Mad. Lariba Zuweiru, Minister-designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection
Officials of law enforcement agencies, ministry of GCSP
The Economic and Organised Crimes Organisation (EOCO) has stated that all persons found guilty of child and human trafficking would not only be prosecuted and imprisoned, but their assets would also be confiscated to serve as a deterrent to others.
Mr. Dominic Mensah, Head of the Anti-Human Rights Unit at EOCO, disclosed this at a capacity building workshop for law enforcement officials on Counter-Trafficking and Irregular Migration, in conjunction with the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection, Expertise France, and the European Union, held in Kumasi.
According to him, there were instances a the perpetrator was arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned, yet after serving the term of paying the penalty, comes back to enjoy the booty from the inhumane act.
He emphasised that it was long overdue to begin an assessment certification of a suspect at the beginning of investigations to enable officials to unravel the properties of culprits.
Mr. Yusif Nuhu, Ashanti Regional Staff Officer of EOCO, noted that human trafficking, seen as organised crime, was on the ascendancy, hence, the need to collaborate with all the law enforcement agencies to strengthen their efforts and operations in sharing information with colleagues.
ACI Charles Yaw Bediako, Ashanti Regional Commander of Immigration, also disclosed that children who were victims of trafficking were prone to being used as terrorists and extremists, hence, the need to take issues in relation to child trafficking with all the seriousness it deserved.
According to him, victims of trafficking could easily be convinced to take anything in kind or cash to join terrorist groups, and called on the law enforcement agencies to join hands in the fight against human trafficking.
Madam Lariba Zuweiru, Minister-designated for Gender, Children and Social Protection, in her keynote address, stated that human trafficking was a global canker to which Ghana was no exception.
According to the Minister, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, per the National Plan of Action for the elimination of human trafficking in Ghana, was mandated to support the security agencies to attain specialised training and support to build capacities to ensure that the Human Trafficking Law was implemented.
She disclosed that the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection, together with its partners, had embarked upon eight zonal training programmes for their key law enforcement officers.
She indicated that under the Expertise France Project, over 375 officers had been trained, and 88 benefitted from advanced level training.
She said the Ministry, together with the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, recently trained 140 Civil Aviation officers on Victim Identification and Counter-Trafficking Activities to ensure the airport was well secured, and victims rescued in time.
She noted that the majority of the participants were also working in border communities and towns, and expressed the hope that the training would equip them to secure the borders.
Serge Apkalou, Project Manager of Expertise France, disclosed that over the past years, together with the Human trafficking Secretariat, they had embarked upon a series of basic training across the country to build the capacities of the law enforcement agencies in the detection, investigation, prosecution, and collaboration on issues of human trafficking and irregular migration.
He said the programme had been quite interesting and impactful, journeying through the Western, Central, Volta and Oti regions.
He underscored that over the year, monitoring visits had been conducted in the Ashanti, Ahafo, Bono East, Northern, North East, and Upper East regions to understand the state of affairs as far as human trafficking and irregular migration were concerned.
Mr. Apkalou further said that those visits informed them on the need for improving capacity building, logistics, and resources amongst others to effectively tackle the issue at hand.
Reports from the Manhyia Palace indicate that it has given the go ahead for Oyerepa FM to start operations after it was ordered to shut down, following the furor over comments made on the station by Mr. Akwasi Addai Odike, a Kumasi based businessman and politician.
The latter had accused Manhyia Palace of being neck-deep in the illegal mining operations, which are destroying water bodies in the region.
A day after his pronouncement on the radio station, the Kumasi Traditional Council (KTC) slaughtered a ram and banished Mr. Odike from the Manhyia Palace.
When management of Oyerepa FM also went to the chiefs to plead for clemency, they were advised to first shut down the radio station and come back later, which they did.
When management appeared before the Traditional Council for the second time yesterday, they were asked to resume transmission, though an official at Manhyia Palace had denied through radio interviews that they (chiefs) ordered the radio station to shut down.
Whether the Kumasi chiefs ordered Oyerepa FM to shut down or not, The Chronicle is happy that they are now back on air.
The Chronicle does not have any evidence to support what Odike reportedly said on the radio station. We believe the radio station itself does not have that evidence.
What they ought to have done, therefore, was to have asked Odike to prove the allegation against the chiefs or retract it, which Oyerepa FM probably failed to do.
But this mistake, in our view, does not warrant the way chiefs constituting the Traditional Council descended on the radio station.
Yes, Kumasi is part of Ashanti Kingdom, but the gospel truth is that it is also part and parcel of a country called Ghana, which is governed by rules and regulations.
One of the rules or regulations is that when a journalist tarnishes your image, you can report him or her to the National Media Commission or proceed to court.
Nowhere has the 1992 Constitution guaranteed chiefs or traditional rulers the powers to order closure of a radio station because they have broadcast contents that seriously affect their reputations.
Unfortunately, the Ghanaian journalist has of late come under attack from these traditional rulers because they disagree with some of the news items they broadcast.
A few months ago, Radio Ada, in the Greater Accra Region, was attacked by hoodlums for its persistent criticisms of salt mining going on in the area.
The Ada Traditional Council disassociated itself from the attack only to ban the same radio station from covering the Asafotufiam Festival.
Since there were widespread criticisms of this decision taken by Ada Traditional Council, no one expected that similar incident would occur again.
Surprisingly, the Kumasi Traditional Council has also followed suit by not only chastising Oyerepa FM over Odike’s comment, but actually advised the radio station to shut down. As the adage goes, “it is the one who fetches water that breaks the pot”.
The work of the journalist is a necessary evil in any democratic society and our traditional leaders must take note of this.
We are not condoning wrongdoing, but whenever a journalist makes a mistake, we must strive to use the laid down laws in the constitution to address it.
Clearly, the order for Oyerepa FM to close down was a complete affront to the 1992 constitution and similar situations must never happen again.
Nana Kwaku Amankwah Sarkodie II, Chief of Sewua and chairman of the Planning Committee
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bosomtwe Constituency, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has had another feather in his cap in recognition of his meritorious services to his constituents.
In 2019, he was voted Best Performing Deputy Minister of the Year by the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) and FAKS Investigative Services.
Last Sunday, the chiefs and people of Bosomtwe honoured their lawmaker amid pomp and pageantry under the chairmanship of Nana Opoku Amponsem II, Chief of Abrankese-Nyameani, at a grand durbar at Jachie.
It attracted personalities from all walks of life, including delegations from the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, New Patriotic Party (NPP) executives, Regional NPP chairmen, the clergy, assembly members, and delegates.
The honour was in reciprocation of the legacy evidenced in the various projects and programmes initiated and executed by the Minister of Education for the constituency, considered to be the fastest developing in the Ashanti Region and the hub of education.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief of Abrankese-Nyameani commended the MP and Minister of Education for the enormous legacy he had bequeathed the people, saying education was key to development, and called for total support to encourage him to do more for the area.
Nana Opoku Amponsem II, Chief of Abrankese-Nyameani who presided over the occasion presenting a citation to the MP
Nana Kwaku Agyei Yeboah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF), on behalf of the Heads of Agencies at the Ministry of Education, lauded the Minister for initiating two laudable policies, namely the Free Senior High School (SHS) and “No Guarantor” policy he introduced on assumption of office.
The SLTF CEO announced that next year SHS final year who seek admission into tertiary Institutions would access loans simultaneously to relief parents of financial stress.
In a citation, the chiefs acknowledged the contributions by the MP towards development and the cause of humanity.
It said they (chiefs) were proud to have associated themselves with him, and expressed their appreciation, presenting a ram, kente cloth and native sandals to the MP and his wife.
Yet another citation by the Ghana Education Service (GES) described the Minister as an agent of change, whose hallmark had been raising the bar of education higher up, thus leaving an indelible imprint on education in Ghana, having afforded the girl child greater access to education at all levels.
Nana Kwaku Amankwah Sarkodie II, Chief of Sewua and Chairman of the Planning Committee for the event, touted the achievements of their MP.
An elated Sewua Chief mentioned the ultra-modern administration block at Beposo SHS, 66-seater bus to Beposo SHS, construction of kitchen and dining hall, a 33-seater Coaster bus and one brand new Toyota Hilux pick up to St. George’s Technical High School at Kuntanse and
Bosomtwe Girls STEM SHS, 66-seater bus and one brand new Toyota Hilux pick up to Bosomtwe Girls.
The Chief also mentioned the construction of an ultra modern Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college at Abrankese; 66-seater bus and the construction of a dining hall, kitchen, stores and offices, and one pickup truck to St. Michael’s Vocational & Technical at Pramso; construction of an ultra modern administration block and Assembly Hall at Jachie Pramso Senior High School, besides a 66-seater bus and Toyota Hilux pickup and pickup to Jachie Technical Institute.
Others are construction of all new Bosomtwe STEM Academy and SHS, 66-seater bus and one brand new pick up to Bosomtwe STEM Academy; the all new Osei Yaw Adutum SHS at Jachie, 66-seater bus and one brand new pick up to Osei Yaw Adutwum SHS
The rest of the projects and provisions under the SHS category are the 66-seater bus and one brand new pick up to Oyoko Day SHS; Construction of a brand new Feyiase- Esereso SHS; 33-seater bus to Tetrefu Technical Institute and a 33-seater bus to Konkoma Technical Institute.
Nana Kwaku Amankwah Sarkodie II also mentioned other school infrastructure in the constituency as 6-unit classroom block with toilet and water facility at Beposo; 6-unit classroom block with toilet and water facility at Konkoma; 6 -unit classroom block with toilet and water facility at Asisiriwa;
Construction of 6-seater toilet facility at Nkowi Nkwanta; one mechanized borehole at Brodekwano and a 6-unit classroom block with toilet and water facility at Boneagya.
Other projects by the MP, the Sewua chief enumerated as one mechanized borehole at Nyameani; 2-unit KG block with offices, play room, toilets and water at Nyameani; 6 unit classroom block with toilet and water facility at Pipie; 1 mechanized borehole at Petrensa; 6 unit classroom block with toilet and water facility at Yaase- Krom Adwafo; 1 mechanized borehole at Akokofe in partnership with Madamfo Ghana foundation; 2 unit KG block with offices, playroom, water and toilets at Amankwadei; 3 unit JHS classroom block with toilet and water facility, computer lab, offices at Toamfom; 1 mechanized borehole at Toamfom; 6 unit classroom block with toilet and water facility at Kuntanase.
Nana Kwaku Amankwah Sarkodie II continued the list of projects as 6 unit classroom block with toilet and water facility at Prenyase; 6 units classroom block with toilet and water facility at Jachie; 6 units classroom block with toilet and water facility at Jachie DA1; 1 mechanized borehole at Japass; 1 mechanized borehole at Jachie; 1 mechanized borehole at Abidjan Nkwanta; 6 units classroom block with toilet and water facility at Abidjan Nkwanta; 2 units classroom block with toilet, playroom, offices etc at Apinkra; 6 units classroom block with toilet and water facility at Nkwanta and New ultra modern clinic at Dedesua.
The rest are 2 units KG block with toilet, playroom etc at Aduaben; 6 units classroom block with toilet and water facility at Feyiase; 6 units classroom block with toilet and water facility at Adagya; Renovation of Prabon DA school; 2 number 6 units classroom block with toilet and water facility at Sewua; 1 mechanized borehole at Apinkra; 1 mechanized borehole at Abountem; Construction of offices for the District Office of the Electoral Commission.
The MP has donated 1,175 bags of cement, 7 packets of roofing sheets and sand to support various community self help projects and 1 mechanized borehole at Nuaso.
Other forms of support by the MP include GHc60,000 towards the refurbishment of Kuntanase Government Hospital; 2 motorcycle to District Command of Ghana Police Service; two Motorcycle to the District Command of the Fire Service; one Motorcycle to the District
Command of the National Intelligence Authority; one brand new clinic at Dedesua; two storey teachers quarters at St. George’s Technical high school, Kuntanase and 300,000 Euros investment into the technical department of the St. George’s Technical high school at
Kuntanase.
The Sewua chief also mentioned the Dr. Yaw Osei- Adutwum STEM Scholarship which has offered scholarships to over 100 students at UDS, UMaT and KNUST adding that several constituents are studying in the USA, UK, Hungary, and Morocco under the Minister’s Foreign Scholarships.
He said over 800 constituents have gained permanent employment with GES, Local government Service, NASIA, Complimentary Education, Free SHS, NACA, Bui Dam, National Security, NIA, Police Service, Fire Service at the instance of the MP.
Dr. Osei Adutwum thanked the Asantehene and his wife Lady Julie for their support and guidance in the execution of his duty as a Minister and also expressed appreciation for the honour done him by Nananaom.
He noted that the recognition had strengthened him to continue to work in the interest of the people and assured that he would continue to deliver and uplift the image of the Bosomtwe Constituency.
A verdict has been reached in the trial for Vanessa Bryant‘s lawsuit against Los Angeles County.
The jury in the lawsuit arrived at a decision, and ordered Los Angeles County to pay $31 million to the widow of Kobe Bryant and co-plaintiff Christopher Chester, according to multiple reports.
The jury awarded $16 million to Vanessa and $15 million to Christopher who lost his wife, Sarah, and 13-year-old daughter, Payton, in the same helicopter crash that killed Kobe and 13-year-old Gianna Bryant on Jan. 26, 2020.
Vanessa and Christopher were seeking millions of dollars in damages for emotional distress regarding gruesome photos taken by officers at the crash site.
While Vanessa left the courthouse without making a statement to the press, she took to Instagram later in the day and shared a photo of herself, Kobe, and Gianna, which she captioned, “All for you! I love you! JUSTICE for Kobe and Gigi! #Betonyourself #MambaDay 8•24•22.”
Mira Hashmall, partner at the Miller Barondess law firm and lead outside counsel for LA County in the lawsuit, released a statement to ET Wednesday afternoon in response to the verdict.
“We are grateful for the jury’s hard work in this case. While we disagree with the jury’s findings as to the County’s liability, we believe the monetary award shows that jurors didn’t believe the evidence supported the Plaintiffs’ request of $75 million for emotional distress,” Hashmall stated.
“We will be discussing next steps with our client. Meanwhile, we hope the Bryant and Chester families continue to heal from their tragic loss.”
In May 2020, Vanessa filed a claim against the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department for sharing private photos of the Jan. 26, 2020 crash scene in Calabasas, California, that left nine people dead, including Kobe and Gianna.
The Attorney-General has admitted, in his letter dated 19 July 2022 to OccupyGhana, that his office and the Auditor-General have failed to enforce disallowances and surcharges because of ‘INORDINATE DELAY’ and ‘SIGNIFICANT TARDINESS.’
This shows that both the Attorney-General and Auditor-General have breached the 2017 orders of the Supreme Court in OCCUPYGHANA v ATTORNEY-GENERAL, namely (i) the Auditor-General must disallow and surcharge whenever the circumstances listed in article 187(7) of the Constitution are triggered, and (iii) the Attorney-General must enforce disallowances and surcharges, including initiating criminal prosecution.
Clearly, both offices have exhibited shocking nonchalance and contemptuous disinterestedness in the Supreme Court’s orders.
FORMER AUDITOR GENERAL’S ACTIONS
This is in contrast with the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court decision, when the then Auditor-General enforced the Supreme Court decision and disallowed more than GHS5 Billion that the Government was falsely required to pay, and then recovered more than GH¢67 million through surcharges. Ghana thus became a worldwide beacon of the anti-corruption fight, with the World Bank acknowledging both the Supreme Court decision and these recoveries in the 2020 GLOBAL REPORT, titled Enhancing Government Effectiveness and Transparency:
The Fight Against Corruption, and revealing that ‘this achievement [had] inspired other African [countries] to pass similar legislation on disallowances and surcharges.’
CURRENT AUDITOR-GENERAL’S ABJECT FAILURE
However, since the appointment of the current Auditor-General, we have noticed an inexplicable reluctance on his part to disallow and surcharge.
Even when his annual reports point to the constitutional disallowance and surcharge triggers, the Auditor-General inexcusably and inexplicably refuses to issue them, contrary to the mandatory demands by the Constitution and the Supreme Court.
OccupyGhana’s consistent reminders to the Auditor-General of his obligations under the Constitution, with potential consequences of him being held in contempt of court, and/or prosecution for a high crime under the Constitution, fell on deaf ears.
AUDITOR-GENERAL’S EXCUSE CREATES A LOOPHOLE FOR CULPRITS
It was well over a year of writing, and after a petition to the Right to Information Commission, that the Auditor-General responded to OccupyGhana’s queries, to shockingly admit that since he took office, he has only issued ONE disallowance and surcharge.
He explains that he is now investigating the matters in his own annual reports, to gather evidence for disallowance and surcharge.
This excuse is not just ridiculous and farcical; it is false and contrived. Here is an Auditor-General who has published several reports in which he cites the constitutional triggers for disallowance and surcharge, names the possible culprits and states the amounts lost to Ghana. He has submitted those reports to Parliament.
But his excuse for not exercising his constitutional duties is that he only investigates for evidence to disallow and surcharge, after he has submitted and published the reports. In effect, the reports notify potential culprits and give them the opportunity to cover their tracks up and possibly destroy evidence.
OCCUPYGHANA CHASES ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR ENFORCEMENT
OccupyGhana also wrote to the Attorney-General, demanding what steps that his office had taken to enforce the Auditor-General’s disallowances and surcharges, when issued. Again, it took over a year and finally a petition to the Right to Information Commission to get the Attorney-General to respond.
When the Attorney-General finally responded, on 19 July 2022, his response catalogued and revealed a generally failed and unacceptable state of enforcement as follows:
(1) 2017 and 2018: no enforcement occurred because the Auditor-General failed to provide required follow-up information;
(2) 2019 and 2020: no record of enforcement; and
(3) 2021: the Attorney-General’s office received just ONE notice of surcharge; however, ‘there has been a rather inordinate delay in the institution of the action… [and we are] now ready to file the suit and will do so immediately.’
OCCUPYGHANA’S NEXT STEPS
We are concerned that the Auditor-General pays little to scant attention to the obligations placed upon him by law.
For instance, although he is required by article 187(5) of the Constitution to submit his reports to Parliament ‘within six months after the end of the immediately preceding financial year,’ and by section 23 of the Audit Service Act to publish them ‘as soon as the reports have been presented to the Speaker,’ it was only a letter from OccupyGhana to him dated 24 August 2022 (our ref OG/2022/028), that compelled him to surreptitiously publish some of the 2021 reports on the Audit Service website.
In the coming weeks, we intend to escalate our engagement with both the Auditor-General and Attorney-General to ensure that the proper thing is done.
If they fail to comply, we would have no other choice but to return to court. However, we invite Ghanaians to join us in this fight.
We do not need to incur further legal expenses just to get public officers to do the work that both the Constitution and the Supreme Court have already ordered them to do.
Popularly known in Ghana as ‘Rambo,’ US Actor, Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin are divorcing after 25 years of marriage.
Flavin filed a petition “for dissolution of marriage and other relief” from the Rocky actor, 76, on Friday at a court in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Stallone and Flavin, 54, married in 1997. They have three daughters: Scarlet, 20, Sistine, 24, and Sophia, 25. Stallone is also a father to son Seargeoh from his previous marriage to Sasha Czack.
His oldest son Sage, whom he shares with Czack, died in 2012.
In a statement, Stallone said, “I love my family. We are amicably and privately addressing these personal issues.”
Flavin also said; “I’m sad to announce that after 25 years of marriage I have filed for divorce from my husband Sylvester Stallone.
While we will no longer be married, I will always cherish the more than 30-year relationship that we shared, and I know we are both committed to our beautiful daughters. I ask for privacy for our family as we amicably move forward.”
The news has received mixed reactions from their followers online.
Dr. UN has explained why he awarded Rapper Sarkodie with a water bottle, an award that attracted ridicule from the public when it was later found out that it had no affiliation with the United Nations as advertised.
In an interview on the Delay Show which was monitored by The Chronicle, Dr Kwame Fordjour, popularly known as DR. UN said his award is to award Ghanaian trailblazers for their exceptional works in their various fields.
“When you hold a water, it’s a shining star, water is life all your followers, the population that follows you, you are holding their life, that is the meaning of that,” Dr UN told Delay in the interview.
Asked why he gave ace broadcaster, Nathaniel Attoh, a horse, he replied “so when will Ghana grow?” He continued that “awards that we are giving, you that you are not the architect of the award, you want to show us what we should give to you? Then don’t come.”
He awarded Sarkodie, Berla Mundi, D-Black, and Nathaniel Attoh among others with fake awards and plaques made of different totems. The Ghanaian rapper who was suited to the event as a dapper proudly received an empty water bottle as his ‘UN Award’.
Later it was discovered that the award scheme is not associated with the UN and was a ceremony organized by Kwame Fordjour without the consent of the international body. However, the DR UN continues to defend the credibility of his awards scheme.
“I have organized about 10 awards. I am like Ghana don’t learn and they keep talking trash about dignified people. Sarkodie himself who received the flask, ask him how I got him at the event” DR. UN defended the credibility of his award.
Speaking on the reasons, dangers and way forward in Artistes failing to show up for events they have been booked and paid for, Bulldog, CEO of Bullhaus Entertainment who has managed successful Artistes has shared that, some artistes lack the discipline and change after getting a hit song.
In an interview on Joy FM which as monitored by The Chronicle, Bulldog said:
“An artiste would release a song, no structure, then boom the song goes all over the world, now they are gods in their own sense,” he disclosed.
“The few shows that come up, you guys go and play, then when they say [to the fans], ‘put your hands up’, the whole like forty thousand people, [indeed raise their hands]” Bulldog shared the difficulty in getting Artistes who command tens of thousands of people to do their bidden to follow rules and regulations.
In his opinion, Bulldog said most of the Artistes have dreams limited to owning of cars, access to women of their choice and houses, and beyond that, there is no other compelling ambition to make them obey managerial rules and regulations.
Born Lawrence Nana Asiamah Hanson, Bulldog believes that until Artistes learn how to construct bigger visions for themselves, they will fall short of becoming legends like Michael Jackson and Bob Marley, both of whom are of blessed memory but keep making impact in the lives of many.
I had never heard of a vegan lion until I saw one at the Kanda (Accra) zoo in 2003. On my baby niece’s day out with her father, she was approximately 19 months old, we went for a walk at the zoo.
And so it was. We were greeted by a couple of baboons making out in the full glare of visitors, missionary style, amid murmurs, giggles, and subtle encouragement from the bad up-and-coming!
It was fun to watch all these curious animals wondering what we the aliens wanted from them. As with every experience and outing, there is always a climax, and at the zoo, the climax is the visit to the den of the big cats. En route you’d pass by the leopard’s enclosure and the other felines.
I stopped dead in my tracks when I realised that the door of the leopard cage was pegged with a wooden wedge and covered with palm leaves, apparently, to protect it from the aggression of unruly visitors.
We backed up. Sarah was comfortably resting on my shoulders with her legs thudding my chest as we beat a retreat.
Past the other animals, we came to an enclosure where the camel inmate seemed as if it was suffering acute kwashiorkor. Some of the animals were really facing the horrible ordeals of hunger and neglect.
As we turned the corner heading to Lion Street we had to make a stop at Lucy’s cage. Lucy was one of the oldest chimpanzees at the zoo and the favourite of all. She had cataract and was almost blind in one eye.
When she died, a short biography was written about her in the newspapers.
Then there was a man dressed in a white three-piece suit walking like Haile Selassie between these exotic animals except that he wasn’t as kingly.
The chimpanzees would stretch their arms to cajole kind visitors into giving them some fruits.
The banana sellers made a fortune! One young chimp, impatient as all youngsters generally are, wrapped its arm behind its back and pooped in it.
Just as this well-dressed man taunted the chimps, a splash of fresh dung slapped onto his jacket giving it a hint of brownish-black polish. Now he looked, ermm, errr, shitty!
It served him right, after all animals deserve to be treated like, ermm, “animals”!
Now, for the last lap, we eagerly came to the Lion’s den! To my utter shock, that feline was so haggard looking that its belly was firmly stuck to its spine.
Its eyes were round and had developed an almost European colour due to acute malnutrition.
I can’t say that it was on a hunger strike per se, but being on a vegan diet, it became fiercely wide-eyed, and rightly so, especially when it sawa big fleshy guy like me who came with an “eat one and get one free” combo (niece included)!
There is not a single story about paleontologists finding remains of lions that lived on a vegan diet, but after a few thousand years, they would find one that once lived in the Accra zoo.
It was such a shocking sight to behold as I watched a keeper shamelessly carrying a metal pail filled with boiled cassava that he threw into the den of the lion.
It sniffed the pieces and snarled. Just the thought of eating cassava boiled in what seemed like animal broth put it off.
Someone murmured something incomprehensible to the keeper, who replied that when it got hungry enough it would eat the food; and what unpalatable food it was for the lion.
I am still wondering, though, why it looked at me and licked its lips! Was it complaining silently?
Given the incident at the Achimota Zoo yesterday where a middle-aged man allegedly clambered into the enclosure of a lion and was mauled to death, many stories made the rounds that a lion had escaped.
I sure hope that it is not true, but I won’t rule it out since I have experienced firsthand the negligence of zookeepers.
If anyone tells you that they ate the meat that is supposed to be cooked for the animals do not be surprised because that is classified as bush meat, a delicacy to both animals and humans, alike.
Why would you be surprised, but haven’t you heard stories of nurses at the asylum hospitals eating the meat and serving inmates with food without meat or fish?
If our mentally challenged folks can be treated with such indignity, what can’t be done to animals at the zoo?
I find it difficult to believe that a sane person will dare enter a Lion’s enclosure except if they are mad or want to re-enact the Biblical/Islamic Daniel story!
Oh well, you and I were not there, but I would take it with a pinch of salt!
Such is our wickedness, so let nothing shock you! In Ghana everything is possible including Vegan Lions!
Participants at the IVLP Impact Award Digital Skills and Fact-Checking Training held in Lagos
An alumnus of the International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP), Kofoworola Belo-Osagie, has criticised the practice of having “very few female journalists occupying senior managerial positions in media organisations.”
Ms Belo-Osagie, an official of The Conversation Africa, a research-focused media organisation, spoke while addressing 20 female journalists who recently participated in a three-day digital training in Lagos.
The training, which was facilitated courtesy IVLP Impact Award project, was held at the Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies, (CIAPS).
Ms Belo-Osagie, the organiser of the training, said the choice of women as beneficiaries of the training was informed by the perceived discrimination that women journalists face in the newsroom.
She said; “In many media houses in Nigeria, few women occupy senior management positions.
“By gaining specialised skills that help bridge the digital gap, participants will expand the army of professionals in the media, news and information space.
“They will also better fight fake news and produce much-needed quality content that supports societal development.
