The Ghana Health Service (GHS) said evidence locally and internationally shows that vaccination against the Covid-19 accounts for the steady decline in positive cases.
Additionally, improving adherence to Covid-19 safety and enforcement protocols also contributed significantly to the decline.
Ghana has recorded 128 positive cases of COVID-19 this September, 273 in August and 500 in July, this year.
The GHS said as of September 23, 2021, there were 3,578 active cases, 1,147 deaths, 122,000 recoveries and 126,803 cumulative positive cases after 1.7 million tests.
At a media briefing in Accra on Sunday to update the public on COVID-19 cases, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director-General of GHS, said the Service had so far inoculated 1.6 million Ghanaians, with 89 per cent of the vaccines coming from AstraZeneca, 10 per cent from Johnson & Johnson, and one per cent from Sputnik V.
He called for aggressive deployment of COVID-19 vaccines across the 16 regions, especially in market places, lorry parks, churches and mosques.null
Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the country had received nearly five million doses of the AstraZeneca Covishield from India, 21,000 doses of Sputnik V, 450,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson, and 1.2 million of Moderna vaccines.
Achieving herd immunity against
the Covid-19 had been government’s primary goal to halt the spread of the disease, he said.
President Akufo-Addo, in February this year, announced that although his administration sought to vaccinate the entire population, he aimed to vaccinate 20 million of the populace by the end of the year.
German Ambassador, Daniel Krull and the Deputy Minister of Health Alhaji Mahama Asei Seini in a symbolic handover of the vaccine doses.
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has taken delivery of 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca’s Covishield vaccine donated by the German government.××
The donation follows the announcement of additional Covid-19 vaccine support to Ghana by the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, during the Africa Summit held in August 2021.
It is the second covid-19 consignment to be delivered to the country by the German government through the COVAX facility under the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) distribution platform.
German Ambassador to Ghana, Daniel Krull, speaking at the brief handing over ceremony at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), expressed his appreciation to the partners, including global logistics giant DHL, for the smooth and safe delivery of the vaccine to the country.
He said the donation adds to the 389,200 vaccine doses already donated to the country.
He further noted that the German government is planning to donate another 385,000 vaccine doses via the COVAX facility shortly.
“This will increase the number of Covid-19 vaccines donated to Ghana from Germany to 2.3 million doses,” he said.
Ambassador Krull further noted that complementary to the vaccine, Germany has provided equipment like a full Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for a hospital in Takoradi, 45 ventilators and 5,000 pulse oximeters for several hospitals in Ghana.
“We have supported laboratories at the Kumasi Center for Collaborative Research (KCCR) and the Noguchi Memorial Institute as well as provided personal protective equipment including 470,000 face masks and nutritious meals for frontline health workers. In total, Germany’s bilateral support to Ghana amounts to a value of more than 25 million Euros,” he said.
He iterated that COVAX is helping to vaccinate people worldwide to prevent the risk of new mutations of the virus thus, Germany is donating 100 million doses primarily to countries in transition and developing countries under the facility.
Deputy Health Minister, Alhaji Mahama Asei Seini, who received the vaccine together with officials from the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF, expressed his gratitude to the German government for the support given to the country’s health sector.
“We are all aware of the difference your logistic, technical and financial support has made in the management of Covid-19 in Ghana,” he stated.
Alhaji Seini urged citizens to respond to the kind gesture by making themselves available to be vaccinated to enable the country attain its planned herd immunity against Covid-19
A Police officer stationed at Nkanfoa in the Cape Coast Metropolis of the Central Region, Corporal Isaac Apomah, has allegedly freed a suspect in custody after having sex with her.
According to Starr News sources, the suspect Theresah Forson had been in custody for days.
The Police officer is said to have slept with her on Saturday, September 25, 2021, in her cell when nobody else was at post.
Corporal Ampomah after the intercourse is reported to have asked the suspect to run away from the cells to a place where she cannot be found.
On receipt of the information, the Station Officer was instructed to mobilize men in search of the suspect, in the Cape Coast area.
She reportedly went home and due to the fear of the law and to avoid harbouring a fugitive, the family of the convict is said to have brought her back to the police station.
Meanwhile, the police officer in question has been arrested and placed in Police custody to assist with investigations over his alleged conduct
Oleksandr Usyk is the new unified heavyweight world champion after dethroning Anthony Joshua with an incredible performance in London.
The Ukrainian put on a masterclass in front of 65,000 fans inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, outclassing Joshua over 12 rounds, and hurting the defending champion on numerous occasions.
The scorecards – 117-112, 116-112, 115-113 – were all for Usyk and there was a mere shrug of the shoulders from Joshua as the second defeat of his professional career was confirmed.
Having seen a fight with fellow Briton Tyson Fury collapse last summer, Joshua opted to face his WBO mandatory challenger and former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk instead.
It appeared the easier fight for Joshua, but boxing’s triumphant return to stadium nights was soured for the home crowd by a truly exceptional performance from the challenger.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn suggested his fighter may have suffered a broken eye socket and would need to go to hospital.
“I don’t know if he has broken his eye socket, it doesn’t look great,” he said. “He said he couldn’t see after the ninth round, obviously he was getting tagged a lot as well.”
A devastated Joshua left the ring immediately after the decision but later posted a short message on Twitter, saying: “Keep positive even if the world’s crumbling in front of you! London I love you & thank you each and every time!”
Former member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Stephen Atubiga says the fake pregnant woman at the centre of the controversy that has rocked the nation over the past couple of days “is an NDC member”.
He linked his claim to NDC’s petition at the Supreme Court without pink sheets, and the ‘non-existent’ election figures.
“If her NDC party can fake victory to court without pink sheets, and could not even tell the justices of their victory figures when asked, why can’t she also fake pregnancy?” he wrote on Facebook on Friday.
Member of Parliament for North Tongu District in the Volta region Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa has gifted a 53-year old midwife Beatrice Blessing Obidieh of the Battor Catholic hospital a new car for her exceptional work at the facility.
The 2015 Toyota Prius fully loaded hybrid model was presented to the nurse, Beatrice Blessing Obidieh in recognition of her hard work and diligence at an event to mark the 2021 celebration of World Contraception Day hosted at Battor on Friday.
She is also said to be the longest serving midwife at the facility having started work at the facility in 2003.
“Auntie Beatrice as she is affectionately known, has rendered inspirational service at the Battor Catholic Hospital since 2003. The 53-year-old product of Atibie Midwifery Training School came highly recommended by all her colleagues, doctors and administrative staff who were unanimous during my quiet background checks that she has been phenomenal, dedicated, selfless and a quintessential role model to the younger generation,” the lawmaker remarked.
The MP, Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa remains optimistic that Auntie Beatrice’s hard work and dedication would inspire other young health workers in the District who will discharge their duties diligently.
“I hope her sterling example and our token of appreciation will motivate other health workers posted to our district from elsewhere as in the case of Auntie Beatrice to accept their postings, stay with us and not be fixated on seeking transfers to bigger cities.”
This gesture from Mr. Ablakwa adds up to several other supports he has given to the Battor Catholic hospital and its staff.
Last month, he and his family donated monies received during the funeral of his father, Theophilus Brown to the facility.
Not long ago, the vociferous politician paid all the medical bills for all patients in the children’s ward of the hospital, following his victory in the 2020 elections.
Mr. Ablakwa in the past has also donated vehicles and medical equipment to the facility including incubators, baby cots, theatre beds, a suction machine, an autoclave machine and a phototherapy machine all valued at GHC100,000 to the hospital
Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, says the government is focused on reviving the economy, following the devastating impact of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
He, however, said that would be achieved if the country is able to vaccinate the majority of its citizens against the disease.
He, therefore, appealed to the public to embrace the government’s COVID-19 vaccine roll-out for it to achieve the end-of-year coverage target of 20 million people, to expedite the country’s economic recovery plan.
Speaking at a media briefing in Cape Coast as part of his working tour to the Central Region on Thursday, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah underscored the importance of a fully vaccinated population in building a robust economy.
He said about 1.5 million Ghanaians had either been fully vaccinated or taken the first jab, and expressed optimism that the 20 million target would be achieved.
Additionally, he said the National Vaccine Manufacturing Team was working assiduously for the country to produce its own vaccine.
“Government is making all the necessary efforts but in all of this, people must take the necessary precautions, we must make a point to remind people of their responsibility to protect themselves,” he said.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah also reminded the people of the Central Region about the threats of terrorism in the West African Sub-Region and admonished the media to create the necessary awareness for people to become conscious of it.
He encouraged media practitioners in the region to take advantage of the media capacity enhancement and support programmes being rolled out by the National Media Commission (NMC) to build their competencies and skills in the ever-changing profession.
Reacting to concerns about attacks on journalists in recent times, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah reiterated the government’s commitment to protect and guarantee the safety of journalists in the country.
The Central Regional Minister, Mrs. Justina Marigold Assan, highly commended the media in the region for their contribution towards its development.She urged them to continue to project the Central Region in a positive way that would attract more investors into the region.
Josephine Mensah has opened up on her faked pregnancy plot which has taken over the Ghanaian traditional and social media space in the last few days.
Josephine who has been arrested and is currently at the Takoradi central police station confirmed she got pregnant but got a miscarriage in the fourth month of the pregnancy.
She told the police during an interrogation that she connived with her mother to fake the pregnancy pretending all was well with her.
According to her, she was afraid to lose the benefits she was getting from her husband thus faked the pregnancy and later pretended she has been kidnapped.
Kessben FM’s reporter in Takoradi, Nana Yaw Kumi in an interview with Ali Baba Dankambari on Breaking News said when Josephine was asked about how she hid the baby-bump from her husband, she narrated to the police that he covered her fake baby bump with cloths and denied her husband sex between four and five months
The driver’s mate is said to be battling for his life at the Tema General Hospital.
A driver of a trailer with registration number GN 3161-09, is feared dead after he skidded off the road into a ditch on the Tema Motorway.
The driver’s mate is said to be battling for his life at the Tema General Hospital.
The accident reportedly occurred around 10:00 pm on Friday.
The trailer, which was carrying crates of empty beer bottles, landed in a major storm drain near the Adjei Kojo underpass on the motorway.
The Tema Motorway is notorious for road accidents almost on a weekly basis. Many have blamed these accidents on the deteriorated nature of the road, whereas others have blamed it on reckless driving.
Road crashes have killed more than 1,000 people in the country from January to April 2021.
This was disclosed by May Obiri Yeboah, the Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA).
She said last year, 2,500 people died from road crashes, adding that the figure is the highest since 1991.
Josephine had admitted that she hatched the plot alone without the help of any relative – ACP Kwesi Ofori.
The Acting Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Kwesi Ofori, says Josephine Panyin Mensah faked her pregnancy to court her husband’s admiration and acceptance.
Speaking on Citi TV/Citi FM’s The Big Issue, ACP Ofori said the woman’s decision to fake the pregnancy and kidnapping was purely based on issues relating to her marriage.
He however clarified that Josephine had admitted that she hatched the plot alone without the help of any relative.
“From her account, she said she did it alone just to satisfy her husband. It was a pure family issue that she wanted to portray that she was pregnant. She did all that for the admiration of her husband.”
Josephine Panyin Mensah, has been in the news since last Thursday after the media reported that she was nine months pregnant and had been kidnapped during a dawn walk.
She resurfaced a week later at Axim in the Western Region without her alleged pregnancy or baby.
She had claimed that she delivered the same day she went missing and that the kidnappers had stolen her baby.
The Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah subsequently claimed Josephine was not pregnant as reported, a claim subsequently corroborated by the Ghana Police Service.
Police conducted two separate medical tests on Josephine at different hospitals, with both reports proving that she was never pregnant.
Josephine’s relatives and neighbours however disagreed with the report of the Ghana Police Service.
ACP Ofori said the Police will soon decide on the next line of action.
Many have wondered why the woman will fake a pregnancy and put herself through so much stress when she already has one child for the husband
Members of the Yendi Municipal Assembly in the Northern Region have rejected the president’s nominee Ahmed Yussuf Abubakar as the Municipal Chief Executive.
Twenty one assembly members voted YES representing 51% while 20 of them voted NO representing 48%.
The president’s nominee was supposed to secure 28 votes out of the 41 vote cast to guarantee his confirmation.
The nominee appears to be the first to be rejected in the region.
The Director of Election in the Northern region, Lucas Yiryil, after the voting indicated that the nominee Ahmed Yussuf Abubakar failed to get majority votes.
He however hinted that the nominees qualifies for a second opportunity.
“If you cross 50% you are qualified for a second round within 10days so the assembly will determine when the next voting will take place within this 10 days
The CEO of 3Media Network, SADIQ Abdulai Abu, organizers of 3Music Awards, has described Dancehall artiste Shatta Wale as someone who is very economical with the truth so whatever he says should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Shatta Wale and Sadiq Abdulai Abu have been engaged in a war of words over the last week or two with the Dancehall artiste, who won 11 awards at the 2019 edition of the scheme, indicating that he did not merit all those trophies he won.
According to Shatta, Sadiq gave him all 11 awards because he(Sadiq) had issues with rapper Sarkodie and Dancehall artiste Stonebwoy.
Again, Shatta Wale said he gave Sadiq GH¢100,000 to help in organizing the awards.
Although Sadiq has denied those claims, there are concerns the allegations can mar the reputation of the 3Music Awards.
This is because the organizers have been basking in the praise they have been receiving for organizing a near perfect fourth edition of 3Music Awards this year but Shatta’s allegations may pose a threat to the credibility of the scheme.
In an interview with Graphic Showbiz on Monday, September 20, Sadiq said Shatta Wale could not bring the 3Music Awards into disrepute because he was not credible.
“Anything coming from Shatta Wale should not be taken seriously because they are all not true. First of all, I never gave 11 awards to him because I had issues with Sarkodie or Stonebwoy.
“Secondly, Shatta Wale has never given me any GH¢100,000. Shatta Wale will never give me money to organize any awards,” he said.
Sadiq stated that he had never taken Shatta Wale seriously because of his track record.
“Shatta Wale is that guy who fights just anyone trying to outshine him. Look at what he said about Stonebwoy, Samini and Sarkodie when he had issues with them.
“The same person used unprintable words against Charterhouse and also the mother of his son. Why should I worry myself about such a person who would destroy you with lies,” he said.
According to Sadiq, the board of the 3Music Awards was dealing with the situation.
“Shatta Wale should tell the board how we gave him the 11 awards and the money he said he had given us. 3Music Awards is bigger than Shatta Wale and there is no way he can bring it down with his untruths,” he stated.
The Ghana Police Service has placed a GHC50, 000 bounty on a robbery gang attacking residents within the Greater Accra Region.
In a statement, the Police stated that it has instituted some urgent additional security measures to arrest the gang and urged the public to bear with Service regarding the scaled-up measures to deal with the threat.
The Director-General, Public Affairs, ACP Kwesi Ofori, also called on the public and corporate institutions who intend to withdraw and deposit huge sums of money to exercise caution or contact the Police for assistance for such transactions.
“Any suspicious behaviour or movement of persons should be reported immediately to the Police on the emergency numbers, 18555, 191, 0302773906 or 0302787373,” the statement added.
The Police Service thanked the public for their continued assistance and further assured that with the support of the public, communities will remain safe.
Josephine Panyin Mensah Simons has reportedly confessed to a team of medical and investigation officers attending to her at the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital in the Western Region that she was not pregnant, a top police source has told Takoradi based Empire Fm.
The top police source further told Empire News she has since asked for forgiveness amidst uncontrollable tears from the husband Michael Simons who appears to be innocent and in a state of shock.
The victim now a suspect, according to the police, has not had sexual intercourse with the husband Michael for the past three (3) to four (4) months claiming that she could lose her baby.
The source further revealed that during their observation of Josephine since Tuesday, September 21, 2021, she neither spotted nor requested a sanitary pad to soak blood that might be dropping from her as a result of her given birth.
The police source added that all laboratory tests and analyses done so far suggest that the she was neither pregnant nor given birth.
However, a senior medical officer at the Effia-Nkwanta hospital name withheld, the facility providing medical assistance to Josephine says the victim was probably suffering from Pseudocyesis.
Pseudocyesis is defined by the DSM-5 as a false belief of being pregnant that is associated with objective signs and reported symptoms of pregnancy, which may include abdominal enlargement, reduced menstrual flow, amenorrhea, subjective sensation of fetal movement, nausea, breast engorgement and secretions, and labor.
A now-84-year-old man, who vanished in 1974, has returned home and expressed disappointment that the two wives he left behind could not wait for him for over the 47 years.
The man, who disappeared 47 years ago, says he’s disappointed his two wives have remarried.
Peter Oyuka, a Kenyan man, reportedly left his Makale village in Malava, Kakamega county in 1974 at age 37.
According to Tuko.co.ke, the now-octogenarian told his people then that he was leaving to search for greener pastures to take care of two wives and five children.
Interestingly, he did not disclose where he was headed and when he would return.
He visited Kakamega in 1983, 1992 and 1996, but failed to enter his home, The Standard, Oyuka reported.
Peter Oyuka finally returned home on Tuesday, September 21 to realise that his wives have given up on him and gone to marry other men.
“I wish my wives were here today to welcome me home,” Oyuka lamented.
A white goat was sacrificed to pacify the ancestors before he was accepted into his home, in accordance with the Luhyia customs.
Although he spent part of 47 years in Tanzania where he fell in love and had a child with another woman, he expected his wives to remain intact.
“My Tanzanian lover stopped communicating with me, and is yet to allow me to meet our son,” Oyuka disclosed
“I wish my two wives well in their marriages. However, I’d like them to know that I’m still alive and that they should create time and visit me.”
Oyuka’s return home was facilitated by a Good Samaritan who shared details about him on Facebook.
His 53-year-old son, Aggrey Osanji, who was just six years old before he vanished saw the post and followed up, leading to his return home.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has unveiled Milovan Rajevac as the new coach of the senior national team, Black Stars.
His contract is for a year.
The tenure “automatically” extends to the end of February 2023 if he is able to qualify the team to the World Cup.
Rajevac will be paid $30,000 as salary.
He will be assisted by Ghanaian coaches Maxwell Konadu and Otto Addo.
The Executive Council of the GFA formed a three-member committee made up of Vice-president Mark Addo, Upper East Regional Football Association Chairman Salifu Zida and Dr Randy Abbey, to find a Head Coach and Assistant Coaches for the Black Stars following the exit of Coach C.K Akonnor.
Akonnor was sacked after Ghana lost 0-1 to South Africa in a World Cup qualifying match and beat Ethiopia 1-0 in an unconvincing home match.
About Milovan Rajaevac
He becameGhanamanager in August 2008 wherehe continued the Black Stars’ qualificationto the2010 World Cup in South Africa.
In the tournament, Ghana almost reached the semi-final.
They narrowly lost to Uruguayin the quarter-final via penalties.
Rajevac quit Ghana after the World Cup on 8 September 2010 and took up a position with Saudi Arabian teamAl-Ahlia day later.
On 15 June 2016, he was officially appointed as manager of Rudar Velenjein Slovenia.
However, on 26 June 2016, he was appointed as manager of theAlgerian national team.
He resigned from the position in October 2016 after two matches.
Rajevac has coached a number of clubs.
He was adjudged Serbian Coach of the Year in 2010 and African Coach of the year in the same year
The Vice-president of the United States of America, Kamala Harris, has stated that Ghana’s 2020 polls that saw the re-election of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, was free and fair.
Vice-president Harris made this known on Thursday, 23 September 2021, when she held bilateral talks with President Akufo-Addo at the White House, with the aim of strengthening the ties of cooperation and friendship that exist between the two countries.
Addressing a press conference prior to the holding of a closed-door meeting between the pair and their delegations, the US Vice-president indicated that Ghana and the United States share a commitment to democracy.
“We, these two nations, share commitment to democracy”, she noted, adding: “Last December, the people of Ghana voted in a free and fair election that demonstrated your nation’s commitment to democratic principles and institutions”.
“We share a view that all people must have a voice in their future, that our democracies are stronger when everyone participates and weaker when anyone is left out”, the US Vice-president said.
Ghana’s main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its 2020 flag bearer, former President John Dramani Mahama, rejected the election results and described it as fraudulent.
The NDC accused the Electoral Commission of rigging the polls for Mr Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party.
Mr Mahama sought redress at the Supreme Court in Ghana’s second election petition but the apex court upheld the results of the presidential election.
The apex court said the petitioner failed to prove that the winner did not cross the constitutionally-required threshold of more than 50 per cent of the votes cast
Mother of Josephine Panyin Mensah, Agnes Essel has confirmed her daughter had been with her for the past three weeks until the day she was allegedly kidnapped.
According to her, during that period, her daughter had been visiting the Takoradi Hospital for checkups.
She said her daughter has an antenatal book which according to her confirms she was pregnant.
Meanwhile, the Administrator of the Takoradi Hospital popularly known as European Hospital, Rev. Osei Boateng, has also confirmed that Josephine frequented the hospital before she went missing.
Member of the National Democratic Congress’ legal team, Abraham Amaliba, has pointed out that he “smells a rat” concerning the new statement released by the police on the Takoradi kidnapping victim Josephine Panyin Mensah, naming her as a suspect in her alleged kidnapping.
He thus drew a comparison of the Police statement on the alleged kidnapping with that of the alleged murder of the social activist Macho Kaaka in Ejura, saying two persons were arrested in that case and later “his brother was arrested just to muddy the waters”.
Mr Amaliba said he is sceptical about the new twist in the police statement because the doctor of the European Hospital where the victim went for her antenatal pointed out that he needed clearance from the regional medical association before he could put out the information about the victim’s pregnancy status.
The private legal practitioner thus quizzed if such clearance had been given to the doctor, which the police failed to address in their statement.
He quizzed that by considering the victim as a suspect in her alleged kidnapping, does that mean the police are moving away from the crime of kidnapping because, to him, the victim cannot kidnap herself.
Mr Amaliba also indicated that it could be how the Western Regional Minister came out too quick to comment on the issue the way he did may have formed the basis for the new statement by the police on the matter.
He thus called it “a cover-up”, which will not work under the vigilant eyes of Ghanaians because to him, the victim, her family, market women and community all attested to the fact that she was indeed pregnant.
Mr Amaliba noted that the police declaring her a suspect is “dangerous” because there are many kidnapping cases in Takoradi. It will put fear in people to come out to report when they are kidnapped.
He said Takoradi had seen its fair share of kidnapping, and because of the oil boom in that region, it has registered a high influx of miscreants in that enclave. So for the police to come out with such a statement when the doctor told the media that he needed clearance before releasing anything must be taken with a pinch of salt.
Mr Amaliba made this statement in an interview with Berla Mundi on the New Day show on TV3, Thursday, September 23.
He was commenting on the heels of a new statement by the Western Regional Police Command naming the victim of the alleged kidnapping Josephine Panyin Mensah as a suspect in the matter.
“I smell a rat; with this, I smell a rat. This is akin to the Kaaka case, where two people were arrested for threatening his life and all of a sudden, we saw a somersault where his brother was included just to muddy the waters. I smell a rat because the doctor of the hospital indicated that he needed clearance before [he] could put out the information. Does it mean that the clearance has been given? We have not been told by the police. By taking the woman who is a victim of an alleged kidnapping to be a suspect, are we now moving away from the crime of kidnapping? Because you can’t kidnap yourself”, Mr Amaliba charged on the New Day show.
The subject of Ghana’s founder (s) is unequivocal and a matter undisputed historical record and no amount of present-day scheming will succeed in revising history. This is the view of veteran journalist and Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr.
He holds that the frontline founder’s role of Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, and the then Convention Peoples Party (CPP) are well documented in history books.
In comments he made on Pan African TV’s September 21 programme ‘Celebrating Nkrumah’s Legacy,’ in which he pointed out what he said were gross revisionist overtures especially by members of the Danquah – Busia tradition.
On the subject of how Ghana got its name, he submitted: “Go back to history, J. B. Danquah’s proposal for naming Ghana, J. B.Danquah proposed that what we know as Ghana today, should be called Akanland. Akan land, go and check the history.
“So when we talk about Ghana, don’t bring JB Danquah in at all, don’t waste our ears, don’t waste our time, at all. Nkrumah was the founder of Ghana, whether they like it or not, Nkrumah will remain the founder of Ghana,” he stressed.
According to him, for present-day Ghana to become the nation-state that it is today, it took a number of separate territories to unite thanks to a referendum by Kwame Nkrumah and the CPP.
“These people (the Danquah – Busia) don’t even know their history.
Ghana, as we know it today, was put together piece by piece. In the colonial era, Ashanti was not part of modern-day, the Northern territories, Trans Volta Togoland were not part of Ghana,” he added. Even with the CPP-led referendum, Pratt noted that JB Danquah expressed opposition especially to the inclusion of Western Togoland in the constitution of the new state of Ghana.
“What was JB Danquah’s position? These Danquah Busia elements supported Tolimo which was led by SG Antoh, which said that that part of the country should not become part of Ghana. How can they be founders of Ghana when they did not want German Togoland to become part of Ghana?” he quizzed.
He furthered that incidentally after the referendum had passed and a new nation was born, years on when Busia became Prime Minister in the second republic, he nominated SG Antoh as Ghana’s ambassador to Togo.
On the subject of Nkrumah’s birthday and a Founders Day being observed separately, Pratt insisted that 21st September will forever remain Founder’s Day for himself and others.
“We shall continue to celebrate 21st of September as our Founders Day, they can celebrate their 4th August but we the people of Ghana will continue to celebrate our 21st of September,” he added.
A second test conducted by the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital has confirmed that the missing woman in Takoradi wasn’t pregnant.
A second test conducted by the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital has confirmed that 29-year-old Josephine Panyin Mensah, who allegedly went missing, was never pregnant within the period, the police have said.
The Acting Director-General of the Ghana Police Service’s Public Affairs Directorate said the results of the Western Regional Hospital affirms the previous outcome which was conducted by the medical doctors at Axim Government Hospital.
ACP Kwesi Ofori, in an interview on JoyNews’ News Desk Friday, stressed that a thorough investigation is being carried out to attain the motives of the suspects who orchestrated the incident.
“The detailed result has been submitted to the Regional Criminal Investigation Department,” he told host Israel Laryea.
Meanwhile, some angry residents in Takoradi have rejected the police’s claims that their neighbour, who has now been declared a suspect, faked her pregnancy.
They also expressed dissatisfaction over the arrest of Josephine’s mother, husband, and one other person as accomplices in the alleged self-kidnapping case.
Clad in red, the residents chanted war songs and invoked curses on various authorities for making such claims.
However, ACP Ofori says the police will not be cowed into submission by street opinion.
ACP Kwesi Ofori on Thursday said the service cannot make such medical conclusions independently but “relies on expert opinion” from doctors who are members of the Ghana Medical Association.
“The law of evidence and criminal procedure makes the police rely heavily on expert opinion should even the matter appear before a court of competent jurisdiction. We will go by that expert opinion, and we will not be moved by street opinion,” he said.
About a week ago, a missing person flyer with a picture of Josephine Panyin Mensah began circulating on social media. It stated that she was nine months pregnant and had gone missing since September 16.
News later broke of her reappearance on the 21st of September 2021.
She was, however, found without a pregnancy or a baby.
Kumasi Mayor, Sam Pyne, has wondered who cut the umbilical cord of the baby at the time the missing but found pregnant woman was conceiving.
Sam Pyne, who also believes the woman, Josephine Panyin Mensah faked her pregnancy said the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, did no wrong in making the announcement. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah had earlier said that, per preliminary investigations, the 28-year-old woman was not pregnant.
Speaking on UTV’s Adekye Nsoma programme monitored by GhanaWeb, Sam Pyne called on the Ghana Police Service to probe further in this case.
“The police should critically look into this matter and bring to bear those involved in this case. But I don’t see anything wrong with the statement of the Regional Minister because he is supposed to calm down nerves,” the Kumasi Mayor said.
“How did she give birth?…Who cut the umbilical cord during her child birth, what shows?…In some of the cases, if you tell a child about it, the child will understand and give you the conclusion,” he added.
“The police did not sit aloof because they were a team of 40 officers looking for her. Now, the police are still investigating so if we start giving new narratives, we tend to destroy evidence,” Sam Pyne cautioned.
Josephine who failed to return home after going for an early morning walk was said to be nine months pregnant when she went missing.
Josephine Panyin Mensah was reported to the police as missing on September 16, with later reports indicating that some alleged kidnappers got in touch with her family to demand a ransom for her return.
She was found by a carpenter in Axim on Tuesday, September 21, 2021.
She was unable to speak from trauma and according to the carpenter, she requested for a pen and paper where she communicated through that.
Neighbours of a 28-year-old lady allegedly kidnapped in Takoradi, Josephine Panyin Mensah, insist she was pregnant at the time she reportedly went missing.
Even though they cannot medically prove their claims, they insist that everything showed that Josephine Panyin Mensah was heavily pregnant.
This comes on the back of pronouncements by the Western Regional Minister, Kobby Okyere Darko Mensah, that an intelligence report he has received suggests that Josephine was not pregnant.
Western Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Charles Bissue, has counted claims that the police is covering up a possible kidnapping crime in Takoradi by naming the victim as a suspect, saying opinion-makers must be wary not to throw dust into the eyes of the public.
He said it is apparent to everyone in the country when the three girls were kidnapped in Takoradi and no report was coming out, the police were lampooned by the public but today, the police have released a statement on the alleged kidnapping of a supposed pregnant woman who was freed without her baby.
Mr Bissue said the state agencies such as the National Investigation Bureau (NIB), the police and the hospital in question have been consistent in addressing the public on the alleged kidnapping of Josephine Panyin Mensah.
He then pointed out that he sympathizes with the victim and her family if the alleged kidnapping turns out to be true because she has rights to her independence but if she is complicit in the alleged kidnapping then she needs to be punished.
Mr Bissue emphasized that the victim has the right for an independent examination to ascertain the facts of her claims so it is not right for anyone to polarize the system by creating fear and panic in the country.
He implored the public to leave the police to conduct the investigation into the alleged kidnapping in Takoradi.
Mr Bissue said when the police are wrong the public condemn them and thus pleaded with the police to beef up security in the Western Region.
He said that is how to build a country and not just because one is in opposition thus must attack everything.
Mr Bissue made this call in an interview with Berla Mundi on the New Day show on TV3, Thursday, September 23.
He was commenting on the heels of the statement by the Western Regional Police Command on the alleged kidnapping of Josephine Panyin Mensah and thus naming her as a suspect in her alleged abduction and the claims that the police are covering up a possible kidnapping crime in the Western Region.
“The lady has a right, even though she is a victim she has a right. She has the right for an independent examination so all these avenues are there to explore so let’s not polarize the system and actually cause fear and panic. Let’s rely on the police when they come out, when the police are wrong we attack them. So I sit here and plead with them to beef up security in the Western Region, that is how we build a nation”, he implored on the New Day show.
Former Central Regional Chairman of the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Bernard Allotey Jacobs, has called for maximum support for Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to be the next President of Ghana.
Although Dr. Bawumia hasn’t been elected or declared flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party(NPP), some party supporters have already begun campaigning for him.
There are speculations he might stand for Presidential candidate during the party’s primaries.
Speaking during the Wednesday edition of Peace FM’s ”Kokrokoo”, Allotey Jacobs was of a strong belief that Dr. Bawumia will make a good President.
“I want to see Vice President Bawumia as the next President . . . It’s a fact. There’s a magic in him that he can use to help Ghana to move Ghana forward. Let’s see what is in him!”, he emphasized.
Beginning Friday 24 September, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) says it is continuing with the COVID-19 vaccination exercise across the country
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has announced that it is continuing with the COVID-19 vaccination exercise throughout the country, starting Friday 24 September 2021.
The GHS in a statement said “this phase of the exercise is open to the general public”, adding that persons 18 years and older who have never received a vaccine or have received only “one dose of AstraZeneca are to participate in this exercise.”
“The Ghana Health Service wishers to inform the general public that it has taken delivery of additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines. As part of the rollout plan, the Service is continuing the vaccination exercise starting from Friday 24 September 2021,” the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said in the statement.
All eligible persons have been advised to take along their valid photo ID cards “when visiting any designated centre within their respective regions for vaccination.”
“Persons due for the second dose of AstraZeneca should preferably send the ID card presented for the first dose as well as their COVID-19 vaccination card… By this release, the Service is again entreating the general public to continue to adhere to all COVID-19 protocols such as the appropriate wearing of face marks, maintaining hand hygiene and physical distancing.
“The Ghana Health Service would like to take this opportunity to reassure the general public that the country is not relenting in its efforts at acquiring additional vaccines to control the COVID-19 epidemic,” the statement said.
Since March 2021, over one million persons have received at least one does of AstraZeneca, Sputnik-V or Johnson & Johnson vaccine with nearly 800,000 of them fully vaccinated.
The US government has promised to donate some 1.3 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Ghana in addition to the 1.2 million Moderna vaccines from America on 4 September 2021
She stated that American companies continue to ramp up in Ghana, understanding the significance of the work that they do there to America’s economy much less to the partnership between Ghana and the United States.
She made this known on Thursday, 23rd September 2021, when she held bilateral talks with President Akufo-Addo at the White House, with the aim of stringing the ties of co-operation and friendship that exist between the two countries.
Welcoming President Akufo-Addo to the White House, Mrs. Harris indicated that the meeting with the Ghanaian President “is a reaffirmation of the strength of the relationship between the United States and Ghana, and of course we have deep in historical ties or official bilateral relationship began in 1957.”
She stressed that “American companies continue to ramp up in Ghana, understanding the significance of the work that they do there to America’s economy much less to the partnership between Ghana and the United States.”
“And they do this also because we are confident in the Government of Ghana and the environment, Mr. President, that you have created, which allows for some confidence in the respect and upholding of the rule of law and human rights. And so, with all of that, we look forward to continue to work together.”
On his part, President Akufo-Addo thanked Vice President Harris for the invitation, and stressed that Ghana and the United States of America share very much the same commitments.
“We want to develop our nation as a democracy as a country where freedom and respect for human rights and the rule of law are paramount to our system of governance,” he said.
Whilst expressing gratitude for the support of the United States towards helping to defeat the pandemic in Ghana, he indicated that the “other main preoccupation for us is the co-operation that we have to put together to defeat the Jihadist insurgency in the Sahel.”
It is an area, he said, that requires the support of the United States Government.
“We are looking for support for our armed forces and for the intelligent agencies of our area that they can be in stronger positions. Many of those leading the Jihadist insurrections in West Africa are the people who came from Iraq after they were driven out from Iraq, so I think if there’s information here that can assist us to be able to track down and be able to deal with these people,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo was hopeful that Ghana and America, now and in the coming years, will continue to “advance our mutual causes, and also strengthen the relations between our two countries
American companies increasing in Ghana due to enabling environment created – US Vice President
She stated that American companies continue to ramp up in Ghana, understanding the significance of the work that they do there to America’s economy much less to the partnership between Ghana and the United States.
She made this known on Thursday, 23rd September 2021, when she held bilateral talks with President Akufo-Addo at the White House, with the aim of stringing the ties of co-operation and friendship that exist between the two countries.
Welcoming President Akufo-Addo to the White House, Mrs. Harris indicated that the meeting with the Ghanaian President “is a reaffirmation of the strength of the relationship between the United States and Ghana, and of course we have deep in historical ties or official bilateral relationship began in 1957.”
She stressed that “American companies continue to ramp up in Ghana, understanding the significance of the work that they do there to America’s economy much less to the partnership between Ghana and the United States.”
“And they do this also because we are confident in the Government of Ghana and the environment, Mr. President, that you have created, which allows for some confidence in the respect and upholding of the rule of law and human rights. And so, with all of that, we look forward to continue to work together.”
On his part, President Akufo-Addo thanked Vice President Harris for the invitation, and stressed that Ghana and the United States of America share very much the same commitments.
“We want to develop our nation as a democracy as a country where freedom and respect for human rights and the rule of law are paramount to our system of governance,” he said.
Whilst expressing gratitude for the support of the United States towards helping to defeat the pandemic in Ghana, he indicated that the “other main preoccupation for us is the co-operation that we have to put together to defeat the Jihadist insurgency in the Sahel.”
It is an area, he said, that requires the support of the United States Government.
“We are looking for support for our armed forces and for the intelligent agencies of our area that they can be in stronger positions. Many of those leading the Jihadist insurrections in West Africa are the people who came from Iraq after they were driven out from Iraq, so I think if there’s information here that can assist us to be able to track down and be able to deal with these people,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo was hopeful that Ghana and America, now and in the coming years, will continue to “advance our mutual causes, and also strengthen the relations between our two countries
• Psalm Adjetefio has described as annoying people’s criticism of him
• The veteran actor says it is not by his own doing that he had to go into financial crisis
• He reveals that exploitation by persons he has worked with and bad health is what has caused him to make a public appeal for support
Veteran Ghanaian actor, Psalm Adjetefio, said he finds it annoying when people accuse him of not being wise and prudent with his finances.
The popular actor known as TT from his role in the Taxi Driver series has been in the news recently after he came out publicly to solicit for funds to pay his rent and medical bills.
His public appeal for support attracted several comments including some critics who said he did not manage his finances well during his prime days as an actor.
In a recent interview with Oman Channel, TT, who has since received support from various quarters, bemoaned the criticisms being directed at him describing it as infuriating.
According to TT, his financial crisis has largely been due to exploitation from people he had to work with and his deteriorating health condition which has come with huge medical expenses.
He explained that for every episode of the popular Taxi Driver Series he featured in, he was given an amount of GHC10 old cedis equivalent despite his real allocation for the series budget being GHC30 old cedis equivalent.
“I was asked how much I get paid for each episode and I stated that it was one hundred thousand (old cedis) and I was told no, my budget was three hundred thousand. So for every week, someone was stealing my two hundred thousand. For all the Taxi Driver episodes I featured in, the money was stolen by someone”
“I was only getting one-third of my pay and someone was getting two-thirds. But because I naturally have a big body people think I made a lot of money. When I see people talk about me like that, I just watch them because they don’t know how we have suffered. There are times we would work for two months and when you go for your pay, you’ll be told your director has come for the money. You’ll try fruitlessly to reach him and once you do, he will tell you that he has spent the money.
“I get very annoyed when people go about saying he’s done a lot and where is the money? You don’t know my struggle. You have no idea how I’ve had to struggle. It is through prayers that God has brought benevolent people my way. It is very annoying. I only pray God will bless those who have come to my aid,” he added.
Following the revelation of his financial condition, TT, suffers medical conditions including heart failure and gouty arthritis has received help from personalities including the Vice President, the Greater Accra Regional Minister and the Chief of Staff.
• Cecilia Dapaah has been accused of “sleeping on her job”
• Her ministry says this claim is misleading
• The MSWR says they are doing a lot in the sector and so cannot be said to be sleeping
The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources has described as misleading the claims that its minister is supervising clogged gutters and dirty streets in Accra.
This is in response to a story carried by GhanaWeb on Tuesday, August 24, 2021, with the title, “Kwame Minkah blasts Abena Dapaah over clogged gutters, dirty Accra streets” but sourced from myxyzonline.
In that story, the host of Tonton Sansan on TV XYZ, Prince Kwame Minkah, hit hard at Cecilia Dapaah, the sector minister, over the filth taking over the streets of Accra amid huge budgetary allocation for the sanitation sector.
He went on to say that she had failed to show leadership in tackling the indiscriminate disposal of waste in the national capital, adding that she is “sleeping on her job.”
But in a rejoinder made available to GhanaWeb, the ministry says the comments do not represent the actual facts.
“The Ministry would like to state categorically that the publication is misleading and does not portray the actual facts in relation to the mandate of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) which is under the leadership of Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah.
“Per Article 245 of the 1992 constitution, and the Local Governance Act 2016, Act 936, with Amendment (Act 940), the issues raised in the publication fall within the functions of the Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies and not the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources,” the statement said.
Also, the statement clarified that contrary to claims that they were doing little work, they had made giant strides in the sector, including the improved access to potable water to over 420,000 people.
“However, regarding the concerns about water shortages in some parts of Accra, the Ministry would like to state that some significant investments have been made by government through GWCL in that direction.
“The implementation of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) Water and Sanitation Project has improved access to potable water to over 420,000 people (equivalent to 85,000 Households) living in the GAMA. The achievement is as a result of about 282km length of distribution and service pipelines laid; undertaking about 10,242 New Service Connections and the establishment of Low-Income Consumer Support Unit (LICSU) in Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to promote and sustain water supply delivery to Urban Poor. The cost of the project was US$48. 1 million,” it stated.
“You can send the recommendation to the Business Regulatory Reforms Unit (BRRU) or you can write directly to the Chief Director at the MoTI and attention the BRRU,” said Mrs. Afriyie Addo.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) is calling on the public to assist the government in its institutional automation agenda.
As part of government’s intention to digitalise the economy for effective service delivery by state institutions, the MoTI, which is coordinating the processes says the public’s contribution on how they want some enterprises to function will be of much benefit.
Head of Business Regulatory Reforms (BRR) Programme at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Diana Afriyie Addo, disclosed during one of IMANI-GIZ’s Dialogue Series.
With the session theme on ‘Business registration, regulation, property rights and its impact on Ghana’s business climate’, the event brought together stakeholders to discuss how the challenges in the sector will be addressed.
Elucidation on land acquisition and its registration, the Registrar General’s development so far on digitalising their services, what the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is doing, the MoTI’s role in coordinating these activities amongst others were discussed.
In an exclusive with Ghanasonline.com, Mrs. Afriyie Addo avowed the public can either use the complaint units of the various institutions for these recommendations, or write directly to the ministry.
“Some of the activities that we are reforming are being implemented by institutions and it is services that they’re rendering and if you go there and you are not satisfied with the service, most of the institutions there have complaint units and you can also communicate to us because we are doing the work together.”
“So if you have any institution that’s rendering a service and you know there is something that needs to be done with this particular service that they’re rendering, then you can send us that recommendation so that we also communicate to that institution.
“You can send the recommendation to the Business Regulatory Reforms Unit (BRRU) or you can write directly to the Chief Director at the MoTI and attention the BRRU that these are the recommendations that you have in relation to a reform that needs to be done for a particular institution,” she explained.
The Ministry, according to Mrs. Afriyie Addo also have a portal that can be accessed on http://www.bcp.gov.gh.
The Revenue Protection Team of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in Tema has caused the police to arrest a fake staff of the company who have been selling meters to residents of Klagon and its environs.××
He was said to have installed a commercial meter supposed to be at Nungua to someone at Klagon.
The suspect has since been arrested and handed over to the Klagon Police for further investigation and possible prosecution.
Speaking to DGN Online, the Nungua District Manager of ECG, Prosper Avadetsi mentioned that his outfit received reports about some illegal activities within Sakumono, Nungua and its neighborhoods.
Based on the tip off, a monitoring team was instituted to embark on a 6 weeks program to check the possibility of illegal connections in the said areas, according to him.
He mentioned that the monitoring program, which was started in the third week of September 2021 is expected to end in October 2021.
Last week, the monitoring team detected that some wooden structures within the catchment area have been connected to power directly from the network, adding that about 20 wooden structures also have connected power from one meter, a situation which the company frowns upon.
“We had reports from the public on suspicion that a particular area filled with kiosks within our operational areas had connected power illegally.
“All those found out to have connected power illegally had their supply disconnected and processed for the Revenue Protection Unit of the Tema Region to take over,” the District Manager stated.
Mr. Avadetsi further noted that at one premises in Klagon, the Monitoring Team realized that a commercial meter had been mounted at a residential facility.
“Because every meter has a geo code which pre-determines the locality for which the meter is to be used and it was realized, per the geo code of the meter that it was to be in Nungua and not Klagon. Further on-field investigations with the customer revealed that a gentleman who had posed as ECG worker was the one who had installed that meter,” he stated.
According to him, the Team was able to apprehend the gentleman who has since been handed over to the Klagon Police.
The Nungua District Manager therefore urged the public “to desist from contracting ECG services from persons who are not workers or authorized agents of the company as this could lead to loss of resources for potential customers as well as loss of revenue for the company
Clad in red, neighbours of the victim, who has now been declared a suspect, chanted war songs and rained curses on various authorities for making such claims.
Some angry residents in Takoradi have rejected reports by the Ghana Police Service that 29-year-old Josephine Panyin Mensah faked her pregnancy and kidnapping.
They also expressed dissatisfaction over the arrest of Josephine’s mother, husband and one other person as accomplices in the alleged self-kidnapping case.
Clad in red, neighbours of the victim, who has now been declared a suspect, chanted war songs and rained curses on various authorities for making such claims.
Earlier today, the Police, in a statement, confirmed that the victim was never pregnant.
According to the Police, their preliminary investigation into the issue has revealed that the victim may have conspired with some persons to stage the whole incident.
Already, the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah made similar comments which triggered an uproar among some residents in the area on Wednesday.
But the agitated residents of Sekondi who spoke to JoyNews’ Western Regional Correspondent, Ina-Thalia Quansah, insisted Josephine was over nine months pregnant before her mysterious disappearance.
According to them, the Police have not visited the neighbourhood as part of their investigation.
“When Josephine disappeared, we took the right steps and went to the appropriate authorities to report the case and ask for their intervention. But now that she has been found they are attempting to accuse her of being untruthful.
“…I know that God in heaven knows that she is pregnant. God has been with her throughout those six days that she went missing, He will definitely intervene this time too,” a resident told JoyNews.
Former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic (NDC), Samuel Koku Anyidoho, believes whoever in the opposition party in favour of potential candidates for leadership positions going unopposed are simply hollow-hearted members.
Mr Anyidoho, who claimed he was brandished a traitor for insisting that candidates should not be imposed on the party as the norm used to be since 1992 when the NDC was formed, revealed that in the past, parliamentary candidates, national officers and even flagbearers were imposed on the party until the 2000 electoral defeat.
Speaking on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, the former NDC Deputy Chief Scribe held the view that imposition of candidates should never be countenanced, as even the late John Evans Atta Mills, when he was a sitting President, allowed others to compete against him.
To him, anyone championing the imposition of candidates within the umbrella fratenity are not “true and loyal NDC members”.
“If you ask me as a true and loyal NDC member, at all times, let there be a contest. President Mills even as a sitting President was contested. When he was being contested, did he ever complained? I was his spokesperson; did I ever go after anybody for contesting President Atta Mills? He threatened to dismiss me if I had gone after Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings.”
“ . . for me, any attempt by anybody today to advocate the imposition of a flagbearer, are from persons who are not dyed-in-the-wool NDC members; they should go back to where they came from. Anybody who says that the NDC should impose a candidate on the party is not a true member of the NDC . . . because true NDC members in 2000 decided to move away from this imposition; they don’t want impositions of candidates any longer,” he cautioned.
Touching on the rumoured reports of Dr Kwabena Duffuor’s desire to contest NDC’s Presidential Primaries, Koku Anyidoho said that the former Finance Minister is one of President Atta Mills’ legacy equation as he was instrumental in the single digit inflation achievement of the former President.
“But if you ask me, again talking about Mills’ legacy, and a certain Dr Kwabena Duffuor was part of that legacy equation, when it comes to the economy; the 34 months’ single digit inflation, the introduction of single spine pay structure within the challenge the country faced at that time and then the inherited debts that Atta Mills Administration came to meet, and being able to reach out to the international donor communities to be able to look favourably upon Ghana. Ghana became the shining star in terms of economic management, because Prof. Mills had his own economic advisory team,” he mentioned.
He professed his love for Dr Duffuor for the fact that he [Dr Kwabena Duffuor] is among the people with the ability to succeed; thus, he has established businesses and that makes him possess the qualities to lead the NDC.
“ . . and for me I love people who are able to establish because it is not easy to establish; Dr Kwabena Duffuor has established businesses and now he is the head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He owns it and he heads it as well. If you give that man and they are putting him out there and they are saying that he has certain qualities, you can’t rap those qualities away from him. Indeed, he has those qualities; you don’t have to manufacture those qualities,” he professed.
Following the efforts by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor and that of Operation Halt, the Tano River is on the verge of returning to normalcy.
The Minister who made a whistle-stop at the Tano river on the sidelines of his one-day tour of the Western North Region, said that this is the clearest river he has seen since his assumption of office.
He thanked the Regional Coordinating Council and called for sustained effort to ensure that the river fully returns to it original state.
On his part, the Mineral Commission’s District Manager for Bibiani Mr. Emmanuel Bain said ” the restoration of the river we see today comes at the back of the collaboration between the Western North Regional Coordinating Council, the Minerals Commission in the region, and largely due to the policy directives of our abled Minister”
The Tano River was highly polluted due to the activities of illegal mining, popularly known as “Galamsey”
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel A. Jinapor, has said that the government is set to launch a National Alternative Livelihood Programme for illegal miners in the country.
Mr Jinapor said the programme, when launched, will provide a good option for miners to work and support themselves and their families.
He disclosed this during a meeting with the Western North Regional House of Chiefs on Wednesday, 22 September 2021 on the sidelines of his one-day tour of the region.
The Minister used the platform to ask for the support and collaboration of chiefs, as he said they are co-partners in the administration of Ghana’s lands and its resources.
“There must be a strong collaboration between the Ministry and the Regional House of Chiefs to make this possible,” he stated.
He further urged the chiefs, the security agencies and the District Chief Executives work together and ensure that the natural resources of the country are protected.
The Minister re-echoed the government’s position on mining, saying: “The President has not said we should stop mining. What he does not want done is irresponsible small-scale mining, which will destroy our water bodies and forest reserves.”
Mr Jinapor further disclosed that the government is also ready to start a reclamation programme, which will help reclaim and revegetate all mined-out areas within a space of two to three years.
He added that “protecting the lands, water bodies and forests of our country also means protecting our own interests and future, so, let’s work together to achieve this goal.”
Speaking on behalf of the House of Chiefs, the President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs, who also doubles as the President of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahohuo Yaw Gyebi, lauded the Minister for the job done so far and asked, among other things, that the mining companies in the region be furnished with very good security presence to protect and prevent future threats on the lives of the people living in the communities.
Some other chiefs also suggested that the government establish district offices in various mining areas, which will ensure the monitoring and evaluation of the mining companies in those areas.
This, they said, can go a long way to help develop the communities, as a percentage of what the companies earn can be channelled into the coffers of the community for future development
Government will this week begin the designation of 150 institutions as critical information infrastructure, which will require them to adhere to minimum security standards to protect their systems and data from cyber-attacks, the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has said.
Parliament last year passed the landmark Cybersecurity Act 2020. The law establishes the Cyber Security Authority, protects the critical information infrastructure of the country, regulates cybersecurity activities, provides for the protection of children on the internet, and develops Ghana’s cybersecurity ecosystem.
It is also targeted at positioning Ghana to prevent, manage and respond to cybersecurity incidents.
The Minister explained that almost every sector is using ICT software applications and services to enhance efficiency, which exposes the data to cyber-attacks that could have a major impact on the socio-economic life in the country.
“We will do the designation this week, and then the whole programme will be launched during the cybersecurity month celebrations next month. And then we’ll start working with the sectors to bring up their systems to acceptable international level,” she told Business24 in an interview during the Ladies in ICT programme in Accra.
She further indicated that once the identified institutions have been designated, the Cyber Security Authority will work with them to upgrade their security systems to protect their data.
“The internet has become a critical infrastructure and facilitator of engagements for individual users, businesses, and government across the globe. In Ghana, the increasing reliance on the internet and Information Communication Technology has led to increased cybersecurity incidents such as ransomware, cyber theft, banking fraud, cyber espionage and other cyber-attacks targeted at critical information infrastructure. These cybersecurity incidents have affected critical sectors of the country including energy, telecommunications, banking and finance, and have caused disruptions in the delivery of essential services. If unchecked, it can undermine the security and economy of the country,” she said.
•John Mahama has said that government is not providing adequate funding for the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative
•He cited his brother as one of many farmers who did not enjoy subsidized fertilizers from the government
•Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto has rubbished the claim by Mahama
Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, has described claims by former President John Dramani Mahama about food shortage as ‘clueless’ and without substance.
Dr Afriyie Akoto intimates that the premise for John Mahama’s stance which is the refusal of subsidized fertilizer to his brother is hollow and cannot be used to make any cogent argument.
Speaking to JoyNews, Dr Afriyie Akoto maintained that it is untrue that there is fertilizer shortage and that government made fertilizer available to all qualified farms.
An agitated Afriyie Akoto urged John Mahama to rise above partisan politics and focus on the things which are of relevance to Ghanaians.
“For him to make such a conclusion from one observation, it means that when it comes to statistics, he has absolutely no clue. It is just like he coming to parliament when I was Member of Parliament putting four people in the balcony of parliament and said evidence base. We don’t do that! Though we are talking politics, Ghanaians are more intelligent than that,” he fumed.
Tackling the issue of denial of subsidized fertilizer to John Mahama’s brother, Dr Afriyie Akoto declared that Mahama’s brother did not meet the criteria for subsidized fertilizer.
Afriyie Akoto accused Mahama’s brother of enjoying a facility which he should not have benefited from in the first place.
“The subsidies are meant for farmers with 2, 3 acres which is the bulk of smallholders and not for 300 acres for goodness sake. So he has actually scrounged on poor farmers to start with if he was able to do 300 acres with subsidised fertiliser. So what Mr Mahama is saying cannot be true. In any case, we are talking about millions and millions of farmers.
His comments are a response to Mahama’s view that the Planting for Food and Jobs program risks collapsing if the government does not inject adequate funds into it.
John Mahama is quoted to have said that the lack of adequate funding for the program has resulted in farmers not getting subsidized fertilizers.
“My brother is a farmer and he tells me this year, he has not received any fertiliser supply from the government and so he bought his own fertiliser and a bag of fertiliser is very expensive. Normally, he cultivates 300 acres of maize each year. But this year, he had to reduce it, he was not able to cultivate even 80 acres. So there’s a possibility of food shortage next year because the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme has failed,” the former President explained.
Ghanaian politician and NPP 2020 Parliamentary aspirant for Kpone Kantamanso Constituency, Hopeson Adorye has disclosed that USA based Ghanaian social media sensation, Twene Jonas, has gone into hiding in the United States.
In a video sighted by sammykaymedia.com, Hopeson Adorye who is currently in the States asserted that Twene Jonas has been in the United States with wrong documents hence the authorities over there are in search for him to be deported.
According to the politician, the Youth of Ghana who follows blindly must be wide awake and not be deceived by the supposed luxury being exhibited by Twene Jonas.
He further stated that, Twene Jonas who has succeeded in influencing and polluting the masses in Ghana, has gone into hiding because he has been sacked from his job place, evicted from where he resides and has been left with no option than to lay low in recent times.
“We went to Rockefeller to look for him [Twene Jonas], we told that he has been fired. He lives in a wooden structure which is actually a part of a living room of a pastor and this guy goes about spewing nonsense…,” Hopeson Adorye said.
• Lawyer Samuel Okudzeto has advised that the benefits of the president’s travel should be the country’s focus
• He stated that the attacks on the president’s travel is not productive for the country
• He spoke to Joy FM on Wednesday
Lawyer Samuel Okudzeto, has indicated those who accuse President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of expensive travels should rather focus on the benefits that the President’s travel has on the country.
According to him, the constant attacks on the President based on his travel is not productive for the country.
GhanaWeb monitored comments he made on Joy FM during an interview on Wednesday, September 22, that, there are some benefits that the country gains any time the President travels. Adding that Ghanaians should not spend more time criticizing the travel and how much it cost but also consider the benefits derived by the country.null
“When he was going to Germany, there was hue and cry. ‘Why is he travelling? He takes these expansive planes? It cost so much per day.’ People do not understand what diplomacy is all about. Diplomacy is an expensive process, but there are always benefits.
“The President cannot sit down there in the Jubilee House and think all these [benefits] will just be coming to us. I don’t think it (attacks) is productive and helps the country,” the member of the Council of State said.
He argued further, “… We spend more time criticising than sometimes looking at the benefit that comes to us because we don’t even study the system.”
The veteran lawyer is of the view that, if there are concerns over the President’s travels, there are a lot of propositions that can be done to explore other ways he can travel rather than the “daily wholesale attacks” rained on him.
“That is why I am saying that as a nation we can agree on certain basic principles so that we all operate upon them instead of these attacks,” Sam Okudzeto stressed.null
Lawyer Sam Okudzeto’s comments come at a time the North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is demanding full disclosure of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s foreign travels in a yet to be filed urgent question in Parliament.
According to the MP, President Akufo-Addo on his trip to the US to attend the 76th session of the UN General Assembly hired “the same ultra-luxury aircraft he used to the UK and Germany.”
He alleged the President’s attendance by way of travel expense to and from the summit is costing the taxpayer GH₵3.7 million.
Ablakwa explained to Joy FM on Tuesday, September 21, that, “the fundamental objection to this chartering of luxurious aircraft is that we have a functioning Presidential jet. It is in a pristine state, it has not gotten to the end of its lifespan.”
The Ranking Member on Foreign Affairs Committee in an earlier post on Facebook accused Eugene Arhin, the Director of Communications at the Presidency when he said the President did not travel in a luxurious aircraft during his trips to Germany and the UK of “peddling falsehood” especially when he was unable to provide alternative facts.null
In a post on his Facebook timeline, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa wrote:
“A presidential spokesman should not be desecrating what is expected to be hallowed precincts of the seat of government in this Goebbelian manner.
“I can authoritatively confirm without a scintilla of doubt or any equivocation for that matter that President Akufo-Addo on his current trip to the United States of America has again chartered the same ultra-luxury aircraft he used to the UK and Germany — the Luxembourg-based luxury jet registered LX-DIO and operated by Global Jet Luxembourg. Same Boeing 737-900ER BBJ3 with Manufacturer Serial Number (MSN) 62515 and Line Number 5659.”
Meanwhile, the Presidency has indicated that Ghana’s Presidential jet was used by George Oppong Weah, the President of Liberia, when he attended an ECOWAS summit in Accra recently.
In a Joy News report monitored by GhanaWeb, the presidency claim the decision for the Liberian President to use the Presidential jet was based on a request made to the office of the President.
A video sighted online shows Ghana’s Falcon landing on the tarmac with the inscription ‘Republic of Ghana’ as Liberia President George Oppong Weah in white apparel steps out of the presidential jet at the Kotoka International Airport.
Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has launched, virtually, in Accra, this year’s Inter-Schools Public Speaking Competition, with a call on the contestants to use the platform to influence and change lives positively.
“Use public speaking to influence society positively,” Speaker Bagbin stressed.
He commended the formation of youth groups to participate in discussing national issues, saying such groups that ensured participation by the citizenry in governance must be encouraged by all.
Speaker Bagbin said: “The formation of youth groups and movements in response to the call of his Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to Ghanaians not to be spectators, but citizens in the governance of the country should be encouraged and supported by all well-meaning Ghanaians.
He added: “So youth groups such as Youth in Politics, youth in development, fix the country now are all positive developments that should be encouraged and supported and this resonates well with the call of the Interschool public speaking competition for the youth of Ghana to participate in the debate on nation-building.”
The theme for this year’s competition is: “Digital Inclusion: Promotion and Protection of Child Rights Online.”
Speaker Bagbin observed the facilitation of digital technology in mass communication, scholarship and research, business and commerce and medicine, and said it also kept businesses afloat in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Digital technology, the Speaker noted, however is challenged among others, by elusive digital identity which give rise to cybercrime and online fraud.
Children are also vulnerable to cybercrimes.
Speaker Bagbin noted that a number of legislations in Ghana that are put in place to protect the people from digital infringements.
He suggested to the youth to tap deeply into their imagination in the search and application of knowledge to break new grounds in their endeavours as he wished the best orator to emerge from the competition.
Birthed in 2020, the competition runs this year form 21st September 2021 to 20th November 2021; and is organized by DeeDee Global Limited, in partnership with Secretariat of the Speaker of Parliament, the Ghana Education Service, Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, the Ghana National Data Centre/National Information Technology Agency and Data Protection Commission.
It is designed to discover, recognize and foster the dynamism, creativity and initiative of the Ghanaian youth in promoting a culture of patriotism and national development.
It is aimed at building a genre of speakers who will use public speaking to influence society positively; and offers students the acknowledgement and encouragement towards a successful career in public relations, compeering, film and advocacy.
According to the organizers, the entry video is a freestyle oration on the theme “DIGITAL INCLUSION: PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF CHILD RIGHTS ONLINE.”
Schools can use one or more persons to convey the theme under 3minutes. Videos beyond 3 minutes will be disqualified. Each school may enter ONLY one video for the competition. Shortlisted schools will proceed to subsequent stages.
The Grand Finale (plenary, that is, “Speaker of Speakers” Session) happens every year in-person on 20th November in order to join the UN and the rest of the world in commemorating Universal Children’s Day.
This year’s finals, therefore, is on Saturday, 20th of November, 2021.
Former Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan, has slammed government over the leakage of the list of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) ahead of their announcement by the Minister for Local Government, Dan Botwe.
The delayed list was finally out and nominees announced to the public but before the Minister made it public, some media houses and supporters of the governing New Patriotic Party had got wind of the names on the list.
Following the release of the list after the Committee report was submitted to the President, there have been public agitations.
Some current Chief Executives of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) who weren’t nominated again were the Chief Executives of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah; the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), Felix Mensah Nii Anang-La; the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Osei Assibey Antwi; the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, Anthony Egyir Aikins, and the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA), Iddrisu Musah Superior.
In their place, the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has nominated Elizabeth Kwaatso Tawiah Sackey for AMA, Yohane Armah Ashitey (TMA), Mr Samuel Pyne (KMA), Ernest Arthur (Cape Coast) and Sule Salifu (TaMA).
Some supporters are infuriated that their favourites were not nominated and others are also contesting the nomination of some MMDCEs.null
Speaking to host Nana Yaw Kesseh on Peace FM’s morning show ”Kokrokoo”, Kwamena Duncan opined that the outrage over the MMDCEs’ list is a result of the leak.
He believed there would have been less agitations if the list had not been made public before the official announcement.
‘” . . I was so sad that this report is meant and meant for the President only. So, how come this was leaked? What was it intended for?” he questioned, adding ” . . that report which was leaked, we should not have gotten to that point at all. It should not have happened.”
Social Commentator, Bernard Allotey Jacobs, has lauded President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over the release of the MMDCE nominee’s list.null
The Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Dan Botwe, has released the list of nominees for Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).
Out of the 260 nominees, 38 are females, 222 are males.
These nominees if approved will assist in discharging the mandate of President Akufo-Addo at the local government.
Dan Botwe, speaking at a press conference on the MMDCEs list, said; “The whole idea is service to the nation. So far, as I am concerned and all well-meaning Ghanaians know, you are aspiring to serve our motherland. If the opportunity has not been given to you to serve, there cannot be any reason for disturbances”.
“If truly you wanted to serve, then there is absolutely no basis for you to involve in disorderly conduct,” he added.null
Making submissions during ‘Kokrokoo’ programme on Peace FM, Allotey Jacobs praised the President for not falling for the pressure to hurriedly release the list.
“The appointment of MMDCEs, it’s more tougher than that of ministerial appointment because the DCE or Municipal Chief Executive or Metro Chief Executive, you’re close to the people,” he said.
He also commended the President for engaging all relevant stakeholders in the nomination process saying, “participatory democracy is what he (President Akufo-Addo) has done in the appointment of MMDCEs. Chiefs have been involved. Parliamentarians, those belonging to his party, have been involved. The party itself has been involved.”
President Akufo-Addo has decried moves by some countries in Europe in not recognizing Covishield, the Indian version of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
According to President Akufo-Addo, “one unfortunate development appears to be the recent measures on entry into some countries in Europe, which suggest that Covishield, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in India, is not recognised by some countries in Europe.”
The President made this known on Wednesday, 22nd September 2021, when he took his turn to speak at the 76th United Nations General Assembly, currently ongoing in New York, in the United States of America.
His comments come on the heels of the “simplified travel measures” announcement by recently by the UK Government, and, indeed, by some countries in Europe, which comes into effect from 4th October.
The measures specify that persons who have received double-dose vaccines such as Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna or the single shot Janssen vaccine “under an approved vaccination program in the UK, Europe, US or UK vaccine programme overseas” will be considered fully vaccinated.
The rules also consider persons who have received jabs under public health bodies in Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Dominica, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea or Taiwan as fully vaccinated.
“What is intriguing is the fact that this vaccine was donated to African countries through the COVAX facility. The use of vaccines as a tool for immigration control will be a truly retrogressive step,” the President noted.
Ghana, President Akufo-Addo said, has so far received five million doses, which have been administered to frontline health workers and those classified as being most at risk.
“Five million is not a figure to be sneered at, particularly when we consider the situation in many other African countries. We are grateful that our efforts at the management of the pandemic and vaccine distribution have been recognised, and we have received these amounts so far. We are still hoping to vaccinate twenty million of our people by the end of the year,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo continued, “Ghana agrees with the call of the Rome Declaration of Global Health for voluntary licensing and technology transfers to boost vaccine production. The Africa Union is working with WHO, WTO and other global partners to expand its vaccine manufacturing and deployment.”
He told the Assembly that Ghana recognised that vaccination is the way to protect populations, and revitalise societies.
In the case of Africa, the President stated that vaccinating seventy percent (70%) of the population in the shortest possible time, as is being done elsewhere in the world, means some nine hundred million Africans have to be vaccinated.
He stressed that the Afreximbank’s structuring of the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Taskforce’s two-billion-dollar acquisition of four hundred million Johnson & Johnson vaccines is part of the historic African Union’s COVID-19 Vaccine Development and Access Strategy.
“It is a critical milestone in our collective fight against the pandemic, in a continent suffering the worst brunt of vaccine nationalism. The Africa Vaccine Acquisition Taskforce vaccine programme, partly manufactured in South Africa, is the single largest and most far-reaching trade transaction since the entry into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area in January this year,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo described it as an “eloquent testimony” to the benefits of domestic production and pooled procurement in Africa, as envisioned by the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement.
COVID-19 has been damaging
Recounting his statement at the 2017 UN General Assembly, where he indicated that he wanted to build an economy that was not dependent on charity and handouts, President indicated that the significant progress that had been made by Ghana between 2017 to 2020, where an average growth rate of 7% was recorded, had been eroded.
“In 2020, when the global economy and sub-Saharan Africa’s contracted by 3.5% and 2.1%, respectively, Ghana was one of the few countries that produced a positive growth rate. This is a testament to our determination to build a Ghana Beyond Aid,” he said.
However, he stated that many economies in Africa are in recession, as the virus’s impact on economies and livelihoods has been devastating.
“The latest numbers from the African Development Bank indicate that African economies, which contracted by 2.1% in 2020, are yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. More than thirty million Africans fell into extreme poverty in 2020, and nearly forty million could do so in 2021,” he said.
The social impact of the pandemic, President Akufo-Addo reiterated, “has been devastating; over one hundred and three million African jobs have been lost. Women, who account for forty percent (40%) of total employment, have been most hard hit
Ghana’s Presidential Jet Falcon 900 EX-Easy is being used by Liberia President George Weah to the UN General Assembly in New York, North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has revealed.
The lawmaker also notes that President Akufo-Addo hired a luxurious jet that costs the state $14,000 per hour for the same trip, with the explanation that Ghana’s jet was not fit for long travels.
According to Mr Ablakwa, the incessant use of tax payer’s money for luxurious travels needed to be investigated.
This is the third time the MP has blown the whistle over the president Global Jet Luxembourg hired jet travels following his recent travels to the UK on the 27th of July 2021 to attend the Global Education Summit and last week’s state visit to Germany, Including trips to South Africa, etc.
According to manufacturers, the cabin is divided into multiple sections to guarantee exceptional comfort. It provides a VIP lounge for relaxation, Five-Star dining facilities, a Royal Master bedroom, Cinema Room specially delineated for watching movies which is a separate accessory from other in-flight entertainment systems, and a complete luxury shower.
Even though the government has failed to justify the hired jet, Defence minister Dominic Ntiwul once disclosed that the president needed to take a bath while in the air, a feature Ghana’s jet does not provide.
Speaking to Francis Abban on the latest development, Mr Ablakwa said “if it’s about size, it’s the same thing, if it’s about capacity, what’s the difference between a 17-seater and a 19-seater? What the president has gone to hire is a 19-seater. Then if it is about refueling, remember some of the NPP propaganda said ‘we don’t want the president to be stopping and refueling like a trotro passenger.
“Again, what the president has chartered now could not take him to the United States, he had to do a one-hour stop for refueling at the Luxiere international airport. If he had used our presidential jet, he needed one stopover to refuel, it’s the same thing. It’s clear to me, as the defense minister said in parliament the last time, it’s all because of luxury.”
Since Ghana received President Kufuor’s ordered Falcon in 2010, both President Mills and President Mahama have used the long-range aircraft for all presidential travels
It is turning out that the claims by a 28-yer-old woman in Takoradi that she was pregnant and kidnapped are false, Western Regional Minister Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah has said.
Speaking on Kessben TV’s morning show, Mr Darko Mensah said: “I received a call from NIB yesterday that she had been found and was at the Axim hospital”.
“According to the police, they suspect that the story was fake per their preliminary investigations”, he said.
He noted that the “medical doctor who attended to her even suspects that she may not have been pregnant, as has been reported.”
“They are even surprised at how this story has gone so far”, the minister noted.
He said “this is the immediate information I have”.
“Nevertheless, the police are still with her and are conducting further investigations,” he added.
Mrs Josephine Simons went missing on Thursday, 16 September 2021.
She was later found on Tuesday, 21 September around Axim and taken to the Axim Government Hospital for treatment.
She said in writing that she was kidnapped and delivered on the day she went missing.
Mrs Simons, according to her husband, Michael Simons, had been living with her mother since she was expecting a child.
As part of her daily physicals, she went on a routine morning walk from the Amanoo road to the Paa Grant Roundabout area but did not return home on that fateful day.
After her mother reported the case to the husband, a search team was formed and combed the major health facilities in the area suspecting she may have gone into labour and was rushed to one of the health posts but to no avail.
In the course of the day, the husband told local media that some strangers called his mother-in-law demanding a ransom so they release the heavily pregnant wife.
Takoradi became infamous for the kidnapping and killing of some four young girls a couple of years ago.
The provisional results show that Ghana’s population has increased by 6.1 million since 2010 when the population was around 24.7 million
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has announced on Wednesday that provisional results from the 2021 Population and Housing Census indicate that Ghana’s population is now 30.8 million.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, the Government Statistician, said the provisional results show that Ghana’s population has increased by 6.1 million since 2010 when the population was around 24.7 million.
Breaking down the numbers, Prof Annim said there are more females (50.7%) in Ghana as compared to males representing 49.3%.
He said the final population results will be presented on 18 November 2021.
The 2021 PHC is Ghana’s first duly digital census and the first census in an African country to be conducted successfully during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The provisional results highlight findings from the 2021 PHC Preliminary Report which focuses on population size and sex composition, population density, and structures by region.
The preliminary report is the first of several census data products to be released over the next two years.
Abor Police in the Volta Region have arrested a convicted criminal, Alpha Junior Kenedu who escaped from police custody with a hacksaw allegedly smuggled into the cells by his wife, DGN Online can report.
The cell break is reported to have happened on Sunday morning at around 3:30 am when the 31-year-old convict cut off metals at the ventilation area of the cells and escaped.××
Junior Kenedu who was convicted and sentenced to a jail term of 3years by the Circuit Court in Keta on August 16, 2021 was waiting for his Covid-19 test result for him to be conveyed to the Ho Central Prison.
However, on Sunday dawn September 19, 2021, the convict broke the cells and escaped.
Preliminary Police investigations reveal the convict used a hacksaw suspected to have been smuggled into the cells through the window by his wife whose name was only mentioned as Abla.
He reportedly damaged the metal frames in the window of the cell thereby aiding his husband toescape from the cells.
The District commander organized a search party and through that the said convict was arrested in his hideout at Wute near Tadzewu in the Volta Region
Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwesi Amoako-Atta says government will soon weed out or blacklist all non-resourceful contractors in order to sanitize the construction sector and pave way for effective delivery of government road projects.
“In Ghana, the challenge is that everybody wants to be a contractor but most of them are not resourceful and government is taking steps to stop that from next week,” he emphasized.××
Mr Amoako-Atta stated this whilst addressing the media in Wa after visiting districts in the Upper West Region to inspect work on the roads that were washed-off by floods following torrential rains that occurred on August 12, 2021, in the region.
He said per the law on contracts, contractors were supposed to be paid only when they have finished executing the contract apart from mobilization, but because of the non-resourceful situation of some of these contractors, they were not able to execute these contracts before payment.
And this according to the Minister, was affecting the plans of government to the people of the country and that government would therefore not allow this to continue.
Mr Amoako-Atta noted that it was true that government had some outstanding claims to pay to contractors and they were making frantic efforts to do so, pointing out that this was the more reason why contractors needed to be resourceful enough to be able to execute road projects whilst allowing government a little space to pay.
He said no government could boast of not having outstanding payments, noting that since President Akufo-Addo took over office in 2017, there were outstanding payments dating back to 2011, stressing that despite this, government was able to pay almost 12 billion Ghana cedis to contractors during the first term.
Mr Amoako-Atta disclosed that a total of 106 road projects were currently being executed in the Upper West Region across the three road agencies including the 50kms Han-Tumu Road, which arguably was the most deplorable major road in the region.
He said everything was being done to ensure that the roads were completed by end of 2022, adding that they were monitoring every contractor and any of them that was proving incapable of delivering would have his/her contract terminated without any hesitation.
He said government would, however, stand by contractors who exhibited capability by supporting them where necessary to enable them execute their contracts within schedule and to the benefit of the people of the country.
Mr Amoako-Atta noted that 2021 was another year of roads following the success of 2020, which was declared the year of roads by President Nana Akufo-Addo, thereby, urging contractors to support government by delivering quality and timely road contracts to the people of the country.
The Roads and Highways Minister expressed government’s gratitude to the four contractors who worked diligently to reconnect the washed-off roads in the Upper West Region, which restored normal socio-economic activities in the region.
He assured that all areas of roads that could be potentially washed-off would be re-engineered at the appropriate time to prevent any damage when floods hit again anytime in the future.
Mr Amoako-Atta was accompanied by his Deputy, Madam Mavis Nkansah Boadu, the Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, the Deputy Minister for Sanitation, Amidu Chinnia Issahaku, and other directors of the Ministry.
Madina MP Francis-Xavier Sosu has told residents of Danfa and Amrahia in the Greater Accra Region that he did not promise to fix the roads during the campaign season last year because he knew that was not the role of a lawmaker.
The residents accused him of failing to fulfill campaign promise he made to them in last year’s elections.
The residents have registered their displeasure over the poor road network in the area.
The MP, according to the residents in statement is on record to have promised the residents to fix the poor state of the road stretching from Amrahia and Danfa all the way to Ayimensa toll booth.
According to the residents, in his bid to win the 2020 elections he (Francis Sosu) was emphatic the poor road network would be fixed and even went ahead to accuse the then sitting MP, Boniface Abubakr of failing to address the problem.
“We have been expecting the current National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Madina Constituency Mr. Francis Sosu to continue from where Ahaji Boniface left, but so far, nothing has been done after all the promises to win the hearts and minds of the residents.
“We are aware of the steps taken by the former Member of Parliament for the Madina Constituency and first Minister for the defunct Ministry of Inner-City and Zongo Development under the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Alhaji Abubakar Saddique Boniface tp get the roads in the area reconstructed before his exit from office.
“In fact, Alhaji Boniface during his time as MP, had the local chiefs and dignitaries visit the roads and announced the presence of the contractor on site”.
But reacting to their claim in a statement, Mr Sosu said “First and foremost, the fact that issue of roads are being raised during a year where government has touted as “Second Year of Roads” shows the insincerity and failure of Government with respect to its responsibility and pledges to the people of Ghana. After two solid years of Government claims of fixing roads in Ghana dubbed “First and Second Year of Roads”, it is obvious that the Akufo Addo-Bawumia led Administration has been engaged in a politics of rhetoric and not real development. This abdication of responsibility cannot be laid at the doorsteps of the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area. This also shows the failure and incompetence of the Assembly led by the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the area in performing her functions as the Representative of the President and foremost development agent within the Constituency.
“Secondly, the 1992 Constitution of the Republic and Local Government Act 2016 (Act 936) proscribes clear roles and functions of Members of Parliament and Metropolitan/Municipal/District Chief Executives. As MP for Madina Constituency, it is my responsibility to call the attention of the Executive branch of Government to the challenges facing the area when given the opportunity.
“This I have done and continue to do through various means and fora when given the opportunity including through questions to the Minister responsible for Roads and Highways on the floor of Parliament, through questions to Ministers designate responsible for related sectors during Vetting of Nominees as Member of the Appointments Committee of Parliament, among others.
Again, the fact that for the past four (4) years, attempts have not been made by the Akufo Addo-Bawumia led Administration to fix the roads in Madina Constituency considering and despite the fact that the former MP for the area also doubled as a Minister of State shows how much the NPP Government led by President Akufo Addo have failed the people of Madina Constituency.
“Hence, the calls for me to fix the roads shows the lack of attention to development in the Constituency and the confidence the people have in me to address this challenge despite being in office for only eight months. This lack of seriousness to issues of local governance and development of communities in Ghana is reflected in delays in nomination of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives nine months after elections.”
• Youth groups are an important voice in the governance process
• Speaker Alban Bagbin says these groups must be commended not condemned
• He says their activism amounts to being citizens not spectators
Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has spoken about the need for young people to be heard in their demand for accountability and inclusivity in nation-building and development.
According to him, giving the youth a voice in the affairs of the country provides seamless integration of their concerns in nation-building and thus promotes sustainable development.
In a statement carried by TV3, he stressed that youth groups that have come up in recent times must be commended and not condemned. He said these groups were playing their roles in seeking to be active participants in the governance of the country.
“In recent times in Ghana, there are some positive developments in the country that should be commended but not condemned.
“The formation of youth groups and movements in response to the call of the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to Ghanaians not to be spectators but citizens in the governance of the country should be supported by all well-meaning Ghanaians.
He continued: “So youth groups such as ‘Youth in Politics,’ ‘Youth in Development,’ ‘Fix The Country Now’ are all positive developments that should be encouraged and supported.”
Recently, a group of young activists emerged under the banner of #FixTheCountry campaign, a largely online group that leveraged on social media to demand good governance and accountability.
A planned march was torpedoed by Police months back before they managed to secure a court order that allowed them to protest in Accra in August. A second protest took place in Sekondi Takoradi on 21st September.
The #FixTheCountry campaign has been accused of political bias on several occasions by pro-government persons who say the group tilts towards and is even funded by the main opposition National Democratic Congress.
But the NDC’s 2020 flagbearer and former president, John Dramani Mahama, during his ongoing ‘Thank You Tour’ dismissed the talk of financing the group stressing that its activities were as a result of collective political failure.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has urged the African Diaspora to follow in the footsteps of W. E Dubois by making Africa their home, and contributing to the development of the continent.
The President made these remarks, on Monday, 20th September 2021, at the signing of a historic partnership arrangement between the Du Bois Museum Foundation Ghana, an affiliate of the W. E B Dubois Foundation New York, and the Government of Ghana, represented by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
The partnership, which was initiated by the President in 2019 as part of his trip to promote “The Year of Return”, will see to the transformation of the current Du Bois Memorial Centre and burial site in Accra, into a state-of-the-art museum complex and world-class destination for scholars and heritage tourists.
Dr. Du Bois, a civil rights pioneer and one of the world’s leading black intellectuals and thinkers, became a citizen of Ghana, and resided in the country until his death in 1963.
The Partnership will see the Du Bois Museum Foundation Ghana, leading the construction of a multi-million-dollar Museum Complex to preserve Dr. Du Bois’ legacy, over a 50-year period.
The Du Bois Museum Complex aims to transform the Centre, and create a living museum that revives the transformative spirit and vision of Dr. Du Bois for a unified ancestral home for Africans in the diaspora around the world.
Upon completion, the complex will serve as a historic memorial site, where visitors can honor his life and legacy, connect to their cultural and ancestral roots, and serve as an impetus to inspire solidarity between people of African descent.
At the signing ceremony in New York, President Akufo-Addo highlighted the significance of the agreement in strengthening historical, cultural, and economic ties between Ghana and the United States, and Africans in the Diaspora.
This Agreement will build on the Government’s “Year of Return” and “Beyond the Return” campaigns that encourage the return of the African Diaspora from around the world.
“The Du Bois Museum Complex will usher in a renewed commitment to building an international treasure and historic memorial honouring the legacy of Dr. Du Bois, and fostering unity among the African Diaspora through a vibrant cultural and research centre,” said Japhet Aryiku, Executive Director, W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation. Aryiku, a Ghanaian American with more than 40 years of experience in corporate America and the philanthropic community, was inspired at a young age by Du Bois’ writings and ideals.
Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, signed on behalf of Government, and paid tribute to the inspirational leadership of the President in positioning Ghana as the Mecca of the African diaspora.
Other speakers at the ceremony included Kwame Anthony Appiah, novelist and professor of philosophy and ethics, New York University and board member, W.E.B Du Bois Museum Foundation; and Daniel Rose, Chairman, W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation, philanthropist, and leading real estate developer of several award-winning properties.
Guests included the Minister of Finance of Ghana, Ken Ofori-Atta, Shirley Aryorkor Botchwey, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration; Hajia Alima Mahama, Ghana’s Ambassador to the USA; Akwasi Agyeman, CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority; and Humphrey Ayim-Darke of the Dubios Museum Foundation, Ghana
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has announced the results of the 2021 Population and Housing Census will be released on Wednesday September 22, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has said
Mr Oppong Nkrumah in a statement on Tuesday September 21 said the release of the report is an important milestone in the 2021 PHC dissemination strategy that aims to promote wide usage of census data for research, policy and planning and share lessons learned from the implementation process with national and international partners.
The GSS brought the data collection for the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) to a conclusion on 8th August 2021
He said between now and 8th August, they will want all persons who have not yet been counted to come out and say they have not been counted.
“We appeal to the public to use the official channel for reporting. On the tollfree number 0800-426-426 or any of the other numbers 059-147- 6895, 020-685-0157 059-147-6893, 059-147-6884, 020-685-0157, and 055-162- 5567,” the Government Statistician said Professor Samuel Annim at a press conference on Monday August 2.
Okatakyie Afrifa said the youth in the last three decades have experienced nothing but governance that leaves more to be desired.
A #FixTheCountry protester in Sekondi in the Western Region, Okatakyie Afrifa-Mensah says they joined the demonstration to drum home to present and past governments that Ghanaians deserve better.
“We want the leadership to know that we are tired of substandard governance and leadership, governments that have no plan and directionless leadership,” he told JoyNews’ Ina-Thalia Qunasah.
He said the youth in the last three decades have experienced nothing but governance that leaves more to be desired. “We are telling them [political leadership] that we have had enough of the political pettiness such as National Democratic Congress (NDC) government not continuing the project of its predecessor New Patriotic Party (NPP) government and vice versa,” he said.
Lead by social media activists, the protest, which started on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp, has been highlighting economic problems and government management.
After several back and forth with the Ghana Police Service, the activist and their supporters marched in Accra on August 4, against President Akufo-Addo’s government.
Dressed in red and black and chanting patriotic songs, protesters waved placards declaring “corruption breeds poverty” and “fix our education system now” as they marched in the city centre.
“Nana Akufo-Addo, we’re suffering. Do something for us. Nothing is working,” were the words of one of the protesters in Accra. “The government must wake up,” another demonstrator said.
The demonstration was the most recent anti-government protest since March when a top court dismissed the main opposition party’s challenge to Akufo-Addo’s re-election late last year.
One of the conveners of the campaign, Oliver Barker Vormawor, said after the Accra demonstration that they will take the drive to other regions including the Ashanti, Western, Volta and Northern.
The Western region protestors said they are asking for the same thing every Ghanaian wants: to fix the system.
“It cannot be that the region we exploit oil from does not have much in terms of infrastructure to boast of…when you walk around you see the level of hopelessness in the eyes of the youth. They do not have jobs and there is an issue of insecurity that we want to be fixed,” the protester said.
According to her brother-in-law, Emmanuel Arkoh, she was unable to speak when she was found.
The nine-month pregnant woman reported missing in Takoradi a few days ago has been found.
Josephine Panyin Mensah, 28, was found at Axim, according to reports gathered by 3news.com.
She was immediately sent to the Axim Government Hospital for medical care.
Josephine was reported missing by her husband, Michael Simmons, on Friday, September 17 after a search for her the previous day proved futile.
She left home Thursday dawn for a walk but never returned according to reports.
The complainant, her husband, told the police his mother-in-law later had a call from an unknown person demanding a ransom, fuelling rumours of another kidnapping case in the Western Regional capital.
The police immediately began frantic search for the pregnant woman.
According to her brother-in-law, Emmanuel Arkoh, she was unable to speak when she was found.
But recounting her ordeal in writing, Josephine said she delivered on the day she went missing and said she was also kidnapped.
Police are however yet to provide details on the circumstances concerning her discovery
Twelve persons believed to be supporters of the New Patriotic Party(NPP) in the Chereponi district of the North East region have been arrested for disturbances in the area over the nomination of Zuwweiratu Mada Nashuru as the District Chief Executive.
The aggrieved NPP supporters on September 19,2021 vandalized party properties , burnt the party office in Chereponi and demonstrated to register their displeasure over the nomination of Zuwweiratu Mada Nashuru.
They accused the nominated DCE of being an NDC member who campaigned against the NPP and only joined the NPP after 2016 elections.
According to the NPP supporters , they will resist any attempt to impose any stranger on them as their District Chief Executive.
The North East Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mr Robert Anabiik Angmain, who confirmed the incident to DGN Online said on September 20,2021, the North East Region Police Commander DCOP Moses Ali Kpenchi led a team of Policemen to houses identified to be houses belonging to the suspects who were involved in the disturbances in Chereponi on September 19,2021 and arrested them.
The arrested suspects are Kwabena Manteng,43,Iddrisu Abdul-Rahaman ,42,Sumaila Ibrahim ,16,Kasim Abdul-Aziz ,28,Kasim Latif ,65,Ibrahim Awuffor ,23, Osman Yussif ,36,Mohammed Abdul-Latif ,29,Fuseini Bawah ,30,Kwame Mahamud ,31 ,Bashiru Ayabli ,29 and Arimiyaw ,22.
He indicated that the suspects have been subsequently conveyed to the Regional Police Headquarters, Nalerigu for further action
A few days ago, the Western Regional Police Command began a search for a missing 9-month pregnant woman, Josephine Panyin Mensah, who is yet to return home after leaving home on the dawn of Thursday, September 16, for a dawn walk in Takoradi.
Reports suggest that the missing pregnant woman has been found at Axim.
Hundreds of enthusiastic youth are parading through the principal streets of Sekondi Takoradi today Tuesday September 21 to demand that the government creates the enabling environment that will promote development.
They are unanimous in their call for jobs to be created, for roads, to productive sectors of the country to be rehabilitated, for the lending rate to come down.
For those who joined from the Western Region, they want the many natural resources to be used to develop areas where they are exploited.
Senior Presidential Advisor to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo has noted that among all the continents, Africa has the most youthful population.
He stated that this poses a security threat to the continent if the youth are not given employment.
He said the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has the potential of being the game changer in providing employments for the unemployed youth.
Speaking at a meeting the AfCFTA had with all the regional economic blocs, the former Senior Minister said “We need the regional economic communities to function well if the AfCFTA is to achieve the desired outcomes, enhance intra Africa trade , economic transformation, job creation for the teeming youthful population and poverty reduction, among others.
“All the continents, Africa has the most youthful population and this itself is a threat to security if we do not take steps to provide employment for this population.
“Indeed the AFCFTA has the potential to be the game changer for the transformation of African economies and post covid 19 economies if we can harness its numerous benefits.”
The AfCFTA is a free trade area founded in 2018, with trade commencing as of 1 January 2021.
The free-trade area is the largest in the world in terms of the number of participating countries since the formation of the World Trade Organization.
Accra, Ghana serves as the Secretariat of AfCFTA and was commissioned and handed over to the AU by the President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo on August 17, 2020 in Accra.
The general objectives of the agreement are to: create a single market, deepening the economic integration of the continent;
Establish a liberalised market through multiple rounds of negotiations; aid the movement of capital and people, facilitating investment; move towards the establishment of a future continental customs union; achieve sustainable and inclusive socioeconomic development, gender equality and structural transformations within member states; enhance competitiveness of member states within Africa and in the global market; encourage industrial development through diversification and regional value chain development, agricultural development and food security; Resolve challenges of multiple and overlapping memberships
Protesting traders lock up shops of foreigners in Koforidua
General Secretary of Traders Advocacy Group Ghana (TAAG), Nana Poku, has rejected the closure of shops belonging to some foreigners especially Nigerians in Ghana.
He said the closure does not paint a good picture of Ghana to the outside world.
His comments come after members of the Eastern Region branch of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) on Monday, September 20 locked several shops belonging to foreigners, especially Nigerians, Koforidua.
The action is to register their displeasure about the continuous involvement of foreigners in retail trade in the Region.
The GUTA members undertook a peaceful protest, first of all, wielding placards before closing the shops belonging to the Nigerians.
They posted notices against the shops and draped them with red bands.
The Public Relations Officer of GUTA, Darlen Nana Boateng, says members will use all legal means to prevent foreigners from engaging in retail trading in the Region.
“Those who don’t have papers, we will keep their shops closed,” he said.
“We won’t allow them to take over our business. The Ministry of Trade [and Industry] is aware of our action.”
But speaking to TV3, Nana Poku said “Closing shops in Ghana is primitive and outmoded way of doing things. It creates an image out there that when you go to Ghana you are chased out of your shops.
AfCFTA headquarters is in Ghana and how come you put a behaviour of stopping people to trade in Ghana. It cannot work.”
Following the delay in the release of the Committee’s report, families of the killed youth say they have become apprehensive and have hence written to the Presidency to furnish them the report.
The families of the youth who were killed during the Ejura disturbances have written to the Presidency requesting for copies of the report of the committee that probed the issue.
“Earlier today, we, the families of the victims of the Ejura shootings, and the family of Ibrahim Anyass Mohammed, alias Kaaka, resolved to submit separate Right to Information requests to the Office of the President, and to the Minister of Interior, requesting access to the Report of the Ministerial Committee constituted at the request of the President to look into the Ejura Shootings.”
“With the above in mind, we have requested access to the report of the Ministerial Committee into the Ejura Shootings, in the hope that releasing the report for public discussion could kick-start the long-delayed process needed to provide justice for our families, and our community,” they added in a statement.
They explained that they took the action following the delay in making the report public.
“Despite repeated assurances by Government officials that the Report will be released expeditiously, including a claim by the Minister for Information that the Report will be released latest by the end of last week; no such steps have been taken. As a result, we have become apprehensive about the commitment of the Government to releasing the report, and to working towards justice for our families.”
The families of the victims say that the appropriate authorities have taken no steps to investigate, arrest or prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes, many weeks on due to the delay in releasing the committee’s report.
Meanwhile, a member of the Justice Koomson Committee that probed the Ejura disturbances, Dr. Vladimir Antwi-Danso, has said it is unfair to ask the committee to pile pressure on the government to publish the Ejura report.
Speaking to the media, Dr. Antwi Danso said the committee is done with its work, hence the onus now lies on the government to make the report public.
“Our work ended with the submission of our findings to the government, and it ends there. I will still insist that it is not our duty to demand the publication of the report. Legally, we don’t have the right… It is also not fair,” he said.
Background
Nearly two months ago, on 29 June 2021, some military personnel deployed to Ejura, following some disturbances, shot and killed some of the residents.
The disturbances occurred following the killing of Kaaka a social activist in the area.
Following the incident, the President of Ghana called for a public inquiry into the shooting incidents, and a Ministerial Committee was subsequently put in place.
The report was submitted to the government on July 27, 2021.
The President of the Republic and Co-Chair of the Group of Eminent Advocates of the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has urged world leaders to hasten the implementation of the 17 UN SDGs in order to build a fairer, healthier, safer and more prosperous world for all.
According to President Akufo-Addo, “As our world strives to deal with the challenges posed by the pandemic, we have to turn the crisis into an opportunity, and ramp up actions necessary to achieve the SDGs.”
Speaking at the 2021 SDGs Moment on the “Decade of Action”, on Monday, 20th September 2021, at the UN Headquarters, the President recounted the 2019 Declaration, where world leaders declared the years 2020 to 2030 as the Decade of Action, and called on all Member States to step-up and scale up significantly actions to give the world a fighting chance of achieving the SDGs by 2030.
He indicated that, a few months after the historic Declaration, the entire world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has since had a devastating effect on lives and livelihoods, and significantly undermined prospects of achieving the SDGs.
“Available estimates indicate that, in 2020 alone, some 124 million people in the world were pushed back into extreme poverty, with some 132 million people experiencing hunger as a result of the pandemic. The net effect of these adverse developments is that our world is unlikely to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2030,” the President said.
Describing the quest to achieve the SDGs, in the wake of the pandemic, as becoming more daunting, he urged world leaders “to think big, act big and act smartly.”
As countries take action to address the effects of the pandemic, President Akufo-Addo stated that “we cannot afford to perpetuate unsustainable development, by disturbing the critical balance between economic, social and environmental imperatives.”
He continued, “Our recovery measures and interventions cannot and should not be de-linked from actions to ensure prosperity, promote peace, protect people, and safeguard the planet. Undeniably, the SDGs provide a sound framework for responding to the pandemic, and putting communities, businesses and ecosystems on a sustainable pathway.”
Proposing “two essential ingredients for the task of building forward better, and scaling-up actions to hasten progress towards the realisation of the SDGs”, the President noted that, firstly, there is a pressing need to bridge the US$ 2.5 trillion SDGs financing gap, especially for developing countries, where the human development deficit is indeed greatest.
“With an estimated US$360 trillion available in global financial assets, as of 2019, the resources to finance the SDGs are certainly available. The question raised is whether the rich countries of the world are, thus, prepared to accept the new paradigm of the SGDs, and play their part or not,” he noted.
The President’s also touched on the world’s ability to access and deploy innovative solutions and new technologies, that will greatly speed up progress towards the goals.
“New forms of social practice and organization, as well as new and improved technological products and processes, are key enablers for achieving the SDGs. Whilst embracing innovation, deliberate steps should be taken to discourage innovations that contribute to environmental degradation, that are disruptive of livelihoods, and that exacerbate inequalities,” President Akufo-Addo added.
All is set for the much talked about ‘Okada for Car’ initiative as government has acquired mini vehicles to be used for the intervention.
The governing NPP promised commercial motorbike riders, popularly known as ‘Okada’, a better alternative should it win a second term.
The promise is now set to be actualised with the acquisition of a number of mini vehicles to kick start the initiative, which will see Okada drivers exchange their motorcycles for a car on special and flexible terms with government.
The ‘Okada for Car’ initiative was announced by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in the build-up to the 2020 elections.
In the heated ‘Okada’ debate, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) promised to legalise the operations of Okada if elected back to power – a position many kicked against, considering the high rate of fatalities in the Okada business as well as the nuisance it creates on the road.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP), however, announced its plans to provide the Okada riders what it called “a better and safer alternative” by providing them opportunities to own vehicles in a special, flexible barter agreement and terms.
Government has now taken a big step towards fulfilling the promise by acquiring hundreds of mini-vehicles to start with the first phase of the ‘Okada for Car’ initiative.
Okada riders interested in owning one of the vehicles will be registered and then hand over their motorbikes in exchange for the vehicle.
Government will then register the vehicle in the driver’s name, while the driver pays in flexible instalment terms, the difference in value between the motorbike and the vehicle.
Government sources have revealed only Okada motorbikes which are registered with the DVLA will be eligible to swap their motorbikes for the vehicle.
Also, the National Identification card will play a key role in the entire process, as it will be a key requirement.
Former President John Mahama has said: “I have received with deep sadness, news of the demise of one of the most inspirational icons to have served our party, the NDC, and this great nation”.
“She was not only a politician, but also a gender activist and champion of women’s rights”, the 2020 flag bearer of the main opposition National Democratic Congress said in a tribute on Facebook.
“Ama Benyiwa Doe was an embodiment of limitless courage, commitment and passion for service. May her soul rest in eternal glory”, Mr Mahama added.
The former Central Regional Minister passed away on Sunday, 19 September 2021 at Tema.
She was 73 years old.
The staunch NDC member battled ailments in her dying embers.
She first became an MP for Gomoa West Constituency in the Central Region after the 1992 election
Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia says materialism and the “get rich quick” syndrome is driving some people in society to kill and destroy.
He said there was the need for the Catholic Church and faith-based bodies to help the Government to address the problem of materialism and the “get rich quick” syndrome which was fast eroding the moral fabric of the Ghanaian society.
He appealed to the leadership of the Catholic Church and faith-based bodies to lay more emphasis in their sermons, the need for people to uphold high more values, such as hard work, honesty and integrity.
Dr Bawumia said this in a speech delivered on his behalf by Mr John Peter Amewu, the Minister of Railways Development, at the climax of the Centenary celebration of the building of the Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Minor Basilica in Navrongo, Upper East Region.
The celebration was on the theme; “100 years of existence of the Minor Basilica, celebrating our membership of the household of God, (Eph 2, 19).”
They were given a place to settle in Navrongo where there was a colonial military presence, and they planted the seed of Catholicism, and built a Chapel, now known as the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows.
The Vice President congratulated the Catholic faithful of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese as they marked the Centenary of the construction of the first Catholic Church in Northern Ghana from 1920 to 2020.
Dr Bawumia said “For a Church that has been here 100 years, I must commend you for maintaining this beautiful edifice which has become one of our national tourist centres. I am informed that this Church is the mother Church and the cradle of Catholicism in Northern Ghana.”
He urged the congregants to follow the good example of the Missionaries and to remember that while good and sacrificial work might not be readily acknowledged, “Posterity will speak favourably of your good deeds in due time.”
In his sermon, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Most Reverend Henryk Mieczyslaw Jagodzinski called on the congregation to reflect on the sorrowful moments of the mother of Jesus Christ, Mary, when she went through suffering during the death of her son.null
“Today, it will be good to stop a moment and think about our lady’s pain and sorrows. She is our mother, it will be good to stop for a moment and say to our lady, thank you for accepting to be mother when the angel said it to you.”
He said “It was there on Calvary that Jesus gave us Mary as our mother, not only to take care of us, but also that, we may feel that we are the offspring of this woman who is to overcome Satan.
“After all, this is why the Lord Jesus defeated Satan on Calvary so that each of us will introduce the fruit of that victory in his or her life,” the Apostolic Nuncio said.
The Founder and Leader of the Ghana Union Movement (GUM) Christian Kwabena Andrews who is popularly called Osofo Kyiri Abosom has described the Vice President of Ghana Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is a liar.
Also, he believes that Trade Minister Alan Kyeremanteng has been incompetent especially with his handling of the One District – One factory project.
The 2020 election flagbearer for Ghana Union Movement believes 2024 presents a better opportunity for his party to salvage the people of Ghana from the claws of the two leading political parties.
He indicated that claims of him not contesting when next elections are held are unfounded because he knows this it is his time.
“We are wild and we are not joking. We are coming and it will be boot for boot. There is a competition between Alan Kyeremanteng and Bawumia but none of them will lead Ghana.
Bawumia is a known liar. He is the biggest liar in this government. For Alan Kyeremanteng he’s one of the most incompetent people I’ve come across in this country.
“They tout him for creating jobs with One District, One Factory but where are the factories? They should let us think about ourselves,” he said in an interview with Hello FM.
Alan Kyeremanteng and Bawumia Contest
Although the New Patriotic Party (NPP) hasn’t opened nominations for persons interested in leading the party to file, there are indications that the Trades Minister John Alan Kyeremanten will contest.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who is the Vice President of Ghana has also proven from all indications that he will put himself out there to be voted as the flagbearer of the NPP for the 2024 election.
The contest according to analysts may make or break the governing NPP and may hamper the 2024 agenda of breaking the eight-year cycle.
Who is Christian Kwabena Andrews
Andrews launched the Ghana Union Movement (GUM) in March 2019. During the event, he described himself as the new Kwame Nkrumah and declared that the “spirit of Nkrumah is back”.null
He hopes to be able to break the duopoly between the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party which have dominated Ghana during the Fourth Republic.
General Secretary for the governing New Patriotic PartyJohn Boadu cannot fathom why the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has failed to build the political party but focuses on attacking the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
According to him, the New Patriotic Party is focused on building the party into one formidable political party that cannot be easily beaten in elections.
He noted that currently, the NPP is registering its members and securing its base ahead of the 2024 elections.
Prior to the registration, the NPP held its Constituency Delegates Conferences across the country; a move that solidifies the party and brings an end to several challenges at the constituency level.
However, not much is been heard about the National Democratic Congress (NDC) than attacks and name-calling over the 2020 elections the party lost.
“We have won two elections. We have won the Presidential election twice in a row. In the first election, we beat their candidate 1.5 million plus, in the second election, we beat him 500,000 plus votes.
“We are coming again and we will beat them in the next election. This is because what makes the people of Ghana vote for us, the NDC hasn’t studied to know it,” he said in an interview on Accra-based OKAY FM.
“While the NDC continues to make noise, the NPP is working on its base as a political party. The party has organized its constituency conferences and is currently registering members of the political party.
“In the month of October, the party will be organizing regional conferences to assess and deliberate issues on the state of the political party in all the regions and by December we will be organizing our National Annual Delegates Conference,” he added.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Atta-Mills Institute (AMI), Koku Anyidoho has described the late Ama Benyiwa Doe as a true fearless nationalist.
In eulogizing the female politician who died on Sunday, Mr. Anyidoho said the late Benyiwa-Doe was a fearless patriot.
According to him, she was also a woman of valour in every sense of the word.
To him, she was a pillar of strength for the good and solid old days of the PNDC and NDC.
Aside from these attributes, he also described her as a confidant of the late Professor John Evans-Atta Mills.
He tweeted and said: “A true fearless patriot & nationalist. A woman of valour in every sense of the word. A pillar of strength for the good old solid days of the PNDC/NDC; and a solid confidant of President Atta-Mills. Untie Ama Chavez: I salute you for serving Ghana well. We shall meet one day”.
She was a former National Women Organiser for the NDC also served as the MP for Gomoa West from 1992 to 2004.
Four members of a group known as Concerned Youth of Odododiodoo Constituency have been arrested by the police for leading a protest march on Saturday, 18 September 2021 against President Nana Akufo-Addo’s nomination of ex-MP Elizabeth Sackey as the next mayor of Accra.
The former Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister is among the hundreds of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives to be names today, Sunday, 19 September 2021.
The police, in a statement, said the arrests were “for allegedly causing public disorder at Jamestown in Accra.”
“The four are Salaami Abubakari, 36; Daniel Opare Oman, 43; Edward Holm, 38; and Daniel Clottey, 41.
“The ringleaders led scores of people to allegedly block a road at Jamestown by burning car tyres, further creating a sense of fear and disorder.”
“The police administration strongly cautions any individual or group of persons who intend to unlawfully assemble and cause mayhem over the publication of the MMDCEs list or any other matter to immediately abandon such plans or face the law.”
Meanwhile, the acting Metropolitan Chief Executive of Accra, Mr Mohammed Adjei Sowah, has condemned the disturbances and dissociated himself from it.
In a statement, he said: “We should recognise the President’s authority to nominate individuals of his choice to promote his agenda, and it’s our duty to support the appointees to succeed”.
“I totally support all the President’s nominations and commit to continue to work toward the development of the country,” he said
Operatives of the National Security have arrested one Gideon Darko, who is reported to be behind the rogue website, Jerusalema, which is purported to be leaking question papers in the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The suspect was arrested on Friday at his hideout in Kasoa in the Central Region.
Last week, WAEC announced that it had rescheduled two papers after detecting a possible leakage of the questions on social media and on “rogue” websites prior to the exams that were due last Wednesday.
“The cheating social media groups were in full swing prior to the conduct of the mathematics and the English language papers on 9th and 13th September,” the Head of the Council’s Test Administration Division, George Ohene-Mantey, said.
The Head of Legal at WAEC, Reverend Victor Brew, in a Citi News interview said his outfit is working with all relevant agencies to ensure that the suspect faces the law.
“There is this gentleman called Gideon Darko who was arrested at Kasoa on Friday, September 17, 2021. We have actually been doing some surveillance underground which led to his arrest.”
“This actually is not the first time because when the examinations start, this “Apor” thing is a whole big thing around the country but we set our intelligence in motion right from the start and it led to his arrest”.
Meanwhile, WAEC has announced new dates for writing the Physics and Business Management papers which were postponed.
WAEC in a statement said the Physics exam will be taken on Friday, October 1, 2021, while the Business Management exam will be written on October 7, 2021, at 8.30 am and 1:00 pm respectively.
A former Central regional Minister Ama Benyiwa Doe is dead.
She died in Tema on Sunday September 19.
NDC’s Kakra Asamoah confirmed the news to TV3’s Johnnie Hughes in the early hours of Sunday.
She was was born in 1950.
She was a member of parliament for the Third Parliament of the Republic of Fourth of Ghana on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Gomoa West constituency, thus stood for the seat from 1992 until 2004.
Ama was first elected into parliament during the December 1992 Ghanaian General Elections as a member of the Gomoa West Constituency in the Central Region.
She won in 2000 with 12,995 votes out of the 28,089 valid votes cast representing 46.30% against Benjamin Kojo Acquah, an NPP member who polled 11,248 votes, Kofi Amissah Essandoh, a CPP member who polled 2,468 votes and Muhammed M. Kassim, an NRP member who also polled 1,378 votes.
Ama was nominated by President Mills in January 2009 as the Central Regional Minister in Ghana, she became a Regional Minister of State on January 2009 to 2012 for the Central Region of Ghana. She was also a former member of the council of State.
Ama occupied the seat as a member of parliament for the Gomoa West Constituency from 1992 until 2004 where she was defeated by Joe Kingsley Hackman of the New Patriotic Party in the 2004 Ghanaian general elections with a total votes cast of 23,663 representing 63.20% of the total votes over her (Ama), with her total votes cast as 12,165 representing 32.50% of the total votes.
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, left Ghana on Friday, 17th September 2021, as leader of Ghana’s delegation to the 76th Session of the United Nation’s General Assembly.
He will also, on this trip, hold bilateral engagements with some colleague Heads of State; NATO Secretary General, MR. J. Stoltenberg; top Economist Jeffery Sachs; WTO Chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as well as other world figures.
He will also hold engagements with sections of the Ghanaian and Business Community whilst there.
The President will also participate in the Second Sustainable Development Goals Moment of the Decade of Action, and witness the Signing Ceremony between Minister for Tourism, Ibrahim Awal Mohammed, and Developers of the Dubois Project.
He will address the UN General Assembly on 22nd September; participate in the Global COVID-19 Summit hosted By President Joe Biden, and hold several rounds of engagements and UN events on climate change, health and food security.
On 23rd September, the President will attend a fundraising event for the National Cathedral.
In accordance with Article 60 (8) of the Constitution, the Vice President, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, shall act in his stead until the President’s return on Monday 27th September 2021
Ghanaian veteran actor, Nii Saka Brown has slammed his colleague, Psalm Adjeteyfio for publicly soliciting for support to cater for his needs.
One can recall that Mr. Adjetefio took to social media to seek funds for his rent among others.
Following his plea, Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia and the Greater Accra regional minister, Henry Quartey provided him with some funds to enable him to foot the bills and his upkeep.
But some individuals, including popular Ghanaian actor, Nii Saka Brown, have described the actor’s decision to solicit funds to secure his rent as embarrassing and a dent on his image.null
According to him, TT should bow his head in shame if he hasn’t been able to gather any investments for himself throughout his entire career.
“George Williams died; he did not beg although his condition was extremely critical. He led a very good life. Look at Rama Brew… she never begged. It is the life they lived. Grace Nortey also did not beg. But as for TT, it’s his lifestyle. He said he needs money to pay rent? At this 60 something years of age, he is still renting. He has failed,” Nii Saka Brown stated in an interview with TV XYZ
Two people have been confirmed dead while eleven others are in critical condition following an accident at Ekumfi Esaakyire on the Winneba-Cape Coast High way.
The accident happened Saturday morning around 6:20 am between a Toyota Fish vehicle with registration number CR-748-17 and a Sprinter bus with registration number GT-5860-20.
Reports say the Toyota vehicle fully loaded with passengers was traveling from Accra to Cape Coast and the Sprinter bus was also traveling from Mankessim to Accra when they collided at the sharp curve at Ekumfi Esaakyire.
The driver and one other at the front of the Toyota fish died while the victims were being conveyed to the Winneba Trauma Hospital.
An eyewitness blamed the accident on the driver of the Toyota Fish whom he said was speeding at the curve while overtaking
A suspected armed robber has been shot dead in a failed robbery attack on the Adonteng Rural Bank branch in Abomosu in Atewa West District in Eastern Region.
The deceased armed robber was part of a robbery gang that attempted to attack the bank at about 1:55 am Friday, September 17, 2021.
According to the branch manager of the bank, Bernice Brago, the men armed with guns, all wearing face masks exchanged gunshots with the private security man on duty Adomako Samuel when he noticed them.
Police visited the scene of crime upon receiving information and found that the armed men had broken part of the glass door leading to the bank hall and part of the window frame.
Police further found one empty BB cartridge and a crowbar.
The Police team combed the area and found the lifeless male body in a pool of blood. He was later identified as Annor Joseph, 34, a native of Abomosu, lying dead, about 120 meters behind the bank with his itel mobile phone lying beside him.
Gunshot wound was detected in his throat.
The Deputy Public Relations Officer of the Eastern Regional Police command Inspector Francis Gomado said the itel mobile phone and the crowbar were retrieved by Police as exhibit while the body of the deceased has been deposited at the Kibi Government Hospital morgue for preservation awaiting autopsy.
Rampant armed robbery attacks in parts of the Eastern region have reduced following the deployment of the Anti-Armed Robbery Taskforce by the Acting Inspector General of Police Dr.George Akuffo Dampare
The youth of Odododiodoo, one of the three constituencies that make to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) have staged an angry protest over speculations about the supposed appointment of former Deputy Greater Accra Minister, Elizabeth Kwatsoo Sackey at Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE).
For close to three hours, the youth, made up of angry members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) blocked the Atta Mills High Street which is in the heart of the capital Accra, burning car tyres amid chanting of war songs and shouts of ‘no Adjei Sowah, no vote’ and no Adjei Sowah, no Mayor’.
This was to shore up support for their preferred candidate for position who interestingly is the current and sitting Accra Mayor, Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah.
According to the youth most of who wore an were clad in red arm and neck bands, they will not accept any appointment short of the mention of Adjei Sowah as Accra Mayor since the rumour mill is awashed with speculation about some persons scheming to have their man removed and replaced with Elizabeth Sackey.
Key among the protesters was popular boxer cum musician, Braimah Kamoko famously known as Bukom Banku who said they will kick against the appointment of any person if not Adjei Sowah.
It took the intervention of officers and men from the Jamestown Police to plead with them to stop the burning of the tyres on the road and also to allow traffic flow.
In a statement the Concerned Youth noted “the Accra Metropolitan Assembly arguable is a pulsating heart of the Greater Accra Region and for that matter, it deserves a mastermind who can fix its daily conundrums and deservedly, Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah fits the bill perfectly in my estimation.”
*Concerns*
It said “our effusion about who becomes Mayor of Accra may be coming late in the day but it is important to note that whoever the appointing authority nominates is vested not only with role carved by the local government act that sets it up but also for the politics of it. Men say that a stitch in time saves nine, and so we need to take a thousand stitches today to save nine tomorrow.”
“We have resolved in our thinking and humbly opine that Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah, the current Mayor of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly would best fit the portfolio and can serve the President’s vision of Accra and that of the people”, they noted, saying “our resolve herein is based on the successes Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah has chalked in supporting the President’s agenda and vision for the Accra Metropolitan Assembly.
Credentials
As a true grassroot and a loyalist of the Danquah Busia Dombo tradition, they said Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah delivered Greater Accra against all odds by winning 21 seats as Regional Secretary in the 2016 elections, a portfolio he had held for two terms running.
They therefore insisted that his appointment and having received a 100% confirmation on 24th March, 2017 did not come as a fluke.
Apart from that, they said “Adjei Sowah has always prioritized sanitation which has long been an issue in Accra, at the nexus of public safety, public health, the informal economy (which employs about 75 percent of Accra’s residents), and emissions contributing to climate change. He’s constantly emphasized inclusivity and equity which remains as his core of work” and that he “has been aligned to Accra’s development and budget framework to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that has helped to maintain principles amid this COVID-19 pandemic.
Under his tenure, the youth said Accra has committed to publishing a Voluntary Local Review (VLR) to report on the progress towards equity and sustainability which is first of a kind.
“Because of his all embracing attitude and staunch believer of traditional values, he has built an enviable rapport with the traditional authorities in Ga and has always championed development in diverse ways”, they stated.
For them, it therefore not come as a surprise when the Ga Traditional Council petitioned the President to consider the renomination of Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah.
They could not but touted his credentials, saying “under the ambit of Mohammed Nii Adjei, the three constituencies under the Accra Metropolitan Assembly can now boast of a newly built constituency offices which have been commissioned and currently in use in the enhancement of activities for the NPP. The periods of renting constituency offices in these three constituencies are now a thing of the past.”
“We strongly admire the tactful contributions during the just ended 2020 election. In spite of his ill health during that period, he never reneged on sitting at the table to draw strategies and to show the way during the electioneering period. Indeed, Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah is a masterpiece and we are fortunate to have him”, they noted, whilst stating with emphasis “ as a group, our interest is not to question or rundown the competencies of the other aspirants in this contest but it is proper to know who and what they are bringing to the table. We are not looking forward to an armchair Mayor or one that will only be a puppet and to succumb to the whims and caprices of some selfish party elders within Greater Accra Region.”
Demands
“We want a leader who will be at the beck and call for all manner of person irrespective of the Party coloring.
We want a leader who is firm, courageous and up to task for the job ahead.
We want a leading who can lead us to break the eight as espoused by all party faithful. If all of these are anything to go by then, our surest bet to envisioning this vision can be possible only through the leadership of Hon. Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah.
Its Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah we know and it him we know can lead and deliver the daunting task ahead”, they insisted
Ghana’s debt level is unsustainable and the cause of the current hardship that ordinary citizens are suffering, former President Jon Mahama has said.
“Our debt has ballooned to unsustainable levels – topping 80% of GDP – exposing us to very high risk of debt default“, the 2020 flag bearer of the main opposition National Democratic Congress wrote on Facebook.
He said,“almost all of our tax revenue is used to service our debt and the effect has been the introduction of several new taxes“.
“This has led to rampant increments in the prices of goods and services“, Mr Mahama added.
In his view,“this is primarily responsible for the hardships Ghanaians are going through now“.
“This government must accept that it is their mismanagement of the economy, their thirst for consumption expenditure and the desire to spend beyond our means in order to win elections, that have plunged us into the current crisis, not necessarily COVID-19
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has advised party supporters to be ready to accept the yet-to-be released list of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs).
According to him, the list which is scheduled to be released on Sunday, September 19, 2021 by the Local Government Minister, Dan Botwe, must not break the ranks of the NPP but rather unite it.
In a Facebook post, he said “This is not a do or die affair. “The President appoints and he does so not to deliberately disappoint anyone but to get his work done. It is that simple. Let’s live with it and make progress.”
He continued that “Tomorrow all the speculations will be over, including fake lists and recommendations. Sunday, the Local Government Minister, alongside the Information Minister, shall address a press conference and put the official list of MCEs and DCEs out”.
He added that “The only list which matters! Same list will be put on the Info Ministry website afterwards so you can check it for yourself. Until then, we are advised to ignore all lists and all publications for just one day p3
On state television, the junta’s statement read in part, “The former president is and remains in Guinea. We will not yield to any pressure.”
Junta leader Col. Mamady Doumbouya said Conakry would not surrender deposed President Alpha Conde.
Regional leaders have put pressure and sanctions on the junta members.
After a meeting with regional leaders Friday, Guinean junta leader Col. Mamady Doumbouya dismissed the idea of letting deposed President Alpha Conde leave the country.
The Guinean junta, which overthrew Conde on September 5, said it will not cave to demands from regional mediators. It also dismissed chatter that West African leaders had negotiated a way for Conde to leave Guinea.
On state television, the junta’s statement read in part, “The former president is and remains in Guinea. We will not yield to any pressure.”
ECOWAS responds
Ghanaian President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, currently the chair of the regional bloc ECOWAS, and Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara visited Doumbouya on Friday. Ouattara had hoped to leave with Conde, according to Reuters news agency.
Ouattara told Radio-Television Guineenne (RTG) at the Conakry airport: “I met my brother Alpha Conde, who is doing well. We will remain in contact.”
Thursday, ECOWAS slapped targeted sanctions on the Guinean junta leaders ranging from travel restrictions to the freezing of bank accounts for the leadership and their families.
The sanctions are in response to the junta’s decision not to free Conde
Who is Alpha Conde?
Conde was deposed on September 5. He was detained during the coup.
Conde first came to power in 2010, during Guinea’s first democratic elections since independence from France in 1958.
Last year, Conde pushed for a constitutional referendum to make it possible for him to seek a third term in office. This led to massive demonstrations which often turned violent.
He did win a third term though in October only to be ousted in a coup ten months later.
Veteran Ghanaian actor Psalm Adjeteyfio has disclosed some of the reasons between his current predicament.
According to the ‘Taxi Driver’ actor, he abandoned his family at the peak of his career.
In an interview on the Delay Show, Mr. Adjeteyfio, who is popularly known as TT, said he exchanged his children for a demon.
“I then left my matrimonial home and followed this lady to Cape Coast to seek greener pastures. I didn’t know I was going after a demon,” he bitterly said.
Psalm Adjetefio who was recounting his ordeal amid tears, said he is sure he would have been in jail by now if he got to know earlier about the treatment the young lady subjected his children through.
“If I had known of the maltreatment earlier, I would have been serving a life sentence because I would have murdered the lady, thank God I was made aware later”.
Although the veteran actor said he had apologized several times to his children, he repeatedly asked them in a live TV show for their forgiveness.
“Now that I am sick, it is these same children who are taking care of me and my health,” TT said as he broke down in tears.
The Director of Elections, at National Democratic Congress (NDC), Elvis Afriyie Ankrah has denied reports of the NDC’s decision to arm its polling agents with bulletproof vests and guns in the 2024 elections.××
“I wish to state emphatically and categorically that that attribution is completely false, and must be treated with the contempt it deserves,” Mr Afriyie Ankrah said in a statement on Friday.
There was a media report indicating that the Party has taken a cue from the 2020 general elections which was characterized by pockets of violence and the death of eight (8) persons.
“Going forward, we have learnt lessons and maybe we have to give bulletproof vests to our people to defend themselves at the collation centres. Nobody is going allow what happened in Tachiman South to happen again”, Afriyie Ankrah said.
But Elvis Afriyie Ankrah has flatly denied those claims attributed to him in the report insisting he will soon expose the falsehood in that reportage.
“I am arranging to get the full unedited version of the interview so the entire world would hear exactly what I said, and expose the perfidy of the publishers
The Minister for Lands and Natural, Resources, Samuel Jinapor, has turned in 18 impounded containers of Rosewood to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral for the construction of the Cathedral Project.
The presentation was done on Friday, 17th September, 2017 at a short ceremony at the Forestry Commission’s depot in Accra.
This follows the inspection and confistication of the 5 containers of Rosewood by the Sector Minister, Jinapor at the Tema Port on Friday, 30th July 2021, where he disclosed the intent of government to donate all confiscated rosewood towards the construction of the National Cathedral.
He said that this act of donation is proof of the transparency in the management of the natural resources the President of the Republic promised and as appointees given the opportunity to assist the President in preserving and managing the natural resources, they will ensure that this transparency is done with a high sense of intergity.
Adding that “we will go on to work to ensure the cartel and syndicate behind the harvesting and exportation of these rosewoods are dealt with to help protect our environment”
Abu Jinapor also hinted that the government is putting in place measures to ensure that Ghana does not become a criminal transit point for Rosewood trade and exportation.
On his part, Deputy Minister of Finance Ken Ofori Atta John kumah who represented his Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta expressed profound gratitude to the Lands Minister and the Forestry Commission for such a gracious offer towards the construction of the edifice.
He said this means the Ministry will no longer have to cough up funds to purchase wood for the project and used the opportunity to appeal to Ghanaians to support in kind and cash towards the completion of the National Cathedral.
The representatives from the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, Rev. Prof. Dr. Paul Frimpong Manso and Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee also added their voice in appreciation to the Ministry for this donation.
Rev. Frimpong Manso in his words of appreciation on behalf of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah, solicited support for the cathedral by reiterating that the National Cathedral is not for the President, neither is it for the government but for Ghanaians and so they should celebrate this worthy cause.
Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee also expressed joy for this gesture saying ” Rosewood is seen as one of the most expensive wood in the world and so it is good that we are going to use this kind of wood for the house of God”
She also called on Ghanaians to donate generously as the President has suggested, a minimum of 100gh cedis a month. She said if this is really followed through, they would have more than enough funds to complete the Cathedral and would not have to go into the coffers of the country for any more funds.
The vision of the President for the National Cathedral is for the edifice to provide a historic opportunity and to put God at the center of our nation’s affairs and serves as a symbol of our eternal and continuous gratitude to Him, for the favours that He continues to shower and restore on our nation
The New Patriotic Party has accused former President John Mahama of attacking the electoral commission in order to gain support for the internal presidential primaries of the National Democratic Congress.
According to the Communications Director of the party Yaw Buaben Asamoa the NDC failed to prove before the Supreme Court that the EC rigged the polls.
“In the event, it is obvious that these allegations are being made ahead of the internal primaries of the NDC. In seeking the chairmanship of his party, the NDC General Secretary is choosing to denigrate the conduct of the 2020 Elections to curry favour with his grassroots. Yet, he was the star NDC witness who confessed in the Supreme Court that they had not won the election and went further to do the calculations that showed that the NDC had indeed lost miserably. Noted though is that he is expert at manipulating grassroots opinion, so his opponents better watch out.
“On the other hand, the premature presidential campaign embarked on by former President Mahama has led to his potential opponents coming out of the woodwork to define the kind of leader they will be seeking in 2024. Opponents of early aspirant Mahama believe the NDC will benefit more from a ‘thinking’ leadership, which will make them ‘credible’. Clearly then, not everyone in the NDC is for needless attacks on the Electoral Commission. Such a strategy may not necessarily be intelligent, according to those who do not support the de-facto candidate. The people who do not support Mahama’s repeated attempts to lead the NDC understand that such attacks may not be in line with a thinking approach to the issues that will drive the 2024 elections,” he said at a press conference on Friday.
On the NPP, he announced plans for the party’s coming mass registration exercise.
“Its purpose is to determine the size of our support within polling station areas. In other words, we want to know the number of people who are likely to vote for the NPP in any polling station area. This data will help Polling Station Executives, Coordinators and Constituency Executives with planning for elections, campaigning and logistics. Many Constituencies are doing very well so far.
“The mass registration list is not only meant to be used for voting for Party Officers. National Council, using Article 18 of the NPP Constitution will issue guidelines for Polling Station, Coordinator, Constituency Officer, Regional Executive and National Executive Elections. So we are assuring all our polling station executives, Coordinators, and Constituency Executives to open up, work hard and try and capture as many persons who are likely to vote NPP as possible. The names should also go into the books that have been provided. Over 40,000 books have been dispatched and distributed to Polling Stations throughout the country.
“All polling station executives should have a schedule that makes them available to support this process with the book in a transparent visible place for all desirous of putting their names down to do so”.
Below are details of the statement by the NPP
PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE NPP ADDRESSED BY THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, YAW BUABEN ASAMOA
Friday, 17th September, 2021
PARTY REGISTRATION, MMDCEs SELECTION AND IMPACT OF GIADEC
Good afternoon friends of the Media, I bid you a warm welcome to this Friday afternoon interaction.
INTRODUCTION
Today, we will highlight ongoing private sector initiatives that are part of the long term NPP plan to transform the economy to one that adds value to our natural products. NPP has a plan. That plan is to invest in skills through appropriate education, focus on post-harvest security through 1D1F, expand light and heavy industry through the bauxite value chain and increase access to reliable energy and transportation. This plan will generate jobs and incomes over a wide range of activities in the private sector.
For example, the aim in the cocoa sector is to process over 50% of cocoa locally into finished and semi-finished products in order to get a healthy share of the multi-billion dollar market for cocoa products.
Essentially, the prices for raw materials stagnate or roughly remain static whilst that of finished products keep going up. We will be able to buy less and less of what we import if our economy does not process more. Ghana and Ivory Coast produce over 60% of cocoa beans but earnings account for less than 5% of the international market. In 1974, one could buy a Volkswagen Golf car for approximately four thousand Euro in today’s prices. Now, it costs over twenty thousand Euros. So one needs over five times more cocoa money to afford the same thing.
Ladies and gentlemen, to keep up with pricing, we need to add more value. The private sector is best placed to do that. We are therefore complimenting the NPP Government for the private sector initiatives that are set to make a real difference to how jobs and incomes are created in this country.
In the last two weeks, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre hosted an investment summit dubbed “Sparkup; 2021” aimed at further marketing Ghana as the preferred destination for FDI, H.E the President then hosted the “Presidential Business Summit”, bringing together titans of business to dialogue with the Government, after which the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) new partner was unveiled.
MASS REGISTRATION
Before I look at these a bit more however, ladies and gentlemen, let me address a couple of matters. First is the mass registration exercise of the NPP. Its purpose is to determine the size of our support within polling station areas. In other words, we want to know the number of people who are likely to vote for the NPP in any polling station area. This data will help Polling Station Executives, Coordinators and Constituency Executives with planning for elections, campaigning and logistics. Many Constituencies are doing very well so far.
The mass registration list is not only meant to be used for voting for Party Officers. National Council, using Article 18 of the NPP Constitution will issue guidelines for Polling Station, Coordinator, Constituency Officer, Regional Executive and National Executive Elections. So we are assuring all our polling station executives, Coordinators, and Constituency Executives to open up, work hard and try and capture as many persons who are likely to vote NPP as possible. The names should also go into the books that have been provided. Over 40,000 books have been dispatched and distributed to Polling Stations throughout the country.
All polling station executives should have a schedule that makes them available to support this process with the book in a transparent visible place for all desirous of putting their names down to do so.
The second thing is the eminent publication of the list of MMDCEs. Having patiently waited for the list, we expect the nominees to be accepted in good faith. Every nominee on the list as will be published is a nominee of H.E the President. Therefore, the expectation is that the Party grassroots will respect the choices and receive and support the approval of these nominees for the benefit of the Party. We recognise that not everybody in every Assembly will have their preferred choice. However, we also believe that as much as possible, every eligible candidate has had a fair bite of the selection process.
Ladies and gentlemen, now that the selection process is over, we urge all former contestants and stakeholders to adopt the nominees as their own, encourage smooth confirmation processes, and support approved MMDCEs to deliver the best to their areas. Once the list is published, competition in any form, ought to end.
We urge everybody to be calm and to act in ways that promote good relations at a working level in order to give the nominees the best possible opportunity to work in the interest of the grassroots of the nation. Having said that, we also advise the nominees to, as much as possible, open up and provide space for all shades of opinion in their work.
NDC ELECTION 2020 PROPAGANDA
Ladies and gentlemen, the third issue is external to the NPP. The NDC leadership, especially General Secretary Asiedu Nketiah and former President Mahama, keep making wild allegations about the conduct of the 2020 General Elections. Having lied to their people about winning, they went to the Supreme Court with no evidence of any grievance apart from a declaration that had already been corrected.
When the NPP petitioned the Supreme Court in 2012-2013, we specified in detail over twenty two different electoral infractions including over voting, ghost polling stations and unsigned pink sheets. Every allegation we made was backed by a pink sheet. Without any evidence whatsoever, no pink sheets or collated figures of their own, these leading members of the NDC continue to make wild, speculative allegations.
Unfortunately for them, the integrity of the 2020 electoral process was accepted by the international community, corroborated by local independent observers and called for the NPP by prominent local media. Nine months after the elections, the matter is closed as Ghanaians have shifted their attention to pressing matters of governance.
In the event, it is obvious that these allegations are being made ahead of the internal primaries of the NDC. In seeking the chairmanship of his party, the NDC General Secretary is choosing to denigrate the conduct of the 2020 Elections to curry favour with his grassroots. Yet, he was the star NDC witness who confessed in the Supreme Court that they had not won the election and went further to do the calculations that showed that the NDC had indeed lost miserably. Noted though is that he is expert at manipulating grassroots opinion, so his opponents better watch out.
On the other hand, the premature presidential campaign embarked on by former President Mahama has led to his potential opponents coming out of the woodwork to define the kind of leader they will be seeking in 2024. Opponents of early aspirant Mahama believe the NDC will benefit more from a ‘thinking’ leadership, which will make them ‘credible’. Clearly then, not everyone in the NDC is for needless attacks on the Electoral Commission. Such a strategy may not necessarily be intelligent, according to those who do not support the de-facto candidate. The people who do not support Mahama’s repeated attempts to lead the NDC understand that such attacks may not be in line with a thinking approach to the issues that will drive the 2024 elections.
NPP PLAN FOR JOBS
Ladies and gentlemen, those issues include incomes and jobs. Jobs put money in pockets. Jobs for the many youth and skilled people the country is developing. Value addition through industrialisation creates jobs. Aggressive industrialisation will also boost infrastructure, especially railways, ports and energy generation and expand our GDP. We will export more, earn more foreign exchange and borrow less. That is the goal of the NPP.
An integrated aluminium industry has been a dream of the Gold Coast before Ghana. Bauxite mining since the 1940s could have earned Ghana a lot of value. Indeed, it is in expectation of that value that in the early 1960s, Ghana in partnership with international partners developed the Akosombo Dam and established VALCO. Unfortunately, a refinery was not built. So Ghana did not achieve full value. Rather, raw bauxite continued to be exported cheap and the expensive refined product imported by VALCO for smelting.
GIADEC intends to inject six billion dollars of investment into the aluminium processing sector alone. Its partner industry, Iron and Steel, will also inject massive amounts of capital. The Ghana Integrated Iron & Steel Development Corporation (GIISDEC) has announced already assessed reserves of 6 billion metric tonnes of iron ore.
CONCLUSION
Ladies and gentlemen, that is a completely new opportunity for Ghana. It is in the expectation of the difference such huge projects can make to the economy and living standards of Ghanaians that we hope will differentiate NPP from other parties. The NPP has a consistent approach, increasing national wealth through investments in human capital, value for money infrastructure and private sector led value addition to our natural products.
We believe this vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid, is that which will finally enable Ghana break through the ranks of industrialised nations from Africa and into the world. With NPP, the future is purposeful and hopeful.
A Physics teacher at Achimota Senior High School in Accra has been found hanging in his room, the Accra Regional Police Command has confirmed.
Forty-eight-year-old Clifford Nkrumah’s body was found hanged by the ceiling on Thursday, 16 September 2021.
He is suspected to have taken his own life.
The police has launched an investigation into the matter.
A few weeks ago, the Deputy Director of Mental Health at the Ghana Health Service, Dr Amma Ampomaa Boadu, revealed that a total of 417 attempted suicide cases have been recorded in the country for the first half of the year.
The Ashanti Region topped with 61 cases followed by the Eastern Region with 60 cases.
Speaking to the media at a mental health literacy training programme organised by the Mental Health Authority for some journalists in Kumasi, Dr Boadu said the Upper East came third with 47 cases while Greater Accra and Central regions had 37 cases each.
Dr Boadu said the Volta region recorded 35 cases, Oti region, 22; Bono East region, 21; and Western North region, 17.
Bono, North East, and Upper West regions recorded 16 cases each.
Others are Western region, 14; Ahafo region, 11; Northern region, 4; and Savanna region, 3.
She noted that media reportage on suicide cases contributed to the increasing cases while mental health challenges also played a major role.
Dr Boadu said her office will continue to intensify the advocacy and promotion of mental health and also train more health workers to be able to identify common mental health disorders.
She noted that when people have challenges and go to facilities, they sometimes do not have the medications.
She called on the government and civil society organisations to invest more in mental health.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health Authority, Prof Akwasi Osei, also said mental illnesses have risen, which is contributing to attempted suicide cases in the country.
He noted that mental health issues have not been given the necessary attention they deserve because the nation has inadequate mental health facilities to take care of patients
Prof Ransford Gyampo has reminded President Nana Akufo-Addo and Vice-president Mahamudu Bawumia that the one-month negotiation window opened between the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and the government – for which the group suspended its strike a few months ago – ends in less than a week but nothing has been done about their issues because Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has not been personally involved in the matter.
In an open letter to the president and his deputy, the Secretary to UTAG said: “I am told much of the issues have to do with your Finance Minister, who is still not attending meetings himself but delegating, probably, because he sees UTAG matters as trivial”.
“He may continue to treat us like rags but when there is mobilisation of the anger of University teachers in a manner that creates a praetorian situation, the bucks would stop with you in dealing with the mess”, Prof Gyampo noted.
Read Prof Gyampo’s full letter below:
Open Letter to the President and Vice-president of the Republic
Your Excellency Nana Akufo Addo, I greet you. Your Excellency Alhaji Dr Bawumia, I greet you, too.
As you may be aware, some of us have deliberately been quiet about what has been happening following UTAG’s decision to temporarily suspend its strike and return to the negotiations table. We believe the stakeholders needed some peace of mind to talk.
I, however, wish to respectfully remind you that the one-month negotiation period expires in five days’ time.
Unfortunately, as of now, nothing concrete has been achieved.
As you may be aware, some of us had to practically beg our members to agree to suspend the strike action for negotiations because we knew that you were both worried about the impasse and were very much resolved to bring finality to the matter.
Unfortunately, I repeat, nothing concrete has been achieved.
He may continue to treat us like rags but when there is mobilisation of the anger of University teachers in a manner that creates a praetorian situation, the bucks would stop with you in dealing with the mess.
I respectfully urge you to intervene in this matter yourselves.
For, no one can contain the anger of University teachers should they be allowed to strike again, after the expiration of the one-month negotiation period.
A simple survey on the various campuses would give a sense of how bitter and angry they are, for the disrespectful manner in which they have been treated over the years.
The Juvenile Court ‘C’ in Accra has convicted the final-year student of the Nungua KROMA 2 Junior High School who assaulted a teacher to a fine of GHc1, 800.
The JHS student was found guilty by the court for assaulting the teacher who punished him for failure to do his homework on February 22 this year.
The juvenile offender though denied conspiring with 15 other men to assault the teacher, he was found guilty after trial.
The court said he will serve a jail term of three months if he defaults in the payment of the fine.
The prosecution had told the Court that the accused (name withheld) refused to do his homework and after he was punished, he dashed home to call 15 other young men who allegedly stormed the school in a Sprinter bus and attacked the teacher, inflicting wounds on his face.
The teacher, Moses Onyameasem, was rescued by his colleagues and rushed to the LEKMA Hospital, Accra, where he was treated and discharged.
After the attack, the mother of the pupil was also alleged to have gone to the school and verbally assaulted the teacher, prosecution said, adding that the development led to the closure of the School.
On Monday, February 22, at about 1215 hours, the teacher, accompanied by Roger Asempa, the Head Teacher, went to the Police Station to report the assault.
The teacher reported that earlier at about 1200 hours, a student in his class and 15 other young men from the Nungua town came to the School in a bus to physically assault him.
The prosecution said a medical form was issued to the complainant to seek medical attention, whilst a joint stakeholder meeting was held over the incident
Former President, John Dramani Mahama, has launched yet another blistering attack on the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), saying the EC boss is on a ‘warpath’ with the opposition NDC that he has been leading.××
Without any provocation, Mr. Mahama attacked the EC boss, Mrs. Jean Mensa, on Kumasi-based New Mercury FM during his ‘Thank You’ tour in the Ashanti Region early this week, saying the commission was refusing to accept the NDC’s post-2020 electoral reform proposals.
“Since this woman was appointed, it feels like she is on a warpath with the NDC. This EC Chairperson has said the NDC is the biggest threat to the country,” he claimed without mentioning where the EC boss made the purported statement against his party.
He then asked rhetorically “Do you think such a person can ensure neutrality between parties? It is obvious they (EC) have a certain prejudice against NDC. Whenever we suggest anything, they rubbish it.”
The former President then said that the NDC will not relent in its efforts to get the EC to accept the party’s reforms, vowing “We have sent the proposals and whatever we will do in terms of advocacy to ensure that they do the right thing, we will do it.”
NDC Proposal
The NDC has said it has put forward some proposals which will bring reforms to the electoral system.
Bizarrely, the same party has said it has stopped engaging the EC but want the same commission to accept its proposals.
The party has refused to cooperate with the commission and has decided to boycott the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) where such decisions are mostly taken.
The NDC’s beef is that the EC rigged the 2020 general election in favour of the NPP, a claim which was dismissed by the Supreme Court when Mr. Mahama went there to challenge the results as declared.
Initially, ex-President Mahama claimed he won the election and was denied victory and in the ensuing heat, he and his party’s leaders amassed their supporters to hit the streets to cause mayhem around Christmas last year.
Petition Hearing
However, by the time the case was being heard, the NDC’s stance that Mr. Mahama was denied victory had shifted to the argument that none of the 12 candidates that participated in the 2020 Presidential Election got the constitutionally mandatory 50 per cent plus one of the total valid votes.
The NDC also pushed that the Supreme Court should determine whether the Electoral Commission (EC) had to organise a run-off election between Mr. Mahama as petitioner and President Akufo-Addo who was declared winner by the EC on December 9, 2020 after the crucial December 7, 2020 general election.
He was subsequently bounced unanimously by the seven-member panel for failing to adduce evidence to back his claims that no candidate crossed the 50 per cent plus 1 vote needed for the EC to declare a winner.
Persistent Attacks
Since the Supreme Court sent him packing after his unsuccessful challenge, Mr. Mahama has not forgiven the EC boss who is credited for leading the organisation of a smooth election unmatched in the Fourth Republican dispensation.
One of his basis for attacks has been that the court refused to allow the EC boss to testify during the hearing when he himself could not establish any prima facie case against the commission per his own documents filed.
After the court’s verdict when the public was waiting for him to finally concede defeat, he rather held a news conference to denounce the court’s action and then used it as a platform to attack the judges and the EC boss.
Describing the commission as ‘pliant’ he sought to present the electoral management body as one which lacked independence.
NDC Proposal
Among the proposals being pushed by the NDC is a demand for the prior approval of Parliament for the appointment of EC members.
They want a repeal of the requirement for the consent of the Attorney General to be given before the prosecution of electoral offences as well as specially-designated courts for electoral disputes and offences before, during and after registration of voters and elections.
The NDC also wants the EC to be allowed by law to apply to the courts to remove names of deceased and other unqualified persons from the provisional register when informed by the relevant authorities.
In a strange move, the NDC wants GBC to comply with the Supreme Court decision for it to provide equal access to all political parties after it flouted the same court’s decision when the party was in power and enjoyed GBC monopoly for more than a decade.
It also wants IPAC to be backed by legislation through an amendment to the Electoral Commission Act, 1993, Act 451 as well as spelling out by law the security responsibilities of the EC (if any), the police and the military during registration of voters and during and after voting.
The NDC is demanding a legislation to bind the Chairperson of the EC, as the Returning Officer of the Presidential Election, to afford the agents of the participating political parties and candidates full participation in the collation of the presidential election results at the EC’s National Collation Centre.
Splitting EC
The NDC is also calling for a split of the EC into two separate bodies namely an Office for the Regulation of Political Parties (ORPP) and an Electoral Commission (EC) by amending the Political Parties Act, 2000, Act 574.
They also want the mandatory requirement for the publication of applicants for recruitment as temporary EC staff for registration of voters and for elections and for allowing the public to object to applicants who have questionable backgrounds or have overt partisan biases must be strictly complied with and the requirement for the list to be posted at the District EC offices.
The NDC wants the EC to comply with the requirement for each political party participating in an election to be provided with a copy of the final voters’ register and for the EC to make sure that recruitment for the various categories of election officials is made as non-partisan as possible.
They want the list of all polling stations to be used for an election with their names, code numbers and locations to be published in the Gazette and as supplements in the state newspapers not later than 30 days to the election, saying “this will require an amendment to the Public Elections Regulations, 2020, C.I. 127.”
The NDC said it wants the EC to print the replacement Statement of the Poll Form and Declaration of Results Form in a colour different from the original ones in order to distinguish them and where a replacement Declaration of Results Form is used, the original Statement of Declaration Form should be attached to it.
They also want the BVD printouts for each polling centre to be given to each political party agent or candidate’s agent and should be posted at the polling station as well as the abolishing of the Regional Collation Centre
THE New Patriotic Party (NPP) has tasked its rank and file to remain calm and respect President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s nominees for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).
The much-expected list, according to officials, would be made public anytime soon.
The Director of Communications of the NPP, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, addressing a presser today urged the party members to accept the fact that, not every person will have his or her preferred candidate nominated, but asked members to welcome the president’s decision.
“We urge everybody to be calm and to act in ways that promote good relations at a working level to give the nominees the best possible opportunity to work in the interest of the grassroots of the nation,” he stated.
The selection process, according to the NPP’s communications director, reflects the President’s vision for our local governance system and country at large.
“Now that the selection process is over, we urge all former contestants and stakeholders to adopt the nominees as their own, encourage smooth confirmation processes, and support approved MMDCEs to deliver the best to their areas. Once the list is published, competition in any form, ought to end,” he said.
The Party also advised the nominees to, as much as possible, be open and provide space for all shades of opinion in their work.
On the party’s ongoing registration of its members, Yaw Buaben Asamoah expressed concerns about how some officers are preventing some members from registering, thinking that, the register will be used for internal elections.
He explained, “Party Officer Election registers shall be compiled differently and will be done later per guidelines to be issued… So, we are assuring all our polling station executives to open- up, work hard and try and capture as many persons who are likely to vote NPP as possible. The names should also go into the books that have been provided. Names in any other book not provided by the Party for this exercise will not be valid or properly captured.”
Mr. Yaw Buaben Asamoa also called on the party’s polling station executives to plan a schedule that makes them available to support this process.
“I repeat that the names being generated are only for planning purposes. They are not for internal elections,” he concluded
General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) John Boadu says John Mahama continues to display gross incompetence in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) with his comments even in opposition.
He said Mr Mahama’s latest admission that elections must be won at polling stations is a display of ignorance.
According to John Boadu, this should have been known by NDC’s 2020 Presidential Candidate, who has been an Assembly member, Member of Parliament, Deputy Minister, Minister, Vice President and President before.
The comments of NPP’s scribe in an interview on UTV on Friday, September 17 comes in the wake of the former president’s charge to members of his party to be extra vigilant in the 2024 elections.
He insisted that the 2020 elections taught the NDC a lot of lessons including making sure that the outcome is not taken to the Supreme Court to determine.
To that end, he will even be a Polling Agent during the elections if need be.
“Let’s ensure the figures from the various polling stations are a true reflection of the results that will be declared,” Mr Mahama said on the second leg of his nationwide Thank You tour.
“I have decided to be a polling agent in future elections.”
The Western Regional Police Command says it has begun search for a missing 9-month pregnant woman, Josephine Panyin Mensah, who is yet to return home after leaving home on the dawn of Thursday, September 16, for a dawn walk in Takoradi.
The Public Relations Officer for the Police Command, ASP Olivia Adiku said the husband of the 28-year-old woman, Paul Simone, reported to the police that his wife left the house around 5am for a routine walk but had not returned home since then.
The police said the complainant said his mother-in-law received a phone call from an unknown person who demanded a ransom.
“The police have commenced investigations. We have spoken with the husband and gone on the route the wife took. We are trying to get the telcos to give us the location, and they want us to bring a court order, so we are working to get a court order. We are appealing to the public to assist us with any information on the matter,” ASP Olivia Adiku said.
Meanwhile, the brother-in-law of the missing pregnant woman, Emmanuel Ackon says they are working with the police to get her back and has appealed to the public to help them with any information relevant to find her.
“We are appealing to the public to help us. She is fair coloured, and not too tall. She is 9 months pregnant, and a seamstress at the market circle… The people that allegedly kidnapped her called her mother around 1pm to tell her that she is with them, so they were asking for a ransom. Since then, we’ve not heard from them again,” he stated.
Photos of the woman have been in circulation on social media with an appeal to the public to help find her.
Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Antwi Bosiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi has descended heavily on Sammy Gyamfi.
According to Wontumi, the communication director of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi has been possessed with the spirit of lies.
Reacting to claims by Sammy Gyamfi on the issue regarding the arrest of Rev. Owusu Bempah, Wontumi stressed on Accra based Kessben 92.9 FM that there is no sense in what Sammy Gyamfi is trumpeting around.
“There’s no sense in what Sammy Gyamfi is saying. We all know the story behind the arrest of Owusu Bempah. We know that Agradaa and Owusu Bempah were friends and they had problems. You know as friends when you are no more friends and the love goes away, hate may set in, that is exactly what happened between Agradaa and Owusu Bempah which eventually led to this arrest.”
”Owusu Bempah’s arrest has got nothing to do with Bawumia. Owusu Bempah has not said anything about Bawumia. He’s my personal friend and he has no problem with Bawumia, I can say that. What Sammy Gyamfi is going around saying is never true. He lies too much. I have never seen a lawyer who lies like him. Spirit of lies has taken over Sammy Gyamfi” Wontumi said on Breaking news with Ali Baba.
Sammy Gyamfi is reported to have said the ruling NPP masterminded the arrest of Owusu Bempah because Rev. Owusu Bempah had prophesied about the vice president never becoming a president.
Wontumi commended the Ghana police for doing their job independently but noted that they could have done better with the approach they arrested his friend. He bemoaned that at least some level of respect should have been given to the man of God by not arresting him at his church but rather could have waited to do that at his house.
Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East, Mavis Hawa Koomson, has said women in Ghana’s political terrain are considered as prostitutes by their male counterparts.
She indicated that women have had to ensure severe hardship and verbal abuse meted out to them by their male counterparts.
This situation, she said, must stop because they have what it takes to govern a country.
The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development further expressed optimism that her party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) will produce either a female president or vice, in the near future to demonstrate to the world that the NPP is a party that gives women opportunities to serve.
“A female politician goes through a whole lot of embarrassments. They think if you are a female and you are a politician you are a prostitute. Why do you have to say it? We are not.
“We are fighting for our place in politics and in governance. There is no way we can do very good politics and governance in our country without women participating.
“I contested against a male in 2021 and 2026 and the kind of insults. To the extent that I was told my three children have different fathers which is not true. I have three children with the same man my husband.
“To me, it is high time we moved away for refusing women their rightful place when it comes to politics. This is within our political party and our opponents.
“Political offices are not too sensitive for women to hold. I know there will be a time in this country that we will have a female president or even a female vice. We saw it in the last elections when the NDC went in for Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyeman.
“I think NPP is rather more in the position to do it this than the NDC. In future even it will happen it will be in the NPP, we have a lot of great women in our party,” she said on Good Evening Ghana programme Thursday September 16
A branch secretary of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Awutu Senya West constituency, Mr Emmanuel Kwame Lartey, has hacked his fellow party man, Mr Ebenezer Akrade, a branch youth organiser, with a machete over some GHS600 given them during the 2020 polls by Gizella Tetteh Agbotui, the current MP for the constituency.
The money was meant to be shared among the constituency executives but Mr Lartey pocketed the money for himself.
For almost a year, Mr Lartey had allegedly refused to give the other executives their share despite several demands to that end.
On Thursday, 16 September 2021, the victim, Mr Akrade, made an umpteenth attempt to get his share of the money from Mr Lartey, resulting in his hacking by the latter.
The confrontation occurred around 1 pm when the organiser met the cutlass-wielding secretary who was on his way to the farm.
The secretary, according to eyewitness accounts, after having been confronted by the orgainiser, inflicted deep machete wounds on the victim, who is currently battling for his life at the hospital.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has revealed that going forward, it would be compelled by circumstances to arm its polling agents with bulletproof vests and other ammunitions to fight oppressors and also resist illegalities from so-called security operatives on the election day.
The decision, according to the party’s Director of Elections, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah stems from lessons learnt by the party from the 2020 general elections which was characterized by pockets of violence, resulting in the death of eight persons.
“Going forward, we have learnt lessons and maybe we have to give bulletproof vests and guns to our people to defend themselves at the collation centres. Nobody is going to allow what happened in Tachiman South to happen again”, he revealed on Kumasi-based Orange Fm
At least, eight people including children and a pregnant woman were shot and killed by security personnel deployed to protect lives and properties on the December 7 last year at various constituencies.
The government through the Interior Ministry has launched investigations into the incident that has left several others with varying degrees of injuries.
The 2020 Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has assured the people of Techiman which recorded such deaths that the next NDC administration will ensure a speedy investigation of the December 2020 election-related killings in Techiman and punish the culprits.
According to Mr. Mahama, if the Akufo-Addo and Bawumia government reneges on its duty of punishing those responsible for the shooting and killing of the three persons in Techiman during the elections, the NDC will investigate and punish all such persons.
The 2020 elections, for the first time, saw the killings of eight defenceless citizens, among whom were children, with Techiman South recording a number of casualties.
But nine months after the incident and with no one held responsible for the crimes, Mr. Mahama has insisted that it is important for justice to be done in order to forestall such occurrences from being repeated in future.
“We have said that justice must not only be done but be seen to be done. It is important that those who committed those crimes are punished lest they will repeat the same action tomorrow. This is the nature of impunity.”
“Because Techiman occurred and nothing happened, that’s what encouraged the Ejura [killings]. And when it continues and no one is punished then there are disturbances…”
But the Former Deputy Youth and Sports Minister intimated that “The do or die spirit will be at work. …we are not going be complacent and allow NPP to steal our votes. Let’s all wake up to protect the votes cast as said by President Mahama”, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah charged NDC supporter
Nana Akomea says Mahama must quickly withdraw the comments if it is an expression that connotes death and violence.
A former Director of Communications for the governing New Patriotic Party, (NPP), Nana Akomea, has urged former President John Dramani Mahama to withdraw the do-or-die comment he made in relation to the 2024 election.
According to Nana Akomea, Mr. Mahama must quickly withdraw the comments if it is an expression that connotes death and violence.
While on his ‘Thank You’ tour in the Bono Region, the 2020 presidential candidate of the NDC said his party will be more vigilant during the 2024 general elections.
“The 2020 elections were rigged for the NPP. We have however accepted the ruling of the Supreme Court for the sake of peace. However, come 2024, the NDC will be extra vigilant at the polling stations because that is where the elections are won.”
“So at the polling station [in the next election], it will be do or die. I am not saying all die be die. I’m saying it will be ‘do or die’ because the right thing must be done,” Mahama said.
However, critics believe the statement is in bad taste and have demanded a retraction.
Mr. Mahama has justified the comments indicating it is an idiomatic expression that cannot be equated to the all-die-be comment made by the then-candidate Akufo-Addo in the run-up to the 2012 elections.
“It is an idiomatic expression. In the English Language, we have idioms in there. I think those who left school early do not understand idiomatic expressions. Do or die means a critical assignment you have, and you must do the needful or perish. What it means is that [officials of the] NDC shouldn’t wait and go to the Supreme Court again.”
“So we have to do whatever we need to do at the polling station and the collation centres. So I won’t retract. The next election for NDC is going to be a do-or-die affair because we have to do the right thing at the polling stations. So I’m telling all our party executives that they must be at the polling stations and make sure the right thing is done. They must also be at the collation centres and make sure the right thing is done.”
But Nana Akomea disagrees with the justification.
He insists the comment by Mr. Mahama only endorses electoral violence.
“He should come out very quickly to say the expression I used, if it connotes violence and death, that is not what I meant and I withdraw it. It is not weakness, it is strength. We are sad about the unfortunate death at Techiman, but what John Dramani Mahama is saying is actually justifying the thing.”
• Ghana has played a center role since the September 5 coup in Guinea
• This is by virtue of president Akufo-Addo being current ECOWAS chairperson
• Ghana has so far hosted two extraordinary ECOWAS summits on Guinea
Ghana has been a permanent figure in the ongoing political crisis in Guinea since the September 5 overthrow and dissolution of the government of detained Guinean president Alpha Conde.
Ghana’s role has largely been due to the fact that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is Chairman of the regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.
Over the past two weeks, Ghana has hosted two extraordinary summits of ECOWAS Heads of State over the crisis and our Foreign Minister has led a delegation to Conakry.
September 16 extraordinary ECOWAS summit
President Akufo-Addo hosted about a dozen colleague Heads of State and Government in Accra for talks on the crisis in Guinea and also Mali – the latter has experienced two coups in under a year.
The talks condemned the coup that overthrew Alpha Conde, called for his release and demanded that the military junta led by Lieutenant Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, undertakes a six-month transition to civilian rule.
More instructive, ECOWAS announced sanctions on the military junta – the measure the bloc said will cover travel and financial assets of specific military officers.
September 10 – Ayorkor Botwey leads delegation to Conakry
“We have met with him, he looks very well,” Ghana’s Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey told reporters in Conakry after meeting with Conde and coup leader Mamady Doumbouya.null
“Nothing has been discussed yet. What we were asked to do was to come and engage, which we have. After which we will go back and report to the heads of state,” she added.
Conde was last seen in the company of soldiers who arrested him and took him to an undisclosed location. ECOWAS leaders after a virtual on September 8 dispatched three Foreign Ministers to Conakry to engage with all stakeholders.
The three included Ayorkor Botchwey as leader of the delegation of Foreign Minister, Alpha Barry of Burkina Faso and Prof Robert Dussey of Togo as well as ECOWAS Commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, was also part of the delegation.
The extraordinary virtual summit was called by Akufo-Addo three days after the coup took place. It started with a condemnation of the coup and the decision to send the three-member delegation to meet with the ousted president and the military junta.null
But more importantly, it was after this summit that Guinea was officially suspended from the bloc. The African Union followed suit the following day with a similar measure.
September 5 – Akufo-Addo reacts ‘strongly to coup
Barely hours after it emerged that the military had dissolved the government and taken over the reins, president Akufo-Addo issued a statement as follows:
“ECOWAS notes with great concern the recent political developments which have occurred in Conakry, capital of the Republic of Guinea. ECOWAS condemns unreservedly the attempted coup of Sunday, September 5, 2021.
“ECOWAS demands respect for the physical safety of the President of the Republic, Professor Alpha Condé, and his immediate and unconditional release, as well as that of all arrested persons. ECOWAS also demands a return to constitutional order on pain of sanctions.
“ECOWAS reaffirms its objection to any unconstitutional political change. We ask the Guinean defense and security forces to remain in a constitutional posture, and express our solidarity with the Guinean people and their Government.”
• Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey says ECOWAS should consider amending its charter on good governance
• She said, this will prevent coups bedevilling the West African sub-region
• She made this known to journalists in Accra ahead of the ECOWAS summit
Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has advised the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to consider amending its charter on good governance and democracy to prevent coups bedevilling the West African sub-region.
Speaking to the media in Accra ahead of the September 16 extraordinary ECOWAS summit, she explianed, “on the issue of whether we should have preventive measures, I think that is very important and probably what we should be looking at now in view of what is happening, is to amend the charter so that ECOWAS can have more stringent measures proactively to deal with such situations.
“So it is something that is being looked at. I am told that [not verified] there is something that has been done; it hasn’t gotten to the level of the Council of Ministers to go to the Heads of State. But in view of what is happening, I think it is something that maybe we should be looking at to actually forestall some of these situations.null
“But when you do all the engagements that are necessary whether it’s from the Heads of States level or from the level of the Council of Ministers and the person says that this is my country; we’re a sovereign country there’s not much that you can do.”
Ayorkor Botchwey noted that, by applying pressure on the various West African states, it will go a long way to prevent another coup from happening in the future.
“But applying pressure is what we can all continue (to do) as ECOWAS, African Union and International Community at large so that these things do not happen. So yes, probably the time has come for us to do something to prevent such situations using very coercive means,” she said.
Meanwhile ECOWAS Thursday imposed sanctions, including a freeze in financial assets and travel bans, on the military junta in Guinea.
The bloc has also given the military rulers a six-month ultimatum to return the country to constitutional order, Jean-Claude Kassie Brou, ECOWAS President, told the media after the regional grouping’s extraordinary Summit, in Accra, to firm up a decision on the political impasse in Guinea.null
Eight leaders, including the Presidents of Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau and Niger, took part in the meeting.
Nigeria was being represented by its Vice President. Three other foreign ministers and a prime minister represented their countries.
The Summit, opened by ECOWAS chairman Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, discussed the outcome of the high-level mission that the Bloc sent to Guinea last week after the virtual emergency meeting of the region’s leaders on September 8, 2021, following the ouster of President Alpha Conde by an elite unit of that country’s military on September 5.
• Kennedy Agyapong has lamented how social media is negatively impacting society
• He has vowed to sue activist Kevin Taylor for defamation in the United States
• Taylor has publicly accused him of complicity in two high profile murders
Assin Central Member of Parliament, Kennedy Agyapong, has lamented the negative impact of social media by way of destroying the fabric of society and the country at large.
Agyapong, who is currently in the United States has reiterated that he will use the courts to fight people who feel that they can use social media to malign and cast him in a bad light to members of the public.
In an interview available to GhanaWeb, Agyapong admitted that democracy and freedom of expression made it increasingly difficult to expressly clamp down on social media use.
“Here (in the United States), people are using social media to make money. In Ghana, they are using social media to destroy the fabric of society and even the country. That is the problem.null
“Unfortunately, you don’t even know who is putting the information out there to prevent him and of course in the name of democracy, you cannot suppress freedoms so it becomes a challenge and I know it is a challenge that we have to address.”
He continued: “You know there are certain people that have come out openly, like Kevin Taylor and I am going to take him on. When you set examples like that, then it may serve as a deterrent to some of them.
“Because with the guy called Boadu, Kwaku Skit when I said I am going to sue, now he has backtracked saying he didn’t say that but he was quoting somebody. This is the way we need to go to stop some of the misinformation being put out there…,” he added.
In a recent interview with a US-based blogger, Agyapong said he was pursuing Taylor – a vocal social media activist who uses Facebook to make heated political broadcasts – to prove in court that he (Agyapong) was connected to two high-profile murders.
“I am taking him to the court because I want him to come and prove with evidence where he saw me killing the persons he claims I’ve killed.
“He is bragging about writing to the Congressman and has also written to the Worchester Mayor that I killed Armed Suale and J.B Danquah. The guy should come and prove, it is simple,” he said in an interview on an online-based television station.
• Sammy Gyamfi has accused President Akufo-Addo and Bawumia of engaging in ‘malata’ economic analysis
• He said most of the things they talk about are now worse off under their tenure
• He noted, the fundamentals of the economy are weaker
Sammy Gyamfi, the national communications officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has said, prior to the 2016 general elections, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia were always engaging in ‘malata’ economic analysis which made Ghanaians voted for them.
He said, after winning the elections in 2016 and in 2020, the duo have not been able to make Ghana the paradise they promised Ghanaians but rather things are worst as compared to the situation before the 2016 elections.
Speaking on Pan African TV, Gyamfi noted, the price of fuel which was GH¢16.00 per gallon in 2016 is almost GH¢30.00 in 2021, the prices of cement, iron rods and other building materials have shot up, putting a huge burden on Ghanaians.
He said, there is no ambiguity in former President, John Dramani Mahama’s description of the Ghanaian economy under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia as being in shambles.
“Our debt position is the worst ever in the history of this fourth republic, our budget deficit for the last fiscal year, 2020 is the worst ever in the history of this country, cost of living is the worst ever. What is the price of a gallon of petrol today, that gallon of petrol which was sold at just about GH¢16.00 in 2016 is today selling at almost GH¢30…Look at the exchange rate, the dollar which was selling at about GH¢4.00 in 2016 is today selling at over GH¢6.00,” Gyamfi explained.
He indicated, Ghanaians would not have believed if they were told the cedi to the dollar will be more than GH¢6.00 but “under Dr Bawumia, the so-called ‘economic wizard’, ‘economic messiah’ of the NPP, the dollar is over GH¢6.00…”
He said the amount of money the Akufo-Addo led government is spending on debt servicing alone is unprecedented.
“The amount of money spent on debt servicing alone is unprecedented. Never in the history of this country have we seen that total revenue as a country is consumed by only two budget items; compensation and interest payment,” he said.
Sammy Gyamfi reechoed Dr Bawumia’s famous statement ‘when the fundamentals are weak, the interest rate will expose you’ indicating that, the handlers of the economy have lost control that is why the cedi is in ‘free-fall’.
“Today by [Dr Bawumia’s] standard, the fundamentals are weaker than they were in 2016 because if you look at the rate of depreciation today, it is unprecedented. Apart from the exchange rate, is the budget deficit which is a fact, 11%, unprecedented; apart from that is the rising unemployment…it is worse off than it was in 2016 when they were making a lot of noise about the creation of jobs.
“Apart from that, when you go to the market and you engage in the malata economic analysis Dr Bawumia and President Akufo-Addo used to engage in 2016 when they were in opposition, you would realize that we are worse off…,” Sammy Gyamfi argued.
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