The Minority Caucus in Parliament has refuted claims by the Minister for Works and Housing, Mr Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, that the Minority was responsible for the delay in operationalising the Komenda Sugar Factory in the Central Region.
This was contained in a statement signed by Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority Leader in Parliament and copied to Ghana News Agency in Takoradi.
According to the statement, Mr Oppong-Nkrumah was reported to have blamed the Minority in Parliament for the failure of the government to operationalise the Komenda Sugar Factory.
“In his attempt to justify his government’s incompetences, the Minister claims the Minority’s opposition to certain tax waivers before Parliament is to be blamed for abandoning the Komenda Sugar Factory by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government,” the statement said.
The statement described the claim as false, saying there was currently no such request for tax waiver before Parliament, in respect of the Komenda Sugar Factory.
It said: “For the record, the over GHS5.5 billion worth of unconscionable tax waivers to crony businesses of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government currently pending before the Finance Committee of Parliament, do not include any such request as claimed by Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.”
The Minority could, therefore, not be blamed for stalling the Komenda Sugar Factory.
“On the contrary, such blame must be laid squarely at the doorstep of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP administration, which inherited a revamped Komenda Sugar Factory when power was handed over to them in 2017,” the statement noted.
The statement said the factory was revamped in 2016 by the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, with a $35 million Indian Export-Import (EXIM) Bank facility, with an additional $24 million equally secured to support sugar cane out-growers to feed the factory
The statement said the factory was expected to create over 7000 jobs and substantially reduce Ghana’s sugar importation.
It said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo after a tour of the facility in 2021, promised the chiefs and people of Komenda that his government was going to open the factory by March 2022.
It said, “following a similar working visit to the factory in 2022, then Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyeremanteng also promised to ensure that the factory becomes operational but that again did not see the light of day.
Work has commenced on the reconstruction of the 23 kilometre Takoradi-Agona Nkwanta road into a dual carriageway.
The project, which has been awarded to Justmoh Construction Limited, also involves the construction of four major bridges and a number of culverts with funding from the GCB Bank PLC. It will be completed in 24 months, but could be extended based on additional works from the client.
Government has, in recent times, come under severe pressure and criticism from the public over the seeming neglect of the Takoradi-Agona Nkwanta stretch of the National Highway 1 (N1) which runs from Elubo through Takoradi, Accra, Tema to Aflao.
The deterioration of the road and the weakening of two major bridges led to the closure of the Ewisiejoe bridge on two occasions for repair works to be carried out, while the potholes and gullies caused several haulage trucks to tip over in their attempt to manoeuvre through the deteriorated road.
These instances had led to the blocking of the road, sometimes for several hours and days. The situation also brought untold hardships on the people. It also made the road unsafe to travel on, as it poses serious threat to life. The Ewusiejoe portion of the 23 kilometer stretch appears to be the worst portion.
Several cars, most especially foreign haulage trucks, had turned over at the Ewusiejoe portion due to the nature of the road.
JUSTMOH CONSTRUCTION LIMITED
The Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, in the midst of the pressure announced that government had awarded the contract for the reconstruction of the road to Justmoh Construction Limited.
However, this was taken with a pinch of salt by a cross section of the public, including the media, as there was no evidence to that effect.
However, Workers of Justmoh were seen on the road some months ago, undertaking remedial works on the Ewisiejoe bridge and this gave rise to new wave of criticisms that, the contractor had refused to move to site to start work.
The Chief Executive of the Company, Dr Justice Amoh, explained during a site inspection that, there are a lot of processes to go through after the award of contract before mobilising to site to begin earthworks.
“The first phase of the project involves the handing over of the site, site evaluation, planning, survey works, soil/material test, design among others. As we speak, there are workers on site undertaking all these activities”, he said.
According to him, “earthworks will start in a month’s time, which will involve the removal of soil to flatten, build up and slope road location”.
MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT
Meanwhile, the company has acquired the needed equipment and machinery for the project, which are on standby at the Apremdo camp site.
Dr Amoh said everything is set for all phases of the project and that work will progress until completion.
APPEAL FOR COOPERATION
The Chief Executive of Justmoh Construction appealed to the public to cooperate and support the company.
“There will be some challenges and inconveniences to road users and communities along the route. We urge you to bear with us as we must go through such difficulties before the work can be completed for the benefit of us all. If anyone has any idea or suggestions that will help in the execution of the project, please come to us, our doors are always open”, Dr Amoh assured.
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
The 23km Takoradi-Agona Nkwanta road is a major link connecting the Takoradi Port to mining, goods and agriculture enclave of the Western and Western North Regions. It will facilitate the easy transportation of export commodities to the port as well as transportation of imported mining machinery and equipment.
The stretch also connects the Agona Nkwanta-Elubo road to enhance intra-African trade through the movement of goods and people to and from Ivory Coast
GHANA HIGHWAY AUTHORITY
Dr Justice Amoh explained that the project is a Government of Ghana funded project with the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) as the client.
“They are the agency that awarded the contract and have all the details. I will kindly direct the media to the GHA for all the necessary information about the project”, he said.
The 27-year-old man, Masaudu Fuseini with some of the stolen cables
A 27-year-old Electrician, Masaudu Fuseini, was on Monday April 8, 2024 sentenced to 30 days imprisonment for stealing electricity cables belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Limited at Klo-Agogo, in the Upper Manya Krobo District, in the Eastern Region.
The Koforidua Circuit Court “A”, presided over by Miss Asare Anima, also convicted him (MasauduFuseini) to a fine of 1,000 penalty units, amounting to GH¢12,000 or in default serve two (2) years in prison.
Fuseini, who was arrested on March 25, 2024 was arraigned and remanded into prison custody to reappear in Court on Monday for judgment, after pleading guilty to the charges.
He was also ordered by the Court to replace the cables, which were valued by the police at a cost of GH¢9,000 which the Court was informed by the ECG representative that the convict had replaced the cables.
Prosecuting Police Inspector Elorm Arku Klaye told the court that Fuseini was arrested at Klo-Agogo, a community in the Asesewa District of the Eastern Region operational area of ECG, on Monday, March 25, 2024.
Fuseini, a resident at Nkurakan in the Asesewa District was seen cutting some cables belonging to the ECG in some parts of the Town, and in the process was nabbed by members of a watchdog committee set up by the Assembly member for the area.
They informed the police about his activity and while carrying out a second operation, he was arrested.
He led the police and to the spot where he kept the stolen cables he cut from the poles and after investigations, he was sent to court.
The Ashanti regional minister ,Simon Osei-Mensah ,grabting an interview to the media.
The indiscipline in Afigya Kwabre South district of the Ashanti region is getting out of hand, as traditional leaders continue to sell out portions of the ‘shooting range’ land belonging to the Ghana Armed Forces to private developers.
The shooting range is an area where the military train their officers on how to use firearms. The development of illegal structures on the military site, which is located at Ntribouho, The Chronicle gathered, takes place mainly at night.
The Chairman of AREGSEC,Simon Osei-Mensah together with other members of AREGSEC seated in a meeting with one of the quarrying stones companies.
Apart from the encroachment on the military lands, concessions belonging to quarrying companies in the district are increasingly being encroached upon by private developers, after they had bought the lands from traditional leaders in the area.
This development came to the fore when the Ashanti Regional Security Council (AREGSEC) paid working visits to Quarry Companies working in the Afigya Kwabre South District to inspect safety measures put in place by the quarrying companies.
Among the companies AREGSEC visited were Woldcool Stone Quarrying Ltd, K.K Quarry, Bosa Quarry and Modern Granite Quarry.
When AREGSEC members got to the ‘shooting range’, the observation was that houses were increasingly springing up on the north-western side of the range. Owners of these buildings, The Chronicle gathered, do not have permit and allocation papers to that effect.
At a press briefing held at the assembly premises and attended by stakeholders in the quarrying industries, the Ashanti regional minister, Mr. Simon Osei-Mensah, who doubles as the Chairman of AREGSEC, expressed concern over what he had witnessed on the ‘military shooting range’ and quarry sites.
A visibly disturbed Osei-Mensah said AREGSEC had noticed that most of the chiefs are selling out buffer zone areas for residential development.
On the usefulness of the Ntribouho ‘military shooting range’, Osei-Mensah indicated that it is a no go area for civilians.
“There are some rocks which serve as a shield in the event a gun is misfired. The military knows there is a distance within which bullets are effective and vice versa, and that is why we have reserved a buffer zone. When we went to the firing range, we observed that people were increasingly building into the buffer zone”, he said.
Mincing no words, Osei-Mensah asked residents of Afigya Kwabre South who have encroached upon military firing range lands among others not to come to him when an action is taken against them.
stone quarrying operations being carried out at World Cool Stone Quarrying Ltd,Ntribuoho.
“Please, do not come to me when the army demolishes your building. No one should trespass the buffer zone. If you build there and they demolish it, do not run to me for intervention, because I cannot stop the military from using this place. I do not have any place in mind to take them to, so let us protect where they train so that they can protect us.”
He directed Christian Adu-Poku, the District Chief Executive for the area to make sure that every building that is being built in a buffer zone is destroyed.
Commenting on buffer zones regulations, the Ashanti regional minister told the meeting that 500 meters away from the quarry site are reserved as buffer zones and no one is allowed to build there, but people have built as close as 20 meters from quarry sites.
One of the buildings is located so close to the quarry and when the quarry company carries out blasting exercises, the structure will be affected, destroying properties which sometimes lead to misunderstanding.
He warned the chiefs that all the quarry companies have buffer zones that must be preserved and that they should desist from selling the lands.
During the meeting, the District Chief Executive for Afigya Kwabre South, Christian Adu-Poku, asked the quarry companies to exercise patience when residents approach them about the impact of their operations, but Minister Osei-Mensah disagreed with the DCE.
“We have to call a spade a spade and stop defending the indefensible,” he said.
Touching on safety measures at quarry sites, Simon Osei-Mensah said AREGSEC will put the observations they have made on paper and bring it back to the companies for action.
According to him, almost all the companies visited had no safety manuals, adding that only one company had one but still left with training of staff to be abreast of ‘dos and don’ts’.
He announced that AREGSEC through the security agencies will provide a template to guide the quarry companies to design a safety manual and such documents would be modified based on the location of the company.
The Chairman of Northern Quarry Association, Mr. Adu Tutu Gyamfi, said his outfit was facing some challenges in their operations. Tutu Gyamfi accused the Afigya Kwabre District Assembly for encouraging encroachment on their concessions.
The Ntribouho Millitrary Shooting Range which has been encroached upon.
According to him, anytime they reported an issue of encroachment on their concession to the assembly, they refused to take action on it. Disclosing how lawless the Afigya Kwabre South has been, Tutu Gyamfi disclosed at the meeting that he came under attack, but no one was arrested.
“I share a boundary with the military, but they have started encroaching into the boundary. At a point in time, they threatened that they would kill DCE and I”, he alleged
On how feeble they are in defending themselves against attacks, the Chairman of Northern Quarry Association disclosed that they are individual companies, so anytime one company is attacked, they are unable to defend themselves.
Chairman Tutu disclosed that a sister quarry company had been hauled to Manhyia Palace for resisting the sale of a portion of her concession by traditional authorities to someone.
To Adu Gyamfi, Afigya Kwabre South chiefs do not respect the constitutional provisions which debar them from claiming ownership over minerals.
“The Chiefs do not respect the law, which says mineral royalties found on a piece of land belong to the state. To them, they do not accept it. The DCE is aware of this. They do not accept that the minerals belong to the state else they would not have sold lands 20 meters away from concession for development”, he said.
Famous Street-pop artist, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, has revealed why he exhumed his mother’s body from the initial burial ground to another location.
During an interview with Brooke Bailey, Portable took the show host to where his mum was buried before he decided to exhume her body and place it at a new location.
Portable noted that when he was asked to go and make supplications at his mum’s gravesite some years ago, he found out that his mum’s family had sold the land she was buried on and was denied access to his mother.
Portable further said that he was just 13 years old when he lost his mum, adding that growing up with a struggling father was no easy feat.
He also shared that wanting to stay close to his mum is one of the reasons he went back to exhume his mother’s remains and reburied her at his new mansion, which he is currently building in Sango.
He said: “This is where I buried my mother, my mother died 13 years ago. I had to rebury her because the initial place she was buried, the land was sold. I removed my mother’s dead body, so I brought her here to be reburied and I also want to build a mansion here to honour her.”
Multiple award-winning Artiste, Kofi Kinaata has marked his birthday with a poignant musical release, unveiling his latest single, ‘Effiakuma Broken Heart,’ on April 15th, 2024. The track, a soul-stirring ballad, offers a raw and emotional exploration of love and heartbreak.
Kofi Kinaata has consistently captivated audiences with his authentic storytelling and compelling melodies. ‘Effiakuma Broken Heart’ serves as a testament to his prowess as a lyricist, delving into the complexities of relationships with depth and honesty.
Reflecting on the significance of the single, Kofi Kinaata shared, “Effiakuma Broken Heart is a reflection of the universal experience of love and loss. It’s a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of music to heal and uplift.”
‘Effiakuma Broken Heart’ is a single off his debut 7 track list Extended Play (EP) titled ‘Kofi oo Kofi.’ Set to be a compelling musical journey encompassing a range of emotions and themes, the album promises to showcase Kofi Kinaata’s evolution as an Artiste.
While fans eagerly await the release of ‘Kofi oo Kofi’ on a later date, ‘Effiakuma Broken Heart’ offers a heartfelt glimpse into the depth and artistry of Kofi Kinaata’s musical repertoire. With its release coinciding with his birthday, the single serves as a reminder of his commitment to connecting with audiences through his music.
‘Effiakuma broken heart’ is currently on all streaming platforms.
Nicknamed ‘Singing bird,’Gyakie has revealed what goes into her creative process, mentioning that working in the dark and crafting narratives inspired by personal experiences or imaginative scenarios is her kick.
“I like recording in the dark,” Gyakie confessed, emphasizing her preference for an ambiance that fosters introspection and creative flow. “When I’m working with my favorite producers, it’s always a plus for me. I listen to the beats and try to imagine what story line would work with them,” she said during an interview with Helen Appiah-Ampofo on 3FM Sunrise Morning Show on April 12.
She explained that she draws inspiration from her own life experiences when crafting songs. “If I’m in a particular situation at the moment of recording, it makes it easier because I’m able to actually talk about what I’m experiencing,” she said. “But if I’m not, sometimes I create a story in my mind and then I write that story into the song.”
Gyakie expressed appreciation for the collaborative aspect of music production, highlighting the importance of a strong working relationship with her producers. “All my producers that I’m comfortable working with are people that I’m able to have a working relationship with,” she explained. “I like producers that are able to explore, bring crazy ideas and sounds.”
Looking ahead, Gyakie teased her fans about exciting projects in the pipeline. “This year everything is going to come back,” she declared. “The album is coming, a couple more singles will even come before the album, vibe with me with Gyakie will also come on this year, so this year be ready to be sick of me,” she asserted.
Reflecting on the Ghanaian music industry’s recent successes, Gyakie expressed optimism for its future. “2023 and 2024 have been very good years for the Ghanaian industry,” she stated. “There’s already been like, I can count maybe 5 or 6 songs that are really buzzing. So, I think this year is looking really, really, really good and I’m so proud of where we are headed,” she said.
With her unique creative approach and promising projects on the horizon, Gyakie continues to solidify her position as one of Ghana’s most exciting musical talents. Fans eagerly await the release of her upcoming album and singles, anticipating more of the captivating melodies and heartfelt lyrics that have become her signature.
Afghan men sit on top of military vehicles as they cross through a flooded area
At least 33 people have been killed over three days of heavy rains and flash flooding in Afghanistan, according to the government’s disaster management department.
“From Friday onwards, because of the rains there were flash floods which caused high human and financial losses,” department spokesman Janan Sayeq said on Sunday.
“The primary information shows that, unfortunately, in the floods, 33 people were martyred and 27 people got injured.”
Most casualties were from roof collapses, as some 600 houses were damaged or destroyed. In addition, 200 livestock have perished, nearly 600km (370 miles) of road have been destroyed, and about 800 hectares (1,975 acres) of agricultural land have “flooded away”, the spokesman added.
Twenty of the nation’s 34 provinces were lashed by the heavy rains, which followed an unusually dry winter season that has parched terrain and forced farmers to delay planting.
Western Farah, Herat, southern Zabul and Kandahar are among the provinces that suffered the most damage, Sayeq said.
Highlife Artiste, Fameye collaborates with legendary musician Nana Acheampong on an upcoming single set to enthrall listeners nationwide.
The ‘Nothing I get’ hitmaker unveiled plans to drop the new tune this Friday, April 19, 2024 on his social media pages.
He wrote on Instagram, “a very special day in my career to meet the legendary Nana Acheampong ahead of our yet-to-be-released hit single featuring yours truly!! Dropping on the 19th of April 2024.”
The collaboration has been met with excitement as fans caught glimpses of Fameye and Nana Acheampong during the video shoot for the upcoming single.
Pictures and behind-the-scenes videos went viral on social media, stoking curiosity about the project’s possible consequences.
Nana Acheampong, a renowned Ghanaian musician brings decades of experience and a rich musical legacy to the collaboration.
On the other hand, Fameye is pleased for this great opportunity bestowed upon him as it signifies a milestone in his career.
The news of their collaboration created immense excitement amongst fans who are eagerly anticipating the release of their joint effort on April 19, 2024.
Floods have killed 58 people in Tanzania over the last two weeks, spurring the East African country to seek an answer in major infrastructure projects.
The government announced the death toll late on Sunday as heavy rains continued to lash the country. April marks the peak of Tanzania’s rainy season, and it has been exacerbated this year by the El Nino phenomenon, which has caused droughts and floods across the globe.
“From April 1 to April 14, 2024, there were 58 deaths caused by the heavy rains, which led to flooding,” government spokesman Mobhare Matinyi told a press briefing, stressing that the country’s coastal region was one of the worst affected.
“Serious flood effects are experienced in the coast region where 11 people have so far died,” he added.
Tanzania has plans to construct 14 dams to prevent flooding in future, the spokesman said.
Just four months ago, at least 63 people were killed during floods in northern Tanzania that also triggered devastating landslides.
These instances had led to the blocking of the road, sometimes for several hours and days. The situation also brought untold hardships on the people. It also made the road unsafe to travel on, as it poses serious threat to life. The Ewusiejoe portion of the 23 kilometer stretch appears to be the worst portion.
