Residents of Wuru, a community in the Sissala East Municipality of the Upper West Region, have reportedly avoided using the Ghana cedi as a legal tender for trading following its continuous depreciation.
The Wuru residents have resorted to using the West African CFA franc, which is used by a number of West African countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, and Togo in their trade with people from neighbouring countries. Upper West Region: Wuru community residents refuse to trade in Ghana cedis prefer CFA
“People come here to tell us that it is illegal for us to spend the CFA other than the cedis. We also tell them it is not our fault because the only way for us to survive is to accept the CFA since all the goods come from Burkina-Faso,”he said.
The area’s head, Wurupio Mahama Bataachia Dawuri IV, who spoke to the media, argued that residents’ decision to not trade in the Ghana cedi is not far-fetched as they are yet to see a major development in the area by the government.
According to him, members of the town no longer regard themselves
as Ghanaians and, therefore, are on the lookout for themselves. ”We think of ourselves as being in a neutral zone. Nobody cares about us, so we don’t know if we
belong to Ghana or Burkina Faso,”he said.
The lack of good roads is one of the major challenges facing the community, with a population of over 3,000 that engage in animal
and crop farming. Also, there is no network service available in the area, so residents have been unable to register for their Ghana cards.
To ensure the use of the Ghana cedi during commerce, the people of Wuru have called on the government to see to it that the Sissala East Municipality sees an
uplift.
Available research has proven that knowing your HIV status does not only decrease the risk of an infected person spreading the disease to others, but also offers the person the opportunity to seek early treatment.
Consequently, the President of the Ghana HIV & AIDS Network
(GHANET), Mr. Ernest Ortsin, is entreating the public to get tested for HIV in order to eradicate the disease from the country’s territory.
The advice to the public follows recent data which indicates that there has been a surge in the number of people affected by HIV/ AIDS in the country. According to the National STIs and HIV/AIDS Control Programme, a total of 23,495 people tested positive for HIV in the first half of this year.
He explained that this helps in achieving the UNAIDS’ 95-95-95 ambition, which seeks to diagnose 95% of all HIV-positive individuals, provide antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 95% of those diagnosed, and achieve viral suppression for 95% of those treated by 2030.
USAIDS is the Joint-United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. It is an innovative joint venture of the United Nations family, which brings together the efforts and resources of 11 UN system organizations to unite the world against AIDS.
Speaking at a workshop held at the Mensvic Hotel in Accra, Mr Ortsin further mentioned that one factor derailing the fight against HIV is fake antiretroviral drugs on the
market.
He, thus, advised Ghanaians to desist from the use of unapproved and fake medication, particularly herbal medicine labelled as a cure for HIV, since there is no proof that herbal medicine can cure the disease.
“Even the anti-retroviral medication does not cure HIV/ AIDS, they only suppress the viral load, so there is no cure as of now for the disease. People should be bold to report when they get to know their HIV status for the right treatment to lead normal lives,” he added.
About HIV
HIV, an abbreviation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. If not treated, HIV can lead to AIDS. It is a deadly disease that has resulted in the death of many.
According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), the rate of infection, heightened since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with
84.2 million [64.0–113.0 million] people infected and about 40.1 million [33.6–48.6 million] people dead from the disease. Additionally, 38.4 million [33.9–43.8million] people were living with HIV at the end of 2021 globally.
Also, data from UNAIDS indicates that 1.5 million [1.1 million–2.0 million] people will become newly infected with HIV in 2021. It adds that 650 000 [510 000–860 000] people died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2021. 28.7 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy in 2021.
In efforts to curtail the spread of the disease, there have been various initiatives and sensitization programmes introduced globally to help combat the disease.
This includes the use of medicines to treat HIV, using medicines to prevent HIV, using condoms, having only low-risk sex, only having partners with the same HIV status, and not having sex can all effectively reduce risk. On how Ghana can significantly reduce the rate of spread, Mr Ortsin called for public education on a new therapy, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PreP) and other treatment processes.
More arrests in relation to illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, have recently been carried out across the country, in efforts to clamp down on the canker.
About two weeks ago, 164 arrests were made in Anyinam and Mampong in a three-day operation by the Operation Halt task force.
In a related development, one more person has been arrested, and 12 excavators have been seized by the soldiers under the second phase of Operation Halt.
The latest arrest was carried out after members of the task force stormed mining sites within the Atwima Mponua and Amansie South districts of the Ashanti region.
One car and a motorbike were also impounded at some mining sites during the operation. The activities of illegal miners have become rife in the country despite laws and measures instituted to clamp down on their activities.
The activities of these illegal miners have immensely destroyed water bodies such as the River Pra, Offin, and Birim; land resources have also been spared.
According to recent statistics from the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), over 19,000 hectares of cocoa farmland have been destroyed as a result of the activities of illegal miners. With the current happenings, a section of the public has come to the conclusion that the galamsey fight is a lost cause.
Meanwhile, the government has vehemently contested this claim, insisting that it will not relent on clamping down on illegal miners and their activities.
Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has, on many occasions, re-echoed the government’s commitment to
battling malaria in the country.
In addition to the Operation Halt task force introduced to check the canker, the government also launched a small-scale mining awards programme, which seeks to promote and encourage responsible small-scale mining last year.
Speaking at the launch of this year’s award programme, Mr. HIV: Don’t be scared, get checked – GHANET assures Jinapor noted that the government remains unwavering in its efforts to sanitise and regulate the small-scale mining sector, which provides an estimated 40 percent of Ghana’s total gold output.
“The government is very mindful of the consequential and important nature of the small-scale mining sector of our country,” he noted, although he acknowledged that there are pertinent challenges that need to be addressed.
He further mentioned that the government has introduced several reformative measures, including the start of the community mining scheme, the introduction of mercury-free mining equipment, and the alternative livelihoods
programme.
More than one million network subscribers will have their unregistered SIM cards deactivated after September 30, 2022, as they are without a Ghana card, the
sole identification document for the ongoing SIM registration exercise.
The Independent Ghana has arrived at this conclusion following careful analysis of statements by relevant stakeholders in the communication sector who are to
ensure the smooth running of the SIM registration exercise.
The institutions involved in this analysis are the National Identification Authority (NIA), the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, and the National Communications Authority (NCA).
The NIA is responsible for the issuance of the Ghana card and, according to the authority, it will not be able to issue all the Ghana cards needed to enable network subscribers to register their SIM cards.
On September 9, 2022, the Director of Corporate Affairs at the NIA, Dr Abudu Abdul Ganiyu, told JoyNews that NIA has issued 15,859,251 Ghana cards and is yet to print 528,360 cards, as well as issue 763,877 cards. In total, 1,292,237 Ghana cards are yet to be received.
A week after his comment, the Executive Secretary of the Authority, Professor Kenneth Agyeman Attafuah, while addressing the press on the provision of Ghana cards ahead of the September 30th deadline, said “we cannot do that.” “There is no way that the NIA can register those people. It is technically, physically impossible. We had said way back in March that it was impossible. I have said it is like expecting a maiden to make a baby every three months,” he said.
Professor Kenneth Agyeman Attafuah explained that the NIA will not be able to provide all eligible Ghanaians with their Ghana cards owing to a lack of officers at its registration centres. “Today, there is only one office in a district. At the 200 registration centres, you may have about 16 NIA officials serving the people.
Today, there is only one office per district, and there are four people in that district office. The maximum is five at the regional offices. We augment the staff
numbers with national service personnel,” he said.
Weeks before the NIA made this revelation, the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization for the second time extended the SIM card registration
deadline from July 31 to September 30.
The exercise was extended because of challenges involved in the issuance of the Ghana card, Communications Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful admitted on July
31, 2022, in a press briefing. Days after the extension, it emerged that the number of people who trooped to the registration centres to register their SIM cards
had plummeted.
According to figures from the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, the number of subscribers re-registering their SIM cards fell to 5,861 on August 19, 2022, from about 235,000 recorded on July 31, 2022, when the extension was announced. This represented a 98% decline. The data also showed that by August 1, 2022, the number of registrations fell to 62,715, compared with the 235,460 recorded on July 28, 2022.
The trend continued until it dropped further to 5,861 by August 19th, 2022. Despite the decline in numbers and the NIA’s inability to provide all Ghana Cards, the NCA and the Communications Ministry have made no move to extend the registration deadline to ensure the affected Ghanaians are not disadvantaged.
Even though the NCA has been dragged to court, the Authority is yet to rescind its decision and provide the NIA more time to provide citizens with their Ghana
cards. Galamsey: 12 excavators seized; one arrested in Ashanti region Effects of blocked SIM cards on the economy should the NCA block SIM cards after September 30, as stated earlier, the government risks losing some of the taxes it generates from citizens who make use of voice and data services.
A communication service tax of 5% is levied on charges payable by both individual and corporate users of electronic communication services (ECS) provided by
service providers other than private electronic communication services.
Government will lose a large sum of money it would have generated from network service providers through the over one million network subscribers who have not registered their SIM cards. Also, network service providers will lose subscribers, thereby reducing their revenue. The assertion is that a number of Ghanaians yet to retrieve their Ghana cards engage in mobile money transactions. Government is able to generate revenue through its electronic transaction levy (e-levy) of 1.5% on mobile money transactions above the GHS100 threshold.
The revenue generated from this tax will decline as over one million network subscribers will be without an active SIM card.
Interior Minister Ambrose Dery has advised residents in Bawku, in the Upper East Region, to aim at embracing peace in order for the curfew imposed on them by the government to be raised.
According to him, the existing state of lawlessness and disorder in the region is detrimental to the development of the area and the country as a whole.
“If you give us peace, we will see how we will review the curfew in the next few weeks. But if you tell us the only thing you know is war, we will increase it. “I am not sure, that is what you want,” he said.
The Interior Minister’s remarks follow appeals for the government to lift the aged curfew that has been imposed on the community.
On Wednesday, November 24, 2021, the Interior Ministry imposed a 14-hour curfew on the Bawku Municipality, where inhabitants remained indoors from 4:00pm to 6:00am.
Also, individuals found to be in possession of a weapon or ammunition within the municipality were to be detained and prosecuted. However, on Monday, December 27, 2021, the township witnessed the loss of lives and the destruction of property as a result of gunshots in the area. In January this year, four people
were shot dead, and eight others sustained injuries during renewed clashes between Kusasis and Mamprusis in Bawku.
This went on despite a curfew imposed by the Interior Ministry. Due to the insurgence, the Minister for the Interior by Executive Instrument renewed the
curfew hours imposed on Bawku Municipality and its environs from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am, which took effect Monday, September 26, 2022.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah and the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council have signed up to sponsor 2000 children below the age of 18 years in the Ashanti Region unto the National Health Insurance scheme.
The gesture was in support of an initiative of the Ashanti Regional Office of the NHIA dubbed, “the 1000k for Health Project,”
meant to court the support of well-meaning Ghanaians, whose donations would pay for the NHIS registration fees of at least 1,000 vulnerable children below the age of 18, in the Ashanti Region. Speaking to the media after CEO of the NHIA, Dr. Bernard Okoe-Boye, paid him a courtesy visit, Hon. Simon Osei-Mensah
remarked that the project is a significant milestone that will aid in addressing a significant problem with access to healthcare in the region and the country as a
whole.
The Regional Minister stated that he is aware of the various policies and strategies the NHIA management is putting together for a successful NHIS because he
served on the Health Committee for eight years while serving as a Member of Parliament. Mr. Simon Osei-Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister, personally paid GH¢6,000 to register the first 1000 children, while the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council also paid GH¢6,000 to help register more children in the region into the scheme.
He said the intervention was not only a formidable initiative to improve NHIS and increase the numbers, but also marked a milestone in the success story of the scheme in seeking good health for all citizens in the country.
Mr. Osei-Mensah assured the support of the Regional Coordinating Council and called on all stakeholders to get on board to transform the health sector and build a healthier nation. Dr. Okoe-Boye revealed that the 1,000 for health project is an initiative to augment the government’s support for vulnerable children, of which the enrollment of children with childhood cancer onto the NHIS is key.
70 years and above to get instant access after registering for NHIS The CEO of the NHIA, Dr. Bernard Oko Boye, also announced to the
Ashanti Regional Minister that people 70 years old and above who register with the NHIS can access health care on the same day.
This, according to the CEO, has become necessary due to the frustration some elderly people go through in the bid to access health care.
The waiting period of 30 days has therefore been waived for subscribers who are 70 years old and above, just as pregnant women. The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was established by the government of Ghana in 2003. The program is a form of national health insurance established to provide equitable access and financial coverage for basic health care services to Ghanaian citizens.
The United Nations (UN) Office in Ghana has pledged $260 million (GH¢2.6 billion) to support the country’s efforts to accelerate and achieve
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063.
The UN in Ghana, represented by more than 30 of its agencies, funds, and programmes, will concentrate on empowering individuals and institutions via capacity development and other initiatives, ensuring that no one is left behind by reaching out to the most vulnerable.
The UN Resident Coordinator for Ghana, Charles Abani, announced this at the Global Citizen Festival, co-hosted by Ghana and the UN in Accra over the past weekend. The commitment represents about 50 percent of the proposed funding by the UN to support the UN Cooperation Framework, which will soon be signed by the UN and the Government of Ghana. It will cover the period 2023 to 2025 to support inclusive economic growth, equitable access to services, and durable peace in Ghana and across the sub-region.
The festival, which was broadcast live across the world, brought together renowned artistes, Ghanaian leaders and thousands of young people from all walks of life, determined to add their voices to accelerate the attainment of the SDGs and create a just, equitable and sustainable world.
Flanked by the World Food Programme Director for Ghana, Barbara Clemens, and the Executive Secretary of the National Council of Persons with Disabilities, Esther Akua Gyamfi, Mr Abani said: “Today is the best time to rally the needed support for Ghana.”
“The UN stands with Ghana on this forward-looking ambition to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs and Agenda 2063,” he added.
The Global Citizen Festival is an annual music festival started in 2012 and organized by Global Poverty Project. It was founded Ashanti RCC to sponsor 2000 children under NHIS – Simon Osei-Mensah Aisha Huang and accomplices denied bail again Simon Osei-Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister by Ryan Gall and Hugh Evans.
Gall said he was inspired by visiting Austin City Limits and seeing the branding on the stage, but wanting to replace the corporate branding with branding from charities.
The National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has impulsed the Electoral Commission to accept other identification documents as alternatives to the Ghana Card during the upcoming voter registration drive.
Though the EC has assured that no willing Ghanaian of voting age will be left behind, he argued in a panel discussion on TV that, “If it happens that by that time [future voter registrations happen], everybody has the card, nobody suffers anything.”
“Why don’t you put in some safeguards in case that projection doesn’t turn out to be as you expect, then there is a safeguard to deal with the shortcoming, and you are rather closing all the safeguards and banking your hope on somebody’s promise.” Director of Electoral Services at the Electoral Commission, Serebour Quaicoe has said on several platforms that the EC intends to make the Ghana Card the sole means of identification during the
voter registration exercise.
According to him, the decision to use the Ghana Card is to prevent chaos at polling stations during elections. He cited confusion that emerged out of the 2020 election at the polling stations.
Meanwhile, on the EC’s website as of September 27, 2022, only two modes of identification have been outlined. They are; a valid National
Identification Card (Ghana Card) and a passport. This could mean that the EC is yet to update their website on the new identification process. In the absence of the valid ID’s above, an applicant must submit one completed Identification Guarantee Form endorsed by two voters. A proposed C.I. titled Public Regulations 2021 is anticipated to govern the next continuous voter registration campaign and is intended to replace these documents with the Ghana Card as the new law. Mr. Nketiah also stressed that the EC should not only rely on the National Identification Authority to execute its plans for future elections.
Some nine residents in the Ningo-Prampram Constituency have filed an interlocutory injunction to restrain the National Communications Authority (NCA) from implementing punitive measures against unregistered SIM card subscribers.
The NCA has said network subscribers who default will not have access to any services, as their SIMs will be deactivated after September 30, 2022. In a writ shared by Member of Parliament for the area, Sam Nartey George, on Tuesday, the applicants want the High Court of Justice to restrain the “blocking, deactivating, restricting, churning and/ or in any other way or manner limiting the Applicants’ use of their Mobile Phone SIM Cards and Network Services until the complete and final determination of the substantive application for judicial review.”
“Subscribers will have a period of six months to register to redeem their SIMs, failing which their numbers will be churned – that is, re-assigned to the pool to be sold to potential new subscribers,” the Authority added in its statement dated September 4, 2022.
Mr George, speaking to the media, explained that the applicants have been deprived of their Ghana cards despite registering with the National Identification Authority, thus the need to seek legal redress as their current situation is no fault of theirs. “These are citizens who have complied with the directive and taken every reasonable step to get registered. Whatever is left is outside their control. Either for the NIA to provide them with the card that they have registered for,” he worriedly revealed.
“Some registered as far back as 2019, and they still haven’t received their cards. Others have registered, and the NIA has asked them to come for it in December. So in this case, they can’t do anything except what they have done,” he added.
The major challenge affecting the ongoing SIM card re-registration exercise has been registrants not receiving their Ghana Card promptly after registration. This is because the national identification authority issued card is the sole identification document for the SIM card re-registration exercise.
On July 31, 2022, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communications and Digitalization, “reluctantly” extended the SIM card registration deadline for a second time to September 30, 2022, with conditions. Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful acknowledged that the government was having difficulties with the exercise because of the delays in the issuance of the Ghana card during a press conference to announce the extension.
“Upon consultation with the industry and in view of the challenges enumerated above, I have very reluctantly decided to grant a conditional extension. The programme will be extended to September 30th to end on the anniversary of its commencement, “she said.
Delays in the issuance of the Ghana card was the largest challenge bedevilling this exercise. My information is that the NIA has not been able to issue all eligible
persons with the Ghana card,” she explained.
Due to the challenges it is facing, the NIA has said it will be unable to register all Ghanaians before the September 30th deadline. “We cannot do that. There is no way that the NIA can register those people. It is technically, physically impossible. We had said way back in March that it was impossible. I have said it is like expecting a maiden to make a baby every three months,” Executive Secretary of the NIA, Professor Kenneth Agyeman Attafuah, told the press on Friday, September 16, 2022.
Some Ghanaians have challenged the Authority to implement its initiatives as planned in light of public concerns regarding the sanctions implemented by the
NCA. The Communications Minister, in rebuttal to the numerous public concerns, has however, advised mobile network subscribers “not to blame your service provider” for the sanctions yet to be implemented, stating that “to be forewarned is to be forearmed”.
The Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi will host the second edition of the National Fitness Day on Saturday, October 15, 2022.
The National Fitness Day is a day dedicated to encouraging Ghanaians to exercise and stay fit.
The Sports Ministry, in collaboration with Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, who also serves as the ambassador for National Fitness Day, organized the maiden edition on Saturday, September 10, 2022, at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Several Ghanaians exercised alongside Dr. Bawumia, Azuma Nelson, professional cyclists, soccer teams from a few selected
second cycle schools in the Greater Accra Region, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the King of the Ga State, Sports Minister Mustapha Yusif, and a few other politicians during the first edition in Accra.
The Vice President capitalized on the occasion to encourage Ghanaians to incorporate physical activity into their daily routines.
He argued that the government cannot achieve a strong economy without a healthy populace because healthy Ghanaians significantly contribute to the development of the nation.
“I encourage all to embrace regular physical activity to improve our well-being. If we are healthy in body, we are healthy in mind, and so we want to make sure that Ghana is healthy, and the national fitness day should help us build fitness, and that means better productivity for us,” he added.
Additionally, Dr. Bawumia lauded the Sports Ministry for successfully administering the event as well as individuals who observed the maiden edition across the country.
“After mooting the idea to the Ministry of Youth and Sports last year, and following President Akufo-Addo’s full backing and subsequent approval by Cabinet, it was really exciting to exercise with Ghanaians from all walks of life, especially the youth, who demonstrated admirable passion throughout the nearly two-hour
exercise,” he stated.
Also, the National Sports Authority’s Board Chairman, Seth Panwum, said the project is the beginning of a more unified and
healthy country.
“This is a national event which covers the whole country. The people in the Ashanti region also organized one which I am told the numbers, too, are great. If you cannot do it every day, you can set aside one day of the month to burn some fat and put the mind in a healthy body for mother Ghana, I think it is a welcome idea,” he added.
On August 20, 2022, the Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Yusif, launched the National Fitness Day initiative, which will take place across the country every
second Saturday of the month.
At least 12 excavators were on Monday seized by the personnel of Operation Halt II in the Atwima Mponua and Amansie South districts of the Ashanti Region in a special operation on Monday.
At the Amansie South District, the military team handed over the seized excavators to the police at Datano as the control boards were removed, while others were handed over to the Atwima Mponua District Assembly.
The visit to the various sites showed that vast lands within the two districts have been badly destroyed due to illegal mining.
Hectares of arable land were still being destroyed by the galamseyers within Atwima Mponua district.
The operation, according to the team leader, Colonel Ansah Akrofi, would continue for days to curb the illegal mining menace following the wanton destruction of the environment.
About three weeks, 300 chanfans used in illegal mining in rivers were impounded and burnt during a two-day operation carried out by a task force put together by the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners (GNASSM), in collaboration with the Atwima Mponua District Assembly.
Five persons, including the Assembly Member for the Kotokuom Electoral Area, Akwasi Poku, were arrested in connection with illegal mining activities in some communities along River Offin.
Four other suspects were picked up at Abompe, Abaasua, Amaada, and Agogoso in the Atwima Mponua District.
Nana Yaw Owusu, Nana Appiah, Opanyin Kuffour, and Opanyin Kwaku Duah were among seven elders that had been selected to serve as Dikro in the absence of a chief for Kokotuom.
They have been handed over to the Nyinahini Police for the necessary legal action.
A large number of illegal mining operators, on seeing the task force, fled, leaving their mining equipment behind.
The task force led some selected media houses on a tour of the polluted Offin River and destroyed forest reserves as part of the campaign against illegal mining in the area.
The Vice-President of GNASSM, Sampson Kofi Wiredu, explained that the tour was to give the media an insight into what was happening and confirm that, indeed, some traditional leaders and people in leadership roles were deeply involved in illegal mining which was threatening their jobs.
He said the association was keen to lend support to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to fight the social menace.
“People are very much involved in galamsey and it is affecting all of us. We will expose and report any traditional leader who will be found in connection with illegal activities in his community,” Mr. Wiredu cautioned.
He commended residents for giving the hint which led to the arrest of the assembly member, saying that all needed to come on board to fight the menace.
Sir Sam Jonah KBE, has revealed the circumstances under which he was allowed to attend his British knighthood ceremony at the Buckingham Palace with his entire family.
According to him, the event was to be undertaken by the late Queen Elizabeth II but due to another engagement along diplomatic lines, Prince Charles (now King Charles III) took that responsibility.
In an interview on the BBUM show, a personality profile programme on Ghana Television (September 25), the former Ashanti Goldfields CEO explained why instead of his wife alone accompanying him, his children were allowed to attend.
He described the opportunity as a “privilege to have been invited and honoured by the British Royal Family.”
“I had the privilege to be knighted by Prince Charles in 2003, it was quite an experience, I was fortunate I took my entire family with me, which was very unusual. Because usually, they would ask you to come with your spouse.
“I was fortunate because what happened was, that same day, the reason why I was not knighted by the Queen was that, the Queen was hosting President Putin to a state lunch and therefore it fell on Prince Charles.
“Therefore, Prince Charles said, bring your entire family and so I took my entire family,” he added.
Sam Jonah attended the ceremony with his wife and five children according to a PA photo sighted by GhanaWeb.
In his view, the new King is a “hugely understated and underappreciated person,” adding that he has a commanding presence, and unenforced authority and he is a delight to be with.
He said he felt hugely privileged and fortunate for one-hour meeting his family had with the new monarch at the Buckingham Palace.
In June 2003, Jonah became the first Ghanaian to be knighted in the 21st century when he was presented with an honorary knighthood (KBE) by the then Prince of Wales, in recognition of his achievements as an African businessman, a leading business executive from the Commonwealth, and an international public figure.
A gravedigger has been apprehended over allegations that he was selling body parts of the dead.
The suspect by name Haruna was ‘exposed’ by a Facebook user, Junior Muntari 1, after he was tricked by some residents of Kasoa who had gotten a hint that he was into that ‘trade.’
In a nearly three-minute video shared on Facebook, Haruna is accosted by some men demanding that he unwraps some black polythene bags he had brought.
“You are selling bones of people; I have caught you with people’s bones live, unwrap it,” one person is heard saying in Hausa.
The video shows some material from one polythene, which the commentator says is human flesh and another, as bone from the skull.
“He is used to doing this at the cemetery for a long time, I raised the issue, but people thought I was exaggerating; here it is, you are all seeing it live. He brought it from Awudome,” the commentator added.
According to the narrative, Haruna had been asked by someone for body parts of dead people, and another person had confirmed being the medicine man who had demanded it.
“We tricked you, but if you were a good person, you would have asked how we got your contact, but did you?” the supposed medicine man asked.
He reportedly charged 400 cedis for the consignment, out of which GHc100 was paid to him via mobile money.
Prof Jane Naana Opoku- Agyemang, the former Minister for Education during former President John Dramani Mahama’s presidency has assigned a reason for the then National Democratic Congress (NDC) government’s decision not to roll out a Free Senior High School programme.
According to her, the NDC in government chose the progressively Free SHS as against the en-masse Free SHS implemented by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) today.
“We refused to do the NPP’s kind of Free SHS to prevent the students from fighting over food,” she said.
“There is no food to feed the children because of the NPP’s free-for -all programme,” she explained.
My team at the Ministry knew that the NPP’s concept of Free SHS is problematic because the research was available for them to read.
She said research from the West African Examination Council (WEAC) among others abound for them and the handing over notes were all available for them.
“Now the National Buffer Stock Company is in shambles and cannot supply food to the schools and they are blaming the NDC for it after six years of leaving power?” she queried.
Prof Jane stressed that the NPP arrow cannot be pointed at the NDC.
The former Education Minister who became the running mate to former President John Dramani Mahama in the 2020 general elections said these in an interview on the Ghana Yensom morning show hosted by Emmanuel Quarshie (The Hitman) on Accra 100.5 FM on Tuesday, September 27, 2022.
“In 2020, when we said the implementation of the Free SHS was problematic and that we will review it, the naysayers said we will cancel it,” she said.
“They have come to terms with the teething problems of the implementation of the Free SHS so they should review it and make it better,” she told the governing NPP.
She called on the NPP to review Free SHS and find out what is wrong with the policy.
Paul Adom-Otchere, host of Good Evening Ghana on Metro TV, has taken investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni to the cleaners over a recent tweet on the September 24 booing incident that President Akufo-Addo suffered.
Addressing the incident in the editorial segment of his show on Tuesday, September 27, Adom-Otchere advanced that Manasseh’s reference to chiefs as part of people who can for selfish reasons sing the praises of the president was unacceptable.
“Mr President, for their selfish goals, chiefs, paid praise singers and sycophants will continue to sing insincere praises of you. But what you heard at the #globalcitizensfestival is the truest voice of the people, a referendum on your regime. You have two years to salvage it,” the tweet of September 24 read.
He went on to cite the case of Togbe Afede, whose picture with Manasseh he projected on the screen, stressing that Togbe will not praise sing for Akufo-Addo because of his stature and for other reasons.
He suggested that Manasseh respected Togbe Afede as a chief, so why would he create the impression that all chiefs are praise singers of the government. “Respect Togbe Afede, I know you respect him.”
He continued that for someone from a traditional area, Bongo, “there is a chief over there, I don’t know him but I believe you respect him,” he added.
Adom-Otchere requested a photo of Manasseh be projected on his touchscreen following which he admonished the journalist to repent from his ways and desist from denigrating chiefs.
Thousands of patrons were at the Black Star Square to witness the concert that had a number of local and international artistes performing.
As host of the event, the president was called upon to give his remarks, which happened to be a prepared speech that lasted over six minutes.
The booing happened when he started his speech saying: “The whole world is in Ghana today.”
What started initially as people showing their disapproval of his presence on the stage, turned into loud clapping and chanting of the words: “away, away…,” the president, however, stayed the course and delivered his full speech.
As if that was not enough, people on social media latched on to the development to mock the president.
Global Citizen is the world’s largest movement of action takers and impact makers dedicated to ending extreme poverty NOW.
The voices of millions of Global Citizens around the world are driving lasting change towards sustainability, equality, and humanity by taking action every day.
The Global Citizen Festival started as a music festival where fans take actions to end extreme poverty in order to earn free tickets to attend.
While visiting Kenya to attend President Ruto’s inauguration a few days ago, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia spoke about current global economic challenges and how Ghana is coping.
Speaking with Kenyan media, Dr. Bawumia also highlighted the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) of which Ghana is the secretariat and how it will play a large part in Africa’s continued economic growth.
“It is important that Africa trades by itself… we are very passionate about it. There are a lot of opportunities and potential to realise’ he mentioned to The Standard.
When asked about the current economic situation facing Ghana specifically with high levels of inflation, Bawumia emphasised it is a problem affecting all global economies following the global pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We are trying to deal with the issue in this context of very squeezed and tight budgets. On the monetary side, the Central Bank is trying to contain inflation through a number of interest rate increases. Ultimately, you deal with this crisis by expanding your production. If it is a food crisis, then we need to increase food production” he told KTN News in an interview.
To further lessen the burden on families in Ghana in terms of increasing living costs, Dr. Bawumia said government continues to offer free secondary school education to citizens and is exploring other ways in which it can help all Ghanaians cope with the global crisis.
“For the government, central to Ghana’s recovery is a bottom-up economic model that includes all Ghanaians from all over the country, from all backgrounds. The NPP’s ongoing digitisation agenda is an example of this strategy that is helping all Ghanaians move forward and not be left behind,” Dr Bawumia said.
The Vice President, during his time at the Bank of Ghana, helped to reduce inflation from 40 percent to just 10 percent and is now drawing on his decades of experience to help Ghana move forward and recover.
Residents of Juaboso in the Western North region are gradually falling out of business as Chinese nationals have taken over their daily petty trading.
Speaking on Okay FM’s ‘Ade Akye Abia’ programme, the Member of Parliament(MP) for Juaboso constituency, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh lamented that Chinese nationals are not only engaging in galamsey but are also selling provisions and spare parts.
A trading activity that was hitherto reserved for the indigenous community members of Juaboso and its environs.
Hon. Mintah Akandoh who is very much worried about the unpalatable situation says the government’s fight against illegal mining popularly known as galamsey has become a mere rhetoric with the Chinese mining with impunity.
“The NPP government do not have the desire to fight or end the illegal mining because they are not committed to it. A number of NPP foot soldiers and even top hierarchy are heavily involved in the galamsey business. For instance, with what happened at Elubo, an NPP constituency Secretary was among those who were arrested for destroying a whole village in the name of Galamsey,” he said.
He further explained that though government claims to have invested heavily in the fight against illegal mining, it looks more attractive now than before because those who are caught destroying the water bodies and the forest reserves are left to go unpunished which will at least serve as a deterrent to others.
“How can we allow Chinese nationals with the aid of Ghanaians to destroy our water bodies and forest reserves and also take over businesses meant for Ghanaians,” he rhetorically asked.
Expressing his disgust for the rate at which illegal miners have taken over his constituency, he noted that government’s abysmal performance in the fight against galamsey clearly shows that they are losing it.
A 34-year-old businessman has been remanded into police custody by the Ashaiman District Court for allegedly engaging in ‘landguard’ activities.
Nathaniel Alabi is also alleged to have discharged guns in town.
The prosecution told the court that both the complainant, Stephen Derry, and the accused person resided at Santeo near Adjei Kojo, Accra.
It said on September 22, 2022, the complainant reported to the Ashaiman Divisional Criminal Investigation Department (CID), that on September 19, 2022, whiles at Santeo, Alabi, wielding a gun and in the company of some young men came to his vicinity firing gun and claiming ownership of the land.
The prosecution said the accused person had ordered everyone to either vacate the land or renegotiate with him.
It said on September 22, 2022, the Accused person was arrested in connection with a similar case at Katamanso Police Station where the two weapons, which he used on September 19, 2022, were retrieved from him.
The prosecution prayed for the court to remand the Accused person, saying it had information that other victims were yet to report their cases and that his release would interfere with the investigation.
Counsel for the Accused person argued that the offence committed by the accused and others were all bailable and that his client was not a person who would flee from the jurisdiction.
He also said there were “persons of substance” ready to stand surety for the accused, but the Magistrate insisted that he be remanded to reappear on Friday September 30, 2022, to enable the police to conclude the investigation for the appropriate court to hear the case.
A British Member of Parliament (MP) from the Labour Party, Rupa Huq, has been suspended by her party for alleged racist comments she made against British-born Ghanaian MP, Kwasi Kwarteng, who was recently appointed UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister).
According to news.sky.com, the party suspended Rupa Huq for describing Kwasi Kwarteng as a “superficially” black man, pending investigations.
The report indicated that the suspended MP made the racist comments against the chancellor in an audio recording posted online by the Guido Fawkes website.
“Superficially he is a black man. He went to Eton, I think, he went to a very expensive prep school, all the way through, the top schools in the country.
“If you hear him on the Today programme, you wouldn’t know he is black,” Rupa Huq was quoted to have said by news.sky.com.
The Labour Party condemned the remarks by the MP and urged her to apologise.
Rupa Huq in a post on social media indicated that she had contacted the UK finance minister to apologies to him in person for the comments she made.
“I have today contacted Kwasi Kwarteng to offer my sincere and heartfelt apologies for the comments I made at yesterday’s Labour conference fringe meeting.
“My comments were ill-judged and I wholeheartedly apologise to anyone affected,” the post she shared read.
Background on Kwesi Kwarteng:
Kwasi Kwarteng became the first black person to become UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister) following his appointment by UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss, on September 6, 2022.
Kwarteng was born Akwasi Addo Alfred Kwarteng in Waltham Forest, East London, in May 1975 to Ghanaian parents, Alfred and Charlotte, who had both immigrated to the United Kingdom a decade earlier as students.
His parents, who went on to become an international economist and a barrister respectively, sent him to an expensive private prep school that produced numerous Cabinet-level politicians. He then attended the famous Eton college — a production line for British leaders including Boris Johnson and David Cameron.
There are reports of growing agitation among University teachers following the high cost of living and what some describe as worsening conditions of service
There is however uncertainty if the agitation is related to any possible breaches of pledges made after the nationwide action by all 15 public Universities in January this year which was called off after nearly two months.
A communique sighted by myxyzonline indicates a joint press conference to be addressed by UTAG leadership and all Labour Unions in Public Universities, is scheduled to take place on the afternoon of Wednesday, 28th September, 2022.
The event according to the notice shall take place at the University of Professional Studies, Accra.
The agenda has been clearly spelt out, ‘Conditions of Service of University Workers’.
The development comes as government meets representatives of the IMF on expenditure cuts and how to restructure the economy.
General Secretary of the University of Ghana branch of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Professor Ransford Yaw Gyampo, however, hinted at an imminent strike.
In a write-up on social media he sarcastically spoke the minds of his peers as he commented on the booing of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Global Citizen Concert held at the Black Star Square in Accra.
“We will speak against this act of disrespect against the President and the PRESIDENCY, regardless of how angry we are, and the fact that, we would even be leading labor once again to go on strike very shortly,” Professor Gyampo wrote.
“Yes, we are hungry but we cannot eat with both hands when we find food. A few party appointees are enjoying, even in times of hardships, and are asking the rest of us to keep tightening our belt.”
It will be recalled that on January 10 this year, all 15 public Universities embarked on an indefinite strike. That lasted till the first week of March, 2022 when they reluctantly called it off.
The Managing Director of Inter City STC, Nana Akomea says he has not lost hope in Ghana and called on Ghanaians to be confident in the government to salvage the economy.
Speaking on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” morning show, Nana Akomea asserted that “there is so much good news” in Ghana, therefore asking the citizenry to heave a sigh of relief.
He pointed out why one should be proud of this nation stressing, “we are very stable. We are one of the most stable countries in West Africa, if not Africa. We have peace in this country. When you look at our tourism figures, it’s overwhelming. We have stability and security. We are modernizing rapidly. When you look at the digitization programme by Dr. Bawumia, it is changing the society”.
He continued; “We are ahead of other African countries by far and now, in the world economy, if you don’t become digital; you will die. We are moving very, very quickly on this digital [economy]. When you take our security, we have maintained the peace and security and stability of this country…These are all very good news that you can’t even calculate its value.”
The STC Boss, after highlighting the pride in being a Ghanaian, however called on the leaders of the country to stop their corruptible practices.
Staff of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital have been directed to undergo mass testing and vaccination following the renewed COVID-19 cases reporting to the facility.
Within the last two weeks, the hospital has confirmed about 45 positive cases compared to only three as of 11th September, 2022.
“Surveillance data from the Public Health Unit of the Hospital indicate that from the week ending 11th September 2022 to the week ending 23rd September, 2022, the number of confirmed COVID-l9 cases has risen from 3 to 45,”…. an internal memo sighted by myxyzonline said.
Subsequently, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital has directed heads of all Units, Directorates, Departments and Sub-BMCs (UDSs, to mobilize staff for an ongoing COVID-19 vaccination mop-up exercise.
The notice said a desk has also been set up at the Public Health Event Park for staff and patients interested.
It urged departmental heads to ensure that staff, patients and relatives adhere strictly to COVID -19 protocols at all entry points to OPDs, wards, offices and waiting areas within their buildings/structures.
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Pius Enam Hadzide, has asserted that United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a strategic partner whose contribution to executing the implementation of the National Youth Policy is paramount.
At a brief meeting held at the premises of UNESCO to present copies of the recently launched National Youth Policy and its implementation plan, Pius Enam Hadzide said his presentation to UNESCO is in the right direction as the mandate of UNESCO aligns with the work of NYA.
He said the Authority is pleased to be partnering with UNESCO in this regard and asked for strengthening of ties between the two institutions to efficiently work for the development of the Ghanaian youth.
He seized the opportunity to educate the team at UNESCO on some projects by the authority such as STEP, which seeks to train both skilled and unskilled people for economic empowerment, and the NYVP.
According to him, it also places value on volunteerism and will increase employability skills among the youth whilst they contribute their quota to national development.
The CEO on behalf of the governing board and staff of NYA thanked them for their unwavering commitment to the successful celebration of this year’s International Youth Day (IYD).
The Country Director for UNESCO Mr. Abdourahamane Diallo commending the NYA for their efforts in youth development said his outfit has taken notice of the projects and programs of the Authority and congratulated NYA for its handwork in bringing together such an august gathering of young people for IYD22.
He said the National Youth Policy is a blueprint that will guide them to identify areas of the policy in the various sectors to work on.
“We will also share the policy document with our global youth community whom we have a constant dialogue to facilitate the overall development of the youth.”
He expressed interest in collaborating with the authority in the areas of education, youth advocacy, culture, STEM, digitization, and I.C.T.
Former Deputy General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen, has said that the party remains popular despite the booing of President Akufo-Addo at the Global Citizen Festival at the Black Star Square on September 24.
He said the founding traditions of the party come second to none in placing Ghana on the path of prosperity.
According to him, only the NPP can steer Ghana to the ‘promised land.’
On the booing of President Akufo-Addo, he said it only goes to show that everyone has their highs and lows in life, stressing that life is a mixture of good and bad times.
“It demonstrates that for every human being, there must be ups and downs. In life you won’t always have it rosy at all times. These are issues you will encounter as a politician, as a human being.
“Does this show NPP is not popular? No. NPP is popular today, tomorrow and beyond. NPP and the UP tradition, no tradition is capable of moving Ghanaians to the promised land apart from this tradition,” Obiri Boahen said.
Economic conditions have been worsening under the NPP administration and government has partly blamed the situation on the adverse effect of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
While the economy has suffered downgrades from credit rating agencies such as S & P and Fitch, Ghana has initiated contacts with the International Monetary Funds hoping to secure a US$3 billion facility over a three-year period.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) believes the prevalent economic situation is the reason President Akufo-Addo was booed as a sign of frustration at the government.
The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, has said that he is confident that the party’s successes since he took over its leadership will lead to him being re-elected in the upcoming national executive elections.
Speaking in a Power FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, on Friday, Ofosu-Ampofo said that under his watch, the NDC which is in opposition,, for the first time in the history of Ghana has the Speaker of Parliament from its side and also has the same number of parliamentarians as the party in government.
He, however, indicated that his focus is currently on ensuring that the party’s reorganization at the regional and district level is done smoothly.
“From the period I assumed the leadership of the party all the indicators have been very positive. We have the Speaker of Parliament from our side even though we are in opposition. We also for the first time in the history of Ghana, as the opposition party, have the same number of parliamentarians as the government in power.
“I will withhold my ambitions for now as we work on the process to reorganize the party at the polling stations, constituencies, districts, the regional and national levels. But I will definitely be defending my title because I believe that my performance has been very good. My indicators are very good, my benchmarks are very high. When the time comes, I will go to the delegates and give them an account of the leadership they entrusted to me.
“I will enumerate all the successes the party has chalked under my leadership including the unity I have brought to the party,” he said in Twi.
Meanwhile, the outgoing General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has stated his intention of contesting in the party’s chairmanship race.
In an interview on Radio Gold on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, Asiedu Nketia unequivocally declared that he will not seek re-election for his position which he has held since 2005.
According to Asiedu Nketia, his options are now limited to two, which are to either retire from serving as a party official or elevate to the position of national chairman.
“I will not contest the general secretary position for the NDC. I have two other options at hand; either I go for the chairmanship or retire from politics,” he said.
The General Secretary has also stated that contesting for the party’s chairmanship position will not bring any division in the party, as has been asserted in some quarters.
A former Member of Parliament for Mampong, Francis Addai-Nimoh has advised Akufo-Addo to replace finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta with former Member of Parliament for New Juabeng South, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah.
According to him, Ken Ofori-Atta has been in the same position for too long and needs to be replaced.
He suggested that Ken Ofori-Atta should be taken to the Ministry of Health or Foreign Ministry.
“A reshuffle of the finance minister would have been ideal but the backstops with the president.
“Of course, I would have reshuffled him to another ministry like Health or Foreign Affairs and replace him with people like Assibey-Yeboah. Assibey-Yeboah is no more an MP and Ofori-Atta is also not an MP,” he said New Day show on TV3 Tuesday September 27.
Meanwhile, Akufo-Addo has insisted he is currently impressed with the work of his appointees hence there will not be a reshuffle anytime soon.
He explained that his ministers’ outputs have been considerable and outstanding and that is what he looks out for in his appointees.
“Many of them for me have done outstanding work. Their output has been considerable, and that is what I look at.
“If the output measures expectations, then I don’t have any strong reasons to heed the call,” he said.
Security Analyst, Dr. Adam Bonaa, has said that the situation in the Upper West Regional capital, Bawku has become more precarious and is similar to conditions in war-torn countries.
According to Dr. Bonaa, the situation has become so tensed that an innocent person who mistakenly crosses to the territory of a different faction is immediately killed.
In a post shared on Facebook on Monday, September 27, the security analyst added that the once vibrant region has virtually become a ghost town.
“It’s a needless conflict, the killing of innocent people in Bawku must stop. Mamprusis and Kuasis can’t go into each other’s community/territory, if you cross mistakenly, you will be killed for sure, it’s completely needless and barbaric.
“The people of Bawku feel very neglected. Bawku remains and will also remain an important part of this country. Once a vibrant thriving commercial hub of this country has now become a WAR ZONE where guns and conflict dominate,” parts of the post read.
Dr. Bonaa, who made these remarks after attending a peace dialogue to help resolve the impasse, commended the Inspect General of the Ghana Police Service (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, the Minister for Defense, Dominic Nitiwul and the Interior Minister Ambrose Dery for the initiative.
“I must congratulate the ministers of interior, defense, IGP, CDS, UE regional minister, the MCE of Bawku and all the others for the various parts they all played in this peace dialogue initiative, the first of its kind for decades. Hopefully, in October 2022 the second peace dialogue would take place. The guns must be put down,” he noted.
A Senior Research Fellow at Kumasi Technical University, Dr. Smart Sarpong, has refuted assertions by some factions in Ghana that the Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP) is the third force in the country’s political landscape.
He explains that for any political party to become the third force behind the two leading parties, the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party(NPP), it must be able to amass at least 5 percent of votes in national elections.
Speaking in a TV3 interview monitored by GhanaWeb, on Monday, the political scientist added that the only political party that has come close to being the third force in Ghana’s political space is the Peoples’ National Congress (PNC) under the late former President Dr. Hila Liman.
“Apart from Dr. Liman in 1992, who provided a third force on the ticket of PNC, there hasn’t been any third force in the republic. The last Nkrumahist to have provided a third force was Dr. Hila Liman.
“Third force is not merely placing 3rd in any election we hold with any count of votes or any percentage of votes. You need to do at least 5 percent or more of the votes that will be counted and Dr. Hila Liman did 6.7 percent.
“As for CPP, it has never been the third force, let us put that on record. After His Excellency Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, CPP has virtually disappeared. All through the years coming down to the recent election, you and I know that we do not have a 3rd force,” he said.
“Nobody should think that a third force is just coming and getting something and placing 3rd. You need to work and enter into the plus 5 percent mode, then Ghanaians will feel that you have organized yourself a little and you need a little push,” he reiterated.
A former Minister of Defence under the John Agyekum Kufuor government, Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor, has intimated that the first cabinet put together by the former president was one of Ghana’s best ever.
According to him, the calibre of the people handpicked by the former president, many of whom cut across many spheres of life, made it a delight for him to work with them.
Contained in his memoir titled, Gold Coast Boy, Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor, the former minister carefully outlined the qualifications of the people who made up that cabinet, stressing that they made meetings a delight to be in.
“I have taken the trouble to highlight the professional and political backgrounds of the members of the first cabinet put together by President Kufuor for two main reasons. First is to exemplify Micheavelli’s wisdom in the quotation at the beginning of the chapter. The ‘men’ the president had ‘around him’ were ‘capable and faithful.’
“The second reason is to stress the point that citizens who wish to serve their nation at the executive level must have acquired the requisite training and experience, in their respective fields, so that they are better able to serve. Ideally, politics should be regarded as an avenue of service to one’s compatriots, and not a platform for employment.
“The quality of the president’s cabinet was such that it was almost always a pleasure to attend meetings and listen to discussions on proposals and position papers. It always appeared that members had researched and prepared for discussions; they showed so much familiarity with the documents and their content. And they spoke and argued cogently, logically and with some authority,” he wrote.
Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor added that due to this, he was of the belief that Ghana had been blessed with some of the finest brains in any political dispensation in the country.
“I always felt that the people of Ghana were lucky to have men and women of such calibre helping the president to manage the affairs of state at the time,” he added.
In the photo snippets of the book below, you can read the full details of all that he said in this regard:
A prison inmate, Richard Ofosu Dame has been confessing his evil deeds when he was a free man.
His confession included his attempt to kill his own mother but God had His hand on the life of the prayerful woman and protected her from her evil son who had been throwing snares at her.
Narrating his vile deeds to crimecheckghana.org, Dame said he had already killed three people spiritually, which he was contracted to do.
According to him, he became possessed by an evil spirit and he used the powers to cause atrocities including killing people.
He said when he was possessed, people consulted him to do evil for them and that became his job.
Dame said the evil powers he possessed enabled him to summon people’s souls through his chants.
He indicated that he even went to Peki in the Volta Region to buy a snake, which could vomit money.
However, his mother who was against his deeds hindered his acts with her prayers.
Dame said his mother’s prayers did not sit well with him so he attempted to kill her in the same manner he had done with the other deceased individuals.
He said his attempt failed and rather got blind while he was chanting to get her mother’s soul to appear in a calabash for him to stab her. He lost his sight for two years.
“I have a small stone under my bed which I worship. A man gifted it to me. When I want to kill, I get a small doll and pins around it with a red piece of cloth. After that, I put it in a calabash containing water. When the water turns reddish in colour, then it means that the person has been killed. I used the same method to kill three. I also summon people’s souls to kill them.
“It got to a time, my mother’s prayers were obstructing my work. She advised me to stop but I refused. I wanted to take her life the same way I did with the others but it was unsuccessful. I was chanting in a bid to summon my mother’s soul. She was praying that evening and when the incantations got intense, some sort of strange wind blew over my face and that ended my sight. I went blind for two years,” he confessed.
Like Apostle Paul in the Bible, Dame said he repented after his sight was restored.
“When I lost my sight, I realized that God’s power reigns supreme. I was taken to many places to seek help and through that I encountered God,” he said.
Circuit Court Judge Samuel Bright Acquah is making a case for courts to take a strong stance against illegal mining.
Ruling on a bail application by lawyers for Galamsey Kingpin Aishà Huang, Justice Acquah said the future of the nation is under threat.
He indicated that the accused will, therefore, remain in police custody as investigations continue.
Ms Huang and three others are accused of engaging in illegal mining and engaging in the sale of minerals without a license. They have pleaded not guilty but remain in police custody.
Lead Counsel Nkrabeah Effah Dartey on Tuesday made a second application for bail.
The court had on September 14 remanded the accused persons to police custody.
Mr Dartey questioned the work done by investigators insisting they have not been fair to the accused persons.
“Where is the evidence? Why should this take more than one month? The element of they being foreigners should weigh on your mind. Ghanaians are all over the world. I am pleading with you, to admit them to court bail. We will satisfy the conditions.” He stated.
He urged the Judge to be bold and grant bail and that no one can question him should he do so.
“His Excellency the President, the Attorney General cannot say anything if you grant them bail. You can perfectly do that. They are keeping the accused persons in total incommunicado. Going to BNI is like attacking a virgin’s home,” he added.
Prosecutors however opposed the request. They insisted the facts presented to the court so far make a compelling case for the refusal of bail.
“Fact is that these persons are charged, investigations show they entered this country illegally. That is enough to draw a conclusion that they have no fixed place of abode let alone gainfully employed.
“We invite you to avert your mind to the fact that in as much as they deserve justice, the laws of the land which have been desecrated also deserve justice. They are remanded as we continue with investigations.”. Prosecutors stated.
Justice Samuel Bright Acquah turned down the request for bail.
“This is an activity that is destroying our water bodies. Look at how it is destroying our forest. We the humans are complaining, the animals in the forest are suffering, it’s very sad. If we should allow this to go on, Ghana Water says they will soon shut down their machines.
“We will have to import water to drink? The courts and everyone must take a strong stance. Aisha Huang especially, how she entered the country. She can’t even tell. If I grant bail, and tomorrow the case is called and she can’t be found. What happens? The motion for bail is refused,” Justice Acquah stated.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Dome-Kwabenya Sarah Adwoa Safo has bagged a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Procurement Law and Policy from the University of Nottingham.
She took to her Facebook page to announce this achievement with the caption, “What God cannot do does not exist.”
The lawyer who was the first Minister of State in Charge of Public Procurement in Ghana before her reappointment as Gender Minister has been away from the country for some months now.
Due to her long absence, the president revoked her appointment as Minister for Gender and Children.
Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery says government will only lift the curfew in Bawku if there is total peace and security.
Mr. Dery says the current breakdown of law and order in the area affects development.
Ambrose Dery’s comment comes after calls for government to lift the age-old curfew necessitated by conflicts in the area.
But the Minister says all other bans will be lifted if peace is restored.
“If you give us peace, we will see how we will review the curfew in the next few weeks, but if you tell us the only thing you know is war, we will increase it. [I am not sure that is what you want]”, he said.
Last week, the Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC) announced the enforcement of additional security measures in Bawku.
The revised security actions are to stem the renewed fighting in the community.
After its emergency meeting, REGSEC resolved on the following measures:
The Police, Ghana Immigration Service and the Military are allowed to use official motorbikes between 6:00am to 6:00pm.
Temporary ban on ‘yellow, yellow’ operations until further notice.
Curfew hours to cover Nayoka, Kpalgu and Manga.
“Please ensure strict compliance”, a statement from the Office of the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council said.
The decision came after at least three persons were reportedly shot by unknown persons.
A transformer belonging to the Northern Electricity Development Company was also destroyed during the shooting incident.
Police at Ejisu are investigating the death of a 23-year-old female house help at Awomaso in the Ashanti Region.
The deceased, Akua Kyem died on Sunday and her relatives suspect foul play alleging her mistress could be behind her death.
Police have, however, picked up the woman who the deceased lived with and worked for.
According to the relatives of the deceased, the 23-year-old worked as a house help at an apartment at Awomaso with her mistress.
The mistress however reported the death of the 23-year-old girl to them on Sunday after depositing the body at a morgue at the Emena Hospital.
The deceased’s grandfather, Kwarteng Peprah who narrated the incident to Citi News said “I had a call, and I was informed that my granddaughter who lives with a woman at Ahomaso was butchered to death. I called the woman to get some details. She told me that the girl left the house and returned home at about 1 am. I asked if the girl’s movement had changed when she came back home. I also asked her if there was blood coming from any part of the body since she was butchered and even if the girl was taken to the hospital. She said It was her 12-year-old daughter who drew her attention that the demise of the house.”
The mistress whose name has been given only as Mama Jane is currently in the custody of the Domeabra Police while the Ejisu Divisional Command has taken over investigations.
Mr. Peprah added that he and other relatives suspect foul play in the death of the house help.
“The body of my granddaughter was deposited at the Emena Hospital morgue. The upper part of the body seemed like she struggled with another person who inflicted wounds on her. I will not believe it if the woman tells me that my granddaughter was attacked outside. I suspected that she maltreated the deceased, which led to her death. We want the police to ensure the truth is brought to bear. We want the woman to also be responsible to contact relatives of her house help if there is an issue”, he alleged.
Police have picked up some implements from the residence of the mistress as part of their investigations.
The Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, has called for the youth of Bawku in the Upper East Region to smoke the peace pipe and stop the killing and destruction of properties.
This follows an imposed curfew in Bawku in August 2022, after a series of clashes that led to the loss of human lives and the destruction of properties.
Security measures to deal with the situation have been extended to neighbouring communities with an outright ban on the use of tricycles in Bawku and its environs.
Heads of Basic schools in the area have therefore requested the Ghana Education Service to shut down schools for fear of their lives.
The Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, speaking at a gathering at Bawku, which was attended by the Interior Minister, IGP, Chief of Defence Staff, the General Officer Commander, Northern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces, said the youth should calm down for peace to prevail.
“…The fighting in Bawku must stop from today…I come and plead with you that we are citizens, the firepower of Ghana, all the big guns, it is the security agencies that have it, and you can’t fight the security agencies. But we will not use the guns on you; we want to come and talk to you and appeal to you that put down whatever guns you have. So that if anybody has a case, I feel I’ve been wronged, I will go to court and make my case heard so that we don’t kill each other.”
Banking and Corporate Governance Consultant, Dr. Richmond Akwasi Atuahene, has urged Parliament to place a cap on borrowing in the constitution.
This he believes will prevent the borrowing spree that has led the country into the economic quagmire it finds itself in.
According to him, the failure to quickly establish a debt limit would result in the current situation repeating itself over and over again in the future.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, Dr. Atuahene said it is about time Ghana followed in the steps of Kenya and Germany by establishing a debt limit.
“But let me finally say this. In the long term, we need to put a debt limit in the constitution. As you were saying, Kenya has now done it, 50%, you cannot go more than that because we keep on going and going and going and then we come back.
“I believe the people who look at the constitution who said the constitution doesn’t need to be amended let me assure them German has it, even Americans who borrow and over borrow they have set a debt cap. Unfortunately for Ghana, this one will borrow and borrow and borrow,” he said.
He further bemoaned the failure of successive governments to use borrowed money to expand and provide sustainable infrastructure to support the Ghanaian economy.
He noted that most often borrowed monies are used to pay compensations instead of being invested into productive ventures that may earn the country foreign exchange.
This he says must be avoided at all cost.
“But if you borrow and you don’t even put in some strategic investment that will work to pay itself, I’m sorry we’ll have this argument, this discussion the next 20 years, the next 40 years because our infrastructure cannot even support the expansion of the economy, but we keep on saying that we’re building the economy,” he said.
He added, “If you borrow to consume then you’re going to have this challenge that we have. Because it is a country that we don’t want to borrow to expand the infrastructure or the system that will bring the foreign exchange or bring the currency. But if you borrow to support some payment and what have you, refinancing, at the end of it all we’re going to have a problem.”
With three days to the September 30 SIM re-registration deadline, the Communications Ministry is facing a flood of lawsuits against its determination to block unregistered SIM cards.
Sector Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful’s insistence that the date will not be extended has attracted widespread criticism.
Already Vice President of IMANI Africa, Selorm Brantie is leading some citizens to sue government on the matter in a bid to extend the deadline or do away with it altogether.
On Monday, another group, some of whom are constituents of Ningo Prampram filed a writ at the High Court seeking an injunction against the NCA and Attorney General on the exercise.
Speaking to JoyNews, the MP for Ningo Prampram Sam George said his constituents feel they will be punished for something beyond their control.
“These are citizens who have complied with the directive and taken every reasonable step to get registered. Whatever is left is outside their control. Either for the NIA to provide them with the card that they have registered.
“Some registered as far back as 2019 and they still haven’t gotten their cards. Others have registered and the NIA has asked them to come for it in December. So in this case, they can’t do anything except what they have done,” he said.
He further added that at least six lawsuits have been filed against the NCA on the matter.
The government may face complicated refinancing options in repaying Treasury bills that will mature on October 2022.
According to the Weekly Fixed Income Update by Databank Research, a refinancing offer on October 3, 2022, may not get much traction due to the expected domestic debt restructuring.
It, therefore, pointed out that the government will likely supplement any refinancing offer with the Bank of Ghana support to get more favourable refinancing options.
“Last week, Fitch Ratings downgraded Ghana’s Issuer Default Rating from ‘CCC’ to ‘CC’. They cited possible debt restructuring, high debt service, and constrained financing as reasons for the recent downgrade. This is expected to complicate the refinancing options of the Treasury on the maturing paper on October 3, 2022 as pricing for a refinancing offer will likely be unfavourable”.
The government is expected to offer ¢905 million across the 91-day to 182-day bills to refinance total maturities worth ¢786.6 million.
Treasury fell short of its target first time in 15 weeks
The Ghanaian Treasury fell short of its auction target during last week’s (September 23, 2022) T-bill offer for the first time in 15 weeks.
The shortfall in uptake was mainly attributed to subdued bids, with total bids submitted constituting 89.59% of the auction target.
The weighted average yields of T-bills currently stand at 30.18% for the 91-day, 31.34% for the 182-day and 30.47% for the 364-day tenors.
Investors to maintain interest in near-term maturities
Meanwhile, on the bond market, investors will maintain interest in near-term maturities in the secondary market.
“We expect investors to focus on T-bills in the primary market. Investors may also be on the lookout for a bond offering to refinance the maturing paper on October 3, 22. We expect investors to maintain interest in near-term maturities in the secondary market”.
The Department of Agriculture in the Kintampo South District on Friday held the Research, Extension farmer – Linkage Committee (RELC) planning session, at Jema in the Bono East Region.
RELC was a platform which brought together researchers, agricultural extension officers, farmers and the various stakeholders to deliberate on and to find solutions to challenges faced by farmers in the agricultural value chain.
It was held under the Modernising Agriculture in Ghana (MAG) project, to help reverse the declining growth of the agriculture sector, and to ensure food security.
The District Director of Agriculture, Afia Asokua Ofori, stated that a total of 189 farmers from four zones namely Krutakyi, Kokuma, Akora and Sabule presented their challenges, where the most pressing among them were given immediate attention.
Mrs Ofori indicated that the farmers identified constraints namely high incidence of livestock and poultry diseases, fall army worm infestation, high cost of veterinary drugs and farm inputs.
She noted that others were the destruction of crops by cattle, high incidence of post harvest loss of food crops, lack of ready market and price standardisation of produce and bad roads linking farms.
The Bono East Regional Crops Officer, Eric Kantoma, disclosed that as part of measures to address last year’s challenges identified, three farmer – based groups were formed and linked to tractor service providers.
He was happy to announce that most of their farmers had adopted the usage of hermetic storage bags for cereals and legumes, as a best way to correct poor post – harvest handling of the produce.
Mr Kantoma was optimistic that proper medication and good husbandry practices for farm animals, training farmers on good agricultural practices and integrated pest management, and effective usage of agrochemicals, would solve most of the constraints enumerated.
“More farmer-based groups will be formed to negotiate for better price of produce. We will also hold talks between community leaders and herdsmen on how to protect farms from cattle invasion ” he assured.
The Regional Crops officer indicated that the various challenges in the agriculture value chain enumerated, would be dealt with from the zonal level to the national headquarters.
A mango farmer, Mr Adjei Dufour, who chaired the session, thanked the Department of Agriculture and partners for promoting the welfare of farmers saying that “we hope the various constraints identified will be given immediate attention.”
A renowned business executive and former Chief Executive Officer of Ashanti Goldfields, Sir Sam Jonah, has revealed that Ghana’s government has sold all its shares in AngloGold Ashanti.
According to the business mogul, Ghana sold 30% of its shares in the company in 1994.
However, the rest of the 25% was sold after the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
He described the turnout of events as shameful as he bemoaned the low level of ownership the country has in major companies and businesses that are run locally.
According to him, no Ghanaian has any shares in any of the mines in the country.
Speaking on GTV’s BBUM show on September 25, 2022, he said: “Ghana’s government has 10 percent interest in all the mines but beyond the government, there is no Ghanaian who has [even] 2 percent shares in the mines. Ghana’s government has 55%, and they sold their interest from 55% to 25% in 1994.
“So, the Ghana government sold and took 400million dollars out and so Ghana government became 25% and not a 55% shareholder and later on we merged and became AngloGold Ashanti.
“And currently, as we speak, it has zero equity interest in AngloGold Ashanti. The Ghana government had 10 percent in the mines, like Obuasi etc, but as the company that merged, the Ghana government has zero percent of AngloGold Ashanti, which is a shame because we sold,” he said.
Sam Jonah also stated that in South Africa, all the mines are owned by South Africans which meant that profit was not expatriated and that accounted for Johannesburg’s recognition as a gold mining city.
Meanwhile, as Ghana currently faces harsh economic crisis, trade unions have asked the government to institute some laws that will ensure that foreigners who do business in Ghana retain a percentage of their profit in the country.
They believe that this will help address the rapid depreciation of the cedi.
He said the unity of a relatively large population of Muslims despite being a minority presented an opportunity to raise the needed financial capital to embark on human development projects.
“We are about six million of the population. Give four million to the youth and the aged. If the 2 million of us can raise GH1 cedis each Friday in a week we can raise GH₵2 million,” he said.
He gave the advice at the recent second edition of the National Muslim Conference (NMC) on the theme: “Towards a Coherent and Holistic Economic Empowerment Strategy for National Development-The Ghanaian Muslim Ummah in Context”.
The conference was to create a Forum for Ghanaian Muslims to deliberate on how to make communities economically prosperous and eliminate extreme poverty and deprivation.
Sheikh Umar Ibrahim, the Imam of Ahlusunna Wal Jamma, noted that a lack of trust over the years had bedevilled the developmental agenda of Muslims in the country due to a lack of transparency and accountability.
He said it was better late than never for Muslims to come together for a collective goal.
“If we had conceived this thought since the time of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, we would have progressed better. However, Allah knows the best time for doing things,” he said.
The Imam of the Shia sect in Ghana, Sheikh Abubakar Kamaludeen, said the Muslim populace must learn to trust politicians who suffered from scepticism even if they meant well for the people.
“Any initiative coming from a politician is always welcomed by suspicion,” he said.
He further called for the development of a well-structured dialogue process to ensure stakeholders have ample opportunity to make input into the formulation of documents that would be binding on all stakeholders.
Maulvi Muhammad Noor Bin Salih, Ameer and Missionary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana, commended the Muslim leadership for setting aside their differences and working together.
The NMC is expected to serve as the mouthpiece of all Muslims on matters of mutual concern and also to serve as a forum for Ghanaian Muslims to deliberate on national policies and programmes.
It would also offer opportunities for Muslims to participate in the legislative process through the submission of memoranda to committees of parliament when bills are been considered as well as represents Muslims to seek redress in the courts of the land on matters affecting the legal and fundamental rights of Muslims in Ghana.
The Conference is established under a deed signed by the National Leaders of all the Muslim groups in Ghana, namely, Ahmadiyya, Tijania, Ahlu Sunnah and Shia as well as the Ghana Muslim Mission and the Muslim Caucus of Parliament.
After the drama that characterised the first hearing of the case involving Aisha Huang and 3 other Chinese Nationals at the Accra Circuit Court 9, the galamsey Kingpin and her counterparts are expected to make another appearance in court today, September 27, 2022.
This comes following her 2nd appearance in court on September 14, 2022 where the court denied herself and her 3 counterparts bail on several grounds.
Ms. Huang who is facing six charges relating to illegal mining activities, together with 3 other Chinese nationals, were remanded by the court on Monday, September 5, 2022.
Until September 16, Aisha was facing two charges of mining along with three other accomplices, in an Accra Circuit Court, after they were arrested earlier this month including mining without license and engaging in the sale and purchase of minerals.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, had hinted following the re-arrest of Huang that he would reopen a case discontinued in 2018 against her.
Four new charges were filed at the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court on Friday, September 16, 2022. The virtual hearing took place in the court of Justice Lydia Marfo.
The charges are undertaking a mining operation without a licence, facilitating the participation of persons engaged in a mining operation, illegal employment of foreign nationals, and entering Ghana while prohibited from re-entry.
The court denied the accused persons bail after lead counsel Nkrabea-Effah Dartey on Wednesday, September 14, asked the court to grant his client and her three other Chinese counterparts bail.
Aisha Huang’s request according to GhanaWeb’s court reporter was objected to by the prosecution.
According to the prosecution, new arrests have been made therefore granting the accused persons bail may give them the opportunity to interfere with witnesses and investigations.
The prosecution while citing public interest in the matter also argued that Aisha Huang has a history of sneaking in and out of the country and is therefore a flight risk.
The court in agreeing with the prosecution’s argument remanded the accused persons into custody to reappear on Tuesday, September 27, 2022.
Chinese galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang broke down in tears while in court on Wednesday, September 14, 2022.
While it is unclear what warranted her tears, earlier reports from GhanaWeb’s correspondent indicated that one of her colleagues; the second accused; Johng Li Hua, herself a Chinese, fell sick during court proceedings and broke down in tears.
According to her lawyer, Frank Kumako, his client, Johng Li was on some medications per information from her family.
She was subsequently rushed to the hospital after she collapsed in the courtroom.
Students with Medical and Dental Degree Certificates issued by Medical and Dental Schools from Ukraine in 2022 will not be recognised forthwith by the Medical and Dental Council, (MDC) Ghana until normal academic activities resume.
A statement issued yesterday and signed by the Registrar of MDC, Dr Divine N. Banyubala, said the council’s attention has been drawn to information that some students were undergoing online medical and dental training being organised by schools in Ukraine, China and some other countries.
A statement copied to the Ghanaian Times said students who were currently studying medicine or dentistry in Ukraine and have not taken advantage of the one-off opportunity to continue their training here in Ghana or seek transfer to other accredited medical or dental schools in other countries for the completion of their programmes should have themselves to blame.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the council categorically states that online Medical or Dental training done in any part of the world is short of acceptable professional training standards and is not recognised by the Medical and Dental Council, Ghana,” he said.
Earlier this year, the MDC observed that the quality of some of the doctors trained outside the country left much to be desired.
“Now, generally we have had problems relative to the quality of training of foreign doctors and dentists in most of these jurisdictions especially trainees from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and China.
These quality concerns are generating a lot of anxiety and disquiet among the professional fraternity,” the statement said.
It said the training of doctors in some foreign countries and the activities of quack or unregistered doctors whose actions were putting the lives of many unsuspecting members of the public in grave danger needed to be looked at.
The statement explained that the major causes of the failure were that some of the candidates had poor knowledge in the various disciplines in medicine, including poor knowledge in basic sciences and basic clinical skills, a claim which was corroborated by various examiner’s reports.
“Because of low standards of teaching in some of these foreign medical schools, these students come and fail over several attempts. As we speak some have even written more than ten times and still failed, so the last Board took a decision in consonance with best practice to limit the number of times a candidate can write to five attempts,” he said.
Dr Banyubala noted that, some of the foreign medical schools admitted students with poor West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results and others who studied General Arts, Visual Arts, Agricultural Sciences, Technical and Vocational Skills (Carpentry, Building Construction), among others.
According to the statement, some of the WASSCE results slips used to secure the admissions were Ds, Es, and Fs grades that are inadmissible for general university programmes in Ghana, “to talk less of medicine.”
The statement added that these poor training standards were not limited to Ghana, adding that members of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCOA) share the same frustrations and concerns.
The National Muslim Conference (NMC) of Ghana have developed and adopted two strategic documents to guide its efforts towards achieving its aspirations.
According to the NMC, the documents were with the Ghana Muslim Education Strategy and the Ghana Muslim Economic Empowerment Strategy.
These were contained in a statement signed by the Acting General Secretary of the conference Inusah Mohammed Baba and copied to the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday.
The two documents were developed at the second annual NMC held from September 22 to 25 at the National Mosque in Kanda, Accra.
The statement said delegates at the end of the conference had adopted a work plan for 2022 and 2023 to be implemented by the management board of NMC and report back at the next conference in September next year.
It said the conference had identified enhanced economic empowerment of the Muslim woman, education, practical Technical and Vocational and Educational Training (TVET) for the youth, and the inculcation of Islamic moral values in the youth as the key areas that need urgent attention.
The statement also said the NMC would work towards pooling resources in order to speedup development in Muslim communities in the key areas of education, health and finance.
“That we recommit ourselves to the aspirations of the NationalMuslim Conference of Ghana as contained in the deeds of the conference, to intra-faith unity in diversity and also to galvanise the Muslim community in Ghana for sustainable communal and national development,” it said.
The statement mentioned that the NMC was poised to confront and surmount the socio-economic challenges facing the Muslim community in Ghana.
About three months after the passing of his dearest wife, the Executive director of the Crime Check Foundation, Mr. Ibrahim Oppong Kwarteng, has given a vivid account of how he lost his wife to breast cancer shortly after she took a COVID-19 vaccine jab.
Earlier in June 2022, news of the death of Mr. Oppong Kwarteng’s wife, the late Amina Oppong Kwarteng went viral.
It can be recalled that he took to social media to break the news of his wife’s demise which he described as extremely painful.
But in what seems like a step-by-step narration of what led to her demise, Mr. Ibrahim said among other things that his mental health deteriorated.
According to the Crime Check Foundation boss, his whole world came to a standstill after his bubbly wife was suddenly diagnosed with breast cancer, and struggled with it ever since till she died.
Narrating his bitter story, the Crime Check Foundation CEO said the several sessions of Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, Physiotherapy, and even the almost 100 drips/infusions couldn’t save his wife.
Asides from the trauma of watching his wife suffer right before his eyes, Ibrahim established that he had to incur the cost of all the above treatments with his entire life savings in a Turkish hospital that charged $500 and $800 per night.
According to him, he made all the sacrifices in high hopes that his wife would be back into his arms safe and sound and yet the unfortunate happened.
Speaking on the Crime Check Foundation’s official YouTube channel, Mr. Oppong Kwarteng said;
“It’s sad and heartbreaking that a woman I’ve spent 20 years with suddenly died and was been thrown away just like that. My wife is someone who stays out of trouble, she’s got no friends. She fell ill but the most painful part is, it all happened suddenly. For the past twenty years we were married she never visited the hospital or complained of any form is sickness.”
“She went in for a COVID vaccine and after that, she started complaining of pain and discomfort in her breast. She went to the hospital and it was detected that she had breast cancer. She was required to undergo eight sessions of chemotherapy. The pain and suffering that the procedure put her through was not easy. Then she was required to go through radiotherapy afterward but we flew her to Turkey for that.
“She went through 25 sessions of radiotherapy. Also, the cancer spread into her armpit and affected her lymph nodes so they had to operate on her and take out ten of the nodes that were affected. Prior to that, she had to go through physiotherapy 15 solid times. After that, she gave up and said she won’t continue. Later it was detected that her oxygen level dropped and her lungs were filled with water. I was going mad. I really felt like I was running mad. Then we were admitted into a ward that charges $500 a day,” he added.
After all these, Mr. Oppong Kwarteng again disclosed that things got much worse and his wife was placed on life support on two occasions.
“Not long after the nurses rushed to the ward and transferred her to the ICU department where we were being charged $800 a day. She was placed on life support and things ended up getting worse. Suddenly it looked like she got better again but that didn’t last. She was placed on life support for the second time and the doctors requested my consent to insert some tubes all over her body. I went back to the hotel and I received a call from the hospital to quickly rush there. I got there only for me to be told that they tried their best but my wife couldn’t make it,” he said.
The late Mrs. Amina Oppong Kwarteng was buried earlier on Friday, June 24, 2022, at the Maqbara-e-Musian Cemetary situated in Kasoa.
A barber who went to visit his friend on remand at Baatsona Police Station, has ended in Police cells for possessing drugs.
Abdulai Hamza was grabbed with 13 wrappers of whitish substances and three wrappers of plant materials, all suspected to be narcotic drugs.
Charged with two counts of unlawful possession or control of narcotic drugs, Hamza pleaded not guilty.
Hamza told police personnel that, “I forgot about myself when I went to the Police Station.”
Hamza has been remanded into lawful custody by the court presided over by Mrs Rosemary Baah Tosu and he is expected to reappear on October 10.
Prosecuting Police Inspector Josephine Lamptey said the complainants were Police personnel from Baatsona Police Station.
Inspector Lamptey said accused who resided at Baatsona, on September 18, this year, called at the Station to visit his friend known as Gideon Sedzro, a remand prisoner.
Prosecution said Hamza was there to ask Sedzro what he would like to eat.
The prosecutor said the Police gave him permission to talk to his friend.
However, prosecution said, the Police suspected him following his suspicious gestures and movements.
Prosecution said therefore conducted a search on him and 13 wrappers of whitish substance and three wrappers of plant material suspected to be narcotic drugs were found.
According to prosecution, the alleged narcotic drugs were found in Hamza’s shirt which he claimed ownership.
The prosecutor said the exhibits had been forwarded to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analytical examination.
Kwame Asare Obeng, alias A Plus, has projected that Assin Central Member of Parliament, Kennedy Agyapong, will win the flagbearership race in the governing New Patriotic Party, NPP.
In a September 26, 2022 Facebook post, A Plus cited the ‘honesty’ of the lawmaker as the main factor that has endeared him to the party’s rank and file.
He was responding to the NPP’s claim that an attack on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at a concert in Accra over the weekend was orchestrated by members of the opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC.
He slammed the communication as lacking sense because there are NPP members on record who are unhappy with the way the country is being run.
“Hon Kennedy Agyapong criticized the governments decision to go to IMF. Is he NDC? You see how popular he has become in the party? He is going to win your presidential primaries.
“The people are tired of your outmoded and foolish communication style. They are looking for people who at least APPEAR honest. Not praise singers who defend every nonsense; that is why Hon Ken is winning. If you don’t see him winning then you don’t have any business being in politics,” his post read in part.
He reemphasized his long held position that most of the NPP’s communicator were psychologically unfit for the role.
“Your downfall is not NDC. It is your poor communication and “mad” communicators. 90% of your communicators are always one always a sentence away from the psychiatric hospital.”
President Akufo-Addo was booed by a section of the crowd during a star-studded musical concert, the Global Citizen Festival, which took place at the Black Star Square on September 24, 2022.
Chants of ‘away, away’ were heard when he appeared on stage to deliver a message. The president proceeded to deliver the over six-minute message.
A former aide to late President John Evans Atta Mills, Koku Anyidoho, has called for prayers for President Akufo-Addo.
He believes the president and the nation as a whole needs divine intervention and it was thus important for Ghanaians to go on their knees and genuinely pray for the President and the nation.
In a tweet posted on Sunday, September 25, Anyidoho stressed that it was refreshing that the president himself was a prayerful person.
“I am more than convinced that we must go on our knees and genuinely pray for the President and Mother Ghana because we definitely need the divine intervention of God for Him to bless our Homeland Ghana.
“Thank God the President himself is on his knees praying,” he captioned the tweet which was accompanied by two photos. One of the president in kneeling position being prayed for by the clergy and another of himself in the same position.
Anyidoho, the Chief Executive Officer of the Atta-Mills Institute, AMI, is known to be a supporter of the president and the current government despite insisting that he remains a full member of the opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC.
The last time both men met publicly was at the reopening of the refurbished Asomdwee Park – the burial place of late President Atta Mills.
The AMI had gotten government support for the renovation of the facility and the recommissioning was done on the 10th anniversary of Atta-Mills’ passing.
I am more than convinced that we must go on our knees and genuinely pray for the President and Mother Ghana because we definitely need the divine intervention of God for Him to bless our Homeland Ghana ???????? Thank God the President himself is on his knees praying ???????????? pic.twitter.com/sAv1kg2VqN
Dr. Richmond Akwasi Atuahene, a consultant in banking and corporate governance, has encouraged the government to reach a consensus before engaging in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund(IMF).
The government of Ghana would have to participate in various debt restructuring procedures as part of the IMF’s programme for the sustainability of country’s debt.
However, according to financial analysts, Ghana is currently in a very precarious situation.
As such, a restructure of the nation’s internal debt may cause a number of banks to go bankrupt immediately.
This could further exacerbate the country’s economic recovery programme.
According to Dr. Atuahene, consensus building is needed now more than ever to ensure that the brightest minds in Ghana’s fiscal space are allowed to make their input into whatever strategy the government intends to embark on.
While this may not stop the debt restructuring process from having a resounding effect on the economy, he believes it may dull the blow that the economy would be dealt with.
“There’s the need for us to build up like Mr. Seth Terkper said, there needs to be a consensus building to look at this objectively devoid of politics. If we can get the crème de la crème people to meet and look at the impact, do the scenario analysis, because this haircut we have the hold out, we have the fair cut and fair value, all these things need to be looked at critically.
“And I believe that we need a team, people who are passionate about it and who know what they’re talking about so that they can have something which will not impact, because definitely it will impact on the economy whether we like it or not it’s going to impact the economy especially the domestic debt, it’s going to impact on it,” he said.
