Category: General

Mr Ernest Norgbey, the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, has raised concerns over the neglect of recommendation made by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior on the military brutality of some residents of Ashaiman in 2023.

Mr Norgbey revealed that a conclusion on the matter had been reached by the committee of which he was a member, but its recommendations had not been implemented due to alleged political reasons.

He said excerpts of the recommendations indicated that persons brutalised by the military and who sustained various degrees of injuries should be promptly and adequately compensated by the state.

The committee abhors any form of torturous handling of civilians by the military and therefore made a call in the report on the leadership of the Ghana Armed Forces to educate their personnel on the legal demands and consequences of such acts, he said.

‘The committee further recommended that the soldiers who indulged in the excesses associated with the operation should be identifie
d and dealt with under Section 22 of the Ghana Armed Forces Act,’ he added.

The MP who was addressing the media, therefore called on the government to implement the recommendations as victims were yet to be compensated.

Meanwhile, some of the victims of the military swoop in Ashaiman have backed calls for their immediate compensation, stating that due to lack of money, they were still relying on painkillers to survive.

Mr Antony Agbeshie, a victim, revealed that since the assault by the military men, he had been to the hospital several times, adding that he had to stop and rely on painkillers to relieve his pain due to a lack of money to pay for his medical bills.

He said that after the incident on March 7, 2023, he was asked to do a scan of his whole body to determine the degree of implication and was told he needed proper care to heal internal wounds, but he could not afford it due to financial constraints and had since stopped seeking medical care.

Mr Worlayor Adzanku, another victim who had his prope
rty damaged, said the soldiers entered his home by scaling over the fence wall and caused severe damage to all the doors and windows of the house.

He said he provided pictorial evidence of the damage to the leaders, to present to the Parliamentary Committee that probed the matter, but nothing had been done to fix the house

He cautioned that law enforcement agencies such as the military should not misuse their authorities but rather make inquiries into all matters before taking hasty actions.

He said currently security in his home has become a problem as he had been unable to fix the many damages they caused to his house and therefore called for immediate compensation.

The military on March 7, 2023, embarked on an operation in some suburbs of Ashaiman following the murder of Trooper Sherif Imoro.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A climate-smart agricultural project has been launched in Tamale to enhance the knowledge, practices and resilience of young small-scale farmers on climate change impact in the Northern Region.

The first phase of the nine-month project, dubbed; ‘Strengthening Ghanaian Youth through Climate Smart Agriculture and Civic Organising,’ (SGY – CSACO) seeks to empower about 50 small scale farmers, including persons with disability (PwDs) in the Savelugu and Tolon districts of the region.

The project is being implemented by the Ghana Youth Guide, an NGO committed to empowering young people, with funding support from DIB Denmark and the Civil Society in Development, also in Denmark.

Stakeholders in the agricultural sector, traditional authorities, youth groups and some selected second cycle students of Agricultural Science attended the launch.

Mr Chentiwuni Salifu Abdul-Fataw, the Executive Director, Ghana Youth Guide and Coordinator of SGY – CSACO project, said it was to minimise the vulnerability of small-scale f
armers through smart agriculture to enhance food sufficiency and security.

He said climate change was affecting agricultural activities, and incorporating a smart agricultural approach would reduce post-harvest losses and help create employment opportunities for the youth.

Beneficiaries would be trained in some of the best agricultural practices such as the use of certified seeds for maximum yields and harvesting techniques.

Abdul-Fataw said: ‘We will also collaborate with key stakeholders, youth groups and other civil society organisations to promote peace and advocate the allocation of fertile farm lands for vulnerable groups including PwDs’.

Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, the Northern Regional Minister, whose speech was read on his behalf, said the project had come at the right time when the world was witnessing rapid changes in the environment and food systems as result of climate change and other factors.

Dr Joseph Adjebeng-Danquah, a Plant Breeder at CSIR-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, comm
ended the partners for initiating the project, and said it came at a strategic time when climate variabilities were threatening the very existence of humanity.

He expressed readiness to support the project to ensure it achieved its goal.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ghanaian Actor and comedian, Benson Nana Yaw Oduro, known in showbiz as Funny Face, was on Sunday involved in a near fatal accident, knocking down and injuring five pedestrians at the Kasoa Kakraba Junction of the Central Region.

The incident occurred around 1930 hours on the Kasoa-Nyanyano road.

The actor knocked down a woman carrying a baby on her back while holding another, and two men riding on a motorbike.

The Actor was from Kasoa heading towards the Millenium City area in a black saloon car before the incident happened.

It is not clear what may have caused Funny Face to knock down the pedestrians, however eyewitnesses alleged he was drunk- driving.

Four of the victims, the woman, a little girl who was said to be the woman’s granddaughter, and the two people on the motorbike were transported to the Kasoa Polyclinic for treatment.

The little boy of about a year old, who suffered deep cuts on his forehead, arms and other parts of his body is receiving treatment at the Perucare Hospital at Kakraba.

A
young lady who said she was the woman’s last daughter, said the family was returning home after visiting a friend when the incident happened.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Independent Power Producers (IPPs) says it cannot be blamed for the current power outages based on its arrangements with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

The Chamber said the quantity of power generated by the IPPs was based on the request from ECG in accordance with the daily demand.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Dr Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor, Chief Executive, Chamber of Independent Power Generators, said the Producers were ready to always generate electricity to the grid.

‘Our plants are ready in capacity to receive or be called to generate electricity onto the grid. On the daily basis, we declare our availability, meaning that we are technically ready to run our power plants.

‘So depending on the demand on the market, they (ECG) will call each power plant to generate their required capacity to meet the demand,’ he said.

The country has been experiencing intermittent power outages in recent weeks, with customers expressing frustration about the situation and demanding load-shed
ding plan to organise their activities.

The ECG earlier attributed the power outages to what it described as an overloading of some 630 transformers during peak hours, indicating that the affected transformers had exceeded their full capacity due to rising electricity demand.

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission has directed the ECG to furnish it with a load management timetable by April 2, 2024.

The IPPs Chamber pledged to support the Company to better serve the country.

Dr Apetorgbor said the ECG had been consistent in honouring current invoices from July 2023 till date.

‘We are ready to cooperate with government to share our thoughts…ECG’s survival is our survival, and it is very important for us to ensure that ECG works,’ he said.

The IPPs Chamber appealed to the Ministry of Energy for representation on the Cash Waterfall Mechanism Committee as stakeholders in the industry.

‘This inclusion is not just about representation; it is about enhancing the sector’s integrity, efficiency, and ultimate
ly, its contribution to national development,’ Mr Apetorgbor said.

The IPPs account for 47 per cent of the country’s total power generation mix and contribute 67 per cent of Ghana’s thermal power.

They comprise Sunon Asogli, Cenpower, Karpowership, AKSA, Twin City Energy and CENIT.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ghanaian Actor and comedian, Benson Nana Yaw Oduro, known in showbiz as Funny Face, was on Sunday involved in a near fatal accident, knocking down and injuring five pedestrians at the Kasoa Kakraba Junction of the Central Region.

The incident occurred around 1930 hours on the Kasoa-Nyanyano road.

The actor knocked down a woman carrying a baby on her back while holding another, and two men riding on a motorbike.

The Actor was from Kasoa heading towards the Millenium City area in a black saloon car before the incident happened.

It is not clear what may have caused Funny Face to knock down the pedestrians, however eyewitnesses alleged he was drunk- driving.

Four of the victims, the woman, a little girl who was said to be the woman’s granddaughter, and the two people on the motorbike were transported to the Kasoa Polyclinic for treatment.

The little boy of about a year old, who suffered deep cuts on his forehead, arms and other parts of his body is receiving treatment at the Perucare Hospital at Kakraba.

A
young lady who said she was the woman’s last daughter, said the family was returning home after visiting a friend when the incident happened.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Three days after the terrorist attack on a Moscow concert hall, 97 people are still being treated in hospitals, the head of the Moscow region’s health administration said on Monday.

The patients are spread across hospitals in the capital and the Moscow region, Lyudmila Bolatayeva said.

According to Russian news agencies, the injuries suffered varied in severity.

By the Russian authorities’ most recent count, 137 people were killed and more than 180 injured in the attack on Friday evening. It cannot be ruled out that more bodies will be found in the rubble of the burnt-out hall.

Four armed men shot indiscriminately at visitors before a rock concert in the Crocus City Hall event centre. On Sunday evening, they were brought before a court in Moscow and taken into custody. The faces of the men showed injuries as traces of suspected torture.

According to media reports, mourners were still laying flowers at an improvised memorial at the Crocus City fence on Monday.

The Islamic State terrorist militia claimed
responsibility for the attack in several messages.

Western security authorities and experts consider the claim to be credible and suspect the IS offshoot Islamic State Province of Khorasan (ISPK) to be behind the attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted at a Ukrainian connection to the assault, without providing any evidence. Putin also claimed that the perpetrators of the attack attempted to flee in the direction of Ukraine.

Ukraine has adamantly denied any responsibility for the attack.

Source: Ghana News Agency