Day: December 23, 2023

Parliament on Saturday passed the Appropriation Bill, 2023, to allow Government to withdraw GHS259.05 billion to meet its expenditure for the 2024 financial year.

The amount will be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund and other public funds and for related matters.

The object of the Bill is to provide for appropriation for the year 2024.

This is in accordance with the constitutional requirement under paragraph (a) of clause (2) of Article 179 of the Constitution that estimates of expenditure of public offices shall be included in an Appropriation Bill to be Introduced in Parliament to provide for the issue of funds from the Consolidated Fund and other public funds to meet Government expenditure.

Pursuant to paragraph (a) of clause (2) of article 179 of the 1992 Constitution, a sum of money not exceeding GHS259.05 billion shall be issued from the Consolidated Fund and other public funds during the financial year commencing on the 1st day of January, 2024 and ending on the 31st day of December, 2024 a
nd shall be appropriated for the purposes specified in the First Schedule, which translates into the Third and Fourth Schedules, representing Ministries, Departments and Agencies and Other Government Obligations with their programmes.

The Bill permits certain Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to retain and use an amount of GHS12.33 billion during the financial year commencing on the 1st day of January, 2024 and ending on the 31st day of December, 2024.

Touching on payment of money on authorisation of Minister responsible for Finance, the Bill indicates that the Controller and Accountant-General may, on a warrant issued on the authority of the Minister responsible for Finance, pay out of the Consolidated Fund and other public funds during the financial year ending on the 31st day of December 2024 any sum not exceeding the sum of GHS259.05 billion.
Source: Ghana News Agency

?The accused person, Edmond Nashiru, pleaded not guilty to the offence, and was remanded into prison custody.?

Chief Inspector Joseph Lartey, prosecuting told the court presided over by Mrs Hathia Ama Manu that the complainant Felicity Acquah, is a rotational nurse resident at New Atuabo.

She holds a savings account at Access Bank, Tarkwa branch, while Edmond is a front desk officer at the bank.?

On November 6, 2023, the Tarkwa Police received a complaint from Felicity that she received series of mobile alert on his phone on same day indicating that her account had been debited with a total amount of GH?9,781.00 without her consent.?

Chief Inspector Lartey said Felicity went to Edmond at the banking hall for clarification, but he only told her that fraudsters had stolen her money and she left.?

The prosecutor said as part of police investigation into the complaint on November 16, 2023, they obtained a court order and served management of the bank to provide detailed information on the transaction w
hich led to the said cash stolen from Felicity’s account.

He said the audit department of the bank investigated the theft and presented their report to the police and explained that Edmond was the one behind the theft.

The report further indicated that the accused person used his cell phone to transfer the said money from Felicity’s account to two different MTN numbers.

Chief Inspector Lartey said Edmond was arrested for questioning and revealed to the police that he assisted Felicity to?install a banking application on her mobile phone in the process obtained her log-in credentials account.

According to the prosecutor, Edmond said to cover up the crime, he tasked his brother who is currently on the run to get him two Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards to purposely deposit the stolen money on it.?

The court heard that after Edmond and his brother had successfully completed?the transaction, they?discarded the two SIM cards to ensure they were not apprehended.?

The court has adjourned the case t
o Thursday December 28, 2023, for continuation.?
Source: Ghana News Agency

Fire has gutted UDS Mall, a shopping centre at the Tamale Campus of the University for Development Studies, destroying everything in the facility, which serves the student community and some members of the public.

The fire was said to have started around 1000hours on Friday and destroyed the shopping centre, which had facilities such as a printing press, a hairdressing salon, and a provision stall. Mr Christian Abi, Chief Executive Officer of UDS Mall, who was in tears while narrating the incident to the Ghana News Agency, said the items destroyed were worth over a million Ghana Cedis.

He said the situation was unbearable as he had lost all his investments and appealed to members of the public to come to his aid.

Meanwhile, personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service, who were called in, have begun investigations into cause of the fire at the facility.
Source: Ghana News Agency

Reverend Prosper Mensah Ayivi, Presiding Elder, Ashaiman District AME Zion Church has urged members of royal families to allow the spirit of unity to take root in them.

He said unity was a virtue which people in leadership or seeking leadership roles such as chieftaincy must embrace in order to lead in a way such that their subjects could enjoy their reign.

Rev. Ayivi was speaking at the launch of a book entitled ‘Logotome’ a compilation of historical legendary of Torgbuiga Amegadze Anubo Royal Family of Aflao coauthored by Fiator David Selorm Hukportie, Mr John Dovene Hukportie, Mr Paul Yaovi Hussey and Mr Francis Korku Vittor.

He alluded to the Biblical story of the building of the tower of the Babel by a group of united people and the resultant fall of the tower following the dispersion of the people into clusters as in Genesis 11:1-14, to underscore the importance of being united and speaking with one voice.

‘Let the spirit of unity take root in us so we can serve our subjects well for wherever t
here is conflict, there is division and retrogression.

‘As royal families, let us be united and bring members together. No matter how serious the disagreement, it can always to be resolved using dialogue and not resorting to arms/conflict.’

The 15-chapter historical book with forward by Constitutional Lawyer, Mr Anthony Kodzo Dabi, aimed to shed light on the history of Aflao, which it says was founded by over 900 years ago by Torgbui Agban Tatrabi, the first to settle at Aflao from Notsie known in present-day as Togo.

Fiator Hukportie, co-author, said it was important to author and launch the historical legendary to help the people of Aflao have knowledge about their true history.

He encouraged people to document their family history to avoid distortion that might result from passing down oral history from generations to generations, calling,’let our family history unite us, not divide us.’

Mr George Kwame Woami, Vice Chairman of Council of Elders, Torgbuiga Amegadze, Anubo Royal Family, urged every
one to get a copy, which among others, know the migration story of Aflao, one of the oldest towns in Ghana, its historical background, customs, interreligious activities and to some extent, the refugee situation during war times.
Source: Ghana News Agency

Personnel of the Public Relations Unit of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Friday night won multiple awards at the prestigious Government Public Relations Excellence (GOPREX) Awards.

The awards ceremony, hosted by the Ministry of Information, witnessed the PR Units of the Lands Ministry being recognised and honoured for their outstanding achievements during the year under review.

Amid tough competition across 11 categories, the Lands Ministry’s PR Unit emerged triumphant, securing an impressive four awards.

Mr Abraham Otabil, the Head of the Public Relations Unit of the Ministry, took home the 1st Runner-Up for Best PRO of the Year. Simultaneously, his dedicated Assistant PRO, Madam Michelle Fafa Agbenorto, received the Best Assistant PRO of the Year.

Additionally, the Ministry proudly received the accolade for the Best Bonsu PR Unit of the Year for second consecutive time.

The crowning moment came when Professor Patrick Agbesinyale, the Ministry’s Chief Director was recognised and awar
ded the Most PR-Friendly Chief Director of the Year.

Prof. Agbesinyale was acknowledged for his remarkable contribution to the Ministry’s stellar performance this year.

Also, the outstanding achievements of Mr. Otabil and Ms Fafa Agbenorto were lauded for their unwavering commitment and exceptional dedication during the year under assessment.

Their commendable efforts in utilising the Bonsu platform for digitised report entries, coupled with their significant contributions to the Ministry’s performance assessment under Prof. Agbesinyale’s leadership, earned them well-deserved accolades.

Mrs Ethel Cudjoe Amissah, the Head of the Public Relations Coordinating Division (PRCD), Information Ministry, in her remarks, commended the PROs for their remarkable efforts in enhancing the Government’s Public Relations apparatus.

She highlighted a significant surge in overall performance and commended the PROs for their resilience and playing a pivotal role in government’s communication.

Mrs Amissah was hopeful
that greater accomplishments by the PR Units of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) would be witnessed in the coming years.

She emphasised the need for PROs to share more compelling narratives, recognising the challenges they face and thus, assured the Ministry’s continuous support.

She urged the PROs to equip themselves with knowledge on combating misinformation and disinformation, especially in the 2024 General Election, to safeguard the nation from potential mayhem.
Source: Ghana News Agency

The Yison Tech Hub, an Information Technology (IT) hub in Wa, has launched the ‘Smart Woman Project’ seeking to empower about 200 rural businesswomen in digital skills including Facebook, internet of things and MoMo fraud detection.

They would also be trained in business management skills to enable them to expand their businesses.

Mr Serikpera Naa Issahaque, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Yison Tech Hub, speaking at the launch of the Project in Nadowli, said the training would equip the women with the skills to access the digital market for their products.

He indicated that the project, to be implemented from October 2023 to September 2025 in the Nadowli-Kaleo District, was the first of its kind in the country and supported by the Internet Society Foundation in the United States of America (USA).

He said the beneficiary women were selected from ten communities in the district including the Sankana, Takpo, Charikpong, Serekpere and Nadowli in consultation with the various stakeholders at the di
strict and community levels such as traditional leaders and appropriate institutional heads at the District Assembly.

Mr Issahaque explained that though women outnumbered men in the country, men dominated the business sector, and expressed hope that when the women were empowered with the digital skills, they would also participate actively in the business environment.

‘One of the challenges is that people have products but there is no market. Sometimes these middlemen take advantage of them, so we are trying to prevent these challenges that women face in doing businesses,’ he indicated.

He stated that women played a critical role in the local and national economy but access to the needed business support and skills development had been a challenge.

He expressed the hope that building the confidence and ability of women in the use of the Internet would help improve their business activities.

Mr Issahaque said the project intended to build an e-commerce platform so the women could continue to link the
women’s businesses to markets as well as work with other stakeholders at the district and community levels to help sustain the project gains after it elapsed.

He said that would also help stop women from travelling to the southern sector to engage in miniature jobs and sometimes end up in social vices such as commercial sex work.

Dr George Dery, the Board Chairman of Yison Tech Hub, expressed the hope that the project would generate the needed impact among the women in the district.

Mr Alhassan Tonsuglo, an Assistant Director at the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council, who represented the Upper West Regional Minister at the launch, observed that limited access to technology had held back rural women for a long time though they were a critical component of the local economy.

He indicated that through the project the women would not only be equipped with the digital skills, but they would be empowered and transformed to take advantage of the digital marketing platforms.
Source: Ghana News Agency

The Accra Sports Stadium was nearly filled to its rafters as more than 35,000 fans graced the Bhim Concert-5th Dimension homecoming edition on Friday, December 22, 2023.

The 40,000-capacity stadium came alive with ecstatic performances from some of the finest artistes in Ghana as well as Jamaica in a concert that lasted over 10 hours.

It was never a dull moment with Bhim Nation fans, especially when their hero stepped on stage to deliver an astounding live band performance.
Source: Ghana News Agency

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the sacrifices, valour and professionalism shown by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) in their work have inured to the nation’s stability and development.

He tasked the officers and men to continue to be steadfast in defending the territorial integrity of the nation amid the surge in trans-national organised crimes and terrorism in the sub-Saharan Africa.

The President was addressing the leadership of the Armed Forces at a soiree to climax the West African Soldiers’ Social Activities (WASSA) at the Burma Camp, Accra,

His call comes as the sub-Region grapples with unprecedented levels of security and humanitarian challenges, socio-political instability, further compounded by the impact of climate change and food insecurity.

Despite efforts by national security forces and international partners, insecurity has again deteriorated in large parts of the region, says the United Nations (UN).

Operations by armed groups, violent extremists and criminal networks have fo
rced the closure of more than 10,000 schools, with millions of children affected as well as some 7,000 health centres.

At the same time, countries along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea have also seen an increase in attacks against their territories, threatening transport routes to landlocked nations further north.

In spite of the prevailing dire security challenges, Ghana remains a beacon of hope for neighbouring countries, having enjoyed smooth democratic governance, stability and peace over the years.

President Nana Akufo-Addo said the Government had stepped up efforts to retool and resource the Army to build its capacity in warding off violent crimes.

The accommodation, welfare and operational logistics needs of the personnel were being given the needed attention, he assured, stressing that the Army was being supported to protect the nation’s interests.

On the 2024 General Election, he said, the country would once again rely on the Army and other security services to provide the requisite backing
to ensure successful polls.

He urged the Army to foster good relations with the civilian population to enhance unity of purpose and national development.

Mr Dominic Nitiwul, Minister for Defence, said work on the construction of military bases along Ghana’s northern frontiers had reached an advanced stage.
Source: Ghana News Agency

Shoppers have thronged Accra’s most popular shopping centres, Makola, Okaishie and Kantamanto, all located in the central business district, with hours to Christmas eve.\
Source: Ghana News Agency