TIG Post

Author: Phoebe Martekie Doku

  • ‘Deportation from US’ publication: Presidential staffer threatens legal action

    Charles Nii Teiko Tagoe has threatened legal action against Editor of The Herald Newspaper, Larry Dogbey, over a story he inists is defamatory.

    In the said story, Larry Dogbey alleged that Teiko Tagoe had been arrested in the United States and deported to Ghana despite using a diplomatic passport.

    The Herald story read in part: “Mr Tagoe, had posted a picture of himself on Facebook on September 14, 2022, with his leg on a chair moments before boarding the plane at Kotoka International Airport’s Terminal 3.

    “His 5:33 am post and picture was with the caption “If you know, you know. Good morning #Minister4Happiness, Nana Yaw Kesse. Gone in 60 seconds…”

    “But shortly upon arriving in the US, he was picked up and shoved into another aircraft and sent back to Ghana like a common criminal, despite his diplomatic passport. It is not clear, if he was handcuffed or chained to his seat.”

    It added that their sources said Tagoe was directed to deal with the US embassy for clearance before he attempts reentry into the US.

    In his first response to The Herald, the head of new media at the presidency stated that he did not use a diplomatic passport and hadn’t been deported as the report stated.

    “My attention has been drawn to a Herald Publication alleging my deportation from the United States despite using a diplomatic passport.

    “I wish to state that I do not use a diplomatic passport and there is absolutely no truth in the story. I have referred the Herald Newspaper and its Editor Larry Dogbey to my Solicitors for the necessary legal action,” he posted on Facebbok.

    The journalist in responding to the threat, added supposed travel details suggesting that the presidential staffer spent less than a day in the United States before returning to Ghana via a direct flight.

    “Charles Nii Teiko Tagoe ..I didn’t know it was this easy to get you talking. You left Ghana on Tuesday 13th September 2022 onboard KLM through Schipol Amsterdam to New York.

    “You returned the next day Wednesday 14th September 2022 by a direct flight from New York to Accra onboard Delta Airlines. You wanted to come back onboard same KLM through Schipol on Wednesday, 21 September 2022.

    “Who buys a ticket for nearly UD$10,000 to see New York City through the windows of an airport? Waiting for your lawyers. Regards to your wife….” Larry Dogbey replied via Facebook.

    The presidential staffer offered another clarification on his Facebook wall: “So I arrived at John F Kennedy International Airport on Delta Airlines flight DL 047 from Amsterdam and I was arrested and deported at Dallas, Texas International Airport, onboard a United Airlines according to Larry Dogbey and The Herald Newspaper? We shall meet very soon wai.”

  • Government begins second phase of discussions with IMF

    The Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana have commenced discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the second time for an IMF-supported programme.

    The government is also expected to begin negotiations with the IMF this week which will last for about two weeks.

    “Government negotiations with respect to the IMF-supported programme is commencing this week and we are optimistic about making progress in our discussions,” a statement issued by the Ministry noted.

    In order to achieve a programme from the IMF, the government says it has put together a “comprehensive post COVID-19 economic programme which will form the basis for the IMF negotiations.”

    This programme, the Ministry said is to establish a macro-fiscal path that ensures debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability underpinned by key structural reforms and social protection.

    Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has disclosed that it is currently undertaking a debt sustainability analysis to confirm the country’s debt sustainability.

    The Ministry in a statement on Monday, September 26 said this is necessary as it is a prerequisite for an IMF Programme.

    The IMF has also announced that its economic programme with Ghana will focus heavily on debt sustainability.

    This was captured in a Question and Answer statement issued by the IMF as it begins deliberations with the Government of Ghana on an Economic Programme aimed at stabilising Ghana’s economy.

    The IMF also added that the programme will support the credibility of government policies, restore confidence in the central bank’s ability to manage inflation and accumulate foreign exchange reserves to help the local currency withstand headwinds.

    On the Fiscal sector, the IMF noted that an important policy objective would be to increase revenues, critical for debt sustainability while safeguarding spending on health, education, and social protection.

    Details of the engagement

    Dr. Stephane Boudet is expected to lead the IMF mission team members made up of senior economists, research analysts, and communication officers.

    Joy Business is learning that issues about the country’s current fiscal position as well as steps taken to improve the revenue situation will come up.

    The IMF team will engage the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, some business associations, civil society groups and parliament.

    The IMF in its Question and Answer statement maintained that the engagement follows several visits in recent months to engage with the authorities.

  • Ghana beat Nigeria to Global Citizen Festival because of Akufo-Addo – Okraku Mantey

    Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mark Okraku Mantey, has explained that the Global Citizen Festival that took place on September 24, 2022, had originally been scheduled to take place in Nigeria.

    Ghana was picked by the organizers partly because President Akufo-Addo had showed interest in having it take place in Ghana.

    He stressed in an interview on Hitz FM, September 26, that the concert was part of efforts aimed at marketing Ghana’s tourism, “and so, president Akufo-Addo showed interest, originally Global Citizen, they wanted to go to Nigeria, for some good reasons, we were the ones who won,” he said.

    The event has hogged the news headlines because of an incident where the president was booed by a section of the crowd as he arrived on stage to deliver his welcome address.

     The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has suggested that the opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC, were behind the incident, something the NDC has roundly rejected stating that it was a sign of Akufo-Addo’s growing loss of popularity.

    Exactly what happened?

    Thousands of patrons were at the Black Star Square to witness the concert that had a number of local and international artistes performing.

    As host of the event, the president was called upon to give his remarks, which happened to be a prepared speech that lasted over six minutes.

    The booing happened when he started his speech saying: “The whole world is in Ghana today.”

    What started initially as people showing their disapproval of his presence on the stage, turned into loud clapping and chanting of the words: “away, away…,” the president, however, stayed the course and delivered his full speech.

    As if that was not enough, people on social media latched on to the development to mock the president.

    Global Citizen is the world’s largest movement of action takers and impact makers dedicated to ending extreme poverty NOW.

    The voices of millions of Global Citizens around the world are driving lasting change towards sustainability, equality, and humanity by taking action every day.

    The Global Citizen Festival started as a music festival where fans take actions to end extreme poverty in order to earn free tickets to attend.

  • Our opponents don’t read, ‘they just say you are lying’ – Bawumia

    Vice president, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia has lamented the failure of opponents of government to read about or seek clarification on projects being carried out.

    He holds that it is not good enough that despite their failure to seek information on issues, they only resort to accusing those in government of lying.

    Bawumia was speaking at a durbar of chiefs on Monday, September 26 at the commissioning of the Cape Coast roads, as part of Sinohydro projects.

    “Today, marks yet another day of the commissioning of yet another Sinohydro project fiili fiili (sic). Unfortunately for some of our opponents, when we say something and they don’t understand, instead of asking for an explanation and also reading about it, they don’t like to read, they don’t ask for explanation, they just say you are lying.”

    He continued: “But today as we commission the project, they are silent, they are no longer saying it is not possible.”

    He disclosed that a total of 441 km of road and two interchanges are to be constructed, to “help intra urban, regional and national traffic flow and to strengthen regional economic integration.”

    Bawumia cut the sod for the project on 21st November 2019, work started in December 2019 over 30 months duration and had been completed on schedule.

    The Minister of Roads spoke about government’s plan to continually increase the road network and ease movement of goods and persons.

    The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, for his part, stressed that such projects continue to deepen the warm ties between the two countries.

  • Why I was knighted by Prince Charles not Queen Elizabeth – Sir Sam Jonah explains

    Sir Sam Jonah, KBE, has revealed the circumstances under which the British knighthood was conferred on him by Prince Charles (now King Charles III) instead of his late mother Queen Elizabeth II.

    In an interview on the BBUM show, a personality profile programme on Ghana Television (September 25), the former Ashanti Goldfields CEO said it was a privilege to have been invited and honoured by the British Royal Family.

    Jonah was knighted by Prince Charles in 2003, a ceremony that is ordinarily undertaken by the Queen herself. He explained how an equality important engagement took the Queen away hence the duty was placed on her son.

    “I had the privilege to be knighted by Prince Charles in 2003, it was quite an experience, I was fortunate I took my entire family with me, which was very unusual. Because usually they would ask you to come with your spouse.

    “I was fortunate because what happened was, that same day, the reason why I was not knighted by the Queen was that, the Queen was hosting President Putin to a state lunch and therefore it fell on Prince Charles.

    “Therefore, Prince Charles said, bring your entire family and so I took my entire family,” he added.

    In his view, the new King is a “hugely understated and underappreciated person,” adding that he has a commanding presence, unenforced authority and he is a delight to be with.

    He said he felt hugely privileged and fortunate for one hour meeting his family had with the new monarch at the Buckingham Palace.

    In June 2003, Jonah became the first Ghanaian to be knighted in the 21st century when he was presented with an honorary knighthood (KBE) by the then Prince of Wales, in recognition of his achievements as an African businessman, a leading business executive from the Commonwealth, and an international public figure.

     

  • Armed soldiers shoot four men, two JHS students in Bibiani

    Armed soldiers have stormed the township of Bibiani and fired gunshots resulting in injuries to four men and two teenagers.

    According to a report by Onuaonline.com, the soldiers stormed the town, chasing after some illegal miners who had gone to mine in some old pits belonging to Mensin Gold Bibiani Limited.

    The two teenagers said to have been hit by stray bullets fired by the soldiers are 17-year-old Eric Antwi and another 16-year-old boy who received shots in his ribs.

    The two boys are said to be Junior High School students preparing for their Basic Education Certificate Examination.

    The four adults who were also shot include 31-year-old Fusseini Issah, Kwadwo Agyapong alias Baako who sustained four shots and one Bewu.

    The two teenagers are said to be receiving treatment at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

    The recent incident comes on the back of the rancour between residents of Bibiani and Mensin Gold Bibiani Ltd.

    Meanwhile a police investigation has been launched following the shooting incident.

  • Yendi MP engages community youth on skills develpoment

    The Member of Parliament (MP) for Yendi Constituency in the Northern Region Dr Farouk Aliu Mahama has said he is committed to investing in skills training of the youth in the constituency to lead self supporting lives.

    He said mechanisms had been put in place to develop and empower the youth in the area.

    “We cannot develop without the skills development of the youth” he stated.

    He made the statement in Zugu a farming community in Yendi on Sunday as part of his community engagement in the Yendi constituency.

    The purpose of the engagement was to have interface in working to address the concerns and challenges of the people in the constituency.

    Dr Mahama said, he cannot transform Yendi constituency without the support of the communities hence the need for all hands to come on deck.

    He said as part of his New Yendi City (NYC) Agenda, he would continue in the development and empowerment programme of the youth.

    The MP added that, his outfit was collaborating with the McDan Group of Companies to construct an Ultra Modern Vocational Training Centre for the youth in the Yendi constituency.

    He said the construction of the Vocational Training Centre would go a long way to deepen the knowledge and skills of the youth in the area.

    Dr Mahama added that helping to develop the needed skills of the youth would positively have an impact on the economy of this country.

    He expressed his readiness to expand technical and vocational education as part of efforts to provide employable skills to the youth in the area.

    “I would soon be implementing more programmes in rural communities to equip the young people in areas of agriculture skills” he added.

    Dr Mahama added that helping the youth to acquire employable skills was to prevent them from migrating to southern Ghana for non existing jobs.

    The MP called on the youth to have patience as he was working with development partners to give them the needed support.

    The Area Chairman of Gbanda Baaduli, Mr Aliu Jato applauded the MP for the massive infrastructure development he has given them over the past years.

    He therefore appealed to the MP to continue to provide the communities with the developmental projects.

     

  • Prof. Anamuah-Mensah laments shortage of science, math teachers in schools

    A former Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Prof. Jophus Anamuah-Mensah has expressed worry about the inadequate number of science and mathematics teachers to champion the teaching and learning of the subjects in the schools.

    “It is lamentable that after more than 50 years, many senior high schools do not have qualified science and mathematics teachers,” he said.

    He, therefore, underscored the need to take a closer look at various programmes comprising; content, pedagogy, assessment and the need to use data in the training of teachers going forward.

    Prof. Anamuah-Mensah, made the call at a lecture organised by the College of Education Studies of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) as part of activities being held to mark the UCC@60 anniversary celebrations.

    It was on the theme: “College of Education Studies: past, present and future.”

    Prof Anamuah-Mensah underscored the need for the college to take the initiative in strengthening Science, Technology Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education by introducing engineering and robotics in its partner basic education schools.

    He indicated that with the introduction of STEM education in senior high schools and the construction of state-of-the-art STEM special schools, the college should be ready to offer STEM as an integrated programme with its accompanying engineering studies, aeronautics, biomedicine, coding and robotics as practically oriented subjects in the training of STEM teachers.

    Prof.Anamuah-Mensah indicated that the College should not place emphasis on Internally Generated Funds (IGF) alone but also on producing quality human resource for the country.

    He further called for the adoption of endogenous knowledge systems such as herbal medicine, traditional healing, blacksmithing, vulcanising, fishing practices, farming practices, food production, traditional stories and poems, extraction processes, traditional games and toys.

    “These are the cultural heritage of our people and they are easily available resources that can support the teaching of a number of school subjects including science, mathematics, language, and history,” he said.

    He further said: “robust research into these may yield valuable products for the country. A strong research base in this area is required to unearth this knowledge for our development.”

    The provost of the College of Education, Prof Ernest Kofi Davis, in an address, stated that the College had supported the government’s agenda over the year, saying, “For example, the College through the Institute of Education is graduating the first batch of students on the new B.Ed. curriculum run at the Colleges of Education in Ghana.”

    He explained that, the College developed a tailored Post Diploma programme based on the new B.Ed. curriculum run at the Colleges of Education to upgrade Diploma holders upon the request of the Ministry of Education and the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT).

    He indicated that the College was collaborating with schools within the Cape Coast metropolis and Regional and Metropolitan Education offices through the Adoption of Schools project.

    “Through this project, departments within the College work closely with local schools to identify school level problems and work collaboratively with them to solve the problems,” he said.

    He further said that: “This collaboration has brought the College and the Cape Coast Metropolitan Education officer closer in our bid to find ways to improve learning outcomes of students in the Metropolis.”

  • GIJ DRIP holds inter-faculty seminar

    The Directorate of Research Innovation and Development (DRIP) of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) on Friday held its third inter-faculty research seminar in Accra.

    Themed “Fighting real fire, a case of two Ghanaian crisis management organisations,” the event brought together students, some media representatives and lecturers of the tertiary institution.

    It sought to discuss the outcome of a study conducted in the area of crisis management in Ghana citing two leading state institutions which are the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).

    In her presentation, Senior Lecturer and Dean of the Faculty of Public Relations, Advertising and Integrated Marketing (FOPAM), Dr Mavis Essandoh said the study found that in spite of logistical and other constraints facing the GNFS and NADMO, the organisations had provided some information for the public, adding that most of the communication was reactive.

    The mandate of the GNFS, she said was to provide efficient valued rescue service and improve public safety from fires amongst others, educating the public about how to prevent and manage fires.

    Dr Essandoh stressed that the GNFS must also focus on providing technical support in emergencies that were beyond individual capabilities.

    Based on the responses of the research participants, which included 20 persons, she explained that the GNFS’s role was highly recognised, as well as their responsibility, saying this was in sync with the GNFS Act 537 which clearly stipulated their functions and objectives.

    However, Dr Essandoh said the study found that in spite of the assurances from the fires fighting firm, the GNFS was overwhelmed with lack of logistics and clear directions of their operations.

    “We also found that NADMO and GNFS had only a few planned educational programmes for the public before crisis or disasters. They used face to face and reactive means to communicate during crisis and newspaper reports suggests that they did not provide reports on the causes of fire incidents and disasters after they occurred,” she stated.

    Dr Essandoh therefore stressed the need for more public education in fires, saying the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) also must be brought on board to compliment the efforts of the GNFS and NADMO in terms of public education in disasters.

    Explaining further, she said the study recommended that the GNFS and NADMO should be empowered enough to investigate and disapprove of building permits for structures constructed on waterways to prevent flooding in the country.

    This, she said should be done in collaboration with other regulatory institutions like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Lands Commission.

    Deputy Rector of GIJ, Professor Eric Opoku Mensah in his remarks commended the DRIP for the seminar which he described as highly educative.

  • Men urged to do periodic PSA tests to ascertain health status

    Men who are 40 years and above, have been advised to have periodic Prostate Serum Antigen (PSA) tests to ascertain the health status of their prostate.

    The PSA test is a blood test used primarily to screen for prostate cancer.

    The test measures the amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood.

    Regular screening for prostate cancer, according to Vice President of the Cancer Support Network Ghana (CSNGH) Mr Eric Odei Brobbey reveals abnormalities at early stages and increases survival of the disease.

    Speaking in an interview with the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday, he bemoaned that prostate cancer was the leading cause of death among men in Ghana, adding that regular screening could go a long way in salvaging the situation.

    He also cautioned against ignoring the risk factors and signs of prostate cancer, adding that “When you pay proper attention to your body you can easily notice changes and seek prompt medical attention, especially persons with strong history of cancer in their families, instead of ignoring certain symptoms which could turn out to be prostate cancer.”

    He also mentioned that aside a strong cancer history in families, certain lifestyles, environmental factors and hormonal imbalances were contributory factors to the disease.

    He stressed that since the early stages of the diseases usually presented no symptoms at all so it was advisable for men to “be mindful of their prostate health.”

    Symptoms of an enlarged prostate, Mr Brobbey said included frequent urination especially at night, dribbling of urine and painful ejaculation, adding that these signs could also indicate cancer.

    According to him, many sufferers of the disease in Ghana visit the hospital after the cancer had reached an advanced stage, stressing that this was why periodic screening was very necessary.

    Explaining he said advanced prostate cancer could lead to paralysis, anemia, kidney failure, swollen scrotum as a result of accumulated fluid, stroke and severe back ache among others.

    “Mostly before you see or experience the manifestation of these signs it means the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body that is why we keep stressing on routine screening” he added.

    Prostate cancer, he said, when detected early was curable and therefore urged suffers of the disease who were on treatment to do away with fear.

    “This disease is curable especially when detected early so please focus on your treatment and stop entertaining any kind of fear. There are many survivors of prostate cancer so see yourselves as individuals who would soon add to the number of persons who won the fight against the disease,” he added.

    Mr Brobbey also cautioned against defaulting approved methods of treatment for unapproved ones like herbal treatment.

    In furtherance, he called on the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to incorporate the treatment of the disease unto the scheme because of the high cost of treatment as many resort to unapproved prostate cancer treatment centres due to the inability to afford treatment for the disease at the hospitals.

    When it comes to prostate cancer support, Mr Brobbey who is also a health practitioner at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Accra, said CSNGH had provided supported to many sufferers of the disease and called on individuals and organisations to include support for cancer patients in their philanthropic activities.

     

  • NDC answers 12 critical questions about election 2020

    The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has done a review of the 2020 general elections, raising some critical questions about the party’s activities before, during and after the elections.

    In a statement by the member of the National Elections Directorate of the NDC, DR. Tanko R. Computer raised questions including why did the NDC didn’t go to the Supreme Court with its pink sheets.

    Other questions about whether or not the party transmitted its results, and whether or not the elections were rigged for Nana Addo were also raised, with what appears to be carefully written answers following.

    For instance, in response to why the party didn’t proceed to the Supreme Court with its pink sheets, the statement indicated that despite the party’s efforts to get the pinksheets used for the 2020 elections to the Supreme Court, ‘an iron wall’ had been built around Electoral Commission Boss, Jean Mensah and her EC such that it was difficult to.

  • Go for HIV test – NACP urges public as infections increase across the country

    The National Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDs Control Programme (NACP) has implored the general public to take seriously testing to know their HIV status in the wake of increased infections across the country.

    The Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at the Programme, Kenneth AyehDanso, describing the country’s HIV prevalence as a “generalised epidemic” said testing was the only way out to put those reactive to the virus on early treatment and for person’s negative to take precautionary measures against infection.

    He was speaking at a media training workshop organised by the Ghana HIV and AIDs Network (GHANET) to rethink current HIV programming and interventions in the face of dwindling donor support amidst rise in HIV infections.

    It was on the theme; “Rethinking HIV interventions for Vulnerable Populations in the country”.

    Mr Danso said per a 2021 HIV/AIDS estimate of about 345,599 persons living with HIV (PLHIVs) in Ghana, 22.7 percent (78,450) were among men who had sex with men (MSM; 18.1 per cent) and female sex workers (FSW; 4.6 per cent).

    “We know that most men have poor health seeking behaviours unlike women who visit at the least symptom they experience, and the danger is that these men are often bisexual so they are likely to have different partners they have sex with and they too may have sex with another, then the disease is transmitting.”

    He said testing to know one’s HIV status would set the country on the path to achieving the UNAIDs 95-95-95 target of having 95 percent of PLHIVs knowing their status, 95 percent on anti-retroviral treatment and 95 percent attaining viral suppression by 2025.

    “Currently, we have achieved 71-99-79 of this target, which means there is a huge gap at people knowing their HIV status and people sticking religiously to their medications to achieve viral suppression.”

    A Public Health Consultant, DrNiiNorteyHanson-Nortey, urged government to keep HIV prevention and treatment as a front-burner issue on its political agenda.

    He called on the government to, as a matter of urgency, invest in the legal and social infrastructures that militate the HIV/AIDS fight.

    “Investing in an effective and efficient response system for sexual, domestic and gender-based violence, intimate sexual partner violence, among others, we ensure a stigma and violence free environment.”

    Dr Hanson-Nortey stressed the need to reduce stigma surrounding HIV testing as well as make HIV testing centres and kits readily available, especially to key populations and vulnerable groups such as young people, FSWs and MSMs.

    The President of GHANET, Mr Ernest Ortsin, urged the public to be wary of unorthodox medications purporting to cure HIV/AIDs, saying, “There is no evidence to suggest that any herbal medicine can cure HIV”.

    “Even the anti-retroviral medication do not cure HIV/AIDs, they only suppress the viral load so there is no cure as at now for the disease. People should be bold to report when they get to know their HIV status for the right treatment to lead normal lives,” he advised.

    Recent data from the NACP indicated that a total of 23,495 tested positive for HIV in Ghana for the first half of this year.

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

    Currently, Ghana has a 1.7 percent HIV prevalence, which means that of every 100 people tested in the country, two are positive for the disease.

    At the end of 2021, 16,938 new HIV infections were recorded in the country, with 9,859 persons dying from the disease.

  • Let’s not be hypocrites, flagbearer hopefuls are already campaigning – Obiri Boahen tells NPP

    Former Deputy General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen says his party’s directive that flagbearer hopefuls within the party cannot campaign is ‘misleading’.

    According to him, aspirants are already campaigning despite the party’s many cautions to sanction any aspirant found guilty of an open campaign ahead of the primary.

    “Let’s not be hypocrites, aspirants are already on the move on the ground,” he said.

    Nana Obiri Boahen who was discussing an early primary for NPP flagbearer hopeful on NEAT FM’s morning show, ‘Ghana Montie’ said his party must volte-face its decision for an early contest.

    The NPP, last year, issued a code of conduct barring its members from endorsing or campaigning for potential parliamentary or presidential candidates ahead of the opening of nominations.

    As part of the code of conduct, the party said prospective candidates who condone any such barred activities will be held responsible.

     

  • 43-year-old man electrocuted at Boadi

    On Monday, September 26, 2022, Emmanuel Senyo, a cabbage farmer has met his untimely death after being electrocuted.

    The 43-year-old man who resides in Ashanti Region’s Oforikrom Municipality, at Boadi  is said to have coming into contact with a live wire while traveling to the farm.

    In an interview with OTEC News, the assembly member for Appiadu, Emana, and Kokoben Electoral Area, Hon. Kenneth Owusu Bediako, the victim passed away instantly after touching the exposed.

    “He was on his way to the farm when he saw the naked wire in the middle of the road, the wire had fallen from a high tension in the area, he tried to pull the cable away from the road not knowing it was still holding power.”

    “We suspect the wire to have fallen during the torrential rainfall in the area,” he added.

    “He was burnt to death, one of his hands was mutilated in the process with parts of his body almost turning to ashes,” said the assembly man.

    The deceased left two wives and five children behind.

    His body has been conveyed to the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital by police in the area.

     

     

  • Madina MP files bill to cause radical changes in General Legal Council

    The Member of Parliament for Madina Constituency, Francis Xavier-Sosu is seeking radical changes to the General Legal Council through a Private Members Bill.

    The MP who is seeking a reconstitution of the GLC has filed a Bill in parliament with the support of the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor.

    “In my view, it is obvious that change is imminent and it is the only way we can resolve the matters. “In fact, it is part of the reasons why myself and my colleague, Hon Dafeamekpor, [are] championing a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament, requesting for a complete overhaul of the General Legal Council; its membership, its composition, its function and everything has to be overhauled. “The same thing has to be applied to the approach we see legal education,” the MP said in an interview on TV3.

    The move by the MP and his colleague comes on the back of the rescheduling of an entrance examination by the Ghana School of Law as a result of question leakage.

    A four-page examination question scheduled to be administered on Friday, September 23, 2022, was cancelled as the questions were shared on social media hours before it was to be taken. The General Legal Council has over the years been criticised for deliberately limiting access to legal education in Ghana.

     

  • We won’t recognize doctors trained in Ukraine – Medical and Dental Council

    The Medical and Dental Council of Ghana has said that it will no longer recognise degree certificates issued by Medical and Dental Schools from Ukraine, as some schools have resorted to studying online.

    According to a citinewsroom report, the council said that the training of these students online is not in accordance with the required process and will not be accepted as it threatens the quality and credence of the profession.

    “Training to be a doctor must be in accordance with established strategies. Will potential patients be happy to be treated by a doctor who was trained online? We have to take our public interest responsibility seriously. The point is what is the kind of training that is acceptable in the world? If it is not standard, then, I am afraid, this regulator will not give any stamp of approval,” citinewsroom quoted the Council’s Registrar, Dr. Divine Ndonbi Banyubala.

    He therefore urged students to take advantage of the government’s intervention to continue their training in Ghana rather than taking online lessons.

    According to citinewsroom.com, the newly trained doctors are granted licenses to practice in Ghana after the examination.

    In 2019 for instance, a total of 157 out of 225 foreign-trained Ghanaian doctors who sat for the Medical and Dental Council (MDC)’s examination failed.

    Only 68, representing a 30.2 per cent pass rate, were able to prove their mettle in the examination.

    The 225 comprises 208 general duty medical doctors, eight general duty dentists, eight specialists and a ‘matured’ candidate, who studied in more than 10 universities in China, Ukraine, Russia, Philippine and Belarus for six years.

    The bi-annual examination, introduced in 2000, is to ensure that doctors trained in other countries had the requisite knowledge and skill to offer medical and dental care to patients in the country.

  • Frontiers Contract contains information we cannot disclose – Ghana Airports Company Ltd

    The Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) claims that certain information in its contract with Frontiers Health Services is confidential.

    According to Managing Director Pamela Djamson-Tettey, the aforementioned information is exempted under Section 10 of the Right to Information Act, 2019, Act 989.

    Section 10 of Act 989 provides as follows;

    “Information is exempt from disclosure prior to official publication where

    (a) the information contains trade secrets or financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that belongs to the State or public institution and the information has monetary or a potential monetary value;

    (b) the disclosure of the information can reasonably be expected to affect the integrity or stability of the financial system or, damage the financial interests of the State or public institution or the ability of the State to manage the national economy;

    (c) the disclosure of the information can reasonably be expected to cause a disruption of business or trade in the country;

    (d) the disclosure of the information can unduly benefit or be injurious to a person because it provides prior information about future economic or financial measures to be introduced by the Government or public institution;

    (e) the information contains criterion, procedure, position or instruction that relates to negotiations being carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the State or public institution, the disclosure of which shall be injurious to national security and economic development; or

    (f) the information contains questions or methodology to be used in an examination, recruitment, or selection process and the release is likely to jeopardise the integrity of that examination, recruitment, or selection process”

    Additionally, Mrs. Djamson-Tettey added that the company does not have access to information about the “ chronology of the processes that led to the selection of an award to Frontiers Health Services…”

    This is her response to an RTI request sent to the company by the Head of Research at Joynews Raymond Acquah.

    In addition to the above information, Mr Acquah also wanted information on the following;

    “The reason(s) for the selection and award of the contract specified above to Frontiers Health Services.

    The total amount of money generated from the Covid-19 testing at the airport from the inception of this agreement with frontiers to date.

    The total amount of money that has been made by frontiers health services from the covid-19 testing at the airport from the inception of the contract with frontiers to date.

    The total amount of money that has been made by the government of Ghana from the covid-19 testing at the airport from the inception of the contract with frontiers till date.”

    The company replied that passengers arriving in the country paid directly to Frontiers.

    “GACL is unable to confirm the amount of money derived from the covid-19 testing because passengers paid directly to Frontiers Healthcare, providers of the service.”

    Frontiers were tasked to undertake covid-19 test at the Kotoka International Airport.

    The deal came under intense scrutiny following allegations of corruption levelled by some civil society organisations and opposition MPs.

    Transport Minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, however, explained to Parliament that the Ghana Airports Company complied fully with the procurement laws.

     

     

  • Parliament approves fees for “access” to information

    Parliament has passed the law spelling out the various fees to be paid by persons seeking Information under the Right to Information (RTI)law.

    This is the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous provisions Act 2022 (ACT 1080). Persons seeking Information are to pay 0.27 pesewas for every photocopy of A4 size of information.

    ection 75 of the Right to Information Act, 2019, (ACT 989) requires applicants to pay the fee approved by Parliament.

    “An applicant seeking access to information under this Act shall pay the fee or charge approved by Parliament in accordance with the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act,2009 (Act 793).”

    The Right to Information Commission in accordance with this law submitted a proposal to Parliament spelling out how much should be charged.

    Even before this could be passed, applicants seeking information were in some instances asked to pay amounts considered to be problematic.

    The Fourth Estate’s Evans Aziamor Mensah was asked by the Minerals Commission to pay $1,000 to access Information.

    This amount was later set aside by the Right to Information Commission as being unreasonable. The matter is currently pending at the Court of Appeal.

    Speaking on The Law on the Joynews Channel, Executive Secretary of the RTI Commission, Yaw Sarpong Boateng, said the new fees approved by Parliament will provide clarity on the matter.

    “It sits with our argument that the fees ought to be reasonable in respect of the reproduction not for the cost of generating the Information.”

     

     

  • We can’t confirm how much Frontiers made from Covid-19 testing at airport – GACL

    The Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) says it is unaware of the amount of money made by Frontiers Healthcare Service from Covid-19 testing at the airports.

    The company was tasked by government to undertake an assessment of travellers as part of measures to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus.

    This GACL was responding to a request made by JoyNews’ Research Desk through the Right to Information (RTI) Law.

    The JoyNews team among other things asked for the total amount made from the operation.

    But GACL Managing Director Pamela Djamson-Tettey says her outfit is not abreast of that information.

    “GACL is unable to confirm the amount of money derived from the covid-19 testing because passengers paid directly to Frontiers Healthcare, providers of the service,” she said on September 19.

    We can't confirm how much Frontiers made from Covid-19 testing at airport - GACL

    The application also contained a request for a copy of the agreement between government and the healthcare service provider.

    In that regard, the MD said she cannot disclose that in accordance with Section 10 of the Right to Information Act, 2019, Act 989.

    The desk also sought the modalities that led to Frontiers’ selection action for the activity.

    But the GACL says it “is not in possession of the chronology of the processes that led to the selection and award to Frontiers Health Services to provide the COVID-19 testing at the Airport.”

    The deal came under intense scrutiny following allegations of corruption levelled by some civil society organisations and opposition MPs.

    Transport Minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, however, explained to Parliament that the Ghana Airports Company complied fully with the procurement laws.

     

  • Dr. Dre reacts to Rihanna headlining super bowl halftime show: ‘I can’t wait to see what she’s going to do’

    Today is officially Rihanna’s day, with fans of the R&B singee celebrating her confirmed return to the live music stage for the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show in Feb. 2023.

    Among those looking forward to witnessing Rihanna’s Halftime takeover is Dr. Dre, who gave an award-winning performance at the Super Bowl this year alongside Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent.

    “Oh, my God. Let me tell you something, man. I actually just got the news that Rihanna’s going to do [the Halftime Show] and I’m a super fan of Rihanna,” he said during an interview with Ebro Darden on Apple Music 1. “I can’t wait to see what she’s going to do.”

    Rihanna sneakily confirmed to the world that she would be headlining the LVII Halftime Show with a picture of an NFL-branded football on her Instagram. Roc Nation followed shortly after, officially confirming their participation as the strategic entertainment advisors of Rihanna’s live performance.

    Dre continued, “I just like her and what she does and her get down and how she approaches her artistry and the whole nine. It’s fantastic.” He also commented that Rihanna “has the opportunity to really blow us away,” before adding, “I know we set the bar extremely high.”

    He also made sure to give Rihanna a few pointers ahead of the performance planning: “Put the right people around you and have fun. That’s basically what it is — making sure you have the right creative people around you.”

    Reflecting on his 2022 Super Bowl performance, Dre admitted that he was “extremely nervous,” but when it came down to it, it was “the preparation and making sure you have the right people around you” that made the show.

    “All of these people came through for me and everybody was extremely enthusiastic about the show. We had a good time, although it’s a lot of things and a lot of people you have to depend on,” he explained. “So it is an extreme amount of pressure, but it’s fun at the same time. When it’s done, it’s like goosebumps, bro. I got goosebumps, especially from the reaction that we got from the show, and especially being able to do the show with all of my friends.”

     

  • Who fills Asiedu Nketia’s shoes as General Secretary?

    After 17 years of serving as the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Kwadwo Asiedu Nketia has decided to hang up his boots at least from this position.

    The role of Asiedu Nketia, who is popularly known as General Mosquito, as the General Secretary of the NDC, from 2005, cannot be overemphasized. Under his watch, the NDC has won 2 presidential elections and has also been the majority in Ghana’s parliament on two occasions.

    Replacing General Mosquito will no doubt be a tall order for the NDC, given his vast political experience having served as a Member of Parliament for 12 years and a deputy minister for four years in addition to his service as the General Secretary of the NDC.

    Some brave members of the NDC have been tipped to replace the outgoing General Secretary, whose tenure is expected to end in about three months.

    GhanaWeb takes a look at four of these party members who are likely to fill the ‘big’ shoes of General Mosquito.

    Abdul Ishaq Farrakhan

    Abdul Ishaq Farrakhan is one of the names that have been mentioned as a replacement for Johnson Asiedu Nketia. This will not be the first time Abdul Ishaq Farrakhan has been tipped to be the General Secretary of the NDC.

    In 2014, he was the only person who dared to challenge General Mosquito for the party’s General Secretary position even though he lost.

    Ishaq Farrakhan, who is 52 years old, previously served the party as its district chairman in the Obuasi Municipality in the Ashanti Region.

    In the run-up to the 2014 NDC executive election, Farrakhan can be remembered for saying that he was going to spray General Mosquito with a mosquito insecticide.

    In 2018, Abdullah Ishaq Farrakhan was one of 11 people who contested in the party’s Deputy General Secretary elections which he lost to Dr. Peter Boamah Otokonor.

    Even though he has not stated his intention, many party folks have indicated Farrakhan is one of the people who can replace General Mosquito.

    Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey

    Another name that has come up as a replacement for General Mosquito is Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey, the former Member of Parliament for the Ketu South Constituency in the Volta Region in Ghana’s 6th and 7th Parliaments.

    Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey, in addition to his role as MP, was the deputy minister of finance, from 2009 to 2013. He was also appointed by former President John Dramani Mahama, to serve as the Minister of State at the Presidency in charge of Financial and Allied Institutions. He also served as the Minister of Food and Agriculture and the Minister for Transport.

    Before his roles as MP and minister, Kwetey served as the party’s chairman at the University of Ghana, Legon. He was also an advisor to the late former President Jerry John Rawlings and was also voted as the party’s chief communicator, otherwise known as the Propaganda Secretary. He is now the National Communication Officer.

    The former Ketu South MP is yet to confirm whether he will be contesting in the upcoming national election which is slated for December 2022.

    Dr. Peter Boamah Otokunor

    The current Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Dr. Peter Boamah Otokunor, has stated his intention of contesting in the NDC’s General Secretary race.

    The Deputy General Secretary of the NDC is also the Deputy Director of Research of the NDC and the Registrar for the Ghana Institute of Social Democracy (GISD).

    Dr. Otokunor previously contested in the NDC primaries for the Ablekuma Central Constituency parliamentary seat in 2015 which he lost. He has served in various positions in NDC governments including the Deputy Coordinator for the National Youth Authority (NYA).

    He had recently worked as the Senior Researcher at the Communications Directorate (Office of the President) prior to being the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority of Ghana.

    Elvis Afriyie Ankrah

    Another person who has clearly stated his intention to contest in the party’s General Secretary race is the party’s Director of Elections, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah.

    Afriyie Ankrah served as the Deputy National Campaign Manager for the 2008 and National Campaign Coordinator for the 2012 Presidential Campaigns of the National Democratic Congress and both Presidents, John Evans Atta Mills and John Dramani Mahama.

     

  • Kumasi central market flooded, items destroyed

    Severe flooding at the Kumasi Central Market in the Ashanti Region has destroyed wares estimated to be over 10 billion old cedis.

    About 300 shops filled with wax prints, provisions, kitchen wares, children’s clothing, assorted drinks, and food items among others as water submerged their area early Monday morning.

    Some of the affected traders who spoke to OTEC News’ Kwame Agyenim Boateng disclosed that about 1,500 chickens were swept away by the flood

    “It was very scary, this is the third time we are experiencing such a deluge in the last month.”

    “We have lost almost all our capital to the perennial flooding and nothing is been done about the situation,” one of the victims, Maa Victoria cried.

    Meanwhile, the traders accused the contractor working on the second phase of the Kejetia Redevelopment project of blocking drains in the area.

    The situation according to them forced river Subin out of its banks and flooded the market.

    They have therefore appealed to the authorities in the Kumasi Metropolis to as a matter of urgency speak with the contractor and do the needful to halt the flood.

  • A lot of them lack home training – NPP Communicator scolds persons who booed Akufo-Addo

    Patrons of the Global Citizens Festival who heckled President Akufo-Addo have been reprimanded by the ruling New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) deputy director of communications, Jennifer Queen.

    She asserted that those individuals were hired by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to stir up trouble.

    “The event was to sell the country to the entire globe. So if you end up cutting parts of some videos or instigate people to hoot at the president who is our leader it speaks very bad of you. Some people want to claim that they are the doyen of wisdom and are acting smart.

    “This is becoming a norm nowadays. If a minister, vice president or government official goes to a programme you find people who go out to hoot at them. But what that tells is that a lot of these people lack home training. A lot of these people lack proper upbringing,” she said on the Monday, September 26, 2022, edition of Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia programme.

    The New Patriotic Party’s deputy director of communications added that the NDC had incited the crowd with the support of a few stubborn people in an effort to earn easy political points.

    “Despite all the benefits the state is gaining from the event, the NDC and their evil mindsets wanted it to fail. The intel gathered by our National Communication Directorate shows that they sat down to orchestrate this to outshine the beauty of the programme. I am talking about the NDC because they were the first group of people who started sharing the video,” she stated.

    Jennifer Queen, however, condemned the actions of the crowd while emphasising the success of the event, which she notes adds to the president’s commitment to pushing Ghana’s entertainment, arts and culture.

    “I will tell you that it is condemnable, it was unwarranted, it was bad behaviour from some elements who were being paid to go and do that, but in the end, the programme went on successfully,” she said.

    The booing of President Akufo-Addo has attracted several social media reactions, with some critics saying it was a reflection of frustrated Ghanaians expressing their disaffection with the president and his government.

     

     

  • ‘Dozens of foreigners are still hiding in my community’ – Akokoamong Assemblyman laments

    The Assembly member for Akokoamong Electoral Area in the Ejisu Municipality, Hon Daniel Owusu, has disclosed that dozens of foreigners are still hiding in the community at the blindside of authorities in the area.

    Some of these outlanders according to the assembly member are engaging in rogue operations including operating a school for men between the ages of 18 to 30.

    It is yet to be known by authorities as to what they are teaching the men who have been camped at secret places in the community.

    The foreigners suspected to hail from Cameroon, Niger, Burkina, and other neighboring countries have been camping secretly without the notice of authorities in the area.

    In an interview on the Kumasi-based OTEC 102.9 FM’s morning show, Nyansapo, on Monday, September 26, 2022, Hon Daniel Owusu said although police in the region have arrested some of these foreigners, dozens of them are still hiding in the community.

    “Sources in the community say there are many of these immigrants hiding in our area, and I must say the situation has sparked fear among us.”

    ARREST OF FOREIGNERS

    Police in the Ashanti Region on Thursday, September 22, 2022, arrested 48 foreigners suspected to be illegal immigrants living in a five-bedroom house at Akokoamong.

    The arrest follows a combined action by Security officials and community members who claimed to have observed the suspicious moves by these people in the past few months.

    The suspects have since been held at the Ejisu Divisional Police Command assisting investigations.

     

  • Nana Clark hit her with a club bottle – New details of how suspects killed Mankessim murder victim

    There are emerging details of how two men gruesomely murdered a 25-year-old lady at Mankessim in the Central Region of Ghana.

    The body of Georgina Asor Botchwey was exhumed from the house of the Tufuhene of Akwakrom, Nana Onyaa Clark, who is now facing murder charges together with a fiancé of the deceased’s sister, Michael Darko.

    Darko, who resides in Kumasi, is said to have requested to meet up with Georgina when she travelled from Yeji to attend an admission interview at the Ankarful Nursing Training School.

    After Georgina concluded her interview, she was picked up by Darko in the company of Nana Clark in a taxicab on September 9, 2022.

    They subsequently drove to where the chief had parked his Mercedes Benz with registration number GT 8686 C.

    The two then sent their victim to Nana Clark’s apartment at Akwakrom, where they took away her phone and locked her up in a room.

    They later went to Sikafoambantem, another suburb of Mankessim, where the chief had another building and dug a hole in the uncompleted building.

    They then came back and picked up their victim from Akwakrom Sikafoambantem. Nana Clark is then said to have hit the young lady with a club while Darko held her neck until she died.

    They then buried her in the hole they had dug after shaving her.

    This new report reveals how the suspects who have confessed to killing the victim for ritual purposes carried out their plan.

    The suspects who have been remanded into custody are to reappear on Tuesday, October 4, 2022.

    They have been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, to wit murder and murder contrary to section 46 of the Criminal and Offences Acts 1980, Act 29.

     

  • 59-year-old ‘Trotro’ driver stabbed to death by suspected armed robbers at Afrancho

    A 59-year-old trotro driver has been stabbed to death by some suspected armed robbers at Afrancho in the Afigya Kwabre South District of the Ashanti Region.

    Alex Kwadwo Boateng was found dead at a place near Blue Ice Hotel on Saturday, September 24, 2022.

    Some residents in the area who spoke to OTEC News’ Kwame Agyenim said the deceased was on his way to take his Urvan bus when the incident occurred.

    A fuel station attendant who lives in the area spoke to OTEC News; “he’s our customer, he parks his car here at our fuel station, Mr. Alex as we call him is the first to come here every morning for his car.”

    “We heard that the suspected robbers attacked him and stabbed him in the stomach while he was on his way to take the car early Saturday morning.”

    The body of the deceased has since been deposited at the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital by police in the area.

  • Fire guts cargo terminal at Ashtown

    Fire has gutted portions of a cargo terminal at Ashtown in the Kumasi Metropolis of the Ashanti destroying about 15 coffins.

    The ravaging fire which occurred on Saturday, September 24, 2022, also burnt other valuables amounting to thousands of cedis.

    OTEC News’ Kwame Agyenim Boateng, said firemen responded promptly to the emergency call and ensured that the fire did not spread to adjoining buildings.

    A worker at the terminal Mr. Abdullahi narrated the incident to OTEC News: “Our Cargo Cars load goods from Kumasi to Bolga and other parts of the three northern regions, so we were packing our goods as usual until we suddenly heard a blast in one of our containers.”

    “A thick smoke followed the blast almost immediately; we rushed to the scene and saw a fire burning so we called fire officials to help.”

    Items lost include refrigerators, plastic containers, several boxes of matches, tricycles, canned foods, and coffins among others amounting to hundreds of Ghana cedis,” he said.

    As of the time of this report, fire service officials were still dousing the inferno.

  • Car burns at Dzorwulu, causes massive traffic on N1

    A car is caught up in flames near the Menzgold office in Dzorwulu.

    The event which happened an hour ago has left drivers and passengers as there is severe traffic on the section of the N1 Highway going to the Accra Mall area.

    Per reports, the burning car, Pontiac Vibe with the license plate NR 37 11 was being driven by a female.

    The owner of the vehicle, according to sources she was on her way to East Legon, however, when she got to Dzorwulu she observed smoke rising from the bonnet of her car, as such she pulled over to investigate.

    Shortly after this, the car caught fire and blew up in flames. She however managed to, with the help of some bystanders and a police officer who was around, to get her luggage out of the vehicle before the fire escalated.

    Though details of what started the fire remain scanty, the owner of the vehicle is said to have narrowly escaped.

    Meanwhile, some personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service who rushed to the scene have brought the situation under control.

  • Speaker Bagbin has not resigned from GBA – Law Society of Ghana

    In contrast to prior reports, the Law Society of Ghana (LSG) has said that the Speaker of Parliament has not resigned from the Ghana Bar Association (GBA).

    According to the news release from the LSG, Speaker Alban Bagbin only expressed concerns regarding the current situation of the GBA while expressing hope that there will be significant reforms that will enhance the association’s reputation.

    “It must be placed on record that nowhere in the Speaker’s welcoming remarks during our visit did he ever state that he has resigned from the Ghana Bar Association (GBA).

    “In his remarks, he expressed in strong words his revulsion about the state of the GBA and wishes to see a change for a better Bar Association committed to the aims, objectives and ethics as captured and practised globally,” a statement signed by LSG’s acting President, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor.

    It was recently reported that Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, had resigned from the Ghana Bar Association (GBA).

    Per the earlier details, Mr. Bagbin had said that a lot of people were worried about the state of GBA and their actions.

    ” I am no longer a member of GBA,” he is said to have noted while explaining tha he did not seem to benefit from the association.

    Speaker Bagbin said the GBA has now become an association of elites, stressing that he used to pay his dues “religiously” but got to know that any lawyer that attended the public tribunal was not recognized and thus his interest in GBA diminished.

  • Residents of Boayini to boycott 2024 elections if their road is not fixed

    Chief, community elders, and youth of Boayini, a farming community in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region are demanding immediate action from the government to fix their deplorable road network in the area.

    The community which has over 3,000 inhabitants says they cannot access the West Mamprusi Municipal capital, Walewale, without passing through Langbinsi in the East Mamprusi Municipality due to the inaccessibility nature of the road linking Walewale.

    The residents who organized communal labor to fix some dangerous potholes on the road are lamenting the negligence of the government to get the road fixed over the past years.

    The residents reiterated that pregnant women and people with other health complications are bearing the brunt of the unmemorable state of the road whenever they want to access quality healthcare in any of the hospitals in the region.

    In an interview during the communal labor organized by the residents, the spokesman for the Chief of the community, Mba Kadri Kofi declared that they will boycott the upcoming 2024 national elections if the road is not constructed.

    “I will like to be on my knees to appeal to the government to come to our rescue. We have been neglected. They promised to provide us with electricity but they have failed. Look at the poles erected there. The abandoned footbridge is about washing away. We will like to declare our intention to boycott the 2024 elections unless our road is fixed. So we will not vote again unless our demands are materialized,” he lamented.

    The recent rains have eroded the road making it difficult for road users to use unless they apply wisdom. The residents say the situation has been an opportunity for armed robbers to be attacking them.

    The Assemblyman for the Mimima electoral area, Hon Aziz Adingana says the MCE and MP promised to fix it but have failed them.

    “I met with the MCE and the MP as of 2021 December, if you check into our executive committee meeting it was a recommendation that Boayini road should be worked on but when we met this year, I consulted and they said there are no funds so we decided to organize a communal labor,” he said.

    The women were helping their husbands to fill the potholes by carrying head pans after fueling a tractor to dig the gravel for them.

  • Akufo-Addo booed: Our intel shows it was planned and orchestrated by the NDC – NPP

    The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has stated that the booing of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo by some patrons of the Global Citizens event was instigated by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

    According to the Deputy Communications Director of the party, Jennifer Queen, the NDC orchestrated the incident to take away the shine and benefits of the global event held at the Independence Square on Saturday, September 24, 2022, brought to Ghana.

    “Despite all the benefits the state is gaining from the event, the NDC and their evil mindsets wanted it to fail. The intel gathered by our National Communication Directorate shows that they sat down to orchestrate this to outshine the beauty of the programme. I am talking about the NDC because they were the first group of people who started sharing the video,” she said on Okay FM.

    Thousands of patrons were at the Black Star Square to witness the Global Citizen Festival, which had a number of local and international artistes performing.

    When it was the turn of President Akufo-Addo to make his presentation, a section of the crowd began clapping and chanting ‘away, away…”

    The incident attracted several social media reactions, with some critics saying it was a reflection of frustrated Ghanaians expressing their disaffection with the president and his government.

    But according to Jennifer Queen, the NDC rather saw the need to score cheap political points by organising some individuals with poor home-taught manners to disrespect the president.

    “The event was to sell the country to the entire globe. So if you end up cutting parts of some videos or instigate people to hoot at the president who is our leader, it speaks very bad of you. Some people want to claim that they are the doyen of wisdom and are acting smart.

    “This is becoming a norm nowadays. If a minister, vice president or a government official goes to a programme, you find people who go out to hoot at them. But what that tells is that a lot of these people lack home training. A lot of these people lack proper upbringing,” she said.

    Away! Away! – Akufo-Addo booed on stage at Global Citizen festival in Accra

    Away! Away! – Akufo-Addo booed on stage at Global Citizen festival in Accra

    0 seconds of 1 minute, 25 secondsVolume 90%

    While describing the chants as despicable, the party communicator nonetheless emphasised the success of the event, which she notes adds to the president’s commitment to pushing Ghana’s entertainment, arts and culture.

    “I will tell you that it is condemnable, it was unwarranted, it was bad behaviour from some elements who were being paid to go and do that, but in the end, the programme went on successfully,” she said.

     

     

  • Here’s a breakdown of how NSMQ questions are set and accepted

    The quiz mistress of the National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ), Prof. Elsie Kaufmann, has given a breakdown of the processes that go into the setting of questions for the popular national program.

    According to her, the process begins with an extensive work done by a team of four consultants, each one for a subject area.

    “We have four subject consultants: physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics. Their work is to set questions. Now, the questions they set are taken through a moderation meeting where we all sit down and read everything,” she said.

    Prof. Kaufmann, who is the Dean of the Engineering Department at the University of Ghana, and one of about only 4 female professors in engineering in Ghana, explained that, in that meeting, her role as quiz mistress is to scrutinize the questions that have been presented.

    “As the quiz mistress, my job is to sit there and listen to the questions so that I can determine if it would work out well with the students. Also, I am the one to award marks so if they have for instance, set very good questions but when we give them marks, it doesn’t add up, my job is to reject them,” she said.

    Speaking on The Delay Show with host, Deloris Frimpong Manso, she added that the last part of the process is done when she returns home with the questions.

    At home, her job is to further scrutinize the questions, solve each and everyone and ensure that they are admissible in the quiz, bearing in mind that she is the one who would award the marks to the students.

    “And for the consultants, they are human beings just like us and are prone to mistakes and so while there, we can identify errors and correct them. After all these, I carry the questions along with me home so I can scrutinize them more thoroughly. At home, I go through all the calculations and solve them so that I can identify the mistakes and if need be, get back to the consultants to have them corrected,” she explained.

    The NSMQ has become a household program that many people look forward to yearly, also because of the bragging rights that come with it for the senior high schools that emerge victorious in them.

  • BoG postpones routine MPC meeting over IMF team visit

    The Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will not be holding its routine quarterly meeting today, Monday, September 26, 2022, as scheduled.

    A statement from the Central Bank last Thursday said the rescheduled meeting will now coincide with Government’s next round of engagements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    The Fund is scheduled to begin these rounds from September 26 to October 7, on Government’s policies and reforms that could be supported by its lending arrangement.

    The team, which will be led by its Mission Chief for Ghana, Stephane Roudet, is also expected to further engage with other stakeholders in the course of the visit.

    Following the development, the Monetary Policy Committee says it will announce the next monetary policies on October 7, the day the engagements with the IMF will be concluded.

    The last IMF mission to Ghana was between July 6 and July 13, 2022. The team used the opportunity to assess Ghana’s economic situation and discussed the broad lines of the government’s Enhanced Domestic Program that could be supported by an IMF lending arrangement.

    The IMF team met with Vice President Bawumia, Finance Minister Ofori-Atta, and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana.

    The team also met with the Parliament’s Finance Committee, civil society organizations, and development partners, including UNICEF and the World Bank, to engage on social spending.

    Ghana is currently looking to secure a $3 billion loan from the IMF.

     

     

  • Commercial drivers demonstrate over bad roads at Osudoku

    Scores of commercial drivers and the people of Osudoku in the Shai Osudoku district this morning, Monday, 26 September 2022, are demonstrating their displeasure over the deplorable road network state from Akuse Junction to Akuse township, Asutsuary to Osuwem and Volivo.

    According to them, the deplorable road networks are negatively affecting the local economy and driving business downwards.

    They are, therefore, appealing to the government to fix the bad roads in the Osudoku enclaves.

    The leaders of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union – Asutsuary to Somanya, Osuwem, and Volivo said they have petitioned Shai-Osudoku District Assembly even to reshape the gulley road networks, but nothing has been done.

    They said they have no option but to embark on a peaceful protest to draw attention to their demand.

     

  • All issues with GPAs will be addressed in 2 weeks – UEW assures level 400 students

    The management of the University of Education Winneba (UEW) has assured stakeholders that the academic records of students will be updated within the next two weeks.

    The decision was announced after a management meeting.

    The school has also assured that there will be some updates to the GPAs starting today, Monday, September 26.

    The level 400 students of the school accused the data protection unit of the University of neglecting to update their records in the last three years even after serving notice.

    They, therefore, organised a demonstration last week to express their anger arguing that they are due for graduation in a couple of weeks but do not know their GPAs.

    Management of the University, in a statement, however, said the issue would be resolved soon.

    Below is the statement:

    Following a crunch meeting by management with respect to issues related to the results of Level 400 Students, the following measures have been put in place to ensure timely resolution of the issues.

    All stakeholders have been given a 2-week deadline of October 7 2022 to resolve all outstanding level 400 student results-related issues.

    However, Students would begin to see updates to their online transcript in portals starting from Monday, September 26 2022. Result-related issues that have been submitted by various departments have been collated and are being uploaded for students to view online in the coming week.

    Step-by-step guidelines on how to view the updated transcript online will be communicated to students by Monday, September 26 2022.

    Transcripts of results showing up-to-date results submitted by the various departments will be sent by September 23 to various examination officers for them to update students immediately. All outstanding supplementary or resit examinations for Level 400s; as a result of trailing from level 100 – 300 should take the form of take-home examinations.

    Heads of Departments and Examination Officers are to ensure that all outstanding result-related corrections that have been reported to departments yet to be submitted are to reach the SRO Office by 12 noon Sunday September 25 2022. A Help Centre would be set up at the Student Centre at North Campus from Wednesday September 28 2022 from 10 am – 3 pm every day until October 14, 2022 to receive complaints from level 400 students with respect to any result-related issue that they may have for a speedy resolution in consultation with the various departments.

    Students are entreated to lodge all complaints at the Help Centre. Departments are to make sure that any student who does not pick up their transcript is invited to do so with utmost urgency.

    All students are being reminded that they should resort to dialogue to have any issues resolved. They are also entreated to take advantage of the laid down procedures and directives given for the speedy resolution of their problems.

    Management would also want to let all students know that the graduation of students is very dear to its heart and all students who are legitimately supposed to graduate would do so provided they follow the laid down guidelines presented in these urgent times.

     

  • Ghana, 3 other countries to benefit from $450m WB credit facility for pro-poor policies

    The Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Mr Daniel Botwe, has said the implementation of the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) project will complement Ghana’s pro-poor policies.

    Cross section of Participants

    According to him, it would reduce inequality, foster economic growth and create the needed jobs to empower the youth in the beneficiary districts and municipalities.

    He said some interventions, especially the Medium Term National Development Policy Framework (2022-2025) and the Ghana@100 vision, rolled out by the government had been contributing significantly to the progress of the country, and the implementation of the SOCO project was going to add value to it.

    The Minister made this known in his keynote address at a three-day orientation and sensitisation programme on the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions SOCO project held in Bolgatanga of the Upper East Region here on Friday.

    The project is a multi-country US$450 million credit facility secured by the government of Ghana from the World Bank to be implemented in Ghana and three other West African countries; including Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Benin.

    The SOCO project aims at providing support to the northern parts of the Gulf of Guinea countries considered as the worst hit by fragilities following food insecurity, climate change, conflict, and violence.

    Of the total amount of money, MrBotwe disclosed that Ghana through the Ministry of Local Government had received US$150 million, and the project was going to be implemented in six regions of the country;Oti Region, Savannah, Northern, Upper West, Upper East and North East Regions.

    “For almost a decade, the living conditions of the over 16 million people living in the northern parts of Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo have been threatened by the spread of conflict from the Sahel, which has led to increased vulnerability to the impacts of climate change.

    “These external pressures of conflict and climate change, as well as the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, have compounded challenges of poverty, exclusion, and weak governance”, MrBotwe indicated as he justified the selection of the beneficiary countries.

    In Ghana, he said 48 Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the six regions were selected to benefit from the project, explaining that those MMDAs had been chosen premised on climate vulnerability, exposure to security risk, poverty incidence and unemployment rate.

    He, therefore, challenged the various Regional Coordinating Directorates (RCCs) under the care of the respective Regional Ministers to ensure routined monitoring of the MMDAs for effective and efficient implementation of the project.

    This, he noted, would inure to the benefit of the people in the beneficiary regions since the objectives of the project would undoubtedly culminate in improved livelihoods of the citizenry.

    The Minister also charged all other relevant stakeholders to contribute towards a successful implementation of the project as it was anticipated to deliver an estimated 1,406 socio-economic community-level climate resilient infrastructure via community-driven development approach.

    A Project Implementation Manual (PIM), he said, had been prepared to serve as a guide for an efficient and effective project implementation and management.

    He reiterated the vision of president Nana AddoDankwaAkufo-Addo towards the rapid socio-economic development of the districts and municipalities, stressing that “the vision of the President regarding Local Governance and Decentralisation is to ensure that the living conditions of the citizenry are improved through the formulation of appropriate policies at the local level”.

    The SOCO project is going to be executed under four components in the selected MMDAs in the country. These include; Investing in Community Resilience and Inclusion; Building Foundation and Capacity for Inclusive and Resilient Communities; Regional Coordination Platform and Dialogue; and Project Management.

  • Zoomlion commits to expand recycling, compositing facilities from 3,000 to 10,000 tons per day

    Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, has reaffirmed Zoomlion Ghana Limited’s commitment to provide specialized solutions for a national integrated waste management system.

    He stated that efforts were being made to increase the capacity of its recycling and composting facilities from 3,000 tons per day to 10,000 tons per day in order to meet this goal.

    He insisted that doing this would help the nation manage trash more effectively.

    He pledged that the private sector would continue to support the government in its efforts to improve upon sanitation in the country.

    According to him, the government had been instrumental in the construction of 16 state-of-the-art integrated recycling compost plants (IRECoP) in the16 regions, all in an effort to deal with waste.

    Dr SiawAgyepong was delivering a presentation at a two-day stakeholder engagement workshop organised by the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) with support from UNICEF on Friday, in Accra.

    In his presentation on Private Involvement in the Sanitation Sub-sector Performance 2018 -2021 and Outlook Performance for 2022-2025, he admitted that the 16 IRECoPs could not have been made possible without the “active involvement” of the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Mrs Cecilia Abena Dapaah,

    He said the Sanitation Minister also played a crucial role in a 16-million Euro facility from Hungary which was used in the construction of waste management facilities in the 16 regions.

    The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources also helped in the country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in disinfection and distribution of one million bins, he added.

    However, to achieve greater results and sustain the gains made in the sector, DrSiawAgyepong reiterated the need for the involvement of all stakeholders in the sanitation space.

    “I’ll urge each and everyone to help maintain a serene environment adding that you cannot do away with poverty if you do not deal with water and sanitation,” he advised.

    MrsDapaah, strongly called for the protection of the country’s water bodies, especially in the light of the fact that the water bodies serve as sources of potable water for Ghanaians.

    According to the Minister, more public places of convenience would be built across the country as part of measures to stop the practice of dislodging faecal matter into water bodies.

    “It is my prayer that by 2030, Ghana would be where it’s supposed to be in terms of sanitation,” she said.

    She disclosed that the water policy was ready to be validated, and thus pleaded with the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to extend pipe-borne water to rural dwellers.

    On this score, Mrs Dapaah heaped praises on donor partners such as UNICEF for supporting her ministry.

  • ZIT’s Ayawaso Basic Schools Quiz competition reaches semi-final stage

    The Zongo Inspirational Team, ZIT, last week started their annual Basic Schools Quiz Competition with the event entering its semi-final round starting September 26,2022.

    The competition aims at pooling public and private schools in the Ayawaso cluster of schools with the view to promoting out-of-class academic engagement with healthy competition.

    The contest is specifically for Junior High School students.

    Half of the original 16 schools that competed at the group stages, between September 19 to 22, are into the semis whiles the others will have to try their luck next year.

    The first semi-final clash will pit winners of Groups C and A. It is scheduled for Monday, September 26 at the Nima-Mamobi Kathy Knowles Library, near the National Mosque, Kanda.

    The schools involved are Al Waleed Comprehensive Basic School, Apostolic Hope School, first and second placed schools in Group C and Ring Road East ‘1’ Basic and Kotobabi ‘7’ Basic School – also first and second in Group A respectively.

    The event has other strands including entertainment and importantly the issue of role modeling, which entails sharing inspiring stories of professional Muslims with the young ones.

    ZIT describes itself as, “a career guidance and mentoring organization aimed at counseling, inspiring and building the capacities of young students in Zongo communities across the country.”

    The other semi-final will be between the following schools:

    Kotobabi ‘7’ Junior High School
    Accra New Town ‘3’ Basic School
    Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Memorial School and
    St. Kizito Roman Catholic JHS

    The first two were winner and runner-up from Group A and the other two being winner and runner-up from group D.

     

  • Market maintains weaker economic growth outlook

    Market watchers are maintaining the forecast of weak near term growth, even though the Q2 economic results of 2022 exceeded projections.

    Provisional gross domestic product (GDP) figures from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) showed an oil and gas growth of 4.8 percent for the second quarter of 2022; an increase from the slowdown logged during the first quarter of 2022 at 3.4 percent.

    This is despite an escalating macroeconomic crisis brought on by rising inflation, a sharp depreciation of the cedi against the US dollar, and a tight monetary policy environment that has elevated borrowing costs.

    The Bank of Ghana increased its benchmark rate by a total of 750 basis points to 22 percent in order to combat inflation and re-anchor expectations.

    Thus, Constant Capital – a broker-dealer – cautions that although it might take time, the economy will certainly feel effects of the central bank’s hawkish monetary stance more strongly in the upcoming quarters.

    “While the impact may be lagged, we expect monetary tightening on the economy to be more impactful within the coming quarters. Elevated inflation, currently sitting 3.4x outside the BoG’s upper target limit at 33.9 percent, will also weigh on growth,” the broker-dealer said.

    Ghana’s growth is largely expected to be impacted by a number of additional factors, including depreciation as well as extraneous global factors like the protracted Russia-Ukraine war, global supply chain bottlenecks, volatile commodity prices, inflation, hawkish policy stances by major central banks and US recession risks.

    However, Constant Capital noted that the growth outturn in Q2-2022 suggests that the revised government growth projection of 3.7 percent in 2022 might actually be feasible.

    Commenting on the outlook, Apakan Securities – a market watcher – also affirmed the economy’s impressive Q2-2022 performance amid the worsened macroeconomic environment.

    “The 4.8 percent y/y growth rate recorded for the Ghanaian economy in Q2-2022 amid a worsened macroeconomic environment for this year reflects an impressive performance contrary to projections. Nonetheless, we think Ghana’s economic growth prospect will be tilted toward the downside, considering the amplified macroeconomic risks in the economy,” it stated.

    Moreover, the latest S&P Global Ghana PMI for Aug-2022 came in at 45.9, down from 48.80 in Jul-2022; and remained below the 50.0 neutral mark, signifying a continuous decline in private sector activity.

    Q2 sectoral Performance

    Despite growing by 4.6 percent year over year in Q2 2022, the agricultural sector experienced slower growth than in Q1 2022 when it grew by 5.7 percent, and in the same period last year when it grew by 11.87 percent. This may be related to the rising price of fertiliser and supply limitations brought on by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

    Following a string of quarterly contractions in the previous year, the industrial sector has continued to demonstrate a strong recovery. The sector experienced a turnaround from a 6.35 percent y/y contraction in the same period last year, growing by 4.6 percent y/y in Q2 2022 after growing by 1.3 percent y/y in Q1 2022. The two largest sub-sectors – manufacturing, mining and quarrying – both performed well and supporting the industrial sector’s strong recovery.

    The mining and quarrying sector grew by 4.4 percent y/y in Q2-2022 from a growth rate of 0.6 percent y/y in Q1-2022, while the manufacturing sector was the fastest-growing with an 8.8 percent y/y growth rate. However, in Q2 2022 the water supply and sewage sub-sectors decreased by 2.7 percent y/y and 2.2 percent y/y respectively, for the first time in five (5) consecutive quarters.

    The second quarter of the year saw robust activity in the services sector, with growth of 5.2 percent year over year (y/y) from Q1 2022’s growth of 3.7 percent. The sub-sectors of education, health & social work, and information and communication all contributed to this growth.

  • Tullow, government to conclude 200 MMcf/d gas supply deal

    Tullow Ghana is confident of reaching a gas commercial deal with government that will see the company supply a minimum 200 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMcf/d) over the next 13 years.

    The company has been supplying foundation gas to the state at no cost since it began operations in Ghana. The free 200 billion standard cubic feet (bcf) of gas is forecast to come to an end at the end of this year based on current forecasts.

    Given that those foundation volumes will expire soon, the company is now seeking to commercialise its gas from the Jubilee and TEN Fields – estimated at around two trillion (tcf). Based on this forecast, Tullow Ghana’s Managing Director Wissam Al Monthiry said his outfit can supply 200 MMcf/d over the 13-year period.

    “We have identified significant gas prospects on what we have been producing so far as associated gas from Jubilee; somewhere in the range of two tcf of gas that may be available from TEN and Jubilee.

    “Our goal is to commercialise those volumes and bring them to use for to benefit the country, be it in the power or manufacturing sectors,” Mr. Al Monthiry told the B&FT.

    He revealed that positive discussions are ongoing with government for a deal to supply the gas at a fee, which will be the lowest among all available options to the country when the foundation volumes expire.

    An agreement will pave the way for new capital investment into facilities and pipelines to carry the resource.

    It will also lend credence to government’s commitment to developing and effectively utilising domestic hydrocarbon resources for economic transformation.

    “These are new, untapped resources that will require approvals from government to develop, drill wells; build facilities to bring the gas to market, to onshore – and then be able to get them through pipelines to their end users, be it in power or manufacturing. So there are investment requirements,” Mr. Al Monthiry added.

    Gas remains crucial to Ghana’s industrial aspirations. For instance, thermal power plants – gas powered plants, account for the largest share of the country’s power generation, representing 66 percent with hydro accounting for 33 percent. However, a large portion of Ghana’s thermal needs come from imports.

    The country’s ability to develop its domestic gas resources, according to many market watchers, could springboard the economy into an era of sustained energy security and industrialisation.

    If holistically harnessed, the country could also become a net gas exporter by taking advantage of the energy crisis faced by the European Union bloc.

    In the global energy transition process, gas is seen as the future of the oil industry as it is considered a cleaner energy source relative to other fossils.

    Racing against time

    The deal was first mooted earlier this year in the oil firm’s last annual report. As explained by Tullow Ghana’s MD, reaching an agreement before end of this year is of the essence.

    “Our priority is coming to an agreement that commercialises it, and our concern is that if we don’t get to a place of agreement, certainly by the end of this year, then that leaves a large volume of gas uncontracted, unagreed for – and leaves the country with the need to access much more expensive gas.”

    The need to reach a deal before end of the year, he explains, is also underpinned by the fact that these are new resources which require new investments into facilities and pipelines. A deal will therefore pave the way for these capital commitments to take place in time to ensure continuous gas supply.

    “There’s a lot of issues at play,” he said while responding to a question on the progress of discussions with government.

    “There are multiple parties in the mix beyond the Ministry of Energy. There’s the Ghana National Petroleum Company, there’s the Ghana National Gas Company. There are also some private companies that have gotten involved in the mix, particularly downstream.

    “But I think we all, including Tullow, need to push harder to make sure that we get it over the line and get an agreement.

    “And I think I would be speaking for anyone from government by saying that all these stakeholder considerations have slowed things down. But we don’t want that to get in the way of government and Ghanaian consumers accessing the lowest-cost gas available.

    “So it’s a positive response, but I think all of us including Tullow need to push harder to make sure that we get it over the line and get an agreement.”

    In the worst-case scenario, he said, it will deny government and Ghanaian gas-consumers access to the lowest-cost gas available.

    Such a situation could also send a bad signal to other investors looking to explore opportunities in the country’s petroleum upstream industry.

     

  • News of my wealth has been grossly exaggerated – Sir Sam Jonah

    Renowned business executive and former Chief Executive Officer of Ashanti Goldfields, Sir Sam Jonah has set the record straight over reports of his net worth and wealth.

    Mr. Jonah’s net worth, according to numerous reports has been considered to be around $1.2 billion.

    While this figure is yet to be verified, Sam Jonah believes Ghanaians have often associated him with vast wealth which he finds grossly exaggerated.

    Speaking on the BBUM show on Ghana Television, Sir Sam Jonah indicated that although he has been a successful businessman, he is more concerned with assertions of his worth in monetary terms instead of being defined by his principles.

    “News of my wealth has been grossly exaggerated. Let me just say that my father will be turning in his grave if he thought that I will be defined by how much I am worth in monetary terms,” Sam Jonah said.

    “I will like to be defined by the values that I stand for. I think my worth would come from the values that I hold and the principles that I hold. I want myself to be defined by that than pounds, cedis and pesewas,” the executive chairman of Jonah Capital said.

    Touching further on his net worth claims, Sir Sam Jonah explained, “I think it’s a tragedy people want to be associated with their wealth…There are others who want that but unfortunately, I don’t. One because I don’t have that level of wealth and two, more importantly, I just feel it is crass and it’s not something you should be proud of that you’re defined by what people think you are worth”.

    Speaking on some of the principles which have shaped him over the years, Sam Jonah pointed out “honesty, telling truth to power.”

    “I stand for probity, to use the famous expression I stand for accountability and all the above,” He added.

     

  • Arresting ‘black market’ operators will not address cedi depreciation – Toma Imihere

    Financial journalist Toma Imihere has opined that only arresting persons engaged in illegal foreign exchange trading is not a sustainable measure to address the depreciation of the cedi.

    The Bank of Ghana in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service recently undertook an operation in key parts of Accra aimed at clamping down on unlawful foreign exchange operators, also known as ‘black market’ operators.

    Speaking with Accra-based Citi News on the development, Tomi Imihere believes that government must rather adopt a permanent solution to addressing the black-market operations.

    “You can’t even keep this thing up. You have black markets all around the country. The police are understaffed and under-resourced. They have their murder cases facing them, their kidnapping cases facing them, so they tend to prioritise.”

    As part of efforts to address the cedi depreciation, Tomi Imihere suggested that the Bank of Ghana liberalise the formal market which is often represented by forex bureaus operating in the country.

    “So, there will be less incentives for people to go and store up dollars in the hope of making a profit or at least storing value. What the Bank of Ghana needs to do is ease the restrictions on the formal market, especially at the retail end. All you do is you take out criminal money… but apart from that, let everything go without question,” he explained.

    Meanwhile, some 76 individuals and entities have been arrested and are expected to face prosecution after the BoG and Police found them to have been engaged in the buying and selling of foreign exchange without approval or license from the regulator.

    The activities of ‘black market’ operators have been attributed as one of the major causes for the depreciation of the cedi against major trading currencies, especially the US dollar.

    The local currency is currently selling above GH¢10 to US$1 on the retail echange market.

     

  • Why I married a whiteman – NSMQ mistress

    Popular National Science and Maths, NSMQ, quiz mistress who doubles as the Dean of Engineering faculty at the University of Ghana, Prof. Elsie Kaufmann, has opened up on issues pertaining to her past marriage.

    Prof. Kaufmann, while shedding light on her personal life on the Delay Show, admitted that she has once been married to a white man who fathers her three children.

    The NSMQ mistress during the show said she landed a white husband whiles in the pursuit of higher education and building her career in the United States, where she lived most of her life.

    But the ‘million dollar question’ seeking to inquire why she didn’t rather settle for a Ghanaian husband popped up and she responded:

    ‘They didn’t come. No Ghanaian came to me.’

    Professor Kaufmann, who didn’t want to delve further into that particular subject added,

    ‘As for this topic, it is a tough one for me.’

    However, the famed quiz mistress, now a divorcee, who returned to Ghana in the early 2000s said she will remarry if she finds her ‘Mr. Right’.

    Although she has admitted to not desperately searching for one, she has established that her doors are open for the right person.

    “I used to be married but not anymore. Marrying again depends on whether I find the right one,” she told Delay.

  • Being hypnotised into a past life as a man brought me true love

    “Want to come with me to a hypnosis seminar for singles?” my friend asked. “The hypnotist specializes in past-life regression.”

    “Sure,” I replied.

    I didn’t give the invite too much credence besides thinking that I’d add to my reservoir of blind date small talk — like how while hiking in Canada I once spotted a rare grizzly bear or that I was hired by a Jewish singles group for a summer job because I was “good at flirting” or how I once ended up on a Mardi Gras float in New Orleans throwing beaded necklaces to the crowd.

    But the minute I took my seat in the auditorium among the throngs of jaded Manhattanites in their 20s and 30s, I knew I was exactly where I was meant to be.

    The hypnotist said he wanted us to focus on a question about what was holding us back in our lives.

    He asked for a volunteer so that he could demonstrate the healing power of a past life regression.

    My hand shot up like a Bravo Housewife who had just had water thrown on her freshly-styled hair.

    “I want to find out why I pick emotionally unavailable men who aren’t worthy of me and why the thought of being in love makes me feel suffocated,” I said. He motioned me to come on stage and sit on a chair.

    “OK. Relax your body and close your eyes. We’re going to go back in time,” the hypnotist told me in a soothing timbre.

    “Counting 10, 9, 8, 7, you’re floating freely through time and space, and you’re now going to land in the lifetime from which you will find the answer you’ve been seeking. When you’re ready to land in 5, 4, 3, 2 1, you’ll look down and see shoes. Please describe them to me.”

    I strained to see through the thick fog in my mind.

    “I think I see clogs,” I said. “But they aren’t the clogs of today. They look different, sturdier.”

    “Do you know where you are and the year?”

    Into my faded vision came grainy scenes reminiscent of an ancient movie reel from a documentary. “Yes, I’m in Massachusetts. But not the Massachusetts of today. It’s from Pilgrim times.”

    “Wonderful,” he said. Now look up from your clogs and tell me what you see.”

    “I see a man,” I said. “I mean, I’m a man. My name is Jonah. I’m thirty years old, in the military. I’m in love with my brother’s wife and I can’t tell her, and I definitely can’t tell him.”

    “Are you married?” he asked me.

    “I was, but I lost my wife a few years ago to scarlet fever. She was eight months pregnant with our son. I’ve never gotten over it.”

    I couldn’t believe what I was saying but those words felt real to me, as did Jonah.

    “Now you’re going to move forward in time to the last day of Jonah’s life. What are you feeling?”

    “I’m an old man. I never told my sister-in-law that I was in love with her. I’m trying to tell her now, but I can only whisper. She doesn’t want to hear it. I feel pressure on my chest. I’m dying of heart disease. I can’t breathe. Please,” I begged the hypnotist, gasping, “take me back to Estelle.”

    “Estelle, you’re going back to your present self in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6. You’ll remember the lessons you’ve learned in 5, 4, 3, and 2, and will release the pain from your past life in 1. Now, open your eyes.”

    As I slowly opened my tear-drenched eyes, I touched the streaks of mascara running down my cheeks; my nose felt stuffy and swollen, and my legs were crossed akimbo, masculine-style, with my right knee jutting out.

    The audience was rapt; the lighting was too bright. Many women had their mouths open in a frozen, astonished O.  I felt like I had become the star attraction of a metaphysical circus carnival.

    “Why is this relevant to your life now, Estelle?” the hypnotist asked.

    “I’ve been afraid to let myself fall in love because I lost everything in that life, so I’ve chosen emotionally unavailable men to ‘fix.’ Jonah, in that past life, was too scared to show his feelings, so he had to shut down his heart to survive.”

    “You’ll now let your heart be open to love. It’s safe for you to love and be loved in this lifetime,” he instructed.

    After, I tried to hold on to my memory of Jonah, but eventually, the fragments of his life receded from my mind, like salt sliding through a sieve.

    And I started choosing better men, who were my equals. A while later, I met my husband. Though he was born on the other side of the world, he felt familiar, was available to love and be loved, and didn’t need any fixing.

    And I was finally ready to be vulnerable because I knew that this time I wouldn’t lose myself by giving away my heart.

  • Odd News: Woman gives birth after acquiring insemination kit and sperm online

    24-year-old Bailey Ennis has birthed a bouncing baby boy in September 2021 with the help of a sperm donor.

    But what’s shocking about it is that she did it by purchasing an artificial insemination kit costing only £25.

    The young woman from England seems to have been “desperate to be a mum” and “didn’t have a desire to be in a relationship”. Following the artificial insemination, she became pregnant in October 2021 and welcomed her son, named Lorenzo, on 2nd July 2022.

    Woman gives birth after acquiring insemination kit and sperm online

    Bailey is currently a single parent and says that she “couldn’t be happier”.

    “Having a baby by myself is the best thing I have ever done. Being a mum is wonderful and I am so happy I decided to go it alone.

    “I’ve wanted to be a mum since I was a teenager and as a lesbian, I always knew it would need to be via artificial insemination. I didn’t have a desire to be in a relationship. I just wanted to have a baby.

    Woman gives birth after acquiring insemination kit and sperm online

    Lorenzo is amazing and looks just like me,” she expresses.

    The 24-year-old shares that she wasn’t looking for any particular features, while searching for a donor. ” I just wanted someone trustworthy and as healthy as possible,” she said.

    “I found someone who had a healthy medical record and had been a donor for two others before for two LGBTQ couples.

    Woman gives birth after acquiring insemination kit and sperm online

    “I found my donor and we WhatsApped and met up for a coffee before both agreeing he would be my donor. He has agreed to be my donor for as many children as I would like.

    “I wanted to have blood-related siblings,” she adds.

    The cost of a single artificial insemination cycle or (IUI) intrauterine insemination with a partner’s sperm is high. While legal, it can burn a hole in a person’s pocket. Although private transactions are discouraged due to safety measures, Bailey seems to have taken the risk and is now a single mum.

  • $50,000 Powerball ticket spent over a month forgotten in winner’s purse

    A Missouri woman said she was shocked when a Powerball ticket that was forgotten in her purse for over a month turned out to be a $50,000 winner.The St. Louis County woman told Missouri Lottery officials she bought a Powerball ticket for the July 16 drawing at the Walmart store in Manchester and tucked it into her purse, where it soon became forgotten.

    The woman said it wasn’t until she visited a store to check a different Powerball ticket that she found the forgotten slip of paper in her purse and decided to scan it.

    The ticket, which had spent more than a month in her bag, turned out to be a $50,000 winner.

    “I am just so grateful and happy,” the winner said.

    She said some of the money will go toward paying off her student loans.

    “It’s a good present for me,” she said.

     

  • GOP lawmaker suggests there’s ‘pressure’ on Republicans to impeach Biden if party wins the House

    Nancy Mace of South Carolina said Sunday she believes there is “pressure” for House Republicans to move to impeach President Joe Biden if they gain control of the chamber after the midterm elections.

    “I believe there’s pressure on the Republicans to put that forward and have that vote,” Mace told NBC’s Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press” when asked if she foresees impeachment proceedings should her party win control of the House. “I think that’s what some folks are considering.”

    But the freshman lawmaker added: “If that happens, I do believe it’s divisive.”

    Mace did not mention the source of the alleged pressure and was not asked to elaborate on who is considering the move.

    Asked Sunday how she would vote if an impeachment vote came to the floor, Mace said: “I will not vote for impeachment of any president if I feel that due process was stripped away, for anyone. I typically vote constitutionally, regardless of who is in power.”

    CNN reported earlier this year that hard-line elements of the House Republican Conference were agitating to launch impeachment proceedings against Biden if the GOP takes power after the midterms — a move GOP leaders have so far declined to embrace.

    House Republicans are also plotting revenge on the select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection, CNN has reported. Former President Donald Trump has been leaning heavily on his Capitol Hill allies to defend him against a slew of damaging revelations about his role in the deadly attack on the US Capitol. And as Republicans search for ways to undermine those findings, their party has started to lay the groundwork to investigate the January 6 panel itself. Some of Trump’s fiercest acolytes have also begun publicly pushing for hearings and probes into his baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 election.

    While House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy has vowed to conduct aggressive oversight and investigations in a GOP-led House, it’s unclear just how far he would be willing to go when it comes to January 6 and the 2020 presidential election.

    Mace, who flipped a Charleston-area seat in 2020, voted to certify Biden’s presidential election victory, earning Trump’s wrath. Faced with charges of insufficient loyalty to the former President, she drew a Trump-backed primary challenger but ended up prevailing by 8 points in her June primary.

    Mace told NBC she was “very much hopeful” to see “a deep bench of Republicans and Democrats who will be running for president” in 2024. But she left the door open to possibly supporting Trump again if he were the 2024 GOP nominee for president.

    “I’m going to support whomever Republicans nominate in ’24,” she said.

    CNN’s Melanie Zanona, Manu Raju, Gabby Orr and Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.

  • Hong Kong’s Cardinal Zen stands trial over protest fund

    Cardinal Joseph Zen, a 90-year-old former bishop of Hong Kong and outspoken critic of China’s ruling Communist Party, went on trial Monday over his role in a relief fund for the city’s pro-democracy protests in 2019.

    The high-profile case has brought renewed focus on the warming ties between Beijing and the Vatican, which has seen the latter appear to avoid remarks that could risk upsetting China.

    Zen, one of Asia’s most senior Catholic clerics, was arrested by Hong Kong’s national security police in May along with three other leading democracy activists, including Cantopop star Denis Ho.

    The four trustees of the fund were initially arrested on suspicion of “collusion with foreign forces,” a charge under a sweeping national security law that carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

    A fifth trustee, former legislator Cyd Ho, was already in jail for illegal assembly over a separate case. Ho was arrested the following day on national security grounds, too.

    All five have since been charged with a lesser offense for failing to register the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, set up in June 2019 to help pay the legal and medical fees for protesters under arrest. The fund ceased operations last year following an investigation by the national security police.

    The charge under the Societies Ordinance, a century-old colonial-era law, carries a fine of up to HK$10,000 (US$1,274) but not jail time. All defendants have pleaded not guilty.

    On Monday morning, Zen arrived at the West Kowloon court leaning on a walking stick. He did not speak to reporters.

    The court heard that the legal fund raised HK$270 million (US$34.4 million) of donations, made over 100,000 deposits. In addition to providing financial aid to protesters, the fund was also used to sponsor pro-democracy rallies such as paying for audio equipments.

    The Vatican has remained largely muted over Zen’s case apart from a statement in May, which said it learned of Zen’s arrest with “concern” and was “following the evolution of the situation with extreme attention.”

    On September 14, on a return flight from Kazakhstan, Pope Francis was asked whether he considered the looming trial against Zen a violation of religious freedom.

    In a convoluted answer, the Pope repeatedly stressed his support for “the path of dialogue” and the importance to respect “the Chinese mentality.” He also refused to qualify China as undemocratic “because it’s such a complex country,” according to the Vatican News.

    “Yes, it is true that there are things that seem undemocratic to us, that is true,” the Pope said. “Cardinal Zen is going to trial these days, I think. And he says what he feels, and you can see that there are limitations there.”

    Zen’s trial comes at a sensitive time for the Vatican, which is preparing to renew a controversial deal with Beijing over the appointment of bishops in China. Under the original deal struck in 2018, the Vatican recognized the legitimacy of seven bishops appointed by the Chinese government. The deal came at a time when China was doubling down its crackdown on underground Christian groups as part of leader Xi Jinping’s campaign to bring religion under the absolute control of the Communist Party.

    Zen has openly criticized the deal, calling it an “incredible betrayal” and accusing the Vatican of “giving the flock into the mouths of the wolves.”

    In 2020, the Vatican said the deal was extended for another two years.

    ‘Conscience of Hong Kong’

    Born in Catholic parents in Shanghai in 1932, Zen fled to Kong Kong with his family to escape looming Communist rule as a teenager. He was ordained as a priest in 1961 and made Bishop of Hong Kong in 2002, before retiring in 2009.

    Known as the “conscience of Hong Kong” among his supporters, Zen has long been a prominent advocate for democracy, human rights and religious freedom. He has been on the front lines of some of the city’s most important protests, from the mass rally against national security legislation in 2003 to the “Umbrella Movement” demanding universal suffrage in 2014.

    Zen’s prosecution is the latest in an ongoing crackdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, which saw the Asian financial hub rocked by street protests through much of 2019 in resistance of Beijing’s tightening grip.

    Beijing responded by imposing a controversial national security law in 2020, which critics say has been used to crush the city’s opposition movement, overhaul its electoral system, silence its outspoken media and cripple its once-vibrant civil society. Most of Hong Kong’s prominent pro-democracy figures have either been thrown in jail or gone into exile.

    The Hong Kong government has repeatedly denied the national security law is suppressing freedoms. Instead, it insists the law has ended chaos and restored stability to the city.

    CNN’s Delia Gallagher contributed to this report.

  • Giorgia Meloni: Italy’s far right on course to win election

    Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni has claimed victory in Italy’s election, and is on course to become the country’s first female prime minister.

    Ms Meloni is widely expected to form Italy’s most right-wing government since World War Two.

    That will alarm much of Europe as Italy is the EU’s third-biggest economy.

    However, speaking after the vote, Ms Meloni said her Brothers of Italy party would “govern for everyone” and would not betray people’s trust.

    “Italians have sent a clear message in favour of a right-wing government led by Brothers of Italy,” she told reporters in Rome, holding up a sign saying “Thank you Italy”.

    She is set to win 26% of the vote, based on provisional results, ahead of her closest rival Enrico Letta from the centre left.

    Ms Meloni’s right-wing alliance – which also includes Matteo Salvini’s far-right League and former PM Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right Forza Italia – will take control of both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, with around 44% of the vote.

    Her own party’s dramatic success in the vote disguised the fact that her allies performed poorly, with Mr Salvini’s party slipping below 9%, and Forza Italia even lower. Four years ago, Brothers of Italy won little more than 4% of the vote but this time benefited from staying out of the national unity government that collapsed in July.

    The decision on who becomes Italy’s next leader is up to the president, Sergio Mattarella, and that will take time.

    Although Giorgia Meloni has worked hard to soften her image, emphasising her support for Ukraine and diluting anti-EU rhetoric, she leads a party rooted in a post-war movement that rose out of dictator Benito Mussolini’s fascists.

    Earlier this year she outlined her priorities in a raucous speech to Spain’s far-right Vox party: “Yes to the natural family, no to the LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity, no to gender ideology… no to Islamist violence, yes to secure borders, no to mass migration… no to big international finance… no to the bureaucrats of Brussels!”

    Chamber of Deputies graphic
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    The centre-left alliance was a long way behind the right with 26% of the vote and Democratic Party figure Debora Serracchiani said it was a sad evening for Italy. The right “has the majority in parliament, but not in the country”, she insisted.

    The left failed to form a viable challenge with other parties after Italy’s 18-month unity government fell apart, and officials were downbeat even before the vote. The Five Star Movement under Giuseppe Conte won a convincing third place – but does not see eye to eye with Enrico Letta even though they have several policies in common on immigration and raising the minimum wage.

    Turnout fell to a record low of 63.91% – nine points down on 2018. Voting levels were especially poor in southern regions including Sicily.

    Italy is a founding father of the European Union and a member of Nato, and Ms Meloni’s rhetoric on the EU places her close to Hungary’s nationalist leader Viktor Orban.

    Her allies have both had close ties with Russia. Mr Berlusconi, 85, claimed last week that Vladimir Putin was pushed into invading Ukraine while Mr Salvini has called into question Western sanctions on Moscow.

    Ms Meloni wants to revisit Italian reforms agreed with the EU in return for almost €200bn (£178bn) in post-Covid recovery grants and loans, arguing that the energy crisis has changed the situation.

    People stand next to a poster of Enrico Letta, secretary of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), at the PD headquarters, during the snap election, in Rome, Italy, September 25, 2022Reuters
    There was little cause for joy at Enrico Letta’s Democratic Party headquarters on Sunday night

    The Hungarian prime minister’s long-serving political director, Balazs Orban, was quick to congratulate Italy’s right-wing parties: “We need more than ever friends who share a common vision and approach to Europe’s challenges.”

    In France, Jordan Bardella of the far-right National Rally said Italian voters had given European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen a lesson in humility. She had earlier said Europe had “the tools” to respond if Italy went in a “difficult direction”.

    However, Prof Gianluca Passarrelli of Rome’s Sapienza University told the BBC he thought she would avoid rocking the boat on Europe and focus on other policies: “I think we will see more restrictions on civil rights and policies on LGBT and immigrants.”

    Mr Salvini will be hoping to return to the interior ministry to halt migrant boats crossing from Libya.

    This election marks a one-third reduction in the size of the two houses, and that appears to have benefited the winning parties.

    A Rai TV exit poll suggested the three parties will hold 227-257 seats in the revamped 400-seat Chamber and 111-131 seats out of a total of 200 seats in the Senate. Mr Salvini said the right had a clear advantage in both houses.

    The same Rai poll also reveals just how dominant the Meloni-led coalition is likely to be. The centre left will hold a mere 78-98 seats in the Chamber and 33-53 in the Senate, it says.

  • Exam leakage: GSL must review assessment of law students – Samoa Addo

    Private legal practitioner, Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo has suggested to the Ghana School of Law to consider other ways of testing law students for admission without resorting to examination.

    Some papers from Friday’s (23 September) Ghana School of Law entrance examinations have allegedly been leaked.

    This forced the Independent Examination Committee of the General Legal Council to cancel the exams.

    Reacting to the development on Asaase Radio’s news analysis and current affairs show – The Forum – on Saturday (24 September), Samoa called for the naming and shaming of culprits in the leakage.

    “There are ways to test law students without resorting to examination. These avenues must be considered because clearly, the exam method has far too many loopholes.

    “I am not sure from whence this desperation comes from. But the integrity of the profession must be maintained. There is a feeling that year in, year out the desperation of people to become lawyers get worse.”

    “We need to name and shame the people who have participated in this atrocity because there are systems that can identify them,” Samoa said.