Robert Lewandowski grabbed a dramatic stoppage time winner to send Barcelona back to the top of La Liga. The Polish striker reached Raphinha’s cross at full stretch to score his 13th goal of the season in the 94th minute.
Lewandowski had been close to scoring before half-time when a header hit the base of the post.
Valencia’s Lino had a goal disallowed for handball after the break, with the result sending Barca ahead of Real Madrid before their match on Sunday.
The result followed a mid-week 3-0 defeat by Bayern Munich that saw Barca knocked out of the Champions League before the end of the group stage. Their only La Liga defeat came against Real Madrid.
Valencia were second best for most of the first half but should have gone into the break ahead, but defender Gabriel sent a free header wide of Barca’s goal.
The home side tired as the second half wore on, with ex-Leeds United midfielder Raphinha chipping in a cross that Lewandowski flung out a foot to meet to give Barca their 10th league win of the season.
Chelsea manager Graham Potter was subjected to a hostile reception from Brighton fans before the Blues’ 4-1 Premier League defeat at Amex Stadium. Potter led Brighton to their highest ever top-flight finish last season before leaving the Seagulls for Stamford Bridge.
After emerging from the Amex Stadium tunnel to a chorus of boos, matters only got worse for Potter as his side produced a defensive horror show to gift Brighton a dream start. In a chaotic opening, Trossard’s calm finish put the home side in front after Thiago Silva surrendered possession in his own half.
Brighton second and third goals were entirely self-inflicted. Loftus-Cheek stuck out a knee to inadvertently steer Gallagher’s flick-on into the net via the crossbar, before Estupinan’s delivery was guided past his own keeper by the somewhat unfortunate Chalobah.
Kai Havertz had initially nodded in Conor Gallagher’s exquisite cross to give the visitors hope.
Just a couple of days ago, Leeds boss Jesse Marsch was complaining about how sick he was of losing after his side had dropped into the relegation zone following four successive defeats.
However, just hours on from making that comment he was celebrating arguably one of the most famous wins of his career as Leeds claimed a dramatic 2-1 victory at Anfield to move out of the bottom three.
Before the trip to Anfield they ranked second for expected goals away from home and first for the most tackles, and all that came together on Saturday night as they took their chances as well as rarely letting a Liverpool player in possession have time on the ball.
The key now for Leeds is to ensure this is not a one-off, but that is easier said than done with third-placed Tottenham and leaders Manchester City two of their next three opponents in the Premier League.
They will likely look to approach those games as they had this one, but what – if anything – had changed in the build-up to these fixtures.
Hearts record first league win against Bibiani Goldstars
Two second half goals from Isaac Mensah and Gladson Awako ensured Hearts of Oak their first win of the season against Bibiani Goldstars on Saturday afternoon.
Hearts came from behind to record a 2-1 home win over ten-man Bibiani Goldstars in the match-week four of the 2022/23 Ghana Premier League season at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The Miners commenced the fixture on a good note which saw Prince Owusu Kwabena scord a belter to take the lead in the 9th minute.
Hearts were frustrated by the visitors in the midfield, which forced them to keep possessing the ball in their half, with no shots on target.
In the second half, Bibiani Goldstars goalkeeper, Joseph Baah, was shown a straight red-card for unsportsmanlike behavior, when he punched Yassan Ouatching. Hearts Serbian coach, Slavko Matic, made tactical substitutions with the introduction of Ibrahim Salifu, Jeordon Otanga Mvouo and Isaac Mensah as replacements for Caleb Amankwah, Samuel Inkoom and Eric Esso respectively.
The introduction of the trio made an instant impact for the home side as substitute Isaac Mensah snatched the equalizer. Awako secured all the three maximum points for the Phobians with a stunning free-kick on the 88th minute of the game.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie and Mr Albert Kan Dapaah - Minister for National Security
A Justice of the Supreme Court, Paul Kwadwo Baffoe-Bonnie says officials of National Security approached Chief Justice (CJ) Kwasi Anin Yeboah with a plea to convince judges not to allow illegal miners (galamseyers) to go scot-free whenever they are arrested and brought before the court.
According to him, National Security officials who approached the CJ, were of the view that the judges do not really know what is going on, so when the police and soldiers go out and arrest galamseyers, they should not allow them to go scot free.
He said this whilst representing the Chief Justice at the 4th Seminar & Annual General Meeting held by the Licensed Surveyors Association of Ghana (LiSAG) in Accra, yesterday, Wednesday 26th October, 2022.
The meeting was under the theme: “Changing phase of cadastral surveying for effective land management.”
He said: “… seriously speaking, there was a time that the National Security came to the Chief Justice and while we were jaw-jawing and discussing what exactly should be done, they came with a plea to the Chief Justice that we should talk to the judges, and that the judges don’t really know what is going on.So when the police and soldiers go out and arrest galamseyers, who are actually causing lot of havoc, the judges allow them to go scot free or fine them.”
He also added, “So I asked them what becomes of the official who allowed Aisha Huang to go away without being tried at all, because she is a Chinese. That is food for thought for all of us.”
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie suggested that although some sections of the public have called for the declaration of a state of emergency, he strongly believes that a ban should be placed on the issuance of Licenses either to small scale legitimate mining or medium to large scale mining companies.
With the gathering cheering him on with loud applause, he postulated that “it is difficult to know who is a legitimate licensed miner and who is a galamseyer. Stop issuing license and stop or ban…maybe apart from the Obusai, Prestea, whatever, recognized gold miners or the companies. Akonta or whatever it is, everybody should just be banned for now so that we can have some sanity.”
In the speech that he read on behalf of the CJ, he said the judiciary is ready to accept some of the Licensed Surveyors to its course, so that they can assist the judges to understand the site plan,as well as to conduct their independence enquiries in land cases.
He added that Licensed Surveyors can help create land litigated database that would augment judgments from different courts on the same piece of land.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie indicated that the Supreme Court has devised a solution to the situation, whereby individuals are manipulating the justice system to secure several judgments from different courts over the same piece of land.
The President of the Association, Mr Larbi Darko, on his part called on the members to incorporate modern technology in their practice.
He also called on traditional leaders to deal with the association members as they are registered with the Land Commission, in order to reduce land litigations in the country.
President Akufo-Addo speaking to the delegation at the Jubilee House
President Akufo-Addo has complained bitterly about black market trading of forex in the country.
According to him, the situation where their operations drive the supply and rate of forex transactions in the country was unacceptable, and has since indicated that efforts should be made to collapse that business.
“As you hear public commentators and commentators from the Bank of Ghana itself say it is still the black market that is driving both the supply, as well as the rate of our foreign exchange transactions.
“That, to me, is completely unacceptable, and we have to find a way to work together to drive the black market out of business,” President Akufo-Addo stated.
The President said this yesterday during a meeting at Jubilee House with the leadership of the Forex Bureau Association of Ghana.
At his insistence, the meeting was part of the government’s consultation with key economic stakeholders to discuss the issues affecting the economy, and the way forward.
President Akufo-Addo expressed worry about the activities of the black currency market, saying that they had significantly contributed to the weakening of the Cedi against the major trading currencies.
CREATION OF FOREX BUREAUX
President Akufo-Addo began his remarks by narrating what inspired the creation of the forex bureau in the country.
However, he opined that somehow, that initial motivation for the creation of the forex bureaus has still not materialised.
“The initial impulse for the creation of Forex Bureaux in Ghana was that at the time when our economy was opening up and liberalising, there was the need to find a mechanism for putting an end to black market operations on the country’s currency.
“That was the initial impulse, so we will have these forex bureaux regulated by the Bank of Ghana to make access to foreign exchange in a regulated and controlled manner easier. Unfortunately, somehow, this initial motivation for the creation of the forex bureaux has still not materialised…,” he stated.
Meanwhile, he urged the association to lend support to the government’s efforts to tame currency speculators who had contributed to driving down the value of the Cedi.
CURRENCY DEFICIENCY IS NOT NATURAL
The President of the Forex Bureau Association of Ghana, Mr. K.T. Dadzie, told President Akufo-Addo that the forex rates started coming down with the announcement of the meeting between forex bureaux. Based on that, he concluded that the currency depreciation was orchestrated.
He noted that the past three months had not been easy for operators of forex bureaux, as well as their customers.
“With the announcement that we were even meeting yesterday, the rate started coming down. It means it is not natural; this has all been done by people’s speculation and trying to make a windfall out of the situation that we are in,” he said.
According to him, the association did not have control over the forex market beyond what the regulator, the Bank of Ghana, determined.
“We have been in this business since 1988. We have had turbulence, but this is a bit tough for all of us. We have gone through all that happened, but we tried, and we survived, and I know this too shall pass.
After the initial remarks by the Association and the President, the meeting went into a closed-door session.
ABOUT THE CEDI
The Cedi has since the beginning of the year witnessed a steep fall in value, depreciating against major currencies.
This is due to several factors, including the rebound of the strength of the US Dollar, investor reaction to credit ratings downgrade of Ghana’s economy, the non-rollover of maturing bonds by non-resident investors, high crude oil prices, the loss of access to the external market for borrowing, as well as speculation.
Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament
Mr. Henry Quartey
The Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, yesterday dismissed a preliminary objection raised by the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, with regards to the fate of three absentee Members of Parliament (MPs).
He has, therefore, directed the Table Office to re-advertise the motion for the House to adopt the report of the Privileges Committee on the referral made about the three MPs who allegedly absented themselves for fifteen sitting days. This would enable members of the House to debate the report and make a decision on it.
It would be recalled that Parliament, before it went on recess in July, initiated a process to decide the fate of three MPs who had not participated in the business of the House for more than 15 sittings.
The MPs are Madam Sarah Adjoa Safo, Dome Kwabenya, Mr. Henry Quartey, Ayawaso Central and Mr. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Assin Central. In order to bring finality to the issue, Speaker Bagbin, per the provisions of the 1992 Constitution and the Standing Orders of Parliament, tasked the Privileges Committee to investigate the issue and report back to the House for a decision to be taken.
Madam Sarah Adjoa Safo
But, the Majority Leader disagreed with the Speaker’s decision. He was of the view that whatever decision the Privileges Committee would take should be final.
He fortified his argument with the provisions of Article 177 (1), which state: “There shall be paid into the Contingency Fund moneys voted for the purpose by Parliament; and advances may be made from that Fund, which are authorised by the committee responsible for financial measures in Parliament whenever that committee is satisfied that there has arisen an urgent or unforeseen need for expenditure for which no other provision exists to meet the need.”
He noted that the subsequent article indicates that a supplementary estimate shall be presented as soon as possible to Parliament by the Finance Committee for the purpose of replacing the amount so advanced.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu noted that the information on the supplementary estimate was presented so that it would be part of the House’s record, adding that it was just for the information of the House and not for a debate.
He, therefore, argued that the conditions that applied under Article 177 should be the same for the report of the Privileges Committee. “The provision under Article 177(1) should tell us that the report from the Committee should come by no way of information to us, it is not for [the] Plenary to make a determination whatsoever on it. So the Speaker is totally wrong,” he said.
But giving a ruling on the issue yesterday, Mr. Bagbin said he arrived at his decision based on a careful review of the constitutional provisions, the Standing Orders, the case law and rules, and practices of other countries around the world on the matter of absenteeism from sittings of Parliament.
He indicated that Article 97(1)(c) stipulates the conditions under which the seat of a member should be declared vacant. He noted that the said article indicates that a seat would be, first of all, declared vacant once a member absented himself from 15 sittings of Parliament, and had, secondly, not obtained the permission of the Speaker in writing.
Mr. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong
The third basis on which an MP may lose his seat, according to the said article, was when that MP could not offer a reasonable explanation to the Committee of Privileges on why he was absent.
Speaker Bagbin noted that despite the provision of Article 97(1)(c), Order 161 of the Standing Orders of Parliament provide that the “Recommendations of the report of the Committee shall be presented to the House in the form of a report.”
He continued that after the report had been presented, a motion may be moved by the Chairman of the Committee for the acceptance of the report, and so the Plenary plays an important role in choosing to adopt or reject the recommendations. Mr. Bagbin said the rational for the Plenary to have a voice in the Committee’s report was that committees of Parliament were microcosms and extensions of the House as a whole.
Drawing a sharp contrast between Article 97(1)(c) and 177, Speaker Bagbin noted that the Plenary was not seized with the mandate to debate the Supplementary estimate report under 177, because no referral was made by the House to the Finance Committee, but in the case of the absentee MPs, a referral was made to the Privileges Committee.
He said the House had the right to receive and consider the report of the Privileges Committee and make a determination, because a referral was made, and hence, directed the Table Office to lay the report for the House to deliberate, debate, and take a final decision on it.
He thus dismissed Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu’s preliminary objection by saying, “It goes without saying that the preliminary objection of the Majority Leader to the admissibility of the motion for the consideration of the report of the committee is hereby dismissed.”
President Akufo-Addo speaking to members of the Private Enterprises Federation at a meeting at Jubilee House
A delegation from the Private Enterprises Federation at a meeting at the Jubilee House
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has indicated the government is on the verge of concluding negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“The IMF negotiations are ongoing. We are close to concluding them,” he said yesterday, during a meeting at Jubilee House with the leadership of the Private Enterprises Federation.
According to the President, the deal is part of the measures that the government is taking to save the economy.
The President noted that this program, if it materialises, will assist the country in restoring micro-economic stability to the economy and help the country restore its micro-finances. According to him, the programme will also help to strengthen the economy.
STAKE HOLDS ENGAGEMENT
President Akufo-Addo, since yesterday, has engaged about eight stakeholders at Jubilee House to brief them on where the government has reached with its measures to solve the economic challenges.
These groups were the Association of Ghana Industries, Ghana Association of Banks, GPRTU and Transport Operators, Forex Bureau Association of Ghana and Market Women.
The rest were Ghana Employers Association, Private Enterprise Federation and Trades Union Congress.
The President, in the meeting with the Private Enterprise Federation indicated that he felt before the final program with the IMF, he should have these engagements with the various stakeholders of the economy.
He explained that it was to also have an idea of their concerns and to see to what extent those concerns could be addressed in the actions of the government.
GHANA EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION
Addressing the President yesterday, the Ghana Employers Association President, Daniel Acheampong, said the association knows that the challenges are not domestic.”We know that what is going on in the country is not occasioned by any individual or group. Global events like the COVID-19, like the February 24th invasion of Ukraine by Russia have their toes in every economy in the world and we, as employers, are mindful of that.
We are feeling the pinch, but we know that by working together we should be able to find a way out of the menace,” he said.
FOREX BUREAU ASSOCIATION
The President of the Forex Bureau Association of Ghana, Mr. K.T. Dadzie, told President Akufo-Addo that the forex rates started coming down with the announcement of the meeting between Forex Bureaus.
Based on that, he concluded that the currency depreciation was orchestrated.He noted that the past three months have not been easy for operators of Forex Bureaus, as well as their customers.
“With the announcement that we were even meeting yesterday, the rate started coming down. It means it is not natural, this has all been done by people’s speculation and trying to make a windfall out of the situation that we are in,” he said.
MARKET WOMEN
In his meeting with market women, President Akufo-Addo solicited the support of the market women to save the economy.
The Minister for Sanitation, Cecilia Abena Dapaah urged the market women to check the pricing of their items, explaining that it was not normal for the price of oil, for instance, to change about thrice in a day.
The market women, from across the country, also expressed their concerns to the president, including the cost of transportation.
TRADES UNION CONGRESS
Having welcomed the leadership of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), President Akufo-Addo explained to them that the meeting was to seek their inputs on government’s measures to rescue the economy, including the IMF negotiations.
The meeting moved to a closed-door session thereafter.
INFORMATION MINISTER
Following the meeting with the TUC, the Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, addressed the media.
He told the Presidential Press Corps that the President had concluded its consultations with economic stakeholders, ahead of a Cabinet meeting, starting today through to Saturday.
His briefing was a follow up to what he did on Monday to inform the country that the President was going to have these meetings.
He said the President had been sharing with them the progress of the IMF negotiations and “the kind of considerations we have in mind for the 2023 economic programme and budget, and they have also been giving him feedback and sharing with him thoughts and options that they think the country should opt for.”
Residents of Accra living downstream of the Weija Dam went through hell recently, when the dam that supplies potable water to the western parts of the capital city was partially opened to discharge excess water. Though Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) claimed it did inform the relevant stakeholders before the dam was partially opened, many homes were still flooded, with one person reportedly losing his life.
It is an undeniable fact that house owners in these areas knew they were building on waterways, yet ignored all warnings and went ahead to construct the residential structures. But since the city authorities think demolition of these buildings is out of the equation, the best thing to do now is to protect them against the perennial flooding. This is apparently why the GWCL always informs the residents before the spillage is carried out to, at least, minimise the impact it will have on the people.
It is upon the basis of this that The Chronicle commends the Volta River Authority (VRA) for also issuing advance notices to people living and farming along the Volta River, about its intention to spill water from both the Akosombo and Kpong dams.
According to a statement released by the VRA yesterday, due to consistent rainfall, and the consequent rise in the level of the Akosombo Reservoir over the past two weeks, the Authority may commence controlled spillage of water from the Akosombo and Kpong dams in the next few days.
As of Tuesday, October 26, 2022, the statement continued that the reservoir elevation stood at 273.70 feet and was expected to reach the maximum operating level of 276 feet in the next week or two, if the current rate of inflow continued.
In line with the requirement of our Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) and Standard Operating Procedures, the Authority has duly notified its key stakeholders of the intended spillage. The Authority, therefore, wishes to caution all residents, especially farmers along the Volta River and downstream of our dams, to be on high alert.
Like the Weija Dam, the controlled discharge from the Akosombo Dam will definitely result in flooding of homes and farms, but the situation will be mitigated with the advance notice they have given.
Akosombo and Kpong Dams are the engines driving the economic development of this country. Their collapse will, therefore, spell doom for mother Ghana. The VRA, therefore, has no option than to spill excess water from the dam when it becomes necessary to do so and save it for future generations.
However, to avert the Weija episode, where the people claimed ignorance of the earlier warning issued by the GWCL, The Chronicle advises the VRA to send its personnel to the communities along the river to educate them about the impending exercise.
Issuance of statement and radio announcements are good, but not all people listen to radio or read newspapers. This is why it is important the VRA goes to the communities in Information vans to inform them about what it intends doing.
Like Weija and surrounding communities in Accra, all the communities along the Volta River, especially from Kpong through Sogakope to Ada, are low-lying areas.
The flood situation can, therefore, be worse if it is not well managed.
The dignitaries perform the joint commissioning of the projects
A 20-seater water closet toilet facility with wash and changing rooms has been commissioned for Kwadaso Ohwimase School for the benefit of the girl child.
The Ohwimase Basic School now has a newly-built child-friendly Water Sanitation and Health facility, while the learners will no longer need to worry how they will meet nature’s call.
A toilet and washroom have also been commissioned for Apatrapa Health Center and a water project for the residents of Agric Nzema, all in the Kwadaso Municipality.
The projects come under the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Component of the COVID-19 response projects, which have since been handed over to the Kwadaso Municipality.
Ms. Anne Claire, Representative of UNICEF to Ghana, joined Madam Cecilia Arena Dinah, Tom Norring and Dr. Clifford Baima, Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Denmark Ambassador to Ghana and Managing Director of Ghana Water Company Limited respectively commissioned the projects recently.
Commissioning the projects, Ms. Claire disclosed that only 60% of urban settlements, per
statistics from UNICEF, had access to water within their premises, while the rest of the urban population, including people from low-income communities, fetch water from private vendors managed water points.
Anne Claire disclosed that the programme, which was originally intended to be a one-year project, was further extended for one year to address the challenges of WASH infrastructure development in high-density settlements, and market price rising for construction materials and amendments of the contracts.
She said the interventions had made an immense contribution to the COVID-response, through water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion in communities, schools, health facilities and public spaces, benefitting tens of thousands of vulnerable families and their children from low-income settlements across nine communities.
She said 11 kilometres of pipelines had been laid to enhance access to safe water for about 16,100 people across three communities.
This, she said, was out of the overall total of 33km pipeline work under the project, improving access to about 69,000 in Accra and Kumasi, while 410 low-income families had water connections in their yards, with a flexible payment system, while five Automatic Water Vending
Stations had been established.
She indicated that WASH infrastructure of eight schools, seven health facilities, and three public places were fully rehabilitated or expanded to meet the minimum WASH IPC requirements.
The UNICEF Rep urged the Minister and the Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited to expand this approach in all low-income urban areas.
She thanked the Government of Denmark for the generous support to Ghana in the most difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic to enable the country move closer to reaching the Sustainable Development Goal 6.
She commended the Government of Ghana, the sector Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Ghana Water Company, participating Municipal Assemblies and Ministries, Departments and Agencies for the continued close partnership with
UNICEF to implement key multi-sectoral interventions to effectively target and reach the most vulnerable families, women, and children in Ghana.
Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, explained that the Municipality was one of seven benefiting from the programme in the Greater Accra and Kumasi Metropolis.
