The Member of Parliament for Builsa South Dr. Clement Apaak has mocked President Akufo-Addo following claims by Prophet Isaac Owusu Bempah that he [Akufo-Addo] has departed from God.
Dr. Apaak said the prophet has fled from the President because he is no longer who he used to be and has refused to defend him.
Prophet Bempah prophesied about the 2016 and 2020 victories of President Akufo-Addo.
He is referred to as the Prophet of the President but has gone silent for some time now.
In breaking his silence in an interview, the man says the President has departed from his godly ways by depending on other sources.
He likened his current relationship with the president to that of Saul and Samuel in the Bible.
“Samuel was asked to anoint Saul to become president, things did not go well, things went rough and that was because Saul became stubborn and was not listening to God and Samuel, so Samuel distanced himself from Saul.
“When Samuel tried to intervene at a point, God asked him to stay off because Saul had showed disobedience and so I see that the pure heart Akufo-Addo for which God chose him, has changed.
“He doesn’t listen to God anymore, and the prayers that clergymen used to say for him, he doesn’t allow it any longer. So, if you like him to Saul, it is the same thing, Samuel was only instructed by God to anoint Saul because he was God’s own choice,” he stressed.
Dr. Apaak reacting said Prophet Bempah would have defended the President on the issue of the National Cathedral but his silence means all was not well.
He said the prophet has given up on ”insensitive Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo”.
”Even NADAA’S prophet has fled from him. Until now, I had been asking why Rev. Owusu Bempah was mute, not defended NADAA on the Cathedral and the U-turn to the IMF? Now I’ve my answers, the prophet has given up on insensitive NADAA!”
Health experts have raised concerns over the prevalence of high blood pressure and diabetes among residents in Koforidua Zongo.
The situation has been attributed to a shift in healthy eating and regular physical exercise in form of walking which was characteristic of Muslims in Zongo communities.
This was observed during a free health screening exercise organized by the Eastern Regional Queen Mother of Zongo Communities, Magajiya Hajia Rabiyatu Ahmed Zakaria.
The health screening saw some Medical Doctors and other clinicians from Ridge Hospital in Accra and Koforidua deliver quality healthcare to the residents.
Participants were screened for high blood pressure, Malaria, typhoid, COVID-19, and glucose among others.
Hypertension and diabetes were identified to be prevalent among the populace.
The medical team dispensed medications for the patients and referred others with severe to critical conditions to the hospital for further treatment.
Dr Fati Ahmed, a medical doctor at Ridge Hospital in Accra who led the medical team was worried that some hypertensive and diabetic patients had blatantly defaulted on their medications.
“We have a lot of people with hypertension and diabetes. There are a lot of people who are known as diabetic and hypertensive who are none complaint. They are not taking their medications, some people have gone to the hospital before but they’ve been told, given medication for a month instead of them to go for follow-ups and review, they did not go. So we have representatives from Ghana Health Service and Nurses who will make sure they do follow-ups. We have provided first aid for those with very high Bp as well and referred a couple of them to the hospital, and those who had to go immediately because their Bps and Sugars were very high,” she said.
Moro Mamunatu public health nurse at Health Center at Koforidua Zongo said the facility will monitor residents diagnosed with High blood pressure and diabetes to ensure they take their medications.
She is worried that many residents of the Zongo community are reluctant to go to the hospital for checkups.
The organizer of the program Hajia Rabiyatu Ahmed Zakaria – the Eastern Regional Queen Mother of Zongo Communities (Magajiya) said she was motivated to organize the health screening to improve the health of the people in Zongo Communities, particularly at this difficult economic situation to relieve the people.
She said similar exercises including free registration onto the National Health Insurance Scheme will be held in other Zongo communities in parts of the Eastern region including Kibi, Asamankese.
Some of the beneficiaries hailed the medical intervention.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been tasked by Nana Oye Bampoe Addo to examine and draw lessons from the late John Evans Atta Mills’ unselfish style of leadership and governance.
She charged that the president consistently prioritized his own comfort and that of his family over the needs of Ghanaians.
The former Gender Minister and rights campaigner said Atta Mills provided a wonderful model for Akufo-Addo to emulate, especially in these difficult times, in an interview with Metro TV news as part of the festivities to announce the 10th-anniversary celebration of Mills’ death.
“It is all about the comfort of his family, the comfort of himself regrettably and what President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo can learn from President John Evans Atta Mills is to place Ghana first.
“Place the welfare and interest of Ghanaians first. Look up to optimizing and utilizing efficiently the resources of Ghana for the people of Ghana, to improve the lives and standards of the people of Ghana,” Nana Oye stressed.
Regarding arrangements for Mills’ memorial service, she stated that President Atta Mills’ younger brother will give a speech in Parliament the following week.
“The NDC will conduct a wreath-laying ceremony in Asomdwee Park at one o’clock. The state will blow sirens in his honor at 1:40 p.m., the hour of his passing.
“Our lecture on July 26th, 2022, will be the high point of the week. Tsatsu Tsikata will be the keynote speaker, she continued.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the vice president, has reaffirmed his belief in the crucial part that technology plays in the transformation of economies in the twenty-first century.
The Vice President, who is credited with leading Ghana’s ongoing digital transformation drive, spoke on Monday at the launch of the Ghana Electronic Pharmacy Platform (ePharmacy), Africa’s first national-scale ePharmacy, in Accra. He emphasized the importance of the global digital economy and said that nations that do not embrace it will fall behind.
The findings show that the global digital economy is $11.5 trillion (15.5 percent of GDP). Dr. Bawumia cited the S12.6 billion global cocoa market as evidence for the necessity for developing nations like Ghana to give digitalization top priority.
Some people, according to Dr. Bawumia, believe that economic progress can only be attained via the use of physical structures. He disagreed, pointing out that technological advancement and the implementation of systems are also necessary for economic transformation.
“Brick and mortar alone cannot change an economy. An economy can only be transformed by ideas, systems, and institutions. said Dr. Bawumia.
“We are concentrating on these concepts, systems, and institutions because of this.”
Assertions that he has ceased addressing economic difficulties and is just focusing on the digitalization of the economy were laughed off by the vice president, who added that those making these claims are unaware of the close connection between digitalization and contemporary economies.
“People will say oh you’re not doing economics. But your economy cannot function in the 21st Century if you don’t have the systems and institutions. That is why we are focusing on building all of these systems; the digital platforms as we go forward in the 21st Century,” the Vice President said, adding that the country’s on-going digitalization drive, has significantly boosted efficiency and revenue at some digitalized government agencies, and also restricting many corrupt practices.
The fact that the fourth industrial revolution is a digital revolution is what piques our interest in digitalization as a government. By using digital platforms to solve problems, “digitalization allows us to eliminate bureaucracy and corruption in the delivery of public services, boosts efficiency, lowers the cost of doing business, and makes life easier for Ghanaians,” he stated.
Despite all of this, according to Dr. Bawumia, “those with the minds of impossibilities” have cast doubt on each and every digital initiative the government has launched.
People claimed he was lying when he introduced several of the advances he named, but they have since been put into use and are being used by Ghanaians.
“There are, however, many, who refuse to understand the importance of digitalization to our economic transformation. Therefore, they will mock any new innovation. They mocked the digital address system, they mocked the mobile money interoperability because they did not understand when we said that when we bring mobile money interoperability, every adult Ghanaian would be able to have a bank account. Today, with mobile money interoperability, 90% of adult Ghanaians have at least either a mobile money account or a bank account and the two are interoperable, they are basically working like the same, so we have achieved that objective.”
“They do not realise that through the Ghanacard, we have been able to increase the proportion of Ghanaians with Tax Identification Numbers from 4% when we cane into office to 85% to.”
“People did not understand why the Ghanacard, certified by ICAO, could be used as a travel document and they mocked the idea. Today, it is a reality and our diasporans can use the Ghanacard and travel to Ghana without a visa.”
“People did not believe when we launched Ghana Pay, to make Ghana the first country in the world to have a bank-wide mobile money wallet. Usually it is the telcos who issue mobile money wallet.”
“People struggled to comprehend the usage of a zip line medical drone service to transport life-saving medical supplies. They made an effort to persuade people that drones should be used to photograph women in restrooms. Ghana currently operates the world’s largest drone delivery service.
“Unfortunately, those in government who work to move our nation forward are up against a mindset that only sees obstacles; a mindset that won’t accept that an African nation like Ghana can lead the globe in embracing digital technology.
“This is why I enjoy proving the skeptics wrong all the time. Usually, when I say we are going to do this, they say he is lying. And when it comes, they keep quiet. Ultimately, we must all remember that you cannot transform an economy with just brick and mortar. You can only transform an economy with ideas, systems and institutions. Not just brick and mortar.”
An assistant to the MP for Dome Kwabenya has denied allegations that the MP declined the invitation offered to her by the legislature’s Privileges Committee.
The Privileges Committee called Sarah Adwoa Safo, who also serves as the Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Protection, to account for missing more than 15 sessions of parliament without the Speaker’s approval.
However, despite having the chance to accept virtually from her current location in America, she chose not to accept the Committee’s invitation.
Due to the MP’s inability to provide a valid reason for her absence, the Committee came to the conclusion that her seat should be declared empty.
According to a Citinewsroom.com article, her Special Assistant, Nana Nubin, claims that her boss hasn’t dodged the Committee as claimed.
Nana Nubin claimed that her absence from the committee was due to personal obligations, although she didn’t go into detail.
When his employer was unable to accept the Committee’s invitation, he says he “went out to the Clerk of the House to locate an opportune time for Adwoa Safo to meet with them.”
Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, reported Adwoa Safo and two other MPs to the privileges committee for missing sessions of the house.
Kennedy Agyapong and Henry Quartey accepted the invitation from the Committee and claimed illness as the reason for their absence.
The Committee later granted the two pardons, and it has been suggested that Adwao Safo’s parliamentary seat be declared empty.
Sweltering temperatures hit much of Western Europe on Tuesday as a ferocious heatwave headed north.
The UK hit its highest ever temperature of 40.2C, according to provisional Met Office figures, and forecasters warned temperatures were still climbing.
Extreme heat warnings were issued in France and record July temperatures were reported in the Netherlands.
Deadly wildfires in France, Portugal, Spain and Greece have forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes.
Two people were killed by forest fires in Spain’s north-western Zamora region and trains in the area were halted because of fire near the tracks. An elderly couple died while trying to escape fires in northern Portugal.
Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change. German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said the climate crisis meant the country had to rethink its preparations for very hot weather, drought and flooding.
Wildfires were still burning a day after several French cities including Nantes in the west saw their hottest-ever day.
More than 30,000 people have had to flee, with several camp sites destroyed and emergency shelters set up for evacuees.
Gironde, a popular tourist region in the south-west, has been hit particularly badly, with firefighters from across France battling to control two blazes that have destroyed 19,300 hectares (47,700 acres) of land in the past week. The city of Bordeaux was blanketed by smoke early on Tuesday as the wind changed direction.
“It’s a monster like an octopus, and it’s growing and growing and growing in the front, in the back, on both sides,” said Jean-Luc Gleyze, Gironde’s regional president.
Image caption, The camp site at Dune du Pilat was ravaged by the fire near La Teste-de-Buch
The hottest temperatures have now moved to the north and east. Hundreds of people have had to leave their homes in the far north-west of Brittany, and fire has destroyed 1,400 hectares of vegetation.
A dozen animals at the zoo in La Teste-de-Buch died of stress and from the high temperatures, the government said. In a complex operation involving vets, zookeepers and others, 363 animals that could be moved were driven in convoys to Bordeaux-Pessac zoo 65km (40 miles) away.
The UK’s Met Office said 40.2C°C was provisionally recorded at Heathrow Airport west of London on Tuesday, and forecasters warned temperatures were still climbing in many places. Extreme heat warnings have been issued covering central, northern and south-east England.
Forecasters say the heatwave is heading north, with the mercury expected to hit 40C in the far south of Belgium as well as western and southwestern Germany. A fire broke out in dunes at the Belgian resort of De Haan, setting several vehicles alight.
Germany’s DWD weather service recorded a national record temperature of 41.2C in the city of Duisburg in July 2019 and spokesman Andreas Friedrich said similar highs were possible on Tuesday in similar areas along the River Rhine.
The Netherlands saw one of its hottest days on record on Tuesday with 38.9C in Maastricht, forecasters said, warning that temperatures were continuing to rise.
Image caption, Firefighters have been mobilised across Portugal
In Spain and Portugal, more than 1,000 deaths have been attributed to the heat in recent days. A forest fire in Losacio in the north-west left one firefighter dead on Sunday and the body of a 69-year-old shepherd was found on Monday.
Temperatures in Portugal hit 47C on Thursday – a record for July. Most of the country has been placed under high fire danger by the national meteorological office IPMA.
Several villages were evacuated as a fire spread in the Murça area of northern Portugal, and a man and a woman in their 70s died in their car while trying to flee the flames.
Firefighters were fighting the blaze on three fronts and a local mayor said more than 3,000 hectares had been burned. Authorities are anxious to avoid a repeat of 2017, when 66 people were killed in wildfires.
Watch: Train is surrounded by wildfires in Spain
In Spain, at least 20 fires are burning out of control. A passenger filmed the moment the train he was travelling on came to a temporary halt – as fires raged on both sides of the carriage near the northern border with Portugal.
Forecasters in Italy are warning of temperatures as high as 40 to 42C between Wednesday and Friday.
The effects of climate change in Europe were highlighted earlier this month when a melting glacier triggered an avalanche that killed 11 people. Now experts at Italy’s IlMeteo warn that new crevasses are opening up on Alpine peaks and that ice is melting even on Western Europe’s highest mountain, Mont Blanc.
The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.
At Sefwi Juaboso in the Western North Region, three people—including a pregnant mother and a five-year-old child—died after being run over by a truck. Onua FM’s lunchtime news, Liberty FM’s Emmanuel Sowa reports that a Kia Rhino with the license plate AS 9238-22, carrying plantain suckers, collided with a stationary Pragyia tricycle that the woman was riding with her child.
Another vehicle struck by the Rhino was a Mercedes with the with plate AS 5233-19.
The woman and her child died instantly, while four other people suffered injuries of varying severity.
According to Sowa’s report, the driver of the Kia was going too fast and ran into an approaching car when he tried to pass another vehicle. When he used the brakes and turned the steering off the road, he claims the driver’s brakes failed him, which led to the massacre.
On the highway connecting Juaboso, Asawinso, and Bodi, the incident took place.
According to him, the child’s brain burst from his skull, killing him instantaneously.
While waiting for other passengers to board the tricycle that had parked by the wayside, the expecting mother was dropping the child off at school.
The Sefwi Juaboso Government Hospital is now treating the injured patients as well as the Kia driver.
An emir in the Nigerian state of Zamfara has been suspended after he coronated a man said to be a wanted terrorist.
According to Premium Times, Aliyu Marafa, who is the emir of Yandoton Daji, was suspended by the Zamfara State government after the alleged turbaning of Ada Aleru.
Aleru is accused of being the leader of a ruthless terrorist gang behind multiple attacks in the states of Katsina and Zamfara.
But the secretary of the Emirate Council, Bello Yusuf, told the news outlet that the emir coronated Aleru in an effort to restore peace in the state.
Yusuf also claimed the state and local governments had approved the conferment.
The state, however, disassociated itself from Aleru’s turbaning in a statement.
“This is to inform the general public the Zamfara State Government has dissociated itself from the alleged turbaning of a Sarkin Fulani by the Emir of Birnin ‘Yandoto of Tsafe Local Government Area.
“In this regard, the State Executive Governor, Hon. Bello Mohammed Matawalle, MON (Shattiman Sokoto) has directed for suspension of the Emir with immediate effect,” the statement said.
Osinachi Ukomadu, the Nigerian tech founder changing the face of e-commerce Marafa’s brother has since been asked to temporarily serve as the emir of Yandoton Daji as authorities investigate Aleru’s coronation.
Sarah Adwoa Safo, a member of parliament for the Dome-Kwabenya Constituency, has expressed concern over the way that members of her own party have betrayed rather than protected her when she most needed them.
Without the Speaker’s approval, The Dome-Kwabenya has been absent from Parliament for a number of months.
Some of her own coworkers have called her out on this, and it has since become a hot topic of conversation in public.
Adwoa Safo and two other MPs, Mr. Henry Quartey of Ayawaso Central and his Baby Father, Mr. Kennedy Agyapong of Assin Central, were recently sent to the Privileges Committee for missing 15 meetings.
The Speaker of Parliament claimed that their absence from the chamber without his consent was a violation of the house’s rules and regulations.
Adwoa Safo declined to attend the hearings, hence the Committee was unable to reach a conclusion in the meantime.
“The theme for this year’s Conference, Holding Together, Working Together, resonates so much with my current circumstances and brings back memories of my time as the Deputy Majority Leader in the 7th Parliament where, as Leader of the Women’s Caucus, together with the Leadership of the Majority, did our very best to protect a colleague female Member of Parliament who had to be away in London for nearly two years to take care of,” Adwoa Safo wrote on her Facebook page. Since it included children and we didn’t go about raising a stink about her absence, we did this out of compassion. This is just one illustration of how we, as leaders in Parliament, defended one of our own.
“I have become the target of a protracted political witch hunt by certain forces in the NPP and in Parliament over the previous few months that I have been away from official duties, even though this was not my desire,” she said, “in order to further their own narrow objectives.”
Once more, Adwoa Safo expressed her confusion in her letter, writing, “This has left me asking myself if this is occurring because I am a woman who for this one time needed some time off to deal with a few personal concerns that were too dear to discuss with the greater public. I have questioned why I had to be treated differently in the face of all of this, not receiving the renowned backing of our party leadership both in Parliament and at the party level through my most trying times over the past several months.
Below is a statement:
Four years ago, together with colleague Members of Parliament, Party Leaders and the rank and file of the New Patriotic Party, we converged in Koforidua to elect new Leaders for the party. This was on the heels of an emphatic Victory by the Party in 2016 and thereafter securing another victory for the party in the 2020 elections. The theme for this year’s Conference, Holding Together, Working Together resonates so much with my current circumstances and brings back memories of my time as the Deputy Majority Leader in the 7th Parliament where, as Leader of the Women’s Caucus, together with the Leadership of the Majority did our very best to protect a colleague female Member of Parliament who had to be away in London for close to two years to take care of family issues. We did this on compassionate grounds because it involved Children and didn’t go round making hue and cry about her absence. This is just one example of how we protected one of our own as Leaders in Parliament. In the last few months that I have been away from official duties albeit not intentionally, I have become a victim of a sustained political witch hunt by certain elements in the NPP and in Parliament to achieve their own parochial goals. This has left me asking myself if this is happening because I am a woman who for just this one time needed some time off to deal with a few personal issues which were too dear to share with the larger publics. In the face of all these, I have questioned why I have had to be treated differently by not enjoying the famous support of our party leadership both in Parliament and at the party level in my most difficult moments these past few months. As a member of the party, I have served with utmost diligence (both in opposition and in government) and have at all times put the fortunes of my family at the disposal of the party. At no point in time have myself nor my family withheld anything of ours from our great Party, yet today, I am conveniently being called a traitor and all manner of names with several schemes being put to play and employed to oust me from my position as MP and Minister. This year’s conference theme perfectly embodies what we must do, and stand for, as members of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo Tradition. There is the need for us to stay United. Every single person and vote are needed in our singular quest to break the eight. We cannot give up on anyone. As we have brought this conference to a successful end, with the election of a new set of result oriented National Executives, we have been presented with a huge opportunity to consolidate our gains and efforts towards creating a United Front and a party that is empathetic and responsive to the needs and aspirations of its membership. Leadership is very important in every endeavor, most especially in a mass organization like the NPP. The onus lies on the new Leadership to ensure we hold on to each other and work together to break the eight. I conclude by reiterating that, in the face of clear political hounding and vendetta by certain elements within the party and parliament against me, I have never wavered in my commitment to the ideals and creed of the New Patriotic Party and the Government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, to whom, I am eternally grateful. Lastly, I congratulate the Newly Elected National Executives and wish them the very best in their quest to lead the charge in 2024 to achieve the unprecedented feat of Breaking the Eight. God Bless.
Managing Editor of Insight Newspaper, Kwasi Pratt Jnr, has bemoaned the rate at which Ghana imports products that can easily be produced in Ghana.
Speaking to the host of Atinka FM’s AM Drive, Kaakyire Ofori Ayim, Kwesi Pratt Jnr revealed how disheartening it is to know that Ghana is the third largest importer of tomatoes from Germany.
In 2021, the Ghana Tomato Traders and Transporters Association entreated its members to source their products from local tomato farms.
The Association discouraged the importation of tomatoes from Burkina Faso to provide a ready market for Ghanaian farmers.
Ghana reportedly loses CFA56 billion, approximately $99.5 million to Burkina Faso through the importation of fresh tomatoes annually.
According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, Ghana imports chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys from the Netherlands.
Kwesi Pratt Jnr revealed that aside from the importation of tomatoes and other products, Ghana imports Guinea fowls from Denmark.
He maintained that well-meaning Ghanaians who have followed the country’s economic status know what the issue is.
“Ghana imports virtually everything. I was reading a document when I came across a portion that said Ghana is the third largest importer of tomatoes from Germany. I was shocked and ashamed of myself. “As if that is not enough, it will surprise you that Ghana imports Guinea fowls from Denmark,” Kwasi Pratt Jnr told Kaakyire Ofori Ayim.
