidu Dakpuli is the latest security personnel who went missing two days ago.
Some body parts are said to be missing after the exercise.
This comes days after angry youth in the area massed up on the streets and burnt tyres protesting the unexplained killings.
The IGP’s visit is expected to boost Police morale and also assure the citizenry of the readiness of the law enforcement agency to protect them.
Apart from the IGP’s presence, the Police administration has also assured the people of the Wa and its environs that it has taken cognizance of their security concerns and has, therefore, put in place measures to support the Regional Police Command to beef up security to ensure the safety of all persons in the Metropolis.
In this regard, special purpose investigation and intelligence teams as well as additional police visibility and crime combat teams have been deployed to Wa under the leadership of the Director-General of Operations.
The Police reiterated its pledge to the public that they will continue to work towards ensuring the safety and security of all persons across the country.
Member of Parliament (MP) for the Wa CentralConstituency in theUpper West Region, Dr. Rasheed Pelpuo has urged that the police to come up with initiatives to help curb the recent killings in the municipality.
According to him, the police’s present tactics and procedures are failing to address the of ritual killings in the municipality.
So far, nine private security guards working at night in the Wa municipality have allegedly been slaughtered for ritual purposes.
In an interview with Class 91.3 FM, the chief member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), recommended that the RESEC conducts regular inspections on all vehicles leaving the area.
Dr. Pelpuo is also of the view that the identity of people who out of the blue exhibit wealth in the municipality must be known to help unravel the situation of alleged ritual killings.
He alleged that reports available have it that the bodies are being taken to Sierra Leone for some rituals.
An epileptologist at the University of Ghana, Legon, Prof. Patrick Adjei, approximately 300,000 people in Ghana are battling with epilepsy.
According to him, a large number of people do not realize they have epilepsy as a result of the country‘s flawed diagnostic system.
In addition, he said that there are non-convulsive forms of epilepsy, they include automatism, repetitive blinking, chewing, and swallowing.
He said that non-convulsive epilepsy “represented a considerable burden in prevalence which, if not treated, interfered significantly with a person’s functioning.”
He noted that there “were two principal deficits in the knowledge of the burden of the disease in the country — seizures, because they were easy to detect, and no data on the prevalence of the disease in the urban environment,” Graphic reported.
Pro. Adjei, who is also a team member of the country’s Epilepsy Pathway Innovation in Africa (EPInA), made this known at an intersectoral global action plan on epilepsy, neurological disorders and strengthening the public health approach to epilepsy in the country organised by WHO.
Meanwhile, WHO Representative in Ghana, Dr Francis Kasolo, has said that efforts are being put in place to reduce the gap in epilepsy treatment in the country.
According to him, over 2,700 people have been provided with care and treatment since the ‘Fight against epilepsy’ initiative was rolled out in the country between 2012 and 2016.
He added that the WHO had expanded its work on epilepsy treatment and care with the introduction of a flagship programme, the Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP), aimed at training non-specialist health workers to diagnose and manage mental, neurological and substance use conditions.
Epilepsy
A disorder in which nerve cell activity in the brain is disturbed, causing seizures.
Epilepsy may occur as a result of a genetic disorder or an acquired brain injury, such as a trauma or stroke.
During a seizure, a person experiences abnormal behaviour, symptoms and sensations, sometimes including loss of consciousness. There are few symptoms between seizures.
Epilepsy is usually treated by medication and, in some cases, by surgery, devices or dietary changes.
Publisher at the Africa Briefing, Jonathan Offei-Ansah, has advisedGhana and other African countries to give up on seeking restitution from their former colonial masters.
He asserted that thecontinent doesn’t need leader who come to power for their personal gains, but those who will nurture the nation’s natural and people riches to create opportunity for all of its citizens.
“The issue of reparation began long ago; even in America, they are talking about reparation to African Americans. But one has to be realistic. This is arguable, but I believe that it is a mirage to talk about reparations. I believe it is never going to happen.
“What we need today as Africans is good leadership, good governance, leadership that will serve the people, that will have the welfare of the whole nation at heart. Not leadership that comes in to serve themselves,” he said in a TV3 interview on Monday,” he said in a TV3 interview on Monday, Septemeber 19.
He added that even if Africa gets reparations, it will be when it is united, and its demands come from a position of strength and not in its current state.
The publisher also said that African leaders must be wary of the presence of the Chinese on the continent. According to him, the Chinese are only in Africa to rob the continent of its natural resources.
Meanwhile, at the beginning of a four-day summit with diaspora participants in August 2022, President Akufo-Addoargued that Africa deserved compensation for the slave trade.
He said the effect of the slave trade was being felt today as a result of the drain it had on the population and development of the continent. He insisted that calls for reparation for the slave trade were long overdue.
“Reparations for Africa and the African Diaspora are long overdue. Predictably, the question of reparation becomes a debate only when it comes to Africa and Africans. We believe the calls for reparations for Africa are just,” President Akufo-Addo said.
The death of Queen Elizabeth II has reopened the reparation debate in many African countries. Some have said the Britain monarchy must return all the historic artefacts they took from African countries and also repay the African Continent for the resources, both human and material, it used to develop the United Kingdom during the eras of slavery and colonialism.
Among others, he spoke to political leaders and some royal leaders with close ties with the British monarchy.
According to a list shared by Cameron Walker, a Royal Reporter with GB News, King Charles spoke to the ‘King of Ashanti,’ as well as Presidents of Ghana, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt and Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
President Akufo-Addo and First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo have been spotted in London along with other world leaders attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
A formal invitation to the Asantehene was also formally invited via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, FCO. A later report indicates that the Asantehene also communicated his inability to attend the funeral.
The world’s longest serving leader, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, was pronounced dead on Thursday, September 8, 2022, via a statement from the royal family.
Born on April 21, 1926, the Queen, christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, immediately acceded the British throne on February 6, 1952, when her father, King George VI died.
She became queen at the age of 25 and remained on the throne for seven decades before her death.
Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and Head of State for 14 other jurisdictions.
Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son Charles, 73, has been named succesor and by that becomes king of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. His wife Camilla becomes Queen Consort.
Despite the president’s travel to London for the funeral not officially being communicated, President Akufo-Addo somewhere hinted at his intent to attend the state funeral of the Queen when he signed her book of condolence last week.
“I intend to go to London for the funeral; I don’t know whether you have anything particular to tell me about that?” he asked High Commissioner Harriet Thompson.
Ahead of the commencement of theservice on Monday, September 19, 2022, several heads of state and dignitaries have been trooping into the London Chapel, where the Queen’s coffin will be brought for the service.
President Akufo-Addo, who is dressed in a black suit and white shirt, was flanked by his wife, who was also adorned in a black dress with a scarf and a handbag to complement.
Born on April 21, 1926, the late Queen, christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, acceded the British throne at the age of 25 and ruled for 70 years.
She died at the age of 96 on Thursday, September 8, 2022.
Some survivors of attempted suicide have called on the government to decriminalize thelaw on suicide attempts and instead channel resources towards its prevention.
Their calls come as the world marks World Suicide Prevention Day observed on 10th September every year, to provide worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides.
In Ghana, suicide rates in the country have decreased from 7.80 in 2010 to 6.60 in 2019, with 1500 reported cases of suicide nationwide yearly and over 700,000 global suicide deaths annually. Also, in Ghana, in each reported case of suicide are four unreported cases, summing the number of unreported cases to almost 6000 yearly.
The 1960 Criminal Code Act 29, Section 57 states: “Whoever attempts to commit suicide shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.”
But describing the law as senseless and meaningless, Mr. Edmond Tetteh Padi, a 48-year-old survivor of three suicide attempts and a resident of Somanya in the Eastern Region, argued that victims of suicide attempts need to be counselled and not prosecuted.
“I don’t think that law is meaningful and sensible enough… it’s like something is urging you, something is pushing you to do it, either psychological or whatever, so at the end of the day, the person rather needs to be counselled than rather you prosecuting the person and putting the person in jail,” he reasoned.
Proposing how such survivors should rather be used in sensitizing members of the public against the act, he said, “I think that they have to give us counselling and then maybe gather people that have made an attempt and survived to come out and talk to people that are thinking or want to do a similar thing that all hope is not lost yet.”
Mr. Edmond Tetteh Padi is one of several thousands of Ghanaians who have survived attempts to take their life, his case on three occasions – and all three had a common underlining cause – frustrations due to what he described as life’s failures.
Speaking about his experiences for the very first time to GhanaWeb’s Eastern Regional Correspondent, Michael Oberteye in Somanya, the divorcee and father of one attributing his actions to dejection following failures in his life and hardships especially considering his age, Mr. Padi intimated, “It is like out of perplex and frustration simply because what I was expecting in life, I was not getting it and I thought that if such situations should continue then the best way is to end my life.”
Adding that he carefully thought over his intended actions before proceeding, the businessman and commercial farmer recalling the last incident in 2019 disclosed, “I sat down, and I thought of it for three days, and I took action. I bought chemicals that I thought that if I take it, I’ll surely die, so I mixed the DDT with water, and then I took it.”
The suicide survivor who said the chemical didn’t take his life attempted the act again three days later, this time with rat poison but added that just before he could drink the toxic substance, he received a call from someone he described as God-sent who counselled him.
Describing his survival as miraculous, he said, “I’ll say all the occasions of attempting, I took the drugs, but they didn’t work…after taking the medicines, I went to bed expecting to die, but I didn’t, so I’ll say survival is a miracle and the work of God.”
GhanaWeb Special: Suicide survivors share how they escaped death
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Asked if he had finally gotten over his troubles and was not likely to attempt the act again, Mr. Padi answered in the affirmative, adding that he was ever ready to serve as an advocate against the act.
Madam Tettey Kenie, a 51-year-old food seller at Asitey in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality, attempted suicide on two occasions, the second only three weeks ago.
Also attributing her actions to financial challenges and abandonment by her estranged husband, the mother of seven (one deceased) sharing her story, narrated that being abandoned by her former husband more than ten years ago after realizing their daughter whom she had delivered couldn’t speak and being pursued by her debtors whom she had credited food items from convinced her that death was the only way out.
“I had a daughter with my husband, but he abandoned us due to the child’s inability to speak. My debtors and the police were also coming after me, and I ran away. When I returned home, I realized I had no money, so I decided to end it all.
“I mixed DDT with salt and drank the contents. I realized the walls of my stomach had shed,” she narrated, adding that it took her landlord to rush her to the hospital after she disclosed her actions to him.
Three weeks ago, Madam Kenie repeated her suicide attempt by mixing powerzone bleach with alcohol and akesha (a local chemical used to scrub floors and other surfaces), once more attributing her actions to financial difficulties. Again, she survived after being rushed to the hospital.
Asked if she could be tempted to attempt taking her life if her predicaments persisted, she answered: “While my debtors come after me and I have the money? For that, I can’t stand it.”
She called for the repeal of the act criminalizing attempted suicide in Ghana, arguing that such persons need support and not be prosecuted and possibly jailed.
Madam Kenie’s brother, 40-year-old Mr. Stephen Odei Kwabla confirmed his elder sister’s actions, adding that he personally counsels his sister against her suicidal habits.
He also condemned the law criminalizing attempted suicide and called for its immediate repeal.
Mr. Eric Narh, a medical statistician, however, maintained that the law must be maintained to serve as a deterrent to persons who may want to take their lives.
“The law should be maintained because once there’s a law, it means that once you want to commit any crime, you should look at the magnitude of the crime because once it involves a penalty for you to be sentenced or jailed or to be fined, you know that once what you’re going to do [can land you in prison, you avoid it],” said the statistician.
He further called on the government to resource and empower the state agencies and service providers, particularly the Mental Health Authority of Ghana, Ghana Health Service, and the Department of Social Welfare, among others, to sensitize and make comprehensive psychological support available at all levels of the health system and in educational institutions for people who might have the tendency to attempt suicide.
Even though no official communication of his departure from Accra has been made, GhanaWeb sighted a Reuters video in which Akufo-Addo and the First Lady arrive for a state reception held in honour of the late monarch.
It was widely expected that he will travel having been listed as one of the invited leaders of the Commonwealth.
Last week, after signing the book of condolence at the British High Commission in Accra, Akufo-Addo announced that he had intentions of travelling to London for the funeral.
“I intend to go to London for the funeral, I don’t know whether you have anything particular to tell me about that?” he asked High Commissioner Harriet Thompson.
To which she responded: “The invitations have been sent, they will be with your High Commission in London. They were sent over the weekend and we’ll make sure the arrangement works smoothly between your team there and our team here.”
After signing the condolence book, President Akufo-Addo also sent his well wishes to the new monarch, King Charles II.
“Let me take the opportunity to also wish the King the best of luck with his tenure. He has been here with us a few occasions, he is a good friend and I am confident that he will do a very good job in her succession,” he stressed.
Queen Elizabeth dies
The world’s longest-serving leader, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, was pronounced dead on Thursday, September 8, 2022, via a statement from the royal family.
Born on April 21, 1926, the Queen, christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, immediately acceded the British throne on February 6, 1952, when her father, King George VI died.
She became queen at the age of 25 and remained on the throne for seven decades before her death.
Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and Head of State for 14 other jurisdictions.
Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son Charles, 73, has been named successor and by that becomes king of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. His wife Camilla becomes Queen Consort.
The Volta Region‘s Hogbetsotso Festival, held annually by the chiefs and residents of Anlo, was postponed for two years because to the COVID-19 pandemic is back.
In accordance with the COVID-19regulations, the celebrated festival, also known as Hogbeza, which honors the fabled Ewe-Dogbo people’s escape from Notsie in modern-day neighboring Togo, was suspended to stop its spread.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr. Silas Aidam, the publicity chair of the 2022 Hogbetsotsoza Planning Committee, stated that preparations were in progress for the launch on September 21 to announce events of the one-month festival.
“The launch is happening on 21st September after which the rest of activities and ceremonies will follow to climax the festival on Saturday, November 5,” he said.
These include ‘dodede’ – removal of diseases and expulsion of evil spirits; ‘nugbidodo’ – reconciliation; glimetoto – an enactment of the departure or escape from Notsie, and mini Hogbeza – best described as dress rehearsal for the main festival.
The others are MTN Hogbetsotsoza health walk, Anlo State dinner dance, congress of chiefs, Mama Hogbe beauty pageant, and musical concerts.
“The message we want to send to our Anlo citizens home and abroad, local and foreign tourists, is that after the COVID-19 break, Hogbeza bounces back in a special form.”
Hogbeza is celebrated every first Saturday in November at Anloga, the traditional and ritual capital of the Anlo State.
It is usually characterised by a display of rich tradition and culture with people treated to a variety of drumming and dancing, including the ever-popular “agbadza”, “atsia” and “misego” or “husego”, the incorporated dance style of the backward movement of the people during their exodus from Notsie.
The 2022 edition is on the theme: “60 Years of Anlo Hogbetsotsoza: Uniting for development, sustaining our unique cultural commonwealth for future generations.”
A health walk andmedical screening were held on Saturday in Accra as part of the Right to Information (RTI) Commission’s week celebrations 2022.
The event, which had “Artificial Intelligence, E-Governance, and Access to Information” as its theme, aimed to enable individuals to have access to information from public institutions in order to support a culture of accountability and transparency.
The activities began with a health walk at 7:00 am from the RTI headquarters in Dzorwulu via Accra Mall, all the way to Legon, and then to the Presbyterian Boys Secondary School in the Madina area.
During the walk, staff members, students and a section of the public around the areas, covered in multi-coloured Lacoste shirts and jerseys, were seen holding placards and reciting the inscriptions on the cards.
Again, aerobic sessions and soccer games were organised at the premises of the Odadee Alumni and Mentorship Centre in the Presbyterian Boys Secondary School, coinciding with the medical screening.
Participants were seen seated in a queue around 10:00 a.m. being refreshed while waiting for their turn to be attended to.
The health screenings covered Hepatitis B, Lab tests, blood pressure, eye test, breast examination and medical consultation.
In an interview with the Executive Secretary of RTI commission, Mr Yaw Sarpong Boateng, said keeping fit was very important which was why their celebration was planned to remind people of being healthy.
“We are also using this opportunity to sensitise, create the awareness and interest in the citizenry towards the right to information,” he said.
Mr Boateng encouraged everyone to access their service whenever they needed any information, especially because it was free.
“The law has come for us all not for a few people to use, we must activate the use of the laws so we all see the loopholes to make some amendments hopefully, also our office our open to all as well as our phone numbers,” he added.
A Medical Laboratory Scientist at MDS-Lancet laboratory, Bright Kumi, who supported in the screening exercise said with about 97 people who tested for Hepatitis B, a few tested positive.
“Those who tested positive have been advised on the way forward and others who tested negative have been asked to get vaccinated and take care of themselves to prevent them from any exposure,” he stated.
He advised the general public to be very alert on their health, know their status and not overlook the Hepatitis B infection because it was more dangerous and could easily kill than HIV/AIDS.
An Agro-tourism organization, the Ghanaian Farmer Tourism Club (GHAFTC) has joined forces with travel firm Adansi Travels and airline RwandAir to introduce the “Agric Exchange” program in Accra.
This is part of the GHAFTC’s attempts to give Ghanaian farmers travel opportunities to broaden their understanding of contemporary agricultural techniques and build contacts with foreign farmers for the benefit of their businesses.
The joint venture is also aimed to expand the local market and promote agro-tourism while encouraging foreign farmers to visitGhana and take advantage of the opportunities provided by the agricultural industry.
The package, which would be priced affordably, would include a flight, a hotel, transportation, meals, networking events, and sightseeing.
The group announced that the first trip was scheduled for Rwanda in November, this year.
Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, in his keynote address in Accra on Friday lauded the initiative, saying that any project that targeted the well-being of Ghanaian farmers and offered such opportunities to “enable them compare notes with other counterparts was welcomed.”
He said advancements by government in its Planting for Food and Jobs programme was producing entrepreneurs and wealth in the sector and was encouraging people to pursue agro-tourism.
“A lot of people have ventured into farming because of the potential of Planting for Food and Jobs and this is creating more opportunities in the sector as well as changing its image,” he disclosed.
He urged Ghanaian farmers to partner and access opportunities that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provided to grow their various products.
A farmer and founder of Count on Crops Hub, the agric advocacy firm behind GHAFTC, Enyonam Manye, said travelling would afford and expose Ghanaian farmers to the importance of value addition and the utilisation of post-harvest losses.
“A lot of Ghanaian farmers discard post-harvest losses because they have no knowledge or skill on its benefits. But just travel to Rwanda and you will see how they are utilising post-harvest losses from pear for oil and body lotion. Same in India where post-harvest losses from pawpaw are utilised in the same way.
“When us farmers we travel, it opens our eyes to such innovations and also introduces us to value addition companies and agro-processors to help us grow our business,” she said.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Adansi Travels, Gideon Asare, said the constant introduction of new technologies and inventions into farming made it imperative for Ghanaian farmers to travel and witness what was being done elsewhere to improve their practice.
He called on all famers to also register their farms and to open business accounts that was separate from their personal bank accounts.
On his part, Country Manager for RwandAir, Robert Okumu, expressed delight at the partnership saying that as the project sought to improve farming in effect it improved Africa.
On Saturday, September 17, 2022, the Prestea-Huni Valley Municipality of the Western Region‘sZero Waste Bosomtwi organization and youth organizations conducted a clean-up operation in the communities of Huni Valley, Damang, Amoanda, and Bompieso.
The event took place onWorld Clean-up Day, which was established in 2008 to help the small country of Estonia in northern Europe clean up its houses and streets.
The program, sponsored by the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation (GFGF) via Abosso Gold Fields Limited (AGL), drew enthusiastic young people, volunteers, assembly members, unit committees, chiefs, corporate organizations, and Damang Mine staff, who cleaned palaces, the Huni Valley Clinic area, social grounds, markets, and waste disposal sites.
According to Justice Frimpong, the chairman of the Huni Valley Youth Association and program coordinator in an interview with the Ghanaian Times, Mr. Ebenezer Afful, the CEO of Zero Waste Bosomtwi, was the inspiration behind the initiative, which will start in 2020.
Initially, he recalled that, the event was held only in Huni Valley, but, the Damang, Amoanda and Bompieso communities were added this year, to expand and increase participation in environmental cleanliness in the mining areas.
He said “In the next five years, we expect it to be an embracing catchment programme beyond the four areas even up to Prestea, Bogoso and Takoradi, that’s our vision.
“The event today has been overwhelming and great. Partnership had also been good working with the chiefs, particularly Huni Valley chief, Nana Kwabena Amponsah. We will indeed make an impact on environmental cleanliness,” Mr Frimpong added.
He thanked AGL for their support.
The Senior Community Affairs Officer at Damang Mine, Eric Doe Ackuayi, also applauded the leadership shown by Huni Valley Youth and partners, adding that their efforts would help clean the environment and also be devoid of waste.
He believed the worldwide event would rekindle spirit of volunteerism and a driving force to maintain good environmental management in communities.
He said GFGF had spent about $1.3 million on water and sanitation programme and projects, including construction of toilets and solid waste management.
“AGL, through the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation seeks to promote development in all our host communities. Our focus areas include water and sanitation and if the whole world is commemorating this day, as a cleanup exercise, automatically, it falls within our key focus area when it comes to development. So we’re happy the youth in all these communities approached us and requested that the foundation collaborates with them,” Mr Ackuayi said.
A former director of elections for theNational Democratic Congress (NDC), Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, has declared his intention to run for the party’s general secretaryposition.
He declared that in order to unify the party, engaging unhappy cadres and party members is his top priority.
Mr Ankrah asserted that the party, particularly those party members who felt abandoned in the past, needs to be united at this point.
“The general approach is to bring everybody on board. I know so many people. You know it’s not as if there is a deliberate attempt to sideline anybody, it’s just an evolution of the party and even the society.
“We are both physical and spiritual beings so you don’t want to have very key strategic people walking around with bitterness. Of course there is some bitterness which is unfounded.
“If you are harbouring bitterness in your heart for no reason, you will die, but people who genuinely feel they’ve been neglected there is a way to bring them back and bring the spirit of the party back. That is what wins elections and it is going to be a major thing and I’m well positioned to do that,”he added.
He asserted that one of his plans to do this included establishing a strong economic basis for industrial growth.
“My leadership will focus on business development because I want to run Ghana like a business for unprecedented transformation to take place.
“I have the experience to create jobs for the youth with my record of business life. My steel company, when completed, will employ over 1,000 workers. It is named after Ashanti – Ashanti Steel.” he added.
In the Kwabre East Municipality of the Ashanti Region, Mr. Agyapong made this statement while paying a courtesy visit to Nana Barima Saasi Ayeboafo II, the Chief of Mamponteng.
While speaking about his execution of strong policies to support large-scale mechanized agriculture, he said that the Afram Plains region and other regions of the country with tremendous agricultural potential will be at the center of focused agriculture mechanization programs.
“I have plans to create globally competitive industries, make commercial farming attractive like what pertains in Cote d’Ivoire, Tanzania and other industrialised countries.
Ghana is well endowed with minerals, and would be used to turn the economic fortunes of the country around,” he added.
He pledged to instil discipline, integrity, hard work and accountability in the citizens, especially the youth to contribute effectively to national development.
“The menace of corruption, greed, and nepotism in Ghana is due to lack of discipline. The absence of discipline in the national life of Ghanaians is why corruption, nepotism and greed have gained deep roots in public life,” he stressed.
On educational prospects, he said he would use his salary to establish a scholarship scheme in every constituency, noting that “I will not take and enjoy my salary. It will be channelled into a scholarship scheme to pay the fees of the poor, and I believe it will promote Ghana’s development in more ways than one.”
In the area of chieftaincy, Mr Agyapong pledged to promote the active participation of chiefs in national governance and also rely on the wise counsel and wisdom of the traditional rulers in his administration.
The Assin Central MP donated 200 street lights to people of the Mamponteng area.
He said street lighting had been observed to be a major problem in Ghana, with a number of the lights not working while those working were using high-pressure sodium bulbs which consumed a lot of electricity.
“Street lighting is an essential road furniture. It ensures security at night for road users, contributes to improved road safety and enhances our quality of life and standard of living,” Mr Agyapong said.
He gave the assurance to complete works on the ongoing market in Kwabre and appealed to the assembly members for their maximum support in that direction.
On his part, Nana Barima Saasi Ayeboafo II, expressed his appreciation to the MP for his visit and assured him of warm reception at all times.
However, he appealed for the completion of the Kwabre market and road infrastructure in his area.
“Our roads are in deplorable state. Many road constructions have been abandoned. TVET education needs key attention in the area. Speak for us so that life can be made more dignifying and comfortable for the inhabitants,” he indicated.
The Chief admonished Mr Agyapong not to abandon his boldness after victory to lead the party to iron out all differences that could rise in the primaries, and unite the rank and file of the party to break the eight-year jinx of governance in the Fourth Republic.
“I hope the delegates give you the nod. Work extremely hard by improving the party’s grassroots’ structure.
“Work with traditional leaders and, most importantly, ensure that the government focuses on eradication of poverty, creation of jobs and construction of roads,” the chief added.
At the recently concluded Ghana-Canada Investment Summit(GCIS), the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, urged investors to take into account the vast prospects in the country and focus their investments here for higher returns.
Addressing the diaspora investor community at the 6-day summit organised by the Ghana Investment Promotion (GIPC) in Toronto, Canada on Thursday September 15, 2022, the Minister said the stable political atmosphere, coupled with the vast investment opportunities in the country, makes Ghana an investment destination of choice than its counterparts on the continent.
“As the host of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Ghana has been placed in pole position to lead Africa’s economic and financial renaissance. This means that when you come back and do business in Ghana, and with Ghana, you are only opening your own door to access the entire African continent. I want to encourage you to come and invest in Ghana. We look forward to seeing you soon,” he said.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah, who is also Member of Parliament for Ofoase/Ayirebi, described the country as a fertile ground for investment where businesses thrive due to its stable economic atmosphere urging prospective investors, especially from Canada, to consider Ghana as the gateway to a wider African market.
He said Ghana has a wide range of investment vehicles available for every investor class which offer higher returns than other African countries. Citing the high returns in investment in equity markets and the high yields on Government of Ghana bonds, the Minister assured the diaspora investor community of guaranteed returns should they choose Ghana as their investment destination.
Further, Mr Oppong Nkrumah called on the diaspora investors to invest in the Ghanaian economy because as Ghanaians in the diaspora, they have a crucial role to play towards the growth and development of the country.
The Ghana-Canada Investment Summit brought together delegates from the international investor community especially from Canada, venture capitalists and private equity fund managers amongst others for in-depth discussions and exploration of viable investment opportunities within various sectors of the Ghanaian economy. It was also aimed at matching diaspora, Canadian investors and local entrepreneurs and create awareness of the potential of Diaspora Direct Investment while increasing trade between Ghana and Canada.
Also present at the Summit were a number of state officials, including the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shelly Ayorkor Botcwey, Minister of Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister for Tourism and Culture, Dr Awal Ibrahim Mohammed, GIPC boss, Yofi Grant and other well-known dignitaries.
President Akufo-Addo disclosed this in an interview on a local radio station in the Volta region during an official visit.
The president stated that witnessing the female presenter who granted him interview revived his motivation to keep working toward that goal.
“You know my basic position that I’ve taken, and seeing you, of course, it’s heightened it: my determination to marry in the Volta Region, and that I’m like a suitor who keeps on knocking on the door, looking forward to the day the door will be open. We’ll keep on till the day the door is open,” he said.
However, Sam George a social media post has questioned whether the president’s intentions to find a new wife a major priority in the midst of the economic crisis.
“Hehehehehe! Addo Showboy nunu. I can testify about the Ayigbe Toffee but in this hard times, is a new wife Bossu’s top priority? Ah well,” he tweeted on September 17.
The economy has suffered a downturn in recent months with inflation rate hovering around 33.9% per data from the Ghana Statistical Service.
The Cedi has also significantly depreciated with the economy also hard hit by recent downgrades by international rating agencies such as Fitch and S & P.
Government has partly blamed Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war as cause for the increased cost of living while promising to implement measures to curtail it.
It is consequently seeking a $3 billion IMF credit facility over a three year as it finds its way out of the economic quagmire.
Hehehehehe!
Addo Showboy nunu. I can testify about the Ayigbe Toffee but in this hard times, is a new wife Bossu’s top priority? Ah well! ????????♂️https://t.co/6LF4NDfI9n
Months ago, thesecretariat admitted that finance issues were the reason the Ghana National Cathedralproject was put on hold at the beginning of this year.
In an interview late last week on pro-government Asaase Radio, the Project’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Opoku-Mensah, said the board is trying to create a better fundraising module moving ahead.
“We have actually stalled the work to say let’s begin to rethink the fundraising because the fundraising was located within a voluntary framework. So what we have done is to provide a dedicated personal infrastructure,” he added.
He asserted that a fundraiser’s services have been acquired, and a team is also working on a digital platform to help the cause.
“So we have brought in a professional fund-raiser, and then we are saying that we also needed to develop a robust technology platform for our fundraising … our model must be built on mass mobilisation and what we are advocating for is a million people giving us GHC100,” he added.
“But also intergrade a donor management system,…the platform we had was just for contribution, but there was no way of engaging you, so we have now engaged a local technology firm, which is now developing that robust platform.”
Current status of the National Cathedral project
The project has recently been mired in a raft of controversies among others alleged corruption relating to payments made to the architect and issues of Parliamentary breaches and corporate governance issues.
North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who has been at the forefront of the exposures insists that the government has committed public funds in excess of 200 million cedis into the project.
President Akufo-Addo recently told a gathering that the facility will be built at all cost.
“We will build the National Cathedral by all means. We will finish the construction before I will say what I have to say about it,” President Akufo-Addo assured as he received cheers from the church congregation.
While providing no indication on how the stalled project will be facilitated, the President in his remarks seemed unhinged despite the public outcry over the funds involved for the project which is estimated to cost about US$100 million.
In May this year, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta announced that an amount of US$25 million had been released to enable the project consultants to undertake certain aspects of the construction.
According to the minister, the amount which was tagged as “seed money” was paid in November 2020 to the project consultants.
Meanwhile, the recently published 2021 Auditor-General’s report discovered that a total of GH¢142,762,500 from the national coffers was spent on the Ghana National Cathedral project in 2021.
The particular expenditure was however captured under the government’s priority programmes and interventions for the year under review.
Mahama paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled for seven decades, in a Twitter post on September 19.
He commended her for being a great woman who promoted harmony and had a good sense of humor.
Mahama recalled the encounter he and his wife, Lordina, had with the British king in 2014 at Buckingham Palace.
He said that coming into contact with her leaves one struck by her “dignity and grace”.
“An era has come to an end. The world salutes a very great woman. She was the commonwealth; such a diplomat, who took it upon herself to bring diverse nations together. Her visits to Ghana in 1961 and 1999 are perfect examples. Fare thee well, Queen Elizabeth
“I recall my visit to the Buckingham Palace in 2014 with my wife, Lordina, and our interaction. One is struck by her dignity and grace. She had a good sense of humour and clarity of thought. Fare thee well, Queen Elizabeth,” Mahama tweeted.
Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8, 2022 at the age of 96 and has since been succeeded by King Charles III.
World leaders are attending the funeral ceremony which takes place today in London.
An era has come to an end. The world salutes a very great woman. She was the commonwealth; such a diplomat, who took it upon herself to bring diverse nations together. Her visits to Ghana in 1961 and 1999 are perfect examples.
Former Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen, has accused the erstwhile Mahama government of issuing an indefinite resident permit to Chinese galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang.
In an interview with Okay FM on September 16, the former NPP scribe berated the opposition National Democratic Congress over the politicization of prosecution of the Chinese national and the consequent doubt it cast on same.
On his substantive accusation, Obiri Boahen said Aisha Huang was granted the resident permit in 2015 even though she had hitherto been trying to acquire one during the tenure of President Kufuor.
“Would you believe that on 28th March 2015 Aisha Huang was given an indefinite resident permit here in Ghana? Meaning she lives here in perpetuity. This was done during NDC’s time. President Mahama’s government gave Aisha Huang the permit on 28th March 2015. Meanwhile, she was unsuccessful to get the permit during President Kufuor’s time,” he said.
There have been varied accounts on whether or not Aisha Huang left the country in 2018 after the state filed a nolle prosequi in a case involving her.
While government has maintained that she left the shores of the country, state prosecutors in her recent case have said that she sneaked out of the country.
President Nana Akufo-Addo also in an interview on a Ho-based radio station cast doubts on whether Aisha Huang was deported or she fled the country.
The president said: “I am not still sure whether she was, in fact, deported or whether she fled the country the first time and has now come back or whatever. There still seems to be some uncertainty about it”.
The comment by the president has raised several eyebrows with the Minority pushing for a full-blown probe into the circumstances of Aisha Huang’s ‘deportation’.
Meanwhile, Aisha Huang has been denied bail together with her three accomplices. They have been remanded in custody for two weeks. Last Friday, the AG filed four new charges against Ms. Huang, one of which relates to reentering the country illegally.
On Friday morning, September 16, 2022 residents woke up to the news of another missing privatesecurity guard, bringing the number to 7 in the last five months.
The recent suspected murder happened near the Wa Technical Institute and is the second to have occurred this week.
Traces of blood were found on the floor near the duty post of the victim. Residents suspect both missing persons have been killed and their bodies hidden.
Police investigations are underway.
Meanwhile, the youth are on rampage and protesting the sudden missing of persons in the area. They stormed Wa Naa’s palace demanding to be given permission to search houses of foreigners.
JoyNews understands that overlord of Wa has summoned all sub-chiefs under his jurisdiction to look into the matter and possibly get the Regional Security Council to impose curfew in the community.
A physiotherapist from Ghana, Alberta Amissah Rockson, has been elected co-chair of theEmergency Committee of the World Rehabilitation Alliance’s (WRA) of World Health Organisation (WHO).
Following two stints as the National President, PT Rockson is now the National Chairperson of the Ghana Physiotherapy Association. Additionally, she currently serves on the board of the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital.
The World Rehabilitation Alliance (WRA) was launched in 2022 to conduct evidence-based advocacy activities that increase awareness and demand for rehabilitation, networking and knowledge-sharing and to create a shared understanding and narrative around rehabilitation.
Education can be really expensive, but as the narrative has always been, it is a necessary evil.
And it is this motivation that has led two Ghanaians to focus their energies and investments on building the educational structure of Africa through higher education.
Patrick Awuah and Fred Swaniker of Ashesi University and the African Leadership University, respectively are blazing the trails of African education and, by that, developing a continent of bright, inquisitive, resilient, and passionate people.
In this Friday GhanaWeb feature, we put a spotlight on these two personalities and their achievements in the education sector of the African continent.
In the biographies of Patrick and Fred below, you will get to understand better their stories and how it is they are working to churn out a generation of Africans who are academically different but in a very critical way.
Patrick Awuah, Founder and President, Ashesi University
The following biography of Patrick Awuah is culled from the official website of his university, Ashesi University
Patrick Awuah is the Founder and President of Ashesi University, a private, not-for-profit institution that has quickly gained a reputation for innovation and quality education in Ghana.
In 2012, Ashesi University was ranked as one of the top ten Most Respected Companies in Ghana, and was the first educational institution to win the award. In the same survey, Patrick Awuah was named the 4th Most Respected CEO in Ghana.
Before founding Ashesi University, Patrick worked as a Program Manager for Microsoft where, among other things, he spearheaded the development of dial-up internet working technologies and gained a reputation for bringing difficult projects to completion.
He holds bachelor’s degrees in Engineering and Economics from Swarthmore College; an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business; and honorary doctorates from Swarthmore College, Babson College, and the University of Waterloo.
He has won many prestigious international awards including the MacArthur Fellowship; the McNulty Prize; Membership of the Order of the Volta — one of Ghana’s highest awards, given to individuals who exemplify the ideal of service to the country, and the World Innovation Summit for Education Prize. In 2015, Patrick was named one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune, and received the Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award, given to UC Berkeley alumni with distinguished records of service to their countries.
Patrick served on the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACVFA) of the U.S. Agency for International Development from 2010 to 2016. He is a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative of the Aspen Global Leadership Network; a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; and a member of the Tau Beta Pi honor society for excellence in engineering.
Honourary Doctorates
• Honourary Doctor of Laws, Swarthmore College, 2004
• Honourary Doctor of Laws, Babson College, 2013
• Honourary Doctor of Engineering, University of Waterloo, 2018
Major Awards
• Membership of the Order of the Volta by President of Ghana, His Excellency J.A. Kufuor, 2007
• John P. McNulty Prize, 2009
• Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, 2014
• 2015 Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award, University of California, Berkeley, 2015
• MacArthur Fellowship, 2015
• WISE Prize Laureate, 2017
Summary of Other Affiliations and Awards:
• Fellow of the African Leadership Initiative—Aspen Global Leadership Network
• Member, US Council of Foreign Relations
• Member: Tau Beta Pi Honor Society for Excellence in Engineering.
• Member, TED Fellows Program: 2007 TED/Global, 2009 TED Fellow
• Ghana Web, 2005 Person of the Year
• Young Global Leader, 2007, World Economic Forum
• Winner, 2009 Microsoft Alumni Foundation “Integral Fellow” award
• Winner, John P. McNulty Prize 2009, Aspen Institute
• Ghana’s 8th Most Respected CEO, 2010 (PricewaterhouseCoopers)
• Winner, Educational Development, Millennium Excellence Awards 2010, Ghana
• Member, Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACVFA) of the U.S. Agency for International Development, March 2010 – March 2016
• Ghana’s 4th Most Respected CEO, 2012 (PricewaterhouseCoopers)
• Leading Through Innovation Award, University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, 2012
• Paul Harris Fellow, The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, 2013
• Elon Medal for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Elon University, 2014
• 50 Greatest Leaders in 2015, Fortune Magazine, 2015
Fred Swaniker
Fred Swaniker of the Africa Leadership University based in Rwanda is a Ghanaian whose inspiring story of struggles led him to start what is one of the model universities for leadership on the African continent.
The following profile is also made available by the official website of the school.
Fred was recognized by US President Obama in 2010 and again in 2013 for his work in developing Africa’s future leaders.
He has been recognised as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, by Forbes Magazine as one of the top ten young ‘power men’ in Africa, and by Echoing Green as one of the fifteen ‘best emerging social entrepreneurs in the world’.
He is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Global Leadership Network and was a TED Fellow in 2009.
Fred began his professional career as a consultant with McKinsey and Company and has an MBA from Stanford Business School, where he was named an Arjay Miller Scholar, a distinction awarded to the top 10% of each graduating class at the business school.
He was born in Ghana but has lived and worked in about 10 different African countries. Fred is deeply passionate about Africa and believes that the missing ingredient on the continent is good leadership.
In line with this, Fred founded the African Leadership ‘Group’—an ecosystem of organizations that includes African Leadership Academy, African Leadership Network, Africa Advisory Group, and of course, ALU.
Collectively, these institutions aim to transform Africa by identifying, developing, and connecting three million game-changing leaders for Africa by 2060.
The Center for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana, has said that the Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery, as well as other pertinent state authorities need to be questioned over the issue involving galamsey bigwig, Aisha Huang.
In an interview with Starr News, Senior Programs Manager for CDD-Ghana, Paul Yaw Abrampah, said the case’s twists and turns raise the question of whether the president receives routine security briefings.
“The President is our leader, and he makes appointments and swears in all executive positions in the country, and he is aware of people’s duties. The president can call his Minister in charge of the Interior or National Security and get facts on these issues easily.
“The National Security Coordinator, the National Security Minister, the Interior Minister, and the Ghana Immigration Service is under the Ministry of Interior. So this should not be an issue that the president should go on air and say he is confused as to what actually happened. Are we saying that the president is not getting detailed security briefings in the country,” Mr. Abrampah quizzed.
He added that: “Now that it has become a big issue that you are supporting the Attorney General to take up the issue, you should definitely be getting a briefing on it. So I expect the president to summon the Interior Minister under whose jurisdiction issues of migration falls to give a full fact and briefing to him.”
Mr. Abrampah added that given the current legal status of the matter, it might be an error for the president to fire any of his appointees in connection with the Aisha Huang scandal.
“Definitely, with the judicial service, if the case should travel the length of the law. They will call for witnesses and call for facts of the case. That is where we are going to get the full facts of the case.
“I got a hint that the Minority caucus is planning to summon people to come and give them facts or wanting to establish an independent investigation into the issue. All of these will complement the process to unravel the actual truth in the case. If it happens that there were compromises on the way, then the law must take its course,” the Programs Manager added.
The NationalDemocratic Congress (NDC) says the case involving galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang, must not be trivialized.
According to a Deputy General Secretary of NDC, Peter BoamahOtokunor, government must handle the issue with the seriousness it deserves.
This comes on the back of an accusation by the lawyer for Aisha Huang, Nkrabea Effah Dartey that the media is overstretching the substance of the case involving the Chinese national.
In a media interview, Mr. Boamah Otokunor stressed that the issue has not been blown out of proportion.
“I have read commentaries from NPP members and the lawyers defending her that this is not any matter and that, the issue is being blown out of proportion. Look at the crisis the country is going through and the challenge of suffering the worst currency depreciation in the history of this country. Gold is the solution to this problem, but Aisha Huang is doing all manner of things to our mining laws, but because NPP is in power, she is being defended.”
Peter Boamah Otukunor added that Aisha must be dealt with in accordance with Ghana’s laws.
“What we are demanding now after finding out that, Aisha Huang is still in the country is the proper application of the law in dealing with her. She must be prosecuted”, he added.
It will be a crime for Aisha Huang to release video footages of her sexual encounters with Ghanaian officials.
That’s the reaction of former Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee onIllegal Mining, Charles Bissue on the return of theChinese businesswoman who is currently facing criminal charges of mining in Ghana without a license.
There are doubts that government would proceed with the prosecution of the case due to reports that the Chinese woman controls a powerful cartel that is blackmailing Ghanaian ministers of state and high ranking state officials.
Meanwhile, Editor of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako has disclosed that Aisha Huang, nicknamed ‘galamsey queen’ has a series of recorded sex videos involving persons serving in the incumbent and previous administrations.
Reacting to fears that Aisha Huang may resort to releasing the videos as a trump card to evade prosecution, Charles Bissue argued that it will go against her if she does that.
“Whatever sex video she has with people, were they with underage children? No, he answered while adding that it might be “consensual” and that “she in the first place videoing that is a crime… whatever sex that happened the person was not raped,” he explained.
Mr. Charles Bissue further recounted how there were attempts to blackmail him during his tenure as Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee to shelve some investigative reports at his outfit, a proposal he declined.
TheFinance and Health Ministrieshave been threatened with an invasion by the Coalition of Unemployed Graduates of NursesAssistant Clinical and Preventive for not ensuring their posting.
According to the disgruntled medical workers, the Health Ministry published its recruitment list for nurses and midwives to select their preferred posting zones roughly 10 months ago.
Despite several pledges made in response to their petitions and picketing, the over 10,000 nurses claim they have been at home for about three years.
Addressing a press conference in Kumasi on Thursday, 15 September 2022, the President of the group, Apandago Charles, said they are going through hardship and have to depend on their parents, prostitution, and other activities to survive.
He has, therefore, given the government a seven-day ultimatum to post them or else they will storm and take over the offices of the Ministries responsible for their posting until they are posted.
TheNational Petroleum Authority (NPA) has shut down three filling stations in Sunyani in the Bono Region for supplying less than the quantity what the customers pays for.
The stations are Frimps Oil at Penkwase, the Goil station close to the Eusbett Hotel, and Engen.
In the case of Frimps, all seven dispensing units functioning at the time of the visit were under-delivering, whilst Goil and Engen had two and four of their nozzles under-delivering respectfully.
The NPA however, noticed that some of the nozzles at these filling stations were dispensing petroleum products in excess of what the customers had paid for.
The random exercise was undertaken after the team led by Kwadwo Odarno Appiah and Eunice Budu Nyarko, Bono Regional Manager and Consumer Services Manager, respectively sensitized commercial drivers and traders at the Nana Bosoma market, popularly known as the Wednesday market in the Sunyani municipal area of the Bono Region.
He further cautioned fuel stations, after seizing two ramps, to desist from using ramps and shaking vehicles during filling, adding that it is an unsafe practice that can cause unwarranted sparks and fire.
“The NPA will not hesitate to lock temporarily stations caught using ramps,” he hinted.
Following a significant downpour in the early hours of September 15, 2022, the regional office of theGhana Fire Servicein the North East Region has been flooded.
Individuals had to stay indoors for more than two hours due to the torrentialrain which started between the hours of 9 AM and 10 AM.
The regional office has been in a terrible condition for a good number of years, but duty bearers haven’t noticed and haven’t gotten it fixed.
Speaking to the media, the regional commander of the Ghana Fire Service, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Grade II (ACFO II) Stanley Nusetor-Elikplim, bemoaned the unfavorable work climate that is impacting the Service’s administrative tasks.
The downpour, which lasted over two hours, has exposed and caused extra damage to documents and other relevant materials in the office.
Officers who have come to work are somewhat seeking protection in nearby houses because their offices have been taken over by the rainwater.
The floods seemed to have receded at the time GhanaWeb visited the place, but the commander says the situation is normal anytime it rains, yet authorities are not showing any concern or sigh of relief.
The Assistant Chief Fire Officer Grade II (ACFO II) Stanley Nusetor-Elikplim, is therefore appealing to the government and philanthropists to as a matter of urgency come to the aid of the Ghana Fire Service command to enable them to carry out their administrative work effectively.
“This is the situation we have here, we have a very bad environment here anytime it rains. We are calling on the authorities to come and help us. We hope that the best come out of it,” he said.
He also bemoaned that the offices are affected and in a bad state due to the penetration of rainwater whenever it rains.
He says they are facing the challenges of flooding in the yard for a long period of time, and they cannot be working in such an environment when the authorities are looking at it.
“We cannot be battling with this situation for a very long time, and this is the right time to fix these loops because anytime it rains, this is the situation we always faced. Even over the top there, everybody has to get up because we have stormy rain coming in. So we are pleading with the authorities to come to our aid,” he appealed.
Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress(NDC), Peter Boamah Otokunor, has lampooned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over his recent comment on Chinese galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang.
President Akufo-Addo, it will be recalled, stated in an interview earlier this week that he was uncertain about the purported ‘deportation’ status of the notorious Chinese national.
Speaking in an interview on Stone City Radio in Ho during his tour of the Volta Region, the president said: “… I am not still sure whether she was, in fact, deported or whether she fled the country the first time and has now come back or whatever. There still seems to be some uncertainty about it.
But speaking to the media on the sidelines of an NDC press conference on September 15, Otokunor described the president’s state of unawareness as one too many and of great concern.
“…I wonder how somebody who is supposed to have been deported and the president admitting that she has been deported. The senior minister, if you want the prime minister Osafo-Maafo saying that she has been deported, all of a sudden the president is playing dumb and saying that he doesn’t know that the woman has been deported.
“I think that it is becoming one too many and it is becoming a worrying trend. You have a sitting president who always says that he is not aware of decisions he himself has undertaken.
“The President has issued executive instrument and he says he is not aware. He has written letters of authority and he says he is not aware. Corruption appears under him and everybody is talking about it and he says he is not aware.
“Today, Aisha Huang, he is saying that he is not aware that Aisha Huang was deported. Very soon he will say that he is not aware he is the president of this country and I think we should be worried. We should be concerned,” Otokunor said.
His comments are similar to earlier ones made by Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr who said on the September 14 edition of Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme:
“There have been all kinds of interpretations to what the President said in that interview in the Volta region. There are those who are saying the president merely is talking about his own memory capacity and he is saying that he cannot remember what really happened. Whether the woman fled on her own accord or that she was deported.
“If that is the case, it is still a source of worry. You have a president who can forget such live issues and [it] actually expose his memory weakness. It is worrying in any democratic institution.
Meanwhile, Aisha Huang has been denied bail together with her three accomplices. They have been remanded in custody for two weeks.
Vice president, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has said government’s Free Senior High School (Free SHS) initiative has improved the lives of families despite the economic crisis.
He claims that the initiative has “lessened the burden on families as the nation goes through one of its biggest economic meltdowns.
In an interview with KTN News, Kenyan private TV channel, Bawumia emphasized that the cost of living has increased dramatically over the world, with Ghana being no exception, and blamed the country’s economic difficulties on the negative effects of theCovid-19 outbreak and the Russia-Ukrainewar.
“Ghana has been no exception and I’m sure Kenya has not been an exception, either because food prices and energy prices have gone up and they have inflationary consequences and exchange rate consequences and they have really squeezed budgets in that respect.
“In Ghana, we are trying to deal with it in this context of the very squeezed and tight budget on the monetary policy side. The Central Bank is trying to contain inflation through their monetary policy.
“There have been a number of interest rate increases to try to contain the situation. Government continues to offer free senior secondary school education to our citizens which has also continued to lessen the burden on families in terms of cost of living. Otherwise, without it, it would have been much worse,” Bawumia contended.
The Vice President indicated that the way to resolve crises when they plague a country is to increase production.
“Ultimately, you deal with this crisis by expanding your production. If it is a food crisis, then we need to increase food production and that is how we want to tackle it in Ghana. The energy side is a little bit more difficult since we are net importers of oil and we are taking things at the dictates of the international market.
“So we hope that sooner or later, the Ukraine crisis will abate and bring down energy prices for all of us. But I think that government is continuously looking at ways to deal with it [economic crunch]” he said.
The government implemented the Free SHS programme in 2017 to eradicate financial barriers in accessing second cycle level education.
Amid an economic crunch, there have been growing calls for government to review the programme to allow some cost to be borne by parents.
Speaking to the media on September 15, Mr Otokunor suggested that the nolle prosequi that allowed her release in 2018 was submitted in court while speaking with the media outside of a press conference for the NDC.
He asserted that gold was the solution to the Cedi’s depreciation, but the resource has been given to Aisha Huang and her exploitation schemes.
Mr Otokunor stated that she has further been emboldened to carry out her activities as a result of funding she gives the NPP with – a reason why the governing party was defending her.
Otukonor warned that citizens would not sit aloof for the NPP to take them on a fools ride.
“We are suffering one of the worst currency challenges in the history of this country. Gold has the solution to this problem. They are not paying taxes on the galamsey. She is smuggling the gold.
“She is doing all manner of things against our law and because NPP is in government and maybe they claim she’s their financier, they are defending her and they want all of us to follow suit.
“I mean all of us cannot be fools in this country. If perhaps they have been deceived by Aisha Huang because she has given them some pittances or because Bawumia went cap in hand begging them for money and she led them to go and raise funds for their campaign, that doesn’t mean we the citizens of this country must sit down and allow them to rip the nation off,” he said.
Asked if he had any basis for his claim about Ms. Huang being a financier of NPP, he said “I mean if she is not a financier of the NPP, I wonder how somebody who is supposed to have been deported and the president admitting that she has been deported.
Otokunor further berated the president over his state of unawareness on the ‘deportation’ status of Aisha Huang.
He described the president’s attitude as one which has become one too many and of great concern.
“…I wonder how somebody who is supposed to have been deported and the president admitting that she has been deported. The senior minister, if you want the prime minister Osafo-Maafo saying that she has been deported, all of a sudden the president is playing dumb and saying that he doesn’t know that the woman has been deported.
“I think that it is becoming one to many and it is becoming a worrying trend. You have a sitting president who always says that he is not aware of decisions he himself has undertaken.
“The President has issued executive instrument and he says he is not aware. He has written letters of authority and he says he is not aware. Corruption appears under him and everybody is talking about it and he says he is not aware.
“Today, Aisha Huang, he is saying that he is not aware that Aisha Huang was deported. Very soon he will say that he is not aware he is the president of this country and I think we should be worried. We should be concerned,” the deputy NDC Chief scribe said.
Meanwhile, Aisha Huang has been denied bail together with her three accomplices. They have been remanded in custody for two weeks.
