The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has instructed the Acting Director-General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Rev. Ing. Edmund Yirenkyi Fianko, to provide a detailed report on all frequency allocations granted or renewed within the last 60 days.
This directive aligns with the government’s Operation Recover All Loot initiative, which seeks to reclaim state resources that may have been improperly or unlawfully assigned to private entities.
The Minister underscored the need to uphold legal and regulatory frameworks, stressing that all assets under the Ministry’s oversight must be managed in a manner that serves the national interest.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, February 12, he noted that this review is the first step in a broader evaluation of frequency authorizations, aimed at promoting transparency and accountability in the broadcasting sector.
The Ministry assured the public that further measures would be announced once the submitted data has been thoroughly assessed.
The Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders has launched legal proceedings against the Ship Owners and Agents Association and its affiliated shipping entities, accusing them of unauthorized fee imposition and escalating expenses at the ports.
The Freight Forwarders claim the shipping entities have been imposing unapproved charges, including fees for container management, processing, evacuation, washing, and demurrage.
In a legal petition filed on January 20, 2025, and reviewed by Citi Business News, the Freight Forwarders argue that these charges were unlawfully introduced, contrary to directives from the Ghana Shippers Authority to stop additional port fees.
The Freight Forwarders want the following reliefs:
A declaration that imposing unapproved fees is illegal.
A declaration that counting weekends and holidays in demurrage calculations is unlawful.
An order for the refund of all monies collected through disputed charges.
Compensation for costs, including legal fees.
Any further relief the court deems appropriate.
The Institute has portrayed the legal action as a crucial step to protect consumers and enforce compliance with sector regulations.
The case is scheduled to be heard in court in the near future.
Three individuals involved in the case of a rapist and murderer who escaped from prison have had their charges dismissed.
Thabo Bester managed to break out of a South African prison last year by simulating his own death through a cell fire.
This escape triggered significant outrage in South Africa, where he was widely referred to as the “Facebook rapist” because he used the social media platform to deceive women with promises of job opportunities before assaulting them.
On Wednesday, Bester and nine other individuals had their charges related to the escape officially confirmed, paving the way for the trial to proceed.
Initially, twelve people, including Bester, were charged in connection with the prison break, but three of them had their charges dropped on Wednesday.
The state did not provide an explanation for the dropped charges, but it is believed that Nastaja Jansen, Thabang Mier, and Moeketsi Ramulula had their charges withdrawn due to insufficient evidence.
During the court proceedings, Bester’s legal team alleged that his telephone conversations had been recorded by the Department of Correctional Service, an allegation that the state denied.
The court was informed that the case would be ready for transfer to the high court for pre-trial proceedings on February 21 of the following year.
James Johnson, who lives in Hampshire, shared that his mother had to use up all of her money to have the ability to decide when she would die.
He is going to tell the Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth that his mother died by herself without her family being around to keep them safe from being accused of a crime.
In Switzerland, people who live there or are from another country can legally receive help to end their life if they are suffering and want to die.
In England and Wales, if someone helps or goes with someone to another country to die, they can be sent to prison for up to 14 years.
Mr Johnson said that his mother, who was a nurse and worked until she wasn’t able to, was very sick with vasculitis. Vasculitis is a disease that attacks important parts of the body and caused her a lot of pain.
He said that she got really good care to help with her pain, but she still had a lot of pain that was very hard to handle. Mr Johnson did not want him to put his job in danger as a police officer, so he said that she took care of all the plans herself for Dignitas, which is a group in Switzerland that helps people end their lives. She spent over £15,000 to do this.
He said: “My mom was a very strong woman, but her sickness caused her to experience really painful symptoms that palliative care couldn’t relieve. ”
She didn’t have a lot of money, but she had to use all her savings to have control over when she died. This choice should not be kept behind a payment barrier, but according to the laws in the UK, it currently is.
I will always remember saying goodbye to my mom and it will continue to bother me.
I was standing there, crying, trying really hard not to chase after her and hug her again as she started her last journey, but I couldn’t do it.
Mr Johnson said that if assisted dying was allowed in the UK, his mother could have passed away comfortably at home with him, instead of in a hidden place or all by herself, and without spending a lot of money.
Make suffering less.
He said, “I ask Parliament to address this problem and make actual improvements for people who are dying, like my mother. ” They cannot wait because they are busy.
Since she passed away, Mr. Johnson has collected more than £12,000 for Dignity in Dying, a campaign in the UK that aims to change the law.
Francesca Hall, a representative from the organization, said that UK lawmakers need to stop relying on another country to show compassion because they don’t want to deal with the issues surrounding our assisted dying ban.
Last year, Members of Parliament started an investigation to collect information and opinions about assisted dying. They wanted to determine if the law regarding this should be modified.
They said people were concerned about how it could affect people who are at risk and the healthcare workers who would be involved.
“Many people suggested providing more money and resources for palliative and end of life care to help alleviate pain and suffering,” they stated.
In a few European countries like Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands, assisted dying is no longer considered a crime.
The British Medical Association has decided to remain neutral on the matter.
Alistair Thompson, who is part of a group called Care Not Killing, which is against legalizing assisted suicide in the UK, said that changing the law would send a message that people with terminal or chronic illnesses will suffer and that current medical care cannot help them. He believes that this would lead to people thinking that taking a pill will peacefully end their lives.
He said that this action would make the most vulnerable people in society feel scared. He also mentioned that our healthcare system is weak and lacks funding, which puts stress on services. He believes that instead of debating this dangerous and ideological policy, Parliament should be focused on providing palliative care to the one in four British citizens who need it.
The Executive Council of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) has expressed its dissatisfaction with recent remarks made by the Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampam, Sam Nartey George, regarding Ghana’s real estate sector.
According to GREDA, the lawmaker made an error in his statements when he characterized the entire real estate business in Ghana as a haven for individuals to launder money acquired through illicit means.
In a statement issued by GREDA and seen by GhanaWeb Business, they have requested that the Ningo Prampram MP issue an immediate and unqualified apology, as well as a retraction of his statement from the July 22nd edition of Joy News’ File within 7 days.
“It is therefore an affront to our genuine hardworking members for this Honorable MP to make such an unguarded and irresponsible utterance without offering any proof whatsoever.
We demand an immediate unqualified apology and retraction of this unfortunate statement within 7 days of this press statement,” the statement read in part.
GREDA continued, “We however, wish to serve him notice and notice is hereby served that we reserve our right to seek legalredress should he not retract his unfortunate comments and apologize accordingly.”
The Association, however, reminded the lawmaker that as part of efforts to ensure the real estate sector is sanitized, it collaborates with the Economic Crime and Intelligence Office (EOCO) and Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and other parallel state agencies to implement of the Anti-Money Laundering Law, AML (Act 749) as amended.
“Members of our Association are hardworking Ghanaians who every day have to battle with the economic conditions in the country as every other business sector is doing,” GREDA emphasized.
Read the full statement from GREDA below:
Background
On the July 22nd edition of the Joy News’ File, Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampam, Sam Nartey George raised concerns over the legitimacy of some real estate businesses operating in the country.
According to him, the real estate sector has become a haven for individuals to launder money acquired through illicit means and ways.
He suggested that individuals engaging in these money laundering schemes in the real estate sector often exchange these properties as part of a ploy to effectively ‘clean’ illicit funds.
“Real estate business in Ghana is money laundering. If our authorities want to deal with it, they will deal with it,” Sam George lamented.
He explained that “the cost of real estate in Ghana is not justifiable by any stretch. You keep seeing all these new high-rise buildings going up and they are selling them for half a million, a million dollars and they keep buying and buying amongst themselves.”
“…I have dirty money to clean, I put up a real estate property, you have dirty money you come and buy the property from me and then automatically your money becomes clean, then tomorrow you also start building your own then I come back and buy and we are just cleaning the money,” Sam George added.
The Ningo Prampram MP further asserted that the funds generated from such illegal activities are subsequently used to finance political campaigns and among others.
His remarks were on the back of a recent newspaper report from The Chronicle detailing how a former Minster of Sanitation, Cecilia Abena Dapaah had been keeping huge sums of foreign currency in her home which was subsequently stolen by her two maids.
