Rapper Captain Planet has indicated that contrary to assumptions that traditional leaders are to blame for illegal mining, popularly known in Ghana as galamsey, it’s rather the ordinary citizens.
He said this via his Twitter handle @CAPTAINPLANETGH today Friday, 26 August 2022.
It partially reads:
“The funny thing be say the galamsey koraa e be some of us our parents & families are those engaging.”
In an earlier tweet, the ‘Abodie’ hitmaker shared a video that captures the head of the Ashanti Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II condemning the nature crime.
He captioned the 2-minute video with the words: “This is Otumfuo condemning Galamsey & some of you people dey act like the man no dey speak against.”
It’s the video that captured the Ashanti king addressing the audience at the maiden event of the ‘Regional Consultative Dialogue on Small Scale Mining in the Ashanti Region on Wednesday, 12 May, 2022.
Here, he’d famously said, he’d told the Ashanti regional minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, and the lands and resources minister, Samuel Jinapor, “my son,” that “truth be told, as we talk about galamsey, about 30% of the people gathered right here in this place know all those involved in galamsey.”
“On my part, I have already warned my Chiefs and elders against participation in such illegalities, and I will not hesitate to strongly sanction any such infraction,” he’d added.
The other half of Captain Planet’s tweet, quoted above, appears to argue that were the [Ashanti] kingdom and its king to swoop down on galamsey operators, they’d be met with resistance and accused of tampering with people’s much needed source of income.
“If the kingdom goes to attack them right now to stop people will come & say the king is taking food off their tables. Hypocrisy level for here be too high.”
The member of the Ghanaian musical trio, 4×4, was making these comments following recent controversial comments made on Kumasi-based Oyerepa FM, by the leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Akwasi Addai ‘Odike’, who is accused by the Kumasi Traditional Council of denigrating the king of the Ashanti kingdom and insinuating the king is complicit in the nature crime, galamsey, by his inactivity to deal with those who are engaged in it under his watch.
In another tweet earlier today, Captain Planet (CP), cited a screenshot of Odike behind a microphone at the Oyerepa FM studios with the caption:
“He sought to wage a rebellion against Otumfuo and the entire Ashanti Kingdom. Yes, u have freedom to talk about galamsey which everybody is against it but his speech seems like a threat and that’s what got him into trouble.”
Sampson Asaki Awingobit is of the opinion that the business sector should consult with the government in order to find answers to its problems, despite the complaints made by the Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana on the suspension of GUTA’s strike.
Mr. Awingobit asserts that the reasons why it is difficult for enterprises to survive in the nation are internal, necessitating the need to “go back to our government.”
As things stand, the cedi has declined by more than 30% while Ghana’s inflation rate has soared to 31.7%.
As a result, the economy has been listed as having one of the highest rates of inflation, and the cedi has been ranked as the second-worst performing currency behind the rupee of Sri Lanka.
The change unavoidably has an impact on the economic well-being of the populace, who have long bemoaned the high cost of living in the nation.
When describing some of the root causes of the issues, Mr. Awingobit pointed to taxation as a significant barrier to corporate expansion, adding that “since 2017, importers have suffered; a lot of tariffs, charges, and taxes have been passed on them.”
The businessman disapproved of the nation’s economic problems being attributed to foreign corporations doing business there. What interest rate are we borrowing at in Ghana? Is it due to the ethnic makeup of Chinese people in this country that lenders lend money to businesses at a 40% or a 35% interest rate?
Do you remember that as a country we have signed international treaties that we cannot take any unilateral decision; we cannot ban any of them for not doing business with you?
“Do you remember that there is a Sinohydro loan that the government of Ghana is accessing from China?” he quizzed.
So you think that tomorrow the Council of State will go to the Ministry of Finance or go to the Presidency to ban South Africa from importing to this country, ban Chinese from importing into the country because GUTA members are complaining? Are they [foreigners] the people who make the cedi depreciation? Are they the ones who make our inflation at 31%?
“We know what the cause is, we have to go back to our government” he added in an interview he granted Angelonline
Mr Awingobit made the observation on the back of the Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA) suspension of the industrial action they intended to embark on which was slated for Monday, August 29, 2022.
The decision by the leadership of the Union follows their engagement with the Council of State last Thursday, August, 25, 2022.
To assist the New National Executives of the political party, the National Executive Committee of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has chosen Deputy National Officers and Directors.
Haruna Mohammed and Dr. Antoinette Tsibu Darko are the General Secretary’s assistants.
Others include Chris Lyod Nii Quaye and Joseph Nganiba Kwayaja, who will serve as the National Organizer’s Deputies.
The Women’s Organizer Kate Gyamfuah will have the assistance of Safia Mohammed and Miriam Awurama Duah.
The self-registration application for Sim Card registration has finally been made available by the Ministry of Communication.
People who haven’t registered their sim cards, however, can currently only access the app through the Google Play store.
Only when the initial registration stage, which requires attaching your Ghana Card, has been successfully completed can the app be used.
The app is called GH SIM SELF REG and is exclusively accessible through Google Playstore.
The National Communications Authority (NCA) is developing a self-registration App to supplement the efforts of the Telcom providers and assist Sim card users in meeting the September ending deadline for registration, the Minister of Communications said while speaking with the media.
It has been requested that Ghanaians re-register their SIM cards.
The deadline for the re-registration has been extended twice because a number of Ghanaians could not meet the deadline.
Sokoloan and Truecedi have been identified as two unlawful financial organizations operating in Ghana by Bright Simons, vice president of IMANI Africa.
He claims that Sokoloan, which has a branch in Nigeria, has opened a shop in Ghana where they solicit loans from naïve victims.
He added that Jain Finscap’s Truecedi is an unregistered firm in Ghana as well.
Bright Simons complained about the lack of action by the country’s financial institution regulators in eradicating these unlawful firms on the microblogging website Twitter.
“I had hoped that the Ghanaian regulators would follow suit, but they are inactive, much like ponzi scams. Sokoloan, for example, has established himself in Ghana and is already extorting fresh victims.Jain Finscap asserts ownership of a fintech company by the name of Truecedi. It is not even listed in Ghana as a firm,” Bright Simons wrote in a tweet
Beware of loan providers operating without licences – BoG to Ghanaians
Meanwhile, the central bank has urged Ghanaians to desist from doing business with loan providers operating without licences in the country.
The operations of these unlicensed banks, the central bank said, were in contravention of the Banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930).
The Bank of Ghana added that these unlicensed entities mostly use mobile apps and social media for their activities.
In a press release copied to GhanaWeb, it said, “Bank of Ghana has observed that a number of unlicensed entities are engaged in the provision of loans to the Ghanaian public, in contravention of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930). These illegal entities mostly employ the use of mobile applications and social media in their activities.
“The activities of these unauthorised entities amount to non-adherence of the consumer protection requirements and an abuse of customer data and privacy laws,” it stated.
Below are the banks providing loan services to Ghanaians without licence from the Bank of Ghana
2/ I thought the Ghanaian regulators would take cue but as with the ponzi schemes, they’re dormant. So the likes of Sokoloan have set shop in Ghana & milking new victims. One fintech called Truecedi claims to be owned by Jain Finscap. It is not even registered as a company in Gh. pic.twitter.com/oZKTXuJTPQ— Bright Simons (@BBSimons) August 22, 2022
In Istanbul, Turkey, the draw for the 2022–2023 UEFA Champions League is now taking place.
Real Madrid, the reigning champion and one of the thirty-two participating teams, was placed in one of four pots of eight teams.
Real Madrid, AC Milan, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, FC Porto, and Ajax FC were seeded in pot one along with the UEFA Champions and Europa League champions Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt who won their respective leagues.
Borussia Dortmund, Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter, Napoli, Benfica, Sporting CP, and Bayer Leverkusen are in pot 2, while Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Atlético de Madrid, Sevilla, RB Leipzig, and Tottenham Hotspur are in pot 2.
Pot 4 is made up of Rangers, Dinamo, Marseille, Copenhagen, Club Brugge, Celtic, Viktoria Plzeň and Maccabi Haifa. Out of the 32 competing teams, only eight Ghanaian players will take part in the UEFA Champions League but this number can change by close of the transfer window. Kudus Mohammed, Brian Brobbey, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ansgar Knauff, Issahaku Fatawu, Jeremie Frimpong, Timothy Fosu Mensah, and Dennis Odoi are the seven Ghanaian players who will play in the UEFA Champions League.
Champions League Group Stage draw
Group A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers
Group B: Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge
Group C: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Viktoria Plzen
Group D: Frankfurt, Tottenham, Sporting, Marseille
Group E: AC Milan, Chelsea, Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb
Group F: Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic
Group G: Man City, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, Copenhagen
A member of the Upper East Region’s Ghana National Fire Service has been fired for misconduct.
Ibrahim Mohammed Alemiakurugo was caught on closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera robbing a grocery and afterwards stealing a customer’s phone.
The incident reportedly took place on June 1, 2022, at a store on the edge of a road that connected to the Bolgatanga-Navrongo Highway coming from the direction of the Upper East Regional Hospital.
The officer can be seen entering the store in his service uniform and pausing at a counter with powdered breakfast items in the video obtained by countryGhana
He turns around to make sure no one is seeing and reaches out for a roll of powdered milk, stuffing it in the back of his jeans.
The officer walked to the checkout counter where another client was preparing to pay for his purchases while his untucked uniform concealed the loot.
The customer put his phone on the counter and paid for his purchases.
Standing next to the other customer at the counter, the officer who was holding a plastic bag and had selected a piece of bread. The officer put the polythene bag over the phone and pocketed it as the customer walked away from the counter and appeared to be distracted.
According to reports, the owner of the phone later went back to the store to complain about his missing phone, which sparked a frenzied search.
After searching for the phone in vain for several minutes, it was suggested that the CCTV footage from the store be examined.
This resulted in the shocking finding that a fire officer in a uniform had also stolen a cell phone while shoplifting.
The officer who admitted to the offense was identified thanks to a report to Upper East Regional Fire Commander ACFO Anthony Gyasi Boateng.
He returned the phone and the leftover of the milk powder which was sent back to the shop by a team of officers. The fire officers made a payment of Gh¢20:40p for the parts of the stolen products which had been consumed by the officer.
Following a service inquiry into the incident, the officer who was interdicted pending the final outcome of the inquiry was dismissed from the Ghana National Service on July 17, 2022.
The GNFS’ Public Relations Officer in the Upper East Region, DOIII Callistus Nibunu, confirmed the dismissal and expressed disappointment over the conduct of the officer.
“Conclusive evidence was made that he committed the act, so his dismissal letter came. The act was committed in uniform. That sends a very bad signal as far as the image of the service is concerned. “No organisation will want to be tagged with such an act. It’s indeed a dent on the image of the service, and the service has also used the Legislative Instrument 1725, which we are all bounded by, to apply the appropriate punishment as expected,” he said.
According to the Upper East Regional Commander, ACFO Anthony Gyasi Boateng, Ibrahim Mohammed Alemiakurugo, at the time of his dismissal, was preparing to take his first promotion examination, which would have seen him move rank from Fireman (FM) to Leading Fireman (LFM).
Meanwhile, Mohammed Alemiakurugo is said to have described his dismissal from the service as highhanded.
A program centered on agriculture, agribusiness, and manufacturing will be easily accepted by the International Monetary Fund due to its ideals and standards, according to Professor Godfred Bokpin of Economics at the University of Ghana.
He claimed that the Bretton Woods organization has recently concentrated on dealing with problems related to inequality, unemployment, and other anomalies that have an impact on human life.
On August 24, 2022, he said the words during an IMANI-GIZ Reform Dialogue on the subject of “How would Ghana’s IMF accord influence investment in agric and manufacturing sector?”
According to Professor Bokpin, since the IMF won’t force Ghana into a program, “now is the perfect moment to contribute to whatever program will be devised focused on agriculture, agribusiness, and manufacturing.”
He remarked, “The IMF of old is not the IMF of today, which is why I see an accommodating viewpoint from the fund. Inequality, unemployment, climate change, and other issues are top concerns for the IMF today.
Bokpin, however, argued in favor of creating an atmosphere that would allow investments in the agriculture industry to be successful.
Any scheme that includes major investment for manufacturing, agribusiness, and agriculture, he asserts, “may be accommodated. It is up to us to rationalize our spending in this way and to foster an atmosphere where the private sector can work in tandem with the public sector there.
At work, employees give it their all to achieve the goals they have set for themselves and the business.
While some people’s take-home pay is occasionally meager, others do be paid a respectable sum of money at the end of the month.
According to Kwaku Adu Aninkorah, the Chief Executive Officer of the Mckeown Group of Companies, firms are unable to pay their employees well because of an unorganized structure at work.
He pointed out that staff has room to become corrupt because of the meager salary they receive.
Speaking on Luv FM, he stressed that given the high cost of products and services on the market and the rise in transportation costs, employees who earn less than GH 500 run a significant danger of finding questionable ways to earn additional money from the company.
He remarked, “The system is not well-structured, which prevents businesses from paying employees effectively. Who verifies me as a private individual to ensure I record each sale I make? The internal revenue agents approach me with the intention of taking something from me. Whether or whether everything is recorded, I am ultimately willing to conduct business with the person who examines my books.
“Look at the rate at which the prices of goods and services are going up. If the person is taking 200 or 300 cedis, what do you expect? The person will want to find a way of filling the gap. This is because transport fares and the cost of food have gone up,” the businessman stated.
Mr Aninkorah stated that the negative attitude of workers due to lack of motivation leads to both thievery and the collapse of businesses.
He however noted that the lack of proper structures at the workplace, including record keeping and tax payment, makes it difficult to report the theft to the police, myjoyonline reported.
Former MP for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini and son Abdul Inusah
After news of his alleged involvement in money laundering and wire fraud in the United States of America surfaced, Abdul Inusah, the son of former minister of Lands and Natural Resources and former MP for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, broke his silence.
In response to the reports, troubled Abdul Inusah confirmed his father’s reasons in an interview with Asaase Radio.
He claims that he was given information about the indictment that connected him to several charges.
He received the indictment by text message in June of the same year, despite it having been filed on April 27.
He recalled that after this, he got in touch with his attorneys, who took it up, and the matter moved forward. In relation to the alleged money, he was charged with receiving stolen property and wire fraud totaling $20,000.
“I received a number of plea agreements. Because you can only accept plea bargains if you have committed a crime, I declined them. Once they realized that I had purchased a number of their automobiles somewhere in 2018 while a student at the same university as they were, and that this was in a different indictment, they had already detained nine people who were somehow connected to me.
“The only reason why I was not involved in that particular indictment was that there was nothing linking me to those people.
“I decided to opt for a trial. I was superseded 3 times to where the count now became 8. I have seen 50 years, but I was offered a plea deal of 6 months jail time, but I still refused until it got to somewhere this month. We went for trial, which lasted for 4 or 5 days till the Jury came out with somewhat of a verdict pronouncing me not guilty for 3 to 4 charges of those counts and 4 charges they thought I was guilty of on those other counts.
“From there, obviously, the justice department would have come out with a communique talking about what happened in court during the trial. It was those that the Ghanaian media fetched its reports from,” he noted.
Abdul Inusah asserted his innocence while expressing worry about how publications containing what he refers to as “half-truths” may have impacted his family and friends.
He thinks that he will be released soon and that the case has some bias behind it.
“…As to conviction or jail sentence or jail time, there’s nothing of the sort because there is still a chance for me to talk to the government as to whether I still want to pursue the case from different angles or just have a man-man talk with them with respect to giving them some information for lesser sentences. I and my lawyers are still pursuing the case because we believe I’m innocent and this is just one of those prejudiced cases that they must find a prosecution at all cost,” he noted.
“My utmost worry right now is not fighting my case or proving my innocence to the Ghanaian public,” Inusah said. “My very utmost problem right now will be my family and friends who have been affected by these half-truth publications, with the utmost respect because I don’t want to discredit anybody’s work,” he said.
He continued by saying that since he is innocent, his family should maintain their faith and that he will soon be set free.
Inusah expressed optimism to Asaaseradio.com, saying, “But these are half-truths, and people’s lives in Ghana are being affected, especially my family and loved ones. I would like to apologize to them and encourage them to take heart and keep believing that their brother and son is innocent and will soon be a free man. We will rejoice and jubilate with the people of Ghana.”
Inusah Fuseini, a former minister for lands and natural resources and a member of parliament for Tamale Central, has also commented on this event.
The former MP attempted to provide a detailed account of the events leading up to the incident and described the development as horrible.
Inusah Fuseini revealed that although his colleague had asked his son’s documents for a transaction, it turned out that he had actually utilized them for romantic fraud.
The former lawmaker told Asaase radio com, “As a father, my son told me that one of his coworkers wanted a car, and he has documents that allow him to auction automobiles, and it turns out the colleague was participating in a romantic fraud.
Abdul Inusah clarified, however, that contrary to what certain media outlets have claimed, he has not been imprisoned. The investigation is still ongoing, and he is now at home.
Background of the case
31-year-old Abdul Inusah was arrested for his role in a Huntington-based scheme that defrauded individuals in multiple states through the use of false online personas.
A statement from the United States Department of Justice explained that evidence at trial revealed that “Inusah was part of a conspiracy that targeted victims using false personas via email, text messaging, and online dating and social media websites. From at least January 2018 through at least December 2019, the scheme sought to induce victims into believing they were in a romantic relationship, friendship, or business relationship with various false personas. The victims were persuaded to send money for a variety of false and fraudulent reasons for the benefit of the false personas.”
One instance was when one false persona, “Mariama,” was used to induce an Alabama resident into providing $106,000 via wire transfers and cashier’s checks. The amount included $48,000 to pay overdue taxes on a nonexistent gold inheritance in Ghana and $21,000 wired to Bitsav Supply LLC, a shell company set up by Inusah. Another false persona, “Grace,” persuaded a Washington resident to wire funds so “Grace” could maintain her South African cocoa plantation and move to the United States to marry the victim. Other victims of the false personas included residents of Ohio and Florida.
The Jury found Inusah guilty of receipt of stolen money, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two counts of wire fraud. The wire fraud counts involve a pair of $2,000 Zelle wire transfers to Inusah from the money obtained using the “Miarama” false persona in January 2019.
United States Attorney, Will Thompson, described the activities as heart-breaking as vulnerable individuals were targeted.
The United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the Jury.
Abdul Inusah has been scheduled to be sentenced on November 21, 2022, and will face a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison.
