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Donkoto Mmawaninha Mining provides Borehole, Weighing Center for communities

By
ERNEST BEST ANANE
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Benjamin Kuffour commissioning a borehole for one of the communities

Mr. Benjamin Kuffour the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Donkoto Mmawaninha Community Mining Scheme, has provided a borehole and Weighing Center for the residents of Dokoto and nearby communities in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region.

The two projects cost GH¢48,000.00 towards improving the standard of living of the people in the catchment area of the company.

Mr. Kuffour stated at the commissioning ceremony that the initiative was part of the corporate social responsibilities of the mining scheme.

According to him, the borehole would serve Akoila and Kwadonkor, while the Weighing Centre would help nursing mothers for ante-natal and post-natal.

The CEO urged other corporate institutions to honour their corporate social responsibilities, especially at their various operational environments or catchment areas to complement government efforts towards development.

He commended the government for initiating the Community Mining Scheme, which had created jobs and increased revenue for the various Assemblies.

Mr. Kuffour appealed to the community miners and the general public to be responsible in mining, by safeguarding the water bodies and the environment for the future.

Nana Kwabena Kuffour, Odikro of Donkoto, expressed his profound gratitude to the Donkoto Mmawaninha Community Mining Scheme for the support, saying the initiative came timely to complement the community developmental agenda for the residents.

While commending the government for the scheme, the Chief gave the assurance that nananom (chiefs) would continue to support it and ensure the total development of the community and beyond.

Tobi Amusan named Africa’s 2022 Best Female Athlete

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Tobi Amusan

Nigeria’s Tobiloba Amusan has been named Africa’s Best Female Athlete for the Year 2022.

The latest honour was conferred on Amusan by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) on Tuesday.

Winner at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where she set a record and also the World Championships in Oregon, where she set a new World Record of 12.12s in the Hurdles event, Amusan has been far above her contemporaries this year.

She also won the Diamond League trophy for the second successive season, highlighting her rating as one of the world’s best and Africa’s undisputed number one at the moment.

Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon and Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey who are both world champions in the 1500m and 1000m were ranked second and third respectively behind Amusan who has enjoyed a phenomenal year.

Amusan will be proud of her unprecedented feats in the period under review despite failing to claim the global accolade of the World female Athlete of the year won by America’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

Amusan started 2022 with a successful defence of her African Championships title in Mauritius in early June.

Thereafter she was off to Paris to improve on her 12.42 seconds African record as she ran 12.41 seconds at the Diamond League meeting in Paris.

In Benin City, Edo State, at the All Nigerian Championships, Amusan effortlessly erased the 12.63 seconds record set in 1997 by Angela Atede as she won another national title for herself, having run an impressive 12.58 seconds. The biggest moment for Amusan was in Eugene, Oregon where she produced one of the biggest surprises of the World Championships.

While Amusan was voted Africa’s best female athlete, Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco emerged as the continent’s best male athlete

Credit: premiumtimesng.com

Atiku takes campaign to Buhari’s home state, promises to open all borders

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Atiku addresses rally in Katsina

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has promised to open all borders if elected in 2023.

He made the promise during a campaign rally at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium in Katsina, 66 days before the 2023 polls.

In particular, Atiku promised to restore the security and economy of the country; ensure that the lingering Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike is resolved.  He urged the electorate in Katsina State to make sure that they vote for the PDP from top to bottom.

“Whatever development you see in Katsina was undertaken by the PDP including this stadium, New Government House,” he added.

Atiku’s running mate, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, and the National Chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu were some of the personalities who attended the event.

The campaign train on arrival at about 2:07 pm was warmly received by the Katsina PDP governorship candidate, Yakubu Lado Dan Marke, his running mate, Arch. Ahmed Aminu Yar’adua and the Director General, Atiku/Lado Campaign, Mustapha Inuwa among other party supporters.

Earlier on arrival, Atiku and his campaign team visited the mother of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua and the Emir of Katsina HRH Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabir Usman.

Atiku is expected to, during this campaign, inaugurate the Katsina State Excos of the Atiku 5-Point Agenda Awareness Forum.

Credit: channelstv.com

Taraba Assembly gets new Speaker as Kunini resigns

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New Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly, John Bonzena and his predecessor, Joseph Kunini

Speaker of Taraba State House of Assembly, Joseph Albasu Kunini on Wednesday resigned.

The house immediately elected the member representing the Zing constituency, John Kizito Bonzina, as the new Speaker.

 

Kunini was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2019.

His letter of resignation, which he read on the floor of the House, took everyone by surprise as there was no form of skirmishes among the members of the House.

 

“My resignation is on personal ground. I wish to thank honourable members for their support and cooperation while I served as the speaker of this honourable House,” he said.

 

Bonzina, while speaking after his emergence as the new speaker, denied the allegation that a palace coup was staged by the members to remove the speaker from office.

 

While soliciting the support of his colleagues, he promised to work round the clock to build on the achievements of the former speaker.

 

Though no reason was given for the former speaker’s resignation, DAILY POST gathered that his quest to stand solidly behind the parliamentary workers who have been demanding for their unpaid seven years outfit allowances necessitated his resignation as plans to impeach him were said to already be in the pipeline.

 

Credit: dailypost.ng

Cash withdrawals from federal, state, local govt accounts to stop soon–NFIU boss

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Director of NFIU, Modibbo Tukur

There is an ongoing plan to stop cash payments from the accounts of all the three levels of government across Nigeria, an official has said. This is part of a renewed effort to enforce the anti-money laundering law and the new currency policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The Director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Modibbo Tukur, hinted at this in Abuja on Monday.

A statement by the NFIU Chief Media Analyst, Ahmed Dikko, on Tuesday, stated that Mr Tukur spoke at a meeting with the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmud Yakubu.

The statement said the Nigerian government “is putting all necessary measures in place to stop cash withdrawal from Federal, States and Local Government accounts.”

It quoted Mr Tukur as saying that the step became necessary “because of the consistent devaluation of the naira and the introduction of a new Naira Policy.”

It added that under the new regime, “section 1 of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act is automatically activated.”

The provision cited by Mr Tukur is section 1 of the repealed Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, which limits cash transactions to N5 million for an individual and N10 million for corporate bodies.

The provision is contained in section 2(1) the new Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. Mr Tukur said despite the provision of the law, most cash withdrawals from government accounts including payments for estacode were often in excess of the cash withdrawal limit provided by the Money Laundering Act.

This, according to him, exposes innocent public servants to being liable to imprisonment.

He also said the NFIU was already developing an advisory to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, all governors and local government council chairpersons to direct all public servants to open domiciliary and naira accounts ahead of the commencement of the policy which becomes compulsory by law.

Mr Tukur said governors and council chairpersons would also need to organise training for market men and women on how to use ATM and POS Services. But the NFIU statement also denies news reports that the agency would block federal government accounts, used to make cash payments, in January 2023.

Credit: premiumtimesng.com

Failure to register for VAT: 9 shops @ Achimota Mall in trouble

By
BERNICE BESSEY
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GRA officials in one of the retail shops inspecting documents

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has arrested nine retail shops and their owners at the Achimota Mall in the Greater Accra Region for indulging in Value Added Tax (VAT) offences.

The shops are Ara Outdoor Playground, Nady’s Collection, Body Basics, The Hair Village, MV, Life Healthcare Company, Bijou Jewelry, First Choice Hair & Beauty Salon, and Gamel Clodin. They are believed to be part of several shops that were neither registered nor issuing VAT receipts in the Achimota Mall Retail Centre.

Joseph Annan, Accra Central Enforcement Unit Manager of the GRA, led an enforcement team to the Mall on December, 20 2022. He told journalists that the Authority had discovered that a good number of the shops in the Achimota Mall were not honouring their tax obligations.

“These are the initial nine shops. A lot more of them are hiding in there and are not doing the right thing. We spoke to some of the staff, and there were no indications that they pay their VAT. However, some are paying and doing the right thing, but those are few,” he said.

The nine companies, Mr. Annan said, had been invited to the GRA Head Office to write statements, coupled with a pre-emptive assessment by the Authority for investigation to start.

“Once the pre-emptive is done, these shops will pay for the entire areas before being recommended for full audit. The case will then be handed over to the Authority’s Legal Unit to take action,” he said.

The GRA, Mr. Annan disclosed, had been recording some good improvement in payment of VAT through the use of compliance tools, including invoice invigilation, and test purchases among others.

“Our journey towards [the] end of year is on, and we are determined to meet our GH¢80.3 billion target. We appreciate support from the public as we have been receiving some invoices to spur us on in our investigations.”

‘More Ghanaians must be trained in oil and gas to cut down expatriate cost’

By
MAXWELL OFORI
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President Akufo-Addo exchanging pleasantries with some of the trainees in welding from a scholarship programme in Canada with the support of the Petroleum Commission at Jubilee House

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged the nine engineering lecturers who received the government’s sponsorship to Canada to specialise in pipe fitting and welding to be models of excellence.

The President also urged them to train more Ghanaians to cut down on expatriate costs in the country’s oil and gas sector. He was speaking at Jubilee House on Tuesday, this week, during a meeting with the nine engineering lecturers who had been trained in Canada and returned upon completion.

President Akufo-Addo stressed on the huge sums of money the government spends to engage expatriates to carry out specialised work, such as pipe fitting, mechanical technician and welding, among others, in the sector. “We are going to cut down, as part of the huge investment being made in the oil and gas sector, the monies paid to expatriates with such skills, and prove that Ghanaian skills are as good as those anywhere else in the world.”

He was happy to see that they had all returned home, and reminded them of the role they had to play as pioneers. He indicated that the training given them was a very important step by the government in the development of the oil and gas industry.

He welcomed the lecturers, drawn from several technical universities across the country, and assured them of the government’s continued support.

COMMISSION’S CEO

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Petroleum Commission, Egbert Faibille, who led the team to meet the President, said that they underwent 11 months of training in pipe fittings and also had advanced certification in welding and mechanical technician. He further stated that the programme formed part of efforts to deepen the participation of Ghanaians in the oil and gas sector, particularly the upstream petroleum industry.

The nine people who embarked on the training consisted two women and seven men. They are Emmanuel Marcus Abaidoo, Daniel Kyei-Kankam, and Frank Nana Osei, all from the Takoradi Technical University, and Isaac Oppong from the Kikam Technical Institute.

Abdul Hamid Mohammed from Tamale Technical University, Wise Kwashie Klomegah from Ho Technical University, Samuel Garriba from Cape Coast Technical University, and Gladys Perpetual Awudi from Koforidua Technical University.

BACKGROUND

Since independence, there has been no technical institutions in this country that train and certified pipe fitters, and when the need arises, expatriates are brought in at a great cost to the nation. In January this year, the Petroleum Commission sponsored nine engineering lecturers from various public technical universities in the country to receive specialised training at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Canada, under the ‘Master Instructor Framework’ to enhance their teaching skills.

The sponsorship was under the government’s Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity (AOGC) programme, established to enhance the capacity of Ghanaians to enable them work in the oil and gas sector.

Ghana Baptist Convention bids farewell to Rev. Adu Gyamfi

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Professor Rita Akosua Dicson, Vice Chancellor of KNUST, presenting a citation to Rev Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, as the Vice President in-charge of Administration at the Ghana Baptist Convention looks on

Ghanaians from various parts of the country attended the retirement service to bid farewell to the past Executive President of the Ghana Baptist Convention (GBC), Rev. Dr. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi. The service, which was held at the Calvary Baptist church at Shiashie, in Accra, also recognised the hardworking members of the GBC Denominational Board.

Rev. Adu-Gyamfi served as the first Executive President of the Convention from 2014 until August 31, 2022 after serving in various capacities in the church, both in Ghana and abroad, for 49 years.

Apart from serving as the Executive President for two terms, he was also the President of the Ghana Baptist University College, as well as the President of the All Africa Baptist Fellowship between August 2016 and December, 2021.

Rev. Adu-Gyamfi, who served as the Senior Pastor at the Charismatic Baptist church at Taifa, in Accra, for 25 years, also helped in the establishment of a number of churches in Kumasi and Accra. He is currently the Chairman of the National Peace Council Governing Board.

Professor Opoku Onyinah, in a sermon admonished Christians to work hard and desist from attributing everything to mystery, as he cited the major role played by Rev. Adu- Gyamfi in the history of the Baptist Convention and Christianity in Ghana.

According to him, while Christians strive for perfection as enjoined by the scriptures, they should prioritise the support of humanity, instead of emphasising on spirituality in their daily routine, at the expense of their work.

“It is a sin for a teacher to use the time for teaching to go and pray, it is also a sin for a Doctor to also go and pray while a patient is dying,” he added.

He also commended Rev. Adu Gyamfi for his selfless leadership qualities that have not only led to the visibility of the Baptist Church locally and internationally, but also having trained and raised leaders for the advancement of the work of God.

Rev. Adu-Gyamfi thanked the church and members of the Baptist Convention for their support during his tenure.

He said the success achieved by the Convention, as part of a five year strategic plan, wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the church and its ecumenical bodies.

Rev Adu-Gyamfi also bemoaned the rate at which the youth were quick to engage in ungodly practices to enrich themselves overnight, without recourse to the consequences associated with that.

He, therefore, used the opportunity to advise the youth to be focused, disciplined and not to allow any excesses to distract them from achieving their goals in life.

The occasion was also used to honour the Immediate past Chairman of the Church Denominational Board members, who have served in various capacities.

A book titled ‘My Journey, My Legacy’, authored by Rev. Dr. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi was also launched.

Present at the Retirement service was the Deputy Chief of Staff, officials from the Christian Council of Ghana, Christian Council of Nigeria, officials from the Catholic Bishop Conference, representatives from the Trinity Theological Seminary, Scripture Union and other notable individuals and Christian bodies.

Otumfuo bars KMA from allocating stores under Kejetia phase II

By
SEBASTIAN R. FREIKU
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Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has directed that the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) should not be involved in the allocation of stores in the Phase II of the Kejetia Redevelopment Project.

The Ashanti Overlord has, therefore, charged the Ashanti Regional Minister to take up the responsibility of allocation of stores at the place.

Otumfuo emphasised that the Ashanti Regional Minister, heading the Regional Coordinating Council, should take up the responsibility and should not allow the KMA to partake in the allocation exercise, to ensure that the stores are allocated to deserving persons.

The Asantehene, who was addressing the end of year meeting of the Regional House of Chiefs in Kumasi, last week, said allowing the KMA to handle the allocations would deny the affected traders access and, thereby, cause untold hardships to traders, just as it happened during the first phase allocation.

He asked the RCC to ensure that all the traders who had been relocated from the Central Market to pave way for the project are served first, before any other persons were considered.

Meanwhile, the Asantehene has called on the government to ensure that those projects that had the potential to create jobs for the people are given the necessary funding to be completed.

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, who was at the Regional House of Chiefs’ last meeting of the year, to brief the members on projects currently ongoing in the region, said since assuming office in 2017, the government had paid attention to the road and health sectors in the region because the region had one of the poorest road networks in the country.

The Minister said 318km out of a total of 948.9 kilometres of highway roads awarded on contract had been completed. He also said about 203 contracts on feeder roads had been awarded, translating into 2,679km of roads.

Minister Osei-Mensah admitted that some of the Contractors had left site as a result of the inability of government to honour some of the certificates.

He, however, assured the chiefs that all road projects in the region would be completed to ease the challenges facing most of the residents.

He said the first phase of the Kejetia Redevelopment Project changed the initial use of Kejetia from a transport terminal to a market, thus forcing over 900 vehicles onto the streets, hence the congestion at the Central Business District. He, therefore, assured that the second phase would create space for vehicles to ensure that the drivers leave the streets.

Court clears Addai Nimo in land dispute 

By
SEBASTIAN R. FREIKU
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A four-year-old legal battle between Nana Oppong Adade IV and Nana Abena Fremponpmaa II, chief and Queenmother respectively of Boeing, on one side, and former Member of Parliament for Mampong, Francis Addai Nimo and Madam Afia Buor of Bobin, has ended with a judgment in the defendants’ favour.

Nana Adade and Nana Frempomaa, the Plaintiffs, have since December 17, 2018 filed a suit against Addai Nimo and one other, contesting the ownership of a 30 acre parcel of land at Esereso.

The Plaintiffs, per their statement of claim, were claiming recovery of possession of the land in dispute, general and special damages, an order of perpetual injunction to restrain the Defendants from further causing damages to the said land, as well as cost.

The Plaintiffs, represented in court by Tony Mensah-Aborampah, Esq., alleged that the disputed land forms part of their Stool land, which also serve as farmlands for queenmothers.

They claimed that when the second plaintiff was enstooled Queenmother in 2015, the said land was entrusted to her as custom demands for farming.

Addai Nimo, the first defendant, in his statement of defence filed by his Counsel, Hagar Addo Esq. countered the claim by the Plaintiff and stated that the land in dispute forms part of Mampong Stool land, which was acquired by one Yaw Bediako, the grandfather of the second Defendant.

He stated that it also formed part of 63 acre land acquired from the second Defendant in 2006, having inherited it from her uncle.

The Defendant contended that the Plaintiffs trespassed and encroached on his legally acquired land.

On December 16, 2022 the Mampong High Court gave judgment in favour of the Defendants, having analysed evidence deduced by the parties.

The court also took into account whether the disputed land forms part of the Bobin Amoawise stool lands and whether the first Defendant destroyed crops on the land, as alleged by the Plaintiffs.

The Presiding Judge, His Lordship Justice George Appiah Kwabeng, however, dismissed the Plaintiffs’ action as unmeritorious.

The court said the Plaintiffs had not proven their title to the land in dispute to the standard required by law and, therefore, not entitled to the reliefs sought.

“Their root to title and mode of acquisition could not be conclusively proved on the balance of probabilities”, the judge explained why the Plaintiffs action against the Defendants failed.

As a result of the position of the court, a cost of GHC10,000 was awarded to the Defendant against the Plaintiffs.

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