The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) in the Western Region says it will be visiting residents of Shama affected by tidal waves to make some donations as well as assess the level of damage to property in the area.
Over four hundred residents have been rendered homeless following a tidal wave that swept into households in the Shama Municipality and several communities along some coastal parts of the country such as Amutinu Salakope, Agavedzi, Blekusu, and Adina in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta Region, as well as Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem Municipality of the Central Region.
Speaking to Citi News about what his outfit was doing about the situation in his jurisdiction, the Western Regional Director of the National Disaster Management Organization, Abdul Ganiyu, indicated that NADMO was going to find ways of managing the situation after visiting the area.
“We will present some relief items. There will be a difference due to the situation because a lot of people have gone to stay with their friends and relatives so currently, we are preparing ourselves to move to the area. We are waiting for our Director-General. He is on his way to Takoradi so probably by 12:30 pm we will be at the place to assess the impact of the tidal wave.”
The tidal wave incidents in these parts of the country are not new. Affected residents have repeatedly called on the government to build sea defense walls to address the problem.
The Supreme Court panel of seven presided over by Justice Jones Victor Dotse with Justice Agnes Dordzie, Justice Nene Amegatcher, Justice Mariama Owusu, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, Justice Henrietta Mensah Bonsu and Justice Yonni Kulendi fixed the date after hearing the parties.
Earlier the Apex court had dismissed a review of application blocking the hearing of the injunction filed by Michael Ankomah Nimfah.
Counsel for the MP led by Tsatsu Tsikata withdrew the motion on stay of proceedings afterwhich it was struck out by the court.V
The Supreme Court has therefore set April 13 to rule the induction.
Background
Michael Ankomah-Nimfa, a resident of Assin Bereku in the Central Region, filed a petition at the Cape Coast High Court seeking to annul the declaration of Mr. Gyakye Quayson as the MP Assin North.
Mr. Ankomah-Ninfa had insisted that Mr. Quayson had dual citizenship prior to filing nominations to contest for the Assin North parliamentary seat during the 2020 polls.
The Cape Coast High Court subsequently declared the 2020 parliamentary election held in the Assin North Constituency as null and void as it upheld that Mr. Quayson breached the provisions of the constitution with regard to dual citizenship.
Mr. Quayson subsequently appealed the judgment, at the Court of Appeal in Cape Coast but the case was subsequently dismissed.
He again sought cover from the Supreme Court.
Michael Ankomah-Nimfah also dragged the issue to the Supreme Court in a bid to have Mr. Quayson prevented from carrying himself as the MP for Assin North.
Supreme Court to decide on Gyakye Quayson’s fate as ‘Assin North MP’ next week
The Supreme Court will next Wednesday, April 13, 2022, rule on the motion seeking to stop James Gyakye Quayson from holding himself out as the Member of Parliament for Assin North.
Arguing the motion before the 7-member Supreme Court panel on Tuesday, the lawyer for Michael Ankomah-Nimfah, Frank Davis, said his client has established grievous breaches of the 1992 Constitution, and the other electoral laws against the disputed MP.
The Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin, has referred three Members of Parliament, Sarah Adwoa Safo, Henry Quartey, and Kennedy Agyepong to the Privileges Committee for absenting themselves from over fifteen sittings of the House.
According to the Speaker, the absence of the MPs without his permission constitutes a breach of the rules of the house.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament, Alban Bagbin urged the committee to provide its report to the house two weeks after the House reconvenes from recess.
Petition
Already the former Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak has petitioned Parliament to crack the whip on some absentee MPs who have breached the 15-day rule in the House.
According to him, four Members of Parliament have all absented themselves from the Chamber for more than 15 sitting days without the express permission of the Speaker.
In the petition, Mr. Mubarak called on the Speaker “to direct for their conduct to be referred to the Privileges Committee for consideration and necessary action.”
Article 97 (1) (c) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 17 of the Standing Orders of Parliament state emphatically: “A Member shall not absent himself during a meeting for more than fifteen sittings without the permission in writing of the Speaker. Any member infringing this Order shall have his conduct referred to the Privileges Committee.”
Okudzeto Defense
In related to this development, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa in a post on Facebook said; I commend Speaker Bagbin for commencing an action against all three absentee MPs.
According to him; As I indicated earlier following my research, the provisions of the 1992 Constitution under Article 97 must apply without discrimination.
‘’Adwoa Safo, Kennedy Agyapong, and Henry Quartey must face the same music.
Speaking to BBC’s Peter Okowche on Focus on Africa, President Akufo- Addo said “In Ghana, the recovery programme we have is very credible and that is what is going to give us the opportunity to come out of this period a stronger economy, and it is that future we are looking at. The digital economy is emerging as the biggest economy in the country and for a long period, it has not had any tax at all, so it is important that it also comes into the net. ”
The President assented to the E-levy Bill on Thursday, despite a challenge at the Supreme Court by the Minority in Parliament against its passage.
The government had hoped the levy will widen the tax net and raise an extra GH¢6.9 billion in 2022 when it was first announced in the budget.
There is fear that will not materialise following the delay in the passage of the bill when it was laid in Parliament amidst the issues that characterised it.
However President Akufo-Addo believes criticisms against the passage of the controversial tax are unfounded, as countries affected by the pandemic have equally resorted to unpopular measures to revive their economies.
According to him, “The world is going through very difficult times. Ghana is no exception, Nigeria is no exception. There is no country in the world that has escaped the ravages of COVID-19. What you need to look at is the elements being put on the ground that looks beyond the Russia Ukraine war.”
“The economy has gone through very difficult times. I can quote statistics of the US and UK economies, but they will not serve a purpose. It is a phenomenon that is going on which has made life difficult.”
The Supreme Court has in a unanimous decision dismissed an application filed by Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson.
This was a review application that urged the Apex court to set aside its March 8, ruling that ordered the legislator to file his defence in a case seeking to stop him from performing parliamentary duties.
The Court on March 8 noted that the case against the MP has been sufficiently brought to his attention.
The Apex Court on February 22 directed that court processes be brought to the attention of the Mp through a publication in the Daily Graphic newspaper and posting on the wall of the Supreme Court in Accra, the High Court in Cape Coast and the residence of the MP.
This was after the private citizen who filed the case against the MP, Michael Ankomah Nimfah through his lawyers told the court all attempts to give the MP court documents had proved unsuccessful.
A Cape Coast High Court in July 2021 annulled the Assin North Parliamentary elections when it ruled that Mr Quayson owed allegiance to another country other than Ghana at the time of filing his nomination forms to contest the polls.
The MP has since been fighting to set this aside at the Court of Appeal.
Lawyers for Mr Nimfah want the Mp restrained from performing Parliamentary duties while they await the decision of the Court of Appeal.
In Court on March 8, lawyers for the Mp led by Tsatsu Tsikata informed the court that its order for substituted service had not been fully complied with.
He said the publication in the Daily Graphic did not contain all court processes but simply had the order of the court and the date for hearing.
Lawyer for Mr Nimfah, Frank Davies told the court a misunderstanding of its order in respect of the Daily Graphic Publication does not mean the Mp is not aware of court processes.
He explained that the order modes of service had been complied with.
The court then took notice of the fact that court processes had been given to Mr Tsikata’s Co-Counsel Justin Teriwajah.
The Court was informed by the Registrar that it provided the necessary documents because of a letter it received from Mr Teriwajah informing the registry of his appointment as the lawyer for the legislator.
Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame told the court the said letter written by the lawyers and subsequent receipt of documents meant sufficient notice of the case had been given.
The Court by a unanimous decision dismissed the objection raised by Mr Tsikata.
“The essence of substituted service is to bring to the attention of a party of the pendency of the suit. This court does not expect all processes to be published. Again the letter by Mr Teriwajah speaks for itself. We, therefore, dismiss the preliminary objection.
On the issue of whether this case is ripe for hearing this court in a majority decision of 6-1 with Justice Kulendi desenting holds that the first accused was duly served as at 28 February 2022. The cause is adjourned to 16 March 2022 for hearing. The First defendant is to file all processes on or before March 16.”, President of the Panel Justice Dotse ruled.
Mr. Tsikata on Wednesday March 16,2022 informed the court that he had filed two applications. One seeks to urge the court to halt proceedings while another is asking that it reviews its March 8 ruling. The court therefore adjourned proceedings to deal with these applications on March 29.
On Tuesday March 29, Mr. Tsikata informed the court of a new application he had filed. This was urging the court to permit him to file additional documents in support of his review motion. This was granted by the Court. He then made another request asking the court for time to study documents that had been filed in Opposition to his review application. This was not granted by the court.
He then moved his review application. He urged the court to set aside its March 8 ruling saying it sinned against its time tested rulings on similar matters. Lawyer for Michael Ankomah Nimfah, Frank Davies opposed the application. He insisted Mr. Tsikata had failed to show how the decision of the court resulted in a miscarriage of justice to merit a review of that decision. The Court adjourned proceedings April 5 to deliver its ruling. Justice Jones Dotse on Tuesday April 5 read the ruling of the court.
“The application lacks merit and is accordingly dismissed”, Justice Dotse stated.
He indicated that the detailed reasons for the court’s position will be filed at the Court’s registry.
The case is being heard by Justices Jones Dotse, Agnes Dordzie, Nene Amegatcher, Prof Ashie Kotey, Mariama Owusu, Gertrude Torkonoo, Clemence Honyenuga, Prof Henrietta Mensah Bonsu and Emmanuel Y. Kulendi. Prof Ashie Kotey and Justice Clemence Honyenuga are the two judges that joined the original 7 member panel for this review.
Former Ghana International Odartey Lamptey has won back his East Legon mansion from his ex wife.
The former Stars goalscorer had been renting for the past 9 years ever since his bitter divorce from Gloria Appiah in 2013.
Lamptey parted with his wife after discovering neither of their three children was actually his.
Their divorce settlement caused a ruckus as Odartey was ordered to give Gloria Ghc400,000 and his five-bedroom house in Dome.
Miss Gloria insisted she wanted the East Legon mansion Odartey Lamptey purchased for $100,000 in 1999.
She continued living in that mansion throughout the divorce whilst the former footballer had to resort to renting.
Gloria has been fighting to gain legal custody of the house since 2017 but has lost all her appeals.
She lost her final appeal last month and has now vacated the premises.
The Accra Court finally ruled that Mr Lamptey can take possession of his house tomorrow. Lamptey has been renting since 2014 after the wife sued to claim the house following their divorce.
Odartey will move into the seven-bedroom mansion on Tuesday, April 5th.
Odartey Lamptey speaking on Angel TV he said;
“This is a house I bought for $100,000 around 1998/1999 while playing in Germany so you can imagine. I was given one hour to leave the house when my ex wife filed for divorce. I’m extremely happy at this new ruling”
Ex-Black Stars Nii Odartey Lamptey wins his East Legon mansion back from ex-wife after Accra court ruling.
Lamptey parted away with his five bedroom house at Dome plus 400K cedis as alimony to the ex wife after divorce — Ms Gloria insisted she wanted the East Legon House instead
A fire outbreak around 2am on Monday, April 4, 2022 has destroys several stores at a makeshift Takoradi market.
The market was put up for traders of the Takoradi Market Circle to temporarily accommodate them while the main market is reconstructed.
It took the National Fire Service over five hours to bring the fire under control and stop it from spreading to other parts of the market.
Through a collaborative effort of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and the support of personnel from the Navy and Takoradi Port, the fire was eventually doused despite the many challenges associated with getting the fire tenders into the market area.
According to the Head of Public Affairs at the Ghana National Fire Service, Mr. Ebo Bonney, the fire at the Takoradi makeshift market is the biggest they have had to deal with in so many years.
“This is the biggest fire outbreak we have had in a very long time.
“We mobilized fire tankers to be able to douse the fire. In all, we had eight fire tenders to control the fire. So far eighty-seven shops have been burnt,”.
The Member of Parliament,Hon Okyere-Darko has assured the market people that his outfit will do their to solve this issue as quick as possible and has called all experts to bring their ideas to help make things workout before the close of the week.
called all experts
While the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, investigations are ongoing
The member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin,has called on Ghanaians to demand for transparency and accountability of the proceeds from the Electronic Levy.
The Finance Minister should be summoned on quarterly basis to account and update Ghanaians he said.
Speaking at the homecoming ceremony organised by the Tertiary Student Confederacy chapter (TESCON) of the University of Education, Winneba, Mr. Afenyo-Markin indicated that achieving a transparent system of disbursement will prove to Ghanaians that the monies from the levy have been used for the purpose for which it was established.
“I am saying that we should call for a transparent system of disbursement and we should call on the finance minister and roads minister to be reporting to parliament at least every quarter so that if you are in your village paying momo tax, once you hear in Parliament that the road that was not accessible is going to be construted, at least you know the money is being put to good use.”
“I think that is the concern of many Ghanaians and that is where we should direct our energies,” Mr. Afenyo-Markin stressed.
Evans Otumfour who serves as the General Secretary of the Ghana MoMo Association says his outfit will intensify public education to help reduce the current panic withdraw after the passage of E-Levy.
Speaking on Saturday at Accra based Joynews, he explained that the panic withdraw will stop if the general public is well informed.
“What we’re doing now is first of all educating our members across the country as to the areas that the E-levy will be covering and those that the E-levy will not be covering so that, indirectly we’ll be using our various members as tools to educate the general public.
So anytime anyone visits any of the outlets to perform whatsoever transaction, we will try to ask the person if he or she really understands the E-levy.
Then again we’ll be partnering government to also make sure that we go up there with extensive education. Because we believe that if the education goes down well, what we’re experiencing now will be something that will not continue to happen again”,
He also stressed on the current mindset of some Ghanaians concerning cash out and having money in their wallet which most Ghanaian fear it will attract E-Levy charges.
“Should one have money on his or wallet, honestly, the levy is not going to impact you. The money could be on your wallet for over 10 ten years. E-levy is not going to affect you. If you’re doing a deposit into your wallet, E-levy is not affecting you.
If you’re going to cash money, E-levy is not affecting. So I think when we get down unto the streets and then we actually define the scope or the bracket that the E-levy is actually covering, it will help us to avoid what we’re currently witnessing”
The panic withdraw came after the president assent the passage of E-Levy into Law on March 31 2022.
The Agavedzi community in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta Region was affected by tidal waves this evening. The waves has crossed the major road linking the Business District of Keta to Aflao into the lagoon.
