Filming and voicing out his frustration in the dark, a livid Derrick Kobina Bonney (DKB) was concerned about the technical challenge that has affected prepaid metering systems making it impossible for customers to top up.
The situation has led to some customers sleeping in darkness as the purchase of electricity credit for prepaid metres has sadly been interrupted.
“Prepaid network down, can’t buy lights, darkness everywhere! But I have to wait on NDC before I’ll know if I’m in darkness! Pure rubbish and nonsense!” the comedian fumed in a tweet, Thursday.
In the video clip that had the aforementioned caption, DKB could not fathom why genuine concerns are diluted for political expediency. He noted that whenever concerns are raised, there is a swift attempt by a section of the public to politicize the matter, a posture he condemned without equivocation.
“In this country, if there is a socio-economic problem bothering you and you complain about it, they’ll tell you you’re manipulated by the opposition,” he said.
“Since morning that we’ve not had prepaid to buy and our lights are off, me as a human being, as a Ghanaian, I can’t see that I don’t have light so I need to wait for NDC to tell me that I don’t have light so that I’ll complain about it and it will unpopularize NDC.”
Meanwhile, the Electricity Company of Ghanahas in a statement assured the general public of its resolve to surmount the challenge.
“Affected customers should please note that our ICT team is working assiduously to correct the anomaly and restore the system to normalcy. We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this technical challenge,” parts of the statement read.
Some customers in Volta, Kumasi, Accra, Takoradi, Tema, Cape Coast, Kasoa, Winneba, Swedru, Koforidua, Nkawkaw, and Tafo have been affected by the hiccup.
The Commission, in a statement, said it was closely monitoring the situation and was in full discussions with the service provider to address the issue.
The ECG on Tuesday, September 27, 2022, informed its customers on the E-cash and PNS metering systems that due to a technical challenge, purchase of electricity credit had been interrupted, affecting customers in Volta, Takoradi, Tema, Cape Coast, Kasoa, Winneba, Swedru, Koforidua, Nkawkaw, and Tafo.
The Company on Thursday, September 29, 2022, said that it was working to rectify the technical anomaly, which had affected the purchase of electricity.
It, therefore, urged customers in the Greater Accra, Central, Eastern, Western and Volta regions to visit the Company’s district offices to purchase electricity.
Meanwhile, some customers have described the incident as unfortunate and asked the PURC to direct ECG to compensate those affected.
Built on mutual trust for development, bilateral trade volume between Ghana and China peaked at US$9.57billion in 2021 from US$6.67billion in 2017, the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Lu Kun has disclosed.
Representing a 12 per cent year-on-year increase, China’s direct investment also increased by US$15 million, making Ghana, China’s largest trading partner in Africa.
The Chinese Ambassador disclosed this at a durbar to commission a 22-km Cape Coast inner city road infrastructure funded by the Chinese government through the Sinohydro agreement.
He attributed the steady rise in trade and investments to the strong demand for Chinese products by Ghanaians as well as measures put in place by both countries to leverage the long-standing relations.
The Vice-President, Dr Mohamudu Bawumia, together with Mr Kwasi Amoako Atta, Roads and Highways Minister joined the chiefs of the Area to commission the road project aimed at expanding access to ease traffic and accelerate development.
Elated by the increasing trade volumes between China and Ghana, the Ambassador said: “These are not just numbers, but a symbol of China-Ghana friendship we value and cherish.”
“The China-Ghana ties have been kept on a sound momentum of high-level bilateral exchanges and ever-increasing trust built on mutual strong conviction for development.
“The decades of solid relations remain a springboard for a win-win China-Ghana cooperation hinged on consolidating bilateral traditional friendship, deepening pragmatic cooperation, and broad consensus building on issues of mutual concern,” he stated.
The Chinese Ambassador indicated that China and Ghana have always supported each other on issues concerning their core and major interests, keeping close cooperation in the international and regional arena and thus safeguarding the relationship.
Through that, Mr Kun said the Chinese government had financed, partnered, and executed several critical national projects relating to the economic growth and the livelihood of people in Ghana.
Key among them are the National Theatre, office complexes of the Foreign Ministry and Defence Ministry, the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ho and the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.
Others are the Atuabo Gas Processing Project, Bui Dam, and Kpong Water Supply Expansion Project, Asogli Power Plant, and Africa World Airline (AWA) which have played a key role in resolving the power shortage and promoting the interconnection of the sub-region.
Lately, the Chinese equipment and technologies have accelerated the pace of integration with local enterprises and capital, bringing into being several local star enterprises and adding fuel to the enthusiasm for Ghana’s cooperation with China.
On people-to-people exchanges, he said cultural exchanges were close and ever-increasing on mutual understanding, as wood sculpture, music, and dance, among other forms of tourists, enjoyed high popularity among Chinese tourists.
Mrs Justina Marigold Assan said the completion of roads was key to the region’s investment drive to become the preferred investment destination in the country.
She said the Region remained the most preferred destination in Ghana’s quest to continuously attract investment from the Diaspora.
Recreation is important for physical and psychological health, building inclusive communities, and ensuring general life satisfaction.
Nightlife in Accra has promised and delivered delirium for close to 100 years. It is lost on many people that this cherished aspect of living in Ghana’s capital would not have happened at all or at least at its current effervescence if the capital of the Gold Coasthad remained Cape Coast. Becoming the center of political power brought Accra unassailable preeminence in spheres of multicultural and economics. But while Accra’s glory may have been orchestrated in colonialism, its nocturnal gaiety has been anything but controlled.
If the African entertainment listicles online and my well-traveled non-Ghanaian friends are to be believed, Accra presents one of the continent’s premium options in nightlife. My Twitter feed agrees and so do most of my friends in Ghana. In the course of the last few years, I have barely indulged in the thrill, probably because it has also gotten costlier.
But the nightly buzz is not simply taking our money; it may be taking our minds as well. While recreation is a necessary part of psychological growth, I have often wondered what we are hiding from when we constantly turn up where the music is loudest, the drugs drag you higher and the alcohol overflows. Of course, all recreation is not equal and my concerns are a result of what is more popular as a choice for young Ghanaians who wish to celebrate their leisure. One can find in the city centre – an area with a roughly 1,200-metre radius – a saturation of pubs, nightclubs, and other such places. Interestingly, this area also contains Accra’s central business district, a situation that gives some credence to the counsel “work hard, play hard”.
However, most commercial capitals across the world are no different. In these major cities, there tends to be a mutually-sustaining relationship between producers and consumers in the nightlife entertainment industry. The free market is most prominent in the entertainment industry where the symbiosis between producers and consumers shapes each party’s destinies and desires.
The interaction goes on ad nauseam and the general public can lose sight of the adverse effects it creates. For instance, a 2010 experts’ report that analysed and suggested recommendations for tourism and nightlife culture in the European Union submitted that overseers of clubs and pubs often have very little sympathy for the health of consumers and the sanity of entertainment culture. In these spots, alcohol is sold and alcohol is bought. Music is played and the dance floor is occupied.
Whoever is reeling under the effects of alcoholism or has a health condition triggered by the magnitude of activity can only count on themselves or their immediate company.
Two of the recommendations made by the report were for nightclubstaff to be trained in administering first aid and to significantly enforce “restrictions on opening hours for discotheques, and especially for after-hours parties”. I am willing to believe there are set times proposed by local governments for the operation of nightclubs in Ghana but if this will be enforced, along with the training for club employees, your guess is as good as mine.
Apart from the unwanted emergent spurred by alcohol and drugs, women would have to look out for themselves in these spaces where sexual misbehaviour is almost certain to be unleashed by men.
But that’s exactly what frustrates me about the nightlife and recreation in Accra for young people. We place so much emphasis on the young person’s individual responsibility even though the options and conditions of recreation are, to put it kindly, poisonous. Healthieroutdoor recreational options in the city are next to non-existent. Also, you are not guaranteed a lot of protection – as the EU report recommended to European countries – when you check yourself into any of the more popular options we have in Accra.
My friend Earl who lives in the inner-city of Accra Central often expresses fears about the future of young people’s relationship with alcohol and drugs as a result of the above. But if there is little protection for young people who frequent higher-end joints in agreeable parts of the city, there is even less for their counterparts in the inner city. And when you add the fact poorer youth have virtually no space or means to seek therapy and rehabilitation, we face the risk of recreating Victorian England where the instruments of the state placed the vicious cycles of poverty on some deficiency in the moral characters of poor people. This is even more intriguing when you consider the fact that the popular drug-peddling inner-city spot, Ayaata Corner, in the Ashiedu-Keteke sub-metro area, receives nearly as many orders from (upper)-middle-class Accra dwellers as it receives from struggling youth.
Recreation is important for physical and psychological health, building inclusive communities, and ensuring general life satisfaction. Nothing should diminish the centrality of recreation in molding a well-adjusted society. In a way, my case could have been made about the basic poverty of recreational options in the city. But reviewing the principal fundament which is nightlife will translate into attention for everything else. Outdoor recreation for young adults in Accra is ostensibly nightlife.
I am statistics-shy of confidently claiming that we are building the momentum for catastrophe. Nightlife has become synonymous with unfettered exposure to alcohol, drugs, and noise pollution, and all that they bring. A researcher at the University of Ghana 2016 indicated that alcohol consumption on the university’s Legon Campus was nearly 60% among undergraduate students with most students drinking as part of recreation at parties and on outings. To add to that, I personally know a few women and have read the accounts of many more who have to go out in groups due to fear of sexual assault and harassment. For some of them, the precaution they take is so that they do not become repeat victims.
In April of 2021, a nonprofit called Heal and Chill Foundation partnered with more than five of the biggest night entertainment providers including the famous Bloombar and Zen Gardens for awareness creation on sexual consent. This was effectively a non-governmental organization’s intervention in the conversation on sex and gender-based violence, specifically identifying the arena of Ghanaian life that happens to be grounds for so much of such violence.
If there is any scintilla of puritanism in the case I’m making, that is unintended but I sincerely do not even care. Mine is an argument towards prudence – what burdens can we shoulder as a society where some 7 in every 10 Ghanaians are under the age of 40? More than 35% of Ghanaians to are under 15. To put both of these into better context, about 70% of Ghanaians today were not alive or barely remember when the coup of 1981 was made and about 4 out of 10 Ghanaians today were not alive when we redenominated the cedi in 2007.
That is a frighteningly young population for us to throw caution to the wind and maintain a permanent withdrawal of public protections. If we do not reconsider how we urge young people to spend recreation, repercussions for doing nothing will be sternly felt in health, security, employment, and other aspects of our economy.
In many countries where policymaking is chiefly driven by corporate interests, mentioning a dent in the economy often prompts a spirited political response. That is where, if you are lucky, other businesses are given the carte blanche to raise healthieravenues of recreation to compete with the existing ones. Or businesses suffer some kind of ‘sin tax’ to alleviate the disaster they serve the public. Human needs are necessitated and negotiated through the grips of the free market and all society’s problems are seen as economic opportunities. Each rational actor to themselves, the market for us all.
Nevertheless, I am not too sure neoliberalism is entirely at home in Ghana as it is in many other countries. Make no mistake, it is noticeable but over here, neoliberalism is yet premature. Political party considerations – and not business interests – are still the major controllers of institutions, laws, and policies even if you speak of state capture through businesses owned by partisans.
Still, as Ghanaians, we have been trained to see the boom in nightlife adventures as an outgrowth of a steadily growing middle-class.
Classically, a boom in the services sector is read as a sign that a lot of money is going around. So in this case, more hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, event centers (they say there’s even a ‘wedding industry’ in Ghana) etc. spring up and all people can think about is that folks got money to spend. I guess it’s because the services sector is largely viewed through the spectacle of consumption. We do not even ask why people spend money so much on the nightlife. That is the sort of close-mindedness that blinds us to the population abuse committed through Ghana’s nightlife attractions.
Another publication by a researcher at the University of Ghana in 2020 strongly connected depressive states to alcohol use among working Ghanaians. So, are young Ghanaians reaching for the bottle anywhere they can find it because they cannot find other means of dealing with fragile mental health? What if, instead of simply perceiving the dizzying lights of the night, we also spare some concern for dreary lives? Are we forcing young people to drink, dance and drug away a mental health crisis? These are not exaggerated queries.
Many people with whom I have conversed happen to understand the gentrification and economic challenge to locals that come with President Akufo-Addo’s campaign to make Ghana the tourism capital of the Global Black Experience. All I have been saying is that the boon of the nightlife scene has also come with a bane, and there is no way to dodge it.
I know how attractive the retort to my argument is – that I could let people live as they please. Or that people are responsible for their own safety. The invalidity of such thinking lies in the fact that the state constitutionally owes protection to individuals. The Ghana Non-Communicable Disease Alliance already tells us Ghana is averaging above the WHO Africa Region figure for alcohol dependence. The dangers of sexual kind posed to women have never gone out of fashion and we do not seem ready to have a good-faith conversation about drugs in Ghana. But lives are at stake.
Hopefully, we can come to generate the perspectives and sympathies to prioritise young people.
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
The Central Regional Centre for National Culture (CNC) has organised a graduation ceremony for more than 70 ladies who enrolled to take part in a year’s C-Carl Oparebea Annual Marketable Skills Training held in Cape Coast,Central Regional capital.
Theprogramme provided hands-on training for the women to acquire skills in bead making, crocheting, basic sewing, decoration, facial makeup, painting, hair dressing, dreads locking, hair braiding and fascinator making.
This year’s event, the sixth to be organised under the C-Carl Oparebea Skills Training was on the theme: “Promoting Economic Growth and Development Through Arts and Culture.”
The acting Regional Director of the Centre for National Culture (CNC), Ms Salamatu Alhassan, in her address, noted that the skills training was part of the Centre’s contribution towards reducing unemployment in the Cape Coast metropolis.
She indicated that the training was in line with the core mandate of the National Commission on Culture under which the CNC falls in implementing government policies and programmes.
“The responsibilities of the Centre for National Culture with regard to promoting youth in the arts arena cuts across all spheres of education,” she said.
The practical aspect offered as part of the training, she said, was imperative in providing an opportunity for people to acquire employable skills to operate their own businesses.
Ms Alhassan indicated that, past trainees from the programme, were excelling in their respective businesses and were also impacting the lives of individuals by training them, saying, “However, some of them are facing challenges of funding as a start-up.”
He appealed to the government to resource the centres across the country in order for them to function effectively.
The Central Regional Minister, Mrs Justina Marigold Assan, in an address read on her behalf, commended the CNC for initiating and sustaining the programme aimed at identifying, developing and rewarding creative talents in the region.
“The flagship programmes are highly commendable as they are in line with government’s realignment of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) under the supervision of the Ministry of education,” she stated.
She further said: “The government has been working to promote skills training and development for industrialisation and generate greater awareness of the importance of TVET.
Mrs Assan expressed the readiness of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) in supporting the CNC as it strives to make an impact and supports the growth of the region and the nation in general.
She called on residents in the region to assist in creating a congenial atmosphere that would ensure steady growth and development of their societies.
“This will help to compliment the government’s efforts to extend development to every part of the country,” she said.
Veteran Reggae musician, Shasha Marley, has recalled how his song, ‘Maata Family’, brought him embarrassment from a group of children in Cape Coast.
According to the veteran, the word ‘Fish’ in his song has given people the impression that he was talking about ‘fart’ which isn’t the case.
“I got to Cape Coast, and some children saw me and they chorused my name with fart,” he narrated on GTV’s Breakfast show.
Explaining what the lyric in the song meant, Shasha said the famous ‘FUSH’heard in the song which is the sound that comes out when one farts, is rather ‘FISH’.
Shashaclaims it is the name of his friend from Papua New Guinea while adding that he still doesn’t understand why people won’t believe him after many years.
“I have explained this song a million times but people don’t believe it. It is Maata ‘Fish’ it’s not ‘Fush’. These are the names of my friends from Papua New Guinea. Listen, this is my song and I wrote it,” he said.
In a GBC interview monitored by GhanaWeb, the Archbishop of the Cape Coast Archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Ghana said that it is long overdue for Christians in the country to have a place to worship God together.
He also commended the president for adding him to the board of trustees of the Cathedral.
“I thank the president of the republic for adding me to the trustees. It was quite a surprise but not a surprise. I also want to thank him (the president) and my colleague trustee members for what we have made of the president’s simple vision that he told us.
“Because he (the president) came up with the vision of a place where Christians come together to thank the Lord together with the nation for the many blessings. And he entrusted it to us, and that is why we’re trustees. 13 of us were called to duty, and we have had a lot of time thinking about what the National Cathedral should mean physically, biblically, spiritually, even financially and economically.
“What attracted me (to the Cathedral project) I will say, I was called to duty. As a Catholic Archbishop, I believe that it is long overdue for Christians in this country to have a national monument that we are united in the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the project, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, on Tuesday, August 30, confirmed that the National Cathedral Project had been suspended due to a lack of funds.
The National Cathedral project has been riddled with controversies, including financing.
President Akufo-Addo, who has tagged the project as his personal pledge to God and his government, has been accused of channelling state funds into the project despite indicating that the private sector will fund the project.
The advent of Christianity and missionary work in the days of slavery and colonialism was clearly seen in theGold Coast era.
While the British merchantsand rulers established their presence at the Cape Coast castle and other forts, missionary work was in full force and Philip Quaque, a son of the land became a leading force in the Anglican Church who was later ordained as the first African priest of the church.
According to the Edward A. Ulzen Memorial Foundation, Quaque, was born in 1741 at Cape Coast and grew up to become one of three Fante children taken to England to further their education and study missionary work.
This was made possible through a missionary group called the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) in 1754.
The SPG under the Anglican missionaries quickly began to expand their efforts in the Gold Coast in a bid to recruit African missionaries.
Through the help of family connections, the group chose to send the young Quaque and two others to England for school to study religious and missionary work.
The two others were Thomas Cobbers, William Cudjoe who later died in 1758 and 1766 respectively. With Philip faring better than the others, he was later baptized at St Mary’s Church, Islington on January 7, 1759.
Before he was ordained as a minister in the Church of England, Philip was first known as Kweku Quaicoe, a name he later changed when he arrived in England.
During his time in London, he studied Theology which later earned him the chance to be ordained as a minister of the Church of England in 1976 and also became the first African to attain the feat.
That same year, Philip Quaque married Catherine Blunt, an English woman. The couple following the wedding ceremony returned back to Cape Coast the following year in 1977.
Upon arrival, the Royal African Company employed Philip Quaque to serve as the chaplain at Cape Coast Castle. At his residence, he set up a small school focused on training Mulatto children who were growing in large numbers at the time.
Shortly after arriving, he was faced with a rather deeper problem as he could not speak his native language of Fante as he was taken away to England at a very tender age.
This made it difficult for him to communicate and connect with the natives of the land. Sadly, within a year another problem was posed to him as his wife, Catherine Blunt passed away at Cape Coast.
Determined to continue his missionary work, Quaque re-married twice but this time to African women and in 1784, he was able to send his two children to study in England.
During his time as a chaplain at Cape Coast, he become famous for his African heritage and English training which helped him to navigate the cultural, religious and racial divide which is still very evident for many clergymen to date.
He is often remembered for his influence on Christian missions and schools established in the then Gold Coast. He helped many Anglican officials, people of African descent, common people and many others in diverse ways.
At the time, he faced a number of setbacks out of which he wrote many letters to the SPG for support but received only three out of five responses in return.
He was often times not compensated by either the SPG or the merchant group that ran Cape Coast castle, forcing him to barter trade in the local marketplace for food and supplies.
While gaining popularity among the natives, the SPG and merchant groups that ran Cape Coast began accusing him of requesting remuneration with little focus on his missionary work.
But this did not deter him as he become known for training a large generation of students who later rose to prominence in the then Gold Coast.
Quaque is however associated with the promotion of the Anglican faith in the Gold Goast era which has now grown in many parts of the country.
On October 17, 1816, Phillip Quaque passed away and was buried at the Cape Coast Castle. Through the years, Philip Quaque’s Day is celebrated at the Cape Coast Castle in remembrance of his works.
The Ofaakor Circuit Court has sentenced a driver to a fine of GH¢960 for driving on the shoulders of the road and carelessly crossing a magistrate and disrespecting her.
Theophilus Nii Armah Okai narrowly escaped a month’s jail term, after the Presiding Judge, Mr Ebenezer Osei Darko, reluctantly reversed his first ruling of one-month imprisonment to a fine of 80 penalty units following persistent appeals from the lawyer of the convict and other lawyers present at the court.
Okai will go to jail for six months in default of paying the Ghc960.00.
He pleaded guilty to the counts of driving on the road shoulders and causing danger to other road users, on which he was convicted.
Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Charles Annobil said on April 14, 2022, at about 1400 hours, Okai was driving a Toyota Hilux with registration number GN 2146 – 16 from Cape Coast towards Accra, using the shoulders of the road.
He said on reaching a section of the road at Fetteh Kakraba, he saw vehicles parked ahead of him and decided to join the main road but recklessly crossed a Dodge Rum pickup, being driven by Mrs Naomi Kuntour, the Magistrate of the Awutu Beraku Court.
In the process, the convict made an insulting gesture with his hands at her and drove away, the prosecutor told the court.
The Magistrate, however, gave Okai’s registration number to Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ms Agnes Caesar, the Commander of the Kasoa Motor Transport and Traffic Department, who alerted the police personnel on the road and Okai was apprehended the same day.
The judge insisted that he wanted the imprisonment to serve as a deterrent to reckless and insolent drivers, recounting his own experiences.
The lawyer for the convict, Mr Daniel Kukpalor, quickly went on his feet and appealed to the judge to temper justice with mercy.
With support from other colleague lawyers, he requested a fine in place of the jail sentence, saying his client was remorseful and had made attempts to apologise to the complainant.
“I’m sure he has learnt his lessons, and he is not going to repeat it,” he pleaded.
Mr Osei Darko granted the lawyer’s plea and reversed the jail sentence to a fine.
He then directed the convict to send the message to his colleague drivers to be careful and considerate on the road.
The Cape Coast Circuit Court 2 has granted a GHS 20,000 bail with two sureties to a 42-year-old, Godwin Bayor, who is alleged to have assaulted a sex worker.
Godwin Bayor was arrested on Monday by police in the Central Region for physically assaulting the woman in a video which has since gone viral on social media.
The accused person was charged with assault and causing unlawful harm but pleaded not guilty to both charges.
The court presided over by Her Worship, Veronique Praba Tetteh, after listening to both prosecution and defendant adjourned the case to April 4, 2022.
According to the narration accompanying the video, the suspect after patronizing the services of the woman refused to pay, leading to an exchange of words.
The suspect, driving a government-registered vehicle, GV-127-16, is reported to have hit the woman in the face during the altercation and hit her many times as the woman held on to his shirt insisting that he must pay her.
According to the police, the incident occurred on March 6, 2022, at Cape Coast, and the driver was arrested after a complaint by the woman on Sunday, March 13, 2022.
The police said, “his arrest follows a Police investigation into a viral audiovisual tape intercepted in which a man was captured assaulting a lady in the night. The victim subsequently lodged a complaint of assault at the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), Cape Coast, today Sunday, March 13, 2022,â€.
Another month and another daylight robbery incident in a regional capital, this time it was in the Central Regional capital of Cape Coast.
GhanaWeb compiles the facts so far gleaned from the latest daylight robbery incident the Ghana Police Service has to deal with.
Where and how the attack took place?
The attack took place on Wednesday, October 6, according to a 3news.com report. It happened specifically at the Coronation Junction in the Central Regional capital, Cape Coast.
The victim has been identified as a 73-year-old businessman, Mensavi Amuzuglo, who had been trailed by his assailants when he left the Ghana Commercial Bank after cashing a yet to be disclosed sum of money.
The assailants, numbering four, were on motorbikes and accosted him when he entered a hardware shop where he is believed to have visited to buy building materials.
Amuzuglo sustained an injury to the leg after he was shot by one of the robbers when he sought to prevent them from taking his money, the 3news report added.
He is currently on admission at the Cape Coast Regional Hospital and is responding to treatment, the police have confirmed.
Eyewitnesses speak to Joy News
“We were in our shops when we heard a loud bang. We even thought it was a car tyre that had burst, only to come and see a broad daylight robbery. They shot the man in the leg and when leaving they were firing indiscriminately in the air so we all ran away,†an eyewitness told Joy News.
“We thought these criminal incidents happen in Accra, Kumasi and the others. We have never witnessed such bloody crimes here before,†the Joy News report quoted a resident as saying.
Police announce bounty
Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Regional Police Comand, Irene Oppong, in a press briefing yesterday (October 6) asked the general public to remain calm and go about their activities.
She said the police were aggressively pursuing the assailants and had placed a 50,000 cedis bounty on information leading to their arrest.
“We also have a booty of GH¢5,000 as a reward for anyone who will give credible information that will lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.
“Again, the Command wants to assure the general public that there is no cause for alarm, security situation is good and we have strategized to help us to get the perpetrators arrested.
“Everybody can freely go about his or her duty and the assurance is that we will continue to protect as it is the mandate of the Service.â€
Recent daylight robberies
Achimota robbery
On September 20, 2021, on a hot afternoon, a robbery syndicate tailed a woman from a bank in Abeka in Accra and managed to rob her of an estimated amount of GH¢29,000.
The robbers who are on the run chased the woman and robbed her at a traffic stop in Achimota.
A video of the incident emerged two days ago, and it was chilling to view how the operation was conducted in less than 180 seconds. An innocent life was lost in the process.
Man shot in robbery attack at Kwashieman
Three days after the Achimota incident, another one was recorded at Kwashieman. GhanaWeb reported the story of how a man was shot in a daylight robbery operation close to a Bank of Africa branch at Kwashieman.
The suspects, per GhanaWeb sources, robbed the victim of a huge sum of money he withdrew from the above-mentioned bank.
The victim sustained injuries and was rushed to the hospital.
Daylight robbery at Weija
Another daylight armed robbery incident was recorded at Sampa Valley near Weija barrier, a suburb in Accra on Friday, September 24, 2021.
The robbers who were four in number were on two different bikes. According to an eyewitness, the robbers used an AK47 and fired warning shots at the crime scene.
The robbers who hid their faces with their crash helmets intercepted a white vehicle where they robbed the victims of their possession in a sack.
An amateur video intercepted by GhanaWeb showed the robbers forcefully taking the booty from the victims and fleeing the scene while firing warning shots.
Robbery at Tema
News portal mynewsgh reports of a robbery incident in the early hours of September 24, 2021, on the Tema motorway.
The report states that two gun-wielding armed robbers ambushed a man in traffic and took from him whatever they could.
Multiple gunshots were fired by the robbers to scare away people and ensure that their operation was a success.
The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has stated that it is misleading to say that the Accra-Cape Coast Highway is Africa’s deadliest road.
Earlier this month, GhanaWeb carried a story with the headline, Accra-Cape Coast highway ranked Africa’s deadliest road, based on a British Daily Mail report out together by researchers commissioned by an insurance company, Budget Direct, to identify the worst routes across different continents.
The report, among other things, stated that “In Africa, the road with the deadliest reputation is the Accra to Cape Coast Road in Ghana, which connects Accra to Cape Coast. Between 2004 and 2011, there were 6,104 accidents and 7,465 casualties.”
But the NRSA has disagreed with this report.
In a rejoinder addressed to GhanaWeb, the Public Relations Officer of the Authority, Pearl Adusu Gyasi, stated that “The national data on road traffic crashes to the Authority updated since 1991 does not mirror the Accra-Cape Coast Road or the Central Region as the most accident-prone road/region in Ghana.”
She continued that, “The national data on Road Traffic Crashes in Ghana (Statistics 2017) identifies the three most dangerous roads in Ghana as;
a. N1 Highway (Aflao to Elubo); b. N6 Highway (Accra to Kumasi); and c. N10 Highway (Kumasi through Techiman, Kintampo to Tamale)
The rejoinder further explained that while the Cape Coast road falls within one of these specified zones, the “accident-prone sections are the Accra-Tema Motorway, Achimota Interchange to Mallam Junction to Weija, and Kasoa to Cape Coast.”
Also, the statement challenged the part of the report that stated that “In early 2018, the National Road Safety Commission disclosed that 60% of all accidents in 2017 occurred on that road,’ as an incorrect impression.
“The impression that 60% of all accidents in Ghana for 2017 occurred on that road is incorrect. Instead, the fact is that the Accra-Cape Coast section of routes in the Central Region (Kasoa-Cape Coast) accounted for about 60% of all accidents in the Central Region (and not Ghana) for the year 2017.
It is by this information, stating that the research by the British Daily Mail is inaccurate and misleading.
The Cape Coast High Court on Wednesday, July 28, 2021 passed a verdict on the election petition against the member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyaakye Quayson.
The petition was brought before the court by one Michael Ankomah-Nimfah, resident of the constituency who was challenging the eligibility of the MP.
The court presided over by Justice Kwasi Boakye upheld the argument of the petitioner, confirming that James Quayson was not qualified to contest the 2020 elections.
The basis for the ruling is that at the point of filing to contest the elections, James Quayson had not successfully renounced his Canadian citizenship.
The court in its ruling annulled the 2020 parliamentary election in the Assin North Constituency and ordered a new election.
The court also stated that James Quayson ceases to be a Member of Parliament and therefore can not hold himself as such.
View the 64-page ruling by the Cape Coast High Court and can be read below
The Cape Coast High Court will today, Wednesday, July 28 rule on the election petition challenging the eligibility of Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson.
This comes on the heels of the withdrawal of an application seeking to invoke the supervisory jurisdiction by his lawyers.
The application from the MP of Assin North Constituency, James Gyakye Quayson at the Supreme Court was to invoke the supervisory jurisdiction of the apex court to assume jurisdiction over the case of his dual citizenship at the Cape Coast High Court.
But a five-member panel of the Supreme Court presided over by Justice Yaw Appau struck out the application from the Member of Parliament (MP) and awarded a cost of GHC5,000 against the MP in favour of the first Interested party (Michael Ankomah Nimfah, the petitioner).
This paves the way for the Cape Coast High Court to rule on the matter today Wednesday, July 28, 2021.
At least five persons have sustained various degrees of injuries after a fiery explosion at Anaafo, a fishing community in Cape Coast, swept through their homes.
As at 1040 hours, when the GNA arrived at the scene, the Ghana National Fire Service and the Ambulance Service teams were busily working to put out the fire and bring the situation under control.
The fire destroyed a slum and damaged properties running into hundreds of cedis.
Aside that, shops that were close to the area were also affected by the raging fire.
The GNA also saw some people wailing while others were busily searching for their relatives.
Mr Kwamena Esuon, a resident told the GNA that the cause of the fire outbreak was unknown, adding that he together with his colleagues, heard a loud blast while they were fetching premix fuel for their fishing expedition.
“Many of us threw ourselves into the sea just to save our lives, it just exploded and we started running for our livesâ€.
He said some of his colleagues were seriously injured and are battling for their lives.
Fire officials did not immediately comment on the incident.
Debutant Clifford Aboagye has joined his colleagues in the camp of the senior national team, the Black Stars in Cape Coast, ahead of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Sudan on Thursday, November 12, at the Cape Coast Stadium.
The talented midfielder was given a late call-up following the withdrawal of some invited players due to COVID-19.
Aboagye would be making his appearance for the Blck Stars for the first time in his career.
He was joined by number one goalkeeper Richard Ofori, who also doubles as the First Deputy Captain of the team, to prepare for the Sudan clash.
In all 18 players are currently in camp.
The Black Stars have already undergone the mandatory COVID-19 tests which are part of protocols to be observed before the encounter.
Ghana faces Sudan in 2021 AFCON qualifiers at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium on Thursday, November 12, 2020.
A driver and his mate have been crushed to death while six passengers are in critical condition in two separate accidents which occurred on the Kasoa Cape Coast highway in the Central Region Saturday.
The first accident happened at Potsin Junction while the second occurred at Okyereko Junction.
According to Gomoa Dominase Police, the driver of a Kia Bongo truck with the registration number GW 4138-18 tried to overtake a vehicle and crashed with a truck fully loaded with palm oil from Assin Fosu to Accra.
Police say, the driver and his mate died on the spot due to the heavy impact.
In a related development, the second accident happened at Okyereko Junction where a Sprinter Benz bus also collided with a Toyota Corolla salon car.
Confirming to Kasapa News Yaw Boagyan, ASP Bertha said six of them are in critical condition while ten others have been treated and discharge.
Those in critical condition are receiving treatment at Winneba Specialist and Trauma Hospital while Police have commenced an investigation.
Hearts of Oak will begin training on Thursday morning after pitching camp in Cape Coast ahead of the start of the new season.
The Ghanaian giants traveled to the Central Region on Wednesday to begin a two-week preseason camping.
Coach Edward Nii Odoom will lead his players through their first training at 8:00 am this morning before a late evening exercise at 4:00 pm.
The team has pitched camp at the Glow-Lamp Soccer Academy in Elmina as they prepare to make a claim for next season’s premier league.
The Phobians, who are chasing a first Ghana Premier League since 2008, have made new additions to their squad including the acquisitions of Nigerien Mamane Dramane and Ademola Kuti of Nigeria.
Last season the Rainbow club managed to place 9th before the campaign was abruptly ended by the outbreak of COVID-19.
Hearts have boosted their technical department by appointing Portuguese Vaz Pinto as a technical director.
The 20-times Ghana Premier League champions begin their campaign with an away game against Aduana Stars.
Residents of Kwesiprah near the University of Cape Coast in the Cape Coast North Municipality in the Central Region were in a joyous mood when the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) evacuated their 50-year-old dumpsite.
The exercise was part of the ongoing nationwide evacuation exercise by MSWR to rid the country of aged dumpsites.
The ongoing exercise is in line with President Nana Akufo-Addo’s vision of the Clean Ghana Agenda aimed at making the country the cleanest in Africa.
According to residents, the area gets flooded whenever it rains and also causes a strange stench during the rainy season.
The dumpsites evacuated in the Central Region include Kwseiprah, Amamoma, Akotokyir and many other places in the Cape Coast municipality.
Speaking to Journalists during the evacuation, the Assemblyman for the Old Site Apewosika Electoral Area, Mr Francis Mensah Egyiri, said residents always complain of frequent disease outbreak such as malaria and cholera.
Mr Egyiri said whenever it rains, the refuse flows into the gutter causing floods in the area so the evacuation will ease their plight.
“We are happy to see the evacuation of the dumpsites because it will stop the floods and outbreak of cholera,†he stated.
The Assemblyman appeals to the Cape Coast North assembly and Zoomlion Ghana Limited to provide enough refuse containers and embark on a frequent collection of the refuse.
“What we are going to do is to intensify the education on how to package the refuse well before disposing of them,†he stated.
President Akufo-Addo will this morning at 9:00am speak on Cape Coast based ATL FM as part of a working visit to the Central Region.
This follows the President’s three-day working visit to the Central Region which has witnessed a sod-cutting ceremony to commence the construction of Elmina fishing port rehabilitation and expansion project at Elmina in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) Municipality.
A whopping GH¢2.3m has been awarded as damages to the Vice-Chancellor of University of Cape Coast (UCC), Professor Joseph Ghartey Ampiah and Director of Physical Planning and Development and Estate Management, Philip Ntim Owusu in a legal battle against the National Tribute Newspaper.
According to a press release by the institution, the newspaper on June 21, 2018, and July 12, 2018, published highly defamatory articles about Professor Joseph Ghartey Ampiah and Philip Ntim Owusu.
The articles which were captured under the headlines, “UCC VC, others hot over dubious deals as BNI starts investigation†and “VC and others in more troubles†sought to suggest that the aforementioned personalities were involved in scandalous IT-related contracts and appointments.
But at the end of the legal battle in a Cape Coast High presided over by Justice Emmanuel Lodoh on June 29, 2020, damages of GH?1.5million has been awarded in favour of the “Vice-Chancellor and GH?800,000 in favour of the Director of Physical Development and Estate Management.”
“A cost of GHc20,000 was also awarded to each plaintiff.â€
An ex-convict Papa Sam popularly called Assemblyman was on Wednesday dawn allegedly found beaten to death by some unknown persons at Aquarium, a suburb of Cape Coast.
Sam was a resident of Ntsin also a suburb of Cape Coast and was said to have been released from prison not long ago.
A resident of Aquarium who pleaded anonymity told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the 29-year-old man known in the area as an ex-convict was last seen in the company of three others around 1200 hours in the vicinity.
According to the witness, the gang attempted to steal in the area and were pursued but the other three managed to escape.
The GNA noticed that the deceased was pelted with stones and cement blocks which damaged his face and some other parts of his body.
The incident drew a large crowd to the area and as at 9 in the morning, the body partly covered with plantain leaves, stones, pieces of wood and cement blocks, was still lying at the spot where the incident occurred.
The Cape Coast Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCRCCI) has advised the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly (CCMA) to get the requisite documentation on the land at Mempeasem earmarked for the relocation of the artisans of the Siwdu garages.
Additionally, the Chamber has tasked the CCMA to launch a rigorous education campaign, advocacy and consultation with the artisans on the impending exercise.
Also, the plans and the commitment for the development of the lagoon should not be diverted as soon as artisans were moved from the site to sustain the confidence of all stakeholders.
The chamber said while the artisans were in support of the relocation, problems with the topography of the Mempeasem site must be addressed.
These were contained in the recommendations of a research conducted by the Chamber with support from the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European Union (EU).
The research among others inquired about the views of artisans and other stakeholders on the proposed relocation of the artisans from the Siwdu garages to Mempeasem.
It also assessed the effects of the relocation on the beautification of Cape Coast Metropolis and evaluated the potentials of the Fosu Lagoon when developed as a tourist enclave to contribute to tourism growth, income generation and employment in the Metropolis.
The researchers used convenience sampling to select respondents from the garages based on availability and willingness to participate in the survey.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on findings of the research, Mr Anthony Yoofi Pokoo-Aikens, Regional Chairman of the Chamber, said there is the need for facilities such as roads and drainage systems to be provided for the effective functioning of the site before the relocation.
He said it also recommended that customer training be offered for the operators of garages to help them maintain patronage even after relocation and also offer them access to proper credit to enable them revamp their businesses.
Mr Pokoo-Aikens said members of the garages want the Mempeasem site to be improved to meet the standard of a modern garage with facilities such as water, toilet, proper landscaping and pavement, appropriate drainage system among others.
Mrs Benedicta Anita Mensah, the Regional Executive Secretary of the Chamber, said there is the need for more engagements with all stakeholders while basic amenities should be provided to allay the anxieties of the artisans before the relocation.
She said majority of the respondents agreed that the relocation exercise would actually beautify Siwdu and create a conducive environment for aquatic life in the lagoon to thrive.
The CCMA had for more than a decade and a half ago earmarked artisans at Siwdu for relocation to reduce noise pollution as well as prevent pollutants from the garages into the Fosu lagoon.
It will also enable the Assembly to redesign of the area around the Fosu lagoon into a tourism enclave.
