Category: Legal

Accra, Jan. 13, GNA – A High Court in Nkawkaw will on Friday, January 20, hear a contempt application against Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II, Omanhene of Kwahu Traditional Area, and one Isaac Bright Botchwey over the launch of a ‘disputed book’ on the Kwahu State.

Joined in the suit are the Kwahu Traditional Council and the National Commission on Culture.

The applicants Opanyin Kwaku Baah, a resident of McCarthy Hill and Opanyin Kwabena Adjei, are praying the court to commit the respondents to prison for willfully interfering with the fair trial and undermining the administration of justice.

The applicants are also praying for further orders as the court may seem to “meet upon the grounds contained in the accompanying affidavit.”

Opanyin Kwaku Baah, in an affidavit of Support backing his application for an order for committal for contempt, said he instituted an action against the respondents on April 11, 2022. This was in a suit titled ‘Opanyin Kwaku Baah and one other, versus Kwahu Traditional Council and four others’.

Opanyin Baah said as part of his reliefs in the said suit, he sought to pray the court to place an injunction restraining the respondents by themselves, their servants, agents, cohorts whatsoever described from launching the purported “Kwahu State Book”.

The applicant said the respondents were served with the writ of summons; “hence they were in full knowledge of our opposition to the launch of the said book.”

The applicant held that surprisingly and in “a complete act of insubordination to the powers of the court”, the respondents caused their lawyers to write a notice to the general public to disregard any suit that had been brought against the launch of the book, claiming that there was no injunction order placed on same.

“That true to their words and whilst the applicants’ suit was yet to be determined, the Respondents went ahead and launched the said book with pomp and pageantry….”

The applicant said the respondents’ conduct if not punished had the likelihood of undermining the administration of justice and “such impudence towards the judiciary must not be entertain

Source: Ghana News Agency

Cape Coast, Jan. 13, GNA – The Central Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) recorded a marginal reduction in fire outbreaks from 626 in 2021 to 570 in 2022.

The 8.94 per cent decline was a result of reduction in bush fires from 122 in 2021 to 114 in 2022.

The others are electrical fires from 49 in 2021 to 47 in 2022, commercial fires from 99 in 2021 to 90 in 2022, refuse dump fires from 24 in 2021 to seven in 2022 and nine other fires .

Divisional Officer III (DOIII), Abdul Wasiu Hudu, the Central Regional Public Relations Officer of GNFS, told the Ghana News Agency that domestic fires, however, increased from 195 in 2021 to 224, with institutional fires also shooting up from 21 in 2021 to 35 in 2022.

He attributed the decline in fire outbreaks to intensive fire safety education, patrols at the markets, and bush fire prevention education.

He appealed to radio stations to assist the Fire Service with free air airtime to educate the public on fire safety and the role the individual had to play to stay safe.

He also called on individuals, groups and institutions to take bold initiative to invite the service to give education and training on fire safety and basic firefighting techniques.

DOIII Abdul Wasiu Hudu said homeowners and businesses needed to ensure fire safety measures to protect lives and property, avoid using quack and unregistered electricians and eschew carelessness or improper handling of electrical gadgets.

“Very importantly, drivers and homeowners should acquire fire extinguishers to protect their vehicles and homes from fire outbreaks,” he advised.

Source: Ghana News Agency

     Dormaa-Ahenkro (B/A), Jan. 13, GNA – The Dormaa-Ahenkro Circuit Court in the Bono Region has sentenced a-24-year-old farmer to four years imprisonment for abetment of crime.

     The convict, Asampana Akumbire, also a tricycle rider, aided two other suspects, Nana Kofi and Akwasi Boakye, who are at large, to damage an unregistered Apsonic Jaguar motor bike, a property of one Augustina Twumaa, a teacher.

    Akumbire pleaded guilty to causing damage to the ignition key and side covers of the motorbike and was sentenced accordingly.

    Police Inspector Emmanuel Asare told the court presided by Mr Samuel Djanie Kotey that the complainant is a teacher resident at S.S, a suburb of Dormaa-Ahenkro while the convict is a farmer at Dormaa-Ahenkro. 

    P/Insp. Asare said on December 19, 2022, around 0500 hours, the complainant woke and detected that thieves had broken through a wooden fence, behind her house and made away with her motorbike valued at GHC4,850.

    The complaint reported the matter to the Police and the convict was arrested based on police intelligence on December 23, 2023, around 1100 hours.

    During interrogations the convict admitted the offence, but mentioned that the other two suspects brought him the motorbike and he sold the machine to one Ahmed also at large at the cost of GHC1,600.

    P/Insp Asare said the police proceeded to the house of Ahmed, but upon seeing the police he (Ahmed) fled and abandoned the motorbike, so the police retrieved the motorbike and discovered that the ignition key was damaged.

    In another case, the convict pleaded guilty for conspiracy to commit crime and attempting to steal 11 boxes of eggs valued at GHC5,082.00.

     P/Insp Asare told the court, the convict, together with other two accomplices only known as Dazie and Borga, tricycle riders, who are on the run, conspired and attempted to steal boxes of eggs, belonging to one Faustina Addai, a businesswoman at Dormaa-Ahenkro.

    On October 30, 2022, around 1500 hours, the convict and two other suspects used a tricycle and attempted to steal the eggs, which the complaint had parked a few metres from her beauty salon.

    P/Insp Asare explained the complainant sighted the convicts, who were riding the tricycle with the two other accomplices, raised an alarm, but the two suspects fled, and the convict was arrested.

    They lifted the 11 boxes of the eggs, and while parking them in the tricycle, the complainant shouted and attracted the attention of some bystanders, he said, adding that while they attempted to arrest the suspects one of them stabbed a witness in the case.

    The convict was then handed over to the police, and during police interrogations, he admitted the offence and was charged accordingly.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, Jan. 13, GNA – Mr Paul List, the Chief Executive Officer of BCM Group, a Ghana-based international mining and civil contractors, says despite the global economic challenges, the company anticipates steady growth in international operations in 2023.

“The BCM had a sluggish and problematic 2020/21, along with many in the industry, stabilised itself in 2022 and was able to bounce back in the third quarter, and expects steady improvement over the next two years,” he said.

Mr List made the remark in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency and said the company brand still remained strong and that reputationally the client trust was still high, adding that after a difficult period, the BCM had been able to maintain its performance standards and quality portfolio of assets.

He said for the year 2023, there would be several new and existing business opportunities that they would be taking advantage of, and grow in Cameroon, Egypt, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Jordan.

“With several joint venture opportunities in these countries, BCM has also been able to improve and increase its mining response operations in Sierra Leone at its Tonkolili site, and anticipates further growth in its Jordan operations,” the Chief Executive stated

He indicated that slippage and internal mismanagement of group resources was now a thing of the past, and with the company, internationally better placed, looked forward to being able to serve group clients, even better.

Mr List pointed out that although the BCM had been successful in building a quality portfolio of assets, they would spend the next two years in rationalising owned operations to coincide with the overall vision of the organisation and that no new acquisitions were anticipated.

“The company’s focus is clear in the medium term, and on the best projects it can properly develop,” he said.

Mr Isaac Ackun, the Group, Operations Head, on his part stated that with the large fleet at the company’s disposal, strategically located across the sub-region, BCM was able to quickly deploy to new mine operations, and that they are currently also in the process of adding to the fleet and equipment numbers, to service new operations on the continent.

He said he did not anticipate a radical change in the way BCM operated at its mines sites, especially when the existing safety culture had ensured another fatality-free year across all operations, a record unequalled in the industry.

He gave the assurance that the group was determined to maintain a robust business improvement system culture, in order to operate much more efficiently and better support its clients.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Akyawkrom (Ash), Jan. 13, GNA – Thirty selected electrical and electronic technicians in the Ashanti region have undergone a two-day training on e-waste management.

The training was organised by the Technicians Association of Electrical and Electronics Equipment Ghana (TAEEEG) with support from GIZ to sensitise the participants on the need to be abreast of the dangers associated with indiscriminate disposal of electronic waste.

It was also to equip them with the skills and techniques to identify valuable components of electronic waste materials such as computers, printers, refrigerators, washing machines, TV sets, air-conditioners, medical devices, ovens and others, and the need to be cautious in their disposal.

Mr Jeffery Adongo, an Executive Member of the Association, speaking at the opening ceremony, said contaminations in the air usually occurred when e-waste was informally disposed by dismantling, shredding or melting the materials, which released toxins, such as dioxins, onto the environment.

He said pollution caused by indiscriminate disposal of e-waste materials could damage the respiratory systems of both human beings and animals and cause harmful destruction to the biodiversity.

Mr Adongo noted that, higher value materials such as gold and silver were often removed from highly integrated electronics by using acids, disordering and other chemicals, which also released fumes in areas where recycling were not regulated properly and thereby, contributing to climate change challenges.

He said over the years, air pollution had destroyed water bodies, soils and plant species, creating irreversible damage to ecosystems, and there was therefore, the need for all to work to protect the environment.

Mr Adongo advised electronics and electrical technicians to be very careful, especially when disposing of malfunctioned items or selling to scrap dealers because there were higher risks when burning them.

He called on the members of the public to join the crusade to fight indiscriminate disposal of e-waste.

Some of the participants, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency, underscored the importance of the training and expressed gratitude to the organizers and the sponsors for the opportunity.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Kumasi, Jan.13, GNA – The installation of security and surveillance cameras at vantage points across the country by the government has helped to significantly reduce the stealing of electrical and telecommunication transmission cables.

Mrs Philomena Owusu-Ansah, General Manager of Prefos Limited, a leading electrical engineering company in Ghana, said cable theft, especially in the cities and big towns, where these cameras had been installed, were down in recent times.

She, therefore, commended the government for taken that bold step to help address the incessant stealing of electrical and other cables by criminals, which was a major concern for players in the electrical and telecommunication industries.

Mrs Owusu-Ansah was speaking at the 2022 annual thanksgiving and awards service of the company in Kumasi.

She said the company, which was the main producer and installer of street lighting systems across the country, would continue to deliver quality and project higher standards while working closely with government to address streetlight deficits in Ghana and neighbouring countries.

Mrs Owusu-Ansah indicated that the company was able to meet its target projects for 2022 and was hopeful to extend and sign onto new projects in the year 2023.

“Last year the company was contracted by the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) and the United States (US) to brighten the Central Business District in Accra.

The target was achieved, MiDA has been impressed with our work and we are hoping to sign for other projects soon,” she stated.

The event, which was the 32nd in the series, saw staff and management

Limited sing, dance and praise God for preservation and protection throughout the last year.

The company awarded six of its overall best workers for 2022 with an amount of GH?320,000.00

Other categories of awardees received home theatre systems, phones, refrigerators, gas cookers, televisions and certificates.

Mrs Owusu-Ansah pointed out that though the company had its share in Ghana’s economic constraints, especially on cedi depreciation and others, the electrical engineering company would continue to strive and contribute to socio-economic growth and development of Ghanaians.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Jasikan (O/R), Jan. 13, GNA – A Jasikan Circuit Court has sentenced Sampson Kwame Asong, a 40-year-old man, to five years imprisonment for threatening to kill a drinking spot owner with a locally manufactured pistol.

Asong pleaded guilty to the charge and was convicted on his own plea.

Prosecuting, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Vincent Seth Kpodo, told the Court presided over by Mr Alfred Kwabena Asiedu that on November 28, last year, at about 1900 hours, the convict entered the complainant’s drinking spot at Nkonya Tayi with the pistol.

He said the pistol, however, failed to discharge bullets after Asong attempted to pull the trigger two times with the gun pointed at the complainant.

ASP Kpodo said onlookers could not retrieve the pistol from the convict due to fear of being shot.

He said Asong was arrested after the complainant reported the incident to the police at Nkonya.

ASP Kpodo said a search conducted on the convict retrieved a locally manufactured pistol fully loaded with cartridges under his bed.

During prosecution, the convict told the Court that about six months ago, he won an online betting game worth 150 million US Dollars, which was paid into the complainant’s mobile money account.

He said anytime he demanded the money, the complainant refused to give the money to him.

Asong also alleged that the complainant pledged to give his daughter’s hand in marriage to him but to his surprise, another man got married to the said daughter.

Source: Ghana News Agency