Month: February 2024

Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, Minister for Roads and Highways, has held bilateral discussions with Mochizuki Hisanobu, Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, on the completion of road infrastructure projects in Ghana.

Mr Asenso-Boakye said the bilateral meeting underscored the Ghanaian government’s appreciation for Japan’s consistent support in driving socio-economic development, particularly in the infrastructure sector.?

‘I wish to express the appreciation of the government of Ghana to the Prime Minister and the people of Japan for their contributions to the development of our country, particularly in the provision of infrastructure’, he said.?

The Minister urged the Ambassador to expedite the process of securing additional funding for the Volivo Bridge project, highlighting its importance for enhancing connectivity and facilitating economic activities in the area.

Mr Hisanobu assured that efforts were underway to facilitate the necessary funding arrangements for the Volivo Bridge project, affirming Japan’s commitme
nt to fostering continued collaboration with Ghana.?

He reiterated his government’s commitment to supporting Ghana in its endeavours within the roads and highways sector.

The discussions were on the progress of key projects such as the Kumasi Inner Ring Road, Asokwa to Santansi Roundabout, and the Tema-Motorway Interchange Phase Two.

Meanwhile, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to provide additional grant funding to cover the increased costs incurred during the construction of the Assin Praso-Assin Foso Road Project.?

The extra expenses, totalling about 30.5 million Yen, were primarily due to factors such as fuel price hikes, material escalation, and challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Officials of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), in the Ayawaso West Municipality, say basic school children have shown confidence and love for their mother tongue.

Mr Edem Afeeva, NCCE Municipal Director, stated that after engaging some schoolchildren in Ga language reading sessions at the Abelemkpe ‘2’ JHS, children gained strong self-esteem and felt like they belonged in their classes.

The reading sessions were held in commemoration of International Mother Language Day, which is observed every year on February 21 after being declared by UNESCO and later adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.

The Day highlights the importance of languages in promoting inclusivity and attaining the Sustainable Development Goals.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Afeeva said that learning and speaking local dialects promotes culture and values while also instilling logical reasoning and intelligence in children.

‘So, language is what defines us as a people and so it gives us our
identity. The framers of the 1992 constitution were right when they mention in the constitution that the state shall promote our local languages and culture. The state has a role to play,’ he said.

Mr Afeeva said that residents had a responsibility to promote local languages in their homes, churches, and workplaces to shift the narrative of Ghanaian languages becoming extinct.

In Ghana, it has been reported that the Ga-Dangbe language is fast reaching extinction, as observation used as a tool to collect data and studied qualitatively found that the language is ‘endangered’ because it is utilized primarily by few speakers of the older generation.

The United Nations has said that 40 per cent of the global population currently lacks access to education in their native language, a figure that exceeds 90 per cent in certain regions.

The Day, as encouraged by the UNESCO, is to let children read and speak in their country’s capital language, and in the case of Ghana, the Ga language.

At the Abelemkpe ‘2’ JHS, t
he children read the Ga book titled ‘Nileegbe,’ meaning the path of knowledge in classes 1, 4 and 6.

Mr Dominic Sarpong, Head of Programmes at the Ayawaso West NCCE Municipal Directorate, stated that local languages serve as conduits for traditional knowledge and cultural heritage; however, linguistic diversity faces threat as more languages disappear.

He stated that research highlights the benefits of employing learners’ native languages in school, which promotes higher learning outcomes and critical thinking skills.

‘There are certain things we know in our local language but very difficult to say in English. Our local languages promote understanding, tolerance, and cohesion for economic, social, and cultural benefits,’ Mr. Sarpong said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Parliament on Thursday began debating the President’s 2024 State of the Nation Address (SONA) where members of the House; the Majority and Minority, are taking turns to express their agreement or disagreement with the message.

In line with Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution, the SONA was presented to the House by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday, February 27.

The weeklong debate was opened by Mrs Abena Osei-Asare, a Deputy Finance Minister and New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Atiwa East, and seconded by Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for North Tongu.

Mrs Osei-Asare expressed gratitude to the President for his message on the State of the Nation.

‘Mr Speaker, as I listened to the President, I felt a great sense of pride. Mr Speaker, his address showed that in a world fraught with challenges, Ghana continues to show resilience and advance in hope.’

Touching on the economy, Mrs Osei-Asare said the Government was restoring fiscal a
nd debt sustainability.

That, she said, the Government did by going to Parliament to enable them to use both administrative and new measures to raise more revenue for the State and cut down on borrowing to address the economic issues.

Mrs Osei-Asare said Parliament assisted the Government in cutting down on its expenditure and helped them to fit within the Appropriated Budget that they were given.

Part of the administrative measures had to do with the digitisation being championed by the Vice President, which bore some fruits for the nation.

The digitisation and the new tax revenue measures, in 2023, have enabled the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to meet its revenue generation target and even go above it.

‘Mr Speaker, under the debt sustainability, we had to go through a painful but necessary process to help bring our debt level onto a sustainable path,’ she said.

‘This, we did by undertaking a comprehensive debt structuring programme of both our domestic and external debts.’

She said the Ministry comp
leted the domestic debts exchange in February, which saw about 95 per cent participation rates; declaring that ‘so far, so good, Mr Speaker’.

Mrs Osei-Asare said the Government had managed to pay all its coupons after some hitches at the beginning of the programme.

‘In August 2023, we paid the first tranche of the coupons, which was GHS2.36 billion; another coupon was paid in September of GHS2.00 billion.’

‘Mr Speaker, just last week, the 20th of February, we saw a huge chunk of our coupons being paid up to GHS5.80 billion.’

‘This is the largest in the history of our nation. And this is telling us that, yes, we are bringing back the confidence in the secondary matters.’

She encouraged Ghanaians to participate in the long end of the matters and not the short ends because the Government had brought back confidence in the secondary matter.

Certain global factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war had had negative impacts on Ghana’s economy, she said.

With regard to the health sector,
Mrs Osei-Asare underscored the Government’s commitment to completing the La General Hospital construction project.

Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the NDC MP of North Tongu, expressed unhappiness about the President not mentioning the Akosombo and Kpong dams spillage, which affected many communities such as Mepe and Battor in the Volta Region.

He criticised the President for being silent on the issue of fighting illegal mining (galamsey) in his address, which used to be one of his (the President’s) flagship projects.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A 20-year-old Nigerian Abdul Abubakari Sadiq has been convicted by a Weija Circuit Court for stealing a water meter.

Sadiq, charged with intentionally and unlawfully causing damage to a meter belonging to Ghana Water Limited, pleaded guilty.

Sadiq, however, denied the charge of stealing.

The Court, presided by Mr James Kojo Botah, convicted the accused person on his plea on 27th February 2024.

Mr Abubakari Sadiq was sentenced to pay a fine of GH?2,400.00 or face a six-month imprisonment.

The Management of Ghana Water Limited (GWL), Accra West Region, had caused his arrest and subsequent conviction.

Sadiq is expected to be in court on April 11, 2024, in respect of the charge of stealing.

On February 23, 2024, Sadiq was caught by a resident of Kasoa Amanfrom Toptown with a water meter and a standpipe tap in his sack.

Sadiq, who was earlier seen strolling in the area with his scrap dealer’s truck, entered a compound and broke the meter there, thinking there was no one at home.

The noise of the breakage
woke an occupant of the house up and Sadiq was arrested and sent to the Amanfrom Police Station.

He was subsequently arraigned before the Weija Circuit Court and convicted on 27th February 2024.

In September 2023, Mr Marvin Godwin, also a Nigerian, was arrested in Kasoa Nyanyano for meter theft and was convicted by Ms Linda Amissah at the Ofaakor Circuit Court.

He is still serving his sentence in jail.

The Ghana Water Limited in a statement signed by its Accra West Region Communication Manager, Mrs Solace A. M. Akomeah, said stealing of meters was one of the challenges the GWL faced in its operations.

She said the Kasoa/Nyanyano area in the Accra West Region was notorious for such acts and that no day passes without its district offices in those communities receiving reports of missing meters.

This challenge, she said, impeded greatly on GWL’s objective of achieving a 100 per cent metering ratio nationwide.

‘It is important to note that without water meters, our customers are billed on estimates, a sit
uation which usually generates undue tension between them (customers) and our commercial officers,’ she said.

‘As we seek to win the battle against meter stealing, we will bring all culprits to book and ensure they receive the appropriate punishments,’ the statement said.

GWL, therefore, urged the public to be on the lookout for such miscreants and report them to the police for redress.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Abdel-Fatau Musah, the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), says West African leaders must focus on creating enabling infrastructure for youth development.

He said such an infrastructure would be the panacea to curbing youth migration and insecurity in the sub-region.

Abdel-Fatau Musah, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, ECOWAS.

Mr Musah said this at the 3rd Kofi Annan Peace and Security Forum (KAPS Forum) held at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center (KAIPTC) under the theme: ‘Migration and Societal Resilience in a Multipolar World Order: Addressing Conflicts and Building Peace in Africa’.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), he said the limited availability of enabling infrastructure and environments in West African countries, had caused an increase in migration of the youth from the subregion towards the more prosperous global north.

‘The quest to migrate has
been exacerbated by the increasing insecurities in the region and coupled with climate change challenges,’ the Commissioner said.

He said the developed countries had made infrastructure a primary need and a necessity where they had 24-hour electricity supply, and meaningful and productive education for young people to thrive.

‘We are not talking about just learning to read and write but to transform knowledge into productivity. We need to improve these so that the natural tendency for people to move from places of scarcity to places of abundance is curbed,’ Mr Musah explained.

He called for inclusive development in the governance systems to prevent the feeling of remoteness which also triggered migration.

‘If you do not promote inclusive development, governance becomes a winner takes all; people do not take part in governance because they feel alienated and marginalised, a tendency for them to escape’, he added.

The 3rd Kofi Annan Peace and Security Forum serves as a platform to discuss how best the cont
inent and the sub-region could effectively address issues of climate change, conflicts, transnational crimes, and their impacts on migration trends.

It also brought to the fore how the continent’s leadership could devise solutions and coping mechanisms to deal with them.

The forum was established in 2019 to honour the memory of the late Kofi Annan, a former Secretary-General of the United Nations, who used his office and position to promote peace globally.

The conference had in attendance diplomats, Former Heads of State, Continental, and regional block leaders.

They included Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, African Union Representative for Silencing the Guns, Yayi Boni, a Former President of Benin and Hailemariam Dessalegn Boshe, a Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Simon Dorve, 41, a prime suspect in the murder of Christopher Alavi, a 31-year-old boy from Ziope, has allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in police cells at Akatsi in the Volta Region.

Dorve, a fetish priest and resident of Wlitey-Agamakope, until his demise, was in police custody together with two other suspects for allegedly masterminding the murder of Christopher Alavi, who had gone missing for several months.

A police source confirmed that the ‘suicide’ was carried out on Tuesday, February 27, and the body of the deceased had been moved to the Ho Teaching Hospital Morgue by a team from the Regional Police Command for further examination.

Mrs Lisah Dorve, a sister of the deceased, told the Ghana News Agency that the Akatsi South Police Command had informed the family about the act and upon arrival at the station, they were taken to the toilet room within the police cells, where the crime allegedly occurred.

She said reports also indicated that the deceased had used a duster meant for cleani
ng the toilet to hang himself on a fan holder when he was discovered.

Some residents of Akatsi South said they were skeptical about the emerging development.

Further information gathered showed that two suspects; Godfred, a student, and Ahomey Gbeti, also a fetish priest, had earlier been arrested for having in their possession some belongings of the deceased (Alavi) who had then gone missing.

After interrogation, Ahomey Gbeti confessed to having committed the crime with Dorve, in whose custody the deceased’s (Christopher Alavi) motorbike and body were later found and retrieved.

Mr Dorve was subsequently arrested on Saturday dawn, February 10, at Wlitey-Gamakope to assist in investigations.

However, the suspects, arraigned at the Akatsi Magistrate’s Court, had been remanded into police custody and expected to reappear on March 13.

Alavi, prior to the arrest of the suspects, went missing after he left home to attend a family meeting at Lume Ahugakope on September 7, 2023.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), as part of efforts to rid the country of waste and keep communities clean, has started an exercise to evacuate about 13,000 tonnes of refuse in the Upper East Region.

In the Kassena Nankana Municipality, a 14-year-old 500 tonnes of refuse, located at Zongo on the popularly referred to as ‘Condemned’ road in Navrongo, took two days to evacuate.

Twenty sites are expected to be cleared in districts of the region to improve sanitation in the communities.

Two sites are to be evacuated in the Bongo District at the Bongo Soe Market in the Bolgatanga East District at the Zuarungu Chief Palace and the police station dumping sites would be cleared while the Datoko Site in the Talensi District would also be evacuated.

Other sites to be evacuated include Kulungugu in the Pusiga District, Tubong in the Garu District, three sites in the Bawku Municipality and in the Bulsa North District, the Sandema and Wiaga markets would be cleared.

The Teshie and Binab
a markets refuse sites would also be dislodged.

Mr Joseph Adongo, the Municipal Chief Executive of the Kassena Nankana Municipal Assembly, who led a team to identify the locations for the exercise, said he was not happy with the indiscriminate disposal of refuse, particularly plastic waste at the damping sites in Navrongo.

Mr Pius Akambe, the Kassena Nankana Municipal Environmental Health and Sanitation Officer, said the Assembly placed importance on evacuation of refuse hence the need to identify and clear them in the area.

He said to address the indiscriminate dumping of refuse at the sites, containers would placed there and be monitored by Zoomlion attendants to help curb the pouring of refuse on the ground.

Mr Sixtus Kaba, the Assemblyman for the Zongo area was grateful for the exercise as it had helped to clear the congestion, which came with some bad stench that engulfed the area, making living there unbearable.

He was grateful for the cooperation received from his constituents, especially in prepa
ration of an access area for the heavy-duty vehicles undertaking the exercise.

In 2023 four sites in four districts were evacuated in the Upper East Region namely; Bazua in the Binduri District, Kassena Nankana West, Fumbisi District and Bolgatanga Municipal.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Amasaman Circuit Court has remanded two persons into Police custody for allegedly taking part in a riot at Papaase, near Amasaman.

Nelson Ahiamedzi and Prince Asa alias Asafo were arraigned on a bench warrant.

Ahiamedzi pleaded not guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit assault, cause harm, use of offensive weapon.

Prince and 15 others, who are on the run, were also charged with discharging guns or firearms in public, and possession of firearms and ammunition without authority.

However, Prince’s plea was rejected since he could only understand Nzema and there was no Nzema interpreter.

The Court, presided over by Ms Enid Marful-Sau, requested that the Registrar provide him with an interpreter on the next adjourned date, March 12, 2024.

According to Police Chief Inspector Frederick Awuah-Ansah, Papase and Chinto are two neighboring communities in the Ga West Municipality of the Greater Accra Region.

He said Nii Papa-Asa Ill is the Chief of Papase and witness, while Nana Fianko Ababio II is the
Chief of Chinto.

Both Chiefs are related, but are deeply divided due to land disputes, the Court heard.

Chief Inspector Awuah-Ansah said the complainant, Eric Dodzi, and the victims, who include De-Graft Addotey, Emmanuel Ackah Otoo, Grace Quaye, Sowah Justice, and Christopher Neequaye live in Papase, but support the Chinto Chief.

He said that Ahiamedzi, also from Papase, is a supporter of Nii Papa-Asa II.

On April 18, 2021, Nana Fianko Ababio III led some people who confronted some members of the Zongo Community over a Mosque land at Chinto which Nii Papa Asa III is laying claim to.

The prosecution said the Zongo Community made a complaint to the Kotoku Police and the case was receiving attention.

It said however that on April 20, 2021, at about 0930 hours, Dodzi sent his damaged shirts to Florence Commey, another witness and seamstress, to be mended at Papase for him, noting that the witness’s shop is located opposite the Papase Palace.

He said that Nii Papa Asa IIl, who was in front of his palace wi
th the accused, Torgbui Boni II alias K.K, Prince Asa alias Asafoatse Kaka, and Ahiamedzi, recognized Dodzi as one of the Chinto Chief’s supporters who went to assault the Zongo Community.

The prosecution said Nii Papa Asa III followed him to the tailoring shop and took a hammer from a deaf and dumb carpenter working there at the time.

Nii Asa IIl began pounding Dodzi with the hammer and was later joined by Torgbui Boni II, Prince, and Martey.

He said with the help of Torgbui Boni II and Ahiamedzi, Dodzi was beaten mercilessly.

Chief Inspector Awuah-Ansah said De-Graft Adotey, Sowah, Otoo, and Grace Quaye, who were sitting at the Okada station near the palace, heard about the situation and went to Dodzi’s rescue.

This incensed the accused, who went in for pump action guns from the palace and fired at them, injuring each of them.

Nii Asa IIl then led a party of men, including Torgbui Boni II, Prince, Ali Yakubu alias Asa Baba, Asafoatse Martey, and others, who were armed with pump action weapons and pist
ols, to surround the Palace.

He said at about 1500 hours, Christopher Neequaye, a victim, unknowingly alighted from a motorcycle in front of of Papase Palace.

He was also identified as one of the Chinto Chief’s supporters, so the group, including the accused, fired gunshots at him, causing him to fall to the ground.

The prosecution said Thelma Neequaye, the victim’s sister who was at the scene, ran to rescue him and was also injured in the buttocks from pellets fired at her.

She fled to hide and later saw the victim being carried to the Papase Palace; the Court heard.

He said that Thelma heard her brother yelling for help in the Palace and ran to Chinto to alert the Chief and elders about the shooting and abduction of her brother.

The Chinto and Papase youths who supported the Chinto Chief came out in large numbers, armed with stones, to vandalize Nii Asa’s palace in search of their brother, oblivious that Christopher Neequaye had been driven out of the palace and abandoned at Abanman near Adjen Kotoku.

The prosecution said that Chief Superintendent of Police Mr. Michael Ofosu Anim, Adjen Kotoku District Police Commander, led six patrol teams to the Papase palace area to restore order.

He said that police officers retrieved nine spent cartridges from the Palace for investigation.

Chief Inspector Awuah-Ansah said a good Samaritan, one Donne Agonde, who was passing with his motorcycle rescued Chrstopher and sent him to the Amasaman Government Hospital.

He said a report was lodged with the Kotoku Police and medical forms were issued to the complainants and the victims to attend hospital.

The accused persons were apprehended, and efforts are being made to arrest the other culprits.

The prosecution said Neequaye who was later sent from the Nsawam Government Hospital to the Koforidua Central Hospital before being transferred again to Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

He is still on admission in a critical condition.

After their cautioned statements, they were arraigned, Prosecution told the Court.

Source: Ghana
News Agency