A sixteen-year-old girl was seriously injured in another robbery attack at Amanfrom Pentecost Junction in the Ga South Municipal Assembly of the Greater Accra Region.

The victim, identified as Mary Okra, was attacked by two men who were purportedly armed with a locally made pistol and knife in the early hours of yesterday and robbed her of an undisclosed amount of money.

Mary Okra was rushed to the 37 Military Hospital for treatment, according to police reports.

This comes barely six days after some residents of American Farm, near Amanfrom, were also attacked by three armed robbery gangs.

Four persons were brutally injured in that robbery operation.

An eyewitness account indicated that Mary was sent by the mother to buy cassava from the Kasoa market that morning.

The victim was accompanied by the mother half-way through her journey before she was left to continue to the market.

While on her way, two men who were coming from the opposite direction attacked her and asked her to surrender the money.

The men struggled with the victim before stabbing her in the left arm.

Some taxi drivers who attempted to go to the aid of the victim said they were scared when they heard the suspects giving two warning shots before escaping.

The victim was immediately rushed to a clinic at Amanfrom, then to the Police Hospital and later transferred to the Military Hospital.

ASP Effia Tengey, police spokesperson, confirmed the attack and added that the victim was responding to treatment.

(lindatenyah@gmail.com)

By Linda Tenyah Ayettey

The announced intervention of the National House of Chiefs in the government/doctors imbroglio is a welcome development. Relieving as it is, it should have nevertheless come long before now, but better late than never.

Had it come before now, those on the government side would have put on their much needed thinking caps and avoided poisoning the negotiating ambience – the source of the stalemate.

The last time we discussed this subject – not the intervention of the chiefs though – we lamented the ill-advice which led to the Cuban doctors’ option, an alternative which whopping cost became a source of public discussion.

Another irony in the Cuban option is the fact that over a dozen Ghanaian doctors who studied in that country and desirous of returning home are unable to do so because the Ghana government is yet to provide them with tickets for their homeward journey. Besides, their allowances remain outstanding, festooning the neck of government like a decoration.

Until now the wise men were not forthcoming with their good counsel, appearing to be sitting on the fence relishing or so the avoidable banter between the doctors and serial callers – the latter finding in the confusion a fertile ground to attract the attention of those who pay for their irritating cacophony on radio.

The belated decision of the chiefs reminds us about Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Martey, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. The man of God, virtually in the mould of our ancestors when confronted with a seeming intractable challenge, would scream as he did recently: “Wise men where are you?”

The countless sages of our country could have prevented the stalemate before the paid verbal assassins jumped into the fray to worsen the state of the disagreement.

Now the wise men are emerging and we hope that their female counterparts, the queen mothers, would follow suit.

This is what we have demanded all along. When there is confusion of the kind represented by the disagreement between the two parties, the need for level-headedness cannot be overemphasized, especially at the behest of our venerable chiefs.

Compromises must be made. In such matters this is what is required if we seek to find a permanent solution to disagreements of this magnitude.

It is our prayer that by the time the National House of Chiefs-driven negotiations get midway, we would begin to see signs of compromises and unalloyed sincerity on the part of the government which has so far been deficient in this direction.

Before the first engagement takes place it is our take that the custodians of our heritage would call for the cessation of airwave polemics between the doctors and reckless politicians and their assigns.

The continued activity of these persons would not inure to our common benefit.

Some of the seized nets

Some fishermen in the ancient fishing town of Axim in the Western Region claim they were frightened by the presence of well-armed personnel of the Ghana Navy and the police who went to the various beaches in the area yesterday.

The security personnel, who are members of the enforcement unit of the Fisheries Commission, were at the beaches to arrest recalcitrant fishermen who were said to have flouted fishing regulations and seize some illegal nets and monofilament nets being used by some of them.

The fishermen, who claimed they were not aware of the operation of the unit, started running helter-skelter upon seeing the security personnel, leaving their canoes and other fishing gears behind.

“We have to run because we did not know the mission of the security personnel. But it was later that we learnt that they were there to seize illegal fishing gears,” one of them told DAILY GUIDE.

About 45 fishing nets were confiscated by the unit.

The Chief Fisherman at Apewosika, a suburb of Axim, Uncle Kojo Panyin, was very furious that the personnel of the unit did not inform him, as the chief fisherman, of their intended action.

“In fact, I think they should have told me something. I was at home when my people ran to me to inquire why the navy and the police were at the beach. I did not know but later I leant they were there to seize illegal fishing gears,” he added.

He asserted that even though the fishermen had been warned to stop the usage of monofilament and other illegal nets for fishing, the authorities concerned had failed to supply the fisher folks with the legal fishing gears and nets.

Expatiating on the reasons behind the action of the unit in an interview, Daniel Awuku Nyanteh, Fishing Protection Officer, noted that in 2010, the regulation not to use illegal nets for fishing was added to the Fisheries Act 625 of 2002 that established the unit.

He pointed out that since then his outfit had been sensitizing the fishermen on the need to avoid using prohibited methods of fishing, particularly, the use of monofilament nets.

He explained that the monofilament nets posed serious threat to the marine environment as they trapped the fingerlings and depleted the sea of fishes.

“Look now we are in the season, but people are crying because they are not getting fish to store. They say ‘the sea never dries’ but the sea can dry when we don’t practise responsible fishing,” Mr Daniel Awuku Nyanteh added.

He gave an assurance that the team would continue to storm the beaches unannounced to enforce the law as part of measures to eradicate illegal methods of fishing.

From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi

Information reaching DAILY GUIDE indicates that a gang of armed robbers suspected to be Fulani herdsmen – who on Wednesday evening allegedly attacked the District Chief Executive of Fanteakwa, Abass Fuseini Sbaabe and 20 constituency executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) – in the early hours of Friday shot three people at the same venue – Dedeso – near Begoro in the Eastern Region.

The robbers, reportedly numbering about six, wearing masks and wielding AK47 assault rifles, allegedly attacked the travellers on board three vehicles on the Enyinasi-Dedeso road when they (travellers) were going to the market at Begoro, and shot three of them, including one of the drivers.

The victims reportedly sustained various degrees of injury and the bolted with some valuables, including mobile phones and an undisclosed amount of money.

The driver, Eric Terkper, 35, who suffered serious injuries on his shoulders, was rushed to the Koforidua Central Hospital, while the other two were sent to the Begoro District Hospital for treatment.

The Zamrama chief of Dedeso, Mallam Hamidu Fuseini, who had stressed the need for security for the community, has appealed to the National Security apparatus to deploy more military men to the area and check the Fulanis who he claimed, had been harassing the residents.

The taxi drivers who ply the Dedeso-Afram Plains road on Friday refused to work because they claimed they had been gripped with fear and panic.

They told DAILY GUIDE that they wanted soldiers to be deployed to the area to deal with the spate of armed robbery.

The Fanteakwa DCE, who doubles as the District Security Chairman, told this paper that his outfit, in collaboration with the District Police Commander, DSP Samuel Odame, had put measures in place to get the robbers arrested, adding that the assembly had taken it upon itself to pay the bills of the robbery victims.

FROM Daniel Bampoe, Begoro

A graduation ceremony has been held in Accra by the Police Administration for about 210 National Service persons selected to undergo traffic management under the urban traffic management module of the National Service Scheme (NSS).

The graduands, consisting of tertiary students of various categories, were taken through two weeks’ intensive practical and theoretical orientation in subject areas including the overview of road safety problem in Ghana, ethics, discipline and professionalism in the country, road traffic act, urban road traffic network, understanding traffic congestion, among others.

Dr Michael Kpessah Whyte, Acting National Service Executive Director, told the media that all the personnel under the module had an insurance cover.

He said the insurance package will be active the very day they start work.

The Deputy Minister of the Interior, James Agalga, who was the parading officer, in an address said the urban traffic management programme is a collaborative project with the NSS and the Ghana Police Service.

“This is first of its kind since the inception of the National Service Scheme many years ago and government deems it very essential because we believe as a nation, our youth should be imbued with the spirit of voluntarism and dedication in order to ensure that they deliver quality community service.”

Mr James Agalga disclosed that the goal of the module was to train and deploy national service personnel to provide extra human resources to complement the effort of the police by assisting in the management of vehicular traffic in the regional capitals, particularly Accra and Kumasi.

Personnel will be tasked to carry out a wide range of functions under the supervision of the police, to deliver traffic management services.

Senior police personnel who attended the graduation ceremony were the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan; COP Rose Bio Atinga, Director General in-charge of Police Administration; COP Dr George Akuffu Dampare, Director General in-charge of Finance; COP Prosper Agblor, Director General in-charge of police CID; DCOP Awuni Angwugbutoge, Director General in-charge of MTTD; ACP Anderson Ofosu Ackaa, National Commander in-charge of MTTD and management and staff of the National Service Scheme.

(lindatenyah@gmail.com)

By Linda Tenyah Ayettey

After the collapse of the Northern Star Tomato Processing Factory, at Pwalugu in the Upper East Region, the country has not been able to establish a new one.

The Pwalugu Tomato Factory which was established by the first president of the Republic of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was to process raw tomato produced by farmers into tomato paste for the Ghanaian market.

The factory could not survive due to bad management and lack of raw materials, in this case, fresh tomatoes from farmers in the northern part of the country to run the factory.

Though Ghana is currently the second largest consumer of tomato paste in per capita terms, the paste is mostly imported.

Successive governments have tried to revive the only tomato factory in Ghana but to no avail. However, the country can now boast of a new tomato processing factory at Tema which will serve the local market and feed the neigbouring West and Central African countries too.

Even though the factory is privately owned by Conserveria Africana Ghana Limited, the country can still take pride in having a new tomato processing factory.

Owners of the tomato factory are the importers of Gino and Pomo brand of canned tomato paste.

Factory Capacity

The GH¢50 million facility which was inaugurated by President John Dramani Mahama recently has the capacity to produce in excess of 25000 metric tonnes which is almost 35 percent of the local consumption.

The factory is currently running at 100 percent full capacity and efficiently for 24 hours a day and six days a week.

Rajib Chattopadhyay, the Managing Director of Conserveria Africa Ghana Limited, in his address at the inauguration said, “We are the pioneers in bringing the most modern technology and a futuristic model of manufacturing with the state-of-the-art machinery from Europe and also the expertise to manufacture the highest of products locally”.

From inception till date, he said, the company has invested over GH¢50 million to ensure efficient production and has employed 300 Ghanaians.

More Investment

“We have a plan to invest further GH¢50m thereby doubling the capacity which would happen within the next two years and this would generate over 600 jobs.”

“We envisage that after we do so this, the facility will be able to process more than 60 per cent Ghanaian demand for tomato paste, a quantity that is currently being imported. All these efforts in replacement of imports would also translate into a forex saving of over $30 million per annum”, Mr. Chattopadhyay posited.

He said currently the company only imports concentrated tomato paste, cans and packages them for the Ghanaian market, stating the the company has a vision which includes a full backward integration for production of tomato paste.

“We therefore solicit support from our trade partners, investors and government to enable us work toward a feasible backward integration program in the medium to long term”, Mr. Chattopadhyay appealed.

Mr. Chattopadhyay said investing in complete backward integration will unlock the potential of forex savings and create a vast number of employment opportunities in agriculture, farm processing, repackaging along with many other downstream industries.

President Mahama in his remarks said the tomato processing factory will boost the attainment of government’s agenda for transformation…that is to transform the Ghanaian economy into an export led economy.

He said the investments into the tomato factory will help the country reduce the almost $100 million used in importing tomato paste every year.

“It will also reduce the amount of foreign exchange that we spend each year in importing items that we have the comparative advantage to produce in Ghana,” the President averred.

He asserted that Ghana has the comparative advantage of producing rice, sugar, tomatoes, poultry, fish, and vegetable oil locally indicating that “since last year we have seen some remarkable improvement in reducing the amount of imports of these products.”

President Mahama expressed appreciation for the company for the investment and assured them of continuous government support.

He also assured management of the factory and its investors that government would absolutely be a partner to increase local tomato production.

Revive Pwalugu Factory

The president encouraged the company to speak to the Ministry of Trade in order to collaborate and revive the Pwalugu Tomato Factory in the Upper East Region to create more jobs and produce more tomatoes for the Ghanaian market.

“It is my expectation that in few years, the company will be able to produce tomato paste using the locally produced tomato to satisfy the Ghanaian market and export to the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) countries as well”.

cephrok@yahoo.com

By Cephas Larbi

Rt. Rev. Professor Emmanuel Martey

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has been called upon to come out with a policy to address the adoption of children by gay couples.

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt. Rev. Professor Emmanuel Martey made the call at the opening of the 15^th General Assembly of the Church at Abetifi in the Kwahu East District of the Eastern Region.

The General Assembly, which is the highest decision-making body of the church, attracted over 300 Commissioners and Corresponding members from all the 20 presbyteries, including the newly – created Asante South Presbytery.

This year’s General Assembly, which is under the theme, “Anointing of the Holy Spirit” (1 John 2:20, 27) among other issues, will take decisions that will guide the activities of the Church in the coming years.

Rt. Rev Prof. Martey said such policy would prevent the adopted children from losing the right to true parentage of a father (a man) and a mother (a woman).

“Is it not ironical and funny that gay-couples are interested in adopting children? Where do children come from? Do they come from same sex marriage or as a result of heterosexual marriage between a man and a woman,” he quizzed.

Rev Martey intimated that homosexuality undermines the stability of the family, as both male and female fundamental functions are totally misplaced.

The Moderator who had been speaking passionately against the approval, endorsement and recognition given to same sex marriages by the Presbyterian Church USA, in June this year, said people should cease talking about homosexual behavior as a human rights issue because there is nothing “human” about it.

He elucidated further that homosexuality is not a human rights issue, neither is it a social justice affair and bemoaned that the social justice argument had become so effective that homosexuals often succeed in having ‘right’ legislation passed in their favour.

Rev Martey further argued that every child in this world needs parents for natural care and to grow, expatiating that parents in this context consist of a male and a female.

He maintained that a Bible-believing and practicing church such as the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, sees the Bible differently from the way pro-gay churches see it.

The Moderator stated that the Presbyterian Church of Ghana sees same sex marriages as ungodly, sinful, unrighteous and “satanic” and therefore will not put up with such “satanic practice” in any form.

Members of the group that sued the two churches in a pose during a recent conference to warn heads of EPCG from sharing the said properties

A Group calling itself the Defenders of the Faith within the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana (EPCG) has sued the leadership of the church and the Global Evangelical Church (GEC).

The suit filed at the High Court on August 19, 2015 by lawyer of the plaintiffs, Anthony Desewu of Desewu Law Consult, cited the Moderator, the Clerk, the Presbyter Executive of the EPCG as well as the Registered Trustees of the Global Evangelical Church, Accra as the defendants.

It follows a recent stern warning by the Group that any attempt by the leadership of EPCG to share properties of the church with its rival, the GEC, could lead to bloody fights between members of the two churches which have, for nearly three decades, been at deadlock with each other over doctrinal and constitutional differences.

The plaintiffs are praying the court that an order declaring any purported sharing and disposal of any of the properties of EPCG to the Global Evangelical Church at the instance of the Moderator, the Clerk of the General Assembly and the Presbyter Executive to be regarded as illegal, null and void.

They (plaintiffs) are seeking as well an order for the recovery of all properties belonging to the EPCG which have been unlawfully given by the Moderator, Right Rev. Dr Seth Agidi, the Clerk, the Presbyter Executive and their agents, to the GEC, particularly the chapels at Dzelukope, Keta, Anloga, Dabala, Akatsi, Teshie-Nungua and Obuasi.

Furthermore, they are praying the court for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their (defendants’) agents from dealing with the properties of EPCG in any manner whatsoever leading to the ceding of any of the properties of EPCG to the Global Evangelical Church.

According to the statement of claim, the plaintiffs, including Presbyters Emmanuel Danku, Innocent Papa Gobah, among others, are members of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana and by the Constitution of the EPCG, are all members of the General Assembly of the church.

The statement of claim said the defendants are the Executive Officers of the General Assembly of the EPCG who are stationed at the National Headquarters at Ho in the Volta Region and by the Constitution of the EPCG, they themselves, cannot make binding decisions in the name of the EPCG and, or, the General Assembly of the EPCG.

It said the fourth defendants in the case are the legal representatives of the Global Evangelical Church which is a breakaway faction of the EPCG.

Properties

The properties in question include chapels, lands, schools, pastors’ residences and others spread across the country which were handed over to the E.P. Church by the Germans.

The Global Evangelical Church split from the EP Church in the 1980s over constitutional and doctrinal differences. The EP Church is Presbyterian by doctrine while the GEC has a Pentecostal form of worship.

Pix saved as epwar in newdaily

Caption: Members of the Group that sued the two churches, in a pose during a recent conference to warn heads of EPCG from sharing the said properties.

BY Melvin Tarlue

Rev Dr Duncan Nuakoh

REV DR DUNCAN Nuakoh, the head pastor of Emmanuel Assemblies of God Church at Asafo in Kumasi, has urged President John Mahama to be bold and take a firm stance against same-sex marriage and other immoral sexual relationships being pushed on countries for their legalisation.

Rev Nuakoh described as unfortunate that iniquity has destroyed the moral consciousness of many nations of the world while many world leaders looked on unconcerned with several others tolerating the vice.

“In Leviticus 18:1-30 of the Holy Bible, we see how God gave us moral laws and registered His displeasure to the vice. God stated emphatically and I quote “You shall not lie with a male as a woman. It is an abomination (Lev. 18:22),” he said.

He opined that nations or individuals that tolerate an act described as abominable by God becomes an enemy of God; it attracts a curse that transcends generations and a severe punishment from God, including separation from God.

The Kumasi-based pastor who spoke to the DAILY GUIDE in an interview mentioned that people lose their significance, attract curses and become an arch-enemy of God when they disobey the warnings of God.

The clergyman said Ghana is a blessed nation and cannot go back into slavery, insisting that the people of Ghana cannot exchange the peace they are currently enjoying with the wrath of God.

“It will be very pathetic and surprising to see our dear nation which was once hailed as a model for other countries across the sub-region to go down the drain and be cursed by God because of negligence and failure of leaders of the nation and its inhabitants to hold on to what has kept the nation this far and compromise to abominable laws,” he said.

In the traditional setting of the nation, he said it is even a taboo for a man to have an affair with his sister. The belief is that whoever does so incurs the wrath of the gods and cannot go unpunished.

He underscored how both Christians and Muslims frown on homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality and the rest which breed moral decadence.

Quoting Genesis 2:28, the man of God said the Creator in His infinite wisdom created man (Adam) and created a woman out of man and brought the woman (Eve) to Adam when he saw it was not good for man to be alone and wanted them to procreate.

“The question is; why is the original intention of God now being sacrificed for something else that attracts punishment from Him? Why same-sex marriage now? Where is the image of God? Where is this world heading towards?” he quizzed.

He took a swipe at countries that make their presidents swear either by the Bible or Qur’an when they are being sworn into office, yet fail to abide by their teachings.

America, he said, has on its dollar currency an inscription, ‘In God we trust’ with most of its erstwhile presidents making outstanding statements about the Bible, chiefly among them, George Washington, who said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without the Bible.”

 From James Quansah, Kumasi

Three persons were killed in a fire that razed their house to the ground on Saturday morning in the Northern Regional town of Daboya.

One person with very serious burns is also battling for his life following the incident that occurred around 10:25. The District Chief Executive of the North Gonja District Sorku Yahuza told Citi News that the fire was caused when some chainsaw operators attempted to pour some fuel from a bigger container to a smaller one.

“There were some chainsaw operators who were preparing for the days activities. So they were transferring fuel from a bigger barrel into a small container for easy transportation and as a result the pot in which they were doing some cooking caught fire as a result of a contact. And that’s how the whole house caught fire,” he said.

The disaster, he said, has thrown the whole town into a state of shock adding that “we are very devastated in Daboya.”

Source: Citifmonline.com

Samuel Nuamah

Deceased Ghanaian Times reporter Samuel Nuamah was the bread winner of the family, his mother Georgina Opoku has said.

The 37 year-old presidential correspondent died in a motor accident Thursday whilst returning from a presidential assignment with other members of the presidential corps.

The family of Mr. Nuamah has been devastated by his death.

At her residence, the mother told Joy News’ Hannah Odame that some of Samuel’s siblings are not making any income so he was the one taking care of their needs.

Samuel’s mother who is diabetic described him as a religious and respectful child.

“His death is a great loss to the family,” she said, adding that the family can only pray to God to keep his soul.

His sister Gifty Opoku, currently pursuing a journalism programme at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, said she feels “very bad” about the brother’s death.

However, she said, she has been encouraged by the unfortunate incident to take over from where Samuel left off and make him proud.

Meanwhile, government has pledged support for the family of the presidential correspondent.

Communications Minister, Edward Omane Boamah led a delegation to the family house yesterday to console his relatives.

He said government will work with management of Ghanaian Times to give Samuel Nuamah a befitting burial.

“We will continue to support them [family] beyond the support we have given today before, during and after the funeral,” he said.

Five other journalists remain on admission at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra and are responding to treatment. GTV journalist Napoleon Ato Kittoe gave this insight about moments before the accident.

He said the driver lacked experienced and yet was speeding, adding that they had two close shaves before the accident that killed Samuel.

Source: Myjoyonline.com

Ekow Micah

Popular reggae musician and President of the Music Council of Ghana, Ekow Micah, will this morning be dragged before a court in Accra to stand trial after police found in his possession some dried leaves suspected to be marijuana.

The musician, well known for his hit song, ‘Me Si Wu Hemaa’, was reported to have told the police that he smokes the supposed dried leaves in order to stimulate his music career.

He was charged with unlawful possession of narcotics and arraigned before court, where he was remanded for two weeks and asked to be brought to court today for the trial to begin.

The 43-year-old musician has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Highly respected legal practitioner, Adusei Poku, has expressed his legal opinion on the case and stated that if found guilty of the offence, Ekow Micah might serve up to a five-year jail term with hard labour.

 “Mr Micah has been charged with a narcotics-related offence but the offence is in respect of possession, it is different from when you are exporting it that carries a different sentence in law and it is normally seen as non-bailable…For smoking or possession in your room for use which has been detected, that is bailable and the maximum sentence is five years,” Mr Adusei Poku told Hitz FM.

Ekow Micah was originally arrested on August 4 over an alleged extortion and blackmail case currently under investigation by the Airport Police.

A day after that incidence, the police conducted a search at his residence at Ogbojo,  near Kokrobite within the outskirts of Accra, and during the search, suspected narcotics substance was found in his custody.

The dreadlocks-wearing musician is obviously in double trouble, as he is also likely to be sent to another court this week on charges of conspiracy to extort.

A police source disclosed that Ekow is helping the Airport Police in ongoing investigations into a blackmail and extortion complaint filed by Asamoah Gyan’s manager against Osarfo Anthony- a journalist alleged to have demanded an amount of GH¢25,000 from the Gyan camp and threatened to put out some negative stories against the footballer if the money was not paid him.

 “We have some evidence which suggests that Ekow Micah conspired with Osarfo Anthony and others and he has some serious explanations to do. Police is likely to send him to court this week,” a source at the station told NEWS-ONE.

Two other accomplices, Sarah Kwabla and another journalist by name Chris, were also invited by the police to help with ongoing investigations into the same matter.

The extortion process was also secretly recorded on video the night Osarfo Anthony received the cash from Asamoah Gyan’s manager, Samuel Anim Addo.

The Music Council of Ghana (MCG) and the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) are yet to comment on the development, though Ekow is president of the former and a member of the latter.

Raymond Amanfu

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has disclosed that the licenses of over 50 micro-finance institutions will be revoked by the end of September 2015.

This, according to the Central Bank, would ensure sanity in the micro-finance sector to encourage only legal ones that are paying realistic interest rates to operate.

Raymond Amanfu, Head of Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, BoG, who made this known at a press briefing in Accra last Friday, said some micro-finance institutions have voluntarily closed and/or were facing severe liquidity challenges.

In view of that, he said the Central Bank would soon take action on these institutions and shall close any illegal institutions that take deposits.

Unlicensed Institutions

Mr. Amanfo expressed worry about the proliferation of unlicensed micro-finance companies and fun clubs that promise high and unsustainable interest rates to customers.

These institutions, he said, were mushrooming in rural areas, especially Brong-Ahafo, Upper West, Northern and Western Regions.

Mr. Amanfo said the Central Bank has identified about 10 unlicensed micro-finance institutions.

These institutions, he mentioned, are Care for Humanity International, Buoyant Investment Limited, God Is Love Fun Club, Perfect Edge Group, Perfect Business Fun Club, L.P.M Eye Adom Fun Club, Creative Fun Club, Little Drops Helping Hand Association, Financial Giants Fun Club and Great Winners Fun Club.

Warning

Mr. Amanfo told the general public that the Central Bank would not be responsible for the liabilities of these unlicensed institutions, stating “the public is therefore cautioned to desist from doing business with such unlicensed institutions.”

He accused the media houses of encouraging illegal activities of these unlicensed micro-finance institutions through advertisements.

Mr. Amanfo said the bank is collaborating with Financial Intelligence Center and security agencies to track down, arrest and prosecute directors, shareholders and management of unlicensed institutions.

“We may have to include media houses that advertise these illegal institutions such as Fun Clubs and Associations for abetment of crime,” he added.

Micro-Finance Institutions

Currently, there are 518 micro-finance institutions, comprising 447 micro-finance companies, 63 Money Lending Companies and eight Financial NGOs, while another 117 institutions are yet to fulfill the final approval requirement.

cephrok@yahoo.com

By Cephas Larbi

Pix saved in newdaily as Raymond Amanfu

Caption: Raymond Amanfu

Philip Addison

Two of the candidates who contested in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Klottey Korley constituency parliamentary primaries recently, Philip Addison and Nii Adjei Tawiah, have given the party’s National Executive Council (NEC), a seven-day ultimatum to come out with its decision on their joint petition requesting the annulment and re-run of the election.

The two candidates, who lost to Nii Noi Nortey, have threatened court action against the party if it fails to address their petition for a nullification of the outcome of the election.

General Secretary Accused

In a petition to the NEC, they accused the General Secretary of the party, Kwabena Agyepong of fixing a date contrary to what had been agreed on by the party’s electoral committee and the Greater Accra Regional executives at a meeting held at the office of the regional NPP.

According to them, the election was supposed to take place on August 8, 2015- being the agreed date – instead of the August 2, 2015, thereby making the election unlawful.

“We find the decision of the General Secretary to organize parliamentary primaries for the Korley Constituency on 2nd August 2015 as most arbitrary, unlawful, an usurpation of the mandate of both the PEC and the  Regional Executive Committee, as well as a gross abuse of the General Secretary’s powers,” they stated in the petition.

The two said the only circumstance under which the General Secretary might vary a date for the holding of parliamentary primaries in the region is when he does so in consultation with the regional executives.

“Our investigations reveal that no consultation whatsoever was done with the regional executives before the General Secretary purportedly organized the primaries for the Constituency.

“Secondly, in violation of the rules governing the elections, the PEC was not involved in any way with the organization of the elections on August 2, 2015,” they averred.

Fake Voter Register

The defeated parliamentary aspirants also said the voter register used for the conduct of the purported election was not the one certified by the PEC for the conduct of the elections.

They said the rules and regulations required the PEC to receive and keep the constituency register until same is submitted to the Electoral Commission stating, “The duly certified register was inspected by all the aspirants and same was kept by the PEC secretary. Same was never made available to the EC because the August 2, 2015 was not the agreed date for the conduct of the polls.”

According to them, no notice of poll was even put up in relation to the election that took place in the Klottey Korle constituency, adding that there was also no accreditation for the election.

They further asserted that “Both Mr. Philip Addison and Nii Adjei Tawiah were not given any official notification for this fabricated election; they did not partake in this election and as a result, were not represented; eight (8) Constituency Executives out of 15 boycotted the election; and six (6) electoral area coordinators out of nine (9) boycotted the election.”

The two party gurus noted that the album used for the election was fraudulent and so many non-delegates from Odododiodio, Adabraka and Osu were allowed to vote.

“It is in the interest of the party for the purported election of August 2, 2015 to be annulled, in order to send a clear signal to the nation that the NPP is a party which believes in the rule of law, due process and a clean electoral system,” they indicated.

By Cephas Larbi

IGP, Mohammed Alhassan

The Amasaman District Police Command has been accused of assisting landguards to cause mayhem in the Ga West District of the Greater Accra Region.

According to officials of Positive Drive Investment, a real estate company, the command is responsible for the many injuries and deaths that had occurred over land disputes in the area.

It would be recalled that Sulley Amartey, a worker of Sally Properties, was shot to death while five others sustained gunshot wounds in December 2013 over parcels of land at Ayikai Doblo.

“Even though the Amasaman police claimed to have intensified the search for the perpetrators of the heinous crime, no one has been prosecuted over the death up till now,” an official of Positive Drive Investment alleged.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed that           landguards last Saturday again attacked workers of the company who had gone on the Ayikai Doblo lands to serve notices to encroachers.

“When we got there, we met Nii Foster, the Chief of Nsakina – who had apparently sold our lands to the encroachers – with many landguards. The chief unleashed his goons on us, subjecting us to severe beatings, and even stripped our surveyor naked,” he claimed.

He said he and other officials of Positive Drive Investment had to run for their lives, leaving behind their grantor, Samir Masri aka Sousuo, who was beaten to pulp, while the GPS machine of the surveyor was confiscated by the marauding landguards.

When the matter was reported to the Amasaman police, the District Crime Officer, Sebastian Abigiah, rather treated the complainants like criminals, the official alleged.

“At the Amasaman Police Station, and in the presence of the District crime officer, Nii Adjei Foster threatened us, and said there would be more deaths in the area. The crime officer virtually begged him to return the GPS machine. It was clear they were working together,” the official noted.

He added that Positive Drive Investment had spoken to their lawyers who were preparing to petition the Inspector General of Police over the conduct of the Amasaman District police.

When DAILY GUIDE contacted the district crime officer, he admitted last Saturday’s assault but denied the accusation leveled against him.

“Yes, it is true there were assaults over the weekend because the land in question is a litigated one. I told the surveyor to pick a form and go to the hospital so that we take the matter up,” he added.

Responding to the complainant’s decision to petition the Inspector General of Police (IGP) over his conduct, the crime officer said, “Okay, I am here. As far as I am concerned, I have done no wrong to incur the IGP’s displeasure. Investigations are ongoing to ensure sanity.”

On the allegation that a lot of guns were found in the Nsakina chief’s palace when the police went there to retrieve the surveyor’s GPS machine, the police officer said he knew nothing about that.

By Kofi Owusu Aduonum

Dr. Kofi Wampah, Governor, Bank of Ghana

The local currency, cedi has depreciated sharply against major foreign currencies on the forex market in the past week.

As at Saturday, 22 August 2015, a dollar was selling at GH¢4.37 and buying at GH¢4.20 on the forex market.

One British Pound was selling at GH¢6.86 and buying at GH¢6.59.

The Euro was also selling at GH¢4.94 and buying at GH¢4.74.

At the interbank exchange level, a dollar was buying at GH¢4.0172 and selling at GH¢4.0212.

The British Pound was selling at GH¢6.3016 and buying at GH¢6.2941 whilethe Euro was buying at GH¢4.5550 and selling at GH¢4.5588.

Failed Measures

The cedi from 2012 has continuously depreciated against major currencies, a situation that affected every sector of the country’s economy.

The Bank of Ghana (BoG), in a desperate measure, instituted some forex measures to tackle the situation.

The measures did not work out as planned and the currency kept deteriorating.

The government secured an IMF bailout of some $900 million to strengthen the country’s economy.

As a new measure to address the situation, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has been pumping some $20 million a day into the country’s economy.

That led to rapid appreciation of the cedi against major trading currencies.

Despite the assurances and claims, the depreciation scourge has resurfaced, casting into doubt the ability of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to bring the situation under control.

Earlier Concerns

Many economists expressed concern when the cedi began to appreciate as a result of $20 million that was pumped into the country’s economy by the Central Bank.

They predicted that the local currency would fall against the major trading currencies and hit close to GH¢6 to a dollar by close of year.

Dr. Osei Assibey, an economist and senior lecturer at the Economics Department at the University of Ghana, said “stability is what is needed.”

The apparent swing of the cedi like a pendulum up and down the economic ladder does not augur well for the economy,” he indicated.

He said the Bank of Ghana should set upper and lower limits within which the cedi should operate.

Cephrok@yahoo.com

By Cephas Larbi

Usain Bolt produced perhaps his greatest performance of all as he put a troubled build-up behind him to beat two-time doper and clear favourite Justin Gatlin to retain his world 100m title.

The controversial Gatlin came into the final on a 28-race unbeaten run and apparently relishing his role as the sport’s bad guy.

But at the same Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing where Bolt announced himself to the world with two Olympic golds and two world records in 2008, the Jamaican superstar came past a faltering Gatlin at the death to snatch victory by one hundredth of a second.

Bolt’s 9.79 seconds was more than two tenths off his world record, but this was a night for athletics to celebrate victories rather than times.

Canada’s Andre de Grasse and young American Trayvon Bromell were both awarded bronzes in 9.92secs.

This was once again the Bolt show, even as his own struggles this summer continued in a semi-final when he stumbled and almost fell.

Gatlin had looked unbeatable in running 9.77secs in his own semi-final, but starting out in lane seven – US team-mate Tyson Gay between him and Bolt in five – he was the slowest of the main contenders from the block.

In every race this season his technique has been as certain as his reception has been chequered. Yet, with Bolt out faster and level with him at 50m, he tightened up horribly in the last 30 metres and staggered through the line as Bolt flew through.

Janet Amponsah

Like officials of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) arriving at a competition venue without the Black Stars, so was the situation with the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA) at the World Athletics Meet.

Ghana’s representatives at this year’s IAAF World Athletics Championship underway in Beijing, China, Alex Amankwah and Janet Amponsah could not make it to the event due to visa problems; but officials of the GAA are heavily represented.

The GAA explained that the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC turned down applications of the duo, both new national record holders.

It stated further that the two athletes were refused the visas despite receiving official invitation letters from the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) on August 5.

GAA press attaché Erasmus Kwaw indicated that “approximately two weeks later, their passports were returned by the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC indicating their visa applications had been denied.”

He added: “Because the Ghana Athletics Association president, Professor Francis Dodoo was already in China for the IAAF Quadrennial Congress, he managed to get the LOC, working with Chinese immigration and IAAF, to issue a visa-upon-arrival letter.

“However, United Airlines declined to let them board their flight to China using the visa-on-arrival document.”

The duo were potential medal hopefuls for Ghana in the ongoing athletics meet that is expected to end on August 30.

Already, athletics icon Usain Bolt has clinched gold in the men’s 100m event, finishing in 9:79 seconds.

By Kofi Owusu Aduonum

A resurrected goat fable I have heard, read, seen, smelt, moved, sensed or touched not and never anywhere.

So anyone who tells me a goat died and resurrected can only be lying. When goats die, they rot. As evil as they have been portrayed, when killed their scented meat is eaten and thrown away when they die by disease.

Goats are evil, and I thought only the righteous will resurrect. If the evil was to be resurrected the true word would have turned false.

A goat, dead or alive, cannot run an economy; cannot even run an ℇkɔmini. If you gather a motherland’s money and resources together and put a live goat in charge, it would see everything as grass and eat everything, money and resources, because to it everything is grass. With its kith and kin, it would destroy everything that humans have put together.

Every blessing bequeathed to goats in 2009 is now a nightmare.

The oil has become, undoubtedly a curse. Capitation grant is gone along with the chalk it provided. NHIS has been replaced with a resurrected cash and carry, killed dead in 2004. NYEP was decapitated and replaced with easy to chop GYEEDA. School feeding is in intensive care causing ever decreasing enrolment. All the destruction occurred because the goat saw all these as grass to feed on.

And when everything is destroyed, it would will suddenly feign death and announce it is a dead goat. Thereafter would come an ananse trickery announcement of its resurrection. A dead goat resurrected can be a dangerous blasphemy. The dead goat doesn’t resurrect; it is simply carcass.

For its evil ways, a live goat is not allowed into my chiefdom. Other chiefdoms disallow goat entry.

My ancestors before me decreed that based on what they knew at the time that we don’t exactly know now. Recently, some other chiefdom decided to rid itself of the evil of the goat. It almost ended up at war with itself. Pro-goat people rose up against the anti-goat decree passed by their chief which required all goats to be driven out of town, never to return.

I don’t know the outcome of the confrontation between the pro-goat and the anti-goat. I am certain, though, that until the decree, the goats of that chiefdom thought they would live forever in their everything-is-a-joke but to others destructive ways. They knew they would never perish and would forever prey on the misery of those whose crops and other properties they would destroy.

We know for a fact, however, a goat that pronounced itself dead and then said it has resurrected is a wicked goat. It has destroyed the future of our young, our currency, our pride, our economy, our everything. For that, it should go back to the dead and never see life again.

In my desperate attempt to find out about the goat taboo, someone quickly came to my aid with what is written somewhere which says some demons were exorcised from somewhere and pumped into goats. So there is nothing anyone can do about goats being evil; evil alive, evil dead, and evil resurrected, assuming they would ever be permitted to rise up from dead in their evil.

Goats are wicked and behave wickedly. In their wicked ways, they see everything as a joke. You chase them away from eating your cassava or plantain; or from destroying the paint of your wall; or from any other damage to you or your property; and they would be back because they laugh your suffering off. Goats will crackle with humour than show seriousness.

It could be over an international embarrassment with a speech lousily put together, the goat will laugh it off instead of thinking on the feet to deal with the situation.

It reminds me of the day the wind blew my unpaged speech away. I still managed to complete the speech extempore. I didn’t have to stop and quarrel with the wind.

When internationally mocked for flying millions of dollars to a foreign motherland, the goat will amusingly suggest a lead actor for the filming of that absurd act. And addressing a nation on something as devastating as dumsɔ or when my compatriots expect some hope to be injected, it was all flippant humour.

In the life of the living goat, everything is funny because goats steal so much they are always comfortable enough to jest around. All the same, alive, dead, resurrected, in whatever condition, a goat is a goat. It will act, behave and destroy as a goat. It would even pretend it is dead. Not just that; it would go ahead to proclaim resurrection as if stealing is meant forever in life, death and resurrection.

By Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh