The Ghana Police Service, according to Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram Sam George, is sick and in need of healing under the leadership of George Akuffo Dampare.
Police in the Ashanti Region opened fire on students at the Islamic Senior High School who were demonstrating to raise awareness about the need for speed ramps and bridges to keep them safe from speeding vehicles.
In total, 30 students were sent to the hospital after police used weapons and tear gas to strike them.
Sam George, who has been critical of the Ghana Police Service, has reacted to the incident by saying that the Ghana Police Service’s terrible performance is concerning.
According to him, the Service must sit up and ensure that their level of professionalism is at the highest level possible.
The seeming resort to extreme force by the @GhPoliceService as a first resort is not only barbaric and unprofessional but deeply troubling and a source of worry. How do you discharge live ammunition on unarmed students? Clearly our Police Service is sick and need healing. 🦁🇬🇭 pic.twitter.com/yT8UmYr3O1
— Sam 'Dzata' George 🦁🇬🇭 (@samgeorgegh) June 14, 2022
A billboard in Tamale promoting tolerance for the lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) population has been taken down after citizens express their discontent with the billboard’s placement in the city.
“Love, tolerance, and acceptance” were written on the billboard, which used colors associated with the LGBTQ+ community. The occupants, on the other hand, had no patience for it and tore it apart in a fit of rage.
Samuel Nartey George, a leading opponent of the legalization of LGBTQ+ rights in Ghana, hailed the inhabitants, MP, youth, and elders of Tamale for their quick action.
“Salute to Tamale Central’s Youth and Elders, as well as their tireless MP, Comrade Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, for acting quickly when duty demanded in defense of our culture, tradition, and Constitution.”
We’d have the energy and zeal to tear down those nasty billboards as long as they had the money to put them up. “May Article 3 of the 1992 Constitution live long and prosper,” he wrote.
A similar billboard in Accra was also taken down when a portion of the public expressed their dissatisfaction. The elimination infuriated the LGBTQ+ community.
Ghana is a predominantly conservative country that appears to be hostile to LGBTQ+ people.
Salute to the people of Tamale Central & their MP, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed for their swift action when duty called in defence of our culture & the Constitution. So long as they mount those billboards, we would bring them down. Long may Art 3 of the 1992 Constitution live. 🦁🇬🇭💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/ep1rQ5zo9q
— Sam 'Dzata' George 🦁🇬🇭 (@samgeorgegh) June 14, 2022
The Supreme Court has denied Member of Parliament for Assin North James Gyakye Quayson’s request for a review.
The embattled politician was asking the Supreme Court to lift restraining orders issued by private person Michael Ankomah Nimfah against him.
Tsatsu Tsikata, the lead counsel for Assin North MP, urged the court to “defend the judicial integrity of this court by revisiting this decision.”
However, Ankomah Nimfah Frank Davis, the applicant’s attorney, opposed the application, claiming that the applicant had made no case that required a reconsideration of the court’s judgment.
Deputy Attorney General Diana Asonaba-Dapaah further stated that the apex court should dismiss the case since the grounds for review under Rule 54 had not been shown.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Court President Justice Jones Dotse denied the application, stating that the applicant (MP) did not meet the requirements for the court to exercise its discretion in his favor.
Justice Prof Nii Ashie Kottey and Justice Amadu Tanko, two new additions to the panel of justices, were in court on Tuesday.
Justices Jones Dotse, Agnes Dordzie, Nene Amegatcher, Mariama Owusu, Gertrude Torkornoo, Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, and Yonny Kulendi make up the panel’s regular members.
Background
James Gyakye Quayson, the MP for Assin North, was seeking a review of the Supreme Court’s 5-2 majority verdict on April 13 that barred him from holding office as a lawmaker or performing parliamentary duties.
The Ghana Police Service has admitted that there should have been a better way to deal with the incident at Kumasi Islamic Senior High School.
According to the Service, a more measured approach would have resulted in a far more significant resolution to the pandemonium, rather than the development saw in the Ashanti Region town on Monday.
As a result of this, several top police officers in the area have been arrested, including DCOP Kwasi Akomeah-Apraku, the Deputy Regional Police Commander.
At the time of the mayhem, he was serving as the Ashanti Regional Police Commander.
Two more police officers have been detained pending the outcome of the investigation.
About 25 children were sent to the hospital after police allegedly used tear gas on them as they protested frequent pedestrian collisions in front of the school.
During the protest, the victims were alleged to be members of a gang of students that stopped the Abrepo Junction-Barekese route.
The enraged students had gathered on the road in protest, demanding that speed ramps be built on that stretch of road.
All of the wounded were responding to treatment, according to Sommit Duut, Regional Director of the National Ambulance Service.
He did emphasize, however, that they did not treat any serious injury, such as gunshot wounds. Instead, he claims, the students experienced respiratory difficulty.
Dr George Akuffo Dampare, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), later paid a visit to the school to learn more about the situation firsthand.
The police administration was conducting investigations at the time of the visit.
Following his visit, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare informed students and school management that he would investigate the actions of police officers deployed for crowd control during the demonstration.
While speaking to the students, the IGP stated that an investigation into the matter would be done to ensure that the appropriate action is taken.
The preliminary report was released tonight. “Even though no one was struck by a bullet, the Police handling of the situation was unsatisfactory and fell short of our standard operating procedure on crowd management,” according to a statement issued by Police Director of Public Affairs Grace Ansah-Akrofi.
According to Kwaku Annan, host of Net 2 TV’s Seat Show, the prophet and his landlady had a furious argument over a garbage dump.
“In his attempt to beat up his landlady for trespassing on his land on June 8, 2022, he breached God’s vows. On tonight’s episode, Justice Kwaku Annan said, “We illustrate how ungodly, this false man of God is seen in the eye of the Lord.”
Prophet Nigel Gaisie, the founder and head of Prophetic Hill Chapel, was caught on camera in an altercation with his landlord.
“He claimed he’d beat up Grandma, Aunty! Gaisie, Nigel! You’re coming to bash up on my grandmother? “You’re insane,” a female voice yelled in the background.
“When the landlord protested, he became enraged and threatened to beat her to death,” Kwaku Annan continued. This man did not think that he is a Christian or that the 70-year-old woman could be his mother.”
“He (Nigel Gaisie) was given land to build on, and that is where he operates his church as I speak to you,” Kwaku Annan explained before showing the video of the altercation. The landlady did not charge you any money and gave you the land for free. You have your church building, while she has her piece. This preacher has turned the landlady’s half into a garbage dump. “
Preparatory works are ongoing on the 403 acres of land secured at Pokuase, Amasaman in the Greater Accra Region, and Dedesua in the Ashanti Region for the implementation of two affordable housing pilot schemes.
Francis Asenso-Boakye,a Minister of Works and Housing, who said this at a media briefing in Accra, said the Ministry had commenced active engagements with the Finance Ministry and the Lands Commission towards securing government acquired lands for the National Affordable Housing program.
The projects, part of the district housing program, the Minister said, was to increase access to rental housing for public sector workers at the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District level, create jobs, and improve living conditions.
He said the pilot phase would be implemented in 16 districts across the 16 regions of the country.
Although the housing deficit in the country had reduced from two million to 1.8 million housing units, he said the housing delivery system had failed to meet the needs of the low-to-middle income group.
Approximately, 12.7 per cent of the total structures counted in the 2021 National Housing and Population census, were vacant housing units, giving a clear indication that Ghana’s housing supply had “outpriced” the average person in Ghana, he noted.
Speaking on the Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220) and the Rent Control Law, 1986 (PNDCL 138), Mr Asenso-Boakye said Cabinet had given policy approval for their review.
The review would among other things, remove inherent constraints, stimulate private sector investment and offer protection to low-income and vulnerable tenants from abuse and arbitrary actions.
To that effect, he said a Draft Rent Bill had been prepared and active stakeholder engagements had commenced.
On the Saglemi Affordable Housing project, the Minister said the government was committed to completing it and that Cabinet was currently reviewing various options for the completion of the project.
“This government will not renege on its duty to ensure that, Ghanaians obtain value for money in the application of the taxpayer’s money,” he added.
The Industrial Relations Director for GPRTU, Alhaji Abbas Ibrahim Moro, has stated that the GPRTU will not increase transport fares now despite the hike in fuel prices.
The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) stated earlier that it would hold a crunch meeting next week to deliberate on a “possible” upward adjustment of transport fares.
The Union said the meeting had become necessary due to what they described as “significant hikes” in fuel prices over the past few weeks.
Prices for petrol and diesel have shot up by 7.3 per cent and 9.7 per cent respectively, in the last month.
Currently, petrol is trading at an average of GH¢10.10 per litre, while the national average for diesel is pegged at GH¢12.20 per litre.
Transport fares went up by 20 per cent last month.
As of May 9, 2022, when the new fares took effect, petrol and diesel were selling at a national average of GH¢9.41 and GH¢11.12, respectively.
Speaking on Atinka TV‘s Ghana Nie morning show with Ekourba Gyasi Simpremu, Alhaji Abbas Ibrahim Moro said if the fuel price continues to increase, the GPRTU will be forced to raise transport fares.
Meanwhile, he said the Union was going to educate the public on the fuel increment.
“It is not that we are going to increase lorry fares now, with transport operation, it takes a lot of fuel to run but with where the fuel prices have gotten to, it is alarming, and so now we are sensitizing the people for them to know that it is not our fault, but if it continues, then we will also change the fares immediately,” he said.
He continued,” For now, we will not increase it, but we have a threshold, and when we reach there, we can increase it. We will sit down and talk about it and put down some measures. We want to analyze everything so that we come out with something; it will sit well with all Ghanaians.”
Dr. Benjamin Kumbuor, a former Member of Parliament for Nandom, has reminded the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) that there are more serious concerns in the country that need to be addressed than the 8-year electoral cycle they are considering breaking.
According to him, there are some continuing actions that are in violation of the constitution that must be addressed, not an eight-year political cycle. In the 2024 general elections, the NPP hopes to break the eight-year cycle. In the 2024 general elections, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stated that he was determined to pass over power to the New NPP’s next presidential candidate. This, he believes, will allow the NPP to maintain the economic growth experienced during his presidency. “I am determined to hand over the baton to the next NPP presidential candidate,” he declared at the NPP’s delegates meeting in Kumasi on Sunday, December 19, 2021.
“We want to break the 8 not just for ourselves but for Ghana because we know the zigzag, NPP comes to clean for them to be polluted, this is not the way progress will be brought to our country.
“We need a secure period in office to make that irreversible change in the fortunes of our nation and we are capable of doing it. We will get a candidate that will unify our party and all of us will campaign to make that candidate the next president of the Republic.”
But Dr Kumbuor who is also a former Defence Minister said this idea solely depends on the voters.
Speaking on the Key Points on TV3 with Dzifa Bampoh, Saturday, June 11, he said “Of course, a number of very strange political passwords normally come up in our political system. When I started hearing about this break the 8, I wondered what exactly it meant. The idea is basically, that almost every government has gone through a cycle of 8 years and that the NPP intends to break it. Well, that is their wish and nobody can take their wish from them but if anybody was to ask me about breaking the 8, I will say that what needs to be broken in Ghana is, let us break the undemocratic practices that we are carrying on. Let us break those rules that flout the constitution so openly. These are, for me the issues we should be breaking.
“As for breaking the 8 in terms of an election battle and who comes into power, it is neither here nor there. The voters of Ghana are the only ones who will decide whether an 8 can be broken or not.”
He further indicated that a period is fast approaching where parties will not even have 8 years to govern than talk of breaking the 8.
“I think they should also be looking at the possibility that from the trends that I have been reading, a time will come that no political party might even reach the 8 for it to be broken.
“If you see the 2020 elections, you see clearly that the 8-year thing was almost truncated because the electorate really doesn’t have the luxury of allowing any party to come into power with very lofty promises and only comes in and start raising issues that were not the issues on which the people voted for them. So let the people dream of breaking the 8 but there are more fundamental things to break in our democracy than in an election cycle.”
Legendary Ghanaian dancehall musician Samini has been chastised and insulted by Ghanaians for embarrassing and disrespecting a firm security man on duty at the University of Ghana.
While filming a security guard at his post on campus, the artist posted a video from his vehicle.
According to Samini’s account, the young guy rejected his admittance because he did not have his electronic card, which the University required for access.
He was ridiculed by Ghanaians on social media after posting the footage to shame the security guard.
On social media, Ghanaians commended the security guard for doing a good job and chastised Samini for attempting to embarrass an honest poor man doing his job.
Singer Justin Bieber has revealed he is suffering from facial paralysis after canceling shows this week.
The 28-year-old said in an Instagram video that the condition is due to a diagnosis of Ramsay Hunt syndrome.
“As you can see this eye is not blinking. I can’t smile on this side of my face… So there’s full paralysis on this side of my face,” he said.
Ramsay Hunt syndrome is when a shingles outbreak affects the facial nerve near someone’s ears, say medical experts.
Earlier this week, Bieber’s Justice World Tour – which began in February – announced three shows would be postponed.
“It is from this virus that attacks the nerve in my ear and my facial nerves and has caused my face to have paralysis,” the Canada-born singer said in the three-minute video, indicating the right side of his face.
He asked for his fans to be patient, and said of his forthcoming shows that he is “physically, obviously, not capable of doing them”.
He also smiled and blinked, showing his 240 million followers how the right side of his face did not move.
“This is pretty serious, as you can see. I wish this wasn’t the case, but, obviously, my body’s telling me I’ve got to slow down,” he said. “I hope you guys understand. I’ll be using this time to just rest and relax and get back to a hundred percent so that I can do what I was born to do.”
