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Armed robbers on Friday evening attacked and robbed at gunpoint a bullion van carrying an unspecified amount of money from Techiman to Sunyani.

Whereas it has been reported that the police are yet to see the waybill to ascertain the actual amount stolen, some sources are claiming the hoodlums took away a whopping GH¢600,000, while others claim it was far more than the stated amount.

The unfortunate incident occurred on the outskirts of a village called Maampehia in the Techiman Municipality where the robbers made away with huge cash, leaving the driver and a police guard injured in the process.

According to the Bono East Regional Police Commander, DCOP Djan Kyere, after the attack, the armed robbers who were four in number took away an AK 47 from the police officer, but added that the criminals were already armed with another AK 47 for the operation.

Opening Fire

He explained to DAILY GUIDE on phone that at about 5:30 pm on Friday, the bullion van (GT 3181-W) belonging to Absa Bank in Techiman was loaded with money, with a police officer and a cash boy on board, including the driver of the van. They were heading towards Sunyani but on reaching the outskirts of Maapehia, four armed robbers opened fire on the van.

The driver, Frank Agyemang, in attempt to reverse the car, was shot in the hand through the window, and it injured Lance Corporal Yussifi Abubakar as well.

He said the robbers brought out the container with the money, broke it open and took away the money, leaving behind smaller denominations on the street in the community.

“They fled into the bush with the money and two AK 47 guns. When we received the message, a police patrol team quickly went to the scene, combed the bush around the area but couldn’t find them,” he said.

The policeman who sustained minor injury and the driver were rushed to the Techiman Holy Family Hospital, where they were treated and discharged.

Akumadan Incident

DCOP Kyere explained further that on Saturday morning, police at Akumadan on the Kumasi-Techiman highway intercepted a saloon car, which the occupants abandoned on the road.

He said officers at Akumadan explained that a security man who was guarding a new gari processing factory in the area saw a saloon car which passed by, but in a few minutes the same car came back and entered the premises of the factory.

“Thinking they were there to rob, the private security man sneaked out and informed police in the town. Our men quickly rushed there and saw four men trying to share money in a sack. Upon seeing the police, they fled into the bush leaving behind GH¢195,000 on the ground,” the police commander recounted.

He said at the robbery scene at Maampehia, the robbers left behind GH¢39,000 in different denominations.

Pastor’s Angle

DCOP Kyere said while police personnel and bank officials at Akumadan were checking details of the saloon car, a man, who claimed to be a pastor, came around and claimed ownership of the car.

According to the commander, the pastor told the police that four men came to him from Kumasi and pleaded with him to give them his car for an ‘operation’ which he obliged because he knew them.

According to DCOP Kyere, the four men hired a hotel at Chiraa and believed that was where they came from on that day to embark on the operation.

After the operation, they went back to Chiraa and used Afrancho road linking Akumadan and were about to share the booty at the uncompleted gari factory when they were spotted by the security man.

A G3 and a pump action gun were retrieved from the saloon car, but the robbers bolted with the two AK 47 guns.

The pastor has been arrested and is assisting police in their investigations.

Source: Daily Guide Network

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Chinese state media once again floated the prospect of international lawsuits against the United States for supposedly being responsible for the HIV/AIDS epidemic in a column Thursday, adding the 2008 financial crisis and the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic to the list.

The Global Times and People’s Daily, two of the most prominent Chinese Communist Party English-language mouthpieces, have repeatedly responded to lawsuits against Beijing for actions it took that exacerbated the Chinese coronavirus pandemic with threats of similar lawsuits against the United States.

Two American states, Missouri and Mississippi, have filed lawsuits against the Chinese Communist Party in U.S. court for its attempts to hide the outbreak when it began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

In the early days of the outbreak in January, Chinese officials arrested doctors and others sharing information on containing infectious diseases, claimed the virus was not transmissible from human to human, and pressured other countries not to limit travel across their borders from China, directly contributing to the severity of the pandemic.

Calling global outrage over the Communist Party’s behavior “bald-faced political blackmail,” the Global Times asserted that “China is never the one to be blamed” over any global woes related to the Chinese coronavirus. Instead, it identified the “arrogance of some American politicians” as the true source of humanity’s misfortune.

Noting that several American states have sued the Communist Party for its role in the pandemic, the column – signed by Zhong Sheng, a pseudonym for the staff of the People’s Daily – warned that the collapse of sovereign immunity that such lawsuits would represent could result in a tidal wave of litigation against America:

Under the logic of some American politicians, the U.S. is the one to be held accountable and it should compensate the international society, for the Spanish Flu, AIDS and other epidemics, the 2008 international financial crisis which led to the collapse of countless enterprises and individuals, and the wars launched against other countries the over the years which have caused millions of innocent civilian casualties and numerous property losses.

Sovereign immunity is an international law policy that largely exempts states from litigation in domestic court systems. States can sue each other in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – where individual persons cannot lodge complains – to prevent state actors from avoiding justice.

There are exemptions to sovereign immunity, however. Most recently, the U.S. Congress passed a law in 2016 allowing American individuals to sue the government of Saudi Arabia in court for damages related to the jihadist attacks on September 11, 2001

Lawmakers in Congress, led by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), are reportedly working on similar legislation to allow lawsuits against China.

“There is overwhelming evidence that the Chinese Communist Party’s lies, deceit, and incompetence caused COVID-19 to transform from a local disease outbreak into a global pandemic,”

Hawley said in a statement announcing his Justice for Victims of COVID-19 Act, which would carve out a sovereign immunity exception for China. “We need an international investigation to learn the full extent of the damage the CCP has inflicted on the world and then we need to empower Americans and other victims around the world to recover damages.

The CCP unleashed this pandemic. They must be held accountable to their victims.”
While the bill moves through Congress, prosecutors in Missouri are suing the Communist Party itself and arguing that it is a separate entity from the state of the People’s Republic of China.

“On information and belief, the Communist Party is not an organ or political subdivision of the PRC, nor is it owned by the PRC or a political subdivision of the PRC, and thus it is not protected by sovereign immunity,” the lawsuit stated.

The Zhong Sheng opinion piece published Thursday is not the first time that Chinese state media made the bizarre claim that America was responsible for the HIV/AIDS outbreak of the 1980s

“If the U.S. really acts that way, it would open a Pandora’s box and result in the collapse of the world’s sovereignty immunity system. It would mean anyone could sue the U.S. government in their own countries – an AIDS patient could sue it for compensation, for example,” the Global Times suggested in April.

“The execution of such a ruling could only be carried out by forcibly depriving the defendant countries of their overseas property, which would lead to tit-for-tat retaliation and drag the world into chaos.”

Elsewhere, the People’s Daily railed against the United States to begin listening to the “civilized world,” by which it meant China and its communist allies, and stop pointing out facts about the Wuhan outbreak that are inconvenient for the Party.

The newspaper called the lawsuits in America against China a “shame for human civilization” and “an affront to international law and justice.”
The People’s Daily did not mention similar lawsuits all around the world, in countries such as Egypt, Nigeria, and Italy.

Source: reportghana.com

• 

Chairman of the Ghana Football Association Medical Committee, Dr. Adam Baba says strict measures would be put in place to ensure player safety in domestic competitions.

According to him, the strict health measures will help improve the health of footballers who ply their trade in the domestic competitions.

For him, the two most important areas are education and training of medics.

“We will have to start from the internal arrangement. By Internal arrangement, I mean our local league. What we intend to do is at least to organize two seminars for handlers, masseurs, physiotherapist or the Doctors of the Premier League Clubs” Dr. Baba said in an interview with the GFA media team

Accorfing to Dr. Baba, players need to go under medical scrutiny before competitions.

“One pressing issue that has been going on for years is what we call the pre-competition medical assessment (PCMA) of the players. It’s mandatory by FIFA for all clubs to undergo it before they engage the footballers, its mandatory.

“If a player is to go out (abroad), normally teams would ask for his medical report which we don’t have. Is it the PCMA’s that we normally fill?,” he quizzed.

“Our first priority will be education. The other thing is to really emphasize on the PCMAs. Before the league starts, it should be ensured that all participating clubs do it and do it well. Because before you recruit a player, he has to undergo a medical examination and a fitness test. But all these, we just brush it, once he is playing somewhere, he comes, we just take the forms and get a doctor to sign.

“So what we shall do is to audit the PCMAs because this thing must be done for future purposes. We don’t know, any accident can occur and the international federation would want to know what he went through medically before you allow him to participate in the competition. If we fail to produce it, we might be penalized,” the former Black Stars team doctor also noted.

Source: http://www.sunnewsgh.com

• 

Here’s her story

“As a child I always wanted to be a nurse, lawyer and a fashion designer all at the same time with no idea how they were going to happen because of my background.

Well I attended senior high school at Mfantsiman girls which helped shaped my entire being.

From there I went to the Nursing and Midwifery Training College at Korle bu where I graduated with a Diploma in Nursing in 2008 and started working as a nurse in 2010 after national service.

I continued to Central University College where I did top up for a Bsc Degree in Nursing alongside work and graduated in 2013.

In 2014 I applied to Gimpa law faculty for an LLB and I got admitted which I did along with work mostly night shifts and gained admission to the Law school in 2017 after graduating from Gimpa and finally was called to the Ghana Bar in October 2019”

Her persistence is so admirable

She attributes this feat to patience and God’s grace.

She’s such an inspiration.

Congrats to her

Pictures below

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By: Abiku Fabrice Quaye —preznewsgh

• 

Ghana President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo gave his 9th address on the COVID-19 on Sunday, May 10, 2020.

He updated the nation on the measures taken against the spread of coronavirus.

Amongst other things, President Akufo-Addo revealed in his address that COVID-19 cases in Ghana are now 4,700.

He also noted that 494 patients have so far recovered with the death toll still standing at 22.

Pulse.com.gh presents highlights of President Akufo-Addo’s 9th address to the nation on the COVID-19 crisis.

1. Critics of government’s COVID-19 fight doing it for ‘political survival’ – Nana Addo President Nana Akufo-Addo said: “I know some political actors would want you to believe that our current numbers represent a failure on the part of the government” but “do not begrudge them”, adding: “They need to make such comments for their political survival”.

2. Akufo-Addo extends social gathering ban to May 31 He also announced an extension of the ban on social gatherings to the end of May 2020.

“Tonight, I have come into your homes to announce that the ban on public gatherings, as set out in Executive Instrument 34, has been extended, also to the end of the month i.e., 31st May.”

3. Healthy living to boost immunity against COVID-19 Nana Addo further called on Ghanaians to as a matter of urgency improve their fitness and personal hygiene practises as a way of boosting their immunity against COVID-19.

“It is critical that I raise one significant side of the fight against this virus, which has not been given enough emphasis, but has to do with the change in attitude that will impact our lifestyles.”

4. NCCE to get 10,000 nose masks and cash for COVID-19 sensitization The President said his government will on Monday, May 11, provide the NCCE with 10,000 locally produced nose masks and cash to enable it effectively carry out its responsibilities as a state agency.

“Further, we have extended this gesture to other frontline actors engaged in the fight, with the presentation of five thousand (5,000) PPEs to members of the media, and tomorrow, Monday, 11th May, 10, 000 domestically-produced face masks and more money will be delivered to the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), to enhance its capacity to undertake the important work it is already doing”, he said.

5. W.H.O has reached out to Ghana to share our sample-pooling techniques with other African countries “The World Health Organisation has reached out to us to share our sample pooling experience with other African countries, so they can adopt this strategy and also ramp up their testing capabilities,” President Akufo-Addo said during his address.

Source: http://www.reportghana.com

• 

The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is calling for broader stakeholder consultation on the utilisation of the GHS600 million soft loan scheme for micro, small and medium scale businesses affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The National Board for Small Scale Industries has indicated that 200,000 businesses are in line to benefit from the package.

Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Ghana and the subsequent ban on public gatherings, most businesses in major economic hubs have seen a massive downturn in activity.

The government subsequently announced a GHS600 million soft loan scheme to cushion businesses affected by COVID-19 beginning this month, May.

“We are rolling out a soft loan scheme of six hundred million cedis (GH¢600 million), in this month of May, to support micro, small and medium scale businesses, and, as you know, the commercial banks, with the support of the Bank of Ghana, have also instituted a three billion cedi (GH¢3 billion) credit and stimulus package, to help revitalise industries, especially in the pharmaceutical, hospitality, services, and manufacturing sectors,” the President, Nana Akufo-Addo added.

But speaking to Citi News, the National Welfare Officer for GUTA, Benjamin Yeboah, said the government should as a matter of urgency constitute a committee to ensure some prudence in the distribution.

“We are asking the government that there should be a proper constitution of a committee that will have GUTA represented on it because we are traders and therefore we will be able to tell whatever committee is set up the way our structure is and the ways we can help them in terms of the allocation.”

“Per head estimation, we are looking at about 200,000 people. If you are looking at GHS600 million per 200,000 people, even if you are sharing it across the board, it becomes GHS 3,000 [per head],” Mr. Yeboah noted.

Currently, an online portal had been developed to be used which was awaiting approval from the board of directors of the National Board for Small Scale Industries.

The portal is expected to be stress-tested by independent consultants to address all implementation challenges.

Call to avoid partisanship

GUTA also previously asked the government to avoid partisanship in the management of the soft loan scheme.

It asked that the scheme should be managed in a “fair, transparent and equitable manner, devoid of partisan politics.”

It also urged beneficiaries not to misuse the funds and to pay back the loan as may be arranged.

Persons who access these loans will have a one-year grace period before beginning repayment.

The scheme also allows for a two-year repayment plan.

by Delali Adogla-Bessa

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The Greater Accra Regional Police Command says more inmates in cells across its jurisdiction have contracted the novel coronavirus but have been isolated.

Ghana, as of May 8, has recorded over 4,000 COVID-19 cases with 323 recoveries and 18 deaths.

Speaking to journalists on Saturday during a disinfection exercise by Zoomlion Ghana Limited, the Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Fred Adu Anim, said though he is unable to give out the number of infected inmates, measures are in place to contain the spread.

“Some of the inmates have already contracted the disease so we have separated them from the fresh suspects who would come into our custody. I can’t mention the number off-head but they have been taken to isolation centres.”

“If you listened to the news carefully, you will hear that two Nigeriens who were in our custody have been discharged having testing negative. I cannot talk about the others,” he noted.

Prisons overcrowded in coronavirus times

In recent times, attention has been drawn to the challenges prison facilities are facing in Ghana following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the country.

There have been complaints on the inability of the inmates to practise the safety protocols issued to prevent the disease such as practising social distancing, maintaining good personal hygiene and washing hands frequently.

The Ghana Prisons Service had earlier said practising social distancing among inmates in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak will be challenging especially at night due to the congestion.

Superintendent Courage Atsem who is Chief Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Prisons Service told Citi Newsthat the Service had suspended all contact visits as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.

“Social distancing can only be practised within the day. Where they are open and they are able to move about but at night where they are supposed to sleep, their cells are usually congested and that is why our concern is to ensure that we do not record any case,” he said.

It is for reasons as such that the Prisons Service is calling for the swift passage of the Non-Custodial Sentencing Bill to help decongestGhana’s prisons as COVID-19 is still spreading.

COVID-19 in Ghana

Ghana’s case count of the novel Coronavirus has shot up from 3,091 to 4,012, with 18 deaths and 323 recoveries.

This was captured by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) website on Friday, May 8, 2020.

According to GHS, “over 50% of these [new] cases were as a result of an outbreak in an industrial facility with 1,300 workers of which 533 have been confirmed positive.”

The website, however, did not give the name of the industrial facility.

By: Ellen Dapaah

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It appears the practice in Ghana where victims of sexual abuse are compelled to pay for the endorsement of police forms by medical doctors, may not end anytime soon.

The family of a 12-year-old girl allegedly defiled in Tamale in the Northern Region, who is the latest victim of this unfortunate situation, fears they may not get justice as they’re unable to raise 800 cedis for a medical doctor at the Tamale Teaching Hospital to endorse the form.

The girl was allegedly defiled three weeks ago by an unemployed man believed to be in his 30s, but due to lack of money to pay the Medical Doctor at the Tamale Teaching Hospital for the endorsement of the form, the family is worried they might not get justice for their daughter, although medical examination has confirmed there was penetration.

The victim could not walk normally when Citi News visited her at home.

Speaking to Citi News with her mother’s permission, she said “He [Abuser] told me to follow him to his house for something. Without any doubt, I followed him. He then sent me inside and locked the door and forcefully removed my cloth and penetrated me. He then told me that if I tell anyone I will die.”

The man, who allegedly defiled her, is known as Abdul Latif, popularly referred to as A.A in the Vittin neighborhood, but he is yet to be arrested.

The girl’s mother, told Citi News she is helpless.

“For two weeks, I have struggled with her health, until we realized that she had been defiled by a man. I initially thought it was (tahaga) nappy rashes. Her private part swelled with mucus coming out later.”

A Medical Doctor at the Tamale Teaching Hospital indicated in the victim’s folder that there was forced penetration – causing internal damage as a result. But he demanded for the 800 cedis before the form could be endorsed; an amount the poor family cannot afford.

“They said we should take the form to the hospital for a doctor to endorse it. And when we went, they told us to pay 800 cedis which we can’t afford.”

Payment for endorsement of forms

It is an accepted norm in Ghana that victims of sexual abuse pay for the endorsement of police forms by medical doctors, although that is not statutory.

The Domestic Violence and Victim’s Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service, which issued the medical form said it is waiting for the family to bring the endorsed form before they can take up the case.

The victim’s parents are now seeking the public of benevolent Ghanaians to seek justice for their daughter. 7

“They said we should take the form to the hospital for a doctor to endorse it. And when we went, they told us to pay 800 cedis which we can’t afford. Now we are appealing to the public to come to our aid”, the victim’s mother noted.

Citi News could not access data on how prevalent sexual violence affects young girls in the Northern Region from the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit in Tamale.

“Here we don’t get data from across the region; only the people of the Tamale Metropolis report to this Unit”, according to the Northern Regional Coordinator of DOVVSU, DSP Emmanuel Horlatu.

DOVVSU says it cannot offer any help to the family without the endorsed form.

It is reported that 14% of girls in Ghana experience sexual violence, but the figure is likely to be more as some families for various reasons shelve these cases. Many offenders are mostly close associates just like this one.

The victim’s neighbours say they’re surprised about the conduct of the alleged offender in the case.

“We live here every day and night. The man too comes here to play with the children anytime he is passing by. I didn’t know he has those intentions.”

Source: Maxwell Suuk|citinewsroom.com|Ghana

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The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) is pleading with the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, not to lift the ban on social gatherings for religious activities, schools, marriage ceremonies, funerals and other social events.

GMA also wants a continued closure of the country’s borders to prevent the importation of new COVID-19 cases from other jurisdictions. 

This, the GMA believes, will help in the collective fight of the novel coronavirus in the country. 

Some heads of the Christian Ecumenical Bodies have been expressing their preparedness to resume church activities. They have presented a proposal to the government to clearly spell out modalities under which they can safely perform their programmes without endangering the lives of congregants. 

In the said proposal sighted by GhanaWeb, the churches are advocating strict adherence to all the precautionary measures prescribed against the fight of the Coronavirus, which includes separating seating areas for the aged. 

It is unclear why these leaders will want to put the health of their various congregations at risk.

But officials of the Ghana Medical Associations (GMA) in their latest communiqué stated that the Coronaviruspandemic is real and is still a major health threat to all persons living in the country. 

In a statement copied to GhanaWeb on Saturday, May 9, 2020, the GMA noted that there have been a “seeming disregard for all the preventive measures put in place by large sections of the population” and added that the number of new COVID-19 positive cases in the country are mostly from community spread. 

They, however, urged that “Government must ensure prompt and continuous distribution of PPEs to all health workers at their various institutions (or place of work) at all times. This will guarantee the safety of all health workers as they continue to render care to patients.” 

Ghana on May 9, 2020, recorded 251 positive cases which brought the number of total confirmed cases of Coronavirus to 4,263 with 378 recoveries and 22 deaths. 

A statement on the Ghana Health Service website noted: “The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases recorded in Ghana since the 12th of March 2020 is 4,263. There have been 378 recoveries and 22 deaths. Between the 7th and 8th May, a total of 251 new cases have been reported with the majority of them from the Greater Accra Region (205 cases representing 82%).”

The Greater Accra Region still leads with 3,641 cases whilst the Ashanti Region follows in second place with 252 cases. 

Ghana first reported two COVID-19 cases on 12 March. At that time, some countries had been under partial or total lockdown for at least four weeks. 

Instead of taking lessons from their learning curve, the Government delayed action until after incessant pressure from various groups calling for a total lockdown. Even so, a partial lockdown of Accra, Kumasi, Kasoa and Tema was implemented for an initial two weeks. This was extended for one week, and then lifted. 

The streets and markets are choked with people making nonsense of the existing social distancing protocols and ban of social gatherings announced by the president. 

Schools, religious places, hotels and many non-essential places of work remain closed.

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

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The Third Edition of the 3Music Awards, was held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to a ban on public gatherings.

The awards scheme came off in grand style at the Fantasy Dome inside the Trade Fair Centre, Accra on May 2, 2020.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the awards scheme, Sadiq Abdulai Abu speaking in an interview on Happy98.9FM’s ‘ShowbizXtra’ has said that they have not made any profits from the awards scheme.

He told host, Doctarr Cann, “We have lost a lot of money. Over the years we have spent money without getting anything back.”

According to him, it is not unusual for a brand to start and have revenue issues. “We are building a brand and we need to build a reputation and not be focused on the money.”

He noted that the team is currently focused on building a brand and an ecosystem that will help promote the Ghanaian and African music scene.

Host, Doctar Cann asked if sponsors did not contribute to the entire event, he revealed “Nasco electronics supported the next rated category.”

Other partners for the awards scheme were mostly bloggers and media houses.

Abu explained that the extreme measures taken to support the few sponsors was to let others know the kind of promotion they will get when they hop on the awards scheme.

Source: etvghana.com