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12 sentenced over murder of Major Mahama

By
BERNICE BESSEY
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Law Court Complex, Accra

Twelve (12) persons have been sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of murdering an officer of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Major Maxwell Mahama.

They are William Baah, Bernard Asamoah Kofi Nyame, Charles Kwaning, Kwame Tuffuor, Joseph Appiah Kubi, Michael Anim William Baah, Bernard Asamoah and Kofi Nyame.

The rest are Charles Kwaning, Kwame Tuffuor, Joseph Appiah Kubi, Michael Anim, John Bosie, Akwesi Asante, Emmanuel Baidoo and Kwadzo Anima.

However, verdict was also passed to acquit and discharge two of the 14 residents of Dankyira Obuasi, who were accused of the murder of Major Mahama, who was on guard duty at Dankyira Obuasi, in the Central region.

Bismark Donkor and Bismarck Abanga were acquitted by the Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Mariama Owusu, after being found innocent by the jury yesterday.

Hitherto, all of the convicts and discharged pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit a crime, abetment of a crime and murder.

Nevertheless, on July 4, 2022 the court ruled that prosecution made prima facie case and called on all of the convicts and discharged persons to open their defence.

The subject matter of the case was that Major Mahama is dead, but died through harm, the harm was unlawful, the death was intentional and that the convicts were the cause of the death.

As it was established by autopsy that Major Mahama died from multiple head injuries from blunt object and gun wounds.

The court stated that circumstances leading to his death were captured in video, including the role each of the convicts played in lynching the soldier, who was by then a Captain.

Recounting the incident in the year 2017, the court noted that Bernard Asamoah was seen hitting the deceased with a stick, as well as a stone.

Kofi Nyame was seen dropping a cement block on the head of the deceased and Charles Kwaning, as well as Kwame Tuffuor admitted doing same.

Joseph Appiah Kubi admitted the crime by stating that he pelted ‘small’ blocks he picked at the deceased. Michael Anim on his part said he only threw a blow at the deceased. Another accused person admitted throwing a cement block at the deceased, but said it did not hit target because the deceased blocked it with his hand.

Akwesi Asante was captured in the video holding a gun at the crime scene and fired same at the deceased.

Kwadzo Anima was at the scene and took part in the crime by removing the clothe of the deceased.

Families of the deceased were content with the verdict and hoped that no other person suffers the fate of their son.

Editorial: Gov’t should insist on security of tenure clause in next Black Stars manager’s contract

By
THE CHRONICLE
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Editorial

In our Friday, January 26, 2024 edition, we expressed concern over a series of allegations that have rocked the senior national soccer team, the Black Stars, after their painful exit from the AFCON 2023 currently underway in Ivory Coast.

The Chronicle, for instance, picked information that because of the bad relationship between some of the FA officials and agents of some of the players, the latter is not being invited into the team and in cases where they are even invited, their services are not properly utilised.

In view of this, we suggested a total overhaul of the team, which is owned by the state to ensure that they perform well in their next international assignments. Indeed, a lot have happened since we made these suggestions. In fact we are being told that the manager of the national team does not allegedly have full control over who to invite and which player to use.

We are also being told that some of the FA members have teams across all football divisions in the country. Coaches selected to handle these national teams allegedly call the bulk of the players from these teams, owned by the FA officials. To make matters worse, management members of the Black Stars are being paid huge sums of money for the role they are playing.

If we all agree that the national teams, and most especially the Black Stars, is owned and funded by the state, then the government of the day should play a crucial role in the selection and appointment of coaches to handle the national teams, but unfortunately, this is not happening.

As we speak, the GFA after the abysmal performance of the team in Ivory Coast has set up a committee to search for a new coach. This is like putting the cart before the horse, because how does the FA go hunting for a new coach when they have not done any technical assessment and come up with a comprehensive report on why we failed abysmally at the tournament.

If for anything at all, since we all know that the team belongs to the state, one would have expected the government to take the initiative to search and appoint its own coach, but for fear of being accused of interfering in football administration by FIFA, we are allowing the FA to do the selection again.

Nevertheless, to avoid the dissipation of state resources without corresponding results, as we are experiencing now, The Chronicle expects the government to sit down with the new Black Stars coach, when selected, and charge him to do an independent work.

As a matter of fact, a clause should be inserted in his contract to assure the coach that the government of Ghana will not support his dismissal if he decides to invite his own players without any interference from the football people. We believe that if the coach is given this assurance, he would defy any FA member that may try to influence his selection of players.

We insist that the Black Stars is owned by the state and must, therefore, have crucial role to play as to who manages the team. Whilst we admit that football is a big time business, it does not mean that we should allow private individuals to turn the national soccer teams into their private business venture at the expense of the state.

This also brings us to the issue of fat bonuses that are allegedly paid to management members of the Black Stars. According to various media reports, each member of the management team allegedly pocketed a whopping $100,000 after the 2022 World Cup. We hope this is not true, but if the opposite is the case, then The Chronicle will be surprised that the government also sanctioned such payments.

Medical doctors who help save lives in Ghana and university lecturers who impact knowledge to the next generation do not earn even a quarter of the package as their retirement benefits. The big question is: can the government look at the faces of the agitating workers and tell them there is no money, when it has signed off such a huge sums of money to individuals for playing roles that

do not even bring us success?

Certainly, there is no justification for such huge payments even if the money is coming from FIFA. If the national team had not qualified for the World Cup, FIFA wouldn’t have paid any appearance fee to the Ghana FA. Again, if this is the case, why should we allow people to use the name of Black Stars to make money and yet Ghanaians cannot question them because the money is from FIFA?

The last time we checked, the only product GFA has is the local league, which is almost dead, as Ghanaian teams have failed to perform well in Africa in recent years. All the cash cows – Starlets, Satellite, Black Meteors and Black Stars – are owned by the state of Ghana. This is the reason why we should be concerned about how football money is being dissipated.

We pause here and shall be back.

Ho municipal assembly to demolish illegal structures

By
SAMUEL AGBEWODE
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The MCE showing journalists one of the buildings that has been built in the middle of a road

The Ho Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Divine R.K Bosson, has cautioned developers against building in areas earmarked for roads, saying the Assembly would not compromise on the demolition of such structures to ensure standard planning of the city.

Mr Bosson said since 2022, the Assembly had informed those who started building at the foundation level in areas marked for roads to stop, but they had refused and stressed that the Assembly would definitely remove all structures on the roads.

The Ho MCE who made this known when he took the media round roads under construction in the Ho township  and challenges that the Assembly faced in carrying out construction activities, explained that the new roads being constructed would help open up the municipality to reduce traffic as well as ensure proper planning of the city.

Construction work progresses on Housing Junction road

According to Mr Bosson, many developers had failed to obtain building permits from the Assembly, and when they are ordered them to stop work because they were either building on roads or building without permit, they refused. The MCE warned that the Assembly would not countenance such acts of lawlessness.

He said the city of Ho was planned over 70 years ago, and that the development plan would still be maintained to ensure that the city becomes one of the best in the country.

According to him, drainage systems would be improved to prevent flooding in parts of the municipality, as experienced 2023, and asked residents to cooperate with the Assembly and to support it to effectively implement its development agenda.

He said as part of the development plan of the Assembly, trees would be planted along roads in the municipality to beautify the city and also maintain its status as the oxygen city of the country.

The Works Engineer of the Assembly, Mr John Ntibre said major roads under construction included the 1.2 kilometres Dave-junction –Barracks road, OLA –top road, charcoal market road and Zion School junction roads, which would be completed within six months.

 

Modern private hospital constructed in Ho

By
SAMUEL AGBEWODE
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A new medical health facility, Fountain Medical Services (FMS) has been inaugurated in Ho to bridge the gap between critical health provision to the people of the Volta and the Oti Regions.

The FMS vision and mission is for the two regions in particular and Ghanaians in general is to provide holistic healthcare accessibility and special healthcare services that would prevent people in the two regions from travelling long distances to Accra before they could benefit from critical healthcare services.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FMS, Dr Anthony Kobla Kpetsey, who made this known at the inaugural ceremony of the facility, said it would deploy cutting edge technology in healthcare, by providing excellent healthcare in the regions and to Ghanaians in general.

Dr Kpetsey stressed that the facility would ensure that clients derive quality healthcare through the use of medicine, exercise and regular health education that would keep the people healthy at all times. He added that FMS management had short and medium term goals of providing quality but affordable healthcare in the areas of eye care, wound care with the state-of the art hyperbaric oxygen chamber.

He said general consultation, dialysis services and laboratory services were part of the short term and that the medium goal was to add obstetrics, gynaecology, maternity and paternity wards and roll out dialysis services across the country.

According to Dr Kpetsey  the management of the facility also aimed at promoting healthy lifestyle through education to keep people out of the hospital and ensured that those who needed special care had been taken care of, including developing an end stage kidney failure, saying having a wound that is not healing should not necessarily result in amputation.

Dr Kpatsey also said visual impairment should no longer deny people access to quality of life and promised that FMS had modern equipment to deal with emerging health challenges of society.

A Supreme Court Judge, His Lordship Justice Ernest Gaewu, called on workers at the new health facility to be more dedicated to their work to ensure accelerated growth of the facility. He observed that many private sector institutions had collapsed due to the attitudes, actions and inactions of workers.

His Lordship Justice Gaewu said there are hundreds of unemployed youths looking for jobs in the country, but unfortunately when they were employed, these workers normally adopt negative attitudes towards work by either absenting themselves, reporting late to work or at times stealing equipment.

He, therefore, called on the youth to change their attitudes towards work whenever they are employed because businesses would only engage serious workers who would work hard to generate more profit that would sustain the company to develop.

The Chief of Ho –Bankoe, Togbe Dzomatsi, commended Dr Kpetsey for his vision that led to the establishment of the facility, which he was confident would provide quality healthcare in the Ho municipality and stressed the need for affordable services to clients.

Adamawa student commits suicide after boyfriend broke up

By
admin
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Adamawa State Map

A 24-year-old student of Mass Communication at Federal Polytechnic Mubi in Adamawa State, Jemima Shetima-Balami, has allegedly committed suicide after her boyfriend ended their relationship.

She was said to be a second-year National Diploma student in industrial attachment with Adamawa State Television, Yola.

The PUNCH learnt that she drank a substance suspected to be rat poison after her boyfriend, reportedly believed to be a lecturer (name withheld) at Modibbo Adama University, broke up with her.

Jemima who hails from Garkida town in the Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State, passed away in her home at Vinikilang, close to ATV Yola, where she was observing her industrial attachment.

Jemima was said to be the only daughter of her father, who unfortunately had to inform the police of her tragic demise.

When contacted, the state’s Public Relations Officer, SP Yahaya Suleiman, confirmed the incident on Monday.

She disclosed that Jemima’s father had reported a case of suicide while another person, Jemima’s crummy relationship with the lecturer.

He said, “The father of Jamima reported that she committed suicide by taking a deadly substance. Another version had it that she visited her boyfriend, a lecturer at Modibbo Adama University Yola, and was told to quit the relationship.

“Angered by the news from her boyfriend, the deceased took poison. We are investigating the matter, and justice will be served.”

He further urged the public to desist from taking their own life, adding that matters could be amicably resolved rather than going the extreme because it is an offence to commit suicide.

Credit: punchng.com

Medical, dental consultants issue fresh six-week strike notice

By
admin
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Doctors during a protest

The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria has extended the ultimatum earlier issued to the Federal Government to address all pending issues by six more weeks.

MDCAN made this known in a communique issued at the end of its National Executive Council meeting held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on Sunday.

The communique which was read during a press conference was signed by its President, Prof Mohammad  Mohammad and Secretary-General, Dr. Daiyabu Ibrahim.

Recall that there was an ultimatum handed to the Federal Government by the association in 2023 which was to expire on January 31, 2024, and the decision to go on strike was to be taken at the Uyo NEC meeting.

However, the association decided to extend the ultimatum by six more weeks to allow for consultation with the government.

The association said it would no longer guarantee industrial harmony if its demands were not met after the expiration of the six weeks grace.

The NEC expressed dismay that despite its numerous engagements with relevant government agencies on the demands of the association, much is yet to be achieved.

It also observed that the issue of shortfall in salaries/income loss by Honorary consultants (Clinical lecturers) occasioned by the failure of the government to implement universal applicability of CONMESS to all medical and dental officers in public service and increase (harmonisation) in retirement age of hospital consultants, among others are yet to be addressed fully.

The communique read in part, “NEC resolved to extend the ultimatum earlier given to the government by six weeks (up to 10/03/2024), to address all pending issues between government and the association. MDCAN cannot guarantee industrial harmony after the expiration of the above ultimatum if its demands are not met.”

NEC also observed that budgetary allocation to the sector has remained at less than 5% of the budget of the country adding that Per Capital spending on health has also shown a marked decline

Credit: punchng.com

WISTA Ghana Pledges Support for Cancer Care Among Children

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admin
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WISTA Ghana Members After Donation Exercise

The Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association is a global organization connecting female executives and decision-makers around the world.

The National Arm, WISTA Ghana was established in June 2009 with the sole aim of promoting the development of women in the maritime industry.

One of the fundamental principles of WISTA Ghana is making social impact through various community and social initiatives.

To start the year, WISTA Ghana has taken upon itself to make an impact in the lives of children battling with cancer. The Women’s Association, led by its new President, Gertrude Ohene-Asienim, this month made a 10,000 Ghana Cedi cash donation and other items to the Lifeline for Childhood Cancer Ghana, a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing comprehensive care for children with cancer at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

The President of WISTA Ghana says the token support is to raise awareness about childhood cancer, which is very low, so as to help increase the chances of survival among children in Ghana.

She pledged the support of her outfit in the care and treatment of childhood cancers in the future.

Textiles and Garments Manufacturers pray for a Fair Playing Field

By
admin
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National Coordinator, Association of Ghana Apparel Manufacturers (AGAM), Nana Pokua A.A. Adiamah (left), Head of Sales and Marketing, Akosombo Industries Limited Petra Aba Asamoah (right)

The government of Ghana will soon introduce a textile and garment manufacturing policy. The policy, which seeks to attract and facilitate targeted investments into the industry, is currently in its draft state, and is expected to receive the approval of cabinet later in the year.

Local manufacturers are optimistic that when implemented, this policy will create a fair playing field for them to compete.

The National Coordinator for the Association of Ghana Apparel Manufacturers (AGAM), Nana Pokua A.A. Adiamah and Head of Sales and Marketing for Akosombo Industries Limited Petra Aba Asamoah, during a discussion with Kennedy Mornah on Eye on Port said they anticipate that the policy will inject some vibrancy into the sector and help them compete favourably in the African and International market.

According to them this has become even more crucial with the free African market in sight and the growing demand of “African prints” in the diaspora.

Currently, the industry is bedevilled by the influx of foreign pirated textiles and garments that come at cheaper prices, running local manufacturers out of business. The industry claims that this is made possible by the significant disparities in production costs between domestic manufacturers and their foreign rivals.

“When it comes to the influx, I think primarily our biggest challenge is not just the price points but also the fact that largely these textiles have our designs and our brands pirated.

If there’s a design like the one I’m wearing and they find that it’s a fast moving design on the market, one of their local reps will send it, they will copy it and export it here and undercut the price that the original ones are going for.

We’re hoping that the policy would capture this also because beyond it just being the copying of designs they’re also copying our trademarks so you would find that their products on the markets have registered trademarks of ATL, GTP or Printex that are not produced here.

That’s a big problem but it’s not just a problem because they have the designs but they they’re coming in at a price point that we cannot compete with,” the Head of Sales and Marketing for the famous “Akosombo Textiles” lamented.

While acknowledging certain tax incentives given them over recent years, they lamented that the current costs of utilities and import bill of inputs still render their final products uncompetitive on the market.

Sadly, according to Mrs. Adiamah and Ms. Asamoah, the quantity of cotton produced in Ghana is woefully inadequate to serve the raw material needs of local manufacturers leading to the heavy reliance on imported raw materials which tends to contribute to the high cost of production.

“At the moment we import most of our raw materials and when I talk about imports you know what that means – high interest rates, duties, clearing charges and others. In addition to that, you have the delays that comes in with in terms of turning around production,” the National Coordinator for AGAM said.

They expressed hope that the policy will take care of the entire supply chain and provide lasting remedies so far as the cost-effective sourcing of raw material is concerned.

Low enforcement of import management laws and competition rights have also served a harder blow to the competitiveness of local manufacturers. However, they are excited about the tax stamp policy that has been introduced by government and appeal that such policies are enforced and sustained.

“The gap now is the implementation from the ports of entry and the ministry assures us that once this policy is in place then enforcement will also begin because that’s a key point. We’re not saying that there should be no competition from other markets. What we’re asking for is that it should be a level playing field for all of us to be able to compete,” Petra Aba Asamoah continued.

Moreover, given the fast-evolving nature of the textile and apparel manufacturing business, modern machinery and updated technology have become even more necessary. This is not the forte of Ghanaian manufacturing companies according to Mrs. Adiamah who expects the policy to not only propel engagements with private investors but improve access to affordable tailor-made long-term financial packages.

“Our line of production is mass production and you need a factory to do the kind of production that is required and so if you looking at one line of production, it should have at least 20 machines and that is just the standard machines and I’m not talking about the other specialized machines.

Because the sector is quite capital intensive the private investor may not be able to do everything that is required to be able to get the business going so access to financing that is cheaper, easily accessible and targeted for the manufacturer is the kind of finance that we need,”Mrs. Adiamah appealed.

It is no news that the textile and garment manufacturing sector still remains one of the nation’s anchor sectors for development, contributing an estimated 30% of the GDP of the manufacturing and services industry. With over 10,000 association members and a similar number of non-members, the sector remains a large employer of Ghanaians.

In 2023, 40 million dollars’ worth of exports were generated by the sector, indicating that despite the abovementioned barriers, the industry still thrives.

However, considering the 2-billion-dollar worth of spend in Africa on textile products, it is evident that there’s room for Ghanaian manufacturers to compete and grow. The industry is optimistic that the upcoming policy will propel the transformation of the sector.

NSS denies paying personnel GH¢155 allowance

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admin
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Mr Osei Assibey Antwi- Director General of NSS

The Management of the National Service Scheme has denied allegation that it paid personnel an allowance of just GHS155 instead of the approved figure of GHS715.57.

A statement issued by the Scheme and signed by its Acting Director of Corporate Affairs, Ambrose Entsiwah Jnr denied the claim and called on the public to disregard it.

The following is the full statement.

Management of the National Service Scheme has taken notice of an allegation made by the outgoing Tema Metro President of the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA), Hamidu Apandago Mahamadu, during a TV3 morning show programme on Thursday, January 25, 2024 that service personnel in the Central Region were paid GH¢155 as allowance instead of the approved GH¢715.57.

He also alleged that the Central Regional Executive, Cape Coast Metro President wrote to Management to address the matter, “but they didn’t get any response to that.”

These allegations have since gained wide publications in the media.

Management wishes to unequivocally state that service personnel in the Central Region have been paid full monthly allowances and arrears. Management has also not received any letter from the Central Regional Executive on any matter concerning unpaid allowances.

Therefore, the allegations are false, unfounded, and malicious, and must be disregarded with the contempt they deserve.

Management wishes to advise NASPA Executives at all levels to take advantage of the structured channels of communication available to them through their constitution to address issues that are unclear to them and should avoid making wild and unsubstantiated allegations and effusions in the media space.

Management will continue to operate an open-door policy with NASPA and support its activities in the interest of all our cherished and hardworking National Service Personnel.

Retired GIS officers induct new execs into office

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admin
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The Retired Imigration officers and their counterparts still in service

The Association of Retired Immigration Officers (ARIO), which has been quite prominent since its inception, has inducted twelvenewly elected executives to manage and oversee the Association’s affairs for the next four years.

The new executives were inducted by the Former Chief Director of the Ministry for the Interior, Mrs Adelaide Annor-Kumi, at a ceremony held in Accra recently.

They comprised; Mr Moses K. Gyamfi as President, Madam Veronica Addy as Vice President, Mr Francis Pobee as General Secretary, Madam Celestine Kufe as Assistant General Secretary, Mrs Judith Bruce Konduah as Treasurer, Mr Gershon Dela Dovi as Financial Secretary, Mr Erasmus Tyei as Assistant Financial Secretary and Mrs Mary Agbele as the Welfare and Public Relations Officer of the Association.

H.E Konduah Hodari Okae, Madam Judith Dzokoto Lomoh and Mr Loius Akins were appointed as Ex-Officio Executive Members.

President of ARIO, Mr Moses K. Gyamfi, who doubles as a member of the GIS Council, expressed gratitude for the support the Association has received from the Service, particularly from the Comptroller General of Immigration, Mr. Kwame Asuah Takyi, whose unwavering dedication to enhancing their welfare has greatly benefited their endeavours.

According to him, the Association has been provided an office and a permanent meeting venue for their events, which he highlighted as major accomplishments and motivation to members.

Mr. Gyamfi described as novel, the establishment of the ARIO Fund by the Service which to him will go a long way to benefit the Association now and in the future.

Per his assertion, the Association is experiencing a substantial expansion, and to ensure the provision of welfare of its members, it is necessary to decentralize ARIO to cover the 19 Administrative Regions of the Service throughout the country so members can participate in the activities wherever they are. He appealed for a logistical support specifically a vehicle for the Association.

Mr Gyamfi thanked the outgoing executives for their contributions to the growth of the Association, and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to lead the ARIO and pledged to work harder towards making the Association more appealing and attractive to potential retired officers of the GIS.

In his remarks, Comptroller General of Immigration (CGI) Mr Kwame Asuah Takyi lauded ARIO for their work in uniting retirees of the Service. In addition, he emphasised the need for retirees to continue to foster an atmosphere of brotherhood and serve as positive representatives of the Service wherever they find themselves.

Present at the ceremony were some members of National Immigration Management Committee of the Service.In attendance was the Migrant Band (GIS Dance Band) who entertained the gathering with tunes which kept patrons on their feet throughout the ceremony.

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