Terrorists are closer to Ghana – Doe Adjaho

 

Speaker of Parliament Edward Doe Adjaho has observed that terrorists are not far from Ghana.

The speaker’s comments come on the back of the Saturday attack on Burkina Faso which led to the death of 28 and left several others injured in its wake.

There are fears the attacks may be extended to Ghana as it shares border with the French-speaking country. Reports say residents who live on Ghana’s border to Burkina Faso have started fleeing the area out of fear.

Speaking in Ho in the Volta region, the former Keta South MP said terrorism is closer to Ghana but could be averted by prayers.

“The terrorists are not very far from us; 27 people died at a Hotel in Burkina Faso. It has happened in Mali, Nigeria and Burkina Faso. Where is the next point? We need to pray for this country. We have to draw closer to our God. This is the time. I have tried and tested my God and He has always worked for me,” he stated.

Meanwhile, there is public outcry in the country following the decision by the Mahama-led administration to provide shelter for two former inmates of Guantanamo Bay who were arrested on suspicion of their association with terrorist groups .


source: ghanaweb

19 MPs including Hanna Tetteh and Fiifi Kwetey sued

 

Foreign Affairs Minister and MP for the Awutu Senya West constituency, Hanna Tetteh, Minister of Agriculture, Fiifi Kwetey and 19 other MPs have been sued for consistently absenting themselves from Parliament.

Odekro, an advocacy platform seeking to promote transparency and accountability which sued the MPs had earlier petitioned the Speaker of Parliament complaining about the conduct of some 125 legislators.

In a letter dated December 2 2015, Odekro listed the names of 125 out of the 275 MPs, who it said are in breach of Article 97(1) (c) of the Constitution which states that an MP shall vacate his or her seat if:

“He is absent, without the permission in writing of the Speaker and he is unable to offer a reasonable explanation to the Parliamentary Committee on Privileges from fifteen sittings of a meeting of Parliament during any period that Parliament has been summoned to meet and continues to meet.”

The group argues that they resorted to the court because “the Speaker of Parliament failed to acknowledge receipt of our letter and he also failed to honour our request to declare the seats of the defaulting MPs vacant. 

Consequently, we have instructed our lawyers to file a suit at the High Court asking the court to declare the seats of the 21 worst-offending MPs vacant.”

Below is the full list of the MPs sued by Odekro

1. Evans Paul Aidoo (Sefwi-Wiawso) – 188 Sittings

2. Hannah Serwaah Tetteh ( Awutu-Senya West) – 176 Sittings

3. Eric Opoku ( Asunafo South) – 165 Sittings

4. Akwasi Opong-Fosu ( Amenfi East) – 155 Sittings

5. (Dr) Dominic Akuritinga Ayine ( Bolgatanga East) – 150 Sittings

6. (Mrs) Queenstar Pokua Sawyerr,( Agona East ) – 135 Sittings

7. Joseph Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo (Kpone-Katamanso) – 132 Sittings

8. Mark Woyongo ( Navrongo Central ) – 126 Sittings

9. Clement Kofi Humado ( Anlo) – 124 Sittings

10. Maj. (Rtd) Mustapha Ahmed ( Ayawaso North) – 118 Sittings

11. Fiifi Fiavi Franklin Kwetey (Ketu South) – 110 Sittings

12. Alhaji Bashir Fuseini Alhassan (Sagnarigu) – 102 Sittings

13. James Agalga ( Builsa North) – 97 Sittings

14. Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo (Wa Central)- 94 Sittings

15. Aquinas Tawiah Quansah (Mfantseman West) – 92 Sittings

16. Ken Ohene Agyapong ( Assin Central) – 89 Sittings

17. Collins Dauda ( Asutifi South) – 89 Sittings

18. Ahmed Arthur (Okaikwei South) – 84 Sittings

19. Grace Addo ( Manso Nkwanta) – 83 Sittings

20. Joseph Boakye Adu Danquah (Abuakwa North) – 76 Sittings

21. Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye – 75 Sittings

The group further added that “by this action, Odekro intends to establish a legal precedent with which to sue the remaining defaulting MPs to vacate their seats.” Source:ghanaweb

Ex-Gitmo transfer: OccupyGhana plans court action

 

Pressure group OccupyGhana says it will head to court if government fails to provide answers to some 23 questions it has posed about the decision to shelter two former Guantanamo Bay detainees in Ghana.

The group says government must indicate the full legal status it has granted to the two ex-detainees and also disclose the agreement between Ghana and the USA.

OccupyGhana also wants to know if Parliament or any of its Committees at any point in time was briefed on government’s decision to accept the detainees.

“If Parliament or any of its Committees was involved, kindly furnish the name(s) and the date(s),” the pressure demands.

OccupyGhana’s letter to the Foreign Minister forms part of fierce criticism against the John Mahama-led administration’s decision to accept Mohammed Omar Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby from the United States.
Spokesperson Nana Sarpong Agyeman-Badu believes the pressure group’s action is backed by law.

“We are doing this based on a constitutional article, Article 21 (f) which gives us the right to information. We do not have to wait for a Freedom of Information Bill to be passed which we know is being deliberately delayed, but our Constitution gives us a right to information,” he said.

OccupyGroup is hoping the court will compel government to provide answers to the 23 questions it has asked.

Source:ghanaweb.com

Pressure mounts on Mahama to declare assets

Intense pressure is being brought to bear on President Mahama to declare his assets, almost four years after taking the oath of office.

Leading the charge is civil society organization, the Progressive Nationalist Forum (PNF) and being given a lot of impetus by the Progressive People’s Party (PPP).

It comes in the wake of a declaration of assets by Nigeria’s current President, Muhammadu Buhari.

During a visit of President Buhari to Ghana early this week, President Mahama was quoted as saying, “The constitutional amendment we are moving is for those declared assets to be made available to the media through possible publication; and that’s being done to make it more transparent,” when they met at the presidential villa, Peduase Lodge, in the Eastern Region.

But in a statement, the PNF asked that the president should as “a matter of urgency and as a show of his commitment to fighting corruption in Ghana, publicly declare all his assets in accordance with the declaration of assets and disqualification Act 1998 (Act 550).”

Reason 

The Act, among other things, states that “A person who holds a public office mentioned in Section 3 of this Act shall submit to the Auditor-General a written declaration of –(a) all properties or assets owned by him; and (b) all liabilities owed by him; whether directly or indirectly.”

It further provides that the declaration be made by the public officer “before taking office” and “at the end of every four years” and “at the end of the term of his office and shall in any event be submitted not later than 6 months of the occurrence of any of the events specified in this subsection.”

This is what prompted spokesman for PNF, Richard Nyamah, to issue a statement demanding as part of good governance practice and the fight against corruption, to “cause all his ministers, MPs and all other high office holders required under the Act to declare their assets without delay.”

Concern

That, he said, was because “corruption and graft are in our view, the leading cause of Ghana’s underdevelopment as public officers take office with the main objective of lining their pockets.”

Members of the PNF have since indicated their preparedness to participate in any and all activities that would lead to all presidential and parliamentary candidates in the 2016 elections to declare their assets upon filing their bids to lead this country, noting, “The fight against corruption started from the top.”

The PPP insists, “The public declaration of assets is not proscribed by any law currently enforceable in Ghana. It is permissible for the president and any other public official to publicly declare their assets to demonstrate commitment to the fight against corruption.”

Even though the president said during his interaction with the Nigerian leader that “Even in this current regime, any person who wants to challenge the assets declared by any public official is allowed to do so with a court order or a petition to CHRAJ to contest those declared assets; and the assets declared will be made available to that particular institution to investigate”, a statement signed by the National Secretary of the PPP, Kofi Asamoah-Siaw wondered, “How can we challenge the assets declared by a public official if we do not know who has filed the declaration or what has been filed?”

Distrust 

For the party, “The comment made by the president is to play the ostrich and seek refuge in the law in an attempt to renege on his commitment to promote good governance.”

That, it said, was because “The president is fully aware that the constitutional amendment process has been frozen and it will not be resurrected until his term expires in January, 2017;” and has therefore asked him to “demonstrate his commitment to public declaration of assets. We invite him to publish the names of all the public officials who have declared their assets and secondly, publish his own assets declaration form.”

Acting on the Constitutional Review Commission’s (CRC’s) recommendation that there should be a public declaration of assets regime with criminal sanctions for false declarations, the PPP said, “The president must take the lead to make this happen.”

source:ghanaweb.com

We're resuming duty with a heavy heart - Doctors

A senior member of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) Dr. Ernest Yorke has said doctors are resuming duty today with a heavy heart.

The doctors called off their three-week-old strike on Friday after pleas from the general public, chiefs and government.

The doctors are demanding codified conditions of service – a package they have been demanding for decades.

Ghana’s Employment and Labour Relations Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, is optimistic once negotiations are reopened today, Monday, August 24, per the directive of the National Labour Commission, a deal with the GMA is likely to be clinched by the end of October.

Speaking to Kafui Dey on the Morning Starr on Monday, Dr. Yorke, who is the President of the Greater Accra regional branch of the GMA, said they are returning to work out of the respect and compassion they have for their patients and Ghanaians.

“I must say that it is with a heavy heart that we have had to resume duty. We have listened to the general public and the many prominent institutions that have appealed to us.

“So this is the time for the NLC and the other bodies involved in the negotiation process to show their integrity and to prove to us that they are what they claim they are,” he stated.


source: ghanaweb.com

Retired doctors to replace striking doctors at public hospitals

Retired doctors are likely to replace striking members of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) as they prepare to resign as a group on Friday.
One of such retired doctors willing to fill the gap of the agitating GMA members is a former Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Elias Sore.
Dr Sore told Joy News the exigencies of the times at the health front calls for him and other retired doctors to come out of retirement and assist.
“I wouldn’t mind going to a hospital, at all”, he told Joy News.

Health Minister, Alex Segbefia, announced Monday that government has already engaged a number of retired doctors pending the outcome of service conditions negotiations with the GMA.
“The appeal is still open; any of them who are hearing me speak should take up the offer or get in touch with the Director General of the Ghana Health Service. We are willing to use retired doctors to fill in the gaps”, Mr Segbefia had said.Dr Sore said the call by the Health Minister is in the right direction.“I know that what the Ministry is doing is to get people back as soon as possible. But if the Minister has given the go ahead and call people, we have to rally around.“But for me what I am looking at now is to really appeal to my colleagues [striking doctors] that they have gone far enough at this time. Let us pause a little and see how things go,” the retired doctor said.

About 183 network of health facilities that make up the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) are currently struggling to deal with increased patient numbers as the strike by doctors at public hospitals enters week two.

Over 2,000 doctors within the Ghana Medical Association are holding the line to resign masse after Friday August 14, 2015 if demands for their conditions of service are not sorted out by government.
Government and GMA negotiations have broken down at least twice, the recent deadlock happening last Sunday.Government teams are still discussing proposals and counter proposals in respect of the conditions of service document sought by the doctors.


source:myjoyonline

Ghana ranked first in Africa for road safety performance

Ghana has been ranked first among 23 countries in Africa by the Economic Commission of Africa (ECA) for implementing most road safety action plans developed within the framework of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety (Decade) initiative.

This ranking means that at the mid-term of the decade-long global initiative, Ghana is recognized as fully implementing most of its commitments or actions within the context of its national blueprint, the National Road Safety Strategy III (2011-2020) and the African Road Safety Action plans
The ECA in a Mid-term review report released in Addis Ababa sought to assess the extent to which African countries have implemented the African Road Safety Action Plan since its adoption in 2011.
Though progress is being made, performance of the Plan based on five pillars (road safety management; mobility; vehicles; road users; and post-crash response) has been varying with some countries performing well in some pillars but failing in others.

Around 40% of countries are in the process of implementing more road safety management activities and yet more than 30% have not taken significant action to harmonise data formats and use international standards in reporting.
The report encourages countries to invest in research and develop road safety audits while introducing incentives for the importation of newer and safer vehicles and improve traffic education at schools.

Ghana was praised for its efforts at developing a national strategy, the strong coordinating profile of its lead agency the National Road Safety Commission that has led to the avoidance of duplication and waste of scarce resources.

President John Mahama and other high-level officials were commended for their exemplary role in road safety advocacy in Ghana and West Africa.
It is instructive to indicate that, Ghana’s road traffic situation continues to improve over the period with the implementation of the agreed action plans within the framework of NRSSIII.
In 2013 for example, 9200 road traffic crashes were recorded resulting into 12,509 casualties, out of which 1,898 were fatalities.

This represents a 15.27% reduction in Fatalities in 2013 from that of 2012.
Again Provisional data for 2014 also indicates a 2.21% reduction in fatalities from the 2013 situation.
Since 2011, Ghana’s fatality rate (deaths per 10,000 vehicles) continue to post declining levels from 17.94 in 2011 to 14.62 in 2012 and 11.11 in 2013.

In April 2012, Ghana was the only African country invited by the United Nations to share its road safety management approach considered as a model in Africa and developing economies by the United Nations.
The Commission remains encouraged by these recognitions but will remain motivated and focused on our national targets of making Ghana, a country with the safest transportation system in Africa.


source: myjoyonline.com

Parts of Kwame Nkrumah Circle interchange opens to traffic

President John Mahama will open a section of the Kwame Nkrumah interchange, which is still under construction, to traffic Friday morning.

The project which started two years ago has forced the contractor, Queiroz Galvao Construction, to create a number of diversions and relocations to ease the traffic that builds up at the busy area.
The project which costs some 74.88 million Euros is being jointly financed by the Ghana government and credit from Brazil.

Urban Roads Director, Raymond Ahwollu, said the opening of parts of the road will be preceded by a short inspection of ongoing works.
Outstanding work

Mr Gatsiko said work on the third interchange, which will link Ring Road Central to Ring Road West, was far advanced.Work on the loop, which would connect to the interchanges, was also near completion, he said.

He said the outstanding major work was the improvement of the other roads around the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.Generally, Mr Gatsiko said, the whole project was about 75 per cent complete, and indicated that work would be completed by the end of December, 2015, or the end of January, 2016.
Workers were seen working on the other components of the project, which included the third interchange and culverts.Circle interchange
President Mahama cut the sod for the construction of the three-tier interchange at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra in October, 2013.
The 74.88 million euro project is being jointly financed with credit from the Brazilian Government and the Ghana Government.Aside from the three-tier interchange, other roads around the Kwame Nkrumah Circle will be improved. These include rehabilitation of the Ring Road East to the Feo Oyo Intersection on the Ring Road West.

The roads will be asphaltic concrete surfaced, with pedestrian walkways and bicycle paths.

source: myjoyonline.com

Mahama Gunman Lands In London

The controversy surrounding the trial and sentencing of the 36-year-old man who is said to have wanted to kill President John Mahama has finally ended up at Amnesty International.
It follows a petition filed at the international human rights organisation by Lawyer Godwin Adjei-Gyamfi against what he termed as 'diabolical, gross abuse of process, miscarriage of justice and breach of fundamental human rights' of Charles Antwi, a native of Dadeasoaba in the Brong-Ahafo Region.Antwi was arrested last Sunday at the Ringway Gospel Centre branch of the Assemblies of God Church, where the president worships, with an unregistered gun and was alleged to have made clear his intention that he was looking for President Mahama to kill.

He was subsequently handed over to the Cantonments police and later to the National Security and finally landed in court on Tuesday where he, among other things, made weird claims to the effect that he made President Mills to die, expecting that he (Antwi) would be made the next president but President Mahama, who was at the time of President Mills' death the vice president, stole the presidency from him (Antwi).
It was for this reason he wanted to kill President Mahama, according to the jailed former taxi driver.

Presiding judge Francis Obiri immediately sentenced him to 10 years' imprisonment on the charge of illegal possession of firearm, raising public concern over the reason why the judge did not refer the young man to a psychiatric facility for examination, even though the convict's mother, Afia Agyapomaa, had pointed out that Charles was mentally unstable.
Argument.

Lawyer Adjei-Gyamfi, a former prosecutor at the Crown Court in the UK, argues that 'This is most absurd and diabolical as he is mentally unwell, was unrepresented by a lawyer and the maximum sentence on the statute books of the Republic of Ghana is five years' – the reason he wants Amnesty International head office in London, UK, to wade into the matter.
According to him, 'Judging from what the convict was saying in court that he 'wanted to kill the president and take over,' it suggests that the above named was severely mentally challenged' and therefore 'ought to have been granted a lawyer and immediately referred for psychiatric evaluation.'

It therefore baffles many Ghanaians that a man with such questionable character would be sentenced on the spot to 10 years' imprisonment.
The lawyer is therefore asking the human rights organisation to look into what he described as the 'absurdity' because 'the Republic of Ghana has become a land where the strong and rich enjoy justice and the poor is forgotten.'
Family And Friends.

Charles' mother had said her son had a record of mental illness as he often abused her when he was in his elements and referred to her as 'adoe' (monkey).
Details have also emerged that Charles once travelled to Libya and later to Spain and then to Italy where he was seeking 'greener pastures' before eventually being deported to Ghana after authorities there detected his mental challenge.
Three of the friends he travelled with to Libya were said to have had similar problems before they died.

A friend of Charles Antwi's has also narrated that he (Antwi) had been promising to make him (friend) his (Antwi's) body guard when he became president and that sometimes he chained his motorbike to his hand when going to bed to protect it from being stolen.
Charles was said to be driving a taxi in his village but had to be restrained because he could not abide by basic road traffic regulations.

According to his own friend, Charles used to drive at 180kph on deplorable roads in the area and used nine minutes to cover a distance that every driver used 30 minutes to do and that when he was asked to stop, he pleaded with the drivers' union to allow him drive at 150 kph, which defies logic.

With calls intensifying for Charles Antwi to be sent to a psychiatric doctor, a group of lawyers are said to be teaming up to go and appeal against his conviction since they believe he was not properly treated.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu

SOURCE: www.modernghana.com

Failed gunman is confirmed to be a psychiatric patient

A brother of the 36-year-old man convicted for attempting to assassinate President Mahama says the BNI had information Charles Antwi had previously been treated for mental illness.

Charles Antwi was arrested last Sunday for carrying a gun to the Ringway Gospel Centre branch of the Assemblies of God Church, where President Mahama and his family fellowship.

He was jailed 10 years yesterday without a lawyer, and some lawyers have criticized the trial judge for violating the suspect’s constitutional rights.

Prior to his sentence, the prosecution had told the presiding judge that Charles Antwi was mentally sound, but his brother Kwame Opoku, with whom Charles lived before the incident, has exclusively told Joy News he led officials of the BNI to the Tafo Government Hospital where the convict had previously sought treatment for mental illness.

Joy News’ Kwetey Nartey who visited the convict’s brother said Kwame Opoku was invited to the BNI offices when the brother was arrested.

He told Joy News during the interrogation, the investigators realised Charles’ statement was not adding up. This prompted the security agency to follow him to the hospital and his hometown to ascertain his true state of mind.

According to Kwame Opoku, the security officials were told at the hospital, at a taxi station where the brother worked, by a fetish priest and the mother that Charles Antwi was mentally unstable, and has been for five years now.

He said Charles had travelled to Italy en route Libya but was deported. He said it was when he arrived in Ghana that they later detected that he was having a mental condition.

According to him, all efforts by the family to get Charles healed have not been successful as his unstableness kept recurring. He had on some occasions threatened to kill his own mother, Kwame Opoku recounted.

While in Accra, Mr. Opoku said Charles lived a normal life without the least suspicion of his intention to assassinate Ghana’s president. He never sighted a gun on him or spotted one in his belongings.

All along, he said, Charles has been telling him plans to travel back to Libya with the support of a friend.

Anytime Charles goes out like he did on Sunday, the thinking has always been that he was working on his travelling arrangement, Opoku noted.

He was, therefore, surprised when news broke that his brother’s interior motive was to oust the first gentleman of the land.

Whilst he languishes in jail, Kwame Opoku said the family is yet to meet and take the necessary steps that would ensure his release from prison.

Meanwhile, many have criticised Charles Antwi’s incarceration due to his mental condition.

source: ghanaweb.com

I am very sorry for my comments in Kukurantumi - Second Lady

Accra, July 18 GNA - The Second Lady, Mrs. Matilda Amissah Arthur has apologized to Ghanaians for a comment that she thought was intended to encourage the community participation in the Kukurantumi basic school.

Speaking at the 40th Anniversary of the Jack and Jill School in Cantonment, the Second Lady asked for permission to touch on the issue that has been in the news for some days now in the country.Mrs Amissah Arthur explained that last Wednesday, she went to Kukurentumi to make a presentation of five computers and about 500 books to the Presbyterian Basic School upon a request she received from some friends.She said for the past five years she has been helping various deprived schools in her own small way by making donations to them.She said she was taken aback when the headmistress of the Presbyterian Basic School asked for chalk.

Mrs Amissah Arthur said her response was intended to encourage community participation in schools unfortunately it did not go down well with Ghanaians. She is therefore very sorry for what happened that day.Mrs Amissah Arthur’s, Humanitarian work shows her deep commitment to improve conditions in deprive communities.Her advocacy and philanthropic works in education, particularly for children, cuts across the entire nation.So far she has championed the construction of schools, libraries and ICT centers to virtually all the regions in Ghana.She has also made donations to some schools including Agona Duakwa Islamic Basic School, Agona Kwanyarko Anglican Basic School all in the Agona East district.She has also donated educational materials to the Afranse D A  Basic School  and the Pomadze D A Basic  School in Gomoa Central District , Oguaa Football for Hope Centre in Cape Coast and the donation of reading materials  to the  Shama Library in the Shama District.Besides, she inaugurated an Information and Communication Technology and Teachers Resource Centre for the people of Lower Bobikuma; inauguration of a 30-million dollar computer laboratory for PLAY Soccer Ghana, a FIFA project based in Cape Coast, that uses football and ICT to prepare children under nine years for football and leadership purposes among others.

source:ghananewsagency.org

Talensi by-election: AK-47 rifle, other weapons intercepted

The Police in Talensi have reportedly intercepted an AK-47 rifle, a pistol, dagger, axe and other dangerous weapons in the area.

The weapons were intercepted when the Police mounted a check point at Tongo, the capital of Talensi to conduct a random search of vehicles entering the Town.
According to Citi News’ Karim Natogmah, the AK-47 was retrieved from a Toyota Tundra vehicle with registration number UE 16-13 while the pistol, axe and seven machetes were retrieved from a Ford vehicle.
He reports that the vehicles and their owners have been arrested and detained at the Police station.
He said information available to him suggests that the occupants of the said vehicles in which the weapons were retrieved are not natives of Tongo.

Eligible voters in the Talensi Constituency are currently voting to select one from eight parliamentary candidates vying to represent the constituency in Parliament.
Incumbent MP for Talensi, Mr Robert Nachinab Doameng Mosore resigned to take up the position of a paramount chief of Tongo which compelled the Electoral Commission to set July 7, for a by-election in the area.

source: ghanaweb