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Akufo-Addo to tour Western, Central regions from Tuesday

By
Ellis Ferdinand
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0

President Akufo-Addo will from Tuesday, 18th August 2020, embark on a five-day working visit to the Western and Central Regions, where he is expected to commission projects, cut the sod for the construction of projects, and pay courtesy calls on traditional rulers.

On Tuesday, 17th August, the President will commence his official working visit at Egyam in the Western Region, where he will be inspecting work on the ongoing construction of the Ankyernyin-Egyam road. He will then move to the Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira constituency to inspect the Axim Fishing Habour Project.

From Axim, the President will cut sod for construction of the Esiama-Nkroful road at Esiama, in the Ellembelle constituency. He will also inspect ongoing road construction works at Gwira Aiyinase, and to launch the Gwira Community Mining Scheme. He will also cut the sod for a 100-bed capacity District Hospital in Shama.

On day two, he will meet with the Regional House of Chiefs at Sekondi; visit the Essiam Bypass and Railway Training School at Essikado, and cut the sod for the construction of the GNPC Operational Headquarters, at Takoradi, in fulfillment of a 2016 manifesto pledge.

Beginning his tour of the Central Region, on Thursday, 20th August, cut the sod for the construction of a landing site and fishing harbour at Elmina in the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem constituency. He will also pay a courtesy call on the Mokwamanhene, in Twifo Praso, and inspect the ongoing construction of the Twifo Praso District Hospital.

Also, in Twifo Praso, the President will also cut sod for a bridge over River Pra, commission the Ekumfi Fruit Juice Factory, and later visit the Gomoa West constituency where he would join the Chiefs to inspect work an ongoing construction of a Landing Site.

On Saturday, President Akufo-Addo will cut the sod for the construction of the NHIA Office at Cape Coast, and attend the ceremony for the launch of the NPP 2020 Manifesto.

Protect the ballot in December – Mahama to Voltarians

By
Ellis Ferdinand
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0

Former President John Mahama has charged supporters of the NDC in the Volta region to ensure that they protect ballot boxes at their polling stations in the December polls to prevent rigging.

According to Mr. Mahama, happenings at the just ended voter registration exercise is an indication of the ruling NPP’s agenda to win the 2020 polls at all cost.

Mr Mahama made reference to the shooting incident involving Special Development Minister Hawa Koomson and the Ayawaso West Wougon election violence to back his claims.

“… You have the opportunity to change that and you can only change that if you’re able to vote, and so you must not allow anybody to disrupt that voting procedure in your polling station branch and make your vote not to count. And so, Let’s us all commit to peaceful elections and I know that if the elections are peaceful, free and fair, NDC would be victorious in the election.”

Mr. Mahama who was addressing residents of Mepe in the North Tongu constituency is on a four-day campaign tour of the Volta in his bid for a comeback as President of the country.

Touching on some policies of the NDC, Mr Mahama noted that his government if voted again, would embark on massive job creation for the teeming Ghanaian youth.

He further stated that “We have several programs, when we launch our manifesto we would give you more details but there are many things in there that would ensure that our young people get jobs to do because today, it’s about jobs; what is the use of going to school and when our children complete the university and become graduates they can’t find jobs; and so, every program that we are going to do must relate to creating jobs.”

While in the region, the NDC flagbearer would be meeting and addressing youth groups, market women, chiefs and other interest groups on his party’s programs and policies ahead of the December polls.

Source: Starrfm.com.gh/

Google turns Android phones into earthquake sensors

By
Ellis Ferdinand
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0

Google’s Android phones on Tuesday started detecting earthquakes around the world to provide data that could eventually give billions of users precious seconds of warning of a tremor nearby, with an alerting feature first rolling out in California.

Japan, Mexico and California already use land-based sensors to generate warnings, aiming to cut injuries and property damage by giving people further away from the epicentre of an earthquake second to protect themselves before the shaking starts.

If Google’s approaches for detecting and alerting prove effective, warnings would reach more people, including for the first time Indonesia and other developing countries with few traditional sensors.

Check This Out: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints cleans-up GBC

Seismology experts consulted by Google said turning smartphones into mini-seismographs marked a major advancement, despite the inevitably of erroneous alerts from a work in progress, and the reliance on a private company’s algorithms for public safety. More than 2.5 billion devices, including some tablets, run Google’s Android operating system.

“We are on a path to delivering earthquake alerts wherever there are smartphones,” said Richard Allen, director of University of California Berkeley’s seismological lab and visiting faculty at Google over the last year.

Google’s program emerged from a week-long session 4-1/2 years ago to test whether the accelerometers in phones could detect car crashes, earthquakes and tornadoes, said principal software engineer Marc Stogaitis.

Accelerometers – sensors that measure direction and force of motion – are mainly used to determine whether a user is holding a phone in landscape or portrait mode.

The company studied historical accelerometer readings during earthquakes and found they could give some users up to a minute of notice.

Source  Reuters

US announces spectrum auction to fuel 5G growth

By
Ellis Ferdinand
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0

The Trump administration on Monday unveiled plans to auction off 100 megahertz of midband spectrum previously dedicated to military purposes for commercial use starting in mid-2022, to ramp up fifth-generation network coverage in the United States.

The Federal Communications Commission will be able to auction this spectrum to companies like Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc from December 2021, and the wireless industry could be using it by summer of the following year, White House adviser and U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios told reporters.

The move “allows us to maximize 5G availability of spectrum without compromising national security,” he said.

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The military uses the spectrum for critical radar operations including air missile defense, Department of Defense Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy said.

Midband spectrum is seen as vital for 5G, because it offers both geographic coverage and the capacity to transmit large amounts of data, FCC chairman Ajit Pai has said.

The next-generation 5G wireless network is expected eventually to connect and enable high-speed video transmissions and self-driving cars, among other uses.

The FCC has been working to clear enough spectrum to make 5G networks a reality and ensure there is enough spectrum to handle the growing amount of internet and wireless traffic. This spectrum reassignment is part of that effort.

Pai on Monday praised the announcement, adding that the FCC was looking forward to moving quickly to adopt service rules to bring the spectrum to market.

“This is a key milestone in securing United States leadership in 5G,” Pai said.

In October 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum directing the Commerce Department to develop a long-term comprehensive national spectrum strategy to prepare for 5G wireless networks. Trump created the White House Spectrum Strategy Task Force and asked federal agencies to report on government spectrum needs and review how spectrum could be shared with private sector users.

U.S. wireless industry group CTIA also welcomed the announcement. “Opening up this critical block of mid-band spectrum for full power commercial operations will enhance U.S. competitiveness in the 5G ecosystem,” CTIA President and CEO, Meredith Attwell Baker, said in a statement.

SourceReuters

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints cleans-up GBC

By
Ellis Ferdinand
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1

As part of activities to mark the 85th anniversary of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, has organised a clean-up exercise on the premises of the Corporation.

President of the Kaneshie Stake of the church, Flint Mensah said it is the responsibility of every Christian to serve and help the society.

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He said the Church saw the need to undertake the exercise since it forms part of activities marking the “All Africa Helping Hands Service Project”, an annual project, which ensures that members of the Church go into the communities to perform different activities including cleaning the environment of filth.

Deputy Director of Communications of the Church, Samuel Sackey said the exercise was also to send a message to Ghanaians that cleaning is an attitude that needs to be cultivated.

Sourcegbcghanaonline

You don’t develop a nation with free free things, create jobs – Mahama to Akufo-Addo

By
Ellis Ferdinand
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0

Mr. John Mahama challenged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to build jobs for Ghanaians to have the purchasing power to buy goods and services, rather than to keep tossing freebies at people, recognizing that countries do not grow that way.

After the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana, the Akufo-Addo administration has given a number of free services to people as part of measures to alleviate the potential financial strain of the epidemic.

They include free water and electricity, tax cuts for frontline health workers among others.

“We have to invest money in productive sectors, and productive sectors will generate opportunities, and employment will create wealth for people,” he said.

“So if you say you can sit at home and we’re going to give you all safe, free, free, free.

“All the countries that developed didn’t develop like that,” he said.

The former President said.

Coronavirus: South Africa crime rate plummets during lockdown

By
Ellis Ferdinand
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0

Crime in South Africa dropped by up to 40% during the first three months of its lockdown, official figures show.

The police minister said most types of crimes went down between April and June – including sexual assault and arson.

He added that a controversial alcohol ban during the coronavirus lockdown had helped, but that attacks on liquor stores had increased in the pandemic.

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South Africa has among the world’s highest crime rates. It has recorded over half the Covid-19 cases in Africa.

More than 500,000 infections and 11,000 deaths have been reported in the country – although BBC Africa Editor Mary Harper says this may be because of its reliable testing rates.

Police Minister Bheki Cele told reporters on Friday that the figures “paint a never-seen-before ‘rosy’ picture of a peaceful South Africa experiencing a “crime holiday”.

“These statistics show major decreases in all crime categories compared to the same comparative period last year,” he said. “A 40.4% decrease in the number of rape cases were reported during the three months.”

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Contact and property-related crimes – including arson and malicious damage – went down by 29%.

The ban on alcohol and cigarettes in lockdown South Africa has been controversial.

The country implemented a ban on alcohol sales between 27 March and 1 June. The ban was reimposed on 12 July, and remains in place.

In April, at the start of the lockdown, Mr Cele warned that his officers would “destroy the infrastructure where the liquor is sold”.

 

The police minister has been accused of encouraging a heavy-handed approach towards people caught drinking – including the alleged beating to death of a man in his own garden.

Bar and restaurant owners have also protested against the ban, saying it will destroy their businesses.

Protesters in Cape Town on Thursday
People in Cape Town protested against the alcohol ban this week. IMAGE: REUTERS

Last month, the South African Police Service released the country’s overall crime stats for the year 2019/2020.

Overall in the last year, carjacking, robberies of non-residential properties and murders all increased from the previous year.

Sexual offences, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and possession of illegal firearms was also up.

SourceBBC NEWS

NPP risks losing 2020 polls with newly-compiled voters’ register – Franklin Cudjoe

By
Ellis Ferdinand
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0

President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe fears the freshly-compiled voters’ register could lead to the governing New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) loss in the December 7, 2020, general elections.

He says the NPP’s arguments against the old register, which it claimed was bloated, have been proven to be flawed, given the figures provided by the Electoral Commission (EC) after the registration exercise.

On The Big Issue on Saturday, Mr. Cudjoe reiterated his critique of the party and the electoral management body for deceiving Ghanaians as well as wasting national resources for a venture he feels was of no relevance to the country’s electoral reforms.

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Franklin Cudjoe thus ridiculed the NPP for rather losing some numbers in a few of its strongholds and failing in its bid to intimidate registrants in the areas which are key to the opposition’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) chances in the polls, because the reasons given for the compilation of the new electoral roll were fundamentally illogical and baseless.

“I want to now believe that the NPP must move away from this long-held belief that the register was bloated. It was not based on science, logic or statistics. In fact with the border towns that they claim, apart from the voter suppression and intimidation, we saw by the military, even Ketu South turned margins that are consistent with times.”

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“What has actually happened is that some of their strongholds have either marginally or drastically reduced. Look at Ahafo-Ano and some parts of the Ashanti Region. Anytime the NPP has been in power and actually promoted the conduct of the new register, they lose the election. If anybody has benefitted from this register, it is certainly not the NPP. So if you think it is just numbers that will let you win an election, the data has not borne us out”, he noted.

Statistics must shape policies

The voter registration exercise ended with 16,963,306 persons registered to vote.

These provisional figures, as announced by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, are pending processes of deduplication and adjudication.

It includes the 30,814 persons registered during the two-day mop-up registration exercise over the weekend.

But arguing that the numbers recorded during the mass voter registration exercise would not have been so different if the old register was used, Franklin Cudjoe said the current turn of events means the time has come for Ghana to begin taking policy decisions that are well-grounded in “sound statistics”

“I think this country must allow sound statistics and policy to drive conversations. Look at the data, it does not serve anybody in terms of suggesting that the register was bloated. What we have done is that the EC managed to pull the wool off our eyes and in the end wasted US$ 120 million more than they would have really had. We have conferred on ourselves that we are statistically inept.”

I Will Be Shocked If Nana Addo Wins 2020 Elections – Blakk Rasta

By
Ellis Ferdinand
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0

Ghanaian Reggae Musician and Radio Presenter Blakk Rasta has asserted that the Coronavirus pandemic and its effects might serve as a disadvantage to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the 2020 December polls.


According to him, the pandemic has ‘stalled’ a lot of developmental projects introduced by the President and as such it has prompted people to look out for ‘newer faces’ in the upcoming elections

He made these assertions in an interview with Happy FM’s DJ Adviser on the ‘Ayekoo After Drive’ show.

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“In this pandemic period, this is the worst time to be a president. Nana Addo has done everything he can in his own power to contain this virus. But whatever he does people will still complain. People are complaining. It is not easy. Free hot food and people are asking how much millions?

A lot of the plans he had from the time he came into power have all stalled. One Village One Dam, factories, etc. How can you do that in this Corona era. It has all smashed up. So people are looking out for brighter and newer faces to be able to do this. If Nana Addo wins this election, I will be shocked. “

The Barack Obama hitmaker noted though that the President of Ghana is not alone in this dilemma. He adds, “And he is not alone, all the other presidents in this Coronavirus,this didn’t help them. It is sad”.

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The coronavirus, which surfaced in a Chinese seafood and poultry market late last year, has spread to at least 177 countries, killing more people and infecting many others in a matter of months. The World Health Organization earlier this year declared the situation a pandemic.

Bright Akwetey injects dynamism into CPP Flagbearer contest

By
Ellis Ferdinand
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2

An Accra-based legal practitioner and a leading member of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), Mr Bright Oblitei Akwetey, said he would match the flagbearers of the New Patriotic Party and National Democratic Congress in the race towards Election 2020.

“I have over the period critically examined the CPP and deduced that the Party’s inability to identify its core objectives, values and ideologies serves as the bane of its unappealing performance since the 1992 Election,” he told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra on Saturday.

He said the campaign theme: “Honesty and Integrity,” seeks to marshal a formidable force with the ability to wrest power from the NPP and bring the CPP back to the forefront of Ghana’s politics.

Mr Akwetey, who once investigated and prosecuted economic crimes in Ghana and The Gambia, said Ghana needed a president who had demonstrably shown the courage to fight corruption because the time for lip service to fighting the canker was over.

He explained that the motivation to contest for the CPP flag bearer slot emanates from deep-seated desire to see Ghanaians as a proud, confident, disciplined and law-abiding citizens, whose standards of living were measured not only in terms of Gross Domestic Product but in a general state of satisfaction.

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“I want to see a Ghana where the average citizen can afford good quality health care, education, shelter, clothing, food and employment and has the opportunity to travel in decent transport and also on secure and safe roads,” he said.

Mr Akwetey said the CPP would dwell on Kwame Nkrumah’s ideologies as well as grass-roots membership mobilisation and craft a message that would appeal to the electorate.

He, therefore, called on the delegates to vote for him adding: “loyalty must pay, I must be lucky this third time. I contested for the 2012 and 2016 flag bearer slot and lost but am not perturbed, for the interest of the CPP and Ghana I’m here again seeking your votes. Vote for Bright O. Akwetey for honesty and integrity”.

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