Captain (Rtd.) Nkrabea Effah Darteh, the attorney for the Chinese galamsey kingpin, has said that his client flew all the way back to her country in 2018.
This comes amid dispute over the “repatriation or deportation” status of AishaHuang.
In an interview with Okay FM on September 15, the lawyer said his client called him three days after arriving in China to confirm her arrival.
According to him, Aisha Huang stated that she was put on an Ethiopian airline to Addis Abeba, from which she continued to China.
“I interacted with her briefly when she was ‘deported’ from Ghana. I was surprised she left the country. She called me three days later from China to inform me that she has been taken to China. I asked her what happened.
“She explained that when she went to the police headquarters, she was put in an Ethiopian Airline plane and back to China. Since then, I did not speak to her until five years later that I read in Graphic that she has been arrested and detained,” Effah Darteh said.
“There have been varied accounts on whether or not Aisha Huang left the country in 2018 after the state filed a nolle prosequi in a case involving her.
While government have maintained that she left the shores of the country, state prosecutors in her recent case have said that she sneaked out of the country.
President Nana Akufo-Addo also in an interview on a Ho-based radio station cast doubt on whether Aisha Huang was deported or fled the country.
The president said: “I am not still sure whether she was, in fact, deported or whether she fled the country the first time and has now come back or whatever. There still seems to be some uncertainty about it”.
The comment by the president has raised several eyebrows with the Minority pushing for a full-blown probe into the circumstances of Aisha Huang’s ‘deportation’.
Meanwhile, Aisha Huang has been denied bail together with her three accomplices. They have been remanded in custody for two weeks.
Social commentator, Bernard Allotey Jacobs has called President Akufo-Addo to appoint a commission to investigate charges made by former President John Dramani Mahama that he has not been receiving his full retirement benefits.
In an interview with Peace FM, Mr Jacobs stated that if the allegations are accurate, it would be concerning if the formerpresident used his retirement income to cover his office rent and other costs.
“We have to check out these facts and see if the claims by Mahama that he pays his own bills are true. If these claims are true, then it means he uses his pension for these things. I am very skeptical about the facts.
“The government should set up a committee to look into it. Because all payments made normally go through the Controller and Accountant General’s Department and the Auditor-General also audits it.
“So, these two organisations must be asked to bring out details of the payment they have made to Mahama. After they bring out the facts, then we will know whether what the former president is saying is true,” he added.
Former President John Dramani Mahama revealed that he is not fully enjoying the emoluments to which he is entitled as a former Head of State.
He revealed this while responding to remarks made by Kwame Baffoe Abronye, the NPP chairman for the Bono Region. Mr Abronye stated that Mr Mahama had received millions in lieu of ex-gratia payments.
However, the ex-president said that all he receives from the government currently is his monthly pension and that all other bills the state must cater for have not been attended to since he left office in 2017.
In an exclusive interview with TV3, Mahama said he is currently footing a myriad of bills, among others, his own light bills, fuel, office rent, and travel bills.
“They haven’t given me an office, I rent an office in East Cantonments, I pay the rent myself, I pay for my own fuel, the state doesn’t give me fuel. I pay my own domestic staff, I pay my own medical bills. I pay for my own air tickets when I travel,” he added.
The accused individual faces a minimum fine of 30,000 penalty units, which is equal to (GHc360, 000), and amaximum sentence of 20 years in prison, the judge said in his verdict on Aisha Huang’s bail application.
He said that based on the severity of the matter, the accused person cannot be granted bail.
Samuel Bright Acquah said the reason, citing Article 96(5) of Act 30, is that the accused may not appear to stand trial or may interfere with any witness or evidence or hamper the investigations of the police in any way.
The judge explained that the first accused person; Aisha Huang, may interfere with evidence due to her influence in the country.
He added that the court may also refuse bail if the accused is likely to commit a further offence on bail or the offence the accused is charged with was committed whilst on bail.
In ascertaining whether or not an accused may appear to stand trial, he said the courts are again guided by the conditions in section 96(6).
These are; inter alia the nature of the accusation, the nature of the evidence available, the severity of the punishment if he is subsequently convicted, and if he has breached any previous bail requirement, whether he has a fixed place of abode in Ghana and is gainfully employed and if his sureties are competent enough.
He added that the severity of the offence has to do with illegal mining which has been committed by foreigners.
Aisha Huang is facing trial in court following her rearrest.
Aisha Huang is facing two charges; mining without a license and sale of minerals without a license.
The court on September 14, 2022, denied Aisha Huang and 3 other accused persons bail after they pleaded not guilty.
She is expected to reappear on September 27, 2022.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburghreturned to the Forth RoadBridge 50 years after officially opening it.
Queen Elizabeth II will leave her beloved Balmoralfor the final time on Sunday and take a journey that will stir memories of her life of service.
Her cortege will wend its way through villages and towns she knew well. It will skirt cities where she opened hospitals, congratulated business leaders, met schoolchildren and greeted well-wishers.
As well as the villages of Aberdeenshire, where she was considered a neighbour as much as a monarch, it will travel through Aberdeen, then south through Angus, Dundee, Perth and Fife.
Symbolically, Her Majesty’s coffin will be taken over Queensferry Crossing – a structure she opened in 2017.
Along this journey to her final resting place will be the visible signs of the role she played in shaping modern Scotland.
Royal Deeside – Church and community
Image source, Getty ImagesThe late Queen marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War One at Crathie Kirk in August 2014.
When the Royal cortege leaves Balmoral it will pass close to Crathie Kirk – the church where the Royal family have worshipped since Queen Victoria in 1848.
It was an important place to Queen Elizabeth, a woman of great faith. Just last weekend she hosted the Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields, the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
He said she was “obviously frail…[but] absolutely on the ball”, adding that she was “very much very engaged with what was happening in the church and what was happening in the nation too”.
Image source, PA MediaThe late Queen spoke to the local butchers in Ballater before unveiling a plaque marking a Diamond Jubilee cairn in September 2012
It was also a link to the local community, which included the nearby village of Ballater, where she was considered a local by many.
After flooding caused millions of pounds worth of damage in 2015, the late Queen later met residents affected in an official visit and praised local efforts to recover.
Aberdeen and Dundee – Industry and innovation
Image source, PA ArchiveQueen Elizabeth II launched the flow of oil from the Forties Field in the North Sea to BP’s Grangemouth refinery
The coffin will be driven along the A93 towards Aberdeen, before turning south and crossing the King George VI bridge, named after her father.
The city was the focus of many trips by the Queen. It was where she opened a children’s hospital in 2005 and hosted a special sitting of the Scottish Parliament in 2002.
But it was perhaps her actions in Dyce in 1975 which had the most profound effect on the city – she pressed a gold-plated button which formally began the operation of the UK’s first oil pipeline.
The 130-mile pipeline from Cruden Bay to Grangemouth served the Forties oilfield 110 miles east of Aberdeen.
It marked the beginning of a North Sea oil industry which brought thousands of new jobs and great prosperity to the north-east of Scotland.
Image source, PA MediaShe met apprentices at the Michelin tyre factory in Dundee in 2016
Heading south on the A90, the coffin will take the Kingsway – designed to commemorate Edward VII – through Dundee.
During a trip to the city in 2016, the Queen met apprentices at the Michelin tyre factory’s training school and workshop.
However, two years later the company announced the closure of the site, with the loss of 850 jobs.
More than 300 million tyres had been produced in the plant, which opened in 1971. It finally closed in June 2020 and is now an “innovation centre”.
Angus – Childhood memories
Image source, Getty ImagesQueen Elizabeth (centre) was with her parents and cousin at Glamis Castle in 1931 to celebrate her grandparents’ golden wedding anniversary
Between Aberdeen and Dundee, the Royal coffin will travel along the A90, skirting the Angus town of Forfar.
Nearby is Glamis Castle, the ancestral home of the late Queen’s maternal grandparents and a place where she is said to have spent many happy childhood holidays.
It was where her parents honeymooned and where her mother, Queen Elizabeth, gave birth to her sister, Princess Margaret in 1930.
Image source, Getty ImagesPrince William – now the Prince of Wales – graduated with a degree in geography
Past Perth, the coffin will travel through Fife – a short hop from St Andrews where the late Queen’s grandson William went to university and met his future wife, Catherine.
She joined Prince Philip, her son Charles and his wife, Camilla, at the graduation ceremony in June 2005.
Fife – Naming ships and opening bridges
Image source, PA MediaThe Queen was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh as she named the Royal Navy’s biggest ever ship
As the coffin reaches the most southerly point of Fife, it will pass Rosyth where the UK’s largest warship was officially named in her honour, in June 2014.
She smashed a bottle of whisky against the side of the aircraft carrier at Rosyth dockyard.
Six UK shipyards, and more than 10,000 people at more than 100 companies worked on HMS Queen Elizabeth.
It entered service in 2020 and is now the Royal Navy’s Fleet Flagship.
Image source, PA MediaNicola Sturgeon looked on as the late Queen cut the ribbon on the Queensferry Crossing
The late Queen opened two bridges across the Forth during her 70 year reign – the Forth Road Bridge in 1964, and the Queensferry Crossing in August 2017.
Her coffin will cross the new Queensferry Crossing, linking Fife to Edinburgh.
She returned to the Forth Road Bridge in 2014 to mark its 50th anniversary and was back just three years later to cut the ribbon on its £1.35bn replacement.
Queen Elizabeth II said the Queensferry Crossing, the UK’s tallest bridge, was a “breath-taking sight” and one of three “magnificent structures” across the Forth.
Edinburgh – A new parliament
Image source, PA
At the end of its journey, the Royal coffin will be taken to the Palace of Holyroodhouse – the Royal residence opposite the Scottish Parliament building.
In a speech to MSPs she acknowledged the construction’s “difficult and controversial birth” and urged them to make Holyrood a “landmark of 21st century democracy”.
She returned in October last year to open the sixth session of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood despite some Covid restrictions still being in place.
Image source, ReutersThe leaders of the main political parties in Scotland greeted The Queen before the ceremony last year.
In a speech in the debating chamber, she paid tribute to those who made an “extraordinary contribution” during the pandemic.
And she spoke of her happy memories of Scotland and her “deep and abiding affection for this wonderful country”.
“It is often said that it is the people that make a place and there are few places where this is truer than it is in Scotland.”
The Queen’s role in public life was tightly choreographed and she often had to keep a straight face.
But in her later years, she gave us a glimpse of her sense of humour.
From sharing a marmalade sandwich with Paddington Bear to photobombing Australian hockey players, here is a look back at some of her funniest moments.
As part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June, the Queen was filmed having tea with Paddington Bear, in a sketch which opened the BBC’s Party at the Palace marking her 70 years on the throne.
As the celebrations were about to begin, Paddington offered her his beloved snack – a marmalade sandwich. “I always keep one for emergencies,” he told her, pulling one out from under his famous red hat.
“So do I,” replied the Queen, opening up her signature black handbag and taking out her own.
When the Queen met James Bond
As part of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Queen made a dramatic entrance with the help of another British icon – James Bond.
In a skit created by director Danny Boyle, the Queen received a visit from 007 in Buckingham Palace, before the pair left together by helicopter. She then appeared to skydive into the Olympic Stadium to greet cheering crowds.
Boom: The Queen and Prince Harry responded to Barack and Michelle Obama’s Invictus Games challenge
In 2016, the Queen appeared in another viral video clip – this time with her grandson Prince Harry to promote the Invictus Games.
The pair watched a video message from former US president and first lady Barack and Michelle Obama, who issued Prince Harry a sporting challenge.
The Queen was unfazed. “Oh really, please,” she said.
Cutting a cake with a ceremonial sword
The Queen insisted on cutting a cake with a ceremonial sword at an event at the Eden Project in Cornwall.
The Queen cut many cakes during her lifetime, once with a ceremonial sword. She tried out the more unorthodox method at a charity event in Cornwall.
When a volunteer reminded her that a standard knife was available, the Queen was undeterred.
“I know there is,” she retorted, continuing to clutch the sword. “This is more unusual.”
Photobombing Australian hockey players
Image source, @_JaydeTaylor
In 2014, two Australian hockey players were left stunned when the Queen appeared smiling in the background of their picture at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Jayde Taylor (left) posted the first image on Twitter and said: “Ahhh The Queen photo-bombed our selfie!”, with the tweet instantly going viral.
Giggling at a swarm of bees
Image source, Chris Young / PA Media
The Queen was accompanied by her husband, the late Duke of Edinburgh, at thousands of official engagements.
But during a military review at Windsor Castle in 2003, a swarm of bees derailed the normal efficient-running of events. The royal couple saw the funny side, captured on camera by photographer Chris Young.
“It was a human moment,” he told the BBC. “She was giggling like a little girl and he was laughing too.”
The death of Queen Elizabeth II has prompted an outpouring of reflectionand reaction online. But not all was grief — some young Africans instead are sharing images and stories of their own elders, who endured a brutal period ofBritish colonial history during the Queen’s long reign.
“I cannot mourn,” one wrote on Twitter, posting an image of what she said was her grandmother’s “movement pass” — a colonial document which prevented free travel for Kenyans under British rule in the east African country.
Another wrote that her grandmother “used to narrate to us how they were beaten & how their husbands were taken away from them & left to look after their kids,” during colonial times. “May we never forget them. They are our heroes,” she added.
Their refusal to mourn highlights the complexity of the legacy of the Queen, who despite widespread popularity was also seen as a symbol of oppression in parts of the world where the British Empire once extended.
Kenya, which had been under British rule since 1895, was named an official colony in 1920 and remained that way until it won independence in 1963. Among the worst atrocities under British rule occurred during the Mau Mau uprising, which started in 1952 — the year Queen Elizabeth took the throne.
The colonial administration at the time carried out extreme acts of torture, including castration and sexual assault, in detainment camps where as many as 150,000 Kenyans were held. Elderly Kenyans who sued for compensation in 2011 were ultimately awarded £19.9 million by a British court, to be split between more than 5,000 claimants.
The UK Foreign Secretary at the time, William Hague, said: “The British Government recognises that Kenyans were subject to torture and other forms of ill treatment at the hands of the colonial administration. The British government sincerely regrets that these abuses took place, and that they marred Kenya’s progress towards independence.”
Africa’s memory of the Queen cannot be separated from that colonial past, professor of communication Farooq Kperogi at Kennesaw State University told CNN.
“The Queen’s legacy started in colonialism and is still wrapped in it. It used to be said that the sun did not set over the British empire. No amount of compassion or sympathy that her death has generated can wipe that away,” he told CNN.
‘Tragic period’
While many African leaders have mourned her passing — including Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, who described her reign as “unique and wonderful” — other prominent voices in regional politics have not.
In South Africa, one opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), was unequivocal. “We do not mourn the death of Elizabeth, because to us her death is a reminder of a very tragic period in this country and Africa’s history,” the EFF said in a statement.
“Our interaction with Britain has been one of pain, … death and dispossession, and of the dehumanisation of the African people,” it added.
Others recalled Britain’s role in the Nigerian civil war, where arms were secretly supplied to the government for use against Biafrans who wanted to form a breakaway republic. Between 1 million and 3 million people died in that war. British musician John Lennon returned his MBE, an honorary title, to the Queen in protest over Britain’s role in the war.
Still, many on the continent remember the Queen as a stabilizing force who brought about positive change during her reign.
Ayodele Modupe Obayelu from Nigeria told CNN: “Her reign saw the end of the British Empire and the African countries … became a Republic. She doesn’t really deserve any award or standing ovation for it, but it was a step in the right direction.”
And Ovation magazine publisher Dele Momodu was full of praise, recounting meeting her in 2003 in Abuja while covering her visit to Nigeria. He added that he had fled Nigeria for the UK in 1995, during the dictator Sani Abacha’s regime.
“I told her I was a refugee and now the publisher of a magazine. She told me ‘congratulations,’ and moved on to the other people on the line. I salute her. She worked to the very end and was never tired of working for her country. She did her best for her country and that is a lesson in leadership,” he told CNN.
Momodu believes that the Queen did try to “atone” for the brutality of the British Empire. “She came to Nigeria during our independence and some of the artifacts were returned under her reign. That is why the Commonwealth continues to thrive. I feel very sad that the world has lost a great human being.”
Adekunbi Rowland, also from Nigeria, said: “The Queen’s passing represents the end of an era. As a woman, I’m intrigued by her story. This young woman had an unprecedented accession to the throne, and with much grace and dignity did everything in her power to protect the country and Commonwealth she loved no matter what it took.”
Commonwealth Queen
The Queen once declared, “I think I have seen more of Africa than almost anybody.”
She made her first official overseas visit to South Africa in 1947, as a princess and would go on to visit more than 120 countries during her reign, many of them on the continent.
It was while visiting Kenya in 1952 that she learned that she had become Queen. Her father George passed away while she was there with Prince Phillip and she immediately ascended the throne.
As colonialism later crumbled and gave way to independence and self-rule in what had been British overseas territories, the former colonies became part of a Commonwealth group of nations with the Queen at its head and she worked tirelessly to keep the group together over the years.
She forged strong bonds with African leaders, including Nelson Mandela, whom she visited twice in South Africa, and Kwame Nkrumah, with whom she was famously pictured dancing during her visit to Ghana in 1961.
However, there is now a growing clamor for independence and accountability over Britain’s past crimes such as slavery. In November 2021, Barbados removed the Queen as its head of state, 55 years after it declared independence from Britain, and other Caribbean countries, such as Jamaica, have indicated they intend to do the same.
Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visited Jamaica in March but they faced protests and calls for reparations during the trip. There were also calls for a formal apology for the royal family’s links to slavery.
“During her 70 years on the throne, your grandmother has done nothing to redress and atone for the suffering of our ancestors that took place during her reign and/or during the entire period of British trafficking of Africans, enslavement, indentureship and colonization,” wrote members of a protest group, the Advocates Network Jamaica.
In June, Prince Charles became the first UK royal to visit Rwanda, where he was representing the Queen at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
Following his mother’s death, he now heads the Commonwealth, and will embark on a new relationship with its members, about a third of which are in Africa.
Some are asking whether he will be as effective in building the organization as his mother, and above all, how relevant it still is, given its roots in Empire.
Indiana Jones, the world’s most famous archeologist, is back for his next adventure.
Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm, debuted the first teaser footage for the new, still-untitled film during the studio’s presentationat Disney’s D23 Expo on Saturday.
Though the video showed to the crowd has not been released to the public, the footage showed Indiana Jones meeting up with his old friend Sallah and had many great action sequences, including one that had star Harrison Fordriding a horse through New York City and onto the subway tracks.
There were also a few glimpses of what looked like a younger, de-aged Ford.
The film, which has Ford reprise the role of Dr. Jones more than 40 years after he first donned the hat in 1981’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” hits theaters June 30, 2023.
It also stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen and is directed by James Mangold. John Williams, who composed the iconic “Raiders March,” is also returning to score the film.
“Indiana Jones movies are about mystery and adventure but they’re also about heart,” a visibly emotional Ford told the crowd.
There’s been a lot of news regarding the next Indiana Jones films since it’s been in development for years, but Saturday was the first time fans got an idea of what the next film could be about and what the intrepid archeologist may be after.
“I had the time of my life making this movie…keeping up with this guy is exhausting,” Waller-Bridges told the crowd.
Those in attendance at D23 went crazy for just tidbits of news from the upcoming film. It makes sense why, considering that the Indiana Jones franchise is one of the most popular in film history.
The latest film will be the fifth for the series, and likely Ford’s last in the role.
After the audience reacted to the mention of this being his last film in the role, he joked, “This is it. I will not fall down for you again.”
Avoiding poison darts and outrunning rolling boulders is tough at 80 years old, after all.
And what would a Lucasfilm presentation be without some “Star Wars” news?
The presentation showed off the new Disney+ series “Andor” including a new gritty trailer that took fans into the world of the rebellion five years before “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”
The series hits the streaming service on September 21.
The Queen came to the throne at the dawn of the age of mass media. Her coronation in 1953 was the first national television event, and almost every step she then took in public was captured on film.
As for her private moments, a number of actresses have attempted to portray what might have gone on behind closed doors.
Here are some of the documentaries that opened a window into her life, and some high-profile, fictionalised portrayals that helped shape public perceptions.
The Crown (Netflix series, 2016-present)
Image source, Netflix
You can’t write about the Queen on screen without mentioning The Crown, Netflix’s major series tracing the reign of the monarch from her ascension to the early 2000s.
Claire Foy and Olivia Colman have played the lead in the four seasons so far. Imelda Staunton is taking over for the fifth, which is scheduled to launch in November and be set in the 1990s.
The series feels at time like a high-class soap opera, accentuating the supposed drama and conflict both among the Royal Family and between the monarch and prime ministers, although its historical accuracy has been widely criticised.
Touching recollections from the Queen’s own children set this 90-minute documentary apart from most other factual films about her life and times.
With so few opportunities to see truly intimate moments between the Royal Family, the obvious and genuine affection with which they speak gives us some insight into their relationships with their mother when they were a family first and royal second.
Prince Charles, as he was known at the time of filming, recalls an early memory from when he was just three. “I shall never forget, when we were small, having a bath and she came in practising wearing the crown before the coronation,” he says. “All those sorts of marvellous moments, I shall never forget.”
Elsewhere, narrator Kirsty Young tells the story of both the private and public sides of the Queen’s reign in her warm, authoritative style.
Image source, Channel 4
Veteran presenter Jon Snow opens this hour-long special with a very personal connection – proudly showing a blurry black-and-white photo of himself and his brothers meeting the Queen five years after her coronation, when he was 10.
His main memory is that the encounter involved repainting the downstairs loo beforehand in case one of the royals needed to go (they did not). Otherwise he doesn’t remember much, “except that she was small, pleated skirt, hatted, didn’t say much”. He adds: “Prince Philip – he said a lot, but I didn’t understand very much of it.”
Snow peppers the programme with more memories, both his own and from others, such as his next door neighbour, a former lady in waiting.
He balances these personal moments by using his journalistic rigour to also tell the official history, re-examining the most momentous episodes from the Queen’s seven decades on the throne, from her coronation to the controversies of the 1990s.
The Queen’s Coronation in Colour (ITV/Netflix documentary, 2018)
Image source, Getty Images
The start of the Queen’s reign may now seem to belong in a distant historical age. Colour coverage of the coronation and some more relaxed behind-the-scenes footage that was commissioned by the young Queen herself help bring the occasion to life.
There are interviews with some of those who took part, such as the maids of honour who had to stop one of their members from fainting during the ceremony. We hear how the Archbishop of Canterbury later helped revive her by giving her a swig of brandy in the vestry.
The programme, presented by Alexander Armstrong, also includes wonderful amateur footage of joyous and occasionally eccentric street parties that took place around the UK on the same day.
Elizabeth R – A Year in the Life of the Queen (BBC documentary, 1992)
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Queen being filmed for Elizabeth R while watching the Epsom Derby horse race in 1991
If you would like to peek behind the velvet curtain, the makers of this documentary were given rare access to follow the Queen over the course of a year in 1990 and 1991.
It captures private moments and meetings at her various residences and on tour. It’s particularly refreshing to see her acting and chatting naturally – whether that be joking with Nelson Mandela or batting back a light-hearted dressing down she got from a retirement home resident in Yorkshire.
There is also a voiceover from the monarch herself, in much less formal tones than we are used to hearing in her speeches.
And perhaps the closest the Queen has come to losing her temper on camera is a fleeting mother-daughter flash – the type any family will know – when the Queen Mother teases her while they’re watching the Epsom Derby.
Otherwise there’s not much royal scandal on show, and if you want drama then you should watch The Crown. This was filmed just before her “annus horribilis” of 1992, so captures the calm before the storm.
Elizabeth: A Portrait In Parts (Amazon Prime Video documentary, 2022)
More irreverent and lively than most royal documentaries – while remaining respectful – this 90-minute film splices together archive of the Queen and her surrounding culture, jumping back and forth in time across her 70 years.
Released for her Platinum Jubilee earlier this year, it was the last work by Notting Hill and The Duke director Roger Michell before he died a year ago.
His style, using cut-up footage to compile loose themed chapters rather than telling a chronological story, gives it a fresh feel and helps break down some of the pomp and formality that surrounded the monarch.
Elizabeth: Our Queen (Channel 5, 2018)
For a more comprehensive account of her life, covering the highs and lows of her unique status in the nation, this seven-and-a-half hour, four-part series should satisfy.
It uses the familiar TV documentary formula of news archive combined with talking-head commentary from historians, politicians and members of the royal circle.
While there may be few new revelations, it offers an in-depth and nostalgic journey down memory lane.
The Queen (Netflix film, 2006)
Image source, Getty Images
Dame Helen Mirren won an Oscar for best actress for playing the title role in 2006 film The Queen.
Set in the wake of the death of Princess Diana in 1997, the movie depicted one of the most challenging moments for the monarch, when she was perceived as aloof and slow to respond to the national mood.
Dame Helen revealed earlier this year that she had written to the real Queen before filming to say: “We are investigating a very difficult time in your life. I hope it’s not too awful for you.” The actress told the Radio Times: “I can’t remember how I put it. I just said that in my research I found myself with a growing respect for her.”
The actress has also previously said she did not know whether the Queen had watched the film, but “I got the sense that it had been seen and that it had been appreciated”.
How she got that sense is not clear, given that the portrayal is not always entirely flattering – including for the wider family – and that Mirren added: “I’ve never heard directly, and I never will.”
A Royal Night Out (film, 2015)
Image source, Lionsgate/ShutterstockSarah Gadon played Princess Elizabeth as she joined the VE Day celebrations
This 2015 film starred Canadian actress Sarah Gadon as a 19-year-old Princess Elizabeth, who goes out onto the streets incognito with sister Margaret during the celebrations on VE Day, the end of World War Two in Europe in 1945.
It’s a light-hearted and charming reimagining of the princesses’ night of anonymous freedom, loosely based on real events when the sisters did indeed join the merry throng on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace.
However, it seems unlikely that Elizabeth did really meet a dashing airman on a double-decker bus before cavorting through the city with him and taking him back to the palace for breakfast with her mother and father – but the film’s writers decided they too could use artistic licence when filling in the blanks about the Queen’s life.
Celebrities including Elton John, Daniel Craig and JK Rowling are among those who have shared tributes following the Queen’s death.
Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger described her as “the much beloved grandmother of the nation”.
He tweeted: “For my whole life Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II has always been there. In my childhood I can recall watching her wedding highlights on TV.
“I remember her as a beautiful young lady, to the much beloved grandmother of the nation. My deepest sympathies are with the Royal Family.”
Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney tweeted: “God bless Queen Elizabeth II. May she rest in peace. Long live The King.”
“She was an inspiring presence to be around and led the country through some of our greatest and darkest moments with grace, decency and a genuine caring warmth,” the singer said.
“Queen Elizabeth has been a huge part of my life from childhood to this day, and I will miss her dearly.”
Image:Daniel Craig meets the Queen at the Casino Royale premiere in November 2006
Daniel Craig, who appeared with the Queen in a skit for the London Olympics, said she had left “an incomparable legacy and will be profoundly missed”.
“I, like so many, was deeply saddened by the news today and my thoughts are with the Royal Family, those she loved and all those who loved her,” said the Bond actor.
Image:Dame Helen Mirren performed in front of the Queen at Jubilee celebrations this year
Actress Dame Helen Mirren, who played the Queen on screen and stage, said on Instagram: “I am proud to be an Elizabethan. We mourn a woman, who, with or without the crown, was the epitome of nobility.”
Sir David Attenborough, who was a friend of the Queen for over half a century, praised her “extraordinary ability to put you at your ease”.
Speaking to PA about his experience of working and broadcasting with the monarch he said: “If there was a technical hitch, she wanted to know what it was, and if it had a funny side, she was quick to see the joke.
“Yet not for one second could you forget that you were in the presence of someone who had willingly accepted enormous responsibility and dedicated her life to serving the nation – that you were, in short, in the presence of royalty. The whole nation is bereaved.”
Sir David was first knighted by the Queen in 1985, before being given a second honour in 2020 for services to television broadcasting and to conservation.
The much-loved naturalist and the Queen celebrated their 90th birthdays just weeks apart in 2016.
Image:Sir David Attenborough said the Queen ‘was quick to see the joke’
David Beckham said her majesty had served with “dignity and grace” until her last days and had comforted the country when “times were tough”.
He added: “How devastated we all feel today shows what she has meant to people in this country and around the world. How much she inspired us with her leadership.”
Harry Potter author JK Rowling said the Queen had done her duty.
She ruled for longer than any monarch in British history, and during that time Queen Elizabeth II developed her own instantly recognisable style.
By incorporating daring colours, crisp silhouettes and a practical cut, she achieved a look that was individual, appropriate and, quite simply, fit for a queen.
She had a high fashion bar to meet at the many events and occasions she was invited to attend.
 In her latter years, the Queen may not have had quite such a busy working calendar as in her youth, but she still dressed up and attended many important events in her role as head of state.
As the world mourns her loss, we look back at how the Queen became fashion royalty, pulling off daring looks and avoiding fashion missteps along the way.
Signature look
The Queen would steer clear of style trends that would quickly fall out of favour. But that didn’t mean she was boring in her fashion choices. Far from it.
Her look had an instantly recognisable silhouette – think slim-brimmed hat, A-line dress and tailored jacket.
Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour called it “an iconic ‘uniform’ that suggested continuity and tradition”.
Indeed, the Queen became a cover star for the hallowed fashion bible in 2022, pictured in the early days of her reign.
Labelled a “fashion icon” by Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council, it’s no exaggeration to say the Queen was perhaps the most readily identifiable person on the planet.
Seven consecutive decades of royal leadership came to an end on September 8, 2022, when Queen Elizabeth II passed on.
The British Royal family through the Commonwealth group of nations maintained very close ties with its former colonies – be it at the political-diplomatic and the traditional leadership levels.
The Ashanti Kingdom, one of Ghana’s most powerful kingdoms, is reputed to have cordial ties with the British Royal Family.
Top royals on both sides have visited each other at different times in recent history. In 2000, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II paid his first and only visit to Buckingham Palace where he was hosted by the late Queen and her husband.
GhanaWeb digs into the archives for details of how the meeting went
Otumfuo arrived in London with a 20-man delegation of chiefs, linguists, and Manhyia palace officials.
They were in the United Kingdom for a three-week visit which was at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Among the first engagements was a meeting with the Queen. Special Guest Osei Tutu II was received in a private audience at Buckingham Palace after which the two will have tea together.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu also met with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, at the Lambeth Palace – the official residence of the leader of the global Anglican faith.
Arrival at Heathrow Airport
The Asantehene, received full diplomatic courtesies at the London Heathrow airport by a delegation led by Mr J.E.K. Aggrey-Orleans, the then High Commissioner in Britain and Mr. Michael Forster, of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
He was received at the Ghana High Commission in London amid fanfare by overseas associations of Ashantis.
Also present was Mr Paul Boateng, the then Minister of Home Affairs. Boateng, whose father is a Ghanaian, described Otumfuo’s visit as “representing peace and tranquillity at a period when Africa is passing through difficult times” adding that “the visit represents the very best that Africa could offer.”
Other engagements:
A Ghana News Agency, GNA, report at the time noted that he held business meetings with heads of British companies including Guinness, Taylor Woodrow, Standard Chartered and Barclays Banks.
Otumfuo also visited Cambridge to observe their special education policy at work, a dinner dance at which funds were raised for the Education Fund, and a meeting of Ghanaians resident in London.
The then 50-year-old Otumfuo had become an occupant of the Golden Stool a year prior. The trip was his first outside Ghana and was seen as charting a new relationship between two people who at the beginning of the 20 century were antagonists.
The British who had colonised Ghana fought several wars with the Asantes who opposed their rule. The last war was the Yaa Asantewaa war in 1900 which the British won and exiled Yaa Asantewaa the Queen-mother of Ejisu who had taken up arms against them to prevent their annexing of the Golden Stool, the symbol of Asante unity and strength.
Otumfuo arrived in London with a 20-man delegation of chiefs, linguists, and Manhyia palace officials.
They were in the United Kingdom for a three-week visit which was at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Among the first engagements was a meeting with the Queen. Special Guest Osei Tutu II was received in a private audience at Buckingham Palace after which the two will have tea together.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu also met with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, at the Lambeth Palace – the official residence of the leader of the global Anglican faith.
Arrival at Heathrow Airport
The Asantehene, received full diplomatic courtesies at the London Heathrow airport by a delegation led by Mr J.E.K. Aggrey-Orleans, the then High Commissioner in Britain and Mr. Michael Forster, of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
He was received at the Ghana High Commission in London amid fanfare by overseas associations of Ashantis.
Also present was Mr Paul Boateng, the then Minister of Home Affairs. Boateng, whose father is a Ghanaian, described Otumfuo’s visit as “representing peace and tranquillity at a period when Africa is passing through difficult times” adding that “the visit represents the very best that Africa could offer.”
Other engagements:
A Ghana News Agency, GNA, report at the time noted that he held business meetings with heads of British companies including Guinness, Taylor Woodrow, Standard Chartered and Barclays Banks.
Otumfuo also visited Cambridge to observe their special education policy at work, a dinner dance at which funds were raised for the Education Fund, and a meeting of Ghanaians resident in London.
The then 50-year-old Otumfuo had become an occupant of the Golden Stool a year prior. The trip was his first outside Ghana and was seen as charting a new relationship between two people who at the beginning of the 20 century were antagonists.
The British who had colonised Ghana fought several wars with the Asantes who opposed their rule. The last war was the Yaa Asantewaa war in 1900 which the British won and exiled Yaa Asantewaa the Queen-mother of Ejisu who had taken up arms against them to prevent their annexing of the Golden Stool, the symbol of Asante unity and strength.
The MP traveled to Ho on Friday to honor the Chiefs and residents of the Asogli State. At that point, the Asogli State Palace Forecourt’s Paramount Chief was seated in State.
According to a graphic online reportage, the durbar ground rejected the gifts the MP sent.
Some sub-chiefs who acted as middlemen to accept the gifts on Togbe Afede’s behalf turned down the presents and requested that the MP takes them away.
In the report, graphic online stated that, the chiefs and people cited some negative remarks and use of unkind words on Togbe Afede XIV by the MP, who is seeking to become the flagbearer of the governing NPP.
A video depicting Mr Agyapong on the durbar grounds had some voices in the background shouting “away”.
The gifts, including cartons of bottled water, were packed back into the vehicle.
This year’s yam festival of the Chiefs and people of Asogli State is being climaxed this weekend under the distinguished patronage of Togbe Afede XIV.
The festival started on August 6, 2022, and is expected to end on Sunday, September 11.
The one-month festival seeks to highlight unity, reconciliation, stocktaking and development and is also a platform for the annual reunion with the ancestors and the re-affirmation of allegiance by all chiefs and their subjects in the Asogli State to the Agbogbome Stool.
According to a report by Onua FM, the police recovered three pump action pistols and threeexcavators during the arrest.
The operation comes after five other Chinese nationals were arrested in connection with the theft of two excavators and unlawful mining activities.
Meanwhile, the District Chief Executive of Ellembelle, Kwasi Bonzo, and four others have been arrested and granted police enquiry bail over an incident involving one of the missing excavators.
The DCE is accused of interfering in police duties by seeking to stop the transportation of the excavator to the Western Regional Police Command in Takoradi.
As a result, they are unable to grasp what they read and write.
According to the GSS, this number shows that 4.6 million women and 3.3 million men are illiterate, “indicating a female disadvantage that has been persistent over time.â€
Per the report the number of illiterate individuals (15 years and older) increased by 1.2 million during the 2010 and 2021 Population and Housing Censuses (PHC), from 4.3 million in 2010 to 5.5 million in 2021.
A statement released by the Statistical Service on September 8, 2022, stated that “Ghana has lower levels of adult literacy compared to its comparators (lower middle income and sub-Saharan African countries), after three years of the provisions on illiteracy captured in the Education Strategic Plan (ESP) 2018-2030.â€
“This has necessitated the production of the 2021 PHC Thematic Report Brief on Illiteracy in Ghana which will be released later this month. The report provides direction for stakeholders to target hotspots and drivers of illiteracy in Ghana as it focuses on three broad areas: trends, patterns, and correlates of illiteracy,†it added.
PresidentAkufo-Addo ordered that all flags in Ghana be flown at half-mast in honour of the Late Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday, September 9, 2022.
This president’s directive has caused some division among Ghanaians who are arguing about the significance of the order since Ghana is now a sovereign state.
But what most Ghanaians don’t know is that aside from being the Head of Commonwealth Nations, the late Queen Elizabeth II was the first Head of State of Ghana.
Queen Elizabeth II, Head of State of Ghana
For the first three years of Ghana becoming anindependentnation, between March 6, 1957, and July 1, 1960, Elizabeth II was the Head of State of Ghana.
This was because around that time, though Ghana was an independent sovereign state, it was still a constitutional monarchy which gave the Queen the power to be head of the United Kingdom and other sovereign states under the monarchy.
The constitutional roles of Queen Elizabeth in Ghana were delegated to the governor-general, who acted as a representative of the Queen. Between March 6, 1957, and July 1, 1960, two governors-general, Charles Noble Arden-Clarke (1957) and William Francis Hare (1957 to 1960), represented the Queen in Ghana.
During that period, the Parliament of Ghana was made up of the Queen and the National Assembly of Ghana, and all laws of the country were assented to only by her.
Queen Elizabeth was the executive authority of the state, and she was advised by Ghanaian ministers for the Crown. Ghana’s economy during that period was one of the best in the world.
Queen Elizabeth’s role as the Head of State of Ghana ended on July 1, 1996, when Ghana became a republic. Under the first contribution of the Republic of Ghana, the president replaced the monarch as the executive head of state.
The BBC has reported that the King and Queen Consort will spend the night at Balmoral Castle and return to Britain on Friday.
The King will decide if he will rule as King Charles III or choose a different name.
Britain’s longest-serving monarch, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, died at the age of 96 on Thursday.
The Queen died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
Her death comes after the BBC earlier announced that the Queen’s doctors had expressed concerns about her health around mid-morning on Thursday, September 8, 2022.
Born on April 21, 1926, the Queen, christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, immediately acceded the British throne on February 6, 1952, when her father, King George VI, died.
Central African countries including Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Chad, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and Congo-Brazzaville have signed a deal to boost energy supply in the region through the building of an oil and gas pipeline network, the Reuters news agency reports.
There will be three gas pipelines measuring around 6,500 km (4,000 miles).
Most of the countries that have signed up have oil reserves but do not have sufficient refining capacity, and have been struggling with energy supply after the outbreak of the Ukraine war.
The plan will also include at least three refineries and power plants fired by gas linking 11 countries.
The two, Daniel Osei Bonsu and Francis Atuahene, will reappear before the court presided over by Samuel Quansah, on September 19, 2022.
The suspects, slapped with four charges of conspiracy to commit crime, rioting with offensive weapons, causing unlawful damage, and causing unlawful harm, were first remanded into custody by the court on August 24, 2022.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kofi Blagodzi, Head of Legal and Prosecutions at the Ashanti Regional Police Command, told the court that the police needed more time to continue with investigations into the case.
He said the suspects could obstruct investigations if they were granted bail.
Lead counsel for the suspects, William Asamoah Sarpong, pleaded with the court to grant the suspects, one of them a student and the other a worker, bail since their continuous detention could affect them.
However, the court denied them bail and asked them to reappear on September 19, 2022, for the trial to continue.
The two suspects were among a group of students who clashed on the university campus during the hall week celebration of the University Hall.
The confrontation led to the destruction of many property, including vehicles at the Unity Hall of residence of the KNUST, and injuries to some of the students.
In his opening remarks, King Charles paid tribute to his late mother, Queen Elizabeth, describing her passing as “a moment of greatest sadness for me and all members of my familyâ€.
King Charles III expressed awareness and acknowledgment of the messages of commiserations from around the world.
He said that his family will find comfort in the “respect and deep affection in which The Queen†was widely held.
After Queen Elizabeth II passed away on Thursday, September 9, as such, King Charles III was proclaimed King of England.
The throne passed immediately and without ceremony to the heir, Charles, the former Prince of Wales following confirmation of the demise of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, September 8, 2022.
According to BBC, there are several protocols and traditional steps that he must go through to be crowned King.
There will be a new title for Charles’ wife, whose full title will be Queen Consort – consort is the term used for the spouse of the monarch.
Quote Message: As we grieve together, we know that, in losing our beloved Queen, we have lost the person whose steadfast loyalty, service and humility has helped us make sense of who we are”
He added that the Queen leaves behind a truly extraordinary legacy “that is found in almost every corner of our national life, as well as the lives of so many nations around the world, and especially in the Commonwealth”.
The archbishop says he met her on many occasions. He paid tribute to her “clarity of thinking, capacity for careful listening, inquiring mind, humour, remarkable memory and extraordinary kindness”.
As the flag was lowered at Windsor Castle, and the announcement was made, there was stunned silence.
Shock. Disbelief. Her Majesty the Queen had died at the age of 96.
A woman next to me burst into tears. For most of the afternoon the rain had poured down in Windsor.
Soon after the announcement, the skies cleared, and a rainbow appeared.
Castle staff covered visitor signs in black paper. Crowds began to gather. They laid flowers. And candles.
Windsor Castle was the Queen’s much-loved home. Locals here saw her as their neighbour.
They along with so many around the world, will feel her loss deeply.
The Duke of Sussex has now arrived at Balmoral, where a few floral tributes have already been laid, a few hours after his brother William and Princes Andrew and Edward.
Prince Harry will join other members of the Royal Family as they mourn the death of the Queen, who died earlier this afternoon.
His wife Meghan did not travel with him to Scotland.
The robbers reportedly trailed the victim from his office as he was going to another office to make payment for goods he had purchased.
They attacked him midway and bolted with about GH¢50,000 cash amidst firing of gunshots.
Confirming the incident to Graphic Online’s Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor, the assembly member for the Asafo Electoral Area, Ernest Okai said the incident occurred around 2pm on Wednesday.
He said the victim struggled with the robbers when they attempted snatching the bag containing the cash from his hand.
In an attempt to subdue him, one of the robbers shot but missed him narrowly and the second shot grazed his stomach.
The bag fell, they picked it and bolted amidst the firing of gunshots.
The victim who sustained an injury in the stomach, has since been treated and discharged from the hospital.
The victim is a cold store operator and usually gets supplies from a wholesale supplier also around the same area in Asafo.
Social media is often the best avenue to test thepulse of a topical issue online, often times even offline.
So, it was for good reason that the global trends as at September 8, 2022; included among others, #QueenElizabeth, Rest In Peace, London Bridge etc. Queen Elizabeth II had died.
The world’s longestserving leader, was pronounced dead on Thursday, September 8, 2022, via a statement from the royal family.
But localized trends inGhana aside the global ones had ‘Maa Lizzy’ also as a top trend. It turns out that, this was how social media users were celebrating the life and mourning the passing of the Queen.
Most Ghanaians posted funny tweets about how they are marking the passing, whiles others also took to serving historical material of Queen Elizabeth’s direct interaction with Ghana – visits in 1961 and 1999; as well as times when Ghanaian leaders had met her at the Buckingham Palace.
Find below some of the tweets:
Born on April 21, 1926, the Queen, christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, immediately acceded the British throne on February 6, 1952, when her father, King George VI died.
She became queen at the age of 26 and remained on the throne for seven decades before her death.
Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and Head of State for 14 other jurisdictions.
Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son Charles, 73, has been named succesor and by that becomes king of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. His wife Camilla becomes Queen Consort.
In his closing remarks, the Deputy Minister said Ghana was proud to have successfully hosted the 4th World Teak Conference as the first African country to have ever done so in the history of the teak conferences.
He said it was very fulfilling to see different groups of private sector players along the corridors and meeting rooms discussing issues of mutual interest. This he said “is indeed the essence of such international conferences, where we meet in person to discuss global trends and business opportunitiesâ€.
Mr Owusu-Bio congratulated the organizers and the Local Organising Committee, chaired by Mr. John Allotey, Chief Executive of Forestry Commission, and Co chaired by Mr. Hugh Brown, also of the Forestry Commission for their extraordinary efforts in making the event a success.
On behalf of the Local organizing committee, Mr. John Allotey, the CEO of the Forestry Commission, applauded the delegate for their active participation and insightful contributions to discussions.
He noted some issues that were raised concerning the organisation of the conference, assuring that they have been duly noted but also pointed out that Ghana has set a mile stone in the organisation of the teak conference around the world.
Sponsors of the 4th Teak Conference received various categories of awards ranging from bronze, silver, gold, platinum and diamond packages. Some took home plagues with certificates and other plagues with African artifacts beautiful embroidered with Ghanaian embellemes.
All the keynote speakers, session chairs and ITTO delegates at the event were also recognised and rewarded for their participation and contribution to the overall success of the event.
The conference also agreed to present a copy of the summary communique to the government through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
Some aggrievedcustomers of the defunct gold collectable company, Menzgold, have served notice to walk to the office of the presidentto intervene in the payment of their locked-up funds on Monday, 12 September 2022.
The walk according to the group will start from customs car park near Ministry, Accra to the Independence Square for press briefing and from there present a petition to the President at the Jubilee House.
The operations of Menzgold were shut down in September 2018 by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company’s operating license which had initially been granted in 2014 by the Minerals Commission of Ghana was primarily for gold trading and export.
However, as reports of a gold-investment scheme with high returns started to circulate, the Bank of Ghana begun to publish warnings which cautioned citizens to be wary of dealing with the firm and warned the firm against taking cash deposits.
Some customers were adamant while the company also called the bluff of the regulatory authorities.
Customers deposit at Menzgold have been locked out since the shutdown and can’t access their investments, leading to numerous demonstrations at its various branches to no avail.
The Ghana Hajj Board has presented cheques for the refunds of persons who paid for the Hajj but could not make it during the last religious exercise in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The payments were made for thirty seven persons through their agents on September 7, 2022.
Sheikh IC Quaye who presented the cheques covering the refunds recalled the decision taken last week to invite persons desirous of collecting their monies to apply for same.
The agencies which collected them on their behalf were Al Balad, Great Anyas, Lahaina, Nizam and Ashkar.
The refunds included the travel insurance which were paid alongside the package.
In all 85 persons have so far applied for refunds.
Present during the presentation were Haj MANAF, Dr Abubakar Sidick Ahmed, Dr Amin Bonsu and A R Gomda.
According to him, there is no need for him to be levying surcharges because the financial statements of the various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) are true and fair.
“We should stop putting undue pressure on the Auditor General. We should protect the credibility and integrity of constitutional bodies and state institutions. Because the audit that is conducted to establish irregularities or to express an independent opinion on financial statements of public institutions may be different from an audit to establish disallowance and surcharge procedures.
“Even though professionally, the two could have been done when you are on the premises of the client to save the state some resources. The Auditor General has indicated in his report that he will do a further review of the infractions and those that he is able to establish higher level culpability, he will issue disallowance and surcharges,†he said.
He added that those criticizing the Auditor General are merely harming the reputation of the government agency he oversees.
Many Ghanaians, including members of the Coalition for Democratic Accountability and Inclusive Governance, have berated the Auditor General for failing to prosecute people whom his office finds to have committed infractions at the various MDAs and have called
Some notable members of the coalition, including lawyer Samson Ayenini, lawyer Martin Kpebu and lawyer Akoto Ampaw, have said that failure to prosecute such persons is a dereliction of duty and an upfront to the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
They have, therefore, urged the Auditor General to resign for someone ready to hold corrupt officials accountable to take his position.
In a letter addressed to the Minister of Trade and Industry, the GFL made this claim. The letter was signed by the GFL’s President and General Secretary, Mr. Caleb Nartey and Mr. Abraham Koomson, respectively.
The federation stated in the letter a copy of which is available to the Ghana News Agency, that they were drawing the attention of the sector minister to the resurfaced illegal textile trade and the extremely high cost of local production.
In order to safeguard the struggling industrial sector, it thus pleaded on the Minister to act quickly.
The GFL noted that surveys conducted by its field officers revealed that the market outlets were dominated by over 70 percent pirated and counterfeit fabrics smuggled into the country through unapproved entry borders.
This development, it stated, has reversed the fortunes of the local manufacturing industry and compelled employers to lay staff off or completely shut down.
The Federation recalled that the Ministry of Trade and Industry took steps to address the self-inflicted challenges attributed to illegal trading in products manufactured locally to encourage investment in local production.
While expressing appreciation to the Ministry for the measures put in place to check the smuggling, pirating, and counterfeiting as well as grant zero value-added tax to sustain the local manufacturing companies, it did achieve its aim.
“Unfortunately, the anticipated benefits to boost local production have truncated as a result of the relapse of the problems afflicting the industry,†the GFL added.
The letter also stated that the distressed situation of the industry has been aggravated by the utility price hikes, and the high cost of labour rendering the pricing of products uncompetitive with the smuggled fabrics.
Speaking on the Gender Watch Series on Class 91.3FMʼs 505 with Korku Lumor, President of PFAG,Charles Nyarba, indicated that certain cultural norms deny many women and young people equal access to productive farmlands.
“Majority of women and young people are deprived the opportunity of doing long-term investments on lands because of certain cultural norms,†he said.
“These norms vary depending on where you are situated. Norms in the northern part of the country are different from those at the southern side.
“The issue of Skin lands are even more serious because they are skewed towards men compared to women. I can inherit my parents’ lands, but my sisters cannot. I can do long-term investment on my family lands compared to my sisters and my wife.
“If you look at it, there’s no place for women, unless the woman has money. And even with that, she has to be accompanied by someone else before she’ll be given a certain land to produce,†he explained.
He, therefore, called for greater sensitization to ensure women are given equal access to productive lands.
“We all need to understand that in terms of food production, in terms of economic activities, women play important roles and should not be discriminated upon,†he noted.
“We need to allow women equal access to productive lands compared to men, because our observations indicate that such women perform far better than their male counterparts,” he emphasised.
Ghana’s customary land tenure system is built on patriarchy, with men owning more lands than women especially in the rural communities.
The lands Act 2022, frowns upon discrimination associated with the acquisition of land based on gender, race or ethnicity, yet women in rural areas find it difficult to access lands for agricultural purposes.
These and others are factors influencing gender differentiated land rights in Ghana.
Anti-Corruption Campaigner, Vitus Azeem, has admonished Kissi Agyebeng, the Special Prosecutor, to avoid usingunorthodox methods to appoint people to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
“Such unconventional methods undermine the integrity, confidence and the trust people have in the anti-corruption institution,†he cautioned.
Mr Azeem indicated that whereas it was true the OSP was severely under resourced and under staffed to work at full capacity, trying to recruit staff through shady means was rather uncalled for and speaks poorly of the office.
His concern follows an allegation by ColonelKwadwo Damoah (RTD) of the Ghana Revenue Authority Customs Division that Mr Agyebeng, had been trying to recruit someone from the Customs Division to the OSP and the ongoing investigation into activities of Customs Division is payback for refusing to approve transfer of his staff to the office.
According to Mr Azeem, it should be accepted Mr Agyebeng does not have necessary resources, both human and material, to meet peoples expectation and while assessing him and his office, there was also need to put pressure on the government to give him resources to do his work effectively and efficiently.
“When you look at what Col. Damoah said about one Akurugu, it was like he was going round to institutions begging for secondment of staff which is not good enough for an anti-corruption institution because he should be able to advertise publicly through Public Service Commission, adopt transparent and miscellaneous approach to recruit his staff so that people will have the confidence and trust in the institution.
“If he has been begging for secondment of staff that is not the best, the Ministry of Finance needs to give him clearance to recruit people he needs and he too must adopt transparent processes and recruiting from within his close circles also undermines independence of staff at the office which adversely affects the work they do there,†Mr Azeem contended.
He postulated that Mr Agyebeng should not allow anybody to accuse him of using unorthodox methods of appointing people to the institution so as not to allow people lose trust and confidence in him and the office and people coming in would not be independent enough to know their worth.
He would be arraigned before court together with other suspects within the week after they had been charged, police source said.
On Wednesday September 7, 2022, a statement from the police said they had recovered one of the excavators which was reported missing at Ellembelle in the Western Region.
According to the police, the machine was recovered on Tuesday September 6, 2022 through days of intelligence operations.
The statement further said a team of operations and intelligence officers working day and night discovered the missing excavator several kilometres into a forest within the Ellembelle District.
“While the team of police officers were escorting the excavator to Takoradi, at the Axim Junction, the DCE of Ellembelle, Kwasi Bonzo organised and led some thugs to attack the police and obstructed the operation.
“The DCE and three others were therefore arrested accordingly†it said, adding that investigation continues to recover the other excavator and arrest all those behind it to face justice.
Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker, says he is impressed with the country’s security and intelligence agencies’ work in swooping down on the deported galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang, who returned to Ghana.
Aisha Huang was arrested again in Kumasi while continuing her illegal mining activities and remanded into Police custody by an Accra Circuit Court Judge.
She is said to have re-entered Ghana through Togo border in January, 2022 with a new passport and under a new identity.
She also had her non-citizen Ghana Card renewed although she didn’t have the necessary documents to support a change in her details on the card.
Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM’s”Kokrokoo” programme, George Mireku Duker asserted that the re-arrest of Aisha Huang is indicative of the Akufo-Addo government’s undaunted commitment to the fight against illegal mining (galamsey).
He lauded the security agencies saying, “I’m happy, so excited and will applaud the security agencies on their steps to arrest such a person. That should indicate to Ghanaians that, as a government, we’ve not thrown our hands in despair that we can’t solve it (galamsey). We are so determined”.
The Zero Tolerance for Maternal Death campaign is one of several initiatives running in the region to raise awareness of maternal health.
This is in response to the region’s current record of 102 fatalities per 100,000 live births, according to the acting regional director of health, Dr. Senanu Kwesi Djokoto.
In 2021, some 35 women lost their lives to pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions in hospitals in the Volta region with the region recording 41 deaths in the previous year.
This, according to Dr. Senanu Kwesi Djokoto, is unsatisfactory and falls short of both the regional goal of having no maternal mortality and the international goal of having no more than 70 fatalities per 100,000 live births.
Dr. Djokoto explains that the record of the region is affected by three factors.
“In the Volta region, the causes of maternal mortality mainly go along the three delays -first of all, people taking the decision to seek care when they have to seek care, then usually, when there are emergencies, people moving from their homes to the various facilities is another challenge, then the final challenge is the emergency response in our hospitals; I must quickly add that we have made progress, that is why our maternal mortality has declined significantly.â€
“But we have a target as a region that no woman should die out of maternal mortality. Secondly, if you look at the global efforts towards reducing maternal mortality, the target is that not more than 70 women should lose their lives per 100,000 live births from pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions,†Dr. Djokoto stressed.
The Zero Tolerance for Maternal Death campaign is, therefore, a multi-stakeholder approach to dealing with the issue.
“There is a whole journey ahead of us -we have to strive hard to be able to reach this point.â€
“So as health service in conjunction with all other governmental agencies, we are looking at a number of strategies; building the appropriate leadership, ensuring that we have the logistics and skilled personnel, ensuring that we put across the appropriate advocacy and also ensuring that everybody else -our religious leaders, our stakeholders are very much involved in our activities and understand it well,†he stated.
Dr. Djokoto also revealed that 40 out of 100 pregnancies in the region are unplanned -a number that indicates that not many people are making use of the various family planning methods available.
A malaria vaccine with “world-changing†potential has been developed by scientists at the University of Oxford.
The team expect it to be rolled out next year after trials showed up to 80% protection against the deadly disease.
Crucially, say the scientists, their vaccine is cheap and they already have a deal to manufacture more than 100 million doses a year.
The charity Malaria No More said recent progress meant children dying from malaria could end “in our lifetimesâ€.
It has taken more than a century to develop effective vaccines as the malaria parasite, which is spread by mosquitoes, is spectacularly complex and elusive. It is a constantly moving target, shifting forms inside the body, which make it hard to immunise against.
Last year, the World Health Organization gave the historic go-ahead for the first vaccine developed by pharmaceutical giant GSK to be used in Africa.
However, the Oxford team claim their approach is more effective and can be manufactured on a far greater scale.
Trial results from 409 children in Nanoro, Burkina Faso, have been published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases. It shows three initial doses followed by a booster a year later gives up to 80% protection.
Hundreds of residents of Tamale in theNorthern Region last Saturday hit the streets to register their displeasure with what they described as “economic hardship and mismanagement†of the country.
The peaceful demonstration, dubbed : “miisim demo†to wit hardship, was to draw the attention of the government to the current economic hardship in the country.
Holding placards withinscriptions such as “President Akufo-Addo has failed usâ€, “Ghanaians are suffering, do somethingâ€,
“Farmers can no longer buy fertiliser†among others, the demonstrators walked through the principal streets of Tamale before converging on the Jubilee Park to address the media.
The protest march was organised by a group calling itself the Coalition of Progressive Forces on the theme : “we are citizens not spectatorsâ€.
Addressing the media after the protest, one of the convenors of the demonstration, Professor Jaspa Ayelazuno, said the demonstration was aimed at bringing the attention of government to the numerous challenges confronting the nation for immediate redress.
He indicated that it also sought to highlight grievances of “misgovernance and mismanagement of the economy on specific issues such as: unbearable costs of food, fuel, electricity, transportation, water, rent, high cost of farming inputs (fertiliser, seeds, tractors, etc).â€
Promise
He noted that prior to the 2016 general election, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) promised Ghanaians good living, but it was now doing the opposite in power.
Prof. Ayelazuno called on Ghanaians not to leave the responsibility of putting the government on its toes to only the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Minority group in Parliament, but speak up to drum home their concerns.
For his part, the Northern Regional Secretary of the NDC, Mohammed Abdul Salam, blamed the current economic situation on the what he described as “failure of the NPP government to live up to expectationâ€.
He, therefore, urged Ghanaians to rally behind the NDC to enable it to rescue them from the shackles of the NPP.
Some of the demonstrators, who spoke to the Daily Graphic, said they participated in the protest because they were bearing the brunt of the current economic condition.
The exercise was initially scheduled for last month but it was postponed to last Saturday following the death of the Northern Regional Chairman of the NDC and Chief of Tugu-Yepala, Naa Ibrahim Mobila, and the Paramount Chief of the Mion Traditional Area, Naa Abdulai Mahamadu V.
The free collapse of the cedi, rising commodity prices, and the restoration of Ghana’s economic problems, he claimed, cannot be stopped by prayers.
He claims that Ghanaians are tired of hearing “fruitless prayer requests” from religious leaders.
In a tweet, Manasseh wrote, “the most confusing and difficult instruction to obey is when your pastor says, ‘Let’s pray for Ghana and its leaders.’”
The global economic meltdown is currently affecting Ghana’s inflation rate, which has risen above 31%, resulting in a high standard of living and rising commodity prices.
Ghana is the world’s second most indebted country, trailing only El Salvador in Bloomberg’s rankings of highly indebted countries.
The local currency has also suffered greatly, trading at GHS10 per dollar, resulting in massive losses for many indigenous businesses.
The founder and the leader of the Liberal Party of Ghana LPG, Percival Kofi Akpaloo, has pledged to restructure the small-scale mining (galamsey) industry to make it more efficient, environmentally friendly, and sensitive to the needs of the host communities when given the nod in the December 2024 polls.
He said that the restructure would also make the activity a means of employment for young people, particularly those in mining regions.
“I believe we must regulate small-scale mining to protect the environment and ensure safe mining so that the youth in those communities can have a source of livelihood for themselves and their families,†Kofi Akpaloo exclusively told Neat FM.
He further emphasized that he would put more measures in place to safeguard the environment while making sure that small-scale miners operated lawfully without intervention from the police.
Under the next LPG government, he said, graduates and experts in mining would be deployed to mining communities to train and assist small-scale miners on best mining practices to help eliminate accidents and the hazards associated with illegal mining.
Kofi Akpaloo said it was the right of people in mining communities to harness the benefits from the resources bequeathed to them by nature with the help of the government.
He assured the people that the next LPG government would create the opportunity for miners to have their gold refined in the country to help boost the economy.
“To add value to their products, we must, and we shall refine more gold for export. Let me assure you that we will involve the Bank of Ghana in certifying quality refined Ghanaian Gold.”
The Tano South Municipality is among the six districts and municipalities in the Ahafo Region to benefit from the One District, One Factory (1D1F) project, Mr Collins Offinam Takyi, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) has disclosed.
The rest are the Tano North Municipality, Asunafo South district, Asutifi South District, Asunafo North Municipality and Asutifi North District.
Mr Takyi was addressing chiefs and people of Dwomoh in the Ahafo Region on Wednesday during an inspection of progress of work on an oil palm processing factory, under the 1D1F programme.
The MCE again inaugurated a two-unit classroom block for Dwomoh Roman Catholic Primary, a six-unit classroom block for Achiase M/A Primary, and Police headquarters.
He cut sod for the construction of a modern classroom block for the Ohianimguase District Assembly (D/A) Junior High School (JHS), and a modern abattoir in Bechem.
Mr Takyi said the projects were funded by the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF), Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), and District Assembly Common Fund Responsive Factor Grant (DACF -RFF).
The Ahafo Regional Minister, George Yaw Boakye, who was on a two -day official visit to the Tano South Municipality, commended the MCE for the extension of massive infrastructural projects to the area.
Mr Boakye inspected progress of work on projects at Bechem Presbyterian Senior High School (SHS) and interacted with the students, especially the final years.
He also inspected ongoing roads infrastructure projects namely: Bechem Techimantia Akumadan street, Asuoso Derma Techimantia, and the phase two of Bechem town roads.
The Regional Minister had earlier paid courtesy calls on the Paramount Chiefs of Bechem Traditional Council, Nana Fosu Gyeabour Akoto, and Dwomoh Traditional Council, Nana Akoto Asamoah.
Nana Adoma Akyerekuaa 1, the Queen Mother of Ohianimguase, thanked the MCE for extending numerous projects and programmes to her community.
“My community has benefited from electricity supply, bore holes, classroom blocks, toilet facilities, among other projects. All these came under the ruling government,†she noted.
Speaking on Radio Gold, the Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, Dr Peter Boamah Otokunor, has disclosed that, the NDC is going into the 2024 elections with a clear belief that the incumbent party and the state institutions that are mandated to ensure a free and fair election, will not come into the elections with fairness.
As a result, the NDC, he says is building a strong system to deal with any attempt of possible electoral machinations in the next elections.
He revealed that the NDC has conducted assessments of its performance in the 2020 election, and is in the process of correcting minor anomalies in order to position the party for victory in 2024.
“As a matter of fact, the party has organized numerous activities from last year including outreaches, retreats, Data collection among other things. These activities are essential towards grassroots re-organization in building a strong management system for the party.â€
The Deputy General Secretary of the largest opposition party also disclosed that, the party has launched a management information system, to digitize its membership database, for proper and effective membership data management, electoral strategy and projections.
Peter Boamah Otokunor has a PhD in Agricultural Economics and has dedicated his entire young life to party work. The current digitization of dues collection and membership recruitment is his brain- child. He is currently bidding for the General Secretary of the NDC as a replacement to his current boss, Hon. Johnson Asiedu.
He holds a Diploma in Youth Development from International Training College of the International Labour Organisation, Turin Italy. Dr. Otokunor also holds Master of Arts degree in Economic Policy Management and Bsc. Degree in Agriculture from the University of Ghana Legon. His skill set and expertise is in Agriculture, Economics, Economic policy research, Rural development, Communications, Strategic planning, Project management, Policy planning and Youth Development.
He is happily married with four beautiful kids. He hails from Juaben in the Ashanti region, Ngleshie Alata in James Town, and Koforidua New Juaben in the Eastern region. He is the Abusuapanin of the Aduana Ablade family of Juaben, Koforidua, Nsawam Asante Kwaku.
He was a Deputy Campaign Manager for the NDC 2020 elections, he has served in various political capacities within the NDC including a two term member of the NDC National Elections Directorate, a senior member of the NDC communication team, a two term member of the NDC manifesto committee (2016/2020). He was the secretary to the NDC 2016 manifesto committee. He also served on the Research and Strategy committee of the 2016 campaign.
In public service, he distinguished himself as the head of research at the Communication Directorate in the office of the President under H.E late Prof. John Atta Mills and subsequently served as a Deputy chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA) of Ghana under H.E John Dramani Mahama. At NYA, he led the advocacy that brought into force the revolutionary National Youth Authority Act 2016, Act 939 which has put the institution on the part of growth and acceleration in fulfilment of its objectives enshrined in the National Youth Policy of 2010.
He was an astute Student leader and a youth activist who led various revolutionary public manifestations as a student leader including the famous resistance against the in out -out -out student accommodation policy of the University of Ghana.
Speaking to GhanaWeb on the sidelines of the Coalition’s protest against the Auditor-General on Monday, Lawyer Ayenini said the A-G’s refusal to issue surcharge and disallowance since 2019 is in clear disobedience of the Supreme Court’s orders in OccupyGhana vs Attorney General.
“It is very clear on the face of Article 2 of the 1992 Constitution. If the Supreme Court gives an order, and Occupy Ghana got this judgement with consequential orders, the orders were mandatory that the Auditor General should issue disallowances and surcharges, right? Now, what does Article 2 of the Constitution say? It says that if the Supreme Court gives an order and you disobey that order, you have committed what is known as high crime,” he told George Ayisi, host of #SayItLoud on GhanaWeb TV.
Outlining the gravity of the Auditor General’s actions, Samson Ayenini, who is a private legal practitioner, said a refusal to obey an order of the Supreme Court attracts serious consequences.
“What are the consequences of a high crime if you are found guilty? If you are the president, it is a basis for you to be removed from office. If you are vice president, it is a basis for you to be removed from office. But if you are none of those, the constitution, which is the supreme law, says if you are found guilty, you will suffer a penalty not exceeding ten years of jail. And then you will not have the opportunity to be able to stand for elections or be appointed to an office in this country for ten years. So it’s that serious. It’s not just the question of contempt,” he said.
The protest on Monday, September 5, 2022, was against the Auditor General’s failure to surcharge and disallow various financial irregularities captured in his annual reports since 2019.
“This Auditor General, at the time he was acting, had issued a number of reports, and the president said he has done something that was unprecedented that even Domelevo didn’t do. Why? Has he been appointed to issue just reports? You keep regurgitation to us that this has been missing, this is misused, this is stolen, and that is the end of it?” Lawyer Ayenini speaking about the cause of the protest stated.
The private legal practitioner emphasised that the financial irregularities reported by the A-G’s office for 2021 alone amounted to about GHC17 billion, above what Ghana currently seeks from an IMF programme.
“I just gave the example to you; we are going to the IMF for GHC16 billion. This is GHC17 billion; we should just collect the money. Look at the conditionalities that come with going to the IMF,” he told GhanaWeb’s George Ayisi during the protest.
The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) has denied allegations of inflating the cost of the construction of its single-unit tower.
Management of the Company says claims that it padded the contract sum to $78 million are not only misinformed, but also lack intellectual honesty.
The Minority in Parliament had hinted at a procurement scandal at BOST to the tune of $39 million.
The caucus alleged that, a contract sum for the construction of a single unit tower estimated at US$ 39 million has been inflated and approved by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) at $78 million, indicating a 100 percent inflated price.
But speaking on Face to Face on Citi TV, Edwin Alfred Provencal, Managing Director of BOST said:
“The conclusion is based on a lot of misinformation and some intellectual dishonesty. The contract was signed but based on some circumstances, my predecessor thought that it should be looked into again. My philosophy on this matter is the fact that, we do not have to mix politics and business.â€
The twin-office space was initially procured at $39 million under the previous administration, but had to be halted in 2017 after allegations of inflated cost.
A value of money audit was subsequently carried out, resulting in a new value of $49.6 million for the office space.
However, BOST could not afford $49.6 million due to financial constraints and thus had to negotiate for a single block.
“Because we are not into the real estate business, and we have liquidity challenges, we have decided that due to cash flow constraints, we can not afford the two towers so we opted for one which the contractor agreed. We went to the PPA, they said there was a procurement irregularity that we needed to rectify before we go ahead to vary the contract to a single block.â€
“It is that ratification request that we sent to PPA and the response that people saw and said we are buying a single block at $39 million. But the final cost of the single building is $31 million and not US$ 39 million or $78 millionâ€, Mr. Provencal added.
On Monday, September 12, 2022, the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, is expected to open the Regional Meeting of African National Commissions for UNESCO on UNESCO’s Global Priority Africa Programme in Accra.
The conference is on the theme “Mobilizing Partnership for the Global Priority Africa Programme.”
The Conference is expected to bring together National Commissionsfor UNESCO from the African continent.
The UNESCOPriority Africa Programme is an initiative by UNESCO to provide solutions to the continent’s developmental challenges concerning youth unemployment, education, climate change, Africa’s cultural renaissance, heritage, history, democracy and peace.
The project aims to achieve its main objectives by 2063 through ‘The Africa We Want, Vision 2063. As such, key stakeholders of the Global Priority Africa Programme will deliberate on Africa’s collective actions toward a renewed implementation agenda.
Objectives of the meeting
The three-day meeting which climaxes on September 14 seeks to raise awareness of the five flagships for National Commissions to be able to prioritize, participate in the Global Priority Africa flagships and effectively implement them.
It also seeks to engage National Commissions and experts to share experiences on best practices and to share ideas on the implementation process.
There has been a surge in SIM card re-registration following the implementation of punitive measures meant to force unregistered subscribers to comply with the directive to re-register all SIM cards by September 30.
The National Communications Authority (NCA) says after the announcement of plans to re-route outgoing calls for special messages to be played and temporarily block calls and data of unregistered numbers last Sunday,registration on the self-service App had risen by more than 1,200 as of midday last Monday.
The authority said by the end of last Sunday, the recorded 5,500 successful registrations on the app had risen to 6,700 by midday the following day.
The Deputy Corporate Affairs Director at the NCA, Kwame Gyan, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said barely a day into the implementation of the punitive measures, the NCA had seen an increase in the number of subscribers using the self-service App to register their SIM cards.
He maintained that people started rushing to register their SIM cards when the telcos started implementing the measures.
The punitive measures
A press release issued by the NCA in Accra last Sunday read: “A set of punitive measures designed to culminate the year-long nationwide SIM registration exercise will kick in from Monday, September 5, 2022.
“From Monday, September 5, 2022, subscribers who have not started their registration will have all outgoing calls re-routed to an interactive voice recording (IVR) for a SIM registration sensitisation message to be played before all calls are connected.
“Subscribers with uncompleted registration; that is, those who linked their Ghana cards to their SIM cards via *404# but have not proceeded to have their biodata captured, will also face similar disruption in service from Wednesday, September 7, 2022.â€
It also said the punitive measures for data services for uncompleted SIM card registrants would kick in from September 12.
The release said outgoing calls and data services would be blocked for affected subscribers for 48 hours once a week once the punitive measures kicked in from September 2022.
Also, subscribers who had neither begun stage one nor completed stage two of the SIM registration process would be allowed to reconnect their SIMs after duly completing the two stages of the registration process, it said.
“After September 30, 2022, these SIMs as described above will not have access to any service, as their SIMs will be deactivated.
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 NCA encourages subscribers to register their SIMs to avoid the associated inconvenience and potential disruption in service after September 30,†the release added.
Data from the NCA say so far 17 million SIM cards have successfully gone through the complete registration since the exercise began in September 2021.
This is out of the about 42 million subscribers currently in the system
The SIM card re-registration, according to the NCA, would help curb fraudulent and criminal activities, secure SIM card-based transactions, as well as help determine at every point in time the accurate number of valid and accurate SIMs on the networks
For the telcos, the exercise will enable them to build better demographics of their customer base and help them to develop products and services to suit the various groupings.
Unregistered subscribers
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, confirmed that implementation of the punitive measures by the telcos had already kicked off.
“The point is that implementation has started, but whether it has resulted in an increase in registrations I cannot tell for now, “ he told the Daily Graphic.
“By July 28, we were registering more than 250,000 a day. On the day the minister was announcing the extension, the registration centres were full of people eager to register. But after the announcement, the people left without registering.
“We have also monitored that after August 18, the numbers dwindled totally to 5,000 per day,†he said.
Mobile money agents
The General Secretary of Mobile Money Agents Association of Ghana (MMAAG), Evans Otumfuo, said the association was against the punitive measures in principle because it would impact many of its members and customers who, through no fault of theirs, did not have access to the Ghana cards.
He underlined the need for the government to reconsider extending the deadline for the registration of SIM cards in the interest of the gains made in the communications industry.
“The association has since endorsed this policy to re-register SIMs due to its positive impact on our businesses by helping to curb fraud.
“As business people in the industry, it will be very detrimental to our businesses and the industry in general should the deadline be pursued, since many Ghanaians, running into millions, are yet to be registered and issued with the Ghana cards,†he said.
The High Court sitting in Kumasi has granted bail to an interdicted police officer and a final year student of KNUST, standing trial for allegedly gang-raping a first-year student.
The two have been granted bail in the sum of GH¢80,000 each with two sureties; a relative and a government worker not earning less than a net salary of GH¢1,000 a month.
They were remanded after appearing before the Asokore Mampong District Court in July.
Since the Asokore Mampong District Court lacks jurisdiction in granting bail on the matter, the lawyers for the two accused persons applied for bail at the High Court and has been granted.
The substantive matter which is being heard at the Asokore Mampong District Court has been adjourned to 19th September 2022.
According to Dr. Adomako-Boateng, the regional director, 229,926 children in the Bono East Region are scheduled to receivepolio vaccinations.
This year’s vaccination dates were set for the first round to take place from September 48, and the second round from October 69.
The regional director stated this last Thursday at the regional launch of the first round of oral polio vaccination campaign, at Kintampo, in the Bono East Region.
He stated that “The oral polio vaccination exercise will boost the immunity levels of beneficiary children, and to ensure polio-free life for every child.â€
Dr Adomako-Boateng was optimistic that administering the vaccines at health facilities, schools, market centers, churches, on the street including house-to-house, outreaches and camps would make it easily accessible to the people.
The regional director implored parents and guardians to fully rally behind the campaign, saying that it was important to vaccinate every child and strengthen routine immunisation services as well.
Mr Kwasi Adu-Gyan, the Bono East Regional Minister, who launched the vaccination campaign, said all forms of polio viruses were earmarked for global eradication.
The regional minister expressed worry about how the virus was transmitted by person-to-person mainly through faeces contaminated with the virus that ended up in the mouth, and contaminated water and food.
He noted that though there was no cure for polio, it was preventable through the vaccines, and entreated all parents to fully immunise their children to protect them from polio viruses.
Mr Adu Gyan said as long as a single child remained infected, children in all countries were at risk of contracting polio, adding that all the stakeholders must join the campaign.
The regional minister urged parents and communities to avail their children for the exercise, where each child would be given two drops in each round, saying that the media must create awareness.
He used the occasion to appeal to adults in the area who had not received the COVID 19 vaccines, to take the opportunity to go for a jab.
In a statement, it mentioned that some anti-foreigner groups had made preparations to oust foreigners from their workplaces or occupations starting in September.
“Whilst recognising that this is not a government or state policy, such activities by individualsor groups could degenerate into violence aimed at foreigners or threaten their lives, safety and livelihood,†the statement said.
The violent xenophobia against Africans in South Africa has a recent history.
Foreign Africans have been used as a scapegoat and blamed for crimes, economic instability, and poor governance.
They have been targets of nationwide protests and shutdowns characterised by mob violence, looting, and torching of their businesses.
The Ghana mission urged members of the Ghanaian community to “be vigilant to any such incidents, restrict their movements to safe areas, avoid mass gatherings and refrain from engaging in activities that could result in conflict, brawls or deterioration in their safety.â€
Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has alleged that Chinese galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang was never deported from the country as claimed by the government in 2018.
In a tweet on September 6, Dafeamekpor premised his argument on the fact that the purported Ghana Card of Aisha Huang which has surfaced online was issued to her on Sunday, February 27, 2022.
He said the Chinese national was in the country for which reason her biometric details were able to be captured on a weekend.
“Evidence is that on Sunday, 27th February, 2022, Aisha Huan a.k.a Aisha En got her NIA Card issued to her by Govt. Same Govt said she had long been deported to China. Look, this woman was never deported that’s how come her biometric details could be captured for this weekend job,†Dafeamekpor tweeted.
Background
Chinese national and galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang evaded immigration authorities and re-entered Ghana to conduct illegal business despite her controversial deportation in 2018.
Reports by Accra-based Citi News revealed that Huang despite last leaving by air, returned to Ghana via the eastern land border i.e. Togo.
Whilst the report is silent on when she first reentered and how many times she has been in and out of the jurisdiction, it turned out that she also used a different name on her return.
This was established with evidence that upon her return, Huang applied for and obtained the Ghana Card in February 2022 using the name “Huang En.”
The year of issuance of the non-citizen Ghana Card has however been dismissed by NIA.
The Citi News report added that she always sneaked out of Ghana when she got intelligence about the possibility of an arrest.
Despite coming in through Aflao, Aisha made the Ashanti Regional capital of Kumasi her base from where she engaged in the business of selling mining materials. She was arrested with other accomplices at Ahodwo in Kumasi.
On Monday, September 5, 2022, the Accra Circuit Court 9 presided by Samuel Bright Acquah, remanded Aisha Huang, into custody.
This was after Miss Huang, together with three other Chinese nationals, were brought before the court on charges including engaging in the sale and purchase of minerals without a license and mining without a license.
The court could not take into record the pleas of the four suspects because there was no interpreter to help translate proceedings for the Chinese nationals.
The accused persons were not represented by a lawyer. The court adjourned sitting on the case to Wednesday, September 14, 2022.
The recipients were made up of 36 males and 14 females from five prison stations such as the Sunyani Central and Female Prisons in the Bono Region, Yeji Prison Camp in the Bono East Region and the Duayaw-Nkwanta and Kenyasi Prison camps in the Ahafo Region.
The medals were awarded to staff of the service, who had served for 16 years and above and exhibited good character throughout their operational duties.
Professionalism
Speaking at the medal ceremony, the Bono Regional Minister, Justina Owusu-Banahene, advised prison officers to avoid unprofessional behaviours that would bring the image of the service into disrepute.
She urged them to maintain highest standards of respect and professional conduct at all times and be mindful of the nature of their work as it involved taking care of people who had been deprived of their liberties and, as a result, were psychologically and emotionally deprived.
She said awards were pivotal in the lives of workers “as we are all aware, the slightest recognition in work, serves as a great motivation for the individual and encourages him or her to work even harder and sincerelyâ€.
Ms Owusu-Banahene said recognising efforts of officers with awards made them to stand out and be motivated to work harder.
Commitment
The Bono Regional Commander of the GPS, Deputy Director of Prisons (DDP) Benedict Bob-Dery, said despite the numerous challenges facing the command, the awardees had served with great dedication, commitment and exhibited high sense of professionalism.
He said it was a fact that the service was going through hard times, as it was encountering severe constrains in implementing its mandate of safe custody, welfare, reformation and rehabilitation of inmates.
DDP Bob-Dery, who is also in-charge of Bono East and Ahafo regions, said there was a huge accommodation problem facing the command.
He said the command had inadequate furniture, making its work very difficult, adding that the Sunyani Central Prison, which was constructed for about 400 inmates, currently had more than 900 inmates.
DDP Bob-Dery said the overcrowded nature of the prison had resulted in the outbreak of communicable diseases and also posed security challenges.
DDP Bob-Dery also expressed concern about the GH¢1.80 feeding rate, explaining that “the amount was last increased in 2011 and had remained so even in the face of increase in food prices. The amount is woefully inadequate to ensure proper feeding of inmatesâ€.
Barely 24 hours following the news of Aisha Huang‘s re-arrest following her earlier deportation in December 2018, former Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo has been topping trends on Twitter.
This was after Miss Huang, together with three other Chinese nationals, were brought before the court on charges including engaging in the sale and purchase of minerals without a license and mining without a license.
The court could not take into record the pleas of the four suspects because there was no interpreter to help translate proceedings for the Chinese nationals.
Prior to this development, Aisha Huang was arrested and deported from Ghana in 2018, and was charged with undertaking small-scale mining operations, contrary to Section 99 (1) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703).
She was also charged with providing mine support services without valid registration with the Minerals Commission, contrary to Section 59 and 99 (2) of the Minerals and Mining Act; and also charged with illegal employment of foreign nationals (in breach of section 24 of the Immigration Act and regulation 18 of the Immigration Regulations).
Many are on social media questioning what the next possible defense of the former Senior Minister will be considering he gave justification previously as to why Aisha Huang could not be prosecuted.
“So, what all does osafo Marfo want? Every scandal he is involved. I suspect he is the landlord of Aisha Huang.†Barima Osei Tutu quizzed
“I’m sure Osafo Marfo will come up with a great reason why we need to just repatriate her back to China. Just like last time.†El Jefe added
“My interest is in what Mr Osafo Marfo go say this time around, †another user said.
In a statement, the Ministry said that based on the advice of the Upper East Regional Council, the review begins today, Monday, September 5, 2022.
The present curfew time of 8:00pm has been changed to 6:00am, 6:00pm, and 6:00am.
“The review of the curfew has been as a result of threat to security in the communities concernedâ€, the statement added.
The administration is also urging local citizensand youthto put their energy toward constructive endeavors rather than violence, which is endangering the peace.
The release further announced that, “there is a total ban on all persons in the aforementioned communities and its environs from carrying arms, ammunition or any offensive weapon and any person found with any arms or ammunition will be arrested and prosecuted.â€
Bawku is a hotspot for clashes between residents of various ethnic groups.
The government has on several occasions imposed a curfew on the town to calm tensions and maintain law and order.
