This unique architectural wonder in Wulugu has an intriguing mystical and spiritual backstory.
Wulugu’s Zayaa ShrineView from Above
The Legend of Zayaa Shrine
Sheik Abdul-Karim was a Mossi man who migrated to Wulugu from the Bawku area. He claims to have had a dream in which the design of this building was revealed to him. When he went to the site from his dream, he found a well that he saw as a sign that Allah had provided water for its construction.
He built the structure directly above the well and designed it so that water could be accessed from from each level – even the upper room!
As he built, he noticed that when he awoke each morning another level was miraculously added to that which he had built the previous day. This continued day after day until he completed the massive, symmetrical, four-story mud building.
He then had another dream in which he was told that the site was to be considered holy ground. For that reason, everyone must remove their shoes before entering.
Additionally, there is a belief that the well contains sources water directly from Mecca’s holy Zamzam Well. This belief is very similar to that of the B’ir Barouta Well in Kairouan, Tunisia. Many visitors to Zayaa collect this holy water from the well believing that it has the power to bring good luck and healing.
Is Zayaa a Mosque?
Zayaa is not a mosque. Abdul-Karim and his family lived in it for many years and it is not used for daily prayers. It could be defined as a shrine because of the mystical beliefs about it and the religious pilgrims that visit it. Just next to the shrine to the north is an actual mosque of which Sheik Abdul-Karim was the imam until he passed and his son took over.
After Friday and special Eid prayers, congregants from the mosque next door sometimes enter the shrine’s courtyard and walk around it counterclockwise performing tawaf (circumambulation). This is in imitation of the ritual done at the Kaaba and re-affirms the belief that Zayaa has a mystical connection to the Muslim holy city of Mecca.
Inside the small, cramped roomsA guide leads one through the building
How Old is Zayaa Shrine?
Plane saw cut wood inside Zayaa
The details on the history and age of the place are a bit fuzzy but it’s likely only 60-70 years old having been built in the 1950s or 60s. One must consider that the son of its builder is the imam of the mosque next door. Also, his wife only recently passed away.
Finally, upon entering the building one will also see plane saw cut wood as its ceiling support that couldn’t be a century old.
Location
For a small fee, anyone can visit this fascinating building with a guide. Zayaa Shrine can be see to the west from the main Walewale-Bolga Road just on the south side of Wulugu.
Built in the mid-1700s by a legendary Mamprusi king to defend the capital of Nalerigu, the ruins of this wall still stand today.
Often called Nalerigu’s “Slave Defense Wall,” there is a lot of mystery and myth surrounding why and how it was built.
History of the Nalerigu Defense Wall
NaJeringa (Naa Gyɛriŋŋa) was a Mamprusi king who reigned around 1740-1752. He was the son of NaAtabia (Naa Atabiya) who is known for moving the chieftaincy from Gambaga to Nalerigu.
At some point after his enskinment in the mid-18th century, NaJeringa commenced this massive project to build a wall around the western side of Nalerigu. It is said to have been originally 11 feet high, though now what remains is about 6 feet at its highest point.
We don’t know for sure why NaJeringa built the Nalerigu wall, but there are a few theories:
It was a defensive wall to fortify the capital of Nalerigu due to civil wars. NaJeringa’s father Atabia had reigned for 50 years and fought many wars.
It was built to keep out hyenas.
NaJeringa built it so that his name would be remembered because his only son had only one eye and was therefore disqualified from becoming a king.
It was a defensive wall against slave raiders. The mid-18th century was the peak of the slave trade on West Africa’s coast.
Raiders would come up from the south to raid communities in the north and kidnap innocent civilians. Then would then march them south and sell them to European and American buyers.
The Legend of the Wall
In addition to the legend of the king’s lineage being unable to continue due to his only son’s missing eye, there are some other mythical stories about the wall.
While it is made of mud and gravel, some people claim that shea butter, honey, milk, or even pito (local beer)were added to the mixture as binding agents.
It is also said that wall was built by forced labor. Anyone who refused to work or because tired or ill during its construction was executed and their body was added to the wall.
Visiting the Wall
The NaJeringa Wall is easy and free to visit. It is located just off to the right of the main road into Nalerigu on the west side of the town’s reservoir. There is no physical sign marking it but it can be found on Google Maps. It is located among an orchard of mango trees which were planted around it in recent decades to prevent erosion.
The Minister for Railway Development, John Peter Amewu, has said the government would not be able to construct any sky train in the country.
According to him, it is not possible to do so.
In November 2019, the government through the then Minister for the sector, Joe Ghartey, signed an agreement for the construction of the Accra SkyTrain Project on the sidelines of the African Investment Forum in South Africa.
The project envisaged a total track length across all routes of 194 kilometres.
Subsequently, the management of the Ghana Railway Development Authority disclosed that feasibility studies on the proposed sky-train project in Accra had been completed.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Authority, Richard Diedong Dombo assured that government will begin implementation of the project after scrutinizing the report it has received.
“The sky trains are on an elevator platform rather than underground. They will be running on platforms over the city of Accra. It will be a community train and not an intercity one. At the moment, the feasibility studies have been completed and it is being studied before the contract is signed,” he said in a Citi News interview.
However, speaking on Citi TV’s Face to Face programmme on Tuesday, November 23, 2021, the current sector minister, John Peter Amewu said the government would not go ahead with the sky train project.
According to him, the government cannot fund the project because it is capital intensive.
“The sky train that we are talking about is the one that is going to run on columns in the sky like the ones you see in Dubai but no agreement has been signed.”
“It is not possible to be done now. I don’t see any sky train being done in the next 3-4 years. There is not going to be any Sky train in the country. It is not possible.”
He also added that funding for the construction of some of the already started projects is becoming problematic for the government.
“Rail construction takes a lot of time and it is also capital intensive. A kilometre of a railway line is about four to five times the cost of building a concrete infrastructure in terms of building an asphaltic road.”
“So considering the fiscal space that we have in the country, facilities to absorb it is becoming problematic for the government and you know our current debt to GDP which is in excess of 70%.”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q9WYvNXpncU
By: Michael Awala 23 November 2021 11:15amhttps://cdn.vuukle.com/widgets/powerbar.html?version=2.10.7
Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwahttps://trinitymedia.ai/player/trinity-player.php?sCampaignID=1604966977&pageURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.myjoyonline.com%2Fges-to-begin-computer-school-placement-selection-on-nov-29%2F&unitId=1604966977&userId=bba11157-e311-4070-a781-ff86ea525125&isLegacyBrowser=true&version=20211122_21463b63237b2a981acd512090a8800e9a98f22c&useCFCDN=0&abTestAlias=Consuming_mode_v4&themeId=163
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The Ghana Education Service (GES) says this year’s computer school selection for Junior High School (JHS) graduates will commence on November 29, nationwide.
A statement signed by the Head of Public Relations Unit of the GES, Cassandra Twum Ampofo, said the exercise will end on December 14, 2021.
Ahead of the selection, a public sensitisation on the guidelines that will be adopted for the school selection will be conducted across all regional and district education directorates.
Parents and guardians have been advised to take keen interest in the selection of school processes to ensure a smooth placement for their wards this year.Source: GES’ Facebook page
Before an actual placement will be done, an opportunity will be given for candidates to text to a short code and confirm their school choices.
The United Nations Peace Ambassador in Ghana, Bishop Samuel Ben Owusu, has expressed worry that youth unemployment is going to be another major catastrophe to hit the African continent if measures are not taken to address the menace.
The Senior Pastor at the Pottersville Church and also the Country Director of International Association of World Peace Advocates implored African governments to as a matter of urgency initiate measures to tackle the problem.
Addressing the press in Accra on Sunday after his trip to the UN General Assembly in New York, he said “I told the president that as we are fighting Covid 19 today, if we are not careful the next pandemic that will hit Africa will be youth unemployment if we do not have a very deliberate strategy for the youth of Africa.
“Youth unemployment has contributed to a lot of crimes, this has contributed to social bully, social media insults and more especially hate speeches.”
Meanwhile, the Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has also said the most serious threat to Ghana’s security is unemployment but the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is fixing it.
He urged heads of state agencies to adopt a more efficient use of public resources in order to maximise the values of what has been entrusted to them.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of a retreat for board chairpersons, heads and deputy heads of government institutions at Nkwatia-Kwahu on Sunday, Dr. Bawumia told the heads of state institutions that state agencies have crucial roles to play if Ghana’s quest for less reliance on foreign support is to be achieved, hence the need for them to adopt innovative ways of transforming their respective agencies for the benefit of all Ghanaians.
“As Heads of Institution, we have a responsibility to constantly represent the Ghanaian people in a transparent and accountable manner,” Dr. Bawumia said.
“It is our responsibility to always maximize the value of what has been entrusted to us for the benefit of everybody.”
Ghana Beyond Aid, the Vice President noted, is a long-term project, which requires enormous resources from both the public and commercial sectors, in keeping with the goal of becoming less reliant on the charity of external donors.
Stressing on the significant roles the public sector, in particular, is expected to play towards driving Ghana closer to the vision of Ghana Beyond Aid, he urged the heads of institutions to “harness and use the country’s own resources to transform the economy effectively and efficiently for a rapid, but a sustainable growth path.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, to reform our specified entities in realizing a Ghana Beyond Aid, heads of institution, need to be more professional and transparent in their approach to public investments, as well as greater efficiency in the use of all public resources.”
“It necessitates a shift in thought and attitude so that we can begin to do things differently—smarter, more efficiently and effectively, and with a greater feeling of patriotism and civic responsibility.”
The Vice President also implored the heads of state institutions to uplift the technological capabilities of their respective organisations, in line with government’s digitization agenda, in order to boost their operations for the benefit of Ghanaians and also to contribute effectively towards the economic transformation of the country.
“To achieve the vision of Ghana Beyond Aid in the shortest possible time, we need to improve our technology capabilities,’ Dr. Bawumia said.
“According to Alexis Ohanian, you needed to open a factory to participate in the industrial revolution; this time around, you only need to open a laptop to participate in the internet revolution. There is a global paradigm shift, and we must not be left behind in this 4th Industrial Revolution,’ he added.
“This has been my primary inspiration for the digitization agenda; that is, to apply technological innovation to transform the ways and means by which we engage in our everyday production and exchange of economic activities. Whether at home, at our offices, farm and factory, whether it is person to person, person to business, business to business, or person and business to government, transparency and efficiency are our watchwords.”
“Our economic transformation can best be aided by digital transformation to overcome some of our development challenges.”
“For example, our use of drone technology in the delivery of medical supplies has helped us to overcome many challenges in the delivery of health care services to the people who live far in the rural areas and far from urban centres.”
“We save lives, provide more efficient management and distribution of critical medical supplies and gain more equitable access to the health care system.”
“When we apply technological innovations to the passport office, to DVLA, to the distribution of pre-mix fuel and fertilizers, we are improving on our production and service delivery capabilities to transform the economy.”
“That is why as heads of public institutions we take this opportunity to implore each one of you to join us in this transformation. Somewhere in your organization, somewhere in your production and delivery of services for a fee, technological innovation and digital transformation procedures can lift the performance of your organization, or help the organization overcome the obstacles we have faced for several years. It is all in innovations of processes, procedures and data management.”
The Vice President further called on heads of state institutions to repose the confidence President Akufo-Addo has placed in them by adding value to their respective institutions, which will ensure expansion, to create more opportunities for the youth.
“The most serious threat to the nation’s security is unemployment. The Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government has made significant progress in resolving this issue. But there’s a lot more that must be done. The challenge is real and your role in tackling the unemployment quandary cannot be overemphasized.”
“As heads of institution, if you can expand your scope of operation for maximum returns and profitability, to be able to recruit the youth to tackle this heinous joblessness among the nation’s youth, we will have made significant progress in providing jobs for our youth.”
“You have been specially selected and appointed by the President who has a lot of confidence in your ability to turn around the fortunes of your institutions. I know you will meet this expectation and make the country proud.”
“Let us show the Ghanaian people how grateful we are for the opportunity to serve our country. Let us add value to the public sector.
The government has announced the creation of one million jobs for the youth of this country.
This was announced by the Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta in the budget statement for the 2022 fiscal year on Wednesday November 17.
He said “The understanding of the youth employment challenge, as well as extensive consultations with stakeholders including youth associations and educational institutions across the country, have led to the development of the YouStart initiative which proposes to use GH¢1 billion each year to catalyze an ecosystem to create 1 million jobs and in partnership with the Finance Institutions and Development Partners, raise another 2 Billion Cedis.
“In addition, our local Banks have agreed to a package that will result in increasing their SME portfolio up to GHC 5 billion over the next 3 years.
“This, Mr. Speaker results in an unprecedented historic 10 Bn Cedis commitment to the private sector and YouStart over the next 3 years.
“Mr. Speaker, YouStart is a vehicle for supporting young entrepreneurs to gain access to capital, training, technical skills and mentoring to enable them launch and operate their own businesses.
“Mr. Speaker, the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), and partner financial institutions, will serve as the implementing arms of YouStart.
“Entrepreneurs will be able to apply for support through a dedicated YouStart online portal.
“NEIP will also engage our Faith-Based Organisations as partners for the delivery of essential artisanal skills, business competitions, and feasibility studies and introduction to financing institutions with a commitment of up to 10% of GOG contribution to the YouStart Programme.”
The Asamankese Circuit Court in Eastern Region has sentenced a 27-year-old mobile banker to nine years -two months imprisonment for stealing Ghc61,840 cash from thirty-one depositors.
The convict, 27-year-old Gideon Osei -Bonsu, of Kwaebibirim Rural Bank, Boadua branch was found guilty of all 35 charges against him.
The Prosecutor Chief Inspector Susan Ayaric told the court presided by His Honour Abass Abubakari Adams that, on September 18, 2018, Gideon Osei-Bonsu was assigned to advertise and attract more customers to subscribe to the mobile banking service.
One of his duties was to go round and collect daily cash from the customers and deposit the same in the T-24 account system of the bank but was dishonestly appropriating the deposits.
He was exposed on June 28, 2021, when a customer went to the bank and attempted to withdraw Ghc10,000 from her account but was told the amount in the account was insufficient for the withdrawal.
The angry customer lodged a complaint to the management of the bank with the accused interrogated but his explanation was not convincing.
At the behest of the Board and Management at the Headquarters of the bank, a forensic audit was commissioned into the operation of the convict which was concluded on June 29, 2021.
The internal audit revealed that the convict Gideon Osei -Bonsu had embezzled an amount of Gh61,840.00 deposited into the accounts of 31 customers of the bank.
The bank reported the staff to the police and he was arrested.
He admitted the offence during his caution statement and refunded Ghc19,760.92 but could not refund the rest hence slapped with 35 charges and put before the court.
After months of trial, he was found guilty and jailed a total of jailed nine years plus two months imprisonment.
This is the second time within two months that the Asamankese Circuit Court has jailed a mobile banker over financial fraud.
In September this year, the court convicted a mobile Banker with South Akim Rural bank Essah Gabriel Ansah,26, to five years imprisonment for stealing Ghc115,114.00 belonging to customers of the bank.
Fraudulent activities involving staff of financial institutions is prevalent in Ghana.
A recent report by the Bank of Ghana on fraudulent activities in the banking sector revealed that more than half of incidents of criminal activity in 2020 was carried out with the help of staff, with a total value of reported cases hitting GH¢1bn for the first time.
According to the Banks’ & SDIs Fraud report, 56 per cent of fraud incidents reported in 2020 indicated the involvement of staff members of the reporting institutions, as compared to 51 per cent of staff involvement reported the previous year.
By: Michael Awala 23 November 2021, reading period is 1 min
Passion has stated that they will start flights from Accra at Kotoka international airport.
The private organization has come out stating the chance to help make movements to these regions easier to their costumers.
Which means that Businesses and individuals who spend more than 12 hours and 6 hours respectively on Buses will reach their destinations as they will want it to be.
We all know that the flights was only taking the southern and the northern routes from Kumasi the capital of Ashanti Region and Tamale the Northern Region. Until recently government have finished the construction of the Ho airport and the Wa airport.
BBC 23November 2021 8:12amhttps://cdn.vuukle.com/widgets/powerbar.html?version=2.10.7
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Evelyn Joshua has become the head of one of Africa’s most influential evangelical churches, but the 52-year-old is faced with the challenge of maintaining her late husband’s legacy.
TB Joshua’s unexpected death in June at the age of 57 unleashed a succession battle that took months to resolve.
But the giant gates at his Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in Nigeria’s biggest city have swung open again to welcome worshippers for the first time in five months.
Unlike other wives of Nigeria’s mega pastors, she mostly stayed in the background during their three-decade marriage.
TB Joshua, known by SCOAN members as “the prophet”, worked with a group of close disciples he called the “wise men” – one of whom it was believed was being groomed to succeed him.
The church has since announced Mrs Joshua as the new leader “under the guidance of God”, enraging some factions of the church unhappy about the lack of transparency.
In particular the group known as Global Congress of SCOAN Members (GCSM), purportedly backed by some senior members, has questioned the choice.
Those removed from the premises were said to be opposed to Mrs Joshua’s leadership.
“After the demise of the prophet some of his disciples did not approach Evelyn with respect and maturity,” Patrick Iwelunmor, a former media aide to the Joshuas, told the BBC.
Leading members of TB Joshua’s inner circle were accused of fleeing with bags of cash after his death.
It is unclear if this is what is under investigation, though Nigeran newspaper The Punch has reported that this was why some members of the church have gone into hiding.
They came for his charisma and self-proclaimed healing abilities and will expect nothing less from the new leader.SCOAN’s headquarters in Lagos are vast
Gbenga Osinaike, editor-in-chief of the Church Times Nigeria, admits her appointment came as surprise.
But for someone who was largely overlooked by many, “including her husband”, Mrs Joshua has shown an “inner strength and the capacity to handle the Synagogue”, he admits.
She has refused to inherit her husband’s title of “General Overseer”, saying that he is still in charge and that she has only “commenced the journey from where our father left the baton”.
Mrs Joshua also seems to have inherited his preaching style – breaking intermittently into songs of worship – her cadence also mirroring that of her late husband at her inaugural solo service.
The couple first met in 1990 when he impressed her by narrating her life story and writing her name on a piece of paper without her saying a word.
She is a twin and the first of seven children, growing up in Okala Okpuno in Delta State in the south-east of the country. Though not starting out as a pastor, she was trained and then ordained under her husband.Men and women used to fall down during “healing” sessions at the Synagogue Church of All Nations
In 2009 she described herself as someone with special talents in the ministry of reconciliation – “parents-children relationships, marriage and things like that”.
Nigeria’s mega pastors often say they have had a biblical calling – like the prophets Samuel and Paul – to serve God.
According to TB Joshua, his came during a three-day trance when he heard a voice saying: “I am your God. I am giving you a divine commission to go and carry out the work of the heavenly father.”
Mrs Joshua has not said if she has received such a calling, but for some her association with her husband is enough.
“TB Joshua was a prophet by birth, but his wife has become a prophet by inclination. Husband and wife have become one, so by that union he has extended the anointing to her,” said Mr Iwelunmo.
Though some widows of Nigerian church leaders, such as Janet Onaolapo of Abundant Life Gospel Mission and Margaret Idahosa of the Church of God Mission International, have made a success of their ministries, these are outliers.
Most Nigerian Pentecostal churches are built around the charisma of their founders and tend to decline when they die.
Mr Osinaike suggests this may be the fate for SCOAN.
“When it comes to church matters people are looking for solution, they are looking for prophecies, they are looking for who has seen a vision for them,” he says.
London (CNN) — British aero engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce says it has developed the “world’s fastest all-electric aircraft,” according to a statement from the company.The aircraft — dubbed the “Spirit of Innovation” — attained a maximum speed of 387.4 mph (623km/h) in flight, which Rolls-Royce said it believed makes it “the world’s fastest all-electric vehicle.”Rolls-Royce said in a press statement the Spirit of Innovation set three world records in total, including reaching 345.4 mph over 1.86 miles on 16 November. The company also said the vehicle achieved the fastest time to ascend 3000 meters by one minute, with a time of 202 seconds.The aircraft flew 300 mph over 9.32 miles in Wiltshire at the UK Ministry of Defence‘s military aircraft testing site, which is 182 mph quicker than the previous record, the statement said.The figures have been presented to the sport’s global governing body Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FIA) for verification.Assembled as part of the Accelerating the Electrification of Flight (ACCEL) project, and funded by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Innovate UK, the aircraft runs on a 400kW electric powertrain.
The Volta Regional Police is on a search for a man who is suspected to have killed his girlfriend and kept her body in a double-decker refrigerator at Ho-Fiave.
However, the tenant, Frank was nowhere to be found.
An investigative team proceeded to the scene and after careful inspection of the crime scene, the body which was at an advanced state of decomposition in a white double-decker refrigerator was conveyed to the Ho Municipal Hospital morgue awaiting autopsy.
by Michael Awala November 23, 2021 Reading Time: 1 min read
Source: Citinewsroom
Police in Ejura in the Ashanti Region have arrested five persons including one juvenile for robberies on highways linking Nkoranza and Techiman in the Bono East Region, and the Ejura Sekyedumase Municipal area in the Ashanti Region.
The Police said the minor involved is 14 years of age.
The police made this known in a press statement issued on Tuesday, November 23, 2021.
“The Police in Ejura on November 16, 2021, arrested four robbery suspects and a juvenile who carry out robbery activities on highways linking Nkoranza and Techiman in the Bono East Region and the Ejura Sekyedumase Municipal area of the Ashanti Region.”
The police added that the suspects were arrested after extensive surveillance of their activities.
“The four suspects are Ajara Sagu, Rashid Ibrahim, Ibrahim Iddrisu, Musah Arijuma together with a 14-year-old juvenile were arrested at Ejura after extensive police surveillance on their activities.’
The police also added that a number of items and some amounts of money were found with the suspects upon arrest.
“On the spot search on the suspects and juvenile led to the recovery of ten assorted mobile phones. One Infinix charger and a lady’s handbag. Other items suspected to have been robbed from commuters and retrieved from them included one unregistered Apsonic Aloba motorbike and the amount of two thousand, two hundred and seventy-nine Ghana Cedis (GHS 2,279).”
The police further assured residents of the area of their commitment to making the community safe and peaceful.
Five AK-47 rifles and 100 rounds of ammunition have gone missing from the armoury of the Tamale Police Station; this is according to the Auditor General’s report.
The rifles and the ammunition had been issued to officers as part of Operation Calm Life.
These arms and ammunition issued out to officers had not been returned.
About 300 security personnel were drawn from all the law enforcement agencies and put together for the initiative.
The move is to augment the patrols of security personnel in the wake of armed robbery attacks, political vigilantism, as well as chieftaincy and land disputes in the area.
The Auditor General (A-G) has noted in its 202 report that drugs worth GH¢45,437.50 purchased for the Police Hospital Medical stores were expired.
The expiry period ranged between June 2018 and December 2019, the report indicated.
“Section 52 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) requires that a principal spending officer of a covered entity, state-owned enterprise or public corporation to be responsible for the assets of the institution under the care of the Principal Spending Officer and shall ensure that proper control systems exist for the custody and management of the assets.
“On the contrary, we noted during the audit that drugs worth GH¢45,437.50 purchased for the Police Hospital Medical stores were expired. The expiry period ranged between June 2018 and December 2019.
“We recommended that the Head of the Hospital should take necessary steps to dispose of the expired drugs to prevent it from being issued to patients. Further, we urged the Head to ensure that the right quantities of drugs are purchased,” it said.|3news.com|Ghana
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has said he can remove the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo from office.
He said the law gives Parliament to powers to remove a president but does not give the same powers to a president to be able to remove a Speaker of Parliament.
Speaking at the post-budget forum held at Ho in the Volta Region over the weekend, Mr. Bagbin was concerned that Parliament approves budgets that benefit the executive more than the legislature and the judiciary.
This, he said was their own making and asked that steps be taking to fix the situation.
“This year, all the laws we have been passing are laws we passed to benefit the executive, even we forget about Parliament in the language we use, this is self-inflicted; it is not a deficiency in the constitution, it’s a deficiency in Parliament itself. We must correct it”, he said.
He also reminded the Members of Parliament of the powers they wield in law and that they must as Parliament be able to stand for themselves and not to play to the whims and caprices of the executive. He cited for example that the house has powers to remove the president from office.
“Let me reemphasized that the 8th Parliament is properly positioned not to allow itself to be bullied into playing second fiddle to the executive. Parliament can remove His Excellency the President; His Excellency cannot do that to Parliament. As Speaker, His Excellency cannot remove me, but I can through Parliament get him [the president] removed”.
He however added that though he has such powers, he will not do it.
by Awala Michael November 20, 2021 Reading Time: 2 mins read
The Member of Parliament for Karaga Constituency in the Northern Region, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, popularly known as Amin Anta, has promised to sponsor 20 best students out of the 770 students who sat for this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in his constituency.
According to him, this will boost the morale of other young children in the constituency to also take their education seriously.
He explained that this is one of the ways he intends to use in raising the educational levels in the Karaga constituency.
He also reminded the graduates of their role in the society and encouraged them to aim high in their academic pursuits.
As an incentive, Dr. Adam promised to enrol 20 students who would excel the most in the exam under the Anta Scholarship fund. This sponsorship according to the MP would last till they complete university.
Dr. Amin insisted that he remains committed to advocating for the human and societal development of the good people of Karaga as he believes that with the right mentorship and incentives, youth from his constituency would rise to the occasion to be most beneficial to the country.
Hon. Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam thus appealed to the 2021 BECE graduates to be the best version of young graduates as the future of the country depends on them.
Dr. Amin further reiterated that it was his hope that the graduates would come out with flying colours to be beneficiaries of the flagship free secondary education programme of President Nana Akufo-Addo.
“I am very optimistic that with the free secondary education programme which has offered young people a very enviable opportunity to be educated in recent times, your dreams and aspirations to be impactful citizens for this country in future would be actualised”, Dr. Amin said.
“I therefore urge you all to keep the zeal to study as you patiently wait for your results”, he added.
He also assured the students of the availability of opportunities in the Anta Scholarship Fund for qualified but needy students at the tertiary level.
Together with members of the examination team present, the lawmaker emphasized the pending completion of some educational infrastructure to provide secondary, technical, and vocational education for the constituents.
The senior Pastor of Amazing Grace Assemblies of God, Ghana. Has categorically emphasis in his message about Character
Character: is one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual.
Character is also a feature use to separate distinguishable things, person’s or animals into categories. 1 Timothy 4:12
Is the mental and ethical or cultural traits marking and often individualising a person a group or a Nation.
We often believe that this things are the same 1. Character 2. Behavior 3. Attitude 4. Habits
Habits 1: a usual way of behaving : something that a person does often in a regular and repeated way.
Behavior the way a person or animal acts or behaves.
Attitude : a feeling or way of thinking that affects a person’s behavior. • The Christian Character is modeled on the word of God.
Leadership will destroy a man whose character has not been develop to hold it. 1 Samuel 16
God preferred David to Saul because of Character traits. Saul was full of pride and bad Character. God gives us opportunity to work on our Character and learn from Grace, Grace should teach you to say no to sin. Titus 2. Because Character has fallen great men of God.
What you do with God’s goodness upon your life today determines the goodness he will do upon your life in future Sometimes the way we celebrate God’s goodness is a disappointment unto him. God honors a thankful Heart.
The activities that you put forth, that dishonours God is short lived.
The Ministry of Finance has given financial clearance for the recruitment of over 16,000 newly-trained teachers by the Ghana Education Service (GES).
“Financial clearance is hereby granted to the Hon. Minister of Education to enable the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service to recruit sixteen thousand, eight hundred and fifty (16,850) newly trained teachers for the service,” a statement signed by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Abena Osei-Asare said.
The Director-General of the GES has also been asked to ensure that the teachers have their documents processed in time to facilitate payment of salaries.
At the time, they claimed they had been paid only a month out of their five-month salary arrears since they were employed in December 2019.
Before their employment, these teachers who were then serving as national service personnel threatened to drag the National Service Secretariat (NSS) to court over what they termed as illegal deductionsfrom their allowances
‘I’ve Been Battling Liver Disease; But My DNA Is Strong Enough To Work’ – Ofori-Atta
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has opened up about his struggles with ill-health in recent times.
There have been speculations about the Minister’s health due to changes in his physical appearance in public for some time now.
Speaking on Good Evening Ghana on Metro TV on Thursday, November 19, 2021, Mr. Ofori-Atta said he has been managing liver disease for some time now.
He spoke a day after presenting the government’s 2022 budget statement to parliament.
“I got COVID-19 somewhere in November and then got out of a hospital’s emergency. I came home on the 10th of December, things were pretty good when I came. Then I began to feel jaundiced. I was later diagnosed and told my liver was inflamed and required some work to determine what was really happening.”
“It took some time to find the probable cure, which involved steroids and all of that. I went back for review in August. The information was that it’s pretty much gone. They are now titrating to see how to bring the steroid down, so I can get back to normal life.”
The Minister however insisted that he is fit enough to discharge his duties.
“Essentially, I’m pretty much mended. I need just to manage my rest, sleep and exercise and have some good food.”
“We are grateful to God and other people who have us in prayers. But clearly, the DNA is strong enough to do the work I have to do.”
The Minister was away from his post for weeks in the first quarter of 2021 after contracting COVID-19.
He was flown out of the country to the US to receive medical attention from complications of the virus
Mr. Ofori-Atta left for the US on Sunday, February 14, 2021, on orders of his personal doctors.
Uganda police kill five suspects following twin attacks
Ugandan police say 21 people arrested in connection with deadly twin suicide bombings claimed by ISIL-affiliate.
Published On 19 Nov 2021
The Ugandan police have shot dead five suspects and arrested 21 people, officials said, following twin suicide bombings claimed by an ISIL (ISIS) affiliate that killed three people.
Counterterrorism officers in the west of the country killed “four suspected terrorists in Ntoroko who were crossing back to DRC”, police spokesman Fred Enanga told a news conference on Thursday.
A fifth man, Sheikh Abas Muhamed Kirevu, was killed near the capital as he tried to escape arrest, Enanga said, adding that Kirevu was a local Islamic leader who was “responsible for reawakening the terror cells in Kampala”.
Police also arrested 21 suspects as part of a crackdown on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group active in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo that the United States has link
Tuesday’s explosions in the capital Kampala occurred within minutes of each other, with two suicide bombers on motorbikes disguised as “boda boda” motorcycle taxi drivers detonating a device near parliament, while a third attacker targeted a checkpoint near the central police station.
The ADF, historically a Ugandan rebel group, has been accused of killing thousands of civilians in the eastern DRC.
The twin attacks, which killed at least three people and injured 33 others, were the latest in a string of attacks in the East African country
ADF claimed responsibility for the attack packed with nails and shrapnel that exploded near a popular street-side restaurant strip in Kawempe division in Kampala last month.The group has long been opposed to the rule of longtime President Yoweri Museveni, a US security ally who was the first African leader to deploy peacekeepers in Somalia to protect the federal government from the al-Shabab armed group.
Police arrested a number of suspected ADF operatives following the incident and warned that others were believed to be plotting a new attack on “major installations”.
Washington in March linked the ADF to the ISIL, which in 2019 began to claim some ADF attacks on social media, presenting the group as its regional branch – the Islamic State Central Africa Province, or ISCAP
Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo Prampram, Sam George, has condemned the government for introducing the Electronic Transaction Levy otherwise known as the e-levy in 2022, stating that even God requires Christians to pay tithe once on their income.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, while presenting the 2022 budget on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, mentioned that the government was introducing the e-levy to be “used to support entrepreneurship, youth employment, cyber security, digital and road infrastructure, among others”.According to the budget statement, electronic transactions covering mobile money payments, bank transfers, merchant payments and inward remittances will be charged at an applicable rate of 1.75%, which the sender shall bear except for inward remittances, which the recipient will bear.
Reacting to the controversial levy on TV3’s “New Day” morning show, Sam George said the levy would be counterproductive to the government’s plan to create a digital economy considering the rippling effect on transactions.
“Even as recently as four years ago, you will go to Makola, you go to shops and want to pay with Mobile Money, and they will refuse to collect it. People didn’t want it. It’s taken a lot to get people to appreciate the value of using e-money. This is a government whose policy direction does not match its rhetoric. You tell us your Bank of Ghana is looking to introduce a digital currency…an e-cedi.”
“How do I use an e-cedi when you are taxing payments on electronic transactions? How silly can you be?… If you say something is silly, it is not an insult. It is a statement of fact. It is silly that you are acting counterproductively. The fact that you are trying to tell me you are building a digital economy and you are trying to put in blockers for people using it is a silly thing.
“Even Almighty God, if I get 50,000 Ghana Cedis…if someone gives me 50,000 or I work and get paid 50,000, my tithe is 5,000 Ghana Cedis…I pay it once. Almighty God, who gives me breathe and keeps me alive…Atta Naa Nyum)…I pay tithe once to Him on that 50,000. But if Nana Akufo-Addo and Bawumia…president and vice, I earn 50,000 and TV3 is to pay me 50,000…on paying me that 50,000, TV3 in transferring that money will pay 1.75 on that 50,000.
“When I get that 50,000 and I want to put 10,000 on my mobile money, on that same 50,000 I pay 1.75 on the 10,000. Then I want to then pay my tithe [5,000] to God [through phone], I will pay 1.75 on that again. I want to send money to my mother; I will pay 1.75 for that. You don’t create blockers to people using a system,” he contended.
Meanwhile, the Minority has vowed to oppose the government’s move to introduce the levy.
Commenting on the budget statement, ranking member on the finance committee, Cassiel Ato Forson, indicated that the levy will “only increase hardship and compromise inward remittance.”
He mentioned that the Minority will thus “stand by Ghanaians in opposing the momo tax.”
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Okudzeto Ablakwa, has taken on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over his seeming silence on the recent tidal waves disaster in parts of the Volta Region.
Mr. Ablakwa said the President’s swift response to foreign tragedies as compared to his slow reaction towards happenings in the country is unacceptable.
“President Nana Akufo-Addo’s conduct since this national tragedy is totally unacceptable. When this happened, I expected him to have canceled his trip to Cape Verde. He should have driven some three-hour journey to visit the victims.
Residents living in some communities along the Keta – Aflao stretch have told Citi News that they are living in fear after the sea washed away some homes in the area. The communities, especially Salakope and Amutinu, were the hardest hit.
“There is no place to relocate the people to. The banks of the lagoon would’ve been the safest, but that has also flooded as the sea rises” the Assembly Member for Agavedzi Electoral Area said to Citi News’ Fred Duhoe.
He said, “the tidal wave rises mostly at night when the entire community is asleep, which makes the situation more dreadful”.
MPs clash over Volta Tidal waves
In another development, the foyer of Ghana’s Parliament on Friday, 12th November 2021, witnessed a scuffle between South Dayi MP, Rockson Dafeamekpor, and Nhyiaeso MP, Stephen Amoah, over the authenticity of a picture used by the Majority side in a press statement on the current tidal waves disaster in parts of the Volta Region.
The confrontation by the Minority became heated after the authenticity of a picture used by the Majority side during the press conference was disputed by the Minority.
It was during the Minority side’s attempt to respond to the press conference that the two Members of Parliament nearly clashed in the heated scuffle.
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Okudzeto Ablakwa, has taken on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over his seeming silence on the recent tidal waves disaster in parts of the Volta Region.
Mr. Ablakwa said the President’s swift response to foreign tragedies as compared to his slow reaction towards happenings in the country is unacceptable.
“President Nana Akufo-Addo’s conduct since this national tragedy is totally unacceptable. When this happened, I expected him to have canceled his trip to Cape Verde. He should have driven some three-hour journey to visit the victims.
Residents living in some communities along the Keta – Aflao stretch have told Citi News that they are living in fear after the sea washed away some homes in the area. The communities, especially Salakope and Amutinu, were the hardest hit.
“There is no place to relocate the people to. The banks of the lagoon would’ve been the safest, but that has also flooded as the sea rises” the Assembly Member for Agavedzi Electoral Area said to Citi News’ Fred Duhoe.
He said, “the tidal wave rises mostly at night when the entire community is asleep, which makes the situation more dreadful”.
MPs clash over Volta Tidal waves
In another development, the foyer of Ghana’s Parliament on Friday, 12th November 2021, witnessed a scuffle between South Dayi MP, Rockson Dafeamekpor, and Nhyiaeso MP, Stephen Amoah, over the authenticity of a picture used by the Majority side in a press statement on the current tidal waves disaster in parts of the Volta Region.
The confrontation by the Minority became heated after the authenticity of a picture used by the Majority side during the press conference was disputed by the Minority.
It was during the Minority side’s attempt to respond to the press conference that the two Members of Parliament nearly clashed in the heated scuffle.
Modern Times 