Journalist with Angel FM, Kofi Adomah Nwanwani, has disclosed that the Criminal Investigative Department of the Police did not write to formally invite him for interrogation.
Speaking on The Point of View, he said some of his friends within the legal space chided him for honouring the “phone call invite” from Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Juliana Obeng of the Public Affairs Unit of the CID.
“I didn’t see it that way [the need to discuss with the legal team of Angel FM] but it was after I went that a few friends of mine who are in the legal fraternity advised that what I did was wrong that you can’t assume that the call was friendly hence it [interrogation] was going to be friendly.”
Making a comparison to the Leader of Economic Fighters League, Ernesto Yeboah, and the PNC National Chairman, Bernard Mornah’s encounter with the police, he said: “I think mine [invitation from police] was quite friendly. I was asked some questions and let go without writing a statement. There was nothing like a caution.”
The invitation came after his largely accurate prediction of the easing of lockdown restrictions by the President went viral.
According to him, the said recording was made on the Thursday and aired on his YouTube channel on the Friday before the President’s tenth address to the nation on Sunday, May 31 announcing the eased restrictions.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for the Ayawaso West Wuogon ,Actor and Business man John Dumelo has begun dredging a big gutter at West Legon in Accra.
The dredging of the gutter began Wednesday, June 10,2020 to pave way for proper drainage of the big gutter.
Mr Dumelo,who on his campaign routine, visited the area and promised of a possible dredging of the gutter began the fulfilment of the promise.
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has set up a special taskforce to ensure the safe re-opening of schools for final year students.
Among other duties, the taskforce will oversee the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and also ensure strict enforcement of COVID-19 safety protocols.
Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, who made the announcement, said this is to ensure a safe academic environment.
“The President has set up a special team under the office of the Senior Minister with the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, the Director-General of Military Logistics, the Deputy Director-General of Police welfare, the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Local Government to coordinate with the distribution of logistics and ensure that schools reopening happen safely and securely.”
“We do know that COVID-19 has brought to bear the need to embrace blended learning because we are getting into a new normal and it is imperative that the universities and all Ghana Educational Institutions adopt blended learning.”
Schools in the country were ordered to shut down in March 2020 as part of measures to limit a further spread of the novel Coronavirus [COVID-19] in the country.
The President subsequently gave a directive on Sunday, May 31, 2020, for schools to be reopened for only final year students to prepare and enable them to take their final examinations.
Final year SHS students will be in school on Monday, June 22, 2020, while final year JHS students will resume on Monday, June 29, 2020.
Universities will also reopen for final year students on June 15, 2020.
The Minister earlier issued some guidelines for the reopening of schools.
The opposition National Democratic Congress will not accept the results of any national poll that it deems ‘flawed’.
Flagbearer of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama who made the remark at a flag-raising ceremony to commemorate the NDC’s 28th anniversary stressed that while the party strives to ensure that the country remains peaceful and electoral processes go on without challenges, it will only accept the result of elections it sees as credible.
“As a party, we have participated in every election in the 4th republic and we have a history of accepting the results of elections whenever we have believed in the integrity of the poll. As the leader of the NDC, I wish to serve notice that we shall do all in our part to make sure that the country remains peaceful and that the electoral process proceeds smoothly. But, let nobody assume that we will accept the results of a flawed election,” Mahama said.
He attributed the current controversy over the compilation of a new register to the inefficiency of the “once revered” Electoral Commission (EC), indicating that the conduct the Commission threatens the rights of eligible Ghanaian voters.
“Never have we in the history of this fourth republic experienced a situation where large numbers of our population threatened to be disenfranchised because of the bungling inefficiency and perceived partiality of our once revered electoral commission,” he said.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has dragged the Electoral Commission to court over attempts by the electoral management body to compile a new voters’ register ahead of the 2020 general elections.
The NDC argues in its suit that the EC lacks the power to go ahead with its plans because it can only “compile a register of voters only once, and thereafter revise it periodically, as may be determined by law”.
The NDC in its case is also praying the court to declare as illegal the decision of the EC not to use the old voter ID cards as a proof of Ghanaian identity for the compilation of the new register.
John Mahama said the party awaits the hearing of the matter at the Supreme Court.
“We all await the hearing of our highest court tomorrow, to determine whether we’ll have a flawed election or we’ll have an election that we have confidence in and that the will of the people have been properly expressed,” he said.
The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) has been advised to focus on research and planning rather than managing disaster in the country.
New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate hopeful for the Akwatia Constituency, Ernest Nana Yaw Kumi has indicated that research and planning is the only way to solve the perennial flooding in the Greater Accra region.
He made this statement in an interview on Happy 98.9 FM’s ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ with Samuel Eshun, who sat in for Afrifa-Mensah. “NADMO is doing good work in managing disaster in the country but it is time we become proactive and nip perennial flooding in the bud by focusing on planning and research.”
Ernest advised NADMO to work with the town and country planning agencies to plan and map out our cities so well that flood-prone areas do not suffer any floods. “And even if they do, it should be minimal with no destruction of property and loss of life.”
The politician emphasized that the cost of planning and research is far cheaper compared to the aftermath of floods and their management.
Acknowledging the fact that the state has a responsibility to ensure the country and cities do not suffer flooding, he also pressed on citizens to also ensure proper disposal of waste and other measures to prevent flooding. “I will not shy away from saying the state has a responsibility to prevent flooding but it falls on us as individuals to make sure things move in the right direction and prevent flooding. The politician is not the only one who can effect change.”
To him, the reorientation of Ghanaians and the change of “our” mindset coupled with the amendment of laws for a societal building is the way to go in making sure Ghanaians do the needful.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has earned the appreciation of the family of George Floyd, the Black-American who was killed by police officers who were arresting him for allegedly using a fake $20 bill to purchase cigarette from a store in Minneapolis.
The family at a funeral service held at the Fountain of Praise Church in Houston, Texas on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, said it was deeply moved by the generous act of the Ghanaian government to solidify the legacy of George Floyd.
“The family of George Floyd will like to acknowledge the message of solidarity resolution and virtual tribute from His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo, the President of Ghana. Yesterday, during the memorial, a video produced by the people of Ghana was broadcast for thousands of mourners as they paid their final respects to Mr. Floyd,” Ivy McGregor said at the funeral.
“The family is honoured by President Akufo-Addo’s decision to have Mr. Floyd’s name permanently mounted on the historic Sankofa wall at the Diaspora African Forum in the WEB Dubois centre in Africa,” Ms. McGregor said.
“They are grateful that the country of Ghana stands with the Floyd family and the struggle of all families to change the status quo of racism and prejudice. The family is deeply moved by the generous act by the Ghanaian government,” she added.
On May 25, 2020, a white police officer Derek Chauvin, whiles arresting George Floyd with three of his colleagues handcuffed him lying face down on a city street and kept his knee on the right side of Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
Mr Floyd who could be heard in a video of the arrest that has since gone viral saying he couldn’t breathe subsequently lost his life.
The incident has caused a global uproar against racism and has seen several days of protests in the United States of America which has also been replicated in several countries across the globe.
The Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the Ghana Tourism Authority, Office of Diaspora Affairs and the Diaspora African Forum on Saturday, June 6, 2020, organised a memorial and wreath-laying ceremony at the W. E. B. Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan-African Culture in honour of Mr Floyd.
The Electoral Commission has announced that the 2020 Voters Registration Exercise has been scheduled to commence on Tuesday, 30th of June, 2020.
A letter signed by the Deputy Chairman, Corporate Affairs of the Electoral Commission, Dr. Bossman Asare said “the registration will be held at all Registration Centres and District Offices of the Electoral Commission throughout the country.”
The EC’s letter comes after Parliament on Tuesday, June, 09, 2020 voted to approve the controversial C.I 126.
The lawmakers reportedly voted by 106 to 92 majority decision in the House.
This gives legal backing to the decision by the Election Management Body(EMB) to compile a new voter’s register for the December polls following the approval by the House on the new C.I.
Meanwhile, the EC’s new voters’ register decision is still clouded in uncertainty as the Supreme Court is yet to rule on the legality or otherwise of that decision.
NDC vrs AG,EC over New register
The largest opposition NDC is challenging the Electoral Commission’s decision to compile a new Voters’ Register at the Supreme Court ahead of the December polls.
In a writ invoking the original jurisdiction of the court, the NDC is seeking a true and proper interpretation of Article 45(a) of the 1992 Constitution, on whether the EC has “the constitutional power to, and can, compile a register of voters only once, and thereafter revise it periodically, as may be determined by law”.
The NDC is praying the Supreme court for an order directed at the EC, to include “all existing voter identification cards duly issued by the 2nd Defendant (EC) as one of the documents serving as proof of identification for registration as a voter for the purposes of public elections”.
It is also further seeking a declaration on whether the EC “can only revise the existing register of voters, and lacks the power to prepare a fresh register of voters, for the conduct of the December 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections”.
The National Labour Commission (NLC) has advised employers to negotiate pay cuts, salary suspension, partial layoffs and others in good faith with their employees, so as to reduce the acrimony that will ensue as a result of frustration of contracts due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
According to the NLC, there is little resolution for contract frustration; and therefore employers and employees must resort to negotiation to address the employment challenges induced by COVID-19.
Executive Secretary of the NLC, Samuel Ofosu Asamoah, said without any fault from either party, many contracts in the media, hospitality, private educational institutions and others are incapable of being continued – a situation that has already resulted in massive layoffs and pay cuts.
“What I normally advise is negotiations. This has come as a challenge, and it faces both parties. Everyone knows and understand what is happening. Revenue streams are drying-up, and there is little to be done about that. So, what we are saying is that negotiations are needed to prevent chaos. These negotiations, though, must also be done in good faith,” Mr. Ofosu Asamoah said in an interview with the B&FT.
He added that the NLC is monitoring situations across the country, and wants to warn booming sectors during the outbreak of COVID-19 not to do anything that would amount to squeezing employees. He believes that players in the garment and pharmaceutical sectors are cashing-in on the outbreak, and therefore it would be heartless if any employee reports an employer to the Commission as a result of salary cuts attributed to COVID-19.
“The sale of hand sanitisers have gone up in price and quantity. Nose masks have also had price and quantities go up as well. If you are in any of these sectors and say because of COVID-19 you want to slash the salaries of your staff, that is not fair,” Mr. Ofosu Asamoah said.
He however reveled that, so far, three complaints have been lodged at the Commission. With this, about 500 people are at risk of losing their jobs. He indicated that the Commission is however preparing to listen to the cases and find some amicable resolutions, but the fear of job loss is eminent even after talks are over.
Meanwhile, the NLC has adjusted its operations to ensure it is able to hear labour cases while protecting the parties in the case from being exposed to the virus. Among the measure the NLC adopted is timing cases – resulting in parties being told the exact time for a case to be heard, a means to reduce numbers at their premises to offer enough space to observe the social distancing protocols.
Also, the number of cases that can be heard in one day has been reduced from 14-20 to less than 10 – while representation at every case has been reduced to three.
Chiefs and people of Kwame Peprakrom, a farming community in the Upper Denkyira East Municipality of the Central Region were thrown into a state of shock and grief after a 92-year-old woman committed suicide by hanging.
Reports say the deceased is believed to have gone missing on the evening of Saturday, June 6, 2020, after efforts including series of announcements on the Community’s Information Centre, to track her whereabouts proved futile.
The family members in an interview with Kasapa FM News Yaw Boagyan said they mounted another search for their lost relative only to find her hanging on joined pieces of used clothes and mosquito net tied to a ceiling joint of one of the unused rooms in her own house built by her children.
The deceased, until her unfortunate death was said to be living with a 70-year-old man believed to be her husband.
It is not immediately known what might have led to her suicide.
The case has since been reported to the Dunkwa On-Offin Divisional Police Command, who have launched a full-scale investigation into the unfortunate incident.
The body of the deceased has since been deposited at the Dunkwa On-Offin Municipal Hospital morgue for autopsy.
The Central Regional branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has suspended the constituency secretaries for Agona West and Assin South for gross misconduct.
Sources say the move was to instill discipline in the party ahead of the 2020 general elections by Mr. Robert Kutin-led regional executives.
Mr. Richard Takyi-Mensah, the Regional Secretary, who confirmed the suspension of George Prince Koranteng of Agona West and Mr. K. Owusu of Assin South to 3news.com on Tuesday, said the decision was taken after an executive meeting at Mankessim on Monday.
“Yes, the regional executives took that decision to suspend those two constituencies secretaries pending their appearance before the regional disciplinary committee, and the letters are on their way to them,” he stated.
The decision was taken based on petitions brought against the two constituency executives.
Mr. Takyi-Mensah would not open up on the details of the two separate petitions. “Let me keep everything, it is a party issue, all I can confirm is that the regional executives took the decision against them based on the content of the petitions.”
However, a copy of the petition against George Prince Koranteng, sighted by 3news.com accused him of “fraudulent withdrawals from party’s bank accounts”.
The petitioners from Agona West are Benjamin Takyi, Constituency Treasurer, and Ebenezer Kwame Arthur, Constituency Financial Secretary.
“Petition is herein submitted to invoke Article 3(7) of the NPP Party Constitution as amended to sanction Mr. GEORGE PRINCE KORANTENG from continuing holding his position as the Constituency Secretary of the party in Agona West for conducting himself contrary to the meaning of Article 3(5) A.5, and also showing a misconduct act(s) according to Article 4(7) (c) of the Party Constitution as Amended.”
In their statement of facts, the two noted that the constituency’s cheque book is kept by the accused due to his position.
However, a copy of the petition against George Prince Koranteng, sighted by 3news.com accused him of “fraudulent withdrawals from party’s bank accounts”.
The petitioners from Agona West are Benjamin Takyi, Constituency Treasurer, and Ebenezer Kwame Arthur, Constituency Financial Secretary.
“Petition is herein submitted to invoke Article 3(7) of the NPP Party Constitution as amended to sanction Mr. GEORGE PRINCE KORANTENG from continuing holding his position as the Constituency Secretary of the party in Agona West for conducting himself contrary to the meaning of Article 3(5) A.5, and also showing a misconduct act(s) according to Article 4(7) (c) of the Party Constitution as Amended.”
In their statement of facts, the two noted that the constituency’s cheque book is kept by the accused due to his position.
“That Mr. Koranteng has been issuing and signing checks for withdrawal from the party’s bank account at the Agona Swedru Branch of Republic Bank with account number 0253392761018 on several occasions without prior approval by the Constituency Executive Committee, Details of bank statement show that Mr. Koranteng together with the then constituency chairperson, Mr. Joseph Afankwah (a.k.a Kojo Addo) have been withdrawing monies from the said account without the knowledge of the Constituency Executive Committee not even the treasurer and the financial secretary.”
Interestingly, Joseph Afankwah was suspended by the party in February for allegedly recording Prof. Frimpong Boateng in a conversation secretly. It was however alleged that whilst under suspension Mr. Afankwah, together with Mr. Koranteng, withdrew from the party’s account on 24th February and March 12, 2020.
The petitioners attached the bank statement to prove their case before the regional executives.
In their reliefs, the petitioners demanded among others that Mr. Koranteng’s “actions be declared unfaithful and dishonest, and as such, unlawful and malicious with intent to defraud the party and its beneficiaries”.
They also prayed the executives to sanction George Koranteng in accordance with Article 4 (7)(2).
