Category: General

Mrs Gifty Sekyi-Bremansu, Head of Guidance and Counselling Unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES), says stigmatisation remains a barrier to ensuring inclusiveness of persons with disability.

She said this at a book launch as part of the 20th International Book Fair in Accra, on the theme: ‘Reading to connect minds for social transformation’.

The book titled: ‘Wings for Legs’, published by Adwinsa publication, focus on inclusiveness among persons with disability in schools and the need for society to embrace and eschew stigmatisation.

She said accidents, illness, injuries, and genetics among other circumstances could lead to disabilities but regardless of how it developed, disability could have a wide range of effects on the individual.

Mrs Sekyi-Bremansu said many individuals with impairment exhibited strong tenacity and dependability and expressed worry about ill treatment that persons with disability faced in society, which she described as injustice.

The Head of Guidance and Counselling Unit said stigma was so widespread that they felt isolated, uncomfortable, or even ashamed of their abilities.

Mrs Sekyi-Bremansu said although discrimination violated the disability Act of 1992, it still existed in the minds of people, hence, the need for stakeholders to increase efforts at fighting stigmatisation.

Mr Kweku Opong-Amponsah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Adwinsa Publications, said issues of disability were strategically chosen to enable children to appreciate the plight of persons with disability, offer support and make them feel important.

The CEO told the GNA that the book emphasised the creation of an enabling environment for children with disability in schools, churches, mosques, and the society.

‘We do not have to let these children feel challenged or disabled, we should let our community be such that children and even all persons with disability will feel comfortable and supportive wherever they find themselves,’ he said.

Madam Esther Gyamfi, CEO, National Council for Persons with Disability, said the Council continued to collaborate with State agencies and the private sector to ensure that the national agenda for inclusive sustainable development was achieved.

‘The Adwinsa Children’s show has demonstrated the implementation of Ghana’s medium term National Development Policy Frameworks 2022 to 2025 and the Council’s medium-term planning 2022 to 2025,’ he said.

The CEO said exclusions that learners with disabilities confronted had been identified and strategies had been developed in the Medium-Term National Development Policy Framework coupled with the Council’s medium-term planning.

Mrs Mary Amoah Kuffour, a parent with an autistic child, who chaired the launch, said there was so much discrimination and stigmatisation in communities and at school.

She called for sensitisation among the populace to eliminate all forms of stigmatisation, particularly bullying and name calling.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A retired galamseyer has revealed how illegal miners sacrifice newly born human babies in mining pits as ritual to enable them locate gold and other mineral resources in the soil.

In a one-on-one interview with Okatakyie Afrifa-Mensah on Angel TV, the retired galamseyer revealed that occasionally, illegal miners at Obuasi bought fresh babies from hospitals and spilt their blood underground as a ritual for the earth to cough out gold.

He indicated that the selling of babies has become a cash cow for some nurses at Obuasi who make it possible for these miners to buy the babies.

“When they buy the new babies and we get underground, they smash the babies on the walls for their blood to be spilt on the ground so we can harvest gold. The evil being committed by galamseyers at Obuasi is no joke. Baby selling is no small business in Obuasi, and that is how some nurses at Obuasi are enriching themselves

…This is because it is easier to locate gold when someone dies prematurely on the grounds, so we kill babies for the land to be viable for gold,” the retired galamseyer disclosed.

Aside from the sacrificing of babies, he revealed how sometimes colleagues can gang up and sacrifice one of their own just to be able to discover gold.

He recounted, “Sometimes, they don’t mind that, after several hours of working, if they are unable to locate gold, and they feel someone must die for them to locate the precious stones, they can say for example, we are Northerners and he is an Ashanti, so let’s kill him and use him for sacrifice and they would do just that.”

According to him, the sacrificing of humans for gold at Obuasi is an open secret known to residents and authorities at Obuasi yet nothing is done to curtail the terrifying situation.

Source: Ghana Web

Among the array of issues featured on The Delay Show when Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah appeared for an interview was his constant attacks on the Akufo-Addo government, with the broadcaster stating emphatically that he is not bitter.

The media personality was one of the individuals who vehemently criticized the John Mahama government and campaigned for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) which had Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as its flagbearer during the 2016 elections.

Ever since the NPP took office, Okatakyie has not held back his criticisms of the party and its leader. He contends that the government’s actions are more detrimental, a direct opposite of what they promised the Ghanaian people.

In his interview with Delay monitored by GhanaWeb, she sought to explore if there was any other reason behind his attacks on the government.

“Is it not that case that because you campaigned for them, you expected something juicy when they came to power but they have sidelined you hence your constant attacks on the government?” she asked.

Maintaining his composure, Okatakyie refuted suggestions that a supposed decision to sideline him has been the cause of his criticisms. According to him, he has many relatives and friends in government which could inure to his benefit, yet, his focus has been the bigger picture.

“What people don’t know is that I’ve been with Akufo-Addo at least twice at private meetings,” he said while disclosing his relationship with the Chief of Staff. “Frema Opare is my mother; she’s from Wiamoase and I’m Asante Agona Oyokohene and I have unfettered access to her.”

“However, I never went to her with my CV seeking to even be the PRO of a toilet facility, so to speak. It appears everybody’s mind is connected to their stomach; mine is not like that. Nobody in the political landscape can ever say I have been to their offices for favours. My interest is, you should create the enabling environment; I have a mind of my own to make money from my sweat.”

Source: Ghana Web

Kevin-Prince Boateng has received a warm congratulatory message from his former teammate Luka Modric following the announcement of his retirement from professional football.

The former Ghanaian attacking midfielder brought to an end a tremendous career that saw him feature for about 15 different European clubs.

One of the teams Boateng played for was Tottenham Hotspurs where he shared the same dressing room with Modric who now plays for European heavyweights Real Madrid.

After Boateng announced his retirement, Modric took to social media to send his former comrade his sincere congratulations and best wishes.

“Congratulations brate on a great career! ????????????????????,” Modric commented on Boateng’s post on Instagram.

Despite representing the German youth national teams, the Ghanaian-born player represented Ghana in 15 matches, including World Cup appearances.

At the 2010 World Cup, Boateng scored an important goal for the Black Stars as Ghana defeated the United States 2-1 to advance to their first-ever quarterfinal match.

The attacking midfielder scored twice in 15 appearances for Ghana and finished his career with 76 club goals and 56 assists in 520 matches.

Source: Ghana Web

Police in the Western North region are on a manhunt for a 32-year-old man identified as Rojer Addoquaye after allegedly assaulted his girlfriend, her sister, and mother following a misunderstanding over unanswered midnight phone calls and suspicions of cheating.

According to a report on Onua FM’s Midday News on August 11, 2023, Addoquaye purportedly confronted his 22-year-old girlfriend, Abigail Kyerematen an SHS student, accusing her of cheating on him as the reason behind her failure to respond to his late-night calls.

The news report detailed that Addoquaye later visited Abigail’s residence to retrieve some items he had purchased for her and as a result, the confrontation escalated into a physical altercation during which all three members of Abigail’s family were reportedly beaten.

Providing her perspective on the incident in the aforementioned report, Abigail shared, “I was sleeping in the room and he called me, so we talked and I told him that I was sleeping…and he said he came to my house around 11 pm to knock on my door but I couldn’t hear because I was asleep, so I didn’t open the door…

“Yesterday evening I was in the house when he came to ask me why I couldn’t pick his calls at night, and that, is it because I was having an affair with a man in the room?”

Abigail continued, “He bought a phone for me, so he said he was coming for the phone. I told him that if he is coming for the phone, then he should allow me to remove my SIM card and give the phone back to him.

“He was struggling with us in the house…and he really beat us—myself, my sister, and my mother…he even damaged the phone. He also damaged a TV in the room.”

Source: Ghana Web

Accra Girls Senior High School has won the 2023 Ghana Publishing Association-Afram Publications Interschools Debate after beating Presbyterian Senior High School (PRESEC), Osu, in a close contest.

They beat their opponents with three marks having had 78.43 points out of the total 100 points as against the 75.43 obtained by PRESEC, Osu.

Accra Girls argued against the notion: ‘Indigenous Publishers are the Champions of Ghana’s Soft Power Home and Abroad’.

They took home three boxes of books, a plaque and certificates as the ultimate prizes whilst PRESEC Osu had three boxes of books and certificates.

The debate sought to groom the students through innovative reading and research, prepare their minds for social transformation, and encourage them to purchase local books.

It was part of activities of the 50 years anniversary celebration of Afram Publications for blazing the trail of an indigenous publishing and authorship industry in Ghana.

An anniversary logo for the celebration was unveiled.

Four schools participated in the competition -St. John’s Grammar Senior High School and Accra Wesley Girls Senior High School were the other two schools.

They were presented with certificates and two books each.

Miss Mary Ann Frema Amoakohene, Main Speaker, Accra Girls SHS Debating Team, in expressing her joy, said: ‘We are form one students, and we are glad that we emerged as winners even though our co-debaters are form three students. We won because we were confident and focused, we stuck to what we were told to do.’

‘Our secret is the support from our lovely teachers, the help of God and the hard work we put in but to be honest it was not an easy journey, our opponents gave us a tough time,’ she said.

Ms Harriet Adelaide Tagoe, Managing Director and Publisher, Afram Publications Ltd, said the students had been one of their major audiences, who read their materials and so it was very important that they were involved in the celebration.

Ms Tagoe said Afram Publications Ltd had published over 500 books and continued to train people in various areas of publishing.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Minority group in Parliament has responded to the Bank of Ghana’s response on their 2022 published annual report and financial statements.

According to the Minority, the Bank of Ghana’s statement does not address the most fundamental issue which has to do with the printing of money by BoG for the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government in 2021 and 2022 in clear contravention of Section 30 of the Bank of Ghana (Amendment) Act, 2016 (ACT 918).

The Minority noted that, throughout the statement, BoG does not and could not have offered any reasonable justification for printing a whopping GHS35 billion in 2021 and GHS42 billion in 2022 to finance the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government, in clear breach of their governing law.

The Minority in a statement signed by its leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson described as an indisputable fact, that the amount of monies printed by BoG for the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government both in 2021 and 2022 far exceeds the legally acceptable threshold of 5% of the previous fiscal years’ total revenue.

This the Minority alleged the central bank did without cognizance of the legal duty imposed on the Governor of BoG to inform the Minister of Finance, who is required upon notification from the Governor of BoG to notify Parliament of the attainment of the 5% threshold and/or the setting of a new limit of government’s borrowing.

The statement indicated that the facts show that BoG acted as law unto itself by willfully engaging in the illegal printing of monies to finance the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government both in 2021 and 2022.

It said the illegal conduct of the Governor of BoG constitutes a criminal offense under section 67 of the Bank of Ghana Act and cannot be wished away by the flimsy justifications mounted by the Bank in the multiple press statements they have issued in the last couple of days.

Source: Ghana Web

Fast-rising Ghanaian musical prodigy Ibrahim Mohammed, popularly known as Hyndu, has set the music space ablaze with the announcement of his coming Hip-Hop single “Preacher.”

The track, produced by the talented BodyBeats, showcases Hyndu’s signature blend of captivating storytelling and infectious beats that highlights the seeks to encourage everyone.

Hailing from the vibrant town of Shama in the Western Region of Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana, Hyndu’s journey into the realm of music commenced during his formative years at Diabene Secondary Technical School.

A serendipitous encounter led to his performance of Samini’s “Gyae Hye” song, igniting a passion that has propelled him to the forefront of the Ghanaian music scene.

Over the years, Hyndu has honed his craft and developed a remarkable discography of over 50 tracks, each a testament to his unique style and lyrical prowess. Notable hits such as “El Classico,” “Parcel,” “Nsem Keka,” and “Heaven” have solidified his status as an emerging force to be reckoned with.

Hyndu’s musical journey is marked by significant collaborations with acclaimed artists, including Pappy Kojo, Ras Kuku, Teephlow, and more. Despite the absence of a formal record label, his elder brother’s unwavering support and a close-knit circle of friends have propelled his ascent in the industry.

With his eyes set on new horizons, Hyndu’s thirst for collaboration and opportunities remains unquenchable. As he continues to evolve and leave an indelible mark on the music landscape, he remains poised to captivate a global audience with his unrivalled talent and impactful storytelling.

“Preacher” is expected to be released in early September, featuring in some major digital stores.

Source: Ghana Web