President Nana Akufo -Addo will address the nation at 9 pm tonight (August 30) on measures taken so far to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
The president is expected to ease more restrictions particularly the opening of the country’s border by air.
It’s been 6 months since the novel Coronavirus first hit the shores of Ghana. Many sectors of the nation were hit hard by the pandemic. The country even had to go under a lockdown for some time. However, the tide kept turning for humanity and easing of restrictions started.
In Ghana some sectors of the economy were opened and final year students of the various levels of education were made to go back to school and complete their studies. Tonight Sunday August 30, 2020 at 8:00pm the President, Nana Akufo-Addo will address the nation on the measures taken the spread of the Coronavirus. Ghanaians are optimistic of many things.
Ghanaians expect the government to officially declare our airspace open. Last week the aviation authorities conducted checks at the Kotoka International Airport to ascertain whether it was ready. All things been equal the airport will be open from September 1. Ghanaians will also be expecting to see if the country’s land borders will also be opened to travelers.
Again the education sector is expected to feature. Private teachers have been complaining of not receiving enough since the closure of schools. Aside them teachers from all sides also remain hopeful of returning to the classrooms.
Many look to see if the President will announce the reopening of schools. Will the education sector open fully or it will come in stages?
Lastly will churches be open to children or still the Sunday school services will be suspended? Parents have been made to contemplate whether they have to go to church or stay behind with the young ones, especially for those who have no one to take care of them.
Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has revealed that the Mahama administration was able to reduce teacher absenteeism at the basic and second cycle levels from the 27 per cent they inherited to 7 per cent.
He told host Abena Tabi on The Key Points on TV3 Saturday, August 29 that the administration also managed to remove 65 per cent of the schools that were under trees.
This, according the former Deputy Minister of Education, was as result of the remarkable investment Mr Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) made in the educational sector.
Contributing to a discussion on the track records of the NDC and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Ablakwa said: “I will situate what we did in three broad spectrums: quality, access and equity.
“If you look at quality you will notice that former president Mahama was committed to improving outcomes and so looked at all the gamut of issues that has to be invested in and has to be addressed.
“So you take for example teacher absenteeism, we met it at 27 per cent and through a vigorours campaign, meeting with the teacher unions and putting in place the right systems because it is not fair that parents will pay fees, children will go to school and there are no teachers to teach them, by the end of our four-year mandate teacher absenteeism had reduced from 27 to 7 per cent.
“You take the nature of our rural schools. We counted not less than 4000 schools under trees [and] you are competing with students in Singapore, students in Finland and these are yardsticks. If you look at their class environment it is friendly, the child is looking forward to the next day of school and so we decided to embark on a programme which we call Elimination of Schools Under Trees. And the records will show that we managed to eliminate about 65 per cent of the schools under trees which we met across the length and breadth of this country.”
He further revealed that the best Basic Education Certificate Examination as well as the West African Senior Schools Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) results topped under the NDC administration due to these and other investments.
“For four consecutive years Ghana was adjudged the best WASSCE performing nation because of these investments that were made. We carried out an inventory of teachers we realised that some 3400 vacancies exist so far as Maths and Science teachers are concerned and we recruited teachers to fill that vacancies,” he said.
Reacting to his comments also on the same show, Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Second Cycle Education Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum said the NDC only tackled the symptoms of the problems in the sector and left the actual problem.
“If you solve teacher absenteeism and not take a look at the school leadership and accountability you are not going to get anywhere.
“When it comes to education you have to be mindful of what you are doing. You may end up solving the
“If you look at quality you will notice that former president Mahama was committed to improving outcomes and so looked at all the gamut of issues that has to be invested in and has to be addressed.
“So you take for example teacher absenteeism, we met it at 27 per cent and through a vigorours campaign, meeting with the teacher unions and putting in place the right systems because it is not fair that parents will pay fees, children will go to school and there are no teachers to teach them, by the end of our four-year mandate teacher absenteeism had reduced from 27 to 7 per cent.
“You take the nature of our rural schools. We counted not less than 4000 schools under trees [and] you are competing with students in Singapore, students in Finland and these are yardsticks. If you look at their class environment it is friendly, the child is looking forward to the next day of school and so we decided to embark on a programme which we call Elimination of Schools Under Trees. And the records will show that we managed to eliminate about 65 per cent of the schools under trees which we met across the length and breadth of this country.”
He further revealed that the best Basic Education Certificate Examination as well as the West African Senior Schools Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) results topped under the NDC administration due to these and other investments.
“For four consecutive years Ghana was adjudged the best WASSCE performing nation because of these investments that were made. We carried out an inventory of teachers we realised that some 3400 vacancies exist so far as Maths and Science teachers are concerned and we recruited teachers to fill that vacancies,” he said.
Reacting to his comments also on the same show, Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Second Cycle Education Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum said the NDC only tackled the symptoms of the problems in the sector and left the actual problem.
“If you solve teacher absenteeism and not take a look at the school leadership and accountability you are not going to get anywhere.
“When it comes to education you have to be mindful of what you are doing. You may end up solving the symptoms of the problem and not the real problem itself.”
The Ghana Committed Drivers Association (GCDA) has expressed total disappointment in former President and flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Dramani Mahama for promising to legalize and regulate the operation of motorbikes, popularly known as Okada, should he win the December 7 polls.
The drivers consider the legalization of motorbikes for commercial purpose contradictory to the Road Traffic Regulation 2012 and Legislative Instrument (LI) 2180, which ban commercialization of motorbikes in Ghana.
Chairman of GCDA Charles Danso, in an interview on Yensempa on Onua FM on Wednesday, August 26 stated categorically that legalizing okada is like introducing genocide in Ghana.
Mr. Danso wants former president Mahama to be dragged to court for publicly announcing his intention to legalize the operation of okada in the country for commercial purposes.
“Former President Mahama needs to be dragged to court because what he is saying is like introducing genocide where people are given guns to kill.
“We have laws which forbid motorbikes to be used for commercial purposes and this same law was gazetted when Mr. Mahama was president,” he stated.
The Road Traffic Regulation, according to Mr. Danso, only allows Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) to register motorbikes for courier services but not for commercial purposes hence do not understand the rationale behind former president’s intent.
Mr. Danso lamented on the mutilation Okada had had on the society, counting the huge number of lives lost through motorbike accidents as well as those who have been rendered inoperative.
He bewailed that okada has caused more harm in society than good and therefore drivers would forever resist its legalization by any government.
He threatened that the day the government would commercialize operation of okada in Ghana would be the same day all road safety laws regulating commercial drivers would cease.
The chairman for committed drivers thus appealed to political parties to desist from politicking with issues of national interest.
The Nigerian government has expressed worry about what they believe to be unfair treatment of Nigerians in Ghana.
In a long press statement, they talked about the recently demolished Nigeria High Commission property, the closure of Nigerian owned shops and constant deportation of Nigerians.
They made mention that since 2018, 825 Nigeria nationals have been deported from Ghana.
The Nigeria Government also talked about the high cost of residence permit in Ghana compared to their country.
See press release below;
Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Nigeria. Click
Musician turned politician, Kwame Obeng Asare aka A Plus has publicly confessed his dislike for Kojo Oppong Nkrumah who is the Information Minister and Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayeribi.
In an interview with Kofi TV, A Plus said he will not tolerate the presence of the minister if he should meet him. According to him, his dislike for Kojo Opppong Nkrumah will highly influence his decision to ignore the exchange of pleasantries.
“Kojo Oppong Nkrumah used to be my friend; now, I don’t like him. I won’t lie and say we’re in a good relationship. I don’t like him. If I see him, I’ll pass; but if he greets me, I’ll respond. We must accord people respect,” he noted in the interview.
In detailing the cause for this stance, A Plus said Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, when he was a journalist in the lead up to the 2016 elections labelled the candidature and the fight against corruption by Akufo-Addo as unfit and unpurposeful.
Therefore, A Plus believes Mr Oppong Nkrumah should not be tolerated around the party especially when his role to ensure the victory of the party in 2016 was minimal and inconsequential.
“In 2016, I dedicated my time and risked my life for him [Oppong Nkrumah]. I went to Ofoase Ayirebi to help him win the parliamentary elections. I did it for free, I just wanted to help him to win.
“So when you win and go for a radio interview on corruption and I’m mentioned that I have criticized the government about its way of fighting corruption and you create an impression that ‘A Plus is not a serious guy, he has fallen out with the government so no one sho
A Plus angrily retorted that the fact that Kojo Oppong Nkrumah is a minister does not mean they are ‘co-equals.’
“I’m not your co-equal. You are a government appointee, I run my own business. I’m not an appointee. The government tasked me but revoked it after three months thinking I’ll die as a result. I have survived it. Out of my free will, I supported your campaign and it meant I meant well for you. So if you become a minister and think you have power, don’t think you can use that power to disrespect people who genuinely supported you.”
A Plus has always been on the neck of the Information Minister since he was appointed. His social media posts do not cease to tag the young politician as corrupt, ungrateful and sycophant. He has launched several attacks against Kojo Oppong Nkrumah which the minister is yet to react or respond to.
However, many sympathizers of the NPP believe all the shenanigans being exhibited by A Plus is because he feels he has been sidelined by the government and as a result of the abundance of bitterness that has piled in his heart, decided to attack appointees of the government who are clean and blameless.
A 20-year-old man and his 18-year-old pregnant girlfriend of the Mansoman Senior High School in the Amansie West of the Ashanti Region are unashamedly partaking in the ongoing West African Secondary School Certificate Examination.
The pregnancy is said to have been a result of a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship that is prevalent in most second cycle institutions across the country.
According to a report by Ghanaxtra.com, the lady said she does not want the pregnancy to serve as a hindrance to her future, although their indiscretion and immaturity has caused the situation they find themselves in.
“I’m in my seventh month, and it may not be advisable for a student to do what I did but since it has happened, I can’t say I won’t write because of shyness. Because of my future, I’m not ashamed of writing with my pregnancy.”
An independent candidate is likely to contest for Ghana’s next general election in 2020.
Marricke Kofi Gane, describing himself as “a son of the land”, declared his intention Thursday to run for president of Ghana as an independent presidential candidate in a Facebook post.
“I am here to put Ghana first because Ghana deserves better! Because you deserve better! Because we deserve better,” he said in a four-minute video posted on the social media network.
“Our generation is a bridge – the only remaining bridge between the truncated dreams of our forebears and the eager hopes of posterity unborn. We have no choice but to disrupt every faulty status quo and make Ghana work for all of us. It is a grave burden that will demand more from all of us collectively. God has indeed blessed our homeland Ghana. It is we, who must now make her Great and Strong,” the audit and consultancy manager said.
Below are the full details of his statement:
MARRICKE KOFI GANE ANNOUNCES HIS
CANDIDACY FOR 2020 PRESIDENTIAL RACE
Marricke Kofi Gane officially announces his intention to run for President of Ghana as an Independent Presidential Candidate (IPC), in the upcoming December 2020 elections.
Mr Kofi Gane, a son of the land, has a unique blend of local, regional and international experiences that are crucial to Ghana’s needs today. He is an International Development expert with vast experiences managing global innovation and development funds, meaning he understands how the world and development work and how to strategically position Ghana within it.
His background as a Chartered Certified Accountant means his professional grooming brings to bear accountability, value for money and critical thinking – the very pillars needed in Ghana’s current leadership. Mr Gane is not tainted by Ghana’s political system and as such, he brings refreshing creativity, inclusiveness and objectivity to how politics is done, as well as the political willpower to challenge and change faulty status quos devoid of blind party allegiance.
He admits both our educational system and economy need radical policy innovations to create new opportunities by releasing the full potential of Ghana’s human resource. He believes the solution to our development, lies in Ghana’s youthful population, if well-equipped, motivated, then directed. He is a passionate Ghanaian with high integrity, a balanced Christian and respecter of all faiths and creeds.
In his own words: “Our generation is a bridge – the only remaining bridge between the truncated dreams of our forebears and the eager hopes of posterity unborn. We have no choice but to disrupt every faulty status quo and make Ghana work for ALL of us. It is a grave burden that will demand more from all of us collectively. God has indeed blessed our homeland Ghana. It is WE, who MUST now make her Great and Strong.”
Marricke Kofi Gane’s message to Ghanaians is simple – “I am here to put Ghana first because GHANA deserves better! Because YOU deserve better! Because WE deserve better.”
His call is to every well-meaning Ghanaian to join this paradigm revolution, so together we can create a fitting inheritance for our future generation, unleash the best Ghanaian in all of us and build the Ghana that is indeed “Great and Strong.” Bring your time and expertise to volunteer, bring your finances to support, bring your votes to back a good cause and bring your influence to steer a new order.
As a demonstration of their commitment and pledge to the party and its progress, newly elected executives of the Convention People’s Party, took an oath of allegiance during their swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, August 26, 2020.
The event which was held at the party’s headquarters in Accra saw the Flagbearer, Ivor Kobina Greensheet, and other executives of the party, officially being ushered into their respective leadership positions.
This follows the party’s national delegates congress held in the Eastern Region on Saturday, August 22, 2020.
Greenstreet won 213 of the total valid votes cast against Bright Akwetey and Divine Ayivor who polled 27 and 14 of the total valid votes cast respectively.
Nana Akosua Frimpomaa Kumakuma, who was the 2012 running-mate of the then CPP flagbearer Dr Abu Sakara Foster, was elected National Chairperson.
Nana Yaa Akyimpim Jantuah, former Public Affairs Director of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), was elected General Secretary with 187 votes against acting General Secretary James Kwabena Bomfeh popularly known as Kabila who polled 67 votes.
Emmanuel Ogbojor won 125 votes to become Vice Chairman of the party against Onsy Kwame Nkrumah, self-acclaimed son of CPP’s founder Kwame Nkrumah who polled 84 votes.
Meanwhile, Flagbearer, Mr. Greenstreet has entreated Ghanaians to be circumspect with their votes. He believes a vote for the CPP is a vote for the Ghanaian populace whereas a vote for the two big parties, New Patriotic Party and National Democratic Congress a wasted one.
“People of Ghana, a vote for the CPP is a vote for yourself. For the past 28 years, our country has been governed by the NPP and the NDC who have ruled more to serve the interest of they themselves and not the interest of the people of Ghana,” he stated.
Conference of Heads of Basics Schools (COHBS) has called on the government to give teachers some allowances considering their efforts to educate students in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic.
COHBS says that they can also be considered as frontline workers as they assume the role of nurses in their respective educational instutitions.
General Secretary of COHBS, Alex Ackah, wants the government to incentivize them for their efforts.
“We are looking forward that the government should consider the good works that we are doing. When the government gives us something it is not bad. I am talking about cash. We are also frontline workers because we are dealing with students whose status we don’t know of. We are able to identify people with high temperature and refer them to the nurses,” he said.
Alex Ackah also called on those responsible for the delivery of the hot meals to basic school pupils as promised by the government, to come earlier than their usual time.
He says that it will be better for the meals to be delivered at about 10:45am as that is the midpoint for classes.
“The midday is at 12 o’clock and we are closing at 12:45 pm and at that time the students will be going home. I think that between 10:45 am and 11:45 am, it will be appropriate for the students to eat. At 10:45 am, we have done two periods and it is left with another two periods. So that will be the midday for teaching and learning. The midday is 10:45 am. If any caterer who wants to accept our negotiation, then it should be around that time,” he said.
PPEs matters
On the matters of the supply of personal protective equipment (PPEs), Mr. Alex Ackah commended the government for its efforts.
He says that the government has been quick to supply PPEs to guarantee the safety of students as they prepare for their Basic Education Certificate Examinations.
Veteran actress Grace Omaboe has said Ghanaians should forgive Tracy Boakye and all the ladies involved in the ongoing social media fracas.
The Kumawood actress had claimed that a married man she is dating is also dating ‘16 years’ hitmaker Mzbel but the man prefers her (Tracy Boakye) and this issue has taken twist and turns ever since it broke on social media.
Maame Dokono, old cast of ‘By The Fireside’ to relive old moments But Grace Omaboe, popularly known as Maame Dokono, has added her voice to the ongoing clash between these ladies and, according her, Ghanaians should forgive the ladies for their utterances.
According to Maame Dokono, there was nothing like social media during their time when she started acting and it is thus disturbing when some of these ladies post half-naked pictures on social media because of fame.
She was speaking on Anigye Mmre on Onua FM on Wednesday, August 26.
Host Christian Agyei Frimpong asked Maame Dokono if some of these things happened during their days and she said “No”.
“During my days I didn’t have time to talk about certain things. I was engaged in my television programmes, acting and radio programmes and I didn’t have the time to talk about certain things in the open.”
She added: “I can’t even tell if social media is good or bad because I don’t even know how to use it. I believe when they grow up, they will definitely change so let’s forgive them.”
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has outlined activities to take stock of the achievements, challenges and the way forward for the Child and Family Welfare Policy (CFWP) as it commemorates the 2020 National Children’s Day.
The Day, instituted on August 31, 1979 is a key activity of the then Ghana National Commission of Children (GNCC), which was established to see to the general welfare and development of children.
The GNCC was converted to the Department of Children by the GNCC Repeal Act, 2005 (Act 701) as an implementing department responsible for implementing programmes and projects for the survival, protection, participation and development of children.
A statement issued in Accra and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Thursday said the day would be observed to co-ordinate all essential services countrywide and promote the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child.
It said the celebration was expected to be carried out at the regional and national levels with awareness creation on the need for the public to act now to protect children from teenage pregnancy, human trafficking and other forms of abuse amidst COVID-19.
It noted that on Friday, August 28, the Ministry would hold a community sensitisation programme on the need to end human trafficking at the Komenda Edina Aguafo Abirem Municipal Assembly in the Central Region.
On August 31 the Ministry would hold a national stakeholder’s forum on this year’s theme: “Five Years of Implementing the CFWP; the Achievement, Challenges and the Way Forward,” in Accra.
The Ministry congratulated all stakeholders who had delivered on their role in the Policy to ensure the strengthening of the child and family welfare system in Ghana.
“We further urge all to continue to strive for a better Ghana for our children. Our children need protection now more than ever during this COVID-19 era.”
“We must all endeavour to protect them by ensuring they adhere to the COVID-19 prevention protocols and ensure that they continue to learn whilst at home.”
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has said the recent deployment of officers across the country was to help security agencies secure the country’s borders and not to harass civilians.
Brigadier General Abraham Yeboah Nsiah, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Southern Command, said contrary to speculations, soldiers deployed in border communities, particularly Wudoaba in the Ketu South Municipality executed their duties professionally.
In a press briefing when he led a delegation of the Armed Forces from Accra and the 66 Artillery Regiment, Ho, and heads of sister security agencies in the Municipality to visit officers deployed to the area.
The delegation visited about five checkpoints, being jointly manned by soldiers, Immigration and Customs officers, and the Police to encourage them.
Brigadier General Nsiah described as false media reports that GAF had withdrawn personnel from the area at the end of the voter registration exercise.
This, he said, gave the impression that the military presence was to prevent people from participating in the voter registration exercise. He referred to a video in which some residents reportedly said the soldiers left the town after the voter registration exercise was completed.
However, the GOC Southern Command said that was not the case because soldiers were not deployed in the area where the interview was granted.
“We deployed soldiers to seal the border, not the towns. That town is about two kilometres away from the border itself so you don’t expect to see a soldier there in the middle of the town, where there’s no border crossing.
“So to hear that soldiers have withdrawn since the completion of the registration exercise is completely false,” he said. Brigadier General Nsiah said he was satisfied with the visit to the area and noted that the security forces would not be distracted by the negative comments.
“We remain focused and committed to the security of this country,” he added.
Unconfirmed rumours gathered by Celebrities Buzz is indicating that about 16 final year JHS students in the Volta Regional capital, Ho has been hit by a suspected food poisoning
This came about after the said students consumed food cooked under the 1 Hot meal per student agenda implemented by the government.
Over 16 students of the Holy Spirit Basic School at Ho in the volta Region, are receiving treatment at the municipal Hospital following a suspected food poisoning.
The students; both male and female, were rushed to the hospital today, August 27,after they complained of stomach aches after eating ‘waakye’ from the Government’s Free Hot-meal for the JHS final years .
Some of the students had been put on drips, whilst others had been discharged and were in the process of completing documentation to confirm their release
The school uniform appears to be that of the Holy Spirit basic school.The accompanying pictures were as a result of frantic efforts of our sharp lenses amist tight security for the obviouse reasons
The situation forced some parents to rush to the hospital to check on their wards.
According to the director of school feeding(Ho district)she says,”We suspect that the students had overeaten because is the same food that was given to all the schools in the community.”
The great traditionalist and spiritualist, Nana Kwaku Bonsam who once dominated the media spaces after claiming spirituality to have walked over the sea come in the media limelight once again.
He regularly appeared on television talk shows and could rally crowds of thousands. His fame shot over the clouds when he claimed to put a voodoo curse on Christiano Ronaldo during a Portuguese match with Ghana Black Stars. Which didn’t worked as he said. Ghana was defeated by Portugal.
As Ghanaian voters head to the polls in December, there have been many issues developing on what is set to happen in the coming elections. This election will be a tough contest for both parties. While both parties are prepared and waiting for the Election Day.
According to him in an interview with Wontumi FM, John Dramani Mahama’s inspired NDC will lose woefully to NPP. He revealed that Akufo Addo will this time around win the election again.
He finally concluded that things has already been arranged spiritually but only left to appear physically . In the same vein,he urged the NPP to step up their efforts to give the NDC a heavy blow of defeat once again in the upcoming elections.
