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42 suspects busted for different offenses at ‘Ashiaman to the world show’

Caleb Qwofi Right
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StonebwoyThe Police captured 42 suspects during the Ashiaman to the World show hung on the 3rd of September 2022 at the Saka park in Ashiaman in the More prominent Accra District.

The suspects who are being held for different offenses went after a portion of the funs with air rifles, cutlasses, blades, scissors, and other hostile weapons at various areas towards the finish of the show.

Things recovered from them incorporate two toy guns, 10 cell phones, five cutlasses, five pocketknives, three sets of scissors, one earpiece, and a tablet.

Every one of the suspects the Police said will be taken through the fair treatment of the law.

Hardly any days to the show, the man behind it, various honor-winning Ghanaian artiste, Stonebwoy, tested claims that Ashaiman is a wrongdoing-ridden town.

The ‘Treatment’ hitmaker scrutinized the thinking behind labeling his “home grounds” as a wrongdoing ridden local area when there will never be been a bank burglary there.

Having laid out that at his ‘Ashaiman to the World’ celebration, security will be guaranteed however private insurances were likewise significant, he talked about the discernment that Ashaiman is a wrongdoing town.

“Somebody will express, with respect to Ashaiman, it’s loaded with cheats and different lawbreakers yet that is you clutching the old discernment. On the off chance that it was all in all, [ask yourself] have you heard, excuse me to say, there’s been a bank burglary in Ashaiman? They say we are solid-willed and boisterous yet have you known about something like this previously?”

The energetic financial specialist went on, “The head of the town was in any event, discussing it today; we must feature these positive things.

“Ashaiman is a spot you can live without your folks and realize that the local area is paying special attention to you. I’m telling you. That is where I grew up.”

“It’s one of the spots where you realize the town is your mom and your dad since everyone is making due around there,” he commented.

Stonebwoy was on Accra 100.5 FM’s early in-the-day show ‘Ayekoo’ Thursday, 1 September 2022, addressing host Nana Romeo.

He likewise offered a clarification of why he thinks Ashaiman has unfavorable criticism.

“We are not suckers, we are solid-willed and it resembles the town is home to the general population. There are various individuals from everywhere in West Africa that you can track down living there.”

“We have one of the greatest restoration communities in Africa, where there are individuals who come from Liberia and the wide range of various [countries], thus the town is truly extreme thus it’d seem in view of that individuals have given us a terrible name,” he said.

As per Stonebwoy, his music image and show ‘Ashaiman to the World’ have helped change the awful insight about his town, carrying with it moneymaking roads and furthermore drawing in monetary houses to lay out various bank offices there.

374 programmes at UG are unaccredited-Auditor-General’s report

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According to the Auditor-2021 General’s report, 374 academic programs at the University of Ghana are not authorized.

14 of the 374 courses are diploma programs, 80 are undergraduate programs, 213 are post-graduate unaccredited programs, and 67 are PhD programs.

According to the Auditors, “We noted that the University advertised 374 academic programmes on the various web portals that had the accreditation expired or requires re-accreditation during the period under review,” portions of the report indicated.

The running of unaccredited courses is in contrast to Section 36 of the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023) which “provides that a person who runs or advertises a tertiary education programme that is not accredited; commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than ten thousand penalty units and not more than twenty thousand penalty units or a term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years and not more than 20 years, or to both.”

The Auditor-General recommended that the Management of the University should “expedite action for accreditation and re-accreditation of all new and expired academic programmes respectively.”

Management was also asked to “liaise with Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to take retrospective accreditations to cover all the non-accredited certificates issued to students.”

Meanwhile, the Auditor-General’s report, noted that Management has responded to its recommendation.

Find the responses below:

We will never forget the sacrifices made – Awuku honors Bawumia

Caleb Qwofi Right
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Former New Patriotic Party National Organiser (NPP). Mr. Sammi Awuku is congratulating Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on his outstanding performance in the 2012 Presidential Election Petition.

On the ninth anniversary of the petition, the Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) stated that the current Vice President was exposed to intense scrutiny by the respondents’ lawyers.

“He emerged strong, unharmed, and motivated for the Big Victory in 2016,” he said.

“As a party and as young people, we will never forget this gentleman’s sacrifices.”

Background

The Supreme Court of Ghana’s 9-member panel, which heard the presidential election petition on December 28, 2012, unanimously ruled that the then incumbent President John Dramani Mahama of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) was validly elected and declared president of the Republic of Ghana in the presidential election of December 7th and 8th, 2012.

When reading the verdict, then-presiding judge Justice William Atuguba said, “Well, here is the decision we have arrived at:

“After reviewing the petition, we determined that the questions to be decided are as stated on page 125 of the counsel for the petitioners’ written address:

1. Overvoting;

2. Voting without biometric verification;

3. Absence of the signature of the presiding officer;

4. Duplicate serial numbers, that is to say, the occurrence of the same serial numbers on pink sheets for two different polling stations;

5. Duplicate polling station codes, that is to say occurrence of different results of pink sheets for polling stations with the same polling station codes;

6. Unknown polling stations, that is to say, results recorded for polling stations that are not part of 26,002 polling stations provided by the second respondent in the petition.

“We unanimously dismiss the claims relating to duplicate serial numbers, duplicate polling station codes, and unknown polling stations, that is for short.

“Atuguba, Adinyira, Baffoe-Bonnie, Gbadegbe, and Akoto-Bamfo, dismiss the claim of overvoting.

“Atuguba, Adinyira, Baffoe-Bonnie, Gbadegbe, Akoto-Bamfo, dismiss the claims relating to the absence of signature of the presiding officer.

“Atuguba, Adinyira, Dotsey, Baffoe-Bonnie, Gbadegbe, Akoto-Bamfo dismiss the claim relating to voting without biometric verification

“Ansah, Owusu and Anim Yeboah grant all the three claims, that is to say, over voting, absence of presiding officers’ signature and voting without biometric verification, annul the votes involved and order a rerun of the affected areas

“Dotsey JSC grants the claim of over-voting but has provided a road-map in his judgment as in the figures of votes to be ascertained and canceled and a re-run of the areas affected

“Dotsey JSC upholds the claim relating to the absence of presiding officers’ signatures on the pink sheets cancels the results concerned and orders a rerun of the areas affected.

Baffoe-Bonnie JSC grants the claim of voting without biometric verification cancels the votes involved and orders a rerun of the areas affected

“In the circumstances, the overall effect is that the first respondent was validly elected and the petition is therefore dismissed.

“Our various judgements for the sake of convenience are handed over to the registrar of this court

“We highly commend the services of KPMG, the referee appointed to undertake the count of the pink sheet and also the counsels on all sides of this case.

“That is our judgement.”

In his concession speech delivered minutes after the celebrated verdict; Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the defeated 2012 New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer and the leader of the presidential election petition, had told the NPP faithful at their national headquarters in Accra that though he disagreed with unanimous of the highest court of the country, he respects and accepts the decision. And that for the sake of country and goodwill, his party shall not embark on any review of the ruling.

“This is time for us to come together and work to find solutions to the challenges that confront our people,” said Nana Akufo-Addo, who hinted that he will be taking some time off from active politics so as to reflect on his political future that as he seemed to suggest, the decision, might not be long.

Russia-initiated Ukraine war is ‘barbaric, pointless, and disgusting,’ -Pope Francis

Caleb Qwofi Right
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Pope Francis

Pope Francis, has defended himself against criticism that his statements on the war in Ukraine are political messages.

At the same time, however, the Vatican for the first time directly named Russia as the initiator of the war, according to a statement from the Holy See on Tuesday.

“As for the large-scale war in Ukraine, initiated by the Russian Federation, the Holy Father Francis’ interventions are clear and unequivocal in condemning it as morally unjust, unacceptable, barbaric, senseless, repugnant, and sacrilegious,” the statement said.

The head of the Catholic Church wanted to promote peace above all with his remarks, the statement read.

“The Holy Father’s words on this dramatic issue should be interpreted as a voice raised in defense of human life and the values associated with it, and not as a political stance.”

Since the outbreak of the war in February, the pontiff has been asking the warring parties to reach a ceasefire but came under criticism for not naming Russia as one of the parties.

Last week, the pope caused outrage during an audience as he spoke of innocents and remembered Darya Dugina, a pro-Kremlin activist who was killed in a bomb attack near Moscow.

Following Tuesday’s statement, the Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See Andrii Yurash said on Twitter that there is no doubt who the aggressor is and that the two sides cannot be equated.

Source:GNA

FULL LIST: All of the judges identified in the AG’s report, their automobile models, and how much they paid

Caleb Qwofi Right
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The Auditor-General accused 19 judges of Ghana’s superior courts in his 2021 report filed to parliament for improperly obtaining official vehicles.

The report stated that car purchases were made without the Minister of Finance’s consent, citing Regulation 158 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378).

According to Regulation 158, the Principal Spending Officer of a covered entity must get the Minister’s prior written consent for the transfer, exchange, sale, donation, contribution-in-kind, trust, and any other disposal of the covered entity’s vehicles.

It also states that any such disposal, lease, or other action referred to in Sub-regulation 1 that is carried out without the Minister’s express sanction is null and void.
However, the A-G stated in his report that the vehicles were auctioned off by the Service for GHC1,023,507.96.

From least expensive to most expensive, below is the list of judges and automobiles purchased:

H/L Thomas Ofedie Toyota Corolla Saloon GM 6826-13 GHC 7,509.00
H/L Justice Asmah K. Asiedu Toyota Corolla Saloon GN 4997-13 GHC 8,399.00
H/W Charles Y. Boateng Toyota Corolla Saloon GM 8311-13 GHC 9,090.00
Robert Cudjoe Toyota Corolla Saloon GM 9231-13 GHC 12,687.00
H/L Justice Jacob B. Boon Toyota Avensis GM 517-15 GHC 13,100.00

The rest are

H/L Justice N. S. Gbadegbe Toyota Avalon Saloon GR 2777-14 GHC 27,570.90
H/L Justice Julius Ansah Toyota Avalon Saloon GT 2774-14 GHC 40,920.06
H/L Justice Yaw Appau Toyota Avalon saloon GT 2945-14 GHC 48,632.00
H/L Justice Yaw Appau Toyota Land Cruiser 200 (v8) GR 6590-17 GHC 56,606.00
H/L Justice F. G. Korbieh Toyota Land Cruiser GR 8132-17 GHC 57,975.00
H/L Justice E. K. Mensah Toyota Fortuner-SUV GT 30-18 GHC 59,000.00
H/L Justice Nathaniel Osam Toyota Fortuner SUV GT 49-18 GHC 60,445.00

H/L Justice N. S. Gbadegbe Toyota Land Cruiser GR 4158-17 GHC 67,047.00
H/L Justice Lawrence L Mensah Toyota Land Cruiser GR 1902-17 GHC 67,192.00
H/L Justice Julius Ansah Toyota Land Cruiser GR 4128-17 GHC 75,643.00
H/L Justice Jennifer A Tagoe Toyota Fortuner-SUV GT 75-18 GHC 87,887.00
H/L Barbara W. Acquah Toyota FortunerStation Wagon GN 57-18 GHC 92,914.00
H/L Elizabeth Ankumah Toyota Fortuner-SUV GT 39-18 107 GHC 107,271.00
H/L Justice N. C. Agbevor Toyota Land Cruiser GT 796-19 123 GHC 123,620.00

Fear not, inflation will soon reach its pinnacle – BoG assures

CALEB QWOFI RIGHT
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First Deputy-Governor of the Bank of Ghana Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari has attempted to assuage fears emanating from the soaring inflation, saying the bank’s forecast gives some hope that it will soon peak and start falling – though there are still upside risks.

Speaking on behalf of the deputy-governor during a media training workshop for the northern zone in Tamale, Director of Research, Dr. Phillip Abradu-Otoo, outlined factors such as ex-pump petroleum prices and the cedi’s depreciation against major trading currencies as main drivers of the present high inflation.

Though inflation hit 31.7 percent last month, the deputy governor expressed optimism that the rate at which prices are increasing will soon hit its highest point and start trending downward.

“Headline inflation has shifted well above the upper band of the medium-term target, driven mainly by food prices, transport costs, upward adjustments in ex-pump petroleum prices and pass-through of exchange rate depreciation… Inflation was 9 percent just a year ago in July 2021.

“The Bank’s forecast indicates that inflation will peak later this year and begin trending back toward the medium-term horizon.” There are, however, significant upside risks to the inflation outlook—including increased commodity prices, particularly crude oil; heightened supply chain disruptions; and the over-20 percent increase in utility tariffs set to kick in from 1st September 2022. “These are all sources of noise to the economy and the conduct of monetary policy,” he said.

To tame the galloping inflation, the Bank of Ghana recently increased its policy rate by 300 basis points, citing inflation outlook risks as the main reason for the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision.

On revenue

Commenting on the GH¢22billion overdraft granted by the Bank to the government – which has become a matter of controversy after the minority members of Parliament raised an alarm that it was fresh money printed – Dr. Opoku-Afari while denying the allegations, said support from the central bank became necessary due to the absence of access to the international capital market which has left a huge gap in the 2022 budget.

“As we are all aware, significant challenges remain with executing the 2022 budget as revenue mobilization has not kept pace with projections, thereby creating financing difficulties. In the absence of access to the international capital market, and given the constrained domestic financing, the central bank overdraft has helped to close the financing gap – as reflected in the mid-year budget review.

“The fiscal challenges have also accentuated debt sustainability concerns. It is expected that the ongoing policy discussions with the IMF will help address the underlying macroeconomic challenges, restore fiscal and debt sustainability, and re-anchor a sustainable balance of payments,” he said.

Source: thebftonline.com

Despite new global problems, the government is committed to establishing a new economy-Bawumia

Caleb Qwofi Right
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The government is keen on putting in place key pillars that will lead to the realization of its vision of a new and transformed economy despite the fallout from the current global economic crisis, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has said.

According to the Vice President, while emerging challenges continue to impact the cost of living worldwide, the government is unrelenting in delivering its core mandate.

This includes the introduction of a Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy which has so far deepened the enrolment of students by offering equal opportunities to all, especially underprivileged students, as well as enhancing gender parity at the SHS level.

The Vice President was speaking at the ‘Centenary Anniversary Launch and Fund Raising of the Accra High School’, and reckoned that while the government might not have fully realized its vision for the country, he encourages Ghanaians to eschew the mindset of impossibilities.

“We must allow our mindset to build our courage so that we can be among the best in the world at anything. Some of our Senior High Schools are winning global robotics competitions. We must believe in our capabilities and do away with the impossibility mindset.”

The Vice President, while acknowledging the school’s contribution to national development, said the theme ‘Accra High School at 100, the State of Education, the School and the Future’ enjoins stakeholders to take stock and play their roles to advance the development of the school.

Also speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of Education Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum argued that the FSHS policy is not a political gimmick but a key policy that will contribute to enhancing the country’s gross tertiary enrolment ratio.

Currently, Ghana’s gross tertiary enrolment ratio is estimated at 20 percent.

Dr. Osei Adutwum said: “FSHS and Free TVET do not end in themselves but mean to the country’s total transformation.”

He added that a lot is being done to improve education, including the construction of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) facilities across the country while equipping existing schools.

The Headmistress of Accra High School, Evelyn Nabia, in her remarks acknowledged the growing student population which now stands at 2,636 with a staff strength of 160.

She disclosed that the government has approved and restored the school to its boarding status. Given this, she appealed to the government to provide the school with some key infrastructural facilities and vehicles to meet its new status.

These include dormitories for students, an administration block, staff accommodation facilities, as well as renovation of existing structures of the school, among others.

She further outlined the programs and activities planned for the centenary celebrations which run from November 2022 to November 2023.

Source: thebftonline.com

As Nigerians choose to fly out of Accra, international ticket rates skyrocket

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The cost of international air tickets has increased exponentially in recent weeks, as local demand remains elevated and more passengers from neighboring Nigeria opt to fly out of Accra to various destinations in Europe, America, and popular holiday destinations around the world.



A round trip from Accra to London in economy class, which used to cost GH¢ 10,000 just a few weeks ago, has increased to between GH¢ 20,000 and GH¢ 43,000, depending on availability and the airline of choice.

Though airfares are generally high in summer, the increased demand from passengers from neighbouring countries and the depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar are the main undercurrents for the current surge in prices.

The President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies, Susan Akporiaye, confirmed the new development to Nigerian news media The Punch last week.

“Nigerians are already flying from Ghana to other countries because the lower inventories of tickets are no longer available in Nigeria.” People go to Accra because Accra still has the lowest inventory available.

“By the time all airlines restrict sales to only the highest inventories like British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have done, then more people will move to Accra to fly,” she added.

Nigeria’s situation has been brought on by the inability of most international airlines to repatriate their funds to their home countries due to currency unavailability.

Airlines, still incurring huge operational costs in the West African country, increased their fares and urged passengers to book and pay online or pay dollars at their local offices in Nigeria. A total of US$464 million of airlines’ funds were locked up in Nigeria as of July 2022.

Emirates has taken the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria, effective September 1, 2022, if the situation is not resolved by then.

“Emirates has tried every avenue to address our ongoing challenges in repatriating funds from Nigeria, and we have made considerable efforts to initiate dialogue with the relevant authorities for their urgent intervention to help find a viable solution. “Regrettably, there has been no progress,” Rula Tadros, Emirates’ Public Relations Manager, said.

Source: aviationghana.com

Pensioners receive payouts from SSNIT totaling GH2 billion

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Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has made a total of GH¢2.21billion in benefit payments to pensioners as of August 2022.

A perusal of the Trust’s data shows this represents a decline of 3.91 percent in benefit payments compared to 2021’s GH¢2.30billion.

Quite unusually, the number of pensioners had reduced to 230,789 in August 2022 from 230,960 in the same period in 2021. This, the Trust said, can be explained by the demise of some pensioners over the period.

Also, SSNIT has withheld approximately GH¢320million as a result of deactivating 21,337 pensioners for non-renewal of Pensioner Certificates from April 2018 to June 2022.

Insured Salaries

Available data show that, currently, over 80 percent of workers in Ghana have insured salaries of GH¢2,500 or less; which means that 80 percent are contributing GH¢275 each month, according to the Trust.

Also, 95.5 percent of pensioners are paid GH¢2,500 or less each month. Only 5.3 percent of workers in Ghana pay a premium on salaries of GH¢5,000 or more. On the other hand, 1.4 percent of pensioners also receive GH¢5,000 and above as a monthly pension.

According to the Trust, should this remain unchanged, 80 percent of retirees will receive a pension of GH¢1,500 or less in the future?

“This simply means that if the contributions records of workers in active service do not significantly improve, then the reality of your pension payments may not be that different from those who are on pension now.”

SSNIT and NIA Merger

Some 1.9 million SSNIT numbers have been linked with the National Identification Authority numbers (Ghana Card), and according to the Trust this has saved the Scheme about GH¢60million that would have otherwise gone into printing new cards.

The printing of new biometric cards was halted in 2018 in anticipation of the Ghana Card, which according to the Trust costs the Scheme more than US$7 per card.

Between June 2021 and June 2022, SSNIT deployed its systems to allow members to merge their SSNIT and NIA numbers, as it issued a directive that the Ghana Card is the only identification that would be recognized by the Trust in July 2022.

This complies with Regulation 7 (1) of the National Identity Register Regulations, 2012, L.I. 2111, which requires the use of the Ghana Card as identification for “transactions pertaining to individuals in respect of pensions” and “transactions that have social security implications”.

With the integration of SSNIT numbers with the Ghana Card, SSNIT intends to leverage the national platform for a more effective and efficient identification system for convenience, ease of doing business, eliminating the cost of printing cards, improving claims processing time, and expansion of coverage, among others.

Source: thebftonline.com

Delay attacked Dr. UN, but he remained calm – Blakk Rasta

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According to well-known radio personality Blakk Rasta, Deloris Frimpong Manso, the host of the Delay Show, assaulted Kwame Fordjour, better known as Dr. UN, during their August 28 interview.

Blakk Rasta, who previously told Countryghana he attended the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) with Dr. UN, said in a video posted to his Facebook page that most people don’t take the man behind the Global Blueprint Awards seriously because of his upbeat demeanor.

Dr. UN, in his opinion, is a unique individual who isn’t conceited or hasty to criticize people who oppose him.

Blakk Rasta complimented Dr. UN for remaining calm in the face of Delay’s repeated attacks on his personality in a video posted on August 29.

“This is a very humble guy. When he says his things, check them out. He made his awards, maybe some small issues here and there. People condemned him that he gave people feeding bottles, and if you watch the interview with Delay, you will realize how patient this guy is.

“Delay was virtually attacking him. That is her style of interviewing, attack, but he kept his calm and laughed through the whole interview. There was not a single point where he closed his mouth. His mouth was always opened smiling…that is my own classmate whom we used to call Wyclef,” he disclosed.

“Black Rasta told our producers, he remembers him from the radio station and not as his mate. @johndumelo doesn’t remember him. These were the names he mentioned. Alisa doesn’t have any record of the late Kofi Annan coming for his award show in 2014!” she tweeted.

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