Day: March 1, 2024

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Augustus Nkrumah says his description of Daniel Asiedu as a ‘terrible guy’ is not an opinion.

At the High Court, ASP Nkrumah said per the statements given by Daniel Asiedu and Vincent Bossu, both accused persons in the J. B Danquah Adu murder case, the accused persons stated that they were ‘thieves and they were going on stealing expedition.’.

According to the investigator, the accused persons graduated from thieves to armed robbers because of the offensive implements they possessed.

‘For an armed robber to have those offensive weapons indicated that he was capable of resisting anything in the commission of the crime so when the first accused person (Asiedu) had the chance of entering the deceased’s room, he ensured that whatever prevented him from robbing was eliminated.’

ASP Nkrumah said this while answering questions under cross examination administered by Mr Yaw Dankwa , defence counsel for the two accused persons.

He maintained that it was Asiedu who murdere
d the MP, adding that investigations and the admission of the accused person (Asiedu) in the commission of the crime and retrieval of offensive weapons and belongings pointed that it was Asiedu, who killed the MP.

Daniel Asiedu is being held for his alleged involvement in the murder of former Abuakwa North Member of Parliament , J. B Danquah Adu at his residence in the year 2016 at Shaishie, Accra.

Daniel Asiedu is being held for murder and robbery.

His accomplice, Vincent Bossu is being held for allegedly conspiring with Asiedu to rob.

They have pleaded not guilty before a seven-member jury.

The court presided over by Mrs Justice Lydia Osei Marfo has remanded the two accused persons into prison custody.

ASP Nkrumah, the eighth prosecution witness, said when the deceased put up resistance, ‘what first accused person (Asiedu) did was to stab him (the late MP) in the neck and chest about six times for the deceased to give up the ghost.’

The investigator told the court that it was incorrect for defence co
unsel to suggest to him that he formed an opinion that Asiedu murdered the MP on November 23, 2016, without conducting investigations.

The eighth prosecution witness said investigations at the time established that it was Asiedu who murdered the former MP.

The investigator admitted that he personally wrote his statement.

According to the investigator, his own statement was not tendered in evidence because he had not been asked to do so.

ASP Nkrumah denied that he was selective in his investigations.

He told the court that eleven statements, including caution statements, were taken from the accused persons.

The matter has been adjourned to March 11, 2024

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Sumaila Ewuntomi Abudu, who served as the Municipal Coordinating Director for Agona East Municipal Assembly in the Central Region, has been announced as the Acting Northern Regional Coordinating Director.

Alhaji Alhassan Issahaku, the outgoing Northren Regional Coordinating Director, introduced Mr Abudu to staff members of the Northern Regional Coordinating Council (NRCC) at a staff durbar at the regional office in Tamale on Thursday.

Alhaji Issahaku, who is proceeding on retirement, said it was fulfilling to leave office unblemished having served in the interest of the region as the Regional Coordinating Director (RCD) for many years.

He said his successor was up to the task urging staff members to give him the maximum cooperation.

He noted that the announcement was the beginning of the transition process adding the new RCD was expected to take over fully by March 06, 2024.

Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister, pledged his support for the Acting RCD.

He said being a Regional Mini
ster for three years had taught him the essence of diligence towards serving in public office.

He said public offices were not a permanent place for anyone hence public servants must endeavour to give their all when given the opportunity to serve.

He eulogised Alhaji Issahaku for his commitment during his tenure and urged others to emulate him saying ‘Strive to leave an indelible mark when your term is over.’

He acknowledged experiencing Mr Abudu’s industry prowess expressing trust in his ability to deliver as expected of him.

Mr Abudu said he was happy to take over the administration of the region and assured the staff members of prioritising team work towards achieving excellence.

He said ‘With the support of the Regional Minister, we will work to make sure that government attains its goals and objectives.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

The National Ambulance Service at Keta in the Volta region has urged the public to acquire some basic first aid techniques.to avoid preventable deaths and injuries during domestic emergency health situations.

These techniques would also enable the public to identify the various forms of injuries and emergency cases and the best methods to be used, to mitigate any unf

Mr Emmanuel Kordzo Tordzro, the Senior Emergency Medical Technician (SEMT), NAS, interacting with the Ghana News Agency during the Service’s first aid workshop for schools in the Keta Municipality, said the objective was to create awareness about basic means of supporting victims during emergency health situations.

He said the Service’s aim was to educate students in the various schools within the Municipality on some basic ways of providing pre-hospital emergency medical care to the sick and injured before getting them to the hospital or calling the Ambulance service.

Mr Tordzro said the workshop would also teach the students, teachers and
the public to acknowledge the Ambulance Service ‘Since we provide immediate and timely pre-hospital emergency care to the patients and transport them safely to the health facilities.’

He urged all to acquire the first-aid techniques to help sustain the life of patients before calling the ambulance service for attention.

Mt Tordzro commended the Keta branch of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) for championing the workshop to educate the schools on emergencies.

He charged other schools, institutions, churches, individuals, corporate organisations and the public to rely on the services of the Ambulance Service for education and in all emergencies for free.

Madam Linna Elinam Bensah, the Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) at Keta, said a total of seven schools that were part of NCCE’s ‘Civic Educate Club’ within the Municipality took part in the workshop for the first quarter.

They included Ketasco basic A and B, Bishop Herman A and B basic, Dzelukope E.P and R.C
basic, Ola Girls School, and Keta R.C basic.

She urged the public to support the Commission in various forms to help extend the workshop to other areas like the Ghana Fire Service and Ghana Police, among others.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A youth-centred advocacy project, which aims at working with youth groups to create awareness as well as empower them to actively participate in political debates and discussions on climate change, democracy, peace and security has been launched.

The project dubbed: ‘Building Bridges: Empowering Youth as Green Champions for Climate Resilience in Northern Region’, also seeks to empower youth groups to facilitate the formation of alliances and partnerships that can further amplify youth voices and influence in advocacy for positive change in Northern Ghana.

The five month-long project is being implemented by the Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA Ghana) in the Tamale Metropolis, Sagnarigu and Savelugu Municipal Assemblies with funding support from the Embassy of Denmark under its Climate Action Project.

Hajia Alima Sagito-Saeed, Executive Director, SWIDA Ghana, who gave details of the project at its launch in Tamale on Thursday, said under the project, SWIDA Ghana would be working directly
with 25 youth-led organisations from the three Assemblies, adding the youth-led organisations would in turn reach over 1,000 men and women in various communities in the three Assemblies.

The beneficiary youth-led organisations included Northern Region Youth Parliament, Activista Ghana, Afri Youth, Empowered Centre for Peacebuilding amongst others.

Climate change has brought about devastating impact on the environment and livelihoods of communities, which is affecting the living conditions of the people hence efforts to minimise human activities that contribute to climate change.

Hajia Sagito-Saeed said under the project, SWIDA Ghana would organise trainings on climate change, leadership and natural resource governance for the beneficiary youth-led organisations as well as facilitate town hall meetings and debating sessions with political parties on climate change, democracy and civic responsibilities.

She added that the project would also facilitate youth-led promotion of green businesses and practices as
well as establish different Sustainable Development Goals 13 thematic platforms and social media campaigns to champion the issue.

The project would also engage political parties during the 2024 elections to mainstream green jobs objectives in their manifestos with clear cut indicators for measurements to ensure coherence between employment and environment related policies.

Hajia Sagito-Saeed said the project would introduce youth to employment opportunities under the green practices and social enterprises for their application.

Latifa Husein, Assistant Programme Officer, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Northern Region, who represented the Northern Regional Director of EPA, commended partners for the project saying EPA believed that it would positively impact the environment.

She advised the youth to share positive information about the environment among the public to change their attitudes towards the environment.

Mr Abukari Baba Sumaila, Tamale Metropolitan Director, National Youth Authority laud
ed the project saying it would empower the youth to play meaningful and lead roles in addressing climate change for the benefit of all.

Representatives of the beneficiary youth-led organisations took turns to share their perspectives on climate change expressing their support for the project to succeed.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Philip Tengzu, a Chief Reporter with the Wa office of the Ghana News Agency is among 30 journalists and media practitioners selected from five West African countries to participate in the sixth edition of the Kwame Karikari Fact-Checking Fellowship.

The 30 participating journalists and media practitioners of the fellowship, which spanned from March to August 2024, were drawn from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and The Gambia.

DUBAWA, a West African independent verification and fact-checking project, an initiative of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), is organising the fellowship with support from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

It sought to amplify media literacy and empower journalists and media practitioners to champion information verification at the grassroots communities, which were targeted constituencies for political, social, and cultural misinformation and disinformation.

The six-month fellowship was preceded by a four-day intensive fellowship tra
ining to enable the participants appreciate the concept of fact-checking and information literacy before the commencement of the fellowship.

Some local language media practitioners and journalists also participated in the training.

Speaking at the opening of the four-day virtual training, Mr Dapo Olorunyomi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CJID, indicated that journalists played a crucial role in promoting democracy, good governance and development in West Africa.

He advised the participants not to allow themselves to be used as agents for spreading misinformation and disinformation.

Mr Akintunde Babatunde, the Programme Director of CJID, explained that the fellowship started in 2019 with five fellows but had since churned out many fact-checkers through the fellowship over the past five years.

Aside from training journalists and media practitioners on fact-checking through the fellowship, DUBAWA also trained journalists and media practitioners in Nigeria and some other West African countries includi
ng Ghana to introduce them to the business of fact-checking and information verification.

Experienced fact-checkers and researchers took the participants through series of presentations during the four-day training.

Mr Idris Akinbajo, the Managing Editor of the Premium Times in Nigeria, who took the participants through ‘Accountability Journalism and the Role of the Media in West Africa’, explained that West African journalists ought to be concerned about the unstable democracy in the sub-region.

‘Journalism and democracy have a symbiotic relationship,’ he observed, indicating that independent and good journalism could only thrive in a state of democracy and good governance and vice versa.

The participants were also taken through topics including: ‘Understanding the Information Disorder Ecosystem’; ‘Media and Information Literacy (MIL) as a Response to Information Disorder’; ‘Fact-checking: Practice and Methodology’; ‘Claim Discovery’; and ‘Google Fact-checking Tools’ among others.

Source: Ghana News Ag
ency

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has engaged some students and youth on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocols at a sensitisation workshop in the Western Region.

The workshop, organised in collaboration with the Media Response, a Civil Society Organisation (CSO), and the Western Regional Coordinating Council, was to educate participants on the programmes/activities to enhance the wellbeing of the youth.

It was attended by heads of ministries, departments and agencies, students from second cycle and tertiary institutions, teachers, National Service Persons, traditional authorities and Youth Club Associations, among others.

They were taken through an Overview of ECOWAS, Mandates and functions of the Regional Integration Bureau, Achievements, prospects and challenges of the Community’s Youth Policy, and protocol on free movements, rights of residence and establishments.

Ambassador Perpetua O. Dufu, the Coordinating Director for Multilateral and International
Organisations, Foreign Affairs Ministry, said the event was part of the Ministry’s efforts to broaden the youth’s knowledge on protocols and policies of the ECOWAS, to ensure they enjoyed the benefits of Ghana’s membership of the West African sub-regional bloc.

She said since its inception, ECOWAS had been steadfast in its dedication to fostering economic collaboration among its member states.

It identified the youth as pivotal in shaping the future of the West African Sub-Region, hence the need to provide them with invaluable insights into its achievements, challenges and prospects, she said.

Ambassador Dufu said the ECOWAS Youth Policy sought to harness the potential of the youth, due to the importance of youth leadership, for their meaningful involvement in decision-making processes at all levels, and shape policies that directly impacted their lives.

She encouraged the participants to take advantage of the numerous benefits that came with Ghana’s membership of ECOWAS to help better their socio-economi
c wellbeing.

Alhaji Mohammed Saani Adams, the Head of Policy Coordinating, Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry of Youth and Sports, said the ECOWAS Youth Policy was designed to, among other things, mobilise the youth and get them adequately involved in the regional and development process of the Community.

The policy is anchored on youth participation, youth-driven policies, mainstreaming youth issues, and cultural and religious diversity.

It further mandated the youth in the sub-region to promote peace, security and development, and defend democracy and civility in the governance process in their countries.

Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Western Regional Minister, in a speech read on his behalf, said it was crucial to unearth the potentials of the youth by equipping them with the necessary information on the ECOWAS protocols as a catalyst for transformation in the sub-region.

He commended the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration for championing the youth sensitisation drive to help
them appreciate the relevance of ECOWAS.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Evangelical Presbyterian College of Education at Amedzofe has admitted a total of 240 new students for the 2023/2024 academic year.

Women constitute the majority with 52%, and the new students were selected from more than 700 that applied to the institution, which is located within Ghana’s highest human settlement in the Ho West District of the Volta Region.

Of the total admitted, 93 would pursue a Bachelor in Education in Junior High School Education, 34 signed up for Junior High School French Education, and 79 for Upper Primary Education.

A total of 34 were admitted to pursue a Bachelor in Education in Early Grade Education.

Dr Dickson Tsey, Principal of the College, said the institution continued to grant opportunities to women as part of its gender-inclusive policy, while applicants from less endowed schools, and people with sports talents were also prioritised.

He said Management’s decision to institute a scholarship scheme to support hard-working students, has been approved by the College Acad
emic Board, and hoped it would become ‘a catalyst’ to excellence.

The Principal used the occasion to draw stakeholder attention to numerous challenges facing the College, top of them the undeveloped road networks in and around the high-altitude campus, and also its auditorium, built decades ago to hold 250 people.

Dr Tsey said the student population currently was more than 1000, and thus a befitting auditorium needed to be constructed.

He added that plans and the conceptual designs for the proposed project had been produced and appealed to the GETFund and philanthropist organisations to support its realisation.

The auditorium project is part of a five-year strategic plan for the College, which was launched at the matriculation.

Rev. Dr. Lawson Danku, the Clerk of the General Assembly of the E. P. Church, who launched the strategic plan, said it represented ‘a significant milestone in the journey to achieving excellence in education.’

It would help to realise a holistic approach to teaching and learning
in the 21st century.

The new students were asked to consider the opportunity to enroll in ‘one of the finest colleges of education in the country,’ and tap into the tremendous opportunities that would enhance their college experience.

A ten-seater modern toilet facility constructed for the women’s hostel was commissioned after the event, and plans were announced to provide the same for the male section as well.

The E.P. College of Education was established by the Bremen Mission in 1946.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr John Nkaw, Country Director, ActionAid Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organisation, has revealed that the NGO’s Combating Modern Slavery Project (CMSP) has helped 398 females escape modern slavery.

He said the lack of economic opportunity coupled with pervasive poverty in some regions of Ghana often made women and other vulnerable groups more vulnerable to modern slavery.

Through the CMS project, Mr Nkaw said ActionAid Ghana had been able to reduce the vulnerability of 398 female household heads through livelihood empowerment programmes, including the provision of start-up capital.

The Country Director made the revelation at an event to validate the CMS Project Endline Study report in Accra.

He said, ‘…The CMSP has brought relief to women and children over the past three years through many interventions like livelihood skill training and start-up support, the training of community-based anti-human trafficking combats, the rescuing and reuniting of survivors, and the call for the UN legally binding instrume
nt on business and human rights.’

Outlining the gains of the CMS Project, the Country Director said, some 398 female household heads had been supported with livelihood skills that had made them independent, resourceful and reduced their vulnerability and their children to modern slavery.

The beneficiaries, he said, were also given start-up equipment worth about GH?1,994,306.63 in the Bono, Northern Region, Upper West, and Oti regions.

According to the WalkFree Global Slavery Index report (2023), Ghana’s prevalence of modern slavery is 2.9 per 1000 people.

This translates to 91,000 people with factors such as poverty and gender discrimination intersecting to make women, especially vulnerable to modern slavery.

Funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) with a tune of USD1,293,229.69, ActionAid Ghana embarked on a three-year project dubbed ‘Combatting Modern Slavery in Ethiopia and Ghana’.

The project aimed at decreasing the scale and prevalence of modern slavery in the agricultura
l, industrial, and service sectors while raising awareness of modern slavery with a focus on child labour, human trafficking, and forced labour.

In Ghana, the project covered a total of 100 communities, with various activities working closely in four administrative regions and 12 districts.

ActionAid Ghana (AAG) partnered with the General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU) for the project implementation in Ghana.

Mr Nkaw said effective collaboration with security agencies, particularly the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Immigration Service, had aided the ActionAid Ghana in combating modern slavery.

He said the collaboration with these agencies helped in the rescue of 61 vulnerable survivors of various forms of modern slavery.

Additionally, the Country Director said AAG was exploring further donor funding or institutional funding to scale up the project into phase two to drastically work with key partners and allies mentioned above to mitigate the prevalence of CMS practices.

Working with the media was
key sustainability practice to eradicating modern slavery, he assured, and that given that the CMS also fitted into the new Country Strategy Paper, AAG was relentlessly working through existing interventions to ensure that Modern slavery became a thing of the past in Ghana.

Mrs. Bashiratu Kamal, a representative from the General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU), said modern slavery, especially child labour, was prevalent in fishing and farming communities.

However, she said, the familiarisation between victims and perpetuators affected their arrests and the rescue of victims.

Mrs Kamal noted that victims often had some tribal, family, or religious affinity with perpetuators and thus did not cooperate with the security agencies.

She, therefore, called for a review and amendment of relevant portions of Ghanaian laws on human trafficking, as the current law was deficient in tackling human trafficking.

Source: Ghana News Agency