It has emerged that Daniel Asiedu, aka Sexy Don Don, who is standing trial for the gruesome murder of the Abuakwa North MP, JB Danquah-Adu, gave two mobile phones belonging to the deceased to a phone technician to unlock for hm.
Kenneth Koranchie, the prosecution’s third witness, led in his evidence in chief by Sefakor Batse, a Principal State Attorney, told the court that the accused initially gave the phones to him on the night of February 9, 2016 for him to charge them.
He said the accused person returned in the morning and this time around, requested him to unlock the two iPhones – iPhone 4s and iPhone 5.
The witness told the court that he had known the accused person for six to seven years through Asiedu’s girlfriend, one Janet, who is a family friend.
Daniel Asiedu is before the court facing charges of murder and conspiracy to commit robbery.
Mr. Koranchie in his evidence in chief told the court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo that on February 9, 2016, at about 3am, he was in his room when he heard a knock on the door and he was frightened because he was not expecting any visitor at that time.
He said the person kept knocking so he decided to peep through the window only to see Daniel Asiedu who was only wearing a boxer short.
The witness stated that upon opening the door, the accused person asked him to charge his (accused’s) phones for him because he claimed he was not having light.
The witness said Asiedu was bleeding from the hand and asked him (witness) to heat water for him.
He said after handing over the hot water to the accused, he went back to his room and upon examining the mobile phones given to him by Asiedu, he realised the battery of one them was completely dead while the other had a little power left so he decided to put the one that was dead on the charger and he went back to sleep.
The witness continued that Asiedu returned the following morning demanding another hot water and later asked him (witness) whether he will be going to town and when he said yes, the accused then requested him to unlock the two phones for him in town.
Kenneth Koranchie said he was in his room till about 7am when his younger brother came knocking at the door and enquired from him whether he had heard the news about the murder of an MP.
He said he upon removing the phone that he had placed on charge the previous night, he swiped it and it opened since there was no lock on it.
He said after seeing the first six photos on the phone, nothing showed that the phone belonged to Daniel Asiedu.
He said the sixth item was a video and when he decided to play it he saw a gentleman recording himself saying “this is Buckingham Palace” with people behind him and one of them called out the name ‘JB’ so the said JB turned and the video ended.
The witness said he later realised that the picture he saw on the phone was the same picture in the news concerning the murdered MP.
Kenneth Koranchie said he then gathered his things together with the two mobile phones given to him by Asiedu and went to town.
He said upon reaching town, he showed the images to a friend named Joe who identified them as those of the murdered MP and further enquired where got the phone from, and he disclosed that it was Daniel Asiedu who brought it to him.
He said he then asked Joe to assist him to inform the police about the mobile phones, and Joe introduced him to one Nana who attends NPP meetings to assist them.
The witness later told the court how they went through the contact of the phone and they saw Ursula Owusu’s phone number on it and they called her trying to narrate the incident to her but she did not respond to the calls.
He said they later sent her a text message and she directed them to meet her, and upon meeting her she declined touching the phones and took them in a vehicle and she drove to Kanda where they met some police officers who later took him and the others to the Nima Police Station.
• The practice of smuggling fertilizer to other countries still lingers onnull
• President Akufo-Addo has asked chiefs to play a watchdog role in their regions to curb this menace
• This, he said, hinders the productivity of farmers
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has charged the Chiefs in the Upper West region to reject persons with selfish interests to sell fertilizers provided by the government at a subsidized price rather than use it for its intended purpose.
He also asked them to support security agencies in the region to curb the smuggling of the fertilizers.null
Addressing the chiefs and people of Nandom during his 2-day working tour in the region, President Akufo-Addo said, “I would like to make an appeal to you, and the other divisional chiefs and elders who are here, to enhance your cooperation with the security agencies, so we can stop the smuggling of fertilizers from Ghana to our neighbouring countries,” he said.
“We should not allow a few greedy criminals to cart the fertilizers subsidized by all of us across to sell in Burkina Faso,” he added.
Smuggling of fertilizers, President Akufo-Addo said will hinder the productivity of farmers.
He furthered that it will also have a rippling effect of government’s fertilizer subsidy programme (FSP) and planting for food and jobs (PFJ) initiative
Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, on Wednesday said 85 per cent of households have been counted as of the 14th day of the 2021 Population and Housing Census.
He said North East Region recorded the highest figure with 99 per cent households enumerated while Greater Accra recorded the least with 64 per cent and the remaining regions achieved above 80 per cent of enumeration.
The Government Statistician giving an update on the ongoing census exercise said enumeration was continuing in selected districts who were unable to complete enumeration by the 11th day of the exercise.
He said the reasons included unwillingness of residents to participate in the census, inaccessibility of respondents during the daytime and larger than expected populations in rapidly growing urban areas.
The districts include: Nsawam Adoagyiri Municipal, Wassa Amenfi Central, Awutu Senya East Municipal, Ayawaso West Municipal, Gomoa East, Ga East, Kpone Katamanso, Tema West, Ledzokuku and La Nkwantanang-Madina Municipal.
The Professor assured the public who were yet to be counted that no one would be left behind, stressing that the 2021 PHC aimed for complete coverage and generation of quality data for decision-making.
“Census Management is appealing to the members of the public who are unwilling to be enumerated to cooperate with Enumerators and to persons yet to be counted. Please make yourselves available by using the call-back card or informing your neighbours when you will be available,” he said.
“Members of the public who have not been counted should contact the census call centre on the toll-free number 0800-426-426, 059-147-6893, 059-147-6895, 055-162-5567, or 020-685-0157”, he added.
The Ghana Statistical Service on Sunday July 12, 2021 announced a seven-day mop-up in the ongoing 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) to complete work in the outstanding enumeration areas.
The mop-up exercise run from Monday July 12 to Sunday July 18, after the exercise commenced on Sunday, June 27, to Sunday, July 11.
The 2021 PHC will provide important information to support evidence-based implementation of the national development agenda and support the tracking of achievements of the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063 of the African Union, among others.
The 2021 PHC is seeking to gather information on key issues, including travel history of household members who have migrated abroad, Socio-demographic characteristics, literacy and education, economic activity.
The rest of the indicators are difficulties in performing daily living activities, ownership and usage of Information Communication Technology devices, children born to women, 12 years or over, deaths of household members within the past 12 months, housing conditions, sanitation and source of water, lighting and cooking fuel.
The listing of structures started on Sunday, June 13, 2021.
A man’s chilling confession to killing at least 10 children has topped Kenyan newspaper headlines.
Masten Milimo Wanjala, 20, was arrested on Wednesday after investigations into the recent killings of two children.
The children’s bodies were found dumped in Kabete area near the capital Nairobi.
Wanjala confessed to killing the two children and nine others aged between 12 and 13 and detailed his crime scenes to investigators.
Police are following leads to recover the bodies of the other children.
The killing of one of the children named in the confession sparked protests in Kamukuywa area in western Kenya. Residents torched the house of a person they suspected had killed the boy.
The suspect will now be charged for all the murders.
At least four people have died and many more are missing following severe floods in western Germany, police say.
The worst of the flooding has been in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where around 50 people have been waiting on rooftops to be rescued.
Dozens more are missing in the hilly Eifel region after several homes collapsed, broadcaster SWR reports.
Much of the flooding was triggered when the Ahr river, which flows into the Rhine, burst its banks south of Bonn.
“There are many places where fire brigades and rescue workers have been deployed,” a police spokesman told Reuters news agency. “We do not yet have a very precise picture because rescue measures are continuing.”
The army has been deployed to some areas to help stranded residents.
About 25 houses are in danger of collapsing near the town of Adenau in the Eifel region, where a state of emergency has been declared, according to SWR.
It said some houses in the area had been completely cut-off and could no longer be reached by boat.
Meanwhile, two firefighters died on Wednesday in a region northeast of Bonn. One drowned, while the other reportedly collapsed following a rescue operation.
Forecasts suggest more heavy rain is due in much of Germany on Thursday and Friday.
Experts say that climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme weather events, but linking any single event to global warming is complicated.
The Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, says the government has abrogated the controversial contract for the supply of Sputnik V vaccines through an intermediary.
He told a bi-partisan Parliamentary Probe Committee in Parliament on Thursday, July 15, 2021, that the contract was terminated because Sheik Al Makhtoum and SL Global could not supply the vaccine doses procured.
Under the said contract, Ghana procured Sputnik V Vaccines at a unit cost of 19 dollars as against the ex-factory price of 10 dollars per dose.
He explained that, “We are not just terminating the contract because, after the contract, they gave us two weeks to supply the first 300,000 doses of the vaccines that we have ordered based on the letters of credit we have given them, as part of the terms of the agreement, but our letters of credit were delayed but got to them later. They came back to tell us that they have run out of stock and that they are waiting on the manufacturer to supply them, and they will supply us in two weeks.
He added that “After two weeks we enquired, and they have said still they haven’t received it. So we started engaging them that if that is the matter, they should permit us to withdraw from the contract so that we can do something different and buy vaccines for ourselves because our faith in them to supply was waning”.
“So we continuously put pressure on them and they gave us July. They later gave us verbal notice that they will not be able to supply any longer, and so we requested that they terminate the agreement, which they have actually done. So, as we sit here, there is no contract between the two of us, he stated.
Government has granted the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of National Security, clearance to recruit 11,700 staff
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta
Government through the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has granted three Ministries (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of National Security) financial clearance to recruit eleven thousand, eight hundred and forty (11,840) staff to augment their existing staff strengths.
In six (6) separate letters, four (4) to the Interior Minister ( for Police, Fire Service, Immigration and Prisons Service) and the remaining two (2) to the Education and National Security Ministers confirming the clearance to employ staff members, the Finance Minister indicated that the effective date for the people to be recruited will be 1st of August 2021.
Interior Ministry
The letter to the Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery, states that the Ministry “is hereby granted financial clearance to enable the Comptroller-General, of Ghana Immigration Service to recruit two thousand (2,000), the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service to recruit two thousand (2,000), Chief Fire Officer to recruit two thousand (2,000), and the Inspector General of Police to recruit five thousand (5,000), personnel to augment the staffing position of the Services”.
“The emoluments of the personnel should be charged against the Compensation of Employees vote of the Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Police Service, National Fire Service and Ghana Prisons Service, under the Ministry of the Interior in the 2021 Annual Estimates” the clearance letter stated.
National Security
The Ministry of National Security per the Finance Minister’s letter dated the 21st of June 2021, grants financial clearance to enable the National Signals Bureau (NSB) to recruit additional one hundred (100) and the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) to recruit one hundred and forty (140) individuals to augment its workforce.
“The emoluments of the personnel should be charged against the Compensation of Employees vote of the Ministry of National Security in the 2021 Annual Estimates. The Hon. Minister for National Security is to ensure that the engaged staff have their documents processed in time and placed on the Mechanized Payroll early enough to enable the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department effect payment of their salaries” the Finance Minister directed.
Ministry of Education
In the education sector, the Finance Minister by his letter addressed to the Education Minister, has granted financial clearance to enable the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service to recruit six hundred (600) ICT coordinators for the Service.
“Approval is also granted for their emoluments to be charged against the Compensation of Employees vote of Ministry of Education in the 2021 budget”.
“The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service is to ensure that the ICT coordinators have their documents processed in time and placed on the mechanized payroll early enough to enable the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department effect payment” the clearance letter to the Education Minister stated.
Timelines
All the financial clearance directive to the three ministries will expire on the 31st of December 2021 and as such, the Ministries are to ensure that the recruitment are carried out before the expiration date
The Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana – which declared a strike on 18 May 2021, to compel the government to pay its members’ tier 2 pension contributions and also demanded the award of market premium and non-basic allowance, as well as the finalisation of negotiations of the members’ conditions of service – but later froze it upon the intervention of the National Labour Commission and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), has threatened a worse form of its earlier industrial action if the government does not fulfil the promises it made which prompted the group to suspend the strike on 11 June.
A statement signed by Mr Zakaria Mohammed, National Chairman, said at the 12th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the University of Cape Coast on 9 and 10 July 2021 respectively, the Senior Staff Association – Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG) discussed and resolved the following:
1. The inability of Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to communicate feedback on our counter proposal to government by Wednesday, 7 July 2021 as promised;
Since the last negotiation meeting on 30 June 2021 on our counter-proposal to the government, the FWSC was to secure the needed mandate and communicate feedback to SSA-UoG.
This has since remained a mirage and it is creating agitations, fear and panic among our rank and file because there have been similar illusive promises in the past that never saw the light of day.
2. Computation of interest on Tier 2 and roadmap for payment;
The government requested SSA-UoG to submit names of its technical team to work hand in hand with the government technical team on the computation of interest on the outstanding Tier 2 Pension Contributions Arrears paid by Government. As requested by the government, SSA-UoG have since submitted names of its technical team to the government on 30 June 2021 which has since not been acknowledged.
It is our fervent belief that government has acted in bad faith.
3. Interestingly enough, the National Labour Commission (NLC) in all the above infractions being perpetrated against SSA-UoG and its loud silence on their part as a statutory body is not only worrying but also very shocking, as it is seen as an arbiter grounded in law.
4. The National Executive Council of SSA-UoG have resolved to resume full strike in the unlikely event that the government fails to meet the deadline as promised and agreed upon by all parties.
We, therefore, direct all the 14 public universities of SSA-UoG to keep themselves in readiness for a full-blown strike as resolved by NEC
The Government of Rwanda is expected to lockdown the country’s capital, Kigali.
It is also to lockdown eight other districts in the fight against coronavirus.
The lockdown will begin this coming Saturday.
Local media reports say President Paul Kagame chaired the meeting on Wednesday that ordered both public and private offices, except for those providing key services, closed
He said the motive behind the attack is however not clear.
“We have been able to identify the deceased lady. She is 24 years old, a hardware store attendant who lives and works at Tanoso. We have been able to get in touch with her family and informed them about the death. According to the family, when she returned from work on Tuesday, she informed them that she had to meet someone around KNUST and left home, and I believe that she got to the area late.”
“When she alighted from the vehicle, some person or persons got closer to her and, according to bystanders, they heard gunshots and a motorbike zoomed away. We are currently looking for the occupants of the motorbike. We believe that her handbag was snatched from her after she was attacked because her phone has not been found,” he added.
The police also called on members of the general public to provide them with information to assist with investigations.
“I’m appealing to everyone to be a little bit more conscious and careful wherever we find ourselves. We are yet to find out why she was attacked and why she was there. We are appealing to people who were around or have information about what happened to get in contact with the police to assist with investigations.”
• Assin Central MP Kennedy Agyapong says late Nigerian preacher TB JOhsua is fakenull
• He narrates how an in-law rejected science and followed him till her death
• Agyapong has a long standing beef with some Men of God he regards as ungodly
Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, has a long standing beef with some ‘Men of God’ he considers ungodly in their words and deeds.
Through Net2 TV and other channels under the Ken City Media group he owns, Agyapong has waged a consistent war especially on some leaders of Charismatic congregations.null
His latest pronouncement is on a Nigerian televangelist whose footprints extend across Africa and to different parts of the world – the late Temitope Balogun Joshua a.k.a. TB Joshua.
Agyapong decribed the late preacher as ‘fake’ citing the instance of how a relative died on the back of refusal to visit a doctor but rather travel to Joshua’s church, the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos, seeking spiritual intervention.
While appearing on the Good Evening Ghana program on Metro TV, he was asked about pastors in general and TB Johsua in particular.
“He is fake, I have said it long time that he is fake. He is fake because my wife’s sister when she had cancer, that time she (Mrs Agyapong) was in America, brought money for the woman to go to Korle Bu.null
“In fact, a doctor actually went to her house (to assess her), the woman said no, she is going to TB Joshua. She took the money and went to Lagos, when she got to Lagos, she said she could not even see TB Joshua (except) his young pastors.”
He continued: “Then she came back and when the sister called, she said ‘oh, I am feeling good, nice, TB Joshua is good.’ This woman’s breast cancer happened again, she was begging at Korle Bu for the doctors to cut the breast because of the pain, she lived in Tema, she died.”
To buttress his point, he referred to a 2014 incident where a guesthouse within the SCOAN headquarters collapsed killing 115 people. In his view, how did TB Joshua not see that happening?
“Let me ask you a question, You said TB Joshua can heal you, why is it that he sees what is wrong with every body but when his building was collapsing he couldn’t see it, are you dumb? You are dumb!”null
He also related a recent report by a member of the church that TB Joshua has disvirgined a lot of women in the church.
“Have you seen a confession with one of the ladies that he was sleeping with all of them? The confessions of TB Joshua, that a lady has come out? As for me, the ladies are not my problem, but I am saying that a man’s structure collapsed, over 100 people died.
“So if TB Joshua can say that today Kwame Agyapong, you are going to fall sick tomorrow and I have to go and see him for prayers? Tell that to the dogs, so these are some of the things,” he charged.
TB Joshua died in early June and was buried on July 9 at the SCOAN premises where a mausoleum has been built.null
A number of Ghanaians participated in the weeklong funeral, among others Profs Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang and Joshua Alabi, Dr Sipa Yankey and Afriyie Ankrah.
Current Railways Development Minister John Peter Amewu has also confessed to being a strong follower of the Man of God praising Joshua in a video tribute. Musician Shasha Marley also performed at the thanksgiving event in Lagos.
The Good Evening Ghana programme on which Agyapong made his pronouncements aired on July 6.
• Ken Ofori-Atta has said a total value of GH¢20 billion has so far been processed on the Ghana.GOV platformnull
• The platform will make it easy for all citizens and visitors to make payments with convenience
• Some 624,000 persons have already registered on the platform
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has revealed the newly introduced Ghana.gov platform has so far processed over GH¢20 billion in total value during its pilot phase.
Speaking at the official launch of the platform on July 14 at the Jubilee House, Ken Ofori-Atta said Ghana.Gov is intended to make accessible government’s services to the general public in a much convenient manner.
“The Ghana.gov platform was piloted from June to December 2020 and a total of 624,000 persons have registered and over 5.8 million transactions have taken place with a total value of GH¢20.2 billion,” he revealed.
Already, the Ghana.Gov platform during its pilot phase at the Ministry of Tourism is said to have witnessed a four-fold increase in revenue at some major tourist centres in the country.
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on his part believes the platform will also curb out the unnecessary bureaucracies and corrupt practices associated with offering government services to the public.
“There is a plan to upgrade further with support from the COVID-19 Fund, the ICU capacity at the Ridge Hospital”, he announced. “As I said, the critical cases have increased but we are not overwhelmed yet.”
“To prepare for more vaccines, we have had to upgrade our cold chain facilities, especially the ultra-negative cold chain which can store Pfizer, Moderna, and others,” he said.
“So far, with our collaboration with Zipline, we have the capacity to store about 1.7 million doses. Yesterday [Tuesday] we received 16 ultra-negative cold chain vaccines that will be distributed to all the 16 regions in the country to ensure we are able to vaccinate as many Ghanaians as possible.”
Also, he said Ghana is to take delivery of some 1.2 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in mid-August this year.
Dr Kuma-Aboagye said: “We are expecting about 1.2 million Pfizer vaccines from the US through COVAX, and we are hoping that latest by the middle of August, it should be available”.
Dr Kuma-Aboagye also revealed that a total of 2,323 students from 363 schools have tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of 2021.
“The North East Region is the only region with no cases recorded in schools,” he said.
Achimota SHS in Accra is one of the hardest-hit in the Greater Accra Region.
It has been on a two-week partial lockdown following the detection of 135 cases of the Delta variant among some students and staff.
According to Dr Kuma-Aboagye, a total of 1,173 students and staff had their samples taken and 195 students tested positive out of the 1,156 results available.
Also, 120 have recovered.
The active cases in the school currently stands at 75
Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has cautioned MPs to be mindful of their utterances outside the floor of Parliament.
He says the immunity MPs enjoy when they speak on the floor does not extend to the media, or to the marketplace.
The Speaker, on Wednesday, referred Assin Central MP Kennedy Agyapong to the Privileges Committee for threatening to beat Luv FM’s Erastus Asare Donkor
The directive issued by the Speaker on Wednesday will enable the House to decide if the actions of Mr Agyapong breach the orders of Parliament and if so, recommend appropriate sanctions.
“This is my first time hearing this matter. As it is now, I am compelled to refer to the Privileges Committee. It is a matter the Privileges Committee will have to go into and report to the House and it is for the House to decide whether the honourable Member is contentious of the House,” the Speaker said
The committee is expected to investigate whether the MP acted in contempt of Parliament and brought the name of the House into disrepute.
Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo Markin questioned whether there was prima facia evidence for the referral.
“All I am saying is that, if care is not taken, we may end up sacrificing the rule of procedure which will amount to we creating a new path that if we are supposed to go back to it… will be a problem,” he explained on the floor.
But Speaker Alban Bagbin wants MPs to conduct themselves appropriately.
Speaking on the floor, he indicated that, “the privilege and immunity of free speech apply in full force in plenary session and committee sessions. Not when members are outside debating issues or on radio or TV.”
“That immunity doesn’t extend to you in the banking square or anywhere. Just saying anything because you think you are a member of Parliament. It doesn’t apply at all,” he fumed.
Mr Bagbin further advised the committee to be circumspect in addressing the issues judiciously to save the integrity of the House.
Mr Agyapong, on Friday, July 9, was reported to have verbally abused and threatened to attack Mr Asare Donkor, “for the journalistic work that the latter undertook during the recent shootings and killing incident at Ejura” on Net 2 TV, a television station owned by the MP
The National Communications Officer of the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) says first lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo does not deserve any applauds for refunding allowances she received from the state.null
Sammy Gyamfi maintained that the first lady’s move was compelled after a public disagreement of the monies allocated to be paid to her according to the recommendations of the Prof. Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee, as approved by Parliament.
He said on NEAT FM’s morning show ‘Ghana Montie’ that Madam Rebecca Akufo-Addo was embarrassed by the public outburst – hence, the need to refund the money.
Sammy Gyamfi also disclosed that former First Lady, Lordina Mahama got GHC8000 as quarterly allowance.
“The agreement was that all former first ladies who were facing some challenges were going to receive some allowance every three months. The Rawlings government did for Fathia (Nkrumah), Busia’s wife and other former first ladies.
“They also did it for sitting spouses that every three months, they’ll be given some allowances. The money was not huge. In fact, former first lady Lordina Mahama took GH¢8,000 every three months. The allowance was not the only thing the country did for them, they were given offices for their charity works and other activities. Government paid for the operation of their offices and gave them cars,” he added.null
1st Lady’s decision to refund
In a statement dated 12th July 2021, the 1st Lady described the “extremely negative opinions” from critics which are seeking to portray her as a “self-serving and self-centered woman” as “distasteful”.
In view of this, she “in consultation with the President of the Republic, has decided to refund all monies paid to her as allowances from the date of the President’s assumption of office, i.e., from January 2017 to date, amounting to GH¢899,097.84.”
“She is doing this as a purely personal decision, without prejudice to the rights of others, and not to undermine the propriety of the process undertaken by Parliament,” the statement added.
The former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has stated that his only regret in life is trusting President Akufo-Addo as someone who genuinely wanted to fight corruption and get Ghana working.
In a new article, the anti-corruption campaigner said he allowed himself to be conned by the president in a naive but sincere belief that Mr Akufo-Addo was not going to use the criminal justice system to persecute his political opponents.
“The only regret I have in life is to have trusted President Nana Akufo Addo in such a sheepish manner as to have allowed him to have conned me into agreeing to be his Special Prosecutor in a naïve but sincere belief on my part that he was intent on fighting corruption and was also against using the process of criminal justice administration as an instrument of political discrimination against his political opponents.
“The position and status of Special Prosecutor was not one I would ordinarily have agreed to be nominated and appointed to after declining nomination for the Supreme Court in 1999 as I indicated on oath at my vetting but for the fact the President invited, cajoled, promised, and assured me that the appointment was going to be on terms personal to me and vowed to ensure my independence and that of the Office.”
Below is the full statement by Martin Amidu
THE DISQUALIFIACTION OF MARTIN AMIDU AS SPECIAL PROSECUTOR WOULD RATHER HAVE BEEN A DISATER FOR PRESIDNEDNT NANA AKUFO ADDO: BY MARTIN A. B. K. AMIDU
INTRODUCTION
Mr. Godfred Dame had the effrontery, childlike pomposity, and arrogance to have said in the interview he granted to Metro TV’s Good Afternoon Ghana programme that:
“What I can say is that when his office was threatened by a legal suit, his own status as the Special Prosecutor was threatened by a legal suit; Dr Dominic Ayine instituting an action against the attorney general and himself, I rather defended him [Amidu]; defended him to the best of my ability and my defence was actually upheld by the Supreme Court and that resulted in him continuing as Special Prosecutor…So, in a way, I’m responsible for his being Special Prosecutor, which he so much touts about”.
This article is a sequel to my article, “A Short Tenure Fighting Corruption and Political Discrimination Is More Honourable”, published on 9th July 2021 in which I stated that: “I shall be demonstrating separately that the disaster (for an unfavourarble outcome) rather awaited the President …who had appointed older persons to public office, instead of Martin Amidu or Cynthia Lamptey, my deputy who were only to be affected tangentially.”
I never sought to be the Special Prosecutor to tout it as an achievement – It certainly is not!
The only regret I have in life is to have trusted President Nana Akufo Addo in such a sheepish manner as to have allowed him to have conned me into agreeing to be his Special Prosecutor in a naïve but sincere belief on my part that he was intent on fighting corruption and was also against using the process of criminal justice administration as an instrument of political discrimination against his political opponents. The position and status of Special Prosecutor was not one I would ordinarily have agreed to be nominated and appointed to after declining nomination for the Supreme Court in 1999 as I indicated on oath at my vetting but for the fact the President invited, cajoled, promised, and assured me that the appointment was going to be on terms personal to me and vowed to ensure my independence and that of the Office. The President and I at our first meeting in his office on 10th January 2018 anticipated possible legal action by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on the age provision in Act 959 but we concluded, as seasoned constitutional lawyers, that Act 959 was constitutional, and above all it was not our place to invalidate an Act of Parliament.
THE DISHONESTY OF REMOVING A DEFENDANT’S NAME FROM THE CASE FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE GREED OF CLAIMING A POSSIBLE SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME
The NDC as the President and I anticipated at our meeting on 10th January 2018 preceded Dr. Ayine’s action with an interview to 3FM on 12th January 2018 and a press statement also signed by its General Secretary on 5th February 2018. Dr. Dominic Ayine, the NDC Member of Parliament from my own region of the Upper East took freight and brought an action in the Supreme Court on 12th February 2018 against the Attorney General as 1st Defendant and me as the 2nd Defendant. The Attorney General filed her Statement of the 1st Defendant’s Case on 26th February 2018. I filed a Statement of the 2nd Defendant’s Case on 5th March 2018. Dr. Ayine and his team then applied to file a Supplementary Statement of Case on 23rd March 2018. I filed an affidavit in opposition to the application on 26th March 2018. The Attorney General filed her affidavit in opposition on 13th April 2018.
On the hearing of the application on 19th April 2018 Dr. Ayine’s application was dismissed, compelling him and his team to apply to amend their Writ and Statement of Case, which were granted by the Court on 17th May 2018. I again filed my Amended Statement of the 2nd Defendant’s Case on 4th June 2018, and later the Memorandum of Issue on 9th January 2019. The Attorney General also filed her Amended Statement of the 1st Defendant’s Case in June 2018 and her Memorandum of Issues on 18th January 2019. Dr. Ayine, the Plaintiff had filed his Memorandum of Issues on 30th November 2018. The case was then ripe for hearing within twelve (12) months from 12th February 2018.
The case was called for hearing on 5th February 2019, almost one year since it was commenced, without the Attorney General having formally applied to have my name struck out from the suit as a Defendant. Mr. Dame who appeared for the Attorney General, was content to take advantage of the benefit of seeing and reading my lucid pleadings resulting from my long experience as an advocate of landmarked constitutional law causes in the Supreme Court alongside distinguished lawyers such as the late Rt Hon. Peter Adjatey, Mr. J. B. da Rocha and now President Akufo Addo as worthy opponents. Then suddenly and out of the blue, Mr. Dame, for the Attorney General, took Dr. Ayine with his lawyers and me, the 2nd Defendant, by surprise by disingenuously applying orally to the Court after almost one year since the case begun to have my name struck out of the case as the 2nd Defendant.
Dr. Ayine’s lawyer, Tony Lithur, repeated a valid argument he had made in one of his applications when Mr. Dame orally applied to have me struck out of the case as a Defendant on 5th February 2019: “But the 1st Defendant cannot properly speak for him on the matter. The issue is, anyhow, moot as 2nd Defendant has since filed a Statement of Case in response to the Plaintiff’s Claim.” He should have added that by filing my Statement of 2nd Defendant’s Case and taking part in the case from 12th February 2018 through to 5th February 2019 I had shown beyond all reasonable doubt that I was an Interested Party in the case and entitled as such to remain a Defendant in the suit by the Court’s own precedent on the right of interested parties to take part in constitutional cases affecting them. I had invested time and energy defending my tangential rights for a whole year. Mr. Dame slept on the case for a year like he did in the recent GPGC/Ghana arbitration. Unlike the GPGC arbitration in a foreign forum, when Mr. Dame woke-up he was less than fair and candid to the Court, the plaintiff and to me by refusing or failing to draw the Courts attention to the fact that the Attorney General was not in fact a nominal defendant as Mr. Dame claimed in his submission but a substantive defendant answering substantively for supposedly nominating the Special Prosecutor under section 13(2) and subsequently the Deputy Special Prosecutor under section 16(2) of Act 959, respectively.
The Court strangely and unfortunately, failed or refused to hear from me on this issue even though I was present, had announced myself and had been recorded as appearing for myself. My name was struck out from the suit as a 2nd Defendant the same day. But my pleadings remained on the case docket, and I had no doubt that the judges would or had already read them and would take them into account in their consideration of the merits of Dr. Ayine’s case.
My Amended Statement of the 2nd Defendant’s Case was published for the benefit of the public and can still be found on my website. Anybody may judge for him or herself whether my defence was not far more matured, reasoned, lucid, robust, and stronger than anything Mr. Godfred Dame thinks he filed on behalf of the Attorney General as the then 1st Defendant to have won the case for the Government. Mr. Godfred Dame deliberately got my name struck out from the suit (almost a whole year after it started) so that the Attorney General and him could bask in my name, integrity and reputation and take credit for the outcome of the case as he now dishonourably caused to have been done first in his profile published on 9th February 2021 and at the interview, he granted on Metro TV on 24 June 2021.
Delayed hearing and disposition of the case to render the Special Prosecutor ineffective
The Attorney General, and Mr. Dame, her deputy who appeared for her in Court, made no effort to have the case heard for more than another year. Dr. Ayine and his team wanted an early trial and so did I, to enable me to vacate the office or clothe me with the full authority to perform as Special Prosecutor. The Attorney General, for reasons best known to her and Mr. Dame, refused to formally apply for an early hearing as is the normal practice in such serious constitutional cases against the Attorney General herself and the Republic. In the interim, a High Court almost literally injuncted me from performing my duties as the Special Prosecutor when it ruled on 31st July 2019 in an application for stay of proceedings that: “I am of the opinion that the situation at hand would amount to exceptional circumstances such that the instant proceedings ought to be stayed pending the determination of the Appeal and/ or the status of the Special Prosecutor, whichever comes first.” It meant any prosecution I mounted would face the same fate. No decision was made until on 13th May 2020 when the Supreme Court disposed Dr. Ayine’s case.
The impression I formed (which was shared by other reasonable persons knowledgeable in the field) was that the Government that had appointed me the Special Prosecutor was, out of fear, more interested in assessing, in the interim, whether in the performance of the duties of the office I would show bias in its favour before, pressing for a hearing and disposition of the case. My reaction was to walk away from the Office, but former President Rawlings and others were prevailed upon to persuade me not to, as that would be an embarrassment to the President and the Government. I knew the catch in the case was the several more aged public officers appointed by the President to assist “The Family” enterprise who would have been affected if I walked away or was thrown under the bus. Nonetheless, my office was rendered ineffective by virtue of the ruling of the High Court, but the Attorney General and Mr. Dame, her deputy, never saw the urgency of the case being decided earlier than 13th May 2020. Eventually it was adjudicated and decided upon by an almost entirely new panel made up of a new Chief Justice, three newly appointed judges, and three members of the original panel two of whom dissented. I resigned seven months later, on 16th November 2020, leaving behind the more aged appointees of “The Family” who are still at post to take care of its corrupt business.
Mr. Godfred Dame appears to have deliberately and calculatingly gotten me out of being a Defendant in the case of Dr. Ayine v 1. Attorney General and 2. Martin Alamisi Amidu at the point the case was ripe for hearing so that he could claim in his biography that one of his achievements was “…for leading the efforts of the Government to… the challenge to the constitutionality of the appointment of Mr Martin Amidu as Special Prosecutor…”. But any experienced and deep-thinking lawyer would have realized that the suit by Dr. Ayine was firstly targeted against the Attorney General who supposedly nominated me under section 13(3) of Act 959 and my prospective deputy under section 16(2) of Act 959; secondly against the President for purportedly accepting the nominations and forwarding them to Parliament for consideration for approval; thirdly against Parliament for approving the nominations; fourthly against the President again for appointing me and later my deputy to our respective positions; and only lastly and tangentially against me and later deputy for accepting the supposedly unconstitutional nominations, resulting approvals, and appointments.
CONSEQUENCES OF NULLIFYING THE APPOINTMENTS ON NANA AKUFO ADDO
Mr. Dame knows or ought to have known that even if the Supreme Court had declared my nomination and appointment as Special Prosecutor under section 13(3) of Act 959 to be inconsistent with the Constitution that decision would normally have saved any actions and decision I had taken while holding the appointment. Any decision otherwise would firstly have meant that the Office of the Special Prosecutor was never operationalized by the President since the enactment of Act 959 because it was the appointment of the Special Prosecutor that operationalized the Office of the Special Prosecutor. Secondly, the Deputy Special Prosecutor could not also have remained in office as her nomination, approval and appointment under section 16(2) would also have been unconstitutional as well on account of the reliefs sought from the Court.
Commonsense should have pointed Mr. Dame to the fact that a declaration of nullity ab initio by the Court would have been a disaster for the calculating “Puppet Master”, the President, Nana Akufo Addo, and “The Family” from which the President would never have recovered his loss of face and not for me or my then deputy. The many appointed older members and associates of “The Family” who are still at post facilitating its corruption would have been out of office. But Mr. Godfred Yebaoh Dame could not even distil these simple outcomes and consequences for the “Puppet Master” the President who made him Deputy Minister which were glaring from Ayine’s Writ and Statement of Case even after the decision of the Supreme Court on 13th May 2020 and subsequently used my name for his profile before his parliamentary vetting, and subsequently granting the interview to Metro TV as Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
INTEGRITY OF THE OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL
The rights, privileges, and obligations guaranteed to every citizen under the 1992 Constitution will become meaningful the day every Attorney General in Ghana puts aside his or her first hat as the Minister of Justice under which he or she may act politically and concentrates on the letter and spirit of his or her professional mandate of the Attorney General under Article 88 of the Constitution. Article 88 is informed by hallowed customs and conventions enjoining fairness, candor, and impartiality to every citizen and eschewing arbitrariness and discrimination in the performance of the duties of that public office.
It does not help the integrity of that Office when its occupant hops from radio station to radio station or from TV station to TV station doing politics and threatening political opponents with investigations by the police or with civil or quasi-criminal suits for criticizing his public performance. It certainly is not good for the respect due that Office when citizens begin disrespecting the Office by mocking any occupant of the office as a “Local Champion” adding that: “This $170M judgement debt case, they should have sent it to Supreme Court or?”; or that the occupant of the office should remember that: ““You can choose to threaten us. You can choose to behave anyway you want because you’re the Attorney General. But let me put this on record to you. You will not be Attorney General forever….”; or that the occupant is interfering politically on behalf of his appointing government with the constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens to peacefully protest and demonstrate, and to freedom of expression or speech; or for the occupant of the office to tell citizens exercising their constitutional rights even before a Court decides their case that: “If you’re demonstrating about broken promises by successive governments since independence, what is the urgency about it?”; or for the occupant of the office to be unfortunately described by a fellow citizen as: “The puppet master reveals himself”; or to be challenged by citizens to “start with the criminal complaint against those who organized the Supper Spreader!”; or “that the police were his puppets; as such he was the puppet master all along in this suit”; or to be told that: “We have an Attorney-General Department. We have hired and paid two foreign law firms, Omnia Strategy and Volterra Fietta. Yet, we fell asleep and did not take advantage of the 28-day window afforded us to challenge the arbitration panel’s decision that we should pay $170M to GPCG for terminating a contract”; et cetera, et cetera, (I could go on and on), all within less than the first three months of assuming office.
CONCLUSIONS
Mr. Dame was nowhere near this universe when I received my Qualifying Certificate Under the Legal Profession Act in September 1978 and was enrolled as a lawyer the same year. I am done with the professional practice of the law just as I declined the nomination to the Supreme Court in 1999 but it hurts to see someone who could pass for the person who was my last biological child, now an independent adult, occupying an exalted office I once occupied, for however short a period, behaving without the requisite maturity and experience of public service. I welcome Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame’s pomposity and arrogance because they urge me on to continue criticizing him as a customary Ghanaian parent to change for his own betterment. This is the only way to depoliticize that exalted Office and put Ghana First.
A one-stop platform to enable citizens easily access government services, simplify payments for public services, ensure prompt payments for the services and promote transparency and visibility of internally generated funds has been launched in Accra by the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
Known as Ghana.gov, and accessible via the website http://www.ghana.gov.gh or shortcode *222# on any mobile phone whether smart or ‘yam’, Ghana.GOV is a payments and revenue collection platform that provides a single point of access to all services of ministries, departments and agencies of government.
Built from scratch, and two years in the making, the platform consists of 4 main components: a web portal, mobile app and USSD interface; a payment processing component; a notification component; and a complaint submission medium.
At a colourful launch ceremony at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, July 14, 2021, attended by the Chief of Staff, Ministers in charge of Finance, Digitalization and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Vice President Bawumia expressed delight that once again, Ghanaian expertise had been utilized to solve a Ghanaian problem.
“The Ghana Card, the Digital Address System, the Mobile Money Interoperability, Ghana.Gov and the Universal Q Code are the foundational enablers in our effort to maximize the potential of digital technologies in Ghana’s transformation.
“I am excited that once again, we did not have to go beyond our shores to develop and manage a platform like this. Indeed, the spirit of collaboration and innovation exhibited by the local technology companies (Hubtel, Expresspay and IT Consortium) who are powering this payments platform is most admirable.
“Their collaboration spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance with support from the Ministry of Communications also involved our own National Information Technology Agency – which I am told is doing a good job hosting and managing the call center supporting this platform.”
Dr Bawumia explained that among others, this single payments platform is expected to help grow government revenue, redefine how we all engage with government, and help boost Ghana’s international profile rankings.
“It is estimated that about 10 to 15% of government collections are lost through inefficiencies, theft and other accounting schemes. Going digital means that we can improve our revenue collections by an estimated Three Billion Cedis (GHS 3 billion) annually.
“Beyond the financial benefits of Ghana.GOV, the platform will also transform how we all connect to Government. There is currently no official Government of Ghana mobile application for the over 9 million smartphone users and the more than 30 million mobile users in Ghana. The soon-to-be-published Ghana.GOV Citizen App will have important features that will change the way we connect to official information, report issues in our communities and exchange critical data.”
As well, “This government’s aim of making Ghana a globally competitive market is anchored in the belief that increasing access to public services through technology will have a strong positive impact in the general ease of doing business within Ghana. In the process, this will boost our ranking among other nations and thereby help grow our foreign direct investments.
“Ghana.GOV will offer a simple and single user experience for all government services and will make it easy for everyone to find and pay for government services. The days where you have to make several phone calls or look for a middleman just to get information and help on a government service is coming to an end,” he remarked.
Who is on the Ghana.Gov Portal As of now, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Passport Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Lands Commission, National Service Secretariat, Food and Drugs Authority, National Information Technology Authority, Registrar Generals Department, and the National Schools Inspectorate Authority have all been onboarded onto the Ghana.gov portal.
The team is in the process of onboarding the Public Procurement Authority, Data Protection Commission, National Petroleum Authority, Minerals Commission, and the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, and Ghana Post
The Registrar-General’s Department (RGD) says it has commenced a review of the sample group of companies listed on its website for strike off.The exercise is to validate companies that complied with the directive for dormant companies to file their returns or risk being delisted from the companies register at the end of June 30, 2021.
A statement from the Department, issued and signed by Mrs Jemima Maama Oware, the Registrar-General, said the three-month-long review began on July 1, 2021 and would end on September 30, 2021.
It said the review had become necessary after the final notice was issued on March 18, 2021, to officials of dormant companies to file their annual returns to be in good standing with the Department.
It said the Department had earlier issued two notices on March 12, 2020, and December 01, 2020, and had published them in the national dailies and the Department’s website respectively in accordance with the Companies Act 2019, Act 992.
The statement said the Companies were Public/Private Companies Limited by Shares, Public/Private Companies Limited by Guarantee (Associations, Fun Clubs, Churches, etc.), Private Unlimited Companies and External Companies.
It said the strike-off exercise became necessary because the Department’s Company database became bloated with names of dormant Companies entered onto the Companies Register.
The statement said, 257,241 Companies existing in the new database had not filed their Returns or Amendments with the Department and that also, 670,282 Companies in the Legacy system had not carried out their re-registration as at the release of the first notice in March 2020.
The statement said Companies due for strike off still in default after the three-month review would be published in the national dailies and on the Department’s website.
It said a Company’s status during the period would be classified as being inactive and would not be able to be accessed for any business transaction for 12 years except by a court order to the Registrar.
The statement said such Companies were, therefore, advised to use the three-month review to undertake all the necessary measures to be in good standing with the Department.
The Department urged all clients to visit its website http://www.rdg.gov.gh, click on news and scroll down to view the list of Companies the Registrar intended to strike off the Register.
The statement said the penalty for late filing remained GH¢450.00 with GH¢50.00 for filing of Annual Returns for each year.
It asked Company Officials to include their Beneficial Ownership information when filing their Annual Returns.
Social commentator, Bernard Allotey Jacobs has lauded First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Second Lady Samira Bawumia over the refund of their allowances.
Critics have condemned the payment of salaries to the President and Veep’s wives.
To some Ghanaians, there is no need for the First and Second Ladies to receive monthly salaries as recommended by the Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee.
Due to what she terms as “extremely negative opinions” from critics, the First Lady in consultation with President Akufo-Addo ”decided to refund all monies paid to her as allowances from the date of the President’s assumption of office, i.e., from January 2017 to date, amounting to GH¢899,097.84.”
The Second Lady has also indicated she will refund GH¢ 887,482 she’s received as allowances from January 2017 to March 2021.
Allotey Jacobs, speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM’s ”Kokrokoo”, believed the First Lady’s refund is an act dignity saying ”she has dignified herself. People will respect her for it”.
At a unit price of GHS78, the government of Ghana has said it spent GHS34.8 million to buy past questions (pasco) for candidates of the 2021 WASSCE under the Free SHS programme.
On the floor of parliament on Wednesday, 14 July 2021, Education Minister Yaw Osei Adutwum, said the current unit price is 32% more than that of 2020 – GHS59.
Dr Adutwum told the house that “to help prepare the final-year senior high school students for the 2021 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), the Ministry has procured 446,954 past West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) questions from Messrs Kingdom Books and Stationery at a unit price of GHS 78.00. The procurement will be funded from the Free Senior High School Account.”
“Mr Speaker, in 2020, the government, through its efforts to help students amidst COV1D-19 to prepare for the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), procured 568,755 past questions for students to try their hands on before sitting for the actual exams.”
The Ministry of Education, Dr Adutwum noted, “contracted Messrs Kingdom Books and Stationery to supply 568,755 WASSCE past questions at a contract price of GHS 33,641,043.75. The procurement of these questions was funded through the Free Senior High School Account and the results of the 2020 WASSCE was tremendous compared to previous years’ WASSCE performance.”
Also, he said the ministry is making efforts to buy textbooks for the lower level.
“Mr Speaker, the procurement process for the supply of published textbooks to basic schools is currently ongoing. The Ministry placed an advert in the Ghanaian Times on 1st June 2020, where various publishers approved by NaCCA, submitted their books and relevant documents to be taken through a Pre-Qualification procurement process.”
He also announced to the house that the ministry, in October 2019 “signed a contract with Messrs Bluegrass Group Limited to supply a total number of 853,009 Kapek Scientific Mathematical Instruments (SMI) prescribed by the West Africa Examination Council for Senior High Schools at a unit cost of CHS 75.00.
“The contract was amended and signed by both parties on 22 October 2020 to extend the deadline for submission of the Mathematical Instruments to 19 January 2021. Messrs Bluegrass Group Limited has supplied 416,060 Scientific Mathematical Instruments to the tune of GHS31,204,500.00 out of the total quantity to be supplied per the contract, hence breaching the contract under Section 24.1 (a) of the General Conditions of Contract (GCC). Due to this, the contract has been terminated
Tamale North Lawmaker Alhassan Suhuyini has said he felt obliged to raise the issues against his colleague Member of Parliament for Assin Central Kennedy Agyapong on the floor of the House because of his background as a journalist.null
This comes after the Speaker Alban Bagbin has referred Mr Agyapong to the Privileges Committee of Parliament for his utterances against a journalist , Erastus Asare Donkor.
Mr Agyapong on Friday, July 9, is reported to have allegedly threatened to attack Mr Asare Donkor, “for the journalistic work that the latter undertook during the recent shootings and killing incident at Ejura” on his television station.
His company has filed a formal complaint against Mr Agyapong.
On Wednesday July 14, Alhassan Suhuyini raised the issue on the floor of the house and asked the Speaker to refer the matter to the Privileges Committee.
He said “Mr Speaker, I think that as a former journalist I feel obliged to draw the House’s attention to this conduct of an Honorable colleague of this house which in my view, brings this house into disrepute.null
“Mr Speaker, I urge you to exercise your powers under 27 and refer this conduct of the Honorable which is becoming unacceptable, to the Privileges Committee to ascertain the veracity of the comments that were made and recommend sanctions if possible that will act as deterrent to other members who may be tempted to act like him.”
In response to his request, the Speaker accordingly referred Mr Agyapong to the committee.
He said he cannot take a decision on Mr Agyapong over his utterances against a journalist in Ghana.
That decision to determine whether or not the conduct smacks of abuse of privileges, he said, rests with the lawmakers as a House, to take.
“As it is now, I am compelled to refer it to the Privileges Committee. I want to emphasize that it is the House that will take the decision, it is not the speaker, it is not any other person apart from the House.null
“That will be your collective wisdom that come to the conclusion whether what is alleged is just a mere allegation or is supported by facts and whether those facts constitute contempt of the House and abuse of a privilege of members,
“It is important for me to emphasize here that the privilege and immunity of free speech applies in full force in plenary session and committee sessions, not when members are outside debating issues or on radio and TV. You don’t have that right, that privilege, that immunity to just say anything because you are a member of parliament.
“We are not above the law. It is for good reasons because you represent a large number of people, you should be given the full immunity to be able to say what the people say they want you to say. That is why you say it here and you are covered.
“That immunity doesn’t extend to you in anywhere else. So pleased the committee should go into the matter, submit the report.”
• The government is launching the GHANA.GOV, a platform that will help make access to Government of Ghana services easy
• Communications Minister Ursula Owusu said the initiative to transform Ghana through digitalization is on course
• She said creating jobs and transforming businesses are part of government’s key plans
The Minister of Communication and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has said that the country is advanced in ensuring that technology becomes the tool used to formalize the country’s economy to rope in more revenue.
According to her, this will help enhance the growth of the country and also improve on sustainable livelihood initiatives.
Speaking at the Launch of GHANA.GOV, a digital service and revenue collection platform at the Jubilee House in Accra on July 14, 2021, the Minister said, the initiative is to modernize government services and revenue mobilizations, drive innovations, enhance entrepreneurship and create jobs for the teaming youth in the country.
“The president, since he took over, has been implementing his massive vision for the transformation of Ghana through technology and this is through the digital Ghana agenda initiative. We are using technology to formalize our economy for growth and sustainable livelihoods, to modernize government processes and service delivery, drive innovation, entrepreneurship, create jobs and transform businesses,” she said.
She explained the key features that are guiding the initiative to drive home the digital transformation agenda.
“The key pillars underpinning our digitalization include broadband infrastructure, digital financial services, digital entrepreneurship, economic activities and new jobs, digital platforms the national ID address system, the common platform, Data sharing, cybersecurity and digital skills. Ghana must evolve quickly and respond to the transforming rot brought by the internet and mobile technology,” she added.
GHANA.GOV is a digital service and revenue collection platform, created to provide a single point of access to Government of Ghana services for the public sector.
This is in pursuit of the government’s vision of digitizing the economy and modernizing the way government pays its bills and collection of fees and charges for the benefit of all citizens, residents and visitors.
The Ho District Magistrate Court 1 has remanded into police custody three persons, Nervis Otu Laryea, Ebenezer Osei and Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, to assist investigations into their possession of three foreign pistols with 40 rounds of 9mm ammunition, two Toshiba laptops and 27 assorted mobiles phones.
The three suspects were arrested with the items on July 6, 2021 by a police patrol team along the Kpando-Have road in the Volta region.
The suspects Nervis Otu Laryea, 33, Ebenezer Osei aged 38 and Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, aged 37 were onboard a Toyota Corrola with registration number AC 1621-18 which was intercepted by a police Rapid Deployment Force patrol team along the Kpando-Have road.
The items were found after a thorough search on the vehicle by the police patrol team.
All 27 mobile phones have price tags, while other items including two hoody pullovers -black and green were also retrieved the suspects’ bags.
During police interrogation, suspect Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak to police that he obtained the mobile phones from a man he does not know at Alavanyo Wudidi in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta region. The suspect also failed to provide any receipts issued for the transaction.
Further investigation by the police revealed that the Toyota Corolla with registration number AC 1621-18 was also acquired by suspect Nervis Otu Laryea at Afienya from someone from Togo but without documents.
At a press briefing in Ho today, the Volta Regional Commander of police, DCOP Edward Oduro Kwanteg, urged the motoring public to at all times cooperate with the police in fighting crime.
He said, “We wish to assure the public that we are committed to fighting all forms of crime within our area of responsibility, especially violent crimes and therefore, we need the public’s support.”
“The motoring public is encouraged to at all times cooperate with the police on the road. We do not take delight in wasting the precious time of the travelling public, but sometimes there is the need to go thr extra mile in our search. The three foreign pistols were concealed in a false compartment in the car and without careful and painstaking search would have eluded us. This is one sure way of preventing the commissioning of crime,” he added.
The suspects are expected to re-appear before the court on July 22, 2021
• The Wenchi High court has once again slapped a fine on the NDC in the case it brought before it over the election in the Techiman South constituencynull
• The court has asked the NDC to pay GH¢12,000
• The NDC had earlier been charged some GH¢4,000 by the same court
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has received a total of GH¢16,000 in charges by the Wenchi High court in the last month in the case of the Party versus the Member of Parliament for Techiman South and the Electoral Commission.
The NDC dragged Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, the substantive MP, and the EC to court to contest the results of the 2020 parliamentary elections in Techiman South.
Christopher Beyere Baasongti, who was the parliamentary candidate of the NDC for Techiman South in 2020, as part of the suit against Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah and the EC, is praying the court to quash the declaration of the MP as winner of the elections.
Among the motions filed by petitioners, the NDC wanted a professional writer to record proceedings in the court, a professional auditor to audit the pink sheets to determine similarities or otherwise, and they wanted an order setting out issues for an early trial.null
The last motion, which is that they wanted to bring before the court some additional evidence in support of their case, was the only one not contested by the respondents.
The trial judge, Justice Frederick A.W.K Nawurah, slapped a fine of GH¢12,000 on the NDC, in favour of the Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah and the EC.
The case has been adjourned to July 30, 2021.
It will be recalled that on June 22, 2021, the Wenchi High Court slapped a GH¢4000 fine on the NDC after reducing the initial fine of GH¢7000.
This was, as the court explained, for the petitioner’s motions to amend the title of his suit to state that ‘no proper collation’ was done in the 2020 Techiman South Parliamentary elections, among another relief.
The Finance Committee of Parliament has recommended the discontinuation of advancing car loans to Members of Parliament.
This follows public backlash at the tabling of a $28-million loan deal for MPs to buy cars by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
The Finance Committee of the chamber suggested in its report that the practice must be discontinued.
Parts of the report read: “These legitimate concerns are fueled by the fact that, of all the Article 71 officeholders, it is only members of Parliament and Members of the Council of State who benefit from these vehicle loans, a large part of which are re-paid by the state”.
“The Committee took the view that, as representatives of the people, Members of Parliament cannot continue to leave these concerns unattended”.
“That weakens the confidence Ghanaians have in us. We have a responsibility to reflect the values and ideals of the people we represent”.
“Accordingly, the Committee strongly recommends to Parliament the discontinuation of the current vehicle loan arrangement for MPs and Council of State Members”.
“Members of Parliament and Members of the Council of State should have similar duty post vehicle arrangements as other Article 71 officeholders”.
“And the Committee respectfully recommends that Parliament and the Parliamentary Service take the necessary steps to ensure that this happens”.
“The instant vehicle loan arrangement for MPs and Council of State Members before us today should therefore be the last one the state is sponsoring.”
Before the end of August this year, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) will take stock of 1.2 million doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccines, as the country looks to meet its target of vaccinating its 20 million citizens.
Making this known at a press briefing to update the country on the pandemic in the country, the Director General of the GHS, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said the doses are part of the bulk of vaccine requests it has made.
“We are expecting about 1.2 million Pfizer vaccines from the US through COVAX, and we are hoping that latest by the middle of August, it should be available,” he said.null
Across the world, it has been established that, in comparison, the Pfizer vaccine is more potent against the new delta variant of the virus, which has been recorded in communities.
So far, the country has recorded 144 cases of the delta variant between July 1 and July 14.
The strict adherence to the safety protocols, Dr. Kuma-Aboagye has stressed, will save the country from the possibilities of a third wave of the pandemic, one that he confessed Ghana’s healthcare system cannot handle.
Acting President of the Nandom Traditional Council, Naa Domepreh Gyereh III, has described the interventions undertaken by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in the Nandom Municipality, as unparalleled.
According to Naa Domepreh Gyereh III, “the people of Nandom are grateful for the development projects and programmes your leadership has provided. One of our age-long problem, which was our road, under your leadership has seen massive facelift”.
The Urban Roads Project, which was described by the Chief as the brainchild of President Akufo-Addo, “has made our town beautiful, and so we say barika.”
The Acting President of the Nandom Traditional Council made this known on Wednesday, 14th July 2021, when President Akufo-Addo paid a courtesy call on the Traditional Council, at the end of his 2-day visit to the Upper West Region.
The Chief acknowledged further government’s efforts in completing the tarring of the Lawra-Nandom-Hamile Road, adding that “we are also happy to note that the EU, through your Government, has considered developing fourteen (14) of our deplorable farm roads. This, in our estimation, will enhance agricultural activities in the area.”
Touching on the President’s vision for education, Naa Domepreh Gyereh III indicated that the introduction of the Free SHS policy has brought great relief to parents.
He added that President Akufo-Addo’s support for Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) has resulted in the upgrading of St. Anne’s Vocational Institute in Nandom, with modern infrastructure for skills development, and appealed for the extension of similar facilities to St. John’s Technical Institute, also in Nandom.
“Your Excellency, again we wish to offer our appreciation to you for elevating Nandom District to Municipal status. Out of this deed has resulted in the improvement of services to our people,” Naa Domepreh Gyereh III said.
Additionally, he expressed the gratitude of the Chiefs and people of Nandom to the President “for the commitment you kept with us in your first term in terms of Planting for Food and Jobs, 1-Village-1-Dam, 1 million dollars per constituency, jobs for youth, physical infrastructure, water and sanitation, and most important health in the midst of the coronavirus which has affected most economies.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia says with the coming into being of the single platform for all Government of Ghana (GoG) services, (Ghana.Gov dashboard), persons responsible for revenue leakages, he described as public sector “demons and principalities” will be eliminated.
Addressing financial sector players and other attendees at a ceremony to officially launch the single platform for all Government of Ghana services (www.ghana.gov.gh) at the Banquet Hall of the Jubilee House today the 14th of July 2021, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia said the new services and payments platform will go a long way to boost the country’s revenue collection drive up to about three billion Ghana cedis (GHc3,000,000,000.00), thereby doing away with public sector workers responsible for massive revenue leakages in the country’s tax architecture.
“For starters, Ghana.Gov is a one-stop shop to enable citizens easily access government services, simplify payments for public services, ensure prompt payments for the services and promote transparency and visibility of internally generated funds,” the Vice President said.
“It is a real weapon in the fight against demons and principalities in the public sector. Instead of those who demand public services handing cash over to administrative staff, they will switch to a mobile payment system. Transactions will be recorded instantly, avoiding any bribery and corruption regarding the quoted service fee, and curtailing the risk of embezzlement,” Vice President Bawumia added.
*Finance Minister*
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta in his brief remarks noted that the new Ghana.Gov platform will be deployed to cover all state institutions to ensure that government can secure all its revenue generation avenues.
Revenue collection according to the Minister for Finance, is expected to receive a big boost with the coming into force of the single platform for all Government of Ghana services.
The Finance Minister in his address also indicated that his office has done some analysis on regional basis when it comes to the payment of taxes and the Greater Accra Region is responsible for 80% of the total tax revenue of the state with Western Region contributing 8% and the Ashanti Region which is the second biggest region in the country in terms of economic activity, contributing just 7%. The Eastern Region the Minister says, also contributes just 6% of the nation’s total tax revenue.
He noted that while it is surprising that the Ashanti Region and the Eastern Region contribute 7% and 6% respectively, it is hoped that the new services and payment platform will help shore-up tax revenue in the low performing regions in the country.
*Background*
The Government of Ghana’s domestic revenue mostly constitutes tax/non-tax revenue and MMDA collections. According to the 2017 Auditor-General’s report, inefficiencies in revenue collection resulted in losses of over GHS2 billion. With only about 254 MMDAs and some 127 public organizations operating more than 2,000 physical points of services with mostly manual processes, revenue collection is bound to have challenges.
Modern technologies presents a simple, proven solution to address these challenges and significantly grow revenues. The Ghana.gov.gh website is designed to enhance revenue mobilization of the state. Over all, promoters of the all-inclusive dashboard are hopeful that six (6) benefits will be derived from the coming onboard of the Ghana.gov.
*Six Targeted Benefits*
First, it is expected that the platform will help increase revenue collection as a result of the impact of electronic payment on the systemic collection losses that are prevalent today. It is estimated that about 10-15% of GoG collections are lost through theft, fraud and other schemes. Digitizing collections will therefore enable the government to improve their revenue by an estimated three billion Cedis (GHS 3 billion)
Secondly, digitizing government services will afford government savings not only directly from the reduction in direct input costs that will be saved from the digitizing activities (such as printing costs, transportation etc), but also from an increase in productivity. This latter savings will allow government to deliver more value from the same labour force currently employed. It is anticipated that the country will derive expense savings of approximately forty million Cedis (GHS 40 million) a year as a result of this platform.
The third target is reduced government borrowing. Currently government receives funds collected by various parties between 2 and 4 days from collecting agents. There are cases however where funds were not remitted for over 6 months.
Ghana.gov, however, will ensure that funds are received by GoG the next business day after collection. In addition, Ghana.gov will enable pre-payment of the government collections by parties who want to collect the funds. This innovation will provide extra liquidity to the government and essentially reduce the borrowing needs of the Government thereby saving the interest expense that would otherwise have been incurred.
Fourthly, boosting Ghana’s country profile is expected to be the next benefit of the new platform. Simplifying services and access to government services and increasing transparency of service delivery should have a positive impact on the ease of doing business rankings of the country and ultimately, foreign direct investments.
Countries such as Rwanda, Estonia, and the UK have all seen significant uplift in the investments as a result of their efforts to digitize and adopt a more cashless stance. By aggressively pursuing a cash-lite agenda, Ghana will become a clear example for other African countries to emulate.
Employment & local capacity building is the fifth benefit of the platform. The Ghana.gov project will create a large number of high skilled technology jobs in other areas. It is important to note that a number of these jobs will have no direct cost to government as they will be within the private sector. This will also help improve the capacity of Ghanaian firms. It is estimated that the full roll out of digital government services in conjunction with Ghana.gov, will ultimately involve over one hundred companies and creation of over 1000 jobs. The rollout of Ghana.gov will also see the establishment of government resource centers, run by small scale entrepreneurs, who will not only assist the general public access government services, but also help in the efforts and activities of GoG to widen the tax net by engaging directly with the informal sector.
Lastly, the growing of export revenues is also a major target of the project. Ultimately, Ghana.gov which is made in Ghana by Ghanaians, will also be an export product opportunity. Successful deployment of the Ghana.gov platform will provide an opportunity for the service to be resold to other governments in Africa and beyond who are also looking to implement a cash-lite and digitization strategy. Revenue from the platform used in other countries will be remitted back to Ghana and the government will earn both foreign exchange and tax revenue as a result
The Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has referred the MP for Assin Central Kennedy Agyapong to the Privileges Committee of the House following threats on Luv FM’s Erastus Asare Donkor.
The NET2 TV owner, on the same station, had allegedly called for ‘serious’ beating of Erastus Asare Donkor. He also threatened in a live telecast that if he (Honourable Agyapong) “were the president of Ghana, he would have ensured that Erastus Asare Donkor is beaten mercilessly”.
Moving the motion, Mr Suhuyini said “order 78A reads ‘unless any order otherwise provides, notice shall be given of any motion which is proposed to make except the following: a motion relating to contempt of parliament.’ Mr Speaker, I rise on this motion to pray you to exercise your powers under order 27 which also reads ‘notwithstanding anything contained in these orders, Mr Speaker may refer any questions of privilege to the Committee of Privileges for examination, investigation, and report.’”
He went on “I, therefore, call on you to exercise your powers under Order 27 to refer Hon Kennedy Ohene Agyapong whose acts and conducts continue to offend the dignity of Parliament and bring it into disrepute as captured under order 30(2).”
“In spite of the word notwithstanding, the speaker in giving his discretion may request any question of Privileges. I think that’s why the honorable member is seeking my intervention to refer the matter to the privileges committee.”
He added “this is my first time hearing this matter. As it is now, I am compelled to refer it to the priveledges committee. It’s a matter the priveledges committee will have to go into and then report to the House and it is for the house to decide whether the hon. member is contemptuous of the House.”
“In the circumstance, I direct that this matter be directed to the committee of privileges for investigation and report, I so direct.”
Meanwhile, the Multimedia Group has filed a formal complaint against the MP for threatening the life of the journalist.
In the letter, dated July 13, 2021, addressed to the Deputy Regional Commander, Ashanti Region, the media group demanded security protection for Erastus Asare Donkor.
It also called for a thorough investigation into the threats issued by the legislator
General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu has taken a swipe at Ghanaians over their comments compelling the First and Second Ladies of the Republic to refund their allowances.
First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Second Lady Samira Bawumia have both returned their monies to the State following a public backlash regarding the Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee recommendations for the two leading women to officially receive monthly salaries.
The Committee report was submitted to President Nana Akufo-Addo in fulfilment of Article 71 provision of the 1992 Constitution which enjoins every sitting President, before the end of his four-year mandate, to set up a Committee to make recommendations on the emoluments for Article 71 office holders.
As part of the report, they recommended the payment of a salary equivalent to a Cabinet Minister who is a Member of Parliament (MP) to the First Lady while her husband is in office and with the Second Lady, the payment of a salary equivalent to a Cabinet Minister who is not a Member of Parliament (MP) was recommended for her while her husband is in office.
1st/2nd Ladies Return Allowances
First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, in a statement dated 12th July 2021, decided ”not to accept any monies that have been allocated to be paid to her pursuant to the recommendations of the Prof. Yaa Ntiamoa-Badu Committee, as approved by Parliament”.
She was moved to refund her money following what she terms as “extremely negative opinions” from critics seeking to portray her as a “self-serving and self-centered woman”.
Therefore, she “in consultation with the President of the Republic, has decided to refund all monies paid to her as allowances from the date of the President’s assumption of office, i.e., from January 2017 to date, amounting to GH¢899,097.84.”
Mrs. Bawumia also indicated she will refund GH¢ 887,482 she’s received as allowances from January 2017 to March 2021.
John Boadu Blasts Ghanaians
However, after the wives of the sitting President and Vice President have refunded their allowances, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority says they should pay interest on the refund.
A section of the general public too have taken the act by the First and Second Ladies with a pinch of salt as they don’t believe in the authenticity of the action by the President and Veep’s wives.
In reply, John Boadu has sought to find out what the real problem of Ghanaians are because, to him, the refund should be enough to rest the case.
He questioned the logic in lambasting Mrs. Akufo-Addo and Mrs. Bawumia, not allowing them to enjoy their peace of mind even after they refunding their allowances.
“What is strange to me is that those who spoke against it also asked why she refunded the money and I replied; ‘so what do we want?’ The very people who were out there making all the comments fueled by John Mahama’s comments as well and now she has refunded it too, some say why did she refund. Others even say it’s not true she’s refunded it. I believe we should have patience for some of these things, he fumed on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’.
John Boadu, General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP), has come to the defence of the Members of Parliament over their $28 million car loan.
The Finance Ministry presented a loan agreement before Parliament for all 275 Parliamentarians to purchase vehicles and another $3.5 million car loan for members of the 8th Council of State to also buy vehicles.
This request has however been condemned by the general public as they argue the money should be used to alleviate the plight of Ghanaians, particularly to salvage them from the ravages of the Coronavirus pandemic.
But to John Boadu, the MPs acquiring cars is in the right order.
He believed the MPs have even been cheated because the State buys cars for members of the Judiciary and Executive.
He, therefore, questioned why it should even a loan agreement for MPs to buy cars whereas the other two arms of government get cars without taking a loan.
Speaking on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’ programme, John Boadu said; “All the other two arms of government with the level of Parliamentarians, the government buys cars, fuel them for their drivers and also maintains the cars for them. When it comes to Parliamentarians, they go for a loan for it to be deducted from their salary for them to use their car in their line of duty, but because we say they’re receiving loans, then we (the citizens) become angry because of how we’ve poisoned it. The alternative will be more expensive to this country than what they’re doing now. In my view, they are being cheated.”
”I don’t also understand the Parliamentarians for accepting that kind of arrangement. I don’t understand!”, he added.
The National Democratic Congress says it will resist all attempts by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to use technicalities to remove Assin North Member of Parliament (MP), Joe Gyaakye Quayson, from Office.
A Cape Coast High Court on Tuesday deferred judgment on the matter to the 28th of June because the MP had invoked the supervisory jurisdiction of the Supreme court on the matter.
Even though the Supreme Court has set the 27th of July for its decision, National Chairman of the NDC, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, says the people of Assin North should not be denied a representation because the NPP needs to increase its numbers in Parliament.
At a post-court interview with the media, the NDC chair stressed they have identified the machinations against the MP and the party has been very worried about the direction the case was going.
The NDC, he indicates, has been very uncomfortable with the judge’s earlier decision to pronounce judgment on the 14th of July and their belief was that there were some pieces of evidence that would have been adduced before the court if the court had allowed oral submissions to be made before it.
“If he had allowed oral evidence to be adduced during the trial process, we could have justified why we think that our member of Parliament for Assin North was duly and properly elected as well,” he stated.
Mr. Ofosu Ampofo explained to the press that the NDC’s legal team and the Vetting Committee of the party thoroughly examined documentation of all those who were domiciled outside the country and were seeking to contest elections in the country.
He claimed: “We went through their documentation and we were satisfied. In fact, that committee was chaired by no other person than the current speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon. Alban Bagbin. The venerable personality scrutinized all the processes of our legal team to satisfy the party that Joe Quayson, the MP for Assin North, was very qualified under the electoral laws of Ghana and should contest the elections. And again, the issues were even raised before the electoral commission and the commission also adjudicated on the matter and cleared him even before he filed his nomination.”
He further stated with emphasis that the NDC had a firm belief that the back and forth in court was a ploy to reduce the numbers of the NDC in parliament.
Mr. Ofosu Ampofo further submitted that Mr. Joe Quayson, having come from Canada, another jurisdiction, references to the jurisprudence of Canada was also critical in deciding the matter.
He says given the opportunity for the legal team of the Assin North MP to give oral submissions, they could adduce evidence as to when Joe Quayson actually renounced his citizenship, with all the documents that would be attached.
He said: “Our legal team has them and this will go a long way to exonerate him and justify why the party feels and why the EC itself accepted the nomination for him to file and contest.”
He added, “mind you, this is an election petition, the people of Assin North queued from morning to evening to elect an MP of their choice and we will not allow any technicalities whatsoever to be used to deprive us of our MP”
“We know all the machinations that are going on. They are very comfortable with the hanged parliament the country has now and they are trying every possible means, including legal gymnastics, to deprive the NDC of our numbers we have in Parliament.”
Michael Ankomah Nimfah, a resident of Assin North, petitioned a Cape Coast High Court over the qualification of the Assin North MP. According to him, the MP did not qualify to contest the 2020 elections at that time he filed to contest the elections
The Minority in Parliament has served notice to rely on the Chairman of the Public Account Committee (PAC) to write officially to the Auditor-General (A-G) to audit the account of the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo. This follows the decision of the First Lady to refund the GH¢899,000 allowances she has received from the state since 2017.
Yesterday, the Office of the President released a press statement that it had received a cheque covering the amount from Mrs Akufo-Addo.
Addressing the press in Parliament yesterday, the Minority explained that an audit by the A-G would help to determine whether the money the First Lady was using to refund the allowance she was paid, was indeed her own resources, or funds she took from her foundation which was funded by state agencies such as Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and GCB.
“We welcome the decision by the First Lady to refund the allowances paid to her since January 2017, but we need to ascertain whether that is the money she actually received and whether interest has accrued on the money and she has to refund same,” it said.
The Deputy Minority Leader, Mr James Klutse Avedzi,who addressed the media, said “If the First Lady is not interested to receive allowances, then all state sponsorship for her non-profit organisation should also be refunded since she is not personally interested in that.
“As Chairman of the Public Account Committee (PAC), we are serving notice that we will write officially to the Auditor General to go into auditing the account of the First Lady as well as the Second Lady,” he said.
Refund of allowances
Mrs Akufo-Addo reportedly returned to the state an amount of GH¢899,097.84 being the full refund of allowances paid her since January 7, 2017.
She issued a Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited cheque with number 000002 for the amount.
The refund follows her rejection of proposed allocated salaries approved by Parliament, which has since generated controversy and engendered public debates over the propriety to consider salaries and other emoluments for presidential spouses in consonance with Article 71 office holders.
Interest must be paid
Reacting to the development, Mr Avedzi acknowledged that the decision by the First Lady to refund the GH¢899,000 she received from the state should come with some interest that the money would have accrued.
“So we are calling on the A-G to go into the accounts of the First Lady to ascertain that the money she actually refunded was the money she received and also compute the interest that would have accrued, if that money had been put to interest-bearing account.
“The A-G must also ascertain whether there is sufficient money in the account so that the cheque she has issued will not bounce,” he said.
First Lady can’t be under Article 71
He asserted that if former First Ladies were legally paid allowances, there was nothing wrong for the current First Lady and Second Lady to also receive allowances from the state.
“But when you put the First Lady under Article 71, it is an infringement on the Constitution and that is the point we are raising because there is nowhere in Article 71 that the spouses of the President had been stated to be part of public office holders
“She can continue to receive allowance but once we are not equating you to a Cabinet minister it is wrong,” he said.
Extend auditing to former First Ladies
In a reaction, the New Patriotic Party MP for Nhyiaeso, Mr Stephen Amoah, welcomed the call by the Minority for the A-G to audit the account of the First and Second ladies.
He, however, called for such auditing to be extended to all former First Ladies, especially the wife of former President John Mahama, Mrs Lordina Mahama, who started taking “huge salaries from 2012” and her foundation also received funds from the state.
The Youth Wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has announced to the general public, new changes at the National Secretariat of the Tertiary Education Institutions Network (TEIN).
A statement said in line with the reorganization and overall party agenda to revamp its activities and operations, these changes have been effected at the TEIN Secretariat to reflect the strategic direction of the Youth Wing towards Agenda 2024.
As part of this process, new coordinators with clearly defined roles, scope of work have been appointed to help run and manage the Secretariat with key focus on mobilizing young people especially students for the National Democratic Congress.
The following individuals have been appointed; Bernard Dartey, Ekow Djan, Bawa Mubarik
Thus the new structure of TEIN is as follows;
David D. Wullah
National TEIN Coordinatornull
Ekow Djan
Deputy In Charge of Southern Sector
Bernard Dartey
Deputy In Charge of Operations
Henrietta Asante
Deputy In Charge of Administrationnull
Bawa Mubarik
Deputy In Charge of Northern Sector
Solomon Ananpansah who served as a Deputy Coordinator resigned earlier this year to pursue higher education. The Youth Wing has extended best wishes to him and thanks him for his service.
The new leadership of TEIN have been charged with overseeing the revamping of TEIN activities and operations to mobilize a 1 million student base for the NDC.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has indicated that he is looking forward to the Kpemberwura Babanye Ndefosu II prediction for the 2024 general elections.
In September 2016, Paramount Chief of the Kpembe Traditional Area, Kpembe Wura Babanye Ndefosu II, predicted that the 2016 general election then-candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will not secure less than 53 per cent of the total valid votes cast saying “I predict nothing less than 53% victory for you.”
The Kpembewura made this known when then-candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, together with national and regional party stalwarts, paid a courtesy call on him at his palace at Kpembe in the Salaga South Constituency of the Northern Region.
The chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) Charlotte Osei, declared the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, the winner of the 2016 elections, securing 53.85 per cent to beat President John Mahama.
Former President Mahama, who contested the elections on the ticket of the then governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), secured 44.40 of valid votes cast.
At the kpmebewura’s palace during his two-day tour of the Savannah region, President Akufo-Addo described the paramount chief of the Kpembe Traditional Area as the election prediction prophet and said “I am looking forward to your prophecy for 2024 general elections.”
President Akufo-Addo thanked the people of the Savannah region for the massive votes during the 2020 general elections but was however disappointed by the NPP’s failure to retain that Salaga south constituency seat saying “ after the 2020 elections, NPP seats has increased from 1 to 3 but my ambition is to work harder so that 2024 Salaga South Constituency will come back to the NPP.”
Mr President assured that the East Gonja municipality will get its share of the National cake in his second term in office
The Ghana Infectious Disease Center has warned Ghanaians against the seeming non-adherence to the Covid-19 safety protocols as it notes that government can not be of help should anyone fall severely ill.
The Ga East Municipal Hospital has disclosed that the facility lacks adequate nurses needed to take care of the increasing number of Covid-19 patients at the facility.
The Hospital is also in need of oxygen for the patients at the Hospital’s Infectious Disease Center’s Intensive Care Unit.
The number of active Covid-19 cases in the country has catapulted to 2,314 in the past two weeks as Ghanaians have let their guard down on the safety protocols.
Meanwhile, Presidential Advisor on Health Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare has warned of a third wave of COVID-19.
Acting Director of the Center, Dr Joseph Oliver-Commey said the ICU designated for Covid patients is full to capacity while the ward for critical cases can not take on new cases.
Dr Oliver-Commey noted, “the only reason why you can take patients into your ICU is when you have oxygen and adequate staff to handle them.”
“At the moment we are constrained by lack of oxygen and it is not only the infectious disease centre, almost all the ICU centres are constrained by oxygen including the use of high flow oxygen, very expensive that patients cannot afford.”
He added “we are not saying we can’t look after the patients but the things to use to look after them, the nurses, the oxygen is a problem. You narrow it down only to oxygen, I said oxygen plus the personnel, so I could have the oxygen but not the personnel and if I don’t have the personnel, why do I put a patient on the bed?”
“This is my humble plea to all Ghanaians, if you fall sick and you fall severely ill, government cannot help you, I would not be able to help you and so is your next door neighbour, so consciously prevent yourself from getting COVID-19,” Dr Oliver-Commey urged in an interview with Asaase radio
The Inter-Ministerial Committee investigating the circumstances that led to deaths in Ejura in the Ashanti region following the death of activist Ibrahim Kaaka will bring their public hearing to a close today.
The three-member committee has dedicated the day to the Ejura Traditional Council. The Nifahene of Ejura Nana Osei Kwadow Ansebie has been first to appear before the committee.
Meanwhile, one of the neighbours of the slain social media activist confirmed the police’s claim that a brother of Kaaka is behind the assault which led to the death of the activist.
Police had earlier arrested Mohammed’s brother based on information from an unnamed informant who alleged that he was involved in the murder of the deceased.
Following the incident and the alleged killing of some irate youth in Ejura by some military men, President Akufo-Addo on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in a statement from the presidency instructed the Interior Minister to conduct a public inquiry into the chaos that resulted in the death of two persons.
Appearing before the committee on Tuesday, July 13 Fuseini noted that even though he wasn’t in the town at the time of the killing, his wife told him she had seen the suspect at the crime scene.
He said “My Lord, the incident that happened in EJura started on Friday but on that same Friday I was as in Tamale. The incident that happened, it was my wife who saw. She was in her room performing ablution and she heard the sound of a motorbike coming.”
“Our house is on a one and a half plot with the other plot remaining, and their building is in the same line. So, when she heard the sound of the motorbike, suddenly she heard a certain noise. So, she just heard that somebody was screaming like the person being strangulated but that time she came out
Editor-in-Chief of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt has commended First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Second Lady Samira Bawumia for refunding their allowances to the State.
Prof. Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee
The Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee report dated the 18th of June 2020, submitted its recommendations to President Akufo-Addo in fulfilment of the Article 71 provision of the 1992 Constitution which enjoins every sitting President, before the end of his four-year mandate, to set up a Committee to make recommendations on the emoluments for Article 71 office holders.
As part of the five (5) member committee’s report, they recommended the payment of a salary equivalent to a Cabinet Minister who is a Member of Parliament (MP) to the First Lady while her husband is in office and the payment of a salary equivalent to 80% of salary of a Minister of State who is a Member of Parliament (MP) if the spouse served one full term as President or 100% of salary of a Minister of State who is a Member of Parliament (MP) if the spouse served two or more full terms as President.
With the Second Lady, the committee’s report, recommended the payment of a salary equivalent to a Cabinet Minister who is not a Member of Parliament (MP) to the Second Lady while her husband is in office and the payment of a salary equivalent to 80% of salary of a Minister of State who is not a Member of Parliament (MP) if the spouse served one full term as President or 100% of salary of a Minister of State who is a Member of Parliament (MP) if the spouse served two or more full terms as Vice President.
First & Second Ladies’ Salaries Refund
First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, in a statement dated 12th July 2021, has “decided not to accept any monies that have been allocated to be paid to her pursuant to the recommendations of the Prof. Yaa Ntiamoa-Badu Committee, as approved by Parliament”.
She cited the “extremely negative opinions” from critics which are seeking to portray her as a “self-serving and self-centered woman” as reasons for her refund.
In view of this, she “in consultation with the President of the Republic, has decided to refund all monies paid to her as allowances from the date of the President’s assumption of office, i.e., from January 2017 to date, amounting to GH¢899,097.84.”
The Second Lady, Samira Bawumia has also indicated she will refund a total amount of eight hundred and eighty-seven thousand, four hundred and eighty-two (GHc 887,482) she’s received as allowances from January 2017 to March 2021.
The decision of the two leading ladies of the Republic to refund their allowances is motivated by recent public backlash that has characterized the recommendation by the Presidential Committee on Emoluments for Article 71 office holders for the First and Second Ladies to be paid salaries.
Kwesi Pratt’s Reply
Discussing the issue on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’ programme, Kwesi Pratt welcomed the refund of the allowances, stressing it will be of great help to Ghanaians.
“Her Excellency Rebecca Akufo-Addo has helped us. She’s come out to say she doesn’t want the money and that we should take it back. We have done something. Haven’t we? I’ve heard that Madam Samira Bawumia (Excellency) also says she doesn’t want the money, so we should receive it back. We have taken our money back,” he told host Kwami Sefa Kayi.
Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni — Former CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board
A former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni’s application to change the judge handling his trial will be decided by the Supreme Court on July 28, this year.
Other members of the panel were Justices Gabriel Pwamang, Agnes Dordzie, Avril Lovelace -Johnson and Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu
Dr Opuni, and Seidu Agongo, CEO of Agricult Ghana Limited, an agrochemicals company, are on trial on accusation of causing financial loss of more than GH¢271 million to the state.
Agongo is accused of using fraudulent means to sell substandard fertiliser to the COCOBOD for onward distribution to cocoa farmers, while Dr Opuni is accused of facilitating the act by allowing Agongo’s products not to be tested and certified as required by law.
The two have denied any wrongdoing and have pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Opuni’s case
Dr Opuni’s application at the Supreme Court is his fourth attempt to have Justice Clemence Jackson Honyenuga, a Justice of the Supreme Court, with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, taken off his trial.
He invoked the supervisory jurisdiction of the apex court, seeking an order of certiorari to quas
Veteran lawyer Steve Raymond Dapaa-Addo has been appointed the new Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) by President Akufo-Addo.
His appointment took effect from July 9, 2021.
The EOCO boss practised his law in Ghana as a State Attorney and in Nigeria. While in Nigeria, he worked with the Rivers State Ministry of Justice. He was subsequently handed the position of Director of Civil Litigation.
He joined EOCO in July 2019 from the National Security Secretariat as a Special Advisor to the Office.
Mr. Dapaa – Addo succeeds Mr Frank Adu-Poku, who retired in May this year
• Gabby Otchere Darko says the former First Lady, Lord Mahama should not be pressured to refund salaries and allowances paid to her
• He explains that her husband, former President Mahama’s failure to set up an Emolument Committee to look into such payments is the cause of the current confusion
• The governing NPP stalwart’s stance stems from several calls for the former First Lady to follow the precedence set up by First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo and wife of Vice President Bawumia, Samira
In a rather interesting twist of events, a leading member of the NPP and nephew of President Akufo-Addo has jumped to the defence of the Former First Lady and wife of John Mahama.
Gabby Otchere Darko in a tweet on the morning of Wednesday, July 14 reacted to increasing calls for Mrs Lordina Mahama to follow the footsteps of her counterparts to refund monies paid to her in the form of salaries and allowances during the tenure of her husband as president.
According to him, her husband, John Dramani Mahama ought to be blamed rather for failing to do due diligence during his tenure as president.null
Following the decision of First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo and wife of the Vice President, Samira Bawumia to refund the monies, New Patriotic Party’s General Secretary, John Boadu challenged the former First Lady, Lordina to follow suit.
“…let me say this emphatically. Former President Mahama’s wife, Lordina Mahama, must, as a matter of urgency, refund all monies paid to her since January 2017 till now. Those she received as far back as 2009 should also be refunded. The monies she has received from that time till now would amount to GHC3.2 million,” John Boadu charged in an interview on TV Africa.
Several other Ghanaians have jumped on the wagon to pressurise Lordina Mahama to make the payments. In fact, a statement was widely circulated on social media purporting that the former First Lady had taken the cue and was going to refund the monies to the state.
But in a quick rebuttal, she posted the said statement on her social media pages and labelled them as fake, an action which was also mirrored by her husband, John.
Reacting to the development, while defending Madam Lordina, Gabby Otchere Darko blamed former President Mahama for failing to establish an independent Emoluments Committee as a recommendation from the 2011 Constitution Review Commission report.
“Leave Lordina Mahama alone! She doesn’t have to refund her alawa. Not her fault her husband who says he believes in the 2011 Constitution Review Commission Report’s recommendation to set up an Independent Emoluments Committee yet he never ever saw the need to attempt to do it.” Gabby’s tweet read.
The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia says his party is helping the Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah to redeem his image following bribery allegations levelled against him.null
The NDC Chief Scribe says the NDC’s press conference earlier today was to help analyse measures to adopt to help protect the credibility of the Judicial Service which is being soiled by bribery allegations.
There have been allegations against Chief justice by one lawyer Akwasi Afrifa who claims Anin-Yeboah demanded US $5 million from Ogyeedom Obranu Kwesi Atta VI.
This became public when the Kumasi-based lawyer responded to the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council (GLC) after a petition was brought against him by Ogyeedom Obranu Kwesi Atta VI.
In his response, Akwasi Afrifa alleged that the chief told him at the end of July 2020 that friends of his who were highly connected politically had taken him to see the Chief Justice who agreed to help him win his case on the condition that he drops him (Akwesi Afrifa) as the lawyer handling a case for him and engage Akoto Ampaw Esq in his stead.
“He [the chief] further informed me that the Chief Justice had demanded a bribe of USD$5,000,000.00 for a successful outcome of his case and that he had already paid USD$500,000.00 to the Chief Justice”, Akwesi Afrifa alleged Ogyeedom Obranu Kwesi Atta VI had told him.
But addressing the press at the party’s headquarters, General Secretary for the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia urged the Chief Justice to step aside for investigations to be launched into the matter.
But reacting to the presser, Asiedu Nketia said “We [the NDC] want to help the Chief Justice to redeem his image.”
“We called the press to suggest ways the Chief Justice can use to clear himself. Probably someone wants to drag his name in the mud. We are rather helping him because the allegations are from someone and we don’t know who is telling the truth,” he added.null
To him, the Chief whose matter is in the court may be taking advantage of his relationship with the Chief Justice to dent his image, adding ” so when we are asking questions we are helping to bring clarity to the issue.”
Investigations
The NDC has charged the General Legal Council to stay away from investigating the bribery allegations leveled against Chief justice.
Asiedu Nketiah believes CHRAJ can do a better job than the Criminal Investigative Department of the Ghana Police Service the Anin-Yeboah has tasked to probe the matter.
At the press conference, Asiedu Nketiah stated, “We disagree with the referral of these allegations to the General Legal Council’s Disciplinary Committee by the Chief Justice, for the sole reason that it is an offshoot of a body Chaired by the person at the center of these allegations-the Chief Justice.”
“The likelihood for an impartial and balanced investigation by them into this matter would be quite minimal so long as the Chief Justice remains at post,” he argued.
He added, “Conversely, CHRAJ, which has an enviable reputation of looking into similar cases of alleged corruption against highly placed state and government officials would be better placed to conduct such a serious inquiry.”
Below is the NDC statement;null
SPEECH DELIVERED BY HON. JOHNSON ASIEDU NKETIA, GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS ON ACCUSATIONS OF BRIBERY AGAINST THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA.
13th July, 2021.
Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen of the media. Let me welcome you to this urgent encounter at which we intend to share our thoughts on a matter of grave national importance.
In the last few days, we have learnt about damning allegations made against the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, His Lordship Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, by a prominent Lawyer, Akwasi Afrifa Esq., to the effect that his client whose case he was conducting had informed him that the Chief Justice demanded a bribe of USD$5 million to fix the verdict of a case before the Supreme Court. He also alleges that the Chief Justice demanded the replacement of he Akwasi Afrifa with Akoto Ampaw Esq. as Lawyer in the case as a precondition for ensuring victory in the case for his client.
We have also taken notice of a denial by the Chief in question, Nana Ogyeedom Obranu Kwesi Atta VI and the Chief Justice of the said allegations and the subsequent request of the latter for investigations into the matter by the CID of the Ghana Police Service.
Distinguished friends from the media, the allegations made against the Chief Justice are very grave and rock the very foundations of the Judiciary, which is an indispensable and independent arm of government. Any suggestion that the head of such an institution has sought to compromise his office to undermine the integrity of judgements made by the courts, warrants the most serious attention. This is because any doubts harbored over the integrity of the Judiciary and its leadership, has the potential to completely erode public confidence in the administration of justice in Ghana and our governance institutions as a whole.
Over the years, we have collectively worked hard to build a Judiciary with an enviable reputation as a country. Our Judiciary has produced some of the best Jurists on the African continent and I dare say, in the world. Ghanaian Jurists have served in top positions in the judiciaries of other African countries and in many reputable international institutions. The role an effective, independent and impartial Judiciary plays in attracting investment, ensuring national stability and improvement in the general well-being of the citizenry cannot be over emphasised.
As the political tradition that birthed the fourth republic, we are deeply concerned that if this matter is not handled with utmost transparency and the required seriousness, it could compromise public confidence in the judiciary and roll back the many gains that we have made in our forward march as a viable democratic state.null
In this regard, and without taking sides or commenting on the merit or otherwise of the said allegations of bribery against the Chief Justice, we believe that an investigation by the Police CID would be woefully inadequate to assure the Ghanaian public that a thorough inquiry has been conducted into the matter.
We are of the considered view that the recent history of the Police CID with respect to investigations into allegations against high-ranking officials of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government would not afford the sort of confidence that must be engendered in an investigation such as this considering the elevated position of the person against whom these allegations have been made.
We recall how corruption cases like the Australia Visa fraud scandal, the Galamsey fraud scandal, the 500 missing excavators scandal, just to mention a few ended in clear cover-ups when handled by the Police CID. The magnitude and gravity of this matter calls for utmost transparency and confidence building which the CID cannot muster at the moment.
We in the NDC hold the view, that though these allegations have a component of criminality, it is in equal measure about alleged misconduct on the part of a judge and as such it would ordinarily fall within the ambit of the Judicial Service to take steps to unravel the truth about this matter and take disciplinary action if proven to be true. This is exactly what was done in the bribery expose’ of ace investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas against some Judges few years ago.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, the difficulty however with this is that the investigations would concern the Chief Justice who is the subject of the bribery allegations in this matter and in whom disciplinary authority against Judicial Officers is vested under Section 18 of the Judicial Service Act. Therefore, good governance dictates that the Chief Justice steps aside during the pendency of the investigations by the Judicial Service relative to the issue of alleged misconduct on his part as a Supreme Court Judge. The Chief Justice cannot be a judge in his own cause hence cannot setup a committee to investigate allegations of misconduct against himself.
Also, we think that due to the considerable public interest involved in this matter, another effective and transparent approach in the circumstance would be a full-blown public inquiry. This can be done by invoking Article 278 of the 1992 Constitution under which Parliament can by a resolution compel the President to set up a Commission of Inquiry to look into the matters at hand in a transparent manner and make a faithful determination thereof.
Friends, we are now confronted with a very dicey situation, where it is the word of lawyer Akwasi Afrifa on the one hand against the word of the Chief Justice and the Chief who is alleged to have paid the bribe in question on the other hand. As I have already explained, this issue has dire consequences for the reputation of not just the Judiciary but our revered Chieftaincy institution and the country as a whole. The question is, whose account among the three should we believe as a country? Who is telling us the truth? Is it the Chief Justice and Nana Ogyeedom or is it Lawyer Kwasi Afrifa? We believe that only credible and transparent investigations can establish the truth in this matter. And we hold the opinion that the transparent approach of a Public enquiry is the best way to go. This approach we believe is in the interest of the Chief Justice who stands accused and his accuser.
Conversely, CHRAJ, which has an enviable reputation of looking into similar cases of alleged corruption against highly placed state and government officials would be better placed to conduct such a serious inquiry.null
We also disagree with the referral of these allegations to the General Legal Council’s Disciplinary Committee by the Chief Justice, for the sole reason that it is an offshoot of a body Chaired by the person at the center of these allegations-the Chief Justice. The likelihood for an impartial and balanced investigation by them into this matter would be quite minimal so long as the Chief Justice remains at post. We therefore believe that the GLC should stay its hands over this matter pending the final determination of the issue by independent state organizations cloaked with requisite authority to do so.
Best practice would require that the Chief Justice steps aside temporarily until the matters are looked into and a clear outcome emerges and we believe this instance calls for such an action.
Friends from the media, in making these calls, we are guided by the supreme interest of governance and the preservation of the image of critical state institutions like the Judiciary and its leaders especially the Chief Justice. No iota of doubt must remain about its integrity and credibility and it is absolutely imperative that everything is done to guarantee this.
Ghana’s Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has been invited to be part of a High-Level Advisory Group for Mission 4.7, a new global initiative to put into practice the bold vision articulated by the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) on education and target 4.7.
Mission 4.7 is a partnership between the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), United Nations Economic Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Ban Ki-Moon centre for Global Citizen, and the Centre for Sustainable Development at Columbia University.
Dr. Adutwum would be delivering a virtual keynote address on July 20th, 2021 between 09:00 and 10:00 am during one of the group’s meetings.
This was stated in an invitation letter dated 23rd June 2021 and signed by Jeffrey D. Sachs, President, United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and Stephanie Giannini, Assistant Secretary-General, UNESCO on behalf of Audrey Azoulay, Patron, Mission 4.7 and Director-General UNESCO.
It is expected that Dr. Adutwum, who is a career educationist with a barrage of experience, brings to bear his remarkable leadership in global education to benefit the rest of the globe.
Mission 4.7 will be led by two Patrons: Mr. Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary-General of the UN and Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of UNESCO.
The Advisory Group on the other hand would be co-chaired by Ms. Stephanie Giannini, the Assistant Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah, the Chairman of the Sunway Group, Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and the representative of Pope Francis and Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, the President of SDSN.
In his response letter to the Agency dated July 9th, 2021, Dr. Yaw Adutwum reaffirmed his readiness to take part in the project to get the best for practising the bold vision articulated initiative.
He said it was prudent for all to put their expertise to bear to help generate ideas and initiatives that stood the chance of supporting the development of education in every part of the world.
The Education Minister was upbeat that, the assemblage of such a powerful team of education experts would go a long way to gather the best of ideas and visions which could bring great change to the world through the transformation of education.
Dr. Adutwum assured the world of his preparedness to spend quality time towards the planning, discussion, and implementation of any good vision for the good of the world.
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 aims to ensure inclusive education and promote lifetime learning opportunities for all.
Several targets under SDG 4 are concerned with access to various levels of education, especially for vulnerable populations.
Timely data on school locations is essential for the assessment of students and student’s needs, planning for resources allocation and access to other services such as health facilities, and policy planning that can improve the quality of education for students.
To support the call to action, the UN SDSN’s SDG’s is providing an accessible product using open-source data to share national population counts within various travel distances and time from recorded educational facilities
The goal is to engage local students, communities, and other actors in the ongoing development of this dataset and learn how to work with education ministers and statistical offices to complement official data sources.
Background
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, who is also a Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe in the Ashanti Region, is an educationist who has spent all his life teaching, studying, and managing education at different levels and in different parts of the world.
This makes his appointment to the world-class platform not a surprise to most Ghanaians, especially looking at his performance in the past five years as a Deputy Education Minister and his recent elevation to the substantive position of Minister for Education.
He has been very instrumental since the beginning of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government in rolling out of the novel Free Senior High School initiative, the Double Track admission system among others.
All these coupled with others were part of the reasons why the President re-assigned him to be the substantive Minister for Education
A driver and his mate have died in a gory accident after the collision of a VIP bus with registration number GT 5255 17, and a petroleum tanker on the Mankessim-Cape Coast Highway.
According to an eye witness, the incident happened on Tuesday night July 13, 2021, at 10:30 pm at Saltpon in the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region. The eyewitness said the National Ambulance Service struggled to rescue lives from the accident.
The driver of the bus according to eyewitnesses died instantly upon the impact, same as his conductor before reaching the hospital.
Assemblymember for the Nkubeam Electoral Area, Saltpond, Francis Ekow Dotse said the Ambulance Service had to cut open some metals to enable them remove the body of the conductor and that of the driver. He noted that three out of six passengers on board the bus who sustained injuries are in critical condition at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital.
The other victims have been discharged from the hospital Wednesday morning.
Mr. Ekow Dotse in an interview with Starr News said the VIP bus attempted to overtake another vehicle but ended up colliding with the tanker driver.
“I was called by a colleague that an accident had happened. I rushed to the scene and was overwhelmed. It was a bus and a tanker. One dead, the driver of the bus was already dead from the impact.
The conductor was stuck between crushed metals and was breeding.
It took fire service officers and the ambulance service hours to cut him loose from the scrap.
“He was reported dead upon reaching the hospital. Nine of the passenger on board the bus got injured but the condition of three is very critical. But I am told they have been stabilized this morning,” he said.
President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has commissioned the Tumu Business Resource Centre, which has been established by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to provide strategic support and assistance to the domestic private sector operating within the Sissala East district and neighboring districts. So far, thirty seven (37) Business Resource Centres (BRCs), including the one at Tumu, have been established and have already commenced operations, with 30 additional ones at various stages of completion. The BRCs are being financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), through the Rural Enterprises Programme (REP) of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. It will be recalled that, upon the assumption of office of by the NPP Government in 2017, the Ministry of Trade and Industry took steps to realign the Rural Enterprises Programme (REP) to respond to the emerging opportunities under the Government’s Industrial Transformation Agenda, such as the 1-District-1-Factory initiative, and other related interventions. Indeed, the Rural Enterprises Programme is currently establishing some 63 1D1F projects, plus the establishment of five large Technology Solutions Centres to support industries. All BRCs are being managed by experienced professionals, have been equipped with modern office logistics, and will soon be connected together digitally through a Virtual Private Network to facilitate efficient delivery of their operations. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has engaged and signed MOUs with some key business regulatory agencies to enable them use the BRC as agency representatives to deliver their services at the district level. These include the Registrar Generals’ Department (RGD), Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Ghana Investment Promotion Centre( GIPC) and Food and Drugs Authority (FDA). The BRCs are established as operational wings of the Ghana Enterprises Agency. In addition to supporting 1D1F companies, at the district level, the BRCs provide the following services to other MSMEs: training in management and entrepreneurship; business counselling and advisory services; preparation of business plans; facilitating access to financial services and credit; and facilitating access to markets. The President expressed his gratitude to the Chiefs and people of Tumu, and urged the people to offer their support to ensure that the Centre is able to provide the requisite assistance to the private sector to enhance the development of the local economy of the Sissala East district and the surrounding communities.
Lawyers for the Multimedia Group (operators of radio stations including Joy FM and Adom FM) say the media conglomerate is considering its legal options after the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong accused its staff of demanding money from government officials.
In a statement issued on its behalf by an Accra-based Law firm, A-Partners B Law, Multimedia said it “takes a serious view of the outright falsehoods of wrongdoing, including the unethical hack of saboteur reporting against Government, criminal blackmail, corruption and war-mongering”.
Mr Agyapong reportedly made the allegation on Friday, July 9, 2021, on Net 2 TV.
Agyapong’s meeting with Multimedia CEO
The statement said although the CEO of the Multimedia Group, Mr Kwasi Twum had a meeting with Mr Agyapong, the purpose of that engagement was about a petition against the move to reduce the transmission coverage radius of certain radio stations to 45 kilometres.
“This petition, delivered to and received by the sector ministry on May 11, 2018, was issued and signed by the management of ten radio stations including KENCITY MEDIA LTD’s OMAN FM. A copy, used in court on the subject, is attached hereto for the avoidance of doubt.
“That the group of stations operating including 100km coverage radii, fearing the devastating impact of the threatened reduction to their established audience reach and investment made on the strength of the existing frequency reach, felt, out of courtesy, that the said meeting be had with him as then Chairman of Parliament’s Communications Committee.
“That it bears stressing that neither did the CEO step out of his known character and established professional business conduct to discuss anything personal nor such as separately privately concerned Joy FM/MGL as a business and certainly never a word about the falsely alleged concerns of its staff”.
Staff meetings with Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko
On the sighting, of its staff at the residence of a leading member of the New Patriotic Party, Mr Gabby Asare Otchere Darko, the statement said they were there on official business related to media interviews, interactions and the possibility of joining Asaase Radio.
A 23-year-old woman is on the wanted list of the Greater Accra Regional Police Command for allegedly smuggling a weapon into the Cantonments police station.
According to the police, the suspect concealed the weapon in packs of food meant for a robbery suspect on remand.
The locally manufactured pistol and one AA cartridge were found after careful examination by police officers on duty.
Speaking to the media, the Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Effia Tenge, said the police had begun a manhunt for the suspect.
“On July 11, 2021, a lady of about 23 years visited the charge office of the Cantonment Police Station to visit an inmate who was on remand for robbery at the cells. She came along with two packs of fast food and during the inspection of the food, it was found that she had hidden a locally manufactured pistol with one cartridge.”
She added that the police have recovered security camera footage of the incident and were working on identifying the woman.
“The lady at the time of the inspection was carrying a baby and pretended as giving help to the child, only for her to escape from the charge office. Luckily, the police have been able to retrieve CCTV footage, from the charge office and so the police are on a manhunt for this lady.”
Meanwhile, the police are also urging the public to assist in the arrest of the suspect
• Lordina Mahama is under pressure to refund the allowance she enjoyed as First Lady
• Sammy Gyamfi says first ladies enjoy other benefits aside the allowance
Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress has moved to quell the confusion about the quantum of allowance enjoyed by former First Lady Lordina Mahama.
Sammy Gyamfi told Okay FM on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, that contrary to some figures in circulation, Lordina Mahama was paid GH¢8000 every three months.
He explained that the payment of the emolument was a convention that had been practiced to provide support to spouses of former Presidents who are no more.null
He noted that aside the quarterly allowance, the first ladies also enjoyed other benefits form the state including free security and healthcare.
“The agreement was that all former first ladies who were facing some challenges were going to receive some allowance every three months. The Rawlings government did for Fathia (Nkrumah), Busia’s wife and other former first ladies.
“They also did it for sitting spouses that every three months, they’ll be given some allowances. The money was not huge. In fact former first lady Lordina Mahama took GH¢8,000 every three months. The allowance was not the only thing the country did for them, they were given offices for their charity works and other activities. Government paid for the operation of their offices and gave them cars,” he added.
Sammy Gyamfi’s revelation comes on the back of mounting pressure that Lordina Mahama refunds all monies paid her as First Lady.
Following the decision by current first Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo to refund and subsequently reject every form of allowance, John Boadu, the General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party tasked Lordina Mahama to also refund hers.null
“Schandorf, let me say this emphatically. Former President Mahama’s wife, Lordina Mahama, must, as a matter of urgency, refund all monies paid to her since January 2017 till now. Those she received as far back as 2009 should also be refunded. The monies she has received from that time till now would amount to GH¢3.2 million,” he said on TV Africa on Tuesday, 13th July 2021.
First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo refunded her allowances following backlash from the public.
“The First Lady in consultation with the President of the Republic has decided to refund all monies paid to her as allowances from the date of the president’s assumption to office i.e. January 2017, to date, amounting to GH¢899,097.84.
“The First Lady has also decided not to accept any monies that have been allocated to her pursuant to the Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee, as approved by Parliament.
“She is doing this as a purely personal decision, without prejudice to the rights of others, and not to undermine the propriety of the process undertaken by Parliament,” the statement from Rebecca Akufo-Addo said in part.
The Initiators of Change Foundation, an organisation focused on governance, poverty reduction, empowerment and human resource has presented a Lifetime in A Portrait Award to the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, after he was adjudged Africa’s Digital Revolutionary Leader of the Decade.
A citation accompanying the award read:
“Upon your assumption of office as The Vice President of Ghana, we recognise that you have re-directed Ghana’s manual systems to that of digitization to fasttrack the national development agenda.
“You spearheaded the paperless and digitization agenda of Ghana to formalise and transform the country’s economy and further bring about inclusion. Notable among your initiatives include the Zipline technology otherwise known as drones for quicker healthcare delivery, paperless National Health Insurance registration and renewal, paperless port system, digitization of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), National Digital Property Addressing System, National ID Cards, ECG power purchase made easy, mobile payments interoperability platform, and many others.
“These technological introductions have reduced the cost of doing business and have rather increased productivity.
“For these and many more, the Initiators of Change Foundation would want to honour you as ‘Africa’s Digital Revolutionary Leader of the Decade’ in recognition and appreciation of the positive impact you have made on society and the development of Ghana.”
Presenting the Award to Dr Bawumia at the Jubilee House, Accra, on Tuesday, 13 July 2021 the Foundation, represented by its Executive Director, Kofi Gyan, and several members of the Board of Trustees including Most Rev Dr Aboagye-Mensah, former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, praised the Vice President for “the good work he is doing” to help accelerate Ghana’s development.
The Award, a pencil art drawing of the Vice President, is to symbolise the enduring legacy of Dr Bawumia’s works and is “in recognition and appreciation of the positive impact you have made on society and the development of Ghana,” they added.
Noting that the Foundation had in the past recognised and awarded several distinguished persons, including all past Presidents, some politicians and civil servants, Mr Gyan explained that a decision was taken to recognise and award distinguished public servants to mark a special occasion of the Foundation’s life.
“This year, 2021, the Foundation is 10 years, and as part of our 10th anniversary, the Board decided that we should focus on public servants, because public servants are also doing a lot in terms of the development of the country. Your Excellency, after deliberations, considerations and research, your name came up, as ‘Africa’s Digital Revolutionary Leader of the Decade’.”
Vice President Bawumia thanked the Foundation for the “great honour” done him, and pledged his continued commitment for achieving President Akufo-Addo’s vision to move Ghana to the next stage of her development while reducing the burden on the poor and the vulnerable who are largely excluded from society.
“This is why we thought digitization and the digital revolution in Ghana would be one of the key ways of helping the poor and include them,” he explained.
The Initiators of Change Foundation (ICF) is a non-governmental organization focusing on governance, poverty reduction, empowerment and human resource development. Its Board of Trustees include Most Rev Dr Aboagye-Mensah, former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church; Prof (Mrs) Miranda Greenstreet; Prof Alexa Ntim Abankwa; Hon Kwame Amporfo Twumasi; Dr Joyce Aryee; Dr Mrs Nana Yaa Owusu-Prempeh; and Dr Isaac Owusu Mensah. Former President John Agyekum Kufuor is Life Patron
• Okudzeto believes that MPs should not accept the loan offernull
• He believes that MPs should be able to contract private loans to purchase their cars
• He and Patrick Yaw Boamah have filed a bill to stop government from making deductions from the salaries of MPs
Samuel Okudzeto, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu and colleague Patrick Yaw Boamah of Okaikwei Central have initiated moves to stop Parliament from approving a request by the Ministry of Finance to provide a $28million loan facility to members of parliament for the purchase of cars.
The two MPs on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 sponsored a bi-partisan Private Members Bill with the aim of stopping the house from approving the loan.
In the bill, the two MPs argued that like all groups under Article 71, the government must provide vehicles for MPs for their official assignment and not for them to purchase cars personally.
Confirming the development on Asempa FM, Okudzeto Ablakwa said the bill will cure the age-long practice of MP purchasing their own cars for official duties instead of government doing it for them as stipulated in the constitution.null
He insisted that MPs who desire to buy their own cars should enjoy no support from the state in doing so.
“That will simply require that government stops the monthly deductions from MP’s salaries so we will be free to broker individual car loan deals based on our salary structure, constituency terrain and other personal preferences,” he added.
In an earlier interview, the lawmaker had called for an overhaul of Article 71 to meet current demands.
“I have long held the view that the entire Article 71 emoluments regime is in urgent need of a major overhaul. We need to demolish this apartheid superstructure and create new conditions of service framework for public officials which are more equitable, transparent, justifiable, and acceptable to the people who employ us.
“If the executive branch of government does not have the resources to provide duty vehicles for MPs as it does for MMDCEs, CEOs of State Institutions/SOEs, Ministers, Judges, Civil Servants, Security Services, and so on and so forth, then MPs who need car loans should be allowed to make their own private car loan arrangements with the banks just as most private-sector workers do.
The Municipal Chief Executive(MCE) for Ejura-Sekyedumase, Mohammed Salisu Bamba has withdrawn his application for MCE position.
According to him, he arrived at the decision for the peace of the municipality and in the general unity and growth of the governing New Patriotic Party(NPP).
In a letter addressed to the Chairman, MMDCEs Vetting Committee, Hon. Bamba expressed his sincere appreciation to President Akufo Addo for the confidence reposed in him to serve in his first term of office.
He also graciously thanked the good people of the Ejura-Sekyedumase constituency for giving him the opportunity to serve them in the 6th Parliament between 2013 to 2017 to the best of his ability.
“I have always worked in the interest of my party and country, and it is in that spirit that I am withdrawing myself for consideration.
“I will like to firmly assure the people of the Municipality, my party members and the public that I will continue to work for the general good of the municipality, my party and the country,” the statement ended.
Hon. Mohammed Salisu Bamba has been accused of having a hand in the death of Ejura-based Social activist, Mohammed Alhassan aka Kaaka after some persons alleged to be his bodyguards reportedly clubbed Kaaka to death.
He vehemently denied any association with the said suspects when he appeared before the Committee of Inquiry investigating the murder in Ejura last week
Founder of the All Peoples Congress (APC), Hassan Ayariga, has disagreed with the decision of the First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addot to refund all the allowances paid her.
Mr Ayariga stated that First Ladies play an important role in the governance of the country through the emotional and physical support they give to the president.
Therefore, he said, they deserve to be paid the allowances.
“First, I think it is a wrong idea that she [Rebecca Akufo-Addo] refunded the money,” he said on Good Evening Ghana on Tuesday July 13.
“If the president is not well the First Lady is the first person to know,” he further stated while explaining the role of the First Lady.
His comments come after Mrs Akufo-Addo has refunded all the allowances paid her since 2017.
On Tuesday July 13, she issued a Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited cheque for GH¢899,097.84 as a refund of all allowances received since 2017.
She had announced on Monday, July 12, that due to the “extremely negative opinions” which have laced conversations on her allowances, she was refunding every pesewa.
She also served notice not to receive any monies that have been allocated to be paid to her pursuant to recommendations of the Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee, which was tasked in 2019 to review emoluments of Article 71 office holders.
She found the public debate “distasteful, seeking to portray her as a venal, self-serving and self-centered woman who does not care about the plight of ordinary Ghanaian”.
Barely 24 hours after that, her office has written to the Chief of Staff, Frema Osei Opare, to present the cheque number for the full refund of the monies.
“Her Excellency, the First Lady remains committed to her role as First Lady and is devoted to her charity work championing the wellbeing of women and children in Ghana,” wrote Mrs Shirley Laryea of the Office of the First Lady.
Second Lady Samira Bawumia has also announced that she will refund all allowances paid her since 2017, when her husband became the Vice President of Ghana.
A statement issued by her office on Tuesday, July 13 also indicated that Mrs Bawumia will not accept any monies allocated her as per recommendations by the Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee.
“Mrs Bawumia continues to be committed to the service of the nation,” the statement noted.
It added that she stays committed “to deliver humanitarian interventions and initiatives in the areas of health, education and economic development
The opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC, wants the Chief Justice, Justice Kwesi Anin-Yeboah, to step aside, following a $5 million bribery allegation made against him.
The General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah at a press conference on Tuesday, 13th July 2021 argued that this will allow for a fair investigation to be conducted into allegations of misconduct leveled against the Chief Justice.
Asiedu Nketiah’s call is borne out of the firm belief that the Judicial Service’s investigation into the alleged misconduct might be compromised, given that the Chief Justice has been vested with the power to sanction judicial officers.
“The difficulty with this is that the investigations would concern the Chief Justice, who is the subject of the bribery allegations in this matter and in whom disciplinary authority against Judicial Officers is vested under Section 18 of the Judicial Service Act.”
“Good governance dictates that the Chief Justice steps aside during the pendency of the investigations by the Judicial Service relative to the issue of alleged misconduct on his part as a Supreme Court Judge. The Chief Justice cannot be a judge in his own cause, hence cannot set up a committee to investigate allegations of misconduct against himself.”
The Chief Justice has denied the allegations and petitioned the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, to investigate the matter.
Mr. Nketiah also called for a public enquiry into the bribery allegation, saying it is the best approach to establishing the truth.
“We believe that only credible and transparent investigations can establish the truth in this matter. And we hold the opinion that the transparent approach of a public enquiry is the best way to go. This approach we believe, is in the interest of the Chief Justice who stands accused, and his accuser.”
The allegations were contained in a response Mr. Akwasi Afrifa, a lawyer, gave against a petition filed against him by his client at the disciplinary committee of the General Legal Council.
Ogyeedom IV, who was his client, dragged Mr. Afrifa to the GLC alleging that the lawyer collected $100,000 from him with a promise to help get a favourable judgement on his behalf.
Ogyeedom Atta IV asked the council to order Mr. Afrifa to refund the $100,000, saying the lawyer failed to deliver on his promise.
In a response dated on July 8, 2021, Mr. Afrifa denied the claims by Ogyeedom Kwesi Atta IV, further alleging that he was asked to refund $300,000 in legal fees to enable his client to raise a $5 million bribe to be paid to the Chief Justice to get a favourable decision in the legal dispute.
Below is the full statement read by the General Secretary of the NDC:
SPEECH DELIVERED BY HON. JOHNSON ASIEDU NKETIAH, GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS ON ACCUSATIONS OF BRIBERY AGAINST THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA.
13th July, 2021.
Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen of the media. Let me welcome you to this urgent encounter at which we intend to share our thoughts on a matter of grave national importance.
In the last few days, we have learnt about damning allegations made against the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, His Lordship Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, by a prominent Lawyer, Akwasi Afrifa Esq., to the effect that his client whose case he was conducting had informed him that the Chief Justice demanded a bribe of USD$5 million to fix the verdict of a case before the Supreme Court. He also alleges that the Chief Justice demanded the replacement of he Akwasi Afrifa with Akoto Ampaw Esq. as Lawyer in the case as a precondition for ensuring victory in the case for his client.
We have also taken notice of a denial by the Chief in question, Nana Ogyeedom Obranu Kwesi Atta VI and the Chief Justice of the said allegations and the subsequent request of the latter for investigations into the matter by the CID of the Ghana Police Service.
Distinguished friends from the media, the allegations made against the Chief Justice are very grave and rock the very foundations of the Judiciary, which is an indispensable and independent arm of government. Any suggestion that the head of such an institution has sought to compromise his office to undermine the integrity of judgements made by the courts, warrants the most serious attention. This is because any doubts harbored over the integrity of the Judiciary and its leadership, has the potential to completely erode public confidence in the administration of justice in Ghana and our governance institutions as a whole.
Over the years, we have collectively worked hard to build a Judiciary with an enviable reputation as a country. Our Judiciary has produced some of the best Jurists on the African continent and I dare say, in the world. Ghanaian Jurists have served in top positions in the judiciaries of other African countries and in many reputable international institutions. The role an effective, independent and impartial Judiciary plays in attracting investment, ensuring national stability and improvement in the general well-being of the citizenry cannot be over emphasised.
As the political tradition that birthed the fourth republic, we are deeply concerned that if this matter is not handled with utmost transparency and the required seriousness, it could compromise public confidence in the judiciary and roll back the many gains that we have made in our forward march as a viable democratic state.
In this regard, and without taking sides or commenting on the merit or otherwise of the said allegations of bribery against the Chief Justice, we believe that an investigation by the Police CID would be woefully inadequate to assure the Ghanaian public that a thorough inquiry has been conducted into the matter.
We are of the considered view that the recent history of the Police CID with respect to investigations into allegations against high-ranking officials of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government would not afford the sort of confidence that must be engendered in an investigation such as this considering the elevated position of the person against whom these allegations have been made.
We recall how corruption cases like the Australia Visa fraud scandal, the Galamsey fraud scandal, the 500 missing excavators scandal, just to mention a few ended in clear cover-ups when handled by the Police CID. The magnitude and gravity of this matter calls for utmost transparency and confidence building which the CID cannot muster at the moment.
We in the NDC hold the view, that though these allegations have a component of criminality, it is in equal measure about alleged misconduct on the part of a judge and as such it would ordinarily fall within the ambit of the Judicial Service to take steps to unravel the truth about this matter and take disciplinary action if proven to be true. This is exactly what was done in the bribery expose’ of ace investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas against some Judges few years ago.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, the difficulty however with this is that the investigations would concern the Chief Justice who is the subject of the bribery allegations in this matter and in whom disciplinary authority against Judicial Officers is vested under Section 18 of the Judicial Service Act. Therefore, good governance dictates that the Chief Justice steps aside during the pendency of the investigations by the Judicial Service relative to the issue of alleged misconduct on his part as a Supreme Court Judge. The Chief Justice cannot be a judge in his own cause hence cannot setup a committee to investigate allegations of misconduct against himself.
Also, we think that due to the considerable public interest involved in this matter, another effective and transparent approach in the circumstance would be a full-blown public inquiry. This can be done by invoking Article 278 of the 1992 Constitution under which Parliament can by a resolution compel the President to set up a Commission of Inquiry to look into the matters at hand in a transparent manner and make a faithful determination thereof.
Friends, we are now confronted with a very dicey situation, where it is the word of lawyer Akwasi Afrifa on the one hand against the word of the Chief Justice and the Chief who is alleged to have paid the bribe in question on the other hand. As I have already explained, this issue has dire consequences for the reputation of not just the Judiciary but our revered Chieftaincy institution and the country as a whole. The question is, whose account among the three should we believe as a country? Who is telling us the truth? Is it the Chief Justice and Nana Ogyeedom or is it Lawyer Kwasi Afrifa? We believe that only credible and transparent investigations can establish the truth in this matter. And we hold the opinion that the transparent approach of a Public enquiry is the best way to go. This approach we believe is in the interest of the Chief Justice who stands accused and his accuser.
Conversely, CHRAJ, which has an enviable reputation of looking into similar cases of alleged corruption against highly placed state and government officials would be better placed to conduct such a serious inquiry.
We also disagree with the referral of these allegations to the General Legal Council’s Disciplinary Committee by the Chief Justice, for the sole reason that it is an offshoot of a body Chaired by the person at the center of these allegations-the Chief Justice. The likelihood for an impartial and balanced investigation by them into this matter would be quite minimal so long as the Chief Justice remains at post. We therefore believe that the GLC should stay its hands over this matter pending the final determination of the issue by independent state organizations cloaked with requisite authority to do so.
Best practice would require that the Chief Justice steps aside temporarily until the matters are looked into and a clear outcome emerges and we believe this instance calls for such an action.
Friends from the media, in making these calls, we are guided by the supreme interest of governance and the preservation of the image of critical state institutions like the Judiciary and its leaders especially the Chief Justice. No iota of doubt must remain about its integrity and credibility and it is absolutely imperative that everything is done to guarantee this.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has apologised to the Overlord of the Waala Traditional Area, Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV, and to the people of Wa for the brutalities meted out to some residents by some soldiers earlier this month.
Addressing Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV on Tuesday, 13th July 2021, at the beginning of his 2-day working visit to the Upper West Region, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the unfortunate incident was one of the reasons for his visit to the Region.
According to the President, even though the Minister for Defence, the Minister for the Interior, as well as the hierarchy of the military, have come to apologise to residents of Wa, and have taken measures to deal with the soldiers who perpetrated the act, he also deemed it necessary to come to Wa personally and render an apology.
One of the fair reasons why I came, is because of the incident that occurred here in Wa between the garrison, some soldiers here and the people of Wa. The military leaders have been here and they have promised you that they will deal with those who were responsible.
“I have come to add my voice to that of the soldiers, as well as the Minister for Defence, to say how sorry I am about the incident, and to let you know that we will do everything possible to make sure that such an incident is not repeated,” he said.
With the Minister for Defence, Hon. Dominic Nitiwul, indicating that Government will be responsible for the medical bills of those who were injured, President Akufo-Addo thanked the Wa-Naa for recognising that “the promises that have been made have been kept and that now we should put that issue behind us and move forward.”
The President continued, “And I want to congratulate you on the very statesman-like pronouncements that you made on that occasion. You sure look like the senior traditional leader that you are.”
With the threat of terrorism real along the Ghana-Burkina Faso border, he noted that it is only the cooperation of the people of Wa and the security forces that will make it possible for Ghana to prevent terrorists from carrying out an attack in the country.
“So, I want to add my voice to yours in calling upon the people to continue to work closely with the security forces to make sure that we can keep the terrorist menace out of our country. And that means that we should not dwell too much on this incident that occurred. As human beings, mistakes occur. The important thing is how you correct them, and move forward,” the President said.
Thanking Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV, once again, for the leadership, he has displayed in the course of the unfortunate saga, President Akufo-Addo noted that “It is one of the lucky aspects of my period as President, that all through Ghana, especially in the northern parts of this country, I have very wise traditional rulers who are helping me in the governance of this country. Fortunately for me, you are one of them
A witness in the ongoing hearing by the Ministerial Committee probing the Ejura killings Tuesday told the Committee she saw the elder brother of Kaaka, one Baba Iddi, dragging him (Kaaka) to the bathroom the night he was attacked.
Sadia Fuseini, the witness, a tenant in Kaaka’s house, said she heard a loud sound moments after Kaaka returned home that fateful night.
“I was in my room when I heard the sound of Kaaka’s motorbike approaching the house and suddenly heard a loud sound but I thought it was Kaaka’s motorbike that had fallen,” she told the Committee.
“I came out of my room and heard someone groaning in pain so I got closer and saw Baba Iddi dragging Kaaka on the bare ground towards the bathroom.”
She said she quickly knocked the door of Kaaka’s wife to draw her attention to the incident but before she could come out Baba Iddi had already absconded.
According to her, another co-tenant who was also attracted to the scene saw Iddi as he ran out of the house.
The witness said she could not initially disclosed the identity of Iddi after Kaaka was rushed to the hospital because they were brothers and was hoping Kaaka would recover to expose Iddi himself.
She said after the death of Kaaka, her husband, who had travelled when the incident occurred, suggested that they informed the police to assist them in their investigations.
Husband of the witness, Fuseini Ibrahim, and the co-tenant who also came to the scene, Muniratu Alhassan, corroborated her story when they later appeared before the Committee to testify.
They said they had been forced to leave Ejura after their disclosure due to several threats on their lives by people who accused them of falsely implicating Baba Iddi.
Mother of Mohammed Awal Misbaw, a 16-year-old auto mechanic apprentice, who got injured during the riot, told the Committee that her son’s leg had been amputated and was still on admission.
She appealed to the Government, through the Committee, to support the boy’s recovery process.
Madam Salamatu said she did not know what the future held for her son, having lost a leg at this tender age and called on the authorities to assist him to earn a living.
The death of Kaaka sparked a violent protest in Ejura on June 29 as angry youth of the town hit the streets to demand justice for their slain colleague.
Abdul-Nasir Yussif and Mutala Mohammed died from gunshot wounds when the youth clashed with security personnel deployed to maintain peace and protect lives and property.
Meanwhile, three persons have been remanded by the Asokwa District Court following their arrest over Kaaka’s death. Issakar Ibrahim, also known as Anyas, Fuseini Alhassan, and Baba Iddi, the brother of Kaaka, are facing two charges – conspiracy to commit crime and murder.
The three-member Committee, chaired by Justice George Kinsley Koomson, has been tasked to probe the circumstances leading to the death of the two civilians during the violent protest.
Other members of the Committee are Prof Vladimir Antwi-Danso, a Security Analyst and Ms Juliet Adima Amoah, Executive Director of Penplusbyte, a Civil Society Organisation.
Ms Marie Louise Simmons, a Principal State Attorney, is the Secretary to the Committee.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, James Quayson has filed a motion for certiorari at the Supreme Court asking it to quash the orders of a Cape Coast High Court which ordered him to file his written legal argument in a petition brought against his election.
His seat is under threat after a resident in the constituency in the Central Region filed an action at the High Court claiming that Mr. Quayson as at the time he was filing to contest for the seat held Canadian citizenship and did not qualify to do so under the laws of Ghana.
However, the NDC MP wants the Supreme Court to quash the decision of the High Court because he claims the trial court refused to stay proceedings and refer a matter of Constitutional interpretation to the highest court.
The embattled MP wants the highest court to interpret Article 94 (2) (a) of the 1992 Constitution which prohibits a person who holds citizenship of another country from contesting as MP in Ghana.
He is also asking the Supreme Court to prohibit Justice Kwasi Boakye from further hearing the petition.
Petition
There is a petition against the election of Mr. Quayson as MP for Assin North in the Central Region for holding a Canadian citizenship at the time of filing his nomination forms with the Electoral Commission (EC) to contest in the parliamentary elections.
The petition filed by Michael Ankomah-Nimfah is saying that the respondent’s failure to renounce his Canadian citizenship before filing his nomination violates Article 94 (1) (a) of the 1992 Constitution.
Certiorari
The court presided over by Justice Boakye had ordered the parties in the matter to file their written legal arguments for consideration.
But the NDC MP has gone to the Supreme Court for the interpretation of Article 94 (2) (a) of the 1992 Constitution.
He argued that per Article 130 (2) of the 1992 Constitution, the High Court should have stayed proceedings and referred the case to the Supreme Court the interpretation of Article 94 (2) (a) of the 1992 Constitution.
“I am advised by my counsel and I verily believe same to be true that the Supreme Court has not yet had the opportunity to interpret Article 94(2) (a) of the 1992 Constitution as regard the material time that a person must not owe allegiance to a country other than Ghana in order for the person to be qualified to stand for election as a Member of Parliament,” he averred.
The MP’s affidavit in support of the motion further argued that “the Supreme Court has power under Article 129 (4) as well as Article 132 of the Constitution (1992) to make a referral to itself of the constitutional issues arising in the said High Court, since the said court has refused to make same and also to order a stay of its proceedings pending the determination of the constitutional issues referred to.”
He is therefore, seeking the court to quash the order of the Cape Coast High court asking him and the plaintiff to file their written legal arguments.
He also wants the court to prohibit Justice Boakye from further hearing the case on ground that certain comments he made on May 12, 2021, create a real likelihood of bias against him
• Professor Samuel Kobina Annim has been rushed to a hospital for medical attention
• This comes after he encountered an unusual occurrence during his presentation
• The sad incident was contained in a video sighted by kwesi tv 24
It was a rather sad moment when the head of Ghana Statistical Service, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim went speechless on stage while updating the public on the progress of the ongoing Population and Housing Census exercise.
In a video sighted by kwesi tv 24 Professor Samuel Kobina Annim who appeared perfectly fine began to stammer and stagger momentarily.
“We also have some…,” these were the words he said before going mute while struggling to complete the sentence.null
He was immediately attended to by some young men at the event who tried to ascertain what the problem was whilst trying to get the event which was streaming live off air.
Professor Samuel Kobina Annim has since been reported to be receiving treatment at a health facility.
It is still unknown what accounted for the unfortunate incident.
• Cassiel Ato Forson says the NDC government did not make any payments of salaries and allowances to First and Second Ladiesnull
• He asserts that a document purportedly released by the Finance Ministry on payments made to the wives of former president and vice is fake
• He has therefore asked the Finance Ministry to come clear on the matter
Former Deputy Finance Minister under the erstwhile Mahama administration, Cassiel Ato Forson, has rubbished reports asserting that like the incumbent government, their predecessors paid salaries to the then First and Second Ladies.
Reacting to a recent document purportedly released by the finance ministry, Mr Ato Forson described the figures put out as fake, urging them to clear the air on the matter.
In a tweet sighted by GhanaWeb, the former deputy finance minister and MP for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam posted the document highlighting the alleged payments and labelled it as Fake News.
Read his tweet below:
“As deputy minister of finance responsible for budget from April 2016 to Jan 2017, I can state categorically that the Ministry NEVER PAID these purported salaries to both the First and Second ladies. I urge the Ministry of Finance to issue a statement to clear the air! #FakeNews.”
At the time GhanaWeb filed this report, the Finance Ministry had not commented or reacted to the statement in public domain.
In a related development, General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu has charged Mrs Lordina Mahama, wife of former president John Mahama to refund all monies paid to her as salaries and allowances between January 2009 and June 2021.null
Speaking in an interview with Paa Kwesi Schandorf on TV Africa on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, John Boadu challenged the former First Lady to follow the steps taken by Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo.
“Schandorf, let me say this emphatically. Former President Mahama’s wife, Lordina Mahama, must, as a matter of urgency, refund all monies paid to her since January 2017 till now. Those she received as far back as 2009 should also be refunded. The monies she has received from that time till now would amount to GHC3.2 million.”
The presidential advisor on health says the country does not have adequate facilities and equipment to treat patients should Ghana face a new wave of COVID-19
Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, the Presidential Advisor on Health has admonished all Ghanaians to adhere strictly to COVID-19 safety protocols as he warns a third wave of the deadly virus could overwhelm the country.
His assertions follow a confirmation that the country’s hospitals are currently burdened by new severe infections of COVID-19, especially the UK strain and the Delta variant.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with host of The Big Bulletin, Beatrice Adu, he said the country currently does not have adequate facilities, equipment and health practitioners to treat patients should Ghana experience a new wave of COVID-19, especially in the hotspots like the Greater Accra and the Ashanti regions.
“We know that the active cases are going up, we have also seen a slight increase in the number of severe cases, and critical cases.
“So, once we see active cases going up it means the critical care beds, which are the most important beds because they are for people who need emergency care, oxygen and the rest must be available and unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of critical beds in the country and for that matter, in the hotspot areas like Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi metropolis. So that is where our concern is and we are entreating everybody to obey strictly the COVID-19 protocols,” Dr Asare said.
Adhere to protocols
He also refuted claims that the increase in the country’s case count is as a result of the new Delta variant explaining that the number of active cases would continue to increase if Ghanaians do not adhere to COVID-19 safety precautions.
“The new strain is very transmissible, and it spreads very quickly but the most important thing is, whether it is the new strain, Wuhan strain or any other strain, the most important thing is, put on your mask, wash your hands, and use sanitisers, and don’t go to crowded places,” he warned.
Ghana’s active cases stand at 2, 314 as the death toll hits 802
National Youth Organizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP), Henry Nana Boakye, has challenged the former First Lady to return all allowances amounting to GHc 3.2 million paid to her by the state from the recommendations of the Prof. Yaa Ntiamoa Baidu emoluments committee.
According to him, she has equally benefitted from the recommendations of the Prof. Yaa Ntiamoa Baidu emoluments committee.
Speaking on Okay FM’s ‘Ade Akye Abia’ program, he said they will hit the streets to protest if she refuses to refund all the monies paid her by the state as allowances recommended by the committee.
” . . The First Lady having heard the discussions going on about their allowances and upon sober reflection has decided to refund all allowances paid her since 2017 as recommended by the committee. So we expect the former First Lady Madam Lordina Mahama to also refund the money paid to her by the state,” he said.
“Her refusal to do so will lead to a massive demonstration by the youth of this country,” he added.
The committee had recommended that the First Lady be paid a salary equivalent to 80% as a cabinet minister who is also a member of Parliament.
Meanwhile, Parliament has approved that the wives of the President and Vice President should receive salaries.
This recommendation has, however, generated fury and an avalanche of criticism against the ruling government.
Public Discourse
Some sections of the Ghanaian public have taken to social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, to register their displeasure with the Committee ’s recommendation. The Minority in Parliament and the former President of the republic, John Dramani Mahama, have also joined in the calls for the policy to be relooked at.
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) in a recent statement also recommended that since the First and Second Ladies of the Republic are not allotted defined roles by the 1992 Constitution, government should take another look at the report and recommendations of the Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu-led committee.
Ist Lady Refunds Nearly Ghc900k Allowances
First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo has, “decided not to accept any monies that have been allocated to be paid to her pursuant to the recommendations of the Ntiamoa-Badu Committee, as approved by Parliament”.
In a statement dated 12th July 2021, the 1st Lady described the “extremely negative opinions” from critics which are seeking to portray her as a “self-serving and self-centered woman” as “distasteful”.
In view of this, she “in consultation with the President of the Republic, has decided to refund all monies paid to her as allowances from the date of the President’s assumption of office, i.e., from January 2017 to date, amounting to GH¢899,097.84.”
Samira Bawumia To Refund GHc887,482 Allowances
The Second Lady of the Republic, Samira Bawumia is set to refund a total amount of eight hundred and eighty-seven thousand, four hundred and eighty-two (GHc 887,482) she has thus far received as allowances from January 2017 to March 2021.
“The Second lady, H. E Samira Bawumia in consultation with H.E. The Vice President, will refund all allowances paid to her since 2017 and will not accept any monies allocated to her pursuant to the recommendations of the Prof. Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu led committee, as approved by Parliament on 6th January 2021,” a statement from her office said.
The Second Lady’s move follows a similar step by the First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, who has also decided to refund to the State a total of eight hundred and ninety-nine thousand and ninety-seven Ghana cedis (GHc 899,097.00).
The decision of the two leading ladies of the Republic to refund their allowances is motivated by recent public backlash that has characterized the recommendation made by the Presidential Committee on Emoluments for Article 71 office holders for the First and Second Ladies to be paid allowance as part of the benefits of the President and Vice President.
Caterers of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) say they want an urgent increment in the feeding grant, insisting that the amount being allocated by the Government to prepare daily nutritious meals for pupils is woefully insignificant.
According to them, the GHC1.00 is not enough to purchase food items on the market to prepare quality meals and serve in the right quantity for the children, most of whom come to school on empty stomach.
They disclosed that an amount of GHC0.03 is even deducted from the source as tax component from each of the GHC1.00 paid to them [caterers]. This implies that the caterers do not receive exactly the GHC1.00, but GHC0.97 per child per day.
Some of the caterers in the Bono East Region complained bitterly to some officials of the Ghana School Feeding Programme and the World Food Programme who had come to the region for a weeklong joint monitoring to assess the performance of the caterers and the impact of the school feeding programme.
The distraught caterers even though appreciated the Government for the introduction of the school feeding programme and the great impact it is making in the lives of millions of Ghanaian children in the deprived schools, they disclosed how it is sometimes inconveniencing most of them.
“We have tried so much to be quiet over the years hoping that something will be done to increase the feeding grant to at least GHC2.00 or GhC2.50 so that we can meet the cost of food items on the market but to no avail. We are crying and crying but nobody seems to hear us out. Prices of items are being increased almost every day, and so the President must know that we cannot go to the market with the same GHc1.00”.
The caterers asserted that a bag of beans which was sold between GhC250.00 and GhC300.00 last year, now sells between GhC800.00 and GhC950.00. A bowl of gari has also moved from GhC6.00 to GhC25.00, a maxi bag of local rice moved from GhC200.00 to GhC450.00 and prices of cooking oil, meat, fish and vegetables have also gone up astronomically especially in the last 6 months.
They indicated that, even though it is a policy direction for all the caterers to patronize locally produced foodstuffs from the local farmers, almost all the caterers prefer the imported foods because they are far cheaper.
The caterers said that some of them are still managing to cook for the school children because the imported food suppliers are always willing to supply food and other items like tin tomatoes, cooking oil and canned fish to them on credit, unlike the local farmers. They also raised serious concern about the long delay in the payment of their arrears by the government, which they indicated, put them under unnecessary pressure.
“We are supposed to pre-finance the cooking for just one term and receive payment the following term. But for a long time now, the government always fails to pay us on time; and most at times we do not receive our payment in full. Sometimes instead of 66 cooking days’ arrears, the government can decide to pay us 20, 25 or 30 days and we will have to struggle for a long time before we will receive the remaining payments. And because we have to pay our cooks and suppliers at all cost, we always have to go and borrow from different sources, which put us in an uncomfortable situation”.
In reaction to the concerns raised by the caterers, the GSFP National Coordinator Mrs. Gertrude Quashigah appealed to the caterers to calm down and exercise restraint, noting that everything is being done towards the upward adjustment of the feeding grant. She said management of GSFP has been engaging the government for a while now on the issue. According to her, the GSFP has submitted a compelling proposal to the government through the supervisory ministry for an upward adjustment of the feeding grant. Mrs. Quashigah further revealed that between GHC2.00 and GHC3.00 has been proposed taken into account the prevailing economic trend in the country. She expressed optimism that government would respond positively to the proposal.
She recalled that in 2018 government accepted GSFP’s proposal and increased the feeding grant from GHp.80 to GHC1.00. She, therefore, assured the caterers and Ghanaians in general that government is genuinely committed to the sustainability of the programme.
Our schools are collapsing as pupils keep joining Sch. Feeding beneficiary schools – headmasters
Some basic schools headmasters in the Pru East District in the Bono East Region have passionately appealed to the Government to consider adding them to the Ghana School Feeding beneficiary schools.
According to the headmasters, pupils keep leaving their schools to join others that are benefiting from the Ghana School Feeding Programme just to have free meals. The under-pressure headmasters besieged the vehicles of some officials of the Ghana School Feeding Programme and the World Food Programme (WFP) who had visited the district for joint monitoring and vehemently poured out their frustrations.
They demanded that their schools be included in the feeding programme before they are collapsed. The headmasters including; Mr. Simpoe Yaw of Yeji R/C Primary ‘B’, Mr. Ismael N. Khalid of Daru Saeed Islamic Primary and Mr. Frederick Dapaah of Yamba D/A Primary schools, said that most of their pupils were from extremely poor homes and as a result had to come to school on empty stomachs.
“Most parents don’t give their wards any money for feeding and they don’t also cook for the children before they come to school. So therefore, when those hungry children see that in the other nearby schools they are enjoying free school feeding meals they quickly decide to join those schools”.
According to them, the situation has affected most of the schools that are non-beneficiaries of the school feeding programme. The headmasters claimed that they have made several complaints and even invited the District Chief Executive for the area to their schools to assess the situation but they only receive assurances.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Pru East, Mr. Joshua Kwaku Abonkrah who later joined the GSFP/WFP joint monitoring team confirmed the claims by the headmasters. According to him, he personally made efforts and wrote to the national secretariat of the Ghana School Feeding Programme for more schools but could only get four additional schools to be captured under the programme.
He said that the entire district currently has only 11 schools that are benefiting from the school feeding programme.
Mr. Abonkrah therefore added his voice to the calls by the frustrated headmasters and called the management of the Ghana School Feeding Programme to increase the number of beneficiary schools in the district in order to save most of the non-beneficiary schools from collapsing.
The DCE revealed that the school feeding programme is serving as a great motivation to the majority of school children in the area most of whom are from extremely poor homes. He said that, previously, the district being a prominent fishing area had a large number of school going age children who preferred to trade or labour on the river (Volta Lake) to going to school.
“But upon assumption of office, I have managed to push majority of the children into school through advocacy and community sensitizations. So it will be a great disincentive to some of us if all those children should go back to fishing because both their parents and the government cannot feed them to continue to stay in school”.
Mr. Abonkrah was optimistic that the Government would consider increasing the number of beneficiary schools in the district anytime there is an opportunity for expansion. He appealed to the headmasters and the teachers in the district to keep their spirit high as he continues to lobby the authorities concerned.
The DCE also cautioned all parents to send their children of school-going age to school rather than using them as labourers on the farms and for fishing
The Upper East Regional Police Command have arrested three suspected armed robbers operating within Nabdam and Zebilla Districts of the Upper East Region.
The suspects have been identified as Yidaana Shamshudeen, 23; Maxwell Ziaba, alias Strongman, 19; and Bodozina Awudu alias ‘Network Absorber’, 20.
They were picked up from their various hideouts at Pelungu in the Nabdam District and Datoko in the Zebilla District respectively.
Upon a search, police found one locally manufactured pistol and three cartridges of ammunitions, a double-edge knife, two unregistered motorbikes, five gold detectors and five mobile phones.
According to the police, the suspects have admitted that they are armed robbers and were behind recent attacks on some Mossi gold buyers at mining communities in Gbane in the Talensi District.
During an identification in Bolgatanga,the police said, two persons who claimed to be victims of armed robbery, identified two of the suspects as their attackers and also proved ownership of two of the gold detectors which was part of items found on suspects .
“It is believed that many armed robbers hide in guest houses, frequent night clubs and pubs after their operations,” the police said in a statement issued and singed by ASP Fianku Okyere, the Public relations officer for the command.
They have called on hotel operators in the region to be vigilant and volunteer information to enable the police fight crime
The General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Dr Yaw Baah, must do the needful and apologise to first lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo and the wife of the Vice-president, Mrs Samira Bawumia, for “falsely” saying in a TUC statement that “salary arrears dated back to January 2017 have since been paid to the wives of President Akufo-Addo and Vice-president Bawumia”, in accordance with the emoluments committee’s recommendation which was approved by both majority and minority MPs, the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Mr Eugene Arhin, has said.
According to Mr Arhin, Dr Baah was “clearly wrong” in his statement dated 11 July 2021 asking the president to stop the payment of salaries to his wife.
The TUC had kicked against payment of salaries to the presidential spouses as recommended by the Ntiamoa-Baidu committee.
A statement signed by Dr Baah kicking against the move, read: “We have followed the ongoing spirited public debate on the payment of salaries to spouses of presidents and vice-presidents”.
Here are the facts we have gathered so far:
1) The payment of allowances to spouses of presidents and vice presidents was introduced by the first Government of 4th Republic under the late former President Rawlings.
2) These allowances have been handled administratively by the Office of the President.
3) The Presidential Emoluments Committee chaired by Professor Ntiamoa-Baidu recommended that, henceforth, the wives of presidents and vice presidents should be paid monthly salaries at the level paid to cabinet ministers, as part of the privileges recommended for presidents and vice presidents.
4) The 7th Parliament, which was dissolved on 6th January 2021, approved the recommendation by Ntiamoa-Baidu’s Committee to convert these allowances to monthly salaries.
5) Salary arrears dated back to January 2017 have since been paid to the wives of President Akuffo-Addo and Vice-president Bawumia, in accordance with the Committee’s recommendation which was approved by NDC and NPP Members of Parliament.
The spouses of presidents and vice-presidents are not specified under Article 71 of the Constitution of Ghana. The question is: why should they receive salaries pegged to emoluments and privileges for officeholders specified under Article 71?
It is true that salaries of some presidential staffers not specified under Article 71 receive emoluments that are the level of ministers or even higher, in accordance with the Presidential Office Act, 1993(Act 463), Legal Service Act and other acts. But it should be noted that the duties and responsibilities of Article 71 officeholders and all jobholders in the public service, including presidential staffers, are clear. The spouses of presidents and vice presidents have not been officially assigned any such duties and responsibilities. Therefore, they are not qualified to receive salaries from the public purse.
Ghanaians appreciate what the first and second ladies are doing to support women’s rights, child rights, and other noble initiatives towards social and economic development of our country. But neither the Constitution of Ghana nor the laws of land assign them any official duties and responsibilities.
Therefore, the Trades Union Congress cannot support the payment of salaries to the spouses of presidents and vice presidents even if the Ntiamoa-Baidu’s Committee recommended the payment of such salaries. It is simply not right for anyone who has not been officially assigned duties and responsibilities in the public service to receive monthly salaries. The Committee probably sought to regularize the payment of allowances which were being paid already. But you cannot regularize the payment of allowances which has no legal basis.
When the time comes for spouses of presidents and vice presidents to be assigned official duties and responsibilities that will qualify them to receive salaries from taxpayers’ money the executive arm of government should remember the spouses of the Speakers of Parliament (the heads of the legislative arm of government) and the spouses of Chief Justices (the heads of the judiciary arm of government). They can also perform some official duties.
We would also like to advise the President to initiate a process towards the establishment of a Committee/Commission made up of experts from various fields to advise the government on salaries for all jobholders in the entire public service to ensure fairness. The current system appears to favour politicians at the expense of other jobholders in the larger public service in terms of salaries, allowances and other job-related privileges. Under no circumstance should sections of the public service receive unfair advantage over others in the same public service. The wrongs that have been perpetuated over nearly past three decades at the blind side of taxpayers must stop now.”
[SIGNED]
DR. YAW BAAH SECRETARY-GENERAL
TRADES UNION CONGRESS (GHANA)
11TH JULY, 2021, ACCRA.
Meanwhile, Mrs Akufo-Addo and Samira Bawumia have both rejected any proposed salaries to be paid them. They have also promised to refund all allowances paid to them since 2017 to date following public backlash
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) will from September 1, this year embark on an exercise to delete the names of more than 13,000 pensioners, aged 72 and above, from its payroll. It said the affected persons had failed to complete or renew their pensioner certificates and explained that the exercise would ensure that pensions were paid to the right persons.
SSNIT added that the accounts of such pensioners would only be reactivated when they renewed their pensioner certificates.
Lifeline
A statement issued by SSNIT yesterday said: “To avoid any inconvenience, the Trust is entreating pensioners who are yet to complete their Pensioner Certificates to do so by August 30, 2021.”
It said presently, there were about 13,451 pensioners, 72 years and above, who received monthly pensions, but were yet to complete or renew their pensioner certificates.
“All such pensioners should visit the nearest SSNIT office to renew or complete their Pensioner Certificates,” it said.
Challenged
The release said those with mobility challenges might contact SSNIT to schedule a home visit for the completion or renewal of their pensioner certificates.
It further added that “pensioners visiting a SSNIT office for the Pensioner Certificate renewal are strongly encouraged to carry along their Ghana Cards to have their SSNIT and NIA numbers merged if they have not done so already.”
Giving a background to the exercise, the release said since 2018, the Trust had on a monthly basis, been deleting the names of pensioners aged 72 and above who failed to complete or renew their pensioner certificates.
The exercise, however, halted in March last year due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
SSNIT Pensioner Certificate
Explaining the pensioner certificates, the release said they were issued to pensioners, aged 72 who retired under PNDCL 247 and 75 years for those who retired under Act 766 and renewed annually.
“This is a mechanism put in place by the Trust to ensure that pension is paid to only retirees who are alive.
“Pensioners who fail to renew their Pensioner Certificates are deemed to be deceased and their names consequently deleted from the Pensioners’ Payroll,” it said.
Savings from past exercises
As of the beginning of the year, the Trust has saved about GH¢144 million from the deactivation of accounts of 11,478 pensioners since 2018.
In June 2021 alone, the SSNIT Pension Scheme paid 231,316 pensioners over GH¢250 million. The highest-paid pensioner receives GH¢129,979 each month, while the lowest-earning pensioner is paid GH¢300.
SHAIDA HUUDU, the wife of the late, Ibrahim Mohammed aka ‘Macho Kaaka’, says the constant leakage of rots in society on social media, claimed the life of her husband.
According to her, some people, in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Ejura, for some time, felt uncomfortable about the social media activities of her deceased husband.
She claimed that such people, whose names she could not disclose, had cautioned Kaaka to refrain from his activities, else they would deal with him.
The widow claimed that Kaaka, informed her about the verbal threats that he (Kaaka) had been receiving threats from these so-called NPP members she could not name.
Shaida Huudu therefore stated that the constant threats and the circumstances that led to Kaaka’s death, shows that he was killed because of his social media activities.
She made the disclosure yesterday when she appeared before the three-member committee, probing the mayhem at Ejura, which claimed two lives in Kumasi, following the death of Kaaka.
Shaida Huudu was asked by the committee about what might have accounted for the demise of her late husband, and she retorted that “it may be his social media activities.”
She said her husband, who was a popular social media activist in Ejura, posted several videos exposing rots in the community on social media and by so doing; he may have stepped on some toes.
According to her, the husband was a staunch NPP member in Ejura but his association with the NPP did not deter him from exposing what was not going on well in Ejura.
She therefore, reiterated that she was convinced that some people that did not support her late husband’s cause, worked to eliminate him.
Key Question
Shaida Huudu during the interaction, asked the committee about their real motive in conducting the probe, and in response, the committee said they were not investigating Kaaka’s death.
Chairman of the committee, Justice George Kingsley Koomson, said “the police would investigate the death of Kaaka and apprehend the culprits to face prosecution.”
“The committee would also probe the events and occurrences that led to the riots and make recommendations for appropriate action to be taken to stop its reoccurrence,”
She responded that “conduct your investigations well, and find out the one who caused my husband’s death. The one who testified against my husband’s brother should be called. We live in the same house. She told me that she didn’t see anything, but she said she only heard the sound of my husband entering the house. She didn’t see anything because all of us went to the scene to see what had happened.”
She added that “there was one of the young men who got up and threatened him that they had been warning him to stop what he has been doing, but he doesn’t want to listen. My husband asked him what he was complaining about, and he told him that all the posts he makes on social media have been tarnishing the image of the party, so they want him to stop.”
“My husband asked him how he knew about his activities on Facebook since he (the young man) doesn’t use a Smartphone. The young man got angry and wanted to fight my husband,” the widow recounted
Six people have been arrested for piercing a cane into the anus of an alleged thief who broke into a shop at Agogo in the Asante Akyem North Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
The victim, identified as Enock, 16, is alleged to have broken into the shop but was caught and his hands and legs tied.
The six then forced a stick (cane) into his anus.
The bizarre act, which was recorded in a video, went viral on social media and led to the arrest of the perpetrators.
Speaking on Akoma FM‘s current affairs and political show GhanAkoma Monday, July 12, District Police Commander for Asante Akyem North Chief Superintendent Owusu Bempah explained that “after watching the video and upon thorough analysis with some natives of Agogo, we were able to identify the six perpetrators who were captured in the video and swiftly arrested them.”
C/Supt. Owusu Bempah further indicated that “one of the suspects named Francis Obeng Amoako aged 79 confessed and later claimed after inserting the stick into the victim’s anus, they untied him and then the victim removed the stick and left”.
Speaking on the matter later, the Konongo Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Shaibu named the perpetrators Kofi Asadu, 29, Francis Obeng Amoako, 79, Obeng Mensah, 30, Osei Bonsu, 53, Boakye Dankwa, 65, and Kwasi Marfo, 24.
They have been charged for causing assault and have been remanded until the next hearing on Tuesday, July 27.
Former Special Prosecutor Martin Alamisi Burnes Kaiser Amidu has launched fresh attacks on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, calling his public statements on the fight against corruption as “highfalutin”.
In his latest ‘epistle’ issued on Monday, July 12, Mr. Amidu drew the attention of all and sundry to the expiry of the three-year mandate of the governing board of the Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP) and asked civil society to be particularly alert in the selection of their representative.
“At the time President Akufo-Addo was making his highfalutin statements he knew that he had collaborated with his dual nationality citizen friends populating a particular Civil Society Organization to rig the nomination and electoral process for selecting the representative of the Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organizations,” he wrote.
“The paradox is that the Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organizations knew this and had no courage to ensure that the sanctity of the nomination process of their representative was not raped.
“Their attempt to rent a press to speak for them did not work because of the hypocrisy involved and the unthinkability that members of Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organizations would be afraid to fight this form of corruption themselves.”
The former Attorney General stressed that he is making the facts known this time around in order to ensure that the Office performs its role without partiality.
“The Office of the Special Prosecutor needs to be operationalized and established as a specialized independent anti-corruption agency and not an adjunct of the Presidency as it has been for the past eight months.
“The Office will be of no use to the taxpayer if it is going to be another law enforcement and intelligence agency like the police service and other so-called ‘independent accountability agencies’ who every reasonable and rational Ghanaian knows are tied to the apron strings of the rhetorical President Nana Akufo Addo and ‘The Family’.”
The former 2nd Vice Chairperson of the largest opposition party NDC, Anita De Soso has called on the general public to say a word of prayer for President Nana Akufo-Addo. Anita De Soso says, what is happening now in Ghana is not normal under President Akufo-Addo which he needs deliverance.
Speaking to Omanhene Yaw Adu Boakye of Kessben Maakye, she noted that President Akufo-Addo is under serious calamities and he needs prayers from all Ghanaians. Madam De Soso cautioned Akufo-Addo’s government not to incur the people’s wrath after news broke to pay salaries to Spouses of President.
Rainy weather conditions in the Upper West Region capital of Wa have delayed the landing of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his scheduled tour of the Region.
President Akufo-Addo is expected to be in Wa for a working visit, having been in the Savannah Region in the past two days.
Despite the gathering of dignitaries of the Upper West Region to welcome the president on Tuesday, July 13, an announcement was made that he could not land because of poor weather.
Our correspondent Abdul-Gafur Yakubu reports that the rains are falling heavily in Wa.
The President on Sunday told a gathering at the Yagbonwura’s palace that he has elected to visit each region at least once a year to keep up with ongoing development projects in the country.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, is calling for the establishment of an Independent Emoluments Committee (IEC) to address concerns over emoluments due Article 71 officeholders. According to the MP, the current Article 71 emoluments regime whereby the Executive approved the emoluments of the Legislature and the Legislature approved the emoluments of the Executive was “incestuous” and lent itself to a quid pro quo system.
Review
In an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday, Mr Ablakwa said it had become evident that Ghanaians were not in support of the current Article 71 emoluments regime and the leaders of the nation must review it through a constitutional amendment.
“I agree with the 2010 Constitution Review Commission that it is too incestuous, I want that whole arrangement changed and I want us to learn from the United Kingdom where they now have an Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority which determines the salaries and conditions of members of the House of Commons,” Mr Ablakwa said.
“The current emoluments regime has created an apartheid regime where our conditions of service are so different from the rest of the workers in the public sector and the rest of the country. So, even when the tri-partite committee meets to deliberate on wages, it doesn’t seem to affect us,” he stated.
He said the current arrangement for approvals was shrouded in secrecy because successive Presidents had always kept the formation of the Emoluments Committee until the last hours of their tenure when it was likely to be rushed through Parliament.
“I can understand that in the beginning, the framers of our constitution wanted to do these things, particularly so that Presidents will have confidence in leaving office so that they won’t hold onto power and have input on their conditions of service and retire on their salaries.
Stability
Mr Ablakwa said that regime might have served the country well to stabilise the early years of democracy but just as other jurisdictions such as the UK had carried out reviews, “it is time for us to carry out a review if you look at the level of animosity and anger for those of us who fall into that category such as judges, CHRAJ, NCCE and Controller and Accountant-General and it is not in our interest because it creates the impression that there is a certain special class that only looks out for themselves and milks the system dry”.
MP vehicle loans
The legislator said he and other like-minded MPs would not be supporting a $28 million loan agreement for the purchase of 275 vehicles for members of the 8th Parliament.
He said MPs must be treated like other Article 71 officeholders who were assigned vehicles by the state for official use.
Mr Ablakwa said under the current arrangement, 40 per cent of the total sum for the MPs’ vehicle loan was deducted from their salaries from the beginning of the year.
“Take ministers, take district chief executives, take chief executive officers, take presidential staffers, security services, the state is able to provide vehicles for them. For some of them, there is a pool and you are able to access vehicles from that pool, including the judges who also are provided vehicles but when it comes to MPs, you have a totally different regime.
“Why is it that we are able to provide vehicles for some officeholders but for MPs we cannot, I would have thought that it would have been a lesser burden on the taxpayer where MPs can access and leave the vehicles behind for their successors”.
Personal loans
Mr Ablakwa suggested that if the state could not afford vehicles for MPs, it must allow legislators to broker personal loans for their vehicles because the current regime portrayed them as being insensitive to the plight of Ghanaians.
“Fortunately, the loan has not been approved yet. It has just been laid and some of us (MPs) are really passionate about this proposal and we are taking steps to actualise it
I have sold my car, properties; I pick trotro but I’m happy – Moesha
• Moesha has revealed that her bank account is empty
• She adds that she has sold her cars
• The actress says that she is now a happy child
Selling your body doesn’t take you to riches, these are the words of actress Moesha Budong who has revealed that she is now a born again Christian.
In her latest revelation, the former slay queen who served as an influencer for several brands on social media has said that she has sold all her possessions, including her Range Rover to follow Christ.
“I don’t have anything in my account. I have sold my car; I was even walking to go pick trotro… I was walking to go pick Bolt. I don’t have anything, I have given it out,” she said
The actress speaking in a video where she was seen covered in dirt advised persons who were around at the time of her sermon to turn away from the desires of getting rich quick and seek the favour of God as some persons who were not fortunate have died in the process.
“See me, the way I am looking but me looking like this, I am happier than those days that you see me in driving Range Rover, travelling. I was not real, I was not a happy child,” she revealed.
Moesha has maintained that she is much more fulfilled and happy in her current state compared to when she was enjoying the time of her life.
“So, all these girls who have looked at my lifestyle, saying that they want to be like Moesha, you have been there and can testify that it isn’t easy. It’s not easy at all, some go and some die. Some go and die. Some of these girls go and die because of the wrong men they sleep with. They take our glory; you know they take out our glory. When God created us, He gave all of us wealth and power. All these men do is sleep with us and take our glory and give us peanuts.”
Many have questioned what might have led the actress to turn a new leaf. It is however unknown whether Moesha donated the proceeds of her sold properties towards the work of God.
• Moesha has revealed that some girls die after sleeping with men for money
• She adds that their glory is being exchanged with money
• The actress noted that every woman was created with wealth and power
Actress Moesha Buduong has been in the news following her decision to rededicate her life to Christ. The born-again Christian who has described herself as a “former slay queen” has sent a word of advice to young women.
In a video sighted by kwesi tv 24, she was pictured in a maxi dress where parts of her body were covered in mud. It is unclear where she was, however, the actress was seated among some persons whom she advised to turn away from their evil ways and quick means of acquiring wealth.
The actress, who had confessed to having gone under the knife to enhance her body, revealed that the ‘glory’ upon some girls are being exchanged for money which she indicated is mere peanuts compared to the will of God for their life.
“All these men do is sleep with us and take our glory and give us peanuts,” she said.null
She noted that some of these girls who sleep with men with unexplainable wealth turn out to lose their lives after acquiring earthly properties.
‘Some go and die. Some of these girls go and die because of the wrong men they sleep with. They take our glory; you know they take out our glory. When God created us, He gave all of us wealth and power. All these men do is sleep with us and take our glory and give us peanuts.”
She added: “All the monies they give to us are gifts that if you know God and work for it we would have made more but the devil… God has blessed us some of us with beauty.”
Second Lady Samira Bawumia says she will refund an amount of GHc887,482.00 she received as allowance from the state since her husband took office in January 2017.
It comes after the First Lady Rebbeca Akufo-Addo decided to refund her allowances back to the state following public outcry over a recommendation by the Presidential emolument committee to regularise their salaries.
Details of recommendation for First and Second Ladies
Prof. Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee
The Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu Committee report dated the 18th of June 2020, submitted its recommendations to President Akufo-Addo in fulfilment of the Article 71 provision of the 1992 Constitution which enjoins every sitting President before the end of his four (4) year mandate, to set up a committee to make recommendations on the emoluments for Article 71 office holders.
As part of the five (5) member committee’s report, they recommended the payment of a salary equivalent to a Cabinet Minister who is a Member of Parliament (MP) to the First Lady while her husband is in office and the payment of a salary equivalent to 80% of salary of a Minister of State who is a Member of Parliament (MP) if the spouse served one full term as President or 100% of salary of a Minister of State who is a Member of Parliament (MP) if the spouse served two or more full terms as President.
With the Second Lady, the committee’s report, recommended the payment of a salary equivalent to a Cabinet Minister who is not a Member of Parliament (MP) to the Second Lady while her husband is in office and the payment of a salary equivalent to 80% of salary of a Minister of State who is not a Member of Parliament (MP) if the spouse served one full term as President or 100% of salary of a Minister of State who is a Member of Parliament (MP) if the spouse served two or more full terms as Vice President
The Bono regional Chairman of the NPP Kwame Bafo Abronye says former First and Second Ladies who have received allowances from the State must return the monies.
According to him, the payments were illegal since they were not public officeholders.
His comments come on the back of an announcement by First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo declaring her intention to return allowances paid to her by the government since 2017.
This was after public outcry over a new arrangement that would see first and Second ladies collect salaries.
Abronye is already at the Supreme Court over the same matter, seeking interpretation over the legality of the payments.
He told Lantam Papanko on the Morning Starr that “I’m trying to amend my action at the supreme court that all emoluments given to the first and second ladies should be declared null and void and be returned.”
He said “if there’s a legal backing, that’s fine but there’s no legal backing. I still think they should refund the monies because they are not public office holders so there was no need for the state to pay them.”
“I’m sure the second lady will also come out with a statement rejecting the so-called emoluments approved by parliament.”
He added “so, far as I’m concerned, there’s no need. We are talking law here and per the law, what they’re being given is illegal.”
“If there’s a legal backing, that’s fine but there’s no legal backing.”
The Second Lady Samira Bawumia has also announced her decision to refund monies paid to her as allowance since 2017
The police at the Cantonments have intercepted a weapon believed to be a pistol concealed in a pack of food meant for a robbery suspect.
The high vigilance of a police officer on duty foiled the attempt to smuggle the firearm by a twenty-three-year-old lady.
According to Greater Accra Police PRO Efia Tengey “on July 11, 2021, at about 4:45 pm, a young lady aged about 23years with Nigerian accent came to the charge office with two packs of Papaye labeled fast food to be served on a robbery remand prisoner in cells.”
“When the food was carefully inspected by the duty officer on duty, a locally manufactured pistol with one aa cartridge was found concealed in one of the packs with the food covering it.”
She added in a brief made available to starrfm.com.gh “unfortunately, the lady managed to flee the scene. Strenuous efforts are underway to trace and arrest the lady.”
The General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, has charged the wife of former President John Dramani Mahama, Mrs. Lordina Mahama, to refund all monies or allowances paid to her between January 2009 and June 2021.
“Schandorf, let me say this emphatically. Former President Mahama’s wife, Lordina Mahama, must, as a matter of urgency, refund all monies paid to her since January 2017 till now. Those she received as far back as 2009 should also be refunded. The monies she has received from that time till now would amount to GHC3.2 million,” John Boadu said.
The call on Lordina Mahama to refund monies paid to her as allowances come on the heels of Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo having decided to refund all monies paid to her since 2017.
The Ghanaian media landscape has been awash with criticisms of the Ntiamoa Commission’s decision to regularize allowances paid to First and Second Ladies, whether past, present or in future.
An impression was created by a section of the general public including the TUC, NDC and some Civil Society Organizations that only Mrs. Rebecca Akuffo-Addo and Hajia Samira Bawumia are beneficiaries of these allowances being turned into salaries.
These misconceptions and vitriolic attacks have led to the First Lady declining the decision of the Committee and indicating her decision to refund all monies paid to her since January 2017.
Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has announced a review of the GIPC Act 2013, Act 865 that will exempt the capital requirement for Nigerian retailers to trade in Ghana..
According to a joint communique issued between Ghana and Nigeria, following the Extraordinary ECOWAS Summit, Nigerian retailers will now be exempted from paying a US$1 million capital requirement under the Act to facilitate trade.
Making the disclosure before Nigeria’s House of Representatives last week, Speaker Alban Bagbin said the development will end long standing retail impasse between Ghana and Nigeria.
“…of particular mention is the reconsideration of the US$1 million minimum requirement for trading enterprises under section 28(2) of the Act. This is to facilitate regularization of the businesses of affected Nigerian retail traders in the trade impasse.”
“Equally commendable is the special concession to be applied to a requirement for a payment of 0.5 stamp duty. Our Parliament is working to make sure this does not apply to our brothers and sisters from Nigeria,” Speaker of ParliamentAlban Bagbin announced.
The announcement comes after the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), in December 2019, locked up over six hundred shops belonging to Nigerian retailers at Nkrumah Circle in Accra.
The move was replicated in Kumasi, Ashanti region as most of the shops belonging to Nigerian traders were also forced to shut down that year after Ghanaian traders alleged that Nigerian traders had taken over the retail business in the country.
The decision then caused a clash between Ghanaian traders and Nigerian traders leading to the arrest of some persons involved while others were badly injured.
A lightning strike killed at least 16 people and injured many more in Jaipur in northern India on Sunday.
The victims were taking selfies in the rain on top of a watchtower at the city’s 12th Century Amer Fort, a popular tourist attraction.
Dozens have also died in lightning strikes in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh states.
Lightning strikes kill some 2,000 Indians on average every year, according to official data.
A senior police officer told the media that most of the people among the dead at the fort’s tower were young.
Twenty-seven people were on the tower and the wall of the fort when the incident happened and some reportedly jumped to the ground.
Sunday alone saw nine more deaths from lightning strikes reported across Rajasthan state where Jaipur is located, according to local media reports.
At least 41 people – mostly women and children – were reportedly killed in Uttar Pradesh state. The highest toll of 14 was recorded in the city of Allahabad (also known as Prayagraj).
Two men, who were taking shelter under a tree, died on the spot after they were struck by lightning in Firozabad city. The remaining deaths occurred in several districts across the state.
At least seven died in Madhya Pradesh. Experts say casualty numbers are high in the two states because a large number of people work outdoors in agriculture and construction.
The chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi have announced compensation for the families of those who died.
India’s monsoon season, which sees heavy rains, typically lasts from June to September.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that deaths by lightning strikes have doubled in the country since the 1960s – one of the reasons they cited was the climate crisis.
The data says lightning incidents have increased by 30%-40% since the early- to mid-1990s. In 2018 the southern state of Andhra Pradesh recorded 36,749 lightning strikes in just 13 hours. More than 100 people died in two states in June last year in lightening-related incidents.
Officials say they are more common in areas with thinner tree cover, leaving people vulnerable to being struck.
Safety tips when lightning strikes
Seek shelter inside a large building or a car
Get out of wide, open spaces and away from exposed hilltops
If you have nowhere to shelter, make yourself as small a target as possible by crouching down with your feet together, hands on knees and head tucked in
Do not shelter beneath tall or isolated trees
If you are on water, get to the shore and off wide, open beaches as quickly as possible
The South Dayi MP, Rockson Dafeamakpor, has said he will follow through with his lawsuit challenging the Presidential Spouse emoluments even if the wives of the incumbent President and Vice President decline the recommended emoluments.
Speaking on The Point of View on Citi TV, Mr. Dafeamakpor said his main concern was with the approved recommendations that the spouses of president and vice presidents receive Article 71 emoluments.
In his suit, he argues that the recommendations on the spousal emoluments breached Article 71 of the 1992 Constitution.
“That [the wives of the President and Vice President declining the emoluemnts] is not the issue. The issue is about the recommendation affecting other occupants of those offices,” he said.
“So it is to affect future applicants of those offices. So all we are saying is if you are so minded bring a Bill to Parliament and let us do this properly so that we can look at the conditions of service for the spouse,” he added.
Former President Mahama took issue with these developments saying it is an attempt to sneak the First and Second Ladies into the Article 71 officeholders group.
Per the Constitution, Article 71 officeholders include the President, the Vice-President, the Speaker of Parliament, the Chief Justice and Justices of the Supreme Court, Members of Parliament (MPs), Ministers of State, political appointees, and public servants with salaries charged to the Consolidated Fund but enjoying special constitutional privileges.
Mr. Dafeamakpor is being supported by a fellow legislator, Clement Apaak of Bulisa South in his lawsuit.
The recommended emoluments
Per the recommended emoluments, the spouse of the President is to be entitled to the payment of a salary equivalent to a Cabinet Minister-MP while in office.
After leaving office, they will be entitled to a salary equivalent to 80 percent of the salary of a Minister of State-MP if the spouse served one full term as President or 100 percent of the salary of a Minister of State-MP if the spouse served two or more full terms as President.
For the spouse of the Vice President, they will be entitled to payment of salary equivalent to a Cabinet Minister non-MP when in office.
After leaving office, the spouse of the Vice President will be entitled to a salary equivalent to 80 percent of the salary of a Minister of State non-MP if the spouse served one full term as the Vice President or 100 percent of the salary of a Minister of State non-MP if the spouse served two or more full terms as Vice President.
The emoluments were part of recommendations by the five-member Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu set up in June 2019 by President Nana Akufo-Addo to make recommendations on the salaries and other gratuities of Article 71 officeholders.
• NDC will speak on the allegations made against the Chief Justice by lawyer Akwasi Afrifanull
• The Chief Justice has referred the case to CID and the GLC
• Ogyeedom has also rejected the allegations by Akwasi Afrifa
The National Democratic Congress will today, July 13, 2021, hold a press conference on the US$5million bribery allegation involving the Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah and one Ogyeedom Obranu Kwesi Atta IV.
An artwork shown by the party on its social media platforms indicates that at 14:00 GMT, the party’s executives will address Ghanaians on the issue.
It is expected that the National Communications Officer of the party, Sammy Gyamfi, who is also a lawyer will handle the press conference.
The Chief Justice is the subject of a bribery allegation, leveled against him by lawyer Kwasi Afrifa who has been dragged before the General Legal Council (GLC) by Ogyeedom Obranu Kwesi Atta VI.null
Afrifa in a written response to the GLC made quite a number of allegations against the Chief Justice and Lawyer Akoto Ampaw.
“At the end of July 2020, the Petitioner informed me that friends of his who were highly connected politically had taken him to see the Chief Justice who had agreed to help him win his case on condition that he drops my goodself as the lawyer handling the case for him and engage Akoto Ampaw Esq in my stead,” Kwasi Afrifa said.
“He further informed me that the Chief Justice had demanded a bribe of US$5,000,000 for a successful outcome to his case and that he had already paid US$500,000 to the Chief Justice. He further indicated that he was hard-pressed to raise the remainder of the US$5,000,000 and so I should refund some of the GH¢300,000 paid me as fees because he had in line with the advice of the Chief Justice, engaged Akoto Ampaw Esq as solicitor to continue the case before the Supreme Court,” he added.
These claims have been outrightly rubbished by the Chief Justice and Ogyeedom Obranu Kwesi Atta VI.
In separate statements, the two figures said that the allegations are without any iota of truth and must be rejected.
Ogyeedom said, “I unequivocally deny all allegations of intended bribery or actual bribery against any judge including the Chief Justice whom I have never met or known personally apart from seeing him in distance from the bench,” the rejoinder said in part.null
“I have since applied for a copy of the said response to my petition against Lawyer Afrifa in which those fabrications and allegations are said to be contained and will appropriately react to the General Legal Council upon receipt of same.”
The Chief Justice on the other hand referred the issue to the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service and the Disciplinary Committee of the GLC.
“His Lordship the Chief Justice is saddened that without any shred of evidence, his name has been dragged into this sordid and potentially criminal matter.
“His Lordship further asserts that he has not demanded or received any money from any person to influence any decision,” the letter said.
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Monday, 12th July 2021, commissioned the Salaga Water Supply Project, and a newly constructed Astroturf football pitch for residents of Salaga in the Savannah Region, as part of his 2-day tour of the Savannah Region.
It will be recalled that during the President’s working visit to Salaga in 2017, he indicated, in his remarks, that demand for water in the town had outstripped supply, and directed the Ghana Water Company Ltd to transform the water supply in the town, which was constructed in 1962, from a rural water supply category into an urban water supply one.
The completion of the project, which cost some GH¢13,906,629, now means the Salaga water supply project has the capacity to supply some 20,000 gallons of water a day to residents.
The Salaga Water Project resulted in the rehabilitation of two (2) steel elevated tanks, the construction of twenty-one (21) standpipes, the provision of ten storage tanks in Salaga, Kpembi and Masaka, the rehabilitation of the existing water treatment plant structure, and the replacement of the old treated water transmission pipelines.
The Project also involved the renovation of two (2) quarters for staff of the Ghana Water Company Ltd in Salaga, as well as the provision of a new 100KVA transformer, and the installation of a new booster station to distribute water from the new concrete underground tank at ‘Nkwanta Junction’ to the new GRP tank at Kpembe.
President Akufo-Addo also commissioned the Salaga Astroturf football pitch, a project which was commenced in 2018 by the then Ministry of Inner City and Zongo Development.
Constructed at a cost of GH¢1.9 million, the purpose of the astroturf pitch in Salaga, like those constructed in Madina, Bolgatanga, Kyebi, Walewale, Bolgatanga, and Yeji, is to help promote sports and sports development in the Municipality, and help unearth sporting talents in the municipality.
The President admonished the youth to make good use of the facility, and called on the Muncipal Assembly to undertake routine maintenance of the pitch to ensure its longevity.
Bunjai-Fufulso Road
Whilst in Salaga, President Akufo-Addo also inspected ongoing work on the 71-kilometre Bunjai to Fufulso road, which connects Bunjai to Yapei through Tuluwe and Kusawgu to Fulfulso.
Upon completion, the road will help ensure connectivity between the Eastern and Western parts of the Savannah Region, without commuters having to use Tamale in the Northern Region, and also reduce travel distance between Damongo and Salaga by some 60-kilometres.
The project, which was started on 27th February 2020 and is expected to be completed on 25th August 2023, will help in the carting food stuffs from the Eastern part of the Savannah Region to the Western part, and to the Bono and Ahafo Regions.
According to the Contractor, M/S Mawums Limited, the project is currently 30% complete, and assured President Akufo-Addo that it will be completed on time.
Former Special Prosecutor Martin Alamisi Burnes Kaiser Amidu has launched fresh attacks on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, calling his public statements on the fight against corruption as “highfalutin”.
In his latest ‘epistle’ issued on Monday, July 12, Mr Amidu drew the attention of all and sundry to the expiry of the three-year mandate of the governing board of the Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP) and asked civil society to be particularly alert in the selection of their representative.
“At the time President Akufo-Addo was making his highfalutin statements he knew that he had collaborated with his dual nationality citizen friends populating a particular Civil Society Organization to rig the nomination and electoral process for selecting the representative of the Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organizations,” he wrote.
“The paradox is that the Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organizations knew this and had no courage to ensure that the sanctity of the nomination process of their representative was not raped.
“Their attempt to rent a press to speak for them did not work because of the hypocrisy involved and the unthinkability that members of Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organizations would be afraid to fight this form of corruption themselves.”
The former Attorney General stressed that he is making the facts known this time around in order to ensure that the Office performs its role without partiality.
“The Office of the Special Prosecutor needs to be operationalized and established as a specialized independent anti-corruption agency and not an adjunct of the Presidency as it has been for the past eight months.
“The Office will be of no use to the taxpayer if it is going to be another law enforcement and intelligence agency like the police service and other so called ‘independent accountability agencies’ who every reasonable and rational Ghanaian knows are tied to the apron strings of the rhetorical President Nana Akufo Addo and ‘The Family’.”
Kpembe Wura, Babanye Ndefosu II, has thanked the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for the massive levels of development they have witnessed in Kpembe, in the Salaga South constituency of the Savannah Region, since 2017.
Addressing President Akufo-Addo when the latter paid a courtesy call on him at his palace, at the commencement of day 2 of the President’s tour of the Savannah Region, Babanye Ndefosu II told President Akufo-Addo that his annual visits to the Region have been purposeful and beneficial.
“These are marked by the numerous development projects at various stages of completion within the municipality and the tradition area as a whole,” the Kpembewura said on Monday, July 12.
He continued, “Your Excellency, under your stewardship, the area has seen massive developmental projects and programmes, including other policies. In the (East Gonja) municipality, we have a sustainable water supply project, more than three (3) ongoing market projects including one at Bunjai, a modern astroturf football pitch, a completed modern warehouse facility, a rice factory almost completed, a Regional Feeder Roads Office Complex, ongoing salaga township roads, Tamale-Makango road, and Deba-Fufulso road, and many more,” he said.
These initiatives, according to the Kpembe Wura, “obviously will or have positively impacted on the lives of my people and I in diverse ways, and also gave the municipality a facelift we never expected. Your Excellency we are grateful.”
He used the opportunity of the President’s visit to appeal to the President to increase the admission quota for the Kpembe Nursing and Midwifery Training College, which, he said, receives some 2,000 applications, but only admits some 200 students.
Following the inception of the Free SHS policy, he urged the President to consider establishing a satellite campus of the University of Education to absorb many graduates of the policy.
“We continue to repose our confidence, unflinching support and hope in your leadership. We trust you will deliver us to the promise land. You are already on an enviable trajectory, and we can only invoke the presence of Allah to add more wisdom, sound health and guidance to serve Mother Ghana deservingly,” the Kpembe Wura added.
The First Lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, says she can’t accept the emoluments approved for her by Parliament.
She has thus decided to refund to the state all the monies paid her since 2017 which amounts to GHS899,097.84.
This was captured in a statement signed by Korkor Bleboo, Director of Communications at the Office of the First Lady.
“The First Lady in consultation with the President of the Republic has decided to refund all the monies paid to her as allowances from the date of the President’s assumption of office, i.e., from January 2017 to date, amounting to GHS899,097.84.”
“The First Lady has also decided not to accept any monies that have been allocated to be paid to her pursuant to the recommendations of the Ntiamoa-Baidu committee, as approved by Parliament. She is doing this as a purely personal decision, without prejudice to the rights of others, and not to undermine the propriety of the process undertaken by Parliament.”
In the statement, Mrs. Akufo-Addo’s Director of Communications argued that the First Lady did not request to be paid any allowance and that “She only received that which existed and attached to her status, albeit informally.”
According to the statement, the wife of the president took the decision because the discussions that greeted the announcement of the allowance payments have been laced with some extremely negative opinions, which she finds distasteful as such commentaries only seek “to portray her as a venal, self-seeking and self-centered woman, who does not care about the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian.”
Background
The First Lady’s action comes on the back of the backlash government had received after it came to the fore that, a recommendation for the First and Second Ladies to receive monthly salaries had already been approved by Parliament.
Ghanaians were further livid because it was disclosed that, the First and Second Ladies will be receiving salaries equivalent to cabinet ministers
Highway robbers terrorizing commuters in Pru East, West, Sene East, and Sene West Districts, and the Atebubu-Yeji Highway within the Eastern Corridor of Bono region have reportedly killed a driver in the latest deadly robbery attack on Sunday, July 11.
The armed robbers attacked a Sprinter Benz mini bus with registration number AW 4099-12 with passengers onboard, shot and killed the driver through the windscreen before robbing the passengers who were mostly traders.
The latest incident has stirred anger among the residents who are threatening a demonstration over the rampant robbery incidents in the area which the police seem to have no antidote to.
The incident is happening on the heels of a boycott of classes by teachers in Sene East and West since Thursday over the killing of two teachers and injuring of others by armed robbers.
The Sene East District Secretary of Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Patrick Owusu told Starr News they will only return to the classroom if they see intensified Police patrol and erection of Police checkpoints on robbery-prone areas.
According to him, the armed robbers mostly strike on Wednesdays when most traders transport their goods for Thursday market in the area.
A petition addressed to stakeholders by GNAT stated that ”due to the current happenings in our district we the teachers of Sene-east have withdrawn our services until further notice. These are the reasons why we are withdrawing our services: The killing of the late Elija Asante, a teacher. Dated on the 6th May 2021. The current shooting of our colleague, late Ennin- Prah Junior, a teacher on the 7th July 2021.The shooting of our brother Mr. Emmanuel A. Gyamfi who also escaped from death during the armed robbery attack. Dated on 22nd June 2021. Another attack on our colleague Mr. Boadum Seth, a teacher. Dated on 17th March, 2021″.
The petition added that “yesterday’s incident happens to be the fourth time a robbery incident has occurred at the place where Ennin-Prah Junior was killed. Meanwhile, the police have set a barrier 200 meters away from where the incident happened. In view of the above, we are withdrawing our services until the following demands are met: Provision of proper and competent military patrol team”.
They demanded the “provision of police visibility at every 200meters along Atebubu – Kwame Danso – Kojokrom road. The mounting of unnecessary barriers by the police within the townships must be avoided. Arrest and prosecute the armed robbers who killed our colleagues”.
Starr News has gathered that the Bono East Regional Minister Mr. Kwasi Adu Gyan has met with the teachers and assured them of improved security.
The Pru East Member of Parliament Dr Kwabena Donkor has recently lamented over the rampant armed robbery attacks and insecurity along the Eastern Corridor of the Bono Region.
The former Power Minister, therefore, called on the National Security, Interior Minister, and the Inspector General of Police to engage their men to clamp down on the criminals to safeguard traders and commuters
The family of the late Ibrahim Muhammed, also known as Kaaka, whose death led to disturbances at Ejura in the Ashanti Region two weeks ago, will now appear before the Justice Koomson committee probing the unfortunate incident after an earlier snub.
An earlier statement signed by the family’s Spokesperson, Nafiu Mohammed, said the family felt let down in the committee’s work in the past couple of days, hence their decision to stay off the hearing.
“Events over the past few days, have left us less certain of the scope, focus, real intent, and even utility of the ongoing inquiry. As such, we feel let down in our enthusiasm for what we assumed would provide a much-needed opportunity for truth, soul-searching, and institutional accountability for state-sanctioned violence,” the statement added.
Representatives of the family including the mother of the late social activist, his wife, and two other brothers on Monday, July 12, 2021, went to the venue for the sittings to join other relatives of the deceased who will appear to testify.
Background
The violence in Ejura occurred during protests that followed the death of Ibrahim Muhammed.
Ibrahim Muhammed, alias Kaaka Macho, died after he was attacked by unknown assailants on June 27 while returning home.
He’s believed to have been killed because he was critical of the government.
The 45-year-old was noted to be vocal on both local and national issues using his Facebook page.
Police in the Ashanti Region have since arrested three persons in connection with his death and put them before the court.
Ibrahim Muhammed was buried on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, alongside the two others who died in the protest.
A ministerial committee is currently probing the disturbances. The committee is expected to complete its public hearings on Friday, July 16, 2021.
The 53-year old cleaner whose legs and arm were chopped off following an accident at the Tema tollbooth involving a tippper truck loaded with sand has passed on.
Isaac Koomson, a cleaner at the toll booth number 2 on the motorway reportedly died at the Tema General Hospital whiles receiving treatment. Confirming the incident to DGN Online, Chief Inspector Stella Dede Dzakpasu, Tema Regional Police spokeswoman indicated that the cleaner died two hours later while receiving treatment at the said facility.
According to her, police proceeded to the hospital and confirmed the development.
Meanwhile, his body has been deposited at the hospital’s mortuary pending autopsy.
Motor Traffic Accident.
On July 12, 2021 at about 6:30am, suspect driver Isaac Osei was driving Howo Sino Truck with registration number GG 3564-20 loaded with gravels from Dawhenya towards Kaneshie.
At the Tema Toll Plaza, he knocked down Isaac Koomson and crashed the said booth which had Ernest Antwi as the attendant injuring him in the process.
The truck subsequently ran into the rear portion of a Nissan Saloon car with registration number GG 5401-15 driven by Emmanuel Arthur with two female passengers on board.
The concrete booth fell on a Mercedes Benz Actros Truck with registration number GE 7873-18 driven by Emmanuel Agyei who had stopped to pay the toll as the three vehicles suffered various degrees of damages.
Seven persons who sustained injuries in the accident were rushed to the Tema General Hospital for treatment
The linguist to the Dagomba Chief of Ejura, Abdul-Wahab Alhassan, has charged the three-member committee investigating the disturbances that ensued in the town two weeks ago to ensure that the truth of the matter is unravelled.
According to him, that is what the people of Ejura want. The Dagomba chief’s linguist made the call on Monday, July 12, 2021.
Abdul-Wahab Alhassan who was speaking on behalf of the Dagomba chief when he appeared before the committee thus urged the team probing the disturbances to ensure justice is served to the families of the victims.
“The President has set this committee up for the truth. And we know you are part of the elders of the committee and whatever you people say, it will be accepted by all.”
“We want you to say the truth as it is and not shield anyone. All we want is justice. Let the truth be told. That is all that we are interested in,” he said.
Meanwhile, when asked what measures the elders of the town took when the riots started, he said they were in the process of conferring with each other but were unsuccessful.
“When we heard the riots, we were preparing on the measures to speak to the youth to stay calm, and unfortunately, we heard his grandson had been killed. With the help of the authorities, there is calm in the town [at the moment].”
Background
The violence in Ejura occurred during protests that followed the death of Ibrahim Muhammed.
Ibrahim Muhammed, alias Kaaka Macho, died after he was attacked by unknown assailants on June 27 while returning home.
He’s believed to have been killed because he was critical of the government.
The 45-year-old was noted to be vocal on both local and national issues using his Facebook page.
Police in the Ashanti Region have since arrested three persons in connection with his death and put them before the court.
Ibrahim Muhammed was buried on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, alongside the two others who died in the protest.
A ministerial committee is currently probing the disturbances. The committee is expected to complete its public hearings on Friday, July 16, 2021.
• The Jomoro MP has said her constituents are having broken marriages because of the closure of land bordersnull
• She said others have also committed suicide
• She’s therefore calling on President Akufo-Addo to order the reopening of borders
Since the closure of land borders in March 2020 due to the outbreak of the global pandemic; coronavirus, several trading activities were halted.
According to the Member of Parliament of Jomoro, Dorcas Affo-Toffey, marriages have broken down because her constituents have been badly affected by the closure of borders.
She also noted that several people have committed suicide because of their inability to refund loans from banks and other financial institutions.null
The Jomoro MP indicated that her constituents are swarmed with hardship, hence, the need for the reopening of borders for them to continue with their various businesses.
Dorcas Affo-Toffey, whilst responding to questions on the impact of the closure of land borders on her constituents in an interview on Starr News, said, “their livelihoods have been really affected, businesses have been closed and a lot of people have moved from the area. Marriages are broken, people have committed suicide because they’ve borrowed a lot of money from the banks and they are not able to repay. And so it’s a lot of hardship going on in the area.”
She described the hardship her constituents are facing as sad.
“Anytime I visit my constituency especially if I go to the border town, like Elubo for instance, a lot of people will come to me for different kinds of help like money, food, etc. it’s something they really need,” she said.
The Jomoro MP said if nothing is done about this problem, the only means is for the people to demonstrate, hold press conferences and team up with other Members of Parliament who are also in border towns for their grievances to be heard.
Some aggrieved teachers on Monday morning picketed the head office of the Ghana Education Service (GES), demanding their promotion letters and upgrades.null
According to the teachers, who numbered close to 300, GES has treated them unfairly after making them believe that they have passed the 2020 Teachers Promotion Examinations and had only some documents to submit to gain their promotions.
They claimed they later received messages that they were unsuccessful after they had visited the GES headquarters to submit their documents for verification.
“In any case, the GES could not have requested unsuccessful applicants to submit documents for further verification,” they stated in their petition to the Director-General of GES, Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa.
“The essence of requesting for further verification was to ensure that successful applicants were indeed qualified to be promoted. No examiner requests further particulars from failed candidates.”null
They claimed this was clearly an error on the part of GES and they cannot be made to be at the receiving end of that error.
“It is our opinion that the GES has not been fair to us,” they stated.
“This is a calculated attempt to deny us promotion for reasons best known to them. We cannot unduly suffer for their ‘mistake’. They have no justification to fail us after making us believe that we were successful in the exams and that we were promoted.”
They, therefore, are demanding their promotions by Friday, July 17 or embark on further action.
The Office of the Attorney General has refiled its witness statements for the trial of former Director-General of Social Security and National Insurance Trust Fund (SSNIT), Ernest Thompson and four others arraigned for allegedly causing financial loss to the state.
The filing was a result of a new charge sheet in compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court, which affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal that the initial charges did not contain enough particulars to help the accused persons properly prepare their defence.
Mr. Thompson together with then General Manager of Management Information Systems at SSNIT, Caleb Kwaku Afaglo, then General Counsel of SSNIT, Peter Hayibor, as well as John Hagan Mensah, Information Technology Infrastructure Manager of SSNIT and Juliet Hassana Kramer who is a private businesswoman, are being tried for the roles they allegedly played in the Operational Business Suite (OBS) contract entered into by SSNIT between 2011 and 2017.
Witness Statements
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mrs. Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, told the court last Friday that they had refiled the documents as indicated.
She, however, stated that it appeared the defence lawyers and the accused persons had not been served with the documents.
All the defence lawyers indicated to the court that they had not yet received their documents.
Samuel Codjoe, counsel for Mr. Thompson, told the court that the DPP had just informed them about refiling of the witness statements but they could not tell at that point whether they would be asking for discoveries since they had not been served yet.
“At this juncture, the fact that we have not been served, we will just ask for a date because we are not able to make an informed opinion as to whether we will even ask for discoveries. We don’t know whether the documents given to us initially form part of the present documents filed,” he said.
The court, presided over by Justice Henry Anthony Kwofie, a Court of Appeal judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, therefore adjourned the case to July 29, 2021.
Main Trial
The five are facing 29 counts of conspiracy, willfully causing financial loss to the Republic, defrauding by false pretences as well as the contravention of Public Procurement Act contrary to Section 92(2)(a) of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663). The charges generally related to payments made under the Operational Business Suite project which the prosecution said had already been paid for under the controversial OBS contract.
Detailed Charges
Per the new charges as signed by the DPP, the ex-SSNIT Boss Ernest Thompson, John Hagan Mensah, Juliet Hassana Kramer, and Caleb Afaglo have been charged with 18 counts of willfully causing financial loss of $14,803,299.5 to the state between September 2013 and April 2016.
The charge sheet indicated that Ernest Thompson, John Hagan Mensah, Juliet Hassana Kramer and Caleb Afaglo between December 2015 and April 2016 caused a financial loss of $5,465,909.14 to the state by causing payment to be made under “Change Order 7 for the purchase of IBM advanced hardware (2 Enterprise Class IBM Power8 E870, 2 Clustered V9000 flash systems, 1 V9000 system for disaster recovery) for Operational Business Suite project when same had already been paid under the Operational Business Suite Contract.”
Mr. Thompson, Mrs. Kramer and Peter Hayibor are also facing a charge of willfully causing a financial loss of $5,141,905.66 to the state by back-dating the warranty and Service Level Agreement of the Operational Business Suite project between January and September 2016.
Again, Ernest Thompson, John Hagan Mensah and Juliet Hassana Kramer have been accused of willfully causing financial loss of $2,292,048.23 to the state when they caused payment to be made “under Change Order 2 for the upgrade of hardware for the Operational Business Suite project when same had already been paid under the Operational Business Suite contract.
Change of Order
The three have also been accused of having between October 2013 and April 2014 causing financial loss of $1,079,334 to the state when they caused payments to be made under “Change Order 3 for digitisation of existing member records for the Operational Business Suite project when same had been already paid under the Operational Business Suite Contract.”
Further charges indicate that Mr. Thompson, Mr. Mensah and Mrs. Kramer between June 2014 and January 2015, willfully caused financial loss of $100,895.70 to the state by causing payment to be made on invoice presented by Mrs. Kramer for the procurement of hardware related to member registration and re-registration exercises for the Operational Business Suite project when it had already been paid for under the contract.
The three again are accused of having between August 2015 and September 2015 willfully causing financial loss of $502,227.00 to the state by causing payments to be made on invoice presented by Mrs. Kramer under Change Order B for the supply and installation of 45 Fujitsu Fi-6770 and Fi-6800 scanners for the Operational Business Suite project when same had already been paid for under the Operational Business Suite contract.
Perfect Business System
Juliet Hassana Kramer is also facing charges of having between October 2011 and May 2017 defrauding SSNIT of the sum of $66,783,148.08 under a contract to Perfect Business Systems (PBS) Limited, a non-existent company, and Silverlake Structured Services by representing that she was the Chief Executive Officer of PBS and Silverlake, authorised to sign on behalf of Silverlake, the tenderer of the OBS contract.
Mr. Thompson is also facing a charge of contravening the PPA Act by approving the sum of $9,536,652.50 for “Change Request for the Operational Business Suite Project, an amount which is above the threshold of the head of the entity.”
Forged Certificate
Caleb Afaglo is facing charges of possession and altering of forged Bachelor of Science in Computer Studies from Georgia Institute of Technology
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will embark on a two-day working visit to the Upper West Region beginning from, Tuesday, July 13, 2021.
On arrival on Tuesday, President Akufo-Addo is expected to commence business with a courtesy call on the Wa Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV, the Overlord of the Wala Traditional Area before honouring a radio programme at Radio Upper West.
After the radio programme, the President will then depart for Tumu in the Sissala East Municipality, where he will pay a courtesy call on the Tumu Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton VI, Paramount Chief of the Tumu Traditional Area and Member of the Council of State.
President Akufo-Addo is then expected to commission a Business Resource Centre in Tumu before returning to Wa where he will pass the night.
On the second day, Wednesday, July 14, 2021, the President will depart for Lambussie District, where he will call on the Lambussie Kuoro Salifu Dy-Yaka, Paramount Chief of the Lambussie Traditional Area.
President Akufo-Addo will then leave for the Nandom Municipality where he will also call on the Acting President of the Nandom Traditional Council after which he will inspect some projects in the Municipality.
After concluding on the inspection of projects, the President will have a radio programme at Nandom before departing for Wa to fly back to Accra.
It is not clear who are going to be part of the president’s entourage into the region but Mr Dominic Nitiwul, the Defence Minister had confirmed to the GNA he will be in Wa with the president for the visit.
It is expected that the President will use the opportunity to comment on the military brutalities on some citizens of the Wa municipality almost a fortnight ago when he visits the Wa Naa.
The National Youth Organizer for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), George Opare Addo has said, Members of Parliament (MPs) sacrifice themselves in serving the nation and leave the political scene worse off, so it can only be right they are treated well while in government.null
The former Municipal Chief Executive for the Akuapim North Municipal Assembly in the Eastern Region made this remark in explaining why the $28 million loan agreement meant to secure cars for MPs is appropriate and in the best interest of the country.
Pablo, as he is affectionately called, said looking at former appointees is a good case study of the suffering that former politicians go through a few years after exiting government.
“Look at former appointees, when people leave government and you see them after some time, you will begin to appreciate that it is not as rosy as we make it to seem and the reality is that it is difficult. It is not rosy.”
He added: “You will meet some former Members of Parliament and when they tell you they were former MPs, you don’t want to believe it because of the harsh conditions they live in.”
The National Youth Organizer said the situation is even worse for those who entered politics and assumed front roles such as DCE, MCE and ministerial appointments.null
“Immediately you assume a front role in politics, especially an MP, a District Chief Executive or a Minister, the pressure that comes with it is overwhelming. Our culture settings are such that everybody begins to depend on you.”
Speaking to Berla Mundi on TV3’s New Day on Monday, July 12 on the cause of the situation, George Opare Addo said the politicians are to blame because “the way we carry ourselves when we assume office, the way we communicate, the way we talk, we create the impression that it is all good but in reality, it is really tough.”
He said things are extremely tough now; some carry so much debt that they have to use their ex-gratia to clear their debt.
“I know people take their ex-gratia and use it all in settling debt. I have colleagues who went into government well off and left government worse off.”
Proposing ways of solving this issue, Pablo suggested “a national conversation be established to know how we are going to deal with our public officials and the kind of pressure we put on our politicians. We need a reorientation as to what the [politician] can do and not do to reduce the many demands”
Former Director of Communication at the Presidency under the erstwhile late President John Evans Atta Mills government, Samuel Koku Anyidoho says first and second ladies play significant roles in their husbands’ administration.null
According to the Founder of the Atta Mills Institute, the first and second ladies are already being taken care of by the State as they have been assigned State security and dispatch riders who are on the government payroll to help them perform their functions.
Speaking about the salary saga of the First and Second Ladies, the former Deputy General Secretary of the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) noted that the work of the First Lady is such an important one to the extent that they have ladies-in-waiting who are foreign service officers to perform the functions of the Director of State Protocol at official functions of the First Lady.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Atta Mills Institute speaking from experience, stressed that the First Ladies’ activities are mandatory to champion certain social and humanitarian courses as it is modelled around the American system.
“First Ladies in America are mandated to pick a social course or a humanitarian course and champion it. So, Madam Theresa Kufuor, Mrs Naadu Mills and the rest of the former First Ladies picked up a social course and championed it . . . the office that the First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo is occupying now is the same office that former First Lady Lordina Mahama used to occupy,” he explained.null
He again explained that the First Ladies engage in social courses since they cannot formally do any private business; hence, the humanitarian courses help them to be busy supporting their husbands and for that matter the nation and not idle around.
“In the fixed traditional system, First Ladies are mandated to be in charge of some state banquets, by making sure that the things are done in a certain way that their husbands like . . . the First Ladies have their itineraries on the side-line but because the President is the number one newsmaker, he gets the front page and the First Lady gets the middle page unless what she is doing is critical and prominent to get a front-page,” he posited.
“If you don’t know these protocols and details of their work, you can sit on the touchline and make a lot of ignorant noises . . . ignorance is the biggest challenge we are having in this country…,” he slammed.
The Upper East Regional Police Command on Sunday, 11 July 2021 arrested three persons alleged to be involved in several armed robbery cases in the Nabdam and Zebilla Districts in the Region.
Suspects Maxwell Ziaba a.k.a Strongman aged 19, Bodozina Awudu a.ka. Network Absorber aged 20 and Yidaana Shamshudeen aged 23 were arrested at various hideouts at Pelungu and Dakota.
Items retrieved from them included a locally manufactured pistol, ammunitions, a double-edged knife, two unregistered motorbikes, five gold detectors and mobile phones.
The Police said the suspects have admitted being involved in robberies at Tarkwa and Obuasi mining communities near Tongo and Gbane in the Talensu Districts of the region.
They have also been identified by some victims who have also identified their stolen items among the retrieved items
The Appointments Committee of Parliament will vet the Attorney General’s nominee for Special Prosecutor, Mr Kissi Agyebeng, on Thursday, 22 July 2021.
Mr Agyebeng is the Chairman of the Electronic Communications Tribunal.
He was nominated as Ghana’s second Special Prosecutor following the resignation of Mr Martin Amidu.
Mr Amidu resigned from the position on 15 November 2020 citing interference by President Nana Akufo-Addo in his job.
In a letter to the Presidency, Attorney General Godfred Dame said: “Kissi Agyebeng possesses the requisite expertise on corruption and corruption-related matters and is of high moral character and proven integrity and satisfies all the other requirements stipulated in section 13(1) and (2) of Act 959.”
Section 13(8) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) requires the President to appoint a person qualified for appointment as Special Prosecutor to that position, within six months of the Office of Special Prosecutor becoming vacant
The Chief of Staff, Mrs Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, has said the development of Ghana’s cocoa sector remains key to the country’s socio-economic advancement, with significant contribution toward the enhancement of livelihoods in cocoa-growing communities.
She was speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a six-unit school project by Cargill Ghana, a cocoa-processing and licensed-buying company and CARE International Ghana at Adjei Kojo in Tema West Municipality.
The project, which is part of Cargill’s plan to build six schools in five cocoa production districts, and one in Tema West, is a corporate social responsibility initiative.
Mrs Osei-Opare said the president remains committed to supporting efforts aimed at encouraging growth and investment in the cocoa sector.
The Managing Director of Cargill Ghana Limited, Aedo Van der Weij reiterated Cargill’s commitment to supporting access to quality education.
Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Education, Rev John Ntim Fordjour, described access to education as key priority of the government, as it had invested monumentally in education, directly aligned to the Sustainable Development Goal four of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting life-long learning opportunities for all.
He also commended Cargill for their investment in education
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