TIG Post

Tag: President Akufo-Addo

  • Kirani Ayat, GTA set to reach agreement on intellectual property feud

    The feud between musician, Kirani Ayat and the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) may soon come to an end as the two parties are set to reach an agreement on the use of the former’s intellectual property.

    Speaking on Accra-based Hitz FM on Thursday, October 13, Kirani Ayat said his team and GTA have begun negotiations and discussions on compensation to be paid by the government agency for using his works without consent.

    He mentioned that he expects the ongoing process to conclude by next week adding that he will provide a briefing to the public on what has been reached.

    “All the subsequent issues, we were trying to negotiate and agree with the terms and all of that. We have agreed to a point, so, we are almost there.

    “But right now, it is just left with ironing out everything and putting out a statement. There has to be compensation, it is part of the discussion. So by either this week or next week, we can let the people know,” Kirani Ayat said.

    The musician was however silent on the details of discussions stating that it was because a full agreement has not been reached.

    He said even though he cannot publicly state the details, he anticipates GTA to be fair in their dealings.

    It will be recalled that Kirani Ayat took to Twitter to express his displeasure at the use of his works without permission.

    He was reacting to a tourism promotion video that was posted on President Akufo-Addo’s Twitter handle which contained footage from his ‘GUDA’ song.

    “The president of Ghana has used my video ‘GUDA’ in this ad to promote Ghana. I was actively reaching out to the Ministry of Tourism in 2018/19 to use this video to push tourism in the North and got NO reply, yet today it’s in an ad and no one reached out to me for permission,” Kirani Ayat tweeted.

    GTA however denied any wrongdoing stating that it legitimately acquired rights to use the footage from an agency later named as Samsal.

    However, in a September 28, 2022 statement, Samsal denied authorizing GTA to use Ayat’s video.

    It explained that it entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GTA to promote Digital Wrist Band – a wristband that granted access to highly sought-after events slated for the Christmas season – to tourists and foreigners.

    Per the MoU, the agency said GTA was to give it the needed support in terms of finances and logistics in order to produce video content to market Ghana to the world in that regard.

    Consequently, Samsal said it put together a video reel (mood board) for the GTA that included parts of Ayat’s ‘GUDA’ video to demonstrate the vision it had for videos it intended to subsequently create for the campaign.

    Source: Ghanaweb

     

  • NRA tasked to include nuclear power in country’s energy mix

    The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, (MESTI) Dr Kwaku Afriyie, has charged the new board of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) to boost efforts to include nuclear power in the country’s energy mix.

    He said the committee was obligated to initiate pragmatic policies and actions to prepare the Authority to effectively deliver on its mandate in the nation’s nuclear power programme.

    Dr. Kwaku Afriyie (middle) with the members of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority Board

    Inaugurating the board, in Accra yesterday, he also tasked the board to ensure that nuclear devices for medical and agriculture purposes that would come into the country were well regulated.

    The seven-member board which is the thirdfor the NRA is chaired by Professor Aba A. BentilAndam, a fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences with members including Professor Isabella A. Quakyi also from the Academy.

    Others are Colonel Tim Ba-Taa-Banah, National Security Ministry;  Daniel Adumuah, Adentan Municipal Chief Executive; Ebenezer Appah-Sampong, Environmental Protection Agency; DrNii K. Allotey, NRA and Prof. Edward Akaho,  Former Director-General of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission.

    After many years of preparations, President Akufo-Addo, last month, approved the inclusion of nuclear power into the country’s power generation mix, indicating readiness to go nuclear.

    The announcement of the government’s approval, called the National Position, is one of the key 19 infrastructure issues under phase one of the programme, a guideline set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

    “The board is a requirement in international circles, because if it does not exist we would not have the IAEA permission to proceed and that would be against international law, so this board is very important,” said Dr Afriyie.

    He said the country, having completed the first phase, had initiated the second phase with a call for expression of interest from vendors and identification of sites for the project.

    “Your inputs should ensure the proper management of the resources of the Authority, and also ensure that the Authority is abreast with all emerging new technologies.

    “I urge you to be passionate about this duty, bring your years of experience, expertise and excellence which all of you are noted for, to bear on the task ahead. Above all, take your mandate as a “sacred calling” for which posterity would applaud your memory,” he said.

    Prof. Andam thanked and assured the president that the board would be committed to the task ahead, initiate policies and see their quick implementation, and ensure good governance in the NRA.

    “I can attest to the fact that members of this board are known for their lives of service and commitment to the nation. This gives me the confidence that history will show that in our day we met the demands which our time requires of us,” she said.

  • Galamsey fight: Gov’t should use trackers to stop menace – NDC communicator

    A Communication Team Member of the National Democratic Congress(NDC), TT Caternor, has advised government to intensify its fight against illegal mining by adopting technological innovations to monitor mining equipment and concessions.

    He is advocating the use of trackers to monitor excavators’ operations, which he said are critical industrial machines.

    Speaking with Kwaku Owusu Adjei on Adwenekasa on Accra-based Original FM 91.9, he said, “Just put a tracking device on the excavator, and so when it is registered, you will track it. Any time it is moving, you will be told where they are. Immediately you see that a lot of them are converging around Dunkwa, for instance, it should trigger something, like a probe, as to what those excavators are doing in Dunkwa.”

    He tasked the government to implement measures and enforce mining regulations to bring sanity to the small-scale mining (SSM) sector.

    Excavators are one of the main pieces of equipment used by illegal miners in their operation, which leaves devastating effects on Ghana’s land and water resources.

    President Akufo-Addo believes the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, can be won if it is not politicized.

    He holds the view that until the menace is treated with a nationalistic approach, the fight against it cannot be won.

  • Newly-renovated Ghana Embassy building in Paris inaugurated

    The newly-renovated Ghana Embassy building in Paris has been inaugurated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

    It is located in the prime area of the 16th Arrondissement of Paris.

    The Paris Mission has a unique address, located in the famous Villa Saïd.

    The villa is named after Mohamed Sa’id Pasha, a former Prime Minister of Egypt.

    Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, congratulated President Akufo-Addo on the prestigious award of Doctor Honoris Causa conferred on him by the reputable Sorbonne University.

    “Mr President, your service and sacrifices to the nation and humanity will always be recognised and your example should spur us all on to do more for God and country,” she said.

    She thanked the President for his commitment and support ensuring that the Paris Mission was well-housed and in the best of conditions.

    “You insisted that we included Paris in the list of Ghana’s Diplomatic Missions to benefit from the Société Générale Bank credit facility acquired to purchase, construct, reconstruct and/or renovate Ghana Missions abroad,” Madam Ayorkor Botchwey stated.

    The Minister also congratulated Madam Anna Bossman, Ghana’s Ambassador to France, for her spirit of importunity and determination that had seen the successful completion of the project.

    Madam Ayorkor Botchwey said the President was right that the Paris Mission was significant and touched all aspects of diplomacy – bilateral, multilateral and economic diplomacy – in all its forms and expressions in the prosecution of Ghana’s foreign policy agenda.

    She said France was one of the first countries with, which Ghana established diplomatic relations immediately following its independence in 1957.

    “Our long-standing relations with France have since grown and blossomed into fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation, in many aspects of our national development to the mutual benefit of our peoples,” the Minister said.

    “To the Ghanaian community, this is your home.”

    She said the renovation meant the Government of Ghana was sending a strong message of the importance it attached to the interests of its citizens, which was the priority of diplomacy.

    The Minister said the beautifully fitted consular section should complement the high-quality services it would provide for the public’s satisfaction.

    She urged the public to enjoy the facility and cooperate with the officers, who were ever ready to assist them in all that they needed; saying: “Let us keep the flag of Ghana high. “

    The Minister expressed gratitude to the staff of the Paris Mission for their dedication and hard work.

    “Our success requires that we meet the high expectations of our citizens and others who demand our services. Let us go over and above the call of duty, for the sake of our country,” she said.

    Source: GNA

  • President urges Africa’s military to combine efforts to deal with continent’s insecurity

    President Akufo-Addo has called on Africa’s military to combine their capabilities to counter the insecurities that plague the continent.

    According to the President, the link between transnational organised crime and terrorism was a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, posing a concrete threat to international peace and development of states.

    Mr. Dominic Ntiwul (third from right) with some digniteries inspecting some equipment at the exhibition stands. Photo Geoffrey Buta

    President Akufo-Addo said this in a speech read on his behalf at the opening ceremony of a two day International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEC) 2022 at Burma Camp, Accra and was under the theme “strengthening international collaboration to combat terrorism and transnational organised crimes.”

    The two-day event brought together delegates from the top hierarchy of Armed Forces, law enforcement agencies, academia, military solution providers and other stakeholders in the defence industry from Africa and beyond.

    Also present were international security experts and over 60 exhibitors from across the globe.

    The event was aimed at deliberating on the growing threat of terrorism and other transnational crimes that posed significant security concerns in the region and adopt strategies to comprehensively address the emerging security concern.

    President Akufo-Addo said there were close linkages between terrorism and criminal groups, whose main agenda was to exploit porous borders and weak governments hence the need to ensure effective and efficient international and regional cooperation in dealing with criminal matters related to terrorism.

    “Establishing strong cooperation agreements among member states worldwide will help facilitate request for mutual legal assistance and extradition which plays an important part in the prosecution of cases transcending national borders,” he said.

    He mentioned that the use of electronic surveillance, undercover operations and use of informants had proven to be effective techniques that had assisted investigative agencies to combat organised crime and transnational crimes.

    “We need to develop and strengthen legislation to criminalise the laundering of proceeds of crime, train officials and increase the ability to identify and interdict cross-border transportation of illegal cash or other negotiable instruments as a major step in stopping organised crime in the sub-region and the world at large,” President Akufo-Addo said.

    He explained that tackling the insecurities in the sub region was of urgent importance to the government of Ghana considering the fact that most of the factors hindering the continent’s economic development included public borrowing, trade deficit, military expenditure, low level of technological innovation, political turbulences and corruption.

    The Chief of  Defence Staff (CDS), Vice Admiral Seth Amoama, said in order to  achieve the aim of the event  there was the need for a multi-dimensional strategy that safeguards citizens, breaks the financial strength of criminals and terrorist networks.

    He also indicated that there was the need for an approach that disrupts illicit traffic networks, defeats transnational crime organisations, fights corruption, strengthens the rule of law, bolsters judicial systems and improves transparency.

    The CDS mentioned that the first day of the event would focus on terrorism and transnational organised crimes and  while today would be for open discussions on initiatives to counter-terrorism and transnational organised crimes at an offsite location which would be hosted separately by the various Service Chiefs of the Ghana Armed Forces.

  • NPP people are the problem in the fight against galamsey – Titus Glover

    Former Member of Parliament for Tema East, Titus Nii Kwartei Glover, has blamed elements within the ruling New Patriotic Party for the government’s failure to defeat illegal mining.

    According to the former MP, while some members of the party are embroiled in the galamsey menace, those appointed at the local level to fight the menace have failed to discharge their mandate.

    “The difficulty is our own people in there. My own NPP people. Do you think I am afraid to talk about it? It is my own NPP people who are making the fight against galamsey difficult. It is a fact. The law says don’t mine on our river bodies.

    “If the soldiers are sent in to drive away the galamseyers and they leave, the District Security Council led by the MCE what do they do? The Regional Security Council is also responsible for security at that level what do they do? So every time soldiers have to be moved from Accra to these areas to fight the menace? That is not good,” he said on Adom TV’s morning programme.

    Rampant illegal mining activities have resulted in the degradation of several forest covers and the pollution of various water bodies.

    This has resulted in a renewed public discussion on illegal mining activities.

    Various calls have been made for the government to take drastic steps to curb the menace.

    Last week, President Akufo-Addo met with members of the National House of Chiefs and MMDCEs in galamsey areas.

    The meeting by the president was to fashion out some solutions to the galamsey issues.

     

  • Accra named UNESCO World Book Capital for 2023

    President Akufo-Addo has disclosed that Ghana’s capital town, Accra, has been named the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) world book capital for 2023.

    In a series of tweets shared on October 10, the president said that this honour is an acknowledgement of the country’s progress in its development process.

    He added that it also means that Accra is now part of prestigious cities in the world which have been UNESCO world book Capital

    “I am happy to inform you that Accra has been named the UNESCO world book capital for 2023, making our vibrant city part of the prestigious world book capital cities network.

    “This is an acknowledgment of the giant strides that Ghana and Africa are making in developing our book and creative art industry and we thank you for your diverse contribution that made this possible,” he said.

    According to UNESCO, the World Book Capital programme is used to acknowledge cities’ commitment t promoting books and fostering reading

    It added that cities designated as UNESCO World Book Capital undertake to carry out activities to encourage a culture of reading and diffuse “its values in all ages and population groups in and out of the national borders”.

    Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo, while addressing the 215th Meeting of the Executive Board of UNESCO, on Monday, October 10, 2021, charged member states of UNESCO to ensure that education remains a priority in the common development agenda of countries.

    “At this moment, we cannot pick and choose between funding guns and education. We cannot pick and choose between the interests of the present generation and the future of our girls and boys.

    “We cannot choose geopolitical concerns over preserving our cherished cultural heritages, lest we perish universally,” he said.

    Read the President’s tweets below:

    This is an acknowledgement of the giant strides that Ghana and Africa are making in developing our book and creative art industry and we thank you for your diverse contribution that made this possible.

    — Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) October 10, 2022

  • Education must remain a priority for global development – Akufo-Addo

    President Akufo-Addo has charged Member States of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to ensure that education remains a priority in the common development agenda of countries.

    As the recently appointed Domestic Financing champion of the Global Partnership for Education, President Akufo-Addo sought the co-operation and support of UNESCO “to work towards developing sustainable homegrown financial solutions, so we can develop the educational system for the future we want in our various countries.”

    Addressing the 215th Meeting of the Executive Board of UNESCO, on Monday, 10th October 2021, in Paris, France, the President noted that the world does not have the luxury to pick and choose which crises it wants to fix.

    “At this moment, we cannot pick and choose between funding guns and education. We cannot pick and choose between the interests of the present generation and the future of our girls and boys. We cannot choose geopolitical concerns over preserving our cherished cultural heritages, lest we perish universally,” he said.

    Due to global instability, however, President Akufo-Addo noted that, education has become one of many competing priorities of domestic budgets, with development aid to the education sector also seriously under pressure.

    “Indeed, countries reduced their spending on education after the onset of the COVID-19, and, at the same time, direct aid to education by bilateral donors fell by some three hundred and fifty-nine million dollars ($359 million), which is not compatible with the objectives of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda for financing sustainable development and the goals of the SDGs,” he said.

    The President continued, “We are further informed that prospects for reaching funding target, through voluntary contributions, are uncertain as several long-term donors have already reduced significantly their voluntary contributions to UNESCO due to a change in development cooperation priorities, thereby significantly impacting our planned programme implementation.”

    In spite of these challenges, President Akufo-Addo commended UNESCO for the lead role it played in ensuring the success of the Transforming Education Summit, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September this year.

    Necessitated by the seminal “Futures of Education” report from UNESCO, the President indicated that the Transforming Education Summit, and, indeed, the pre-summit held here in Paris, have been extremely successful in getting the world to reflect deeply on the trajectory of educational systems, and how to addresses the challenges of our time.

    Touching on Global Priority Africa Programme, which has been adopted by the UNESCO General Conference at its 41st Session, President Akufo-Addo was delighted that UNESCO has made Africa a Global Priority, and was delighted to see UNESCO’s flagship programmes as being relevant to achieving the objectives of the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063, i.e. “The Africa We Want”.

    He also urged UNESCO’s Executive Board to help win the fight against Climate Change, especially as the planet is heading towards a dangerous tipping point as a result of climate change.

    In furtherance of this, he commended UNESCO for the effort to strengthen the “Man and Biosphere Programme”, whose goal is to help protect nature and biodiversity loss globally, through the Biosphere Reserve Concept.

    “I urge UNESCO Member States to strengthen measures, at their respective national levels, that recognise formally the contribution of Biosphere Reserves, and designate more biosphere reserves and geoparks as a sure way for solving the climate crisis”, he added.

    In concluding, the President informed the Executive Board of the news that Accra has been named as the UNESCO World Book Capital for 2023, making Accra part of the prestigious World Book Capital Cities Network.

    This, he stated, is an acknowledgement of the giant strides Ghana and Africa are making in developing Ghana’s book and creative arts industry.

    “The year-long programme to celebrate this honor done us by UNESCO will commence from 23rd April 2023, which is celebrated globally as the World Book and Copyright Day. I wish to use this opportunity to invite you all to join Ghana in this year-long celebrations,” the President added.

  • Akufo-Addo is supervising environmental terrorism – Odike

    The founder of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Akwasi Addai Odike, has said that Ghana is currently experiencing what he describes as “environmental terrorism” under the government of Akufo-Addo.

    He said that President Akufo-Addo is looking on as illegal miners (galamseyers) terrorize the country by stealing its natural resources.

    He added that the galamseyers are also destroying its lands and water bodies, and to an extent, the lives of Ghanaians.

    Speaking in an Onua TV interview monitored by GhanaWeb, on Friday, October 7, Odike added that the environmental terrorism in Ghana is worse than the terrorism, coups, and other upheavals in countries in the West African sub-region because it is not only killing Ghanaians but it is also denying the country the needed resources to develop.

    “You (Akufo-Addo) you are superintending evil; you are superintending environmental terrorism. When there are coups in West Africa, you come out and say that they (the coups) are not good, but what you are doing is worse than coups.

    “Our lands that you are destroying is worse than someone organizing a coup. Because, despite the coup in Burkina Faso, their lands will still be intact. If they stop the coups, their lands will still be there for them.

    “There hasn’t been any coup in Ghana but our lands are being destroyed, and we don’t have portable water. Who is better off between us and Burkina Faso? The Rwandans had a conflict, nobody destroyed their land and now that they have resolved their issues, they are using their resources to develop their country,” he said.

    Odike also berated Akufo-Addo for failing to go to any of the ‘galamsey’ sites across the country to see for himself the devastating effects of menace.

    “… have you seen Akufo-Addo visiting any of the galamsey areas? As a president whose lands and water bodies are being destroyed by galamsey, Akufo-Addo has never visited any of these sites,” he noted.

    Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has travelled to France to receive an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Sorbonne University on Monday, October 10, 2022.

    According to myjoyonline.com, the president left Ghana on Saturday, October 8, 2022, and will be conferred with an Honorary Doctorate Degree and an Award of Honoris Causa as part of the activities for his six-day working visit to France.

    A statement issued on Sunday, October 9, 2022, said that before receiving the award, the president will address the 215th Session of UNESCO.

    “Prior to receiving the Honorary Doctorate from Sorbonne University, the President will address the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at its 215th Session,” Joy News quoted part of the statement.

    It further stated that Akufo-Addo will also address the Asia Society Forum on the theme, “To Act in Troubled Times: new perspectives from France, Asia, Africa and the world”.

    The statement also indicated that the president will commission the refurbished Chancery building of Ghana’s Embassy in Paris.

  • 80,000 including illegal miners gain direct, indirect jobs under NAELP – Coordinator

    More than 80,000 people, including illegal miners, have gained direct and indirect jobs under the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP) since its rollout a year ago.

    Of the beneficiaries mainly from mining communities, 16,920 were engaged in Akotom in Western Region; 27,280, Adinkra in Ashanti; 16,002, Techire in Ahafo; 18,869, Akwatiakwaso in Eastern and 500 in Fufuo, Ashanti.

    The remaining 500 were employed at Hohoe in the Volta Region as an intervention for residents of the region and Oti who were found to have moved to the mining areas to work.

    The NAELP Coordinator, Dr Louise Carol Serwaa Donkor told the Ghanaian Times on Friday, that they worked at five main seedling sites and a satellite site at Hohoe to raise 20 million seedlings to support massive reafforestation efforts anchored on the 2022 Green Ghana tree planting exercise.

    She said permanent staff members were about 400; casual workers, 1,199 while the rest were food /water suppliers, drivers, labourers, machine operators, seed suppliers/loaders/off loaders/planters and others in charge of soil.

    She disclosed this in an interview on the progress of work under the programme and the impact being made in the alternative livelihood agenda in the mining sector ahead of its first anniversary in a couple of weeks.

    Launched by President Akufo-Addo on October 25, last year, the NAELP, aims to provide alternative employment and livelihood to illegal miners(galamaseyers), potential ‘galamaseyers’ and related workers in the industry impacted by the government’s clampdown of illegal mining.

    It also seeks to reclaim degraded lands in mining communities to restore the country’s water bodies, enhance livelihoods as well as ensure responsible small-scale mining, with the five focus regions Ashanti, Eastern, Central, Western North and Western.

    Under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the programme is hinged on six modules including Agriculture and Agro-processing; Land Reclamation and Re-Afforestation and Mine Support Services.

    The others are Responsible, Viable and Sustainable Small Scale Mining, Apprenticeship, Skills Training and Entrepreneurship and Community enhancement Projects.

    Apart from small scale miners other targeted beneficiaries are their small scale mining sponsors, fuel suppliers, hoteliers, metal fabricators, transport operators, food caterers, traders and farmers.

    Dr Donkor said the jobs created meant a lot to the miners and to the government because many of the beneficiaries were displaced as a result of the sanitation of the mining industry, to wit, anti-illegal mining operation by the government.

    “So it was important for the government to come up with how to integrate them better through employment opportunities,” she said.

    Dr Donkor said the permanent workers were paid G¢ 700 after tax deductions; their social security was paid in addition to breakfast and lunch and other end of year benefits.

    For casual workers, she said, they were paid a daily wage of about GH¢100, or GH¢ 2000 a month depending on the work they did because their wages were calculated based on their output.

    “The main thing is to target areas where there is mining, where galamsey is endemic because we want to be able to use them as labour. In those communities if you keep them (idle) they will keep doing the things we don’t want them doing. So we went through the chiefs to engage them,” she said.

    She explained that at the moment, pending the next funding stage, the programme is yet to nurse the next set of seedlings to keep the people continuously engaged for another massive reafforestation drive to restore the country’s forest cover.

    “Ghana has lost 1.41 million hectares of tree cover from 2001 to 2021 equivalent to a 20 per cent decrease in forest cover and it is for our sustenance on earth to reforest,” she said.

    Apart from the job creation, DrDonkor said the programme was reclaiming 1,000 hectares of degraded lands BibianiAnwiaso and  BekwaiJuaboso of Western North; BosomeFreho District in Ashanti and Abuakwa South and Atiwa West of Eastern.

    “Under the Land Reclamation and Re-Afforestation module, we are working on the degraded land, bringing them to the right chemical balance for vegetation again, extracting all the harmful chemicals and redirecting streams from polluted areas,” she said.

    Under the other modules, Dr Donkor said, artisanal and Small-Scale Miners will soon be receiving capacity building and skills enhancement training for sustainable and responsible mining.

    She said the mining related skills development training modules would be rolled out along with large scale miners for a more efficient and widespread impact.

    “The government is not against mining, but it is against the illegal and unsustainable ways of mining which compromise the environment,” she said and called for support for the programme.

  • Akufo-Addo’s government deserves commendation for YouStart programme – Nii Ashitey Ollenu

    Aspiring New Patriotic Party Parliamentary Candidate for Ledzokuku Constituency. Nii Ashitey Ollenu has commended the government of President Akufo-Addo for introducing policies to empower the Ghanaian youth.

    Speaking on Top FM’s Final Point programme, the philanthropist and youth activist noted the need for deliberate actions aimed at empowering the youth of Ghana.

    “My focus is on youth empowerment, unfortunately, some people have boxed up the youth with unfulfilled promises. So all the time the youth are living in disappointment. So it is about time the youth get empowered to bring out the giants in them,” he told the host of the programme, Kwabena Owusu Agyemang.

    He however lauded the government for introducing the YouStart programme which aims at providing funding and technical guidance to youth of Ghana to go into entrepreneurship.

    “One thing I believe the government of President Akufo-Addo deserves commendation for is the introduction of the YouStart programme. It is a youth-focused programme and if it is administered as it had been planned the youth will be relieved

    “My doors are always opened and I am also glad that the Ghana Enterprises agency which is formally the National Board for Small Scale Industries is the agency behind the policy,” he added.

  • Kweku Baako narrates how Major Mahama was allegedly killed by galamseyers

    Veteran Journalist Kweku Baako Jnr has alleged that the lynching of Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama (Major Mahama) by residents of Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region in 2017 was orchestrated by illegal small-scale miners (galamseyers).

    According to him, the lynching of Major Mahama was not because he was mistaken for a thief as being asserted but was planned.

    In a Peace FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Kweku Baako said that the galamseyers arranged the murder of Major Mahama because they saw him as an impediment to their activities in Denkyria-Obuasi

    “This is a tragedy so I have to be careful so that I don’t hurt feelings and emotions. Do you know that the late Major Mahama was a victim of galamseyers?

    “The galamseyers thought he symbolized protection of a certain mining interest there. They (the galamseyers) gingered up the thing (the incident) and got that man killed,” he narrated.

    He intimated that even though no one has been found guilty of Major Mahama’s death he is confident that the perpetrators will be brought to book.

    “They have not finished the court case … but it is progressing,” he said.

    On May 29, 2017, residents of Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region lynched an army officer, Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama to death after mistaking him for an armed thief.

    The mob attacked and beat him to death with stones, building blocks and sticks, after which they set him on fire. The horrific act which was captured on video was greatly condemned. Investigations into the murder of the army officer led to the arrest of some town folks.

    President Akufo-Addo condemned the lynching as a “heinous crime,” and promised justice.

    “No one involved in his murder will go free,” he said.

    But up to date, no has one been found guilty of any crime.

  • Submit report on persons responsible for infractions in Auditor-General’s report – Akufo-Addo charges SIGA, A-G

    President Akufo-Addo has directed the Director-General of State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) to work with the Auditor-General to look into the causes of the infractions cited in the latest Auditor-General’s report, identify persons responsible and make the necessary recommendations as prescribed by law.

    According to President Akufo-Addo, the 2021 Auditor-General’s report has reported an increase in the number of infractions committed by specified entities, and this demands answers from chairpersons of these entities.

    He made this known on Monday, October 3, 2022, when he held a meeting with the Director General of SIGA, and Chairpersons of specified entities at Jubilee House, the seat of the nation’s presidency.

    President Akufo-Addo explained that specified entities have been set up to provide efficient public services, promote public economic activities, contribute to our GDP, reduce imports, increase exports, and strengthen our economy whilst creating jobs for our people.

    In addition, he indicated that specified entities have a duty to create the economic superhighway.

    “However, the current trend of affairs neither portrays that picture, nor reflects positively on the managers of our specified entities, oversight institutions, and the government itself. It is a clear indication of poor supervision and management, as well as poor enforcement of implementation and sanctions of the needed measures,” President Akufo-Addo said.

    He continued, “I appointed you as leaders of these specified entities with the strong belief that you would ensure a positive change in the narrative of loss-making entities and build value for the people of Ghana. That has not happened, so I expect more from you.”

    The President thus urged heads of specified entities to drill down and agree on the causes and find solutions to address the infractions pointed out by the Auditor-General and the 2020 State Ownership Reports.

    “I want to see a marked improvement in these reports next year. Things must change. Your hard-earned reputation and honour are at stake if things crumble under your watch, and there are also serious sanctions in the SIGA Act and other laws for mismanagement, negligence and outright malfeasance,” he added.

    Whilst urging Chairpersons to help change the narrative of specified entities, the President charged that “the Director-General of SIGA to work with the Auditor-General, who is here with us, to drill down to the causes of the infractions, identify persons responsible and make the necessary recommendations as prescribed by law. I am giving them four (4) weeks from now to submit a report to the Chief of Staff.”

    He, thus, advocated for good corporate governance practices in specified entities, stressing that boards must desist from interfering in day-to-day management of their respective Specified Entities, and making unwarranted demands on their management.

    “You must remember that, in each of your entities, you have, apart from SIGA, an overall supervisor or monitor, which is the relevant sector Minister, and, ultimately, the Minister for Public Enterprises. If the hierarchy is rigorously maintained, we are guaranteed an enhanced performance and output of your various entities,” he stated.

    President Akufo-Addo encouraged heads of the specified entities to trade amongst themselves, increase production and patronage of domestic products and services, adding that “I pledge my full support to SIGA and other oversight institutions to exercise their authority, without any fear or favour.”

  • Galamsey fight: Let us give Akufo-Addo another chance – Allotey Jacobs

    Social commentator, Bernard Allotey Jacobs, has urged Ghanaians to give President Akufo-Addo another chance to stop small-scale illegal mining (galamsey).

    Speaking in a Peace FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Allotey Jacobs intimated that even though the fight against ‘galamsey’ is not going so well currently, the president cannot be solely blamed for the inability of the state to curb the menace.

    He added that the government is finding it difficult to stop ‘galamsey’ because Ghanaians are not helping enough.

    “Let us give the president the last chance with this work he is doing on galamsey. Because he said he is putting his presidency on the line and he is doing so well but we are not helping him. We as Ghanaians.

    “Because we kept spreading unnecessary lies about the fight against galamsey. If the president decides to take drastic actions now, we, the same Ghanaians will be criticising him.

    “We will threaten not to vote for his party. We always use the power of our thumb to threaten politicians. But the truth is that our country is being destroyed. In a matter of about five years we might not have clean and portable water in our country,” he said in Twi.

    Allotey Jacobs also said that the government must start putting in place alternative opportunities for persons, directly or indirectly, involved in ‘galamsey’ as it also puts in measures to stop the menace.

  • Ukraine to establish embassy in Ghana, thanks country for UN support

    Ukraine plans to establish an embassy in Ghana in future as part of efforts to expand its presence in Africa.

    This was disclosed by Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba when he held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, in Accra.

    The visit of the head of Ukrainian diplomacy to Ghana takes place within the framework of the first-ever tour of the head of the MFA of Ukraine to African countries.

    A publication on Ukraine’s MFA website said Mr Kuleba informed his Ghanaian colleague in detail about his country’s efforts to liberate Ukrainian territories from Russian occupation.

    He thanked Ghana for its solidarity with Ukraine, and support for resolutions at the UN and other international organizations aimed at restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

    The minister emphasized Ukraine’s desire to start a new high-quality partnership with Ghana, which will be based on mutual respect, mutual support and mutual benefit.

    “As part of the implementation of the African strategy, which was developed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the instructions of President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine is expanding its presence in Africa. We reached an agreement with the Ghanaian side: we plan to open a Ukrainian embassy in Ghana in the near future. The establishment of a diplomatic presence in Accra will give an impetus to the development of political contacts, trade, investments, cultural exchanges and cooperation in the field of education,” Mr Kuleba said.

    The ministers discussed in detail the steps to intensify cooperation between Ukraine and Ghana in the spheres of security, cyber security, digital transformation, and agriculture.

    They agreed to start preparations for the establishment of the Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.

    They also spoke about finding ways to restore the safe education of Ghanaian students in Ukrainian universities.

    The parties signed a memorandum of understanding on the training of Ghanaian diplomats on the basis of the Diplomatic Academy named after Hennadiy Udovenko at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. The Ghanaian minister also reported on Ghana’s readiness to consider the possibility of internships for Ukrainian students studying English.

    Madam Botchway also expressed the interest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ghana in studying the Ukrainian experience in the field of combating disinformation.

    As a result of the meeting, the ministers agreed to hold political consultations between the ministries of foreign affairs with the participation of representatives of various departments of the two countries to develop a comprehensive “road map” for the further development of bilateral relations between Ukraine and Ghana.

    Mr Kuleba also held talks with President Akufo-Addo.

  • Stop the political game-play; I’ve long been exonerated by CID – Bissue replies NDC

    Former Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal Mining, Charles Bissue has responded to the attacks by the largest opposition NDC calling for his prosecution in the infamous galamsey fraud matter.

    The National Democratic Congress (NDC)on Thursday asked President Akufo-Addo to show the seriousness of his fight against ‘galamsey’ by prosecuting his officials who have been found complicit in illegal mining immediately.

    National Communication Officer of the party, Sammy Gyamfi at a press conference said the government is being rhetorical rather than taking action against the menace.

    “Ghanaians are tired of your flowery speeches and useless rhetoric. The so-called fight against ‘galamsey’ has been a spectacular failure and the only way to salvage it is for you to man up and finally begin to crack the whip on your errant appointees and NPP functionaries who are neck-deep in the ‘galamsey’ business.

    “We demand the immediate prosecution of all NPP functionaries and NPP officials who have engaged in illegal mining such as Charles Bissue, Chairman Wontumi, the evidence is clear, Andy Owusu, Ekow Ewusi, Prof. Frimpong Boateng among others,” he stated.

    But Charles Bissue has rejected the allegations of fraud cited in the NDC Presser on the galamsey menace.

    “My attention has been drawn to the scathing attack on my person by the National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi in his press conference that responded to President H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo’s renewed assurance in the fight against illegal mining. In that press conference aired on various media platforms on Thursday 6 October 2022, Mr. Sammy Gyamfi malign and traduce me by referencing a rather doctored and propaganda-induced documentary authored by Tiger Eye P.I’s Anas Aremeyaw Anas,” said Charles Bissue in his press statement.

    He maintained his innocence in the matter saying the public has been misled to accept and believe the narrative by Anas Aremeyaw Anas about the money he was seen taking in the video.

    “As I have said countless times, that money was not a bribe, and I did not make any demands whatsoever from any operative or beneficiary of illegal mining while I served on the IMCIM.

    “The money in question was a donation from the NPP Chairman of the Ashanti
    Region, Bernard Antwi Boasiako alias Chairman Wontumi, to the then NPP
    Western Regional Organiser, Abdul Ganiyu for a party event organsied in the
    Western Region.

    “For the malice and character assassination that Anas and his sponsors had in
    mind, the public was denied the audio recordings and full disclosure of the
    purpose of that money handed to me.

    “It was uncovered that a former employee of the IMCIM, Francis Owusu Akyaw, whom I fired for unsatisfactory conduct sponsored the video recording of the documentary.

    “Francis Owusu Akyaw admitted to the Police of having commissioned that
    recording. His nomination for the parliamentary candidate in the Juaben Constituency was subsequently declined as a result of this.

    “This same Francis Owusu Akyaw is a named beneficiary of a mining firm [DML, as named in the leaked will] co-owned by the late Sir John of the Forestry Commission.”

    Charles Bissue Exonerated by CID

    The Criminal Investigations Department(CID) of the Ghana Police Service in 2019 exonerated Charles Bissue from allegations of corruption.

    After thorough investigations, the CID, in a final report, concluded that Mr Bissue did not circumvent the laid down procedures of the IMCIM to favour ORR Resource Enterprise, the company at the centre of the incident.

    In a letter to the President in March 2019, Mr Bissue, also a Presidential Staffer at the time, decided to step aside to avail himself for investigations after he had allegedly been accused by Anas Aremeyaw Anas’s Tiger Eye PI documentary on galamsey fraud.

    The documentary alleged that the secretary was involved in alleged shady deals to facilitate processes for ORR Resource Enterprise.

    But a letter written to Ampofo, Oppong and Associates, lawyers for Mr Bissue, by the CID on its investigations into the matter exonerated Mr Bissue from any wrongdoing.

  • Akufo-Addo can’t reverse galamsey damages – Vanderpuije

    The Ranking Member of the Local Government and Rural Development Select Committee of Parliament, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has expressed his indignation at the call by President Nana Akufo-Addo for a new initiative to be adopted in the fight against galamsey in the country.

    President Akufo-Addo, at the meeting with some chiefs, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) to find new ways to deal with the galamsey menace at the Manhyia palace in the Ashanti Region on Wednesday, 5 October 2022, said: “We have tried many initiatives in the fight against galamsey, still we have not won the fight against galamsey in the country.”

    According to Mr Vanderpuije, however, considering the plundering that has occurred, “I don’t think there is something the president can do in the next two years to salvage the galamsey menace.”

    The opposition MP for Ododododiodio in the Greater Accra Region expressed these doubts when he spoke on 505 on Class 91.3 FM hosted by Korku Lumor.

    He noted that there are so many laws like the mining regulations and mining Acts to deal with the galamsey situation.

    He said the president, with his cohorts, designed many of these initiatives to cause devastation to the country’s forest cover and water bodies.

    Mr Vanderpuye argued that the president’s warning that he was not going to shield anybody in the renewed fight against galamsey was a charade because he had already shielded enough in the fight.

    “Hasn’t the President shielded the former Minister of Science and Technology, Prof Frimpong Boateng, under whose watchful eyes some 500 flew into thin air?” he questioned.

    He again asserted that the likes of Mr Charles Bissue, the former Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), is walking free despite his alleged involvement in the galamsey menace.

    He maintained that there is a tall list of party galamseyers who have been shielded by Mr Akufo-Addo.

    According to him, it is too late for the president to turn things around because of the level of devastation caused by the illegal miners.

    He said the failure of the president to sustain the fight against galamsey was a situation of sheer incompetence, complicity, unwillingness and dishonesty.

    “This government cannot do anything to compensate for the loss because of galamsey,” he said.

  • ‘NPP’s galamsey fight a scam; battle has already been lost’ – NDC

    The National Democratic Congress (NDC) says the Akufo-Addo government has failed woefully in the fight against illegal mining (galamsey).

    The party describes the measures and strategies put in place by government to fight galamsey as a clear deception.

    Speaking at a press conference at the NDC headquarters in Accra, National Communications Officer for NDC, Sammy Gyamfi alleged that some members of the NPP and government are behind galamsey in the country.

    “The so-called fight against galamsey by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government is a scam and has been a lost battle from day one. This is because, there has never been any genuine commitment or political will on the part of the President to combat the menace.”

    “President Akufo-Addo has proven to be a leader who has specialized in talk without backing same with deeds. Today, our beloved country stands at a cross-road of unprecedented economic mess and unprecedented environmental degradation under the watch of President Akufo-Addo and Alhaji Bawumia,” he said.

    Sammy Gyamfi at the press conference further slammed the president and the Minister of Lands and Natural Resource, Samuel Abu Jinapor over the galamsey menace and accused them of “shifting the blame to the chieftaincy institution.”

    “This latest attempt by the Akufo-Addo government to blame the failed “galamsey” fight on chiefs and community leaders is shameful, to say the least and must be condemned in no uncertain terms.”

    “It is about time President Akufo-Addo understood the important duties of the high office he currently occupies. He is the President of the Republic and the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed forces. As President, he has authority and control over the security services and coercive powers of State.”

    “The mineral resources of the country are vested in him in trust for the people. And therefore he has the ultimate responsibility to ensure compliance with the mineral and mining laws of the country and the prosecution of those who breach same. More importantly, only he has the power to hire and fire appointees of his who engage in illegal mining. No attempt to shift or share the blame for his failed “Galamsey” fight will wash.”

     

  • Provide evidence Wontumi is doing galamsey – President of National House Chiefs dares Ghanaians

    The President of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II, has dared Ghanaians to make available evidence that proves that the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Chairman Wontumi, is involved in illegal mining, also known as galamsey.

    In his view, President Akufo-Addo can only act when there’s sufficient evidence that his appointees are involved in illegal mining activities.

    On September 30, 2022, the Minerals Commission issued a statement asking Akonta Mining, a company owned by Chairman Wontumi, to stop mining operations in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve, describing the activities of the company as illegal.

    But critics have said that the chiefs in the area should have rather asked President Nana Akufo-Addo to punish Chairman Wontumi over his involvement in the galamsey activities.

    Reacting to the claims, the President of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II, argued that traditional authorities do not operate on rumours.

    He however stated that persons with concrete evidence to back the claims should make it available for the necessary actions to be taken on them.

    “I have heard that Wontumi is doing galamsey. Whether it is true or not, I don’t know and I don’t have any evidence, so how do I tell the president about Wontumi in such a forum or expect me to speak about an issue on national television when I don’t have any facts or direct evidence on Wontumi’s activities?

    “So, if you have the evidence or anyone has evidence that Wontumi is into galamsey, make it available to the president and he will act on it,” he told Morning Show host of Kumasi-based Oyerepa TV, Kwesi Parker-Wilson.

    Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II also cautioned chiefs against engaging in illegal mining.

    He insisted that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has their full support in arresting and prosecuting persons involved in the act in spite of their status in the society.

    “The chiefs have been warned against the practice because we have asked the President to deal with anyone who is involved, whether a chief, a politician or whoever must be arrested to curb the menace,” he added.

  • Pay Ejura shooting victims – Attorney General directs

    Three persons who were victims in the Ejura shooting of June 29, 2021, say they have been neglected by the government amidst their resulting injuries and unbearable medical costs.

    Louis Ayipka aged 30, Nazif Nuhu aged 20 years and Awal Mesbawu suffered gunshot injuries when some state security officials responding to a youth protest in Ejura shot into a crowd.

    Subsequently, President Akufo-Addo instituted a committee of inquiry chaired by Justice George Kingsly Koomson which recommended compensation for the victims.

    The Attorney General and Minister of Justice having also set up a committee of medical professionals to assess the conditions of the victims has since forwarded a computated compensation advice to the presidency.

    This, according to a document intercepted by GhanaWeb was contained in a letter addressed to the Minister for Interior, Ambrose Dery by the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame dated July 22, 2022.

    The AG in his advice said he took into consideration the assessment of the health professionals and some claims for compensation made by two of the victims through their lawyers.

    “Pursuant to a request of this office, the victims have also provided receipts covering their medical bills as a result of their injuries. Additionally, Mr Ayikpa and Mr Nazif Nuhu have made claims for compensation,” the AG noted.

    While Louis Ayikpa’s lawyers made a claim for GH¢1,280,850.00 (US$175,262.034), Nazif Nuhu’s lawyers also made a claim for GH¢230,000.00 (US$31,593.914).

    But according to the AG, after assessing the claims and the medical reports under two categories of pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses, the computation of compensation for Loius Ayikpa arrived at some GH¢347,953.00 while that of Nazif Nuhu arrived at GH¢192,425,00.

    The recommended compensation for the third victim, Awal Mesbawu also arrived at GH¢678,519.00.

    This brought to a total of GH¢1,218,897.00 the amount recommended by the Attorney General to be paid by the state to the three victims.

    As part of his recommendations, the AG further asked the state to offer psychological evaluation and support to the victims as well as rehabilitation and training to the victims.

    In the case of Awal Mesbawu, the AG recommended that “the appropriate functional prosthesis should be provided to him to assist in mobilization.”

    “They should be followed up medically for a minimum of two years to manage any long-term complications that may arise,” the A-G added.

    It is, however, not known what the ministry of interior has intended to do with the A-G’s recommendations as the victims and their families continue to demand for their compensation.

  • Decentralise fight against illegal mining – Small Scale Miners Association

     

    The Concerned Small Scale Miners Association believes that the fight against illegal mining can be won if the government takes action beyond expressing its commitment to it.

    The President of the Concerned Small Scale Miners Association, Michael Peprah, said government officials involved in the activity must be held accountable.

    “We believe that the fight can only be won if we decentralise the fight to the district level, and a lot of DCEs have come out to be accomplices in this galamsey problem.”

    “It is not going to be easy, but I don’t believe in words. No matter what it is, we can still salvage the problem,” he said.

    President Akufo-Addo on Wednesday held closed-door meetings with the National House of Chiefs and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives over the grave destruction caused by illegal mining.

    The President reiterated his resolve to ending the menace while charging the traditional authorities to support the government.

    While speaking to MMDCEs, for instance, President Akufo-Addo said that he will not shield any government official found complicit in galamsey activities.

    “I ask all of you to join hands in the fight against illegal mining. We have to win that fight, to protect our heritage for the next generation.”

     

  • Galamsey crisis: ‘Godfathers’ won’t disown their own child – Franklin Cudjoe taunts chiefs

    President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe says it is unlikely Traditional Authorities will discontinue their interests in an entreprise they benefit from despite Akufo-Addo meeting them over the galamsey menace.

    President Akufo-Addo says the protection of the lands against illegal small-scale mining also known as galamsey should be the responsibility of the traditional rulers and the government.

    Addressing the House of Chiefs at the Ashanti regional capital Kumasi on Wednesday, October 5, 2022 President Akufo-Addo indicated that ownership of the lands rests with both the government and chiefs hence protecting it should be a collective one.

    “80 percent of the lands in this country continue to be under your custody, much of it having been acquired through the blood and sacrifices of your ancestors. The remainder of 20 percent which I hold in trust of the people of Ghana, derived from state acquisition from you.

    “What this means is that ultimately, the welfare of the state of the lands is our joint responsibility, although by statute the minerals in the soil belong to the President in trust for the people,” the President explained.

    He also pleaded for the support of the chiefs in applying stringent measures to curb the galamsey menace in the country.

    Commenting on Akufo-Addo’s meeting with the House of Chiefs over the galamsey menace, Cudjoe who described the traditional rulers as the godfathers of galamsey said they[Chiefs] have a vested interest in the entreprise hence do not share the same sentiments with the President on the national crusade against illegal mining.

    “Galamsey just got another bad name today. The godfathers assembled to disown their own child but will continue benefitting from its existence,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

  • You have all the power; why meet chiefs, MMDCEs who are powerless – Kofi Bentil to Akufo-Addo

    Senior Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has said that President Akufo-Addo’s meeting with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) and chiefs on the fight against illegal small-scale mining (‘galamsey’) will have no impact.

    According to him, the meeting will have no effect because the president has all the powers needed to fight the menace but has chosen not to use same.

    Speaking in a Joy News Interview monitored by GhanaWeb on Wednesday (October 5), Kofi Bentil added that the president organised the meeting just to show that he is doing something in the fight against ‘galamsey’.

    “It (the meeting) will not make any difference. It is the president that has all the power. So, when you have the power to do what you need to do and you go round suggesting that you are seeking the assistance of other people, who do not have any power or don’t have any real power to deal with the matters, it is just window dressing.

    “I think he wants to show some activity. Activity is not necessarily progress. Unfortunately, I don’t think it is going to yield anything,” he said.

    Kofi Bentil further stated that chiefs and MMDCEs whom the president met might be involved in ‘galamsey’ and they will not be putting in the needed efforts or help with the needed information to stop it.

    He added that the president needs to call for a state of emergency if he truly wants to stop ‘galamsey’.

    “That is why again I go to the call of Occupy Ghana to impose a state of emergency. The president can actually impose a state of emergency and go to Parliament even after the fact or can go to Parliament and request that it should be imposed now. If he doesn’t do it then he doesn’t want to do it because he can do it,” he said.

    Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo, during his meeting with chiefs and MMDCEs in Kumasi, urged chiefs across the country to get themselves involved in the fight against illegal small-scale mining since they are the custodians of lands in the country.

    “80 percent of the lands in this country continue to be under your custody, much of it having been acquired through the blood and sacrifices of your ancestors. The remainder of 20 percent which I hold in trust of the people of Ghana, derived from state acquisition from you.

    “What this means is that ultimately, the welfare of the state of the lands is our joint responsibility, although by statute the minerals in the soil belong to the president in trust for the people,” he noted.

  • President Akufo-Addo eyes third MCC compact

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that due to the successful implementation and completion of compacts One and Two of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), he will make a case at the highest level in the United States for a third compact.

    He expressed the hope that the US authorities would sit around the table for a new compact, looking at Ghana’s record in executing the compacts and its status as a truly functioning and stable democracy in the region, among what constituted the requirements to qualify for a compact.

    The President gave the hint when the Chairman and a board member of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) presented the final report of the second compact to him at the Jubilee House in Accra last Tuesday.

    The board, which was sworn in in 2017, supervised the execution of the second compact, which ended last Tuesday.

    President Akufo-Addo said Ghana’s commitment to the rule of law remained unshaken and continued to deepen; therefore, the various elements which constituted the requirements for accessing the compact continued to be very present in the country.

    He said Ghana believed that there was every reason for it to get another one, especially with the successful implementation of the two compacts, the first on agriculture and the second in the energy sector.

    “If still the idea of compact is on the table in Washington, we will be interested in the discussion to enable us to embrace it for the industrial development of the country,” he said.

    He described the presentation of the report by the MiDA Board as momentous in terms of the country’s relations with the US.

    He recounted how, during the Kufuor Administration when the compact was initiated by the Bush government in the US, Ghana had informally made an input into its design.

    The President expressed the commendation of the people of Ghana to the US government for the first compact, which was $547 million, and the second, which was over $400 million.

    He also commended members of the board for the vigilance they exhibited in the execution of the work.

    He noted that the country required more energy for its industrialisation drive, particularly when it wanted to venture into bauxite development, which meant that it required a more viable and reliable power sector.

    PDS

    President Akufo-Addo said although during the execution of the Compact Two there had been a temporary glitch over the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the PDS issue, “these are behind us and we are hoping that the American Administration will also understand that it is behind us, and that there is still a possibility for us to sit around the table to construct something that will mean a lot”.

    He said the country was a functioning and strong democratic state, where majority of the people were committed to democratic values, and expressed optimism that despite the difficulties that the changing of government brought about, the change must be done through the ballot box.

    All funds disbursed

    The MiDA Board Chairman, Prof. Yaa Ntiamoah Baidu, said the board was charged with the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the compact.

    She said by the revised compact end date, which was June 6, this year, all projects retained and prioritised for implementation had been completed, inaugurated and handed over to the beneficiaries.

    Some of the beneficiary institutions include the ECG, the Ghana Grid Company Ltd, the Ghana Standards Authority, the Energy Commission, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

    Prof. Baidu said the revised compact funding following the termination of the concession agreement was $347 million and that had been fully disbursed.

    Source: Graphiconline.com

  • President’s speech did not offer any new direction in fighting galamsey – Daryl Bosu

    Deputy National Director of Arocha Ghana, an environmental non-governmental organization, Daryl Bosu says President Akufo-Addo’s statement during a meeting with the National House of Chiefs to discuss effects of the ‘galamsey’ menace offers no new direction for the fight against the menace.

    President Akufo-Addo on Wednesday met members of the National House of Chiefs on illegal mining.

    The President stood by his declaration to put his presidency on the line in the fight against illegal mining popularly known as ‘galamsey’. He also implored the chiefs to take out any partisanship interests in the fight against the menace.

    The President noted that the battle is nowhere near being won despite all the efforts he and his government has put into fighting it.

    “We have tried many initiatives, including that of the Community Mining Scheme, and the establishment of a new legal regime for dealing with the perpetrators of this phenomenon, which has imposed severe sanctions on those Ghanaians and foreigners convicted of illegal mining. Still, we have not won the fight,” he said.

    Reacting to these comments, Mr. Bosu said President Akufo-Addo’s statement offered no home.

    “I must say that I struggle to really get any new action from what the President said. I listened to what the President was saying and it takes us back to 2017, most of it. Frankly, I am struggling unless maybe coming from the closed door meetings, we are going to see some more pragmatic action to address these menace but until then I did not really get anything new…there is nothing new for us here,” he said on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Wednesday, October 5, 2022.

    According to him, the President’s comment rather gives the notion that government admits to its failure in the fight against the canker.

    “I think what we are getting from the President is his admission that the fight against ‘galamsey’ has failed…for me, I feel it is going over the same issue over and over again without anything new,” he told Blessed Sogah.

  • Weija Dam Spillage: We’ve never seen anything like this before – Assembly Member

    The Assembly Member for Tetegu a suburb of Accra, Bright Adablah has said the spillage from the Weija dam is the worse so far to hit the community.

    Hundreds of houses in Weija, Tetegu, and the surrounding areas have been flooded leaving many residents displaced as a result of the spillage by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) from the Weija Dam.

    According to GWCL, the rainy situation in the Eastern Region in the last weeks has contributed to the rise of the water level in the Weija Dam.

    Speaking in an interview, Mr. Adablah called on President Akufo-Addo to take up this year’s situation and investigate what might have caused it adding that, “someone didn’t do his work well and that has caused the whole community to suffer.”

    The Assembly Member questioned why Ghana Water Company should wait for the water to get to its highest level before allowing for spillage.

    “Because no one is giving any reason or talking to anyone about anything, all they are saying is that the people should move out of the community. As to what is causing the problem no one knows and the dam can’t contain the volume of water coming in.”

    “This has never happened before in the history of Tetegu and it is a very serious and terrible one. But we just thank God no casualty has been recorded so far. The whole community is flooded, with no place to step, and our properties are in the water. Usually, what happens is a portion of the community will get flooded and within some days it’s okay but this is beyond control,” Mr. Adablah narrated.

    He continued: “The notification didn’t come early. Maybe you will hear it a day before or during the spillage then they will say people living along the river should move, but I think this spillage is beyond expectation.”

    He, however, added that the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) is currently in the area to move people to safer places.

  • CHRAJ should have declared Chief Justice, EC boss unfit for office – Manasseh Azure

    Renowned investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, has berated the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice +Chairperson of the Electoral Commission but CHRAJ’s rulings were very problematic.

    “I don’t think that we will be having some of these names if the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana was declared unfit to hold public office by CHRAJ,” he said.

    He intimated that should CHRAJ have ruled that the current Chief Justice is unfit for office and President Akufo-Addo chooses to ignore its ruling, the pressure on him will force him not to take the position.

    “A similar thing happened with the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission and we didn’t find CHRAG having the balls to make the right pronouncement,” he added.

    The forum was organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa on Tuesday, October 2, 2022.

     

  • Saying I will put my presidency on the line against galamsey was not out of recklessness – Akufo-Addo

    President Akufo-Addo has emphasised that he spoke the absolute truth when he announced his commitment to fighting illegal mining in Ghana.

    According to the president, the evidence of truth in his statement was apparent when his government’s fight against galamsey cost himself and the New Patriotic Party during his quest for re-election in 2020.

    “Since I took office on January 7th, 2017, nearly six years ago, I have made it a central feature of my presidency to lead in the fight to rid our country of this menace, which we all now call galamsey. Indeed, it was an important aspect of my inaugural address that day. It has not been easy; it has not been popular and we have not gotten the immediate results that I was looking for.

    “Indeed, in the last election of 2020, my stance on the issue cost my party and I significant losses in the mining communities. It turned out that my statement that I was putting my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey was neither bumbazed nor reckless. It was the simple truth,” the president said when he met with members of the National House of Chiefs in Kumasi on Wednesday, October 5, 2022.

    The meeting with the traditional leaders was convened at the request of the president to discuss ways to fight illegal mining, which has escalated in magnitude over the past years.

    This is despite the promise made by the president at his inauguration in 2017 and the various campaigns launched by his government over the period.

    The growing impact of galamsey is proving a threat to several water and forest bodies across the country.

    This has led to calls on the government to adopt more radical efforts in the galamsey fight.

  • CHRAJ should have declared Chief Justice, EC boss unfit for office – Manasseh Azure

    Renowned investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, has berated the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) for not adequately performing its mandate.

    According to him, CHRAJ, even though has been given the powers by Ghana’s Constitution to hold persons in public office accountable, it has on some occasions failed the country.

    Speaking at a Public Forum on the declaration of assets in Accra, Manasseh said that the failure of CHRAJ to declare that Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah and the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, unfit for office after it received complaints about their asset declaration, is the reason the two are in office today.

    “When we talk about leadership; we shouldn’t limit it to only political leadership. There are certain individuals in this country who are very powerful and the constitution has made them so. But they have decided to become very powerless. And they have failed the state when it matters most, one of them is CHRAJ.

    “CHRAJ has done well in some of the cases that have gone before it. But in others, CHRAJ failed the nation.

    “One of them has to do with the complaints against the Chief Justice. CHRAJ ruled that the PPA board chair cannot hold public office for 2 years because he failed to declare his assets. Similar complaints come against the Chief Justice and also the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission but CHRAJ’s rulings were very problematic.

    “I don’t think that we will be having some of these names if the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana was declared unfit to hold public office by CHRAJ,” he said.

    He intimated that should CHRAJ have ruled that the current Chief Justice is unfit for office and President Akufo-Addo chooses to ignore its ruling, the pressure on him will force him not to take the position.

    “A similar thing happened with the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission and we didn’t find CHRAG having the balls to make the right pronouncement,” he added.

    The forum was organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa on Tuesday, October 2, 2022.

  • My determination to fight ‘galamsey’ cost NPP some votes in 2020 Election – Akufo-Addo

    President Akufo-Addo has refuted suggestions that his government is not committed to the fight against illegal small-scale mining (‘galamsey’).

    According to Akufo-Addo, his government has been committed to the fight against the menace since his first day in office and its determination to curb it even cost his party; the New Patriotic Party (NPP) some votes in the 2020 General Elections.

    The president, who made these remarks at a meeting with the National House of Chiefs and some Municipal Metropolitan and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in Kumasi, intimated that the votes he and his party lost showed that he really put his presidency on the line to fight ‘galamsey’.

    “Since I took office on January 7th, 2017, nearly six years ago, I have made it a central feature of my presidency to lead in the fight to rid our country of this menace, which we all now call galamsey. Indeed, it was an important aspect of my inaugural address that day. It has not been easy; it has not been popular and we have not gotten the immediate results that I was looking for.

    “Indeed, in the last election of 2020, my stance on the issue cost my party and I significant losses in the mining communities. It turned out that my statement that I was putting my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey was neither bumbazed nor reckless. It was the simple truth,” he said.

    Akufo-Addo also urged chiefs across the country to get themselves in the fight against illegal small-scale mining since they are the custodians of lands in the country.

    “80 percent of the lands in this country continue to be under your custody, much of it having been acquired through the blood and sacrifices of your ancestors. The remainder of 20 percent which I hold in trust of the people of Ghana, derived from state acquisition from you.

    “What this means is that ultimately, the welfare of the state of the lands is our joint responsibility, although by statute the minerals in the soil belong to the president in trust for the people,” he noted.

  • Gov’t considering fertiliser coy for Africa market – President

    The government is considering an ambitious move to establish a fertiliser company capable of meeting the fertiliser demand of the entire African continent, President Akufo-Addo has said.

    According to the President, the global shortfall in the supply of fertiliser caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine presented an opportunity for Ghana to position itself to produce fertilisers for local consumption and for export to other parts of the continent.

    In a meeting with the Norwegian Ambassador at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday, President Akufo-Addo said discussions were ongoing to determine how the country could take advantage of the opportunity.

    The Norwegian Ambassador, Ingrid Mollestad, visited the President with a delegation from Yara International, a Norwegian chemical company that produces, distributes, and sells nitrogen-based mineral fertilisers.

    The discussion centred on Yara International’s support for about 100,000 small-holder Ghanaian farmers with fertilisers to the tune of US$20 million to improve crop production in Ghana.

    President Akufo-Addo appealed to the Norwegian company to consider partnering with the government to establish a fertiliser plant to serve the continent.

    “Our main concern is to be able to make these fertilisers here ourselves. Plans are ongoing to establish a fertiliser facility here in Ghana. It will make a lot of sense in terms of the West African market and larger African market.”

    “It would be great to involve you as partner in that exercise because it will make a lot of sense for us to make a big facility here in Ghana to supply our needs and at the same time the regional and continental market,” he said

    President Akufo-Addo expressed the commitment to work to ensure that the vision became a reality for the country.

    He thanked the Norwegian company for the support and invited the ambassador to work with the government to consider other areas of partnership and cooperation.

    “We appreciate the gesture and your involvement in Ghana,” he said and commended the company for developing a model to track the movement of fertiliser to prevent corruption in the distribution of the fertilisers.

    Ms Mollestad, on her part, reiterated Norway’s commitment to ensuring food security in Ghana, and Africa.

    “We are committed to doing our utmost on the continent for food security and producing sustainable food for the continent,” she said.

    She expressed delight that Yara, the biggest producer of fertiliser in the world, had decided to support Ghana to improve crop production and food security.

  • Claims of Bar Association being an “elitist institution” baseless – Akufo-Addo

    The Ghana Bar Association, according to President Akufo-Addo, is a group that speaks truth to power and is concerned with issues that impact Ghana’s common citizens.

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that recent claims made by certain political actors in the country that the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), is an elitist organization are baseless and unsubstantiated.

    The GBA, President Akufo-Addo indicated, is rather “an institution that has championed the course of good governance in Ghana since its establishment and it is one of the non-governmental organizations that need the support of all its members and the country as a whole to bloom in order to do more for the nation.”

    Addressing the Bar President, Yaw Baafo, and his delegation at the Jubilee House, today Tuesday 4 October 2022, when they paid a courtesy call to thank him for attending the 2022 ‘Annual General Bar Conference’ in Ho, Volta Region, on the 12 September 2022, President Akufo-Addo said he completely disagrees with the attempt to label the GBA as a highbrow organization.

    “I hear other people are talking about it [The Ghana Bar Association] being an elite organization. I don’t know what they understand about the elite.

    “I know that it is an organization that is concerned about the welfare of the people, the quality of their governance, (an organization) which has always been prepared and its leaders have been prepared to make the sacrifices that were necessary to make sure that we have a modern and respectable form of governance in our country. This cannot be an elite organization,” President Akufo-Addo said.

     

     

    On the contrary, the President observed that the Ghana Bar Association is an organization that speaks truth to power, one that concerns itself with the issues that affect the ordinary people of Ghana, and that all attempts to paint her black must be resisted.

    “It (The Ghana Bar Association) is an organization that speaks to the interests of the people of Ghana for accountable governance and that is an organization that deserves the support of all right-thinking lawyers in the country,” the President stated.

    Speaker’s elite claim

    At a recent meeting with the leadership of the Law Society of Ghana (LSG), a new association of lawyers, formed essentially, to rival the constitutionally recognized Ghana Bar Association (GBA), the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Kingsford Somana Bagbin, is quoted as saying that the Ghana Bar Association, has become an “elite organization” and he would like to see a change, especially with respect to the views of the GBA on national and political issues.

    LSG clarification

    In a statement released by the Law Society of Ghana after its meeting with the Speaker, the LSG’s acting President, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, explained that nowhere in the Speaker of Parliament’s remarks during his engagement with the LSG, did he say he had resigned from the GBA.

    “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 practiced globally,” the LSG’s acting President’s statement read.

  • Galamsey: Government must declare State of Emergency in mining areas – OccupyGhana

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been urged by the pressure group OccupyGhana to swiftly proclaim a State of Emergency in all mining regions of the nation.

    According to a statement released by the Group on Monday, this was the only way the President and his administration could organize the nation’s mining operations and triumph over illegal mining, also known locally as “galamsey,”

    Additionally, it requested President Akufo-Addo to consult the Council of State before issuing a Gazette on the matter.

    “We…, request that you take immediate steps towards declaring a State of Emergency in every mining area in Ghana.

    “By article 31(1) of the Constitution, these steps will be, first, seeking and obtaining the advice of the Council of State and, second, publishing a proclamation of the declaration in the Gazette,” the statement said.

    It also asked Parliament to be recalled from vacation to pass the state of emergency.

    “Considering the gravity of the situation, we fully expect Parliament to agree with the government and provide that the state of emergency should remain for such period as Parliament may determine so that the government can get a grasp of the situation,” it said.

  • IMF will always bail Ghana out – Prince Kofi Amoabeng

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is prepared to rescue Ghana at any time the government requests it for policy credibility, according to Prince Kofi Amoabeng, the former CEO of the bank that is no longer in existence.

    He claims that the fact that Ghana has requested a bailout from the IMF approximately 18 times plainly demonstrates that the nation’s officials are unable to effectively manage the nation’s resources because of which they continually turn to the international organization for assistance.

    He claimed that everytime Ghana approaches the IMF, they are able to argue that even if the nation has abundant resources, the international lender will ultimately stand to gain significantly.

    Amoabeng who was speaking to TV3 programme ‘Business Focus’ explained:

    “Go back to other IMF programmes; divestiture, cut down on salaries, freeze employment and what do you do? They know that you are going to mismanage the monies. If Ghana has visited IMF for the 18th time, don’t you believe they will come again? But it is a serious matter, the point is that if we had to go to the IMF, and this time that they’ve come, we should sign a contract with them for them to stay because when they go, we will mismanage again and then we will go to them and they will come back.

    “And this is not free [because] they are a bank giving Ghana money. We pay for their travel expenses, hotel expenses and when they come because they know the potential of Ghana in terms of resources and others, IMF will always bail Ghana out. IMF will never say that the situation of Ghana is that bad and therefore they can’t handle it; they will always bail us out.

    “Now, what is happening is that as we call them and they come for us to start negotiations, Moody’s said these people their situation is worse; somebody who is trying to negotiate, now you are throwing debt at him…these foreign institutions are in a form of some kind of caput…”

    Ghana is before the IMF for US$3 billion to help the country navigate through the hostile economic crisis it finds itself in as a result of the adverse effects of the deadly coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

    President Akufo-Addo has stated, on occasion, that “we have decided to seek the collaboration of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to repair, in the short run, our public finances, which have taken a severe hit in very recent times as a result, whilst we continue to work on the medium to long-term structural changes that are at the heart of our goal of creating a Ghana Beyond Aid, that is building a resilient, robust Ghanaian economy.”

  • ‘There’s no hope; Akufo-Addo and Bawumia are under judgement’ – Sammy Gyamfi

    The National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, has said that there is no hope for Ghanaians under the current  President Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia government.

    He explained that there is no hope because President Akufo-Addo robbed the 2020 elections, and he is now being punished by God, which is why he has been embarrassing himself since the inception of his second term.

    Sammy Gyamfi, who was speaking in an XYZ TV interview monitored by GhanaWeb, added that the only way the current hardship in the country can be reverted is when this current government is booted out of power.

    “There is no hope. President Akufo-Addo and Bawumia are under judgement. Only people with no spiritual discernment are unable to see this.

    “Have you ever seen a Ghanaian president being booed in his own country? He is under judgement. His cup is full. God’s anger is on him. This is what happens when you take something that does not belong to you.

    “You have killed 8 people because of power, and you think you will go scot-free. Nothing in the country is working. They don’t know what to do now. They have given up on the country,” he said in Twi.

    He added that what the country is currently going through is because of the judgement of God on Akufo-Addo.

    “We are suffering because when a country has bad leaders, its citizens suffer just like the cases in the Bible,” he added.

    The effort paid off. I’m A Honky Tonk Girl reached number 14 on the country charts, and Lynn relocated to Nashville, where she was quickly snapped up by Decca Records.

    She released her first Decca record, Success, in 1962, beginning an impressive stretch of hits that continued into the 1990s.

    Lynn earned her first number one with Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind) in 1966, and topped the US country charts another 15 times.

    She recorded 60 albums in total, and was nominated for 18 Grammy Awards, winning three.

  • Declare state of emergency, recall parliament – OccupyGhana calls for drastic measures in galamsey fight

    Pressure group, OccupyGhana has asked President Akufo-Addo to declare a state of emergency in the various mining areas across the country.

    OccupyGhana last week wrote to the president asking him to show more commitment towards the fight against galamsey which the group noted had failed abysmally.

    In the letter dated September 28, 2022, OccupyGhana said it would write a reminder to the president every Monday until it sees firm actions being taken by the government to stop illegal mining.

    In the first of its reminder dated October 3, 2022, OccupyGhana said the current situation of illegal mining impact satisfies the requirements of 31(9) of the 1992 Constitution.

    The group thus charged the president to declare a state of emergency.

    “In our open letter to you dated 28 September 2022, we promised to send you a Galamsey reminder every Monday morning until your government takes drastic steps to control the situation. This is the first reminder.”

    According to the pressure group, the threats of illegal mining to the country require immediate actions such as the declaration of a state of emergency.

    “We risk losing our very essence as a nation unless immediate and radical action is taken, first to STOP all unregulated and illegal mining, and then put a process in place to REGULATE artisanal mining, going forward.

    “We therefore request that you take immediate steps towards declaring a state of emergency in every mining area in Ghana. In accordance with article 31(1) of the Constitution, these steps would be, first, seeking and obtaining the advice of the Council of State and, second, publishing a Proclamation of the declaration in the Gazette,” the group said.

    As stipulated by Article 31(1) of the Constitution, OccupyGhana said it also expects parliament to be recalled from its break after the declaration by the president.

    “We expect Parliament to be recalled from its vacation, for the government to place before it ‘the facts and circumstances leading to the declaration of the state of emergency under article 31(2). Considering the gravity of the situation, we fully expect Parliament to agree with the government and provide that the state of emergency should remain for such period as Parliament may determine, so that the government can get a grasp of the situation.

    “For our part, we have, and are willing to offer, suggestions and proposals on how to establish a properly regulated artisanal mining industry in Ghana that would benefit the wider interest of all Ghanaians,” it added.

    There is a renewed public conversation about the impact of illegal mining on Ghana’s water and forest reserves.

    Currently, several water bodies are under threat from the galamsey activities while forest covers are being depleted by the day.

  • Braimah ridicules Akufo-Addo’s galamsey fight with pictures of muddied water bodies

    The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has taken a swipe at President Akufo-Addo for his government’s handling of illegal small-scale mining (‘galamsey’).

    In a tweet shared on Monday, Braimah, who was reacting to a picture of multicoloured water samples from rivers in Ghana, said that the state of the water bodies shows how successful the Akufo-Addo administration has been in the fight against ‘galamsey’.

    He intimated that in spite of all the investments the government has made in the fight against ‘galamsey’ and the many government agencies that are supposed to be fighting the menace, the situation seems to be getting worse, which shows the kind of leader Akufo-Addo is.

    “This is how successful President Akufo-Addo’s fight against galamsey has been. These are samples from Ghana’s rivers & streams.

    “Despite this, all ministers, DCEs, CEOs of all the relevant sectors, regions and districts are all at post. Akufo-Addo’s leadership is a strange one,” parts of the tweet read.

    The executive director was reacting to a news report by Joy News which showed discoloured and muddy samples of water from nine water bodies in the country.

    The water bodies included the River Ankobra, River Ofin, Afu Afu Stream, River Bonsa, Totoa Stream, NWUI, Tano River and River Bia.

    View the tweet below:

  • There are powerful forces behind ‘galamseyers’ – US ambassador to Otumfuo

    The United States (US) Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, has urged the government of Ghana to put in more effort in the fight against the menace of illegal small-scale mining (‘galamsey’) in the country.

    According to her, Ghana was not making any significant strides in the fight against the menace because only the illegal miners (‘galamseyers’) are arrested while the powerful forces behind them are not touched.

    Virginia Palmer, who made these remarks when she paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, added that if the government fails to take urgent steps to stop ‘galamsey’, the country will be in some serious crisis soon.

    “We had a congressional delegation from our House of Representatives, Natural Resources Committee, that was here two weeks ago. And they were looking into water pollution, the impact on fisheries from illegal mining.

    “This (galamsey) is something, I think Ghanaians must be aggressive in fighting and enforcing regulations that you do have.

    “The galamseyers themselves are people who need to make a living. I think the galamseyers are not active in doing it but the powers behind them are the ones truly responsible for the evils. Indeed, they are wreaking real environmental havoc on your rivers which is having an impact on your cocoa crops. All of these things are going to have really negative consequences on the economy of Ghana,” she said.

    On his part, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, questioned why Ghana as a country has failed to stop the menace of ‘galamsey’ even after the President Akufo-Addo, has put his political career on the line to stop it.

    Asantehene also questioned why the security apparatus in these ‘galamsey’ areas and the taskforce set up by the government have failed to stop the menace.

    He intimated that small-scale mining was something that had been done for serveral years but never to the detriment of the environment.

    “It (‘galamsey’) has gotten to a point where people are now using equipment and all that. They do not care about the environment.

    “But the question is who is in control of the security around the area. From the district level to the highest level. We are all talking about ‘galamsey’. The government set up this military cum police to stop galamsey. Why have we not been able to stop it? Why?” he asked.

  • Booing Akufo-Addo ‘uncultured’ – PNC

    The youth wing of the People’s National Convention (PNC) has condemned the booing of President Akufo-Addo at the recently-held Global Citizen Festival.

    According to the party, booing President Akufo-Addo was “uncultured.”

    A statement issued by the youth wing of the party and signed by its Acting National Youth Organiser, Mr Muniru Seidu Mohammed, said: “It does not matter whether political opponents engineered it or not; the act was uncultured and should not be repeated anywhere.”

    The statement noted: “It is a reality that there are difficulties in the country and the youth are the hardest hit but the youth are also the engine of growth to turn the fortunes of the country around if they are transparent, hardworking, truthful, and incorruptible in their endeavours or dealings.”

    It called on the government to organise sensitisation programmes to instil a sense of responsibility among the youth.

    “The government must organise sensitisation programmes for the youth to be informed of their responsibilities,” the PNC’s statement stated.

    It continued: “Running a country is a shared responsibility, not an individual thing.

    The youth should be eager to get the right knowledge that will propel them to contribute meaningfully toward the country’s forward march.”

    It added: “A future PNC government shall embark on sensitisation programmes that will educate and create a mindset in the youth to be job creators rather than job seekers.”

    Following the booing, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) accused the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of being behind the booing of the president.

  • Akufo-Addo knows about the deployment of military to protect illegal miners – Murtala alleges

    The Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, has alleged that President Akufo-Addo knows the top financiers of illegal small-scale mining (‘galamsey’) in the country.

    According to Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, the National Security Minister and the other heads of the security apparatus in Ghana have told the president who the kingpins in ‘galamsey’ are.

    In a TV interview monitored by GhanaWeb, on Monday, Murtala Muhammed alleged that the president has not caused the arrest of these kingpins because he is involved in it.

    “The president knows those who are engaged in galamsey, some of them are in the Flagstaff House. The reason why I say he knows is that the president has breakfast (security briefing) with the ministers for interior and national security, every morning,” he said.

    “He (the president) knows. He is an accomplice. The reason why I will say he is an accomplice is that he is the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. He must take action. Now when you have leading members of your party who have been cited and identified, some of them captured on video engaging this and nothing happens, why won’t I say he is an accomplice?” Murtala added.

    The MP also alleged that the president is aware of all incidents where the personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces were sent to provide security for illegal miners.

    “Military officers were instructed to go provide security for Chinese who are engaged in galamsey. Who instructed them? The Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, the president, knew about their presence there,” he said.

    He added that even if the president did not know about the incident, he failed to hold persons who were implicated accountable after videos of military men protecting illegal miners were published in the media.

    Murtala made these remarks while commending the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, for comments he made on the failure of the state to fight illegal mining.

    The Asantehene, while addressing a delegation from the US Embassy in Ghana, questioned why Ghana as a country has failed to stop the menace of ‘galamsey’ even after the President, Akufo-Addo, has put his political career on the line to stop it.

    Asantehene also questioned why the security apparatus in these ‘galamsey’ areas and the taskforce set up by the government have failed to stop the menace.

    He intimated that small-scale mining was something that had been done for several years but never to the detriment of the environment.

    “It (‘galamsey’) has gotten to a point where people are now using equipment and all that. They do not care about the environment.

    “But the question is who is in control of the security around the area. From the district level to the highest level. We are all talking about ‘galamsey’. The government set up this military cum police to stop galamsey. Why have we not been able to stop it? Why?” he asked.

    Meanwhile, the Ghana Armed Forces (GFA) has refuted news reports that its officers provide security for groups and individuals engaging in illegal small-scale mining (‘galamsey’).

    The GFA, while reacting to audio-visuals published in the media, said that the persons captured in the videos were not military men.

    According to the military, investigations conducted into some of the allegations showed that the persons who were captured in military apparel were private security officers who had been contracted to protect legal small-scale mining firms.

  • Kwadaso Agric College to be made university – President

    President Akufo-Addo has announced plans by the government to upgrade the Kwadaso College of Agriculture in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, to an agricultural university.

    He said the government was collaborating with the Mendel University of the Czech Republic to upgrade the status of the Agricultural College.

    The President said this at the centenary celebration of the Kwadaso Agricultural College last Friday

    With the Kwadaso College established in 1922 to help maintain the then Gold Coast’s enviable position of being the leading producer of cocoa in the world, the President noted that the College has since evolved into a centre of excellence, with increased capacity for training.

    According to President Akufo-Addo, “the Kwadaso College of Agriculture can, to date, boast of having trained some one hundred thousand (100,000) young people as agricultural assistants who have since been absorbed by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Local Government Service, Ghana Cocoa Board, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, as well as the private sector over the years.”

    Having produced a significant number of graduates, who have moved on to occupy leadership positions in industry, academia, civil society and entrepreneurship, he noted that “the record of the College in contributing to the human resource development of this country is testament to its strength”.

    One hundred (100) years after the establishment of the College, the President stated that the time was ripe to reposition the institution to harness its full potential, and that was why the decision has been taken to upgrade the Kwadaso Agricultural College into an agricultural university, with collaborative support from the prestigious Mendel University of the Czech Republic.

    “It is my understanding that the agricultural university will take care of the academic and professional development of our human resource for the agricultural sector. If successful, the plan will include establishing satellite campuses in Ejura and Wenchi Agricultural Colleges,” he said.

    The President continued, “The reason why the establishment of this University, dedicated to agriculture, excites me very much is because we will produce the requisite numbers of human resource to support research, impart knowledge and provide leadership in the sector.”

    Stressing on the need for the country to scale up consciously the number of middle level professionals who provided hands-on support in the sector, President Akufo-Addo acknowledged the fact that the Kwadaso College of Agriculture, and indeed other colleges, are already laying the foundation for developing such category of human resource, as some graduates of these institutions have begun benefitting from training in Government’s greenhouse internship programme in Ghana and Israel.

    “The trainees at such centres are prepared for entrepreneurship by being equipped with academic knowledge and practical skills in greenhouse technology. Once established, the transformed agricultural university and other colleges will serve as incubators for the development of more agricultural professionals in the country,” he said.

    The President, therefore, pledged the continous support of Government to make the upgrade of the College into a University a reality, and charged the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to step-up efforts, and strengthen the partnership and collaboration with the Mendel University to realise this vision.

    “The collaboration between the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Mendel University exemplifies the wisdom of collaborating to make our institutions very valuable to our developmental efforts. I am confident that this celebration will ignite that spirit of togetherness and make this a reality,” he added.

  • Akufo-Addo announces $40m World Bank facility to upgrade historical sites

    According to President Akufo-Addo, the tourism industry would be used by the government as a powerful vehicle for economic change to bring prosperity and jobs to Ghanaians.

    He claimed that in order to increase foreign visitor arrivals, the government is collaborating with them.
    This was said by President Akufo-Addo as he formally opened the Tema branch of the Alisa Hotel.

    The President said that the government would soon open a $10 million hospitality institute in Accra to educate Ghanaians in support of the expansion of the travel and tourism industry.

    According to President Akufo-Addo, the Ghana Tourism Development Project will also include a 40 million dollar World Bank facility for the improvement of all historical sites.

    The imposing edifice has 52 guestrooms including four contemporary suites to ensure a higher level of comfort for guests.

    It has an all-day Atlantic restaurant and Sky Bar.

    Chief Executive of Bamson Group, Kwame Ofosu Bamfo, called for more support in the Tourism sector to boost employment Creation.

    Deputy Minister for Tourism, Art and Culture, Mark Okraku Mantey, said 20,000 people are being trained by the Ministry to help grow the sector.

    President Akufo-Addo, commended Kwame Ofosu Bamfo for his foresight, saying such initiatives will compliment government’s soon to establish Hospitality School in Accra.

    The Alisa Group currently has a 500 workforce providing quality service to patrons.

  • Gang that booed Akufo-Addo comprised 75 Fadama boys – Hopeson Adorye alleges

    Hopeson Adorye, an unsuccessful New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate for the Kpone Katamanso parliamentary seat, has claimed that the booers of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the September 24 Global Citizen Festival were hired thugs from the Accra neighborhood of Fadama.

    He added that certain well-known members of the opposition National Democratic Congress gave each of them GH 120. (NDC).

    Adorye said that the NDC gathered 75 Fadama boys to stage the incident through the former CEO of the 3 Music Awards, Baba Sadiq, The Herald newspaper publisher Larry Dogbe, and one Suhuyini in an interview with Accra-based Okay FM on September 28.

    He opined that the booing was orchestrated by the NDC as a result of the one-sided video from the incident even though ‘all the bloggers in Ghana were present and streamed live’.

    Baba Sadiq, he alleged was the mastermind having picked up information from organizers of the event that the president was going to be present.

    “Per the information I had, it was the Trade or the Tourism Minister who was supposed to be at the festival to address the attendees. But the fact that the president attended one in South Africa and requested that if it comes to Ghana, he will be happy. It was going to Nigeria.

    “One of the two ministers was supposed to come because of President Akufo-Addo’s UN engagement. But fortunately, the president was able to arrive before the day of the event.

    “They had conversations with him and it was agreed that he will come. Because Sadiq of 3 Music Awards is an industry player and has a connection with the lead organizers, when he heard it, he and Larry Dogbe and Suhuyini met at a particular place to plan.

    “They contracted 75 boys from Fadama and paid each one of them GH₵120. The videos trending is testament to it. It was from one particular shot,” Hopeson Adorye said.

    President Akufo-Addo was among high-profile dignitaries who graced the Global Citizen Festival which took place at the Black Star Square in Accra on September 24.

    When it was his turn to deliver a short presentation, a section of the crowd began to chant and clap ‘away, away….’.

    The president remained calm and delivered his speech. Deputy Communications Officer of the New Patriotic Party Ernest Owusu Bempah has in a statement accused the opposition National Democratic Congress as orchestrating the plot to embarrass the president.

    However, the NDC has rejected the accusation insisting that the booing was only an indication of the frustrations of Ghanaians.

     

  • Akufo-Addo has been booed and so what? Bush, Macron were, too – Boateng-Agyemang

    A former constituency chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in New Juaben North in the Eastern Region has questioned why the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is gloating over the booing of President Akufo-Addo by some fans at the Global Citizens Festival held in Accra on Saturday, 24 September 2022.

    According to him, the “shameful” incident carried out by some NDC-motivated participants at the concert is not out of the law.

    Mr. Kwadwo Boateng Agyemang spoke on Accra 100.5FM’s morning show, Ghana Yensom on Thursday, September 29, 2022, saying booing has not affected the performance of the president in government.

    He noted that the president is more focused on delivering his mandate to Ghanaians.

    He disclosed that the likes of former president J.J. Rawlings and former president John Dramani Mahama, among others, have all suffered boos.

    “Did it affect their performance in government?” he questioned.

    “All these individuals continued with their presidency after being booed so it is not out of place for president Nana Akufo-Addo to also be booed like his predecessors,” he argued.

    “It is not out of the law for a president to be booed because former President George Walker Bush of the United States of America and Mr. Emmanuel Macron of France suffered it and it did not affect their presidency so what is the NDC’s noise all about”? he queried.

    “Nana Addo has been booed and so what?” he stressed.

     

  • SIM re-registration: National Security has warned Akufo-Addo against blockage – Deputy Minority Whip

    Deputy Minority Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim says President Akufo-Addo has been cautioned by the National Security Minister that any attempt to deactivate SIM cards could destabilise the peace in the country.

    According to the lawmaker, this explains why the National Communications Authority (NCA) reversed its plans of rolling out a partial restriction on voice calls last month.

    Mr Ibrahim is, therefore, puzzled by the insistence of Sector Minister, Ursula Owusu Ekuful to proceed with the deactivation of SIM cards.

    Although the Authority says it will not be able to print all outstanding Ghana National Identification Cards, the sole document for the verification of the chips, the NCA says the directives of the Minister are still in force.

    However, speaking on The Pulse, Thursday, September 29 2022, the Member of Parliament for Banda who also serves on the Communications Committee in Parliament told host, Blessed Sogah that President Akufo-Addo has been cautioned by the National Security Ministry against blocking the SIM cards owing to the potential threats to the stability of the country.

    “The two-day blockage of people’s SIM cards, the National Security Ministry had to go to the Presidency to talk to them that the country was about to be destabilized before the SIM cards were released. They will not go ahead to tell you this but that was the practical situation that happened. Ghanaians were furious and they nearly exploded,” he said.

    Meanwhile, JoyNews checks at some registration centers across the country a day before the September 30 deadline indicate that many Ghanaians for some days now have besieged the centres with the same complaint of inability to register their SIM cards.

  • Booing of Akufo-Addo symbolizes the true feelings of Ghanaians – Chief Biney

    Deputy National Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Chief Nixon Biney, has stated empathically that, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and President Akufo-Addo, are oblivious of the true state of the feelings of many Ghanaians.

    The NDC man in an interview on Kumasi-based Ultimate FM monitored by MyGewsgh.com, said, last weekend’s booing of Nana is just a tip of the iceberg, as many Ghanaians are just fed up with the NPP’s political lies, the reason a section of people booed him at the Global Citizen festival.

    ‘‘Sad to hear, the NPP accusing the NDC of being the brain behind the booing of Nana Addo, the NPP ought to respect Ghanaians, that was not a political program, we all know that it was a global festival with artiste performing here and there.

    ‘‘If you have young Ghanaians attending such a program and you have the president there and they boo at him and somebody thinks it is NDC who organized them, then they are refusing to understand there is hardship, that people are not happy with certain things happening.

    ‘‘Unemployment is high and the youth are not happy is a clear signal for the president to sit up, those saying it is NDC who organized this, I mean they should up their game a bit.

    ‘‘They should appreciate that it is the same people who elected the president at the same place where he told them he would protect the public purse of which he is failing them.

    ‘‘It is the same independence square the president said all Ghanaians should come on board and support him, why is he worried they are acting as citizens or he wants them to be spectators?’’ be asked.

    The Deputy Organiser of the NDC noted this is just the tip of the iceberg, Ghanaians are generally not happy with him and his government.

    ‘‘The President must understand that Ghanaians are just showing him the signs of his bad governance, it is for him to take it in good faith. In fact, if they knew that it was the NDC that booed the president, what did they do? Are they saying that the national security is in comatose, which I don’t think so?

    ‘‘They should come again and look at it, that some sect of Ghanaians are not happy with the president and for that matter, he has got some few years to get out of office.

    ‘‘He should make this better for the suffering masses, why always NDC this or that, did you see anybody in NDC T-Shirt there, come on NPP, no they were Ghanaians.’’

  • I won’t boo Mahama if he becomes president again – KT Hammond ‘schools’ youth on courtesy

    Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, Kobina Tahir Hammond, has reiterated his discontentment with the booing of President Akufo-Addo at the recently held Global Citizen Festival.

    Speaking to Accra-based Joy FM, the MP indicated that the youth must at all times demonstrate respect towards people in authority no matter the circumstances.

    Citing himself as an example, he maintained that he has never uttered foul language at the 2020 flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama, who has been president before and who is seen as a political opponent.

    He insisted that it was wrong to insult leaders in that regard.

    “It doesn’t matter if it was Akufo-Addo president or John Mahama president. John Mahama president, I have never in my life said anything insulting about John Mahama. I don’t do that.

    “I am a different person. I don’t believe it is proper. I can take on the NDC I can take on…how much criticism haven’t you heard me make of the NDC administration and all of that? But I don’t insult personalities.

    “I don’t believe that is the way politics should run . NDC administration is a bogus administration and this and that…it is unthinkable that I will at any point in time say it is appropriate to hoot at a president. He is the figure head,” KT Hammond opined.

    He added that: “I don’t think I will ever boo at John Mahama when he becomes president again. When he was, I never insulted him.

    “As I speak right now, John is my good friend. I have many friends in the NDC. It doesn’t cost much to respect”.
    The booing of President Akufo-Addo at the global concert has been topical throughout this week with members of the New Patriotic Party expressing varying opinions on the matter.

    While some insist the crowd rather cheered, others claim it was the opposition National Democratic Congress that planted rogues to cause the embarrassment to the president.

    The NDC has however rejected the accusation, maintaining that the incident was a reflection of the frustration of the youth in the country.

  • Did NDC people rather cheer Akufo-Addo? – Agbodza mocks Okraku Mantey

    Deputy Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Minister, Mark Okraku Mantey, is among the few government appointees who has a totally divergent view on the recent incident where President  Akufo-Addo was reportedly booed.

    In interview on Accra-based Hitz FM, Okraku Mantey said he was at the Black Star Square for the Global Citizen Festival but did not hear any boos except cheers.

    “I was there. Until I left there and came home the following day, I didn’t know he was booed. I didn’t hear the chants, the shouts. I didn’t hear all that.

    “I was with the president, his family, the Accra Mayor and the security team throughout the event. The crowd was too huge that it could have happened on just one side,” he stated during the interview.

    His views are contrary to the New Patriotic Party’s position that the boos and jeers were orchestrated by members of the opposition National Democratic Congress.

    Member of Parliament for Adaklu, Governs Kwame Agbodza, referencing the deputy Minister’s view that he only heard cheers for the president asked whether that meant it was the NDC members at the venue who were cheering the president.

    In a tweet dated September 28, Agbodza asked: “Oh this is a new twist… It means the NDC organised the ‘CHEERING’ ?

    “If so, then I guess President Akufo Addo must thank the NDC and encourage them to do more cheering…,” he added.

    If so, then I guess President Akufo Addo must thank the NDC and encourage them to do more cheering…????

    — kwame agbodza (@KAgbodza) September 29, 2022

    The booing incident: 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.

     

  • “We shall also be blessed with Ghana Miracle” – Finance Minister speaks on economy recovery

    Amidst the worsening economic conditions and government’s plan to secure an IMF support programme, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta is hopeful of a “Ghana miracle” to salvage the economy.

    Addressing the media on the state of the Ghanaian economy on Wednesday, the Minister said, “the sanctity and the well-functioning of the financial system are sacrosanct” and the country’s economy can only revive with the support and trust of all Ghanaians.

    Ken Ofori-Atta in his address was optimistic and likened the revival of the country’s economy to the great Celtic Miracle in Ireland in the 1980s when Ireland was one of Europe’s poorest economies and described as the “beggars of Europe“.

    However, Ireland’s economic situation changed in the 1990s and its economy recorded an impressive average growth rate.

    This is the miracle Ken Ofori-Atta is hoping will materialise in the country’s economy.

    “The sanctity and the well-functioning of the financial system are sacrosanct and we need the support and trust of all Ghanaians to deliver this. Let us join hands to get this done.

    “The great Celtic Miracle in Ireland in the 1980s was the result of such collaborations, especially with Labour and we shall also be blessed with the Ghana Miracle,” the Minister said.

    Meanwhile, the government in a bid to revive the economy has announced a 5-Member Committee consisting of prominent financial services professionals to lead extensive stakeholder engagements across all the key segments of the financial sector – banking, asset, management, pensions, and insurance – as part of moves to protect the financial system.

    This is coming following the probability that the nation may undertake a debt restructuring programme.

    The announcement of the Committee Members is expected to be made in the coming days.

    According to Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, the committee will immediately get to work to engage key stakeholders in the financial services sector, additional to ongoing engagements with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), social partners (labour unions, employers, and FBOs), academia, industry professionals, and the leadership of Parliament.

    This, he says, is government ambition to protect the financial sector.

  • Hopeson Adorye names NDC officials who orchestrated Akufo-Addo booing

    Failed New Patriotic Parliamentary aspirant for Kpone Katamanso, Hopeson Adorye has accused three leading members of the opposition National Democratic Congress of orchestrating the public booing of President Akufo-Addo.

    President Akufo-Addo while presenting an address at the Global Citizen Festival held in Ghana on Saturday, September 24, 2022, was booed by some patrons of the event.

    While trumpeting the accusation by the ruling New Patriotic Party that the incident was orchestrated by the NDC, Hopeson Adorye has gone on to name three officials of the party as the brains behind the booing.

    In an interview with Okay FM, Hopeson Adorye alleged that the Editor of the Herald Newspaper, Larry Dogbey, Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini and NDC Communication Team Member on Creative Arts, Baba Sadiq were the masterminds behind the booing incident.

    According to him, the three recruited seventy-five boys from Fadama and paid them GH¢120 to boo at the president.

    He noted that the plot was masterminded after Baba Sadiq being an entertainment industry player picked up information that the president will be at the festival.

    “Because Sadiq of 3 Music Awards is an industry player and has a connection with the lead organizers, when he heard it, he and Larry Dogbe and Suhuyini met at a particular place to plan.”

    “They contracted 75 boys from Fadama and paid each one of them GH¢120. The videos trending is a testament to it. It was from one particular shot,” Hopeson Adorye alleged.

    However, Baba Sadiq and Larry Dogbe who were both named by Hopeson Adorye as accomplices to the plot have both denied the allegation.

    “Obviously, this can come from somebody who is not well in the brain. For a person to actually say this is what Sadiq will engage in; I am above that. I am above these things. I will never engage in such things. It’s a lie,” Baba Sadiq in a reaction on Okay FM said.

    He noted that the allegation was a deliberate attempt to run him down.

    “We have people who practice very bad politics and they will stop at nothing to destroy people they think are hardworking, people that are above them, people that have shown and proven that the things they do, they cannot do the littlest of it,” the CEO of 3Music said.

    Hopeson Adorye who was adamant about Baba Sadiq’s response alluded that he has voice recordings of a meeting between the plotters of the hooting.

    However, Baba Sadiq emphasised that he is yet to meet Alhassan Suhuyini in the entire year and has never met Larry Dogbey before.

    He dared Hopeson Adorye to produce the supposed voice recording noting that he is waiting on the advice of his lawyers to decide on his next line of action.