Kumawood actress Xandy Kamel has finally been wedded. The Actress has tied the knot with sport presenter kingkinnija1 of Angel TV.
According to reports , the couple held thier private wedding at the Paloma Hotel at Ring Road , Accra.
A few days ago , news broke that controversial Kumawood actress Xandy Kamel was set to tie the knot with both radio and television sports presenter of Angel Group of Companies .
Though the couple refused to add details about thier wedding , it turns out everything has done well.
Hagar Amidu, first daughter of the Special Prosecutor (SP), Martin ABK Amidu, has denied sympathizing with Mahama Ayariga, the Bawku Central MP, on the legal issue between the MP and her father.
According to her, she has never had a conversation or interaction with the MP concerning her father’s prosecution of him nor sat in his car from Accra to Bolgatanga.
She added that even though Ayariga did not mention her name in an interview granted Joy News, she is the only daughter of the SP who is in Ghana and resides in Bolgatanga.
Mahama Ayariga told Joy News in an interview on May 12, 2020, that, despite the legal battle between him and the Special Prosecutor, the children especially his daughter sympathizes with him and he still has a good relationship with the children of Mr Amidu.
He explained that he has regular contact with the daughter of Martin Amidu and anytime they speak she has been consistent in telling her that he, Ayariga, should fight the issue in court and pray that everything ends well between the families.
Ayariga said, “A few months ago when former President John Mahama went to Upper East, I picked (sic) Martin’s daughter in my car and we drove together…the daughter with whom I’m in regular contact with talked to me and said; ‘Well, you know how our father is, you just fight it, we just pray that it all ends well for all of us’….“I assured her that this won’t change the relationship between you and me.”
But Hagar Amidu, who sought to set the records straight told Joy News that she used to have a good relationship with the MP until her father decided to prosecute the MP over abuse of his office for personal gain.
“I’m not part of it, it’s none of my business. I’m not the Special Prosecutor. He should deal with the Special Prosecutor. I don’t know whatever is happening so I don’t know why he should come out and talk about me. I want him to leave me alone,” she stressed.
Hagar Amidu explained that when they meet, they greet each other adding that she is not having any grudge with the MP; that whatever is happening is between the legislator and her father who is the Special Prosecutor.
The Special Prosecutor on March 22, 2019, filed a suit against Mahama Ayarigastating that the Bawku Central legislator had abused his office for personal gain.
Ayariga was accused of tax evasion in the clearance of vehicles and illegal transfer of foreign exchange from Ghana to Dubai, UAE, without having the required licence for such a transaction.
Private legal practitioner and former legislator, John Ndebugri, is not convinced about the reasons given by the judge who jailed some former officials of the National Communication Authority (NCA) in the $4 million eavesdropping device scandal.
Three former members of the NCA Board were given prison sentences of a total of 16 years for their roles in the “clandestine” purchase of cybersecurity equipment worth over $4 million.
A former Board Chairman of the NCA, Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie was on Tuesday, May 12, 2020, sentenced to six years imprisonment while a former Director-General of NCA, William Tetteh Tevie was sentenced to five years imprisonment for causing financial loss to the state.
Alhaji Salifu Mimina Osman, a former Deputy National Security Coordinator was also sentenced to five years imprisonment.
A businessman, Derrick Oppong who was implicated in the case was however acquitted and discharged on all charges against him.
Also another accused person, Nana Owusu Ensaw was acquitted and discharged by the court of appeal before the judgment on Tuesday.
The case was presided over by Justice Kyei Baffour.
Sharing his opinion on the issue on Eyewitness News, the former legislator for the Zebilla constituency said he may not be in agreement with the reasons provided by the judge.
“As to the three persons who were sentenced to a total of 16 years, I have read the judgement, and I am not as convinced of the position of that judge. The basis upon which the chief accused person was acquitted and discharged on the fact that he is a businessman and he was doing his business, therefore, he couldn’t be bothered too much, I don’t agree with that totally. And then it [the judgement] then goes into the analysis of the first and the second accused persons who are now convicted.”
“All I can say now is that I am not too convinced about the position of the judge in that case. It is a lengthy judgement of about 67 pages, so I am going to make an attempt to re-read it carefully and then see whether I can now be convinced. But as at now, I am not too convinced about the position taken by that judge,” he added
Meanwhile, Mr Ndebugri said he was satisfied with the case where Auditor-General (AG), Daniel Domelevo was found guilty of contempt of court.
Mr. Domelevo was found guilty of contempt for failing to respond to a suit in which the Senior Minister was challenging a $1m surcharge on him.
The judge, Justice Botwe, had said the evidence before the court showed that Mr. Domelevo was properly served and should have done the right thing.
In her ruling, however, she noted that due to the important role the Auditor-General plays, she will opt to caution and discharge him instead of sentencing him.
Mr Ndebugri opined that the decision taken against the Auditor-General is justified since the kind of contempt that he was involved in is what is described as ‘Statutory Contempt’ and all the facts of the case proved that Mr Daniel Domelevo was guilty
According to him, the law provides for an individual who feels beguiled by a report published by the AG to seek redress at the court and the AG is required to file a response and to provide the documentation with which he found the individual guilty. Failure by the AG to file a response will amount to a statutory contempt.
Mr Ndebugri described as ‘benevolent’ the decision of the judge to not hand the Attorney-General a jail term or fine him.
Some Ghanaians have also indicated that the judgement is likely to demoralise the Auditor-General and may be seen as delving the fight against corruption a blow in the face, but Mr Ndebugri thinks otherwise.
According to him, the argument that the case may cause the AG to take a step backwards in his fight against corruption does not hold because “If you think that the auditor general has been doing so great or his office is so important and so he cannot be questioned, how about police officers who are fighting crime on a daily basis and yet when they err we come heavily upon them.”
Ghanaian musician Okyeame Kwame has showered praises on Martin Kofi King Arthur popularly know in the showbiz industry as Kofikinaata after listening to his couple of songs.
The legendary musician (Okyeame Kwame) says the fante rap god(Kofi Kinaata) has an amazing and unique way of writing deep lyrics for his songs.
In a Twitter post, Okyeam Kwame predicted that kofi Kinaata will be a great inspiration to the next generation .
According to him , he fell in love with Kinaata’s craft after listening to Adam and Eve , Things fall apart , Behind the scenes and others.
Ghanaian actor and political aspirant . John Dumelo , has revealed his mom always wanted him to be a priest.
According to Dumelo, he grew up in a Catholic household , his mom was pushing for him to go to the seminary but it just wasn’t his calling.
John Dumelo was speaking in an interview with Rev. Erskine on the Y – Leaderboard series on YFM when he made this revelation.
” I used to serve mass and a point. I think my mother even wanted me to be a Reverend Father but that calling , I beat am . When you serve mass well, they’ll probably tell you to go pope John Senior High School and continue to the seminary and so on but nah”.
MP Mahama Ayariga says the presidential candidate of his party, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama has had a lot of time so he should have nominated a running mate by now.
“He has had a lot of time, he is the candidate of the major opposition party, he was chosen long ago and so, he’s had enough time to have decided on who should have been his running mate,” Ayariga told Joy News.
This, Ayariga believes would have been a good decision for his presidential candidate.
He thinks John Mahama has his own prerogatives.
The MP explained that Mr Mahama gave an indication of announcing his running by the end of the first quarter of 2020, that is, March ending but the outbreak of COVID-19 made it difficult for him to do so.
“After a while, he will lose the sympathy of using COVID-19 as an excuse frankly speaking…I think there has been a delay and I think that the flag bearer as soon as he can, should announce a running mate to support him,” he noted.
John Mahama has been on immerse pressure to announce his running mate as the country prepares to go into the December elections amidst the challenges of dealing with the novel Coronavirus pandemic.
Many names were pencilled in the media recently as likely partners to the former president in the upcoming general election but, the NDC quickly refuted that claim.
A statement by the General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia said the purported shortlist was false and urged the public to disregard it.
Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ireland, Papa Owusu Ankomah has recovered after being infected with the novel Coronavirus.
Making the announcement today, Tuesday, May 12, 2020, Mr. Ankomah described his recovery as a blessing from the “horrific effects” of COVID-19.
Papa Owusu Ankomah was in April 2020 diagnosed with the virus and was said to be in “stable condition” despite reports that he was receiving treatment at the intensive care unit at a hospital.
But a statement from the diplomat said he is now free from the virus.
“I am reaching out to you today as the world fights a significant battle against the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). As most of you are aware, I tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to the Royal Free Hospital, London, in April 2020. I count myself blessed to be counted among the living today based on my recovery from the horrific effects of the virus.”
Appreciation
Papa Owusu Ankomah also expressed appreciation to the government and President Nana Akufo-Addo for what he said was the ‘compassion’ shown towards him during the trying moments
“I extend my deepest gratitude to the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who continued to show compassion during those difficult times. I am also humbled to know that I can count on the continued support of the Minister for Foreign Affairs 86 Regional Integration of Ghana, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (MP), in many ways, particularly for the direction she gave to the High Commission to manage matters.”
He also extended similar appreciation to well-meaning Ghanaians who through thick and thin expressed concerns and poured out their well-wishes to him.
“I am grateful to all for the prayers and well wishes to me, my family, and staff of the High Commission during the difficult moment of recovery. Words cannot express the depth of our gratitude and I am fortunate to know that I have the concern of each and every one of you.”
After it was reported that Papa Owusu Ankomah had contracted COVID-19, former British High Commissioner to Ghana and Director of COVID-19 operations at the UK’s Foreign Office, Jon Benjamin sent out a message to wish Mr. Ankomah a “speedy and complete recovery.”
The High Commission of Caribbean country Belize, in London also tweeted on Sunday wishing the Ghanaian diplomat a full and speedy recovery.
Former Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Peter Mac Manu also took to Twitter to extend his well-wishes to the former Minister of State and Attorney General. He also called for prayers for him.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has admitted that it was impossible for the government to have continued the partial lockdown imposed on Accra, Tema, Kasoa and Kumasi beyond the three weeks announced by President Akufo -Addo.
According to him, the Ghanaian economy, which is largely informal, could not sustain that decision beyond the three-weeks.
President Akufo-Addo on March 27th announced a partial lockdown as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in Ghana but lifted it after 3-weeks.
Speaking at an event at the Jubilee House, the Finance Minister said it was necessary to lift the lockdown.
“When you look at what happened during the lockdown. It was quite clear after a point that given the 90% of our population is informal and they go out each day to earn wages, it became increasingly impossible to continue with such a policy,” he said.
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant adverse impact on the global economy.
In Ghana, though the government is implementing various fiscal and monetary measures to mitigate the adverse effect and provide relief for businesses and households, the outbreak has brought three years of economic growth of 6% or more to a sudden halt, with the Ministry of Finance anticipating that growth could slow to 1.5%, the least in 37 years.
Already, President Akufo-Addo has stated that the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic could affect Ghana’s growthrate from 7 percent on average to 2.5 percent if the situation persists until the end of 2020.
The Finance Minister, also stated that Ghana will record a significant drop in revenue target for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic because the country is recording a huge decline in revenue from the port, petroleum revenue receipts as well as tax revenue.
He, however, indicated that the cumulative effect of the novel coronavirus pandemic will cost Ghana GHS9.505 billion.
Mitigating Measures
Meanwhile, Government has implemented some measures to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy.
These include the establishment of a Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP) to facilitate economic recovery.
Lowering of the cap on Ghana Stabilization Fund (GSF) from the current US$300 million to US$100 million to allow for the transfer of excess funds to the CAP
Reduction in the policy rate by 150 basis points to 14% and drop in regulatory reserve requirement from 10% to 8% to increase the supply of credit to the private sector.
Commercial banks are also providing a syndicated facility of GHS3 billion to support key industries; to grant a six-month moratorium on principal repayments for selected businesses, and to reduce interest rates by 200 basis points, also to increase credit supply to the private sector
It has also has put in place a GHS600 million soft loan scheme with a two-year repayment plan for micro, small and medium scale businesses and taking care of water billsfor all Ghanaians for April, May and June 2020.
There’s also a relief for electricity consumers, where all lifeline consumers will get a one hundred percent waiver for three months; while other consumers will get a fifty percent reduction.
Currently, Ghana’s COVID-19 cases have increased to 5,127 with 494 recoveries and 22 deaths.
Yaw Oppong, lawyer for Senior Minister Osafo Maafo, has described as fair, the judgment that found Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo guilty of contempt of court.
Mr. Domelevo was found guilty of contempt for failing to respond to a suit in which the Senior Minister was challenging the $1m surcharge on him.
The judge, Justice Botwe, had said the evidence before the court showed that Mr. Domelevo was properly served and should have done the right thing.
In her ruling, however, she noted that due to the important role the Auditor-General plays, she will opt to caution and discharge him instead of sentencing him.
Some Ghanaians have questioned why the Auditor-General was not jailed after being found guilty of contempt of court.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Osafo Maafo’s lawyer said the ruling came out as expected.
According to Yaw Oppong, his client is not interested in having Domelevo put in jail but only wanted his name to be cleared.
“We have what we call non-custodial sentences and that is a form of punishment. Even if you are cautioned to be of good behaviour or asked to forfeit your property, it’s a form of punishment and you have been reprimanded. We had told the court that our client has never been so much interested in the [Auditor-General] being in prison so other remedies that will ensure the maintenance of the sanctity of the court [should be adopted], so the court should be lenient with him. The judge also made a very important statement in the judgment which said that especially in this period of COVID-19, I will not issue a hard custodial sentence. That was very important and given that I think that is fair.”
According to the court, the reason given by Mr. Domelevo for his inability to respondwas “untenable and an afterthought.”
Domelevo had said he was busy finishing up an audit report for Parliament hence his failure to respond to the suit.
Commenting on the substantive case, Mr. Oppong disclosed that lawyers for both the plaintiff and the defendant as well as the legal team for Kroll and Associates will in the coming days discuss the next move to take.
“We are going back to the court on the 19th [of May 2020] for further directions of these matters and what we will finally decide on out of time. The bigger case is in court but we the lawyers have agreed that there is an appeal filed by lawyers of Kroll and Associates; so we will decide on the proper approach for it to be consolidated. So we will be going on the 19th for those issues to be ironed out and then we will see the way forward as to whether the whole process is valid or not.”
Background
The Senior Minister and four other officials from the Ministry of Finance sued Mr. Domelevo to clear their names in relation to what was said to be breaches of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) that resulted in their payment of US$1 million to a private UK firm, Kroll and Associates.
Mr. Osafo Maafo had said he was resorting to the courtsbecause “the evidence available shows clearly that the Auditor-General erred in law and professional procedures in the exercise of his powers regarding his audit on payments to Kroll and Associates Limited.”
“I have on Wednesday, 11th December 2019, instructed my lawyers to commence legal processes to challenge a Disallowance and Surcharge imposed on me by the Auditor-General following his notice on 24th October 2019.”
Mr. Domelevo had concluded that Kroll was paid for no work done, following what he said was the persistent failure of the Senior Minister to provide proof of actual work done.
He consequently recommended the disallowance of the payment of the US$1million to Kroll and Associates, which the government, through the Ministry of Finance paid.
Mr. Domelevo also surcharged Mr. Osafo Maafo and four other officials from the Ministry of Finance.
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