AfricaWorld News Ghana 25th Jan. - 1st Feb 2016 by AfricaWorld Newspaper

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www.africaworldnewspaper.com Mon. 25th Jan. - Mon. 1st Feb. 2016

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ISSUE No: 1

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DR RAWLINGS SUED BY INCUMBENT MP

MOURINHO JOINS POLITICS

Mon. 25th Jan. - Mon. 1st Feb. 2016

ISSUE No: 1

KISA CLAIMS SHE DOESNT LOVE SEX

GHANAIANS TO COMSUME MORE ALCOHOL THAN WATER IF..

Editorial Akwaaba!

t is our pleasure to present this maiden edition of AfricaWorld News Ghana to you. As pan-African writers, we are very glad to launch the online edition of this publication in this very important nation. As a champion in the struggle to decolonise Africa, we revere Ghana and poise to tell its story to all parts of the world. AfricaWorld News Ghana is out to be the real mouth-piece of cultural Ghana through in-depth reporting and photo news. We hope to cover other aspects too as shown in this edition. From politics, economy, interviews and community development, we will provide coverage. As we position to get better, do not hesitate to write us or call for partnership, special requests and matters arising. Our publication is online for now but goes viral among Ghanaians at home and in the diaspora. Our aim is to tell the story of Ghana and its natural beauty to the wider-world. Our values are commitment, loyalty and truth. We love Ghana and poised to serve Africa's foremost country. AfricaWorld News Ghana is created to serve and inform. Remain blessed! Ukachukwu Okorie Editor-at-large

Obed Ryan Martins Bureau Chief Ghana

Mutah Yannick B. Designer

AfricaWorldnews Ghana

Inside Africa ITS EITHER YOU MARRY TWO WIVES OR RISK JAIL-ERITREAN-GOVERNMENT

ctivists have posted a memo allegedly by the Government of Eritrea asking men to marry at least two wives due to acute shortage of men occasioned by casualties during the civil war with Ethiopia. In the statement written in Arabic assures of government support to the polygamous marriages.

shall be punished to life imprisonment,” alleges the activists in their translation. And Kenyans have reacted to these

“He is so so considerate of women! That's good of him,” said another. The Standard could not immediately authenticate the document nor the translation and it was not clear why the statement was not in the other two national languages, Tigrinya and Tigre.

The activists translate it thus, “Based on the law of God in polygamy, and given the circumstances in which the country is experiencing in terms of men shortage, the Eritrean department of Religious Affairs has decided on the following .” First that every man shall marry at least two women and the man who refuses to do so shall be subjected to life imprisonment with hard labour. “The woman who tries to prevent her husband from marrying another wife

“At this rate, I can see the Eritrea Government spreading new embassy outlets in Kakamega, Embu, Siaya and Busia counties to help hasten visa processing,” said one Kenyan on facebook.

announcements with bemusement with some suggesting if they could change their citizenship immediately and take advantage of the new laws in the country.

The May 1998 to June 2000 EritreanEthiopian war saw 150,000 soldiers killed from either sides but having a bigger impact on male population in the tiny Eritrea nation who were then just 4million people in total. Source; News Day

PASTOR CHRIS STORMS SOUTH AFRICA

he President of the Believers Loveworld Incorporated popularly known as Christ Embassy, Pastor Chris stormed the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, the capital city of South Africa last Friday. Night of Bliss South Africa(NOBSA) as reason for the program which started at the early hours of the evening saw thousands of people thronging into the gates of the FNB Stadium from all walks of life. The stadium was much filled up that people to stood to

their heels to have a live worship God with the man of God. Lives were led to God as those possessed by the devil were set free. Lives were tranformed through that single night after the performances of Sinach, Frank Edwards, Joe Praize, P.K and others.

Ghana through a wonder program titled NIGHT OF BLISS ACCRA,GHANA.

Pastor Chris is set again to storm the citizens of Ghana on the 5th February, 2016 at the Blackstar Square(Independence Square),Accra

AfricaWorldnews Ghana

Politics PARTY OFFICE SET ABLAZED that the office of GFP was on fire and when theu rushed to the scence, the saw the building on fire which forced them to call the Ghana National Fire Service(GFNS) who upon arrival quenched the fire. The party's flagbearer, known as Akua Donkor in an interview with the media alleged that one Agyenim Boateng conspired with some NPP members to

flames. When I came there was a gallon containing petrol at the back of my office, she continued. She hinted that when the Electoral Commission(EC) of Ghana demanded some documents from her, some three NPP members led by Agyenim Boateng forged her documents and s e n t t h e m t o E C . The culprits were later arrested and granted bail. I received threatening phone calls from NPP members, she asserted.

he party office of the Ghana Freedom party(GFP) located in Kabu on the KoforiduaAkronpong Highway in the Akuapem North Municipality of the Eastern Region of Ghana gutted by fire last Friday afternoon. The cause of fire has not been yet estabilished but according to sources, there were riverts and a container with liquid believed to be petrol were found at the scene. A resident who spoke to Africaworldnews' correspondent said they were informed by a taxi driver

set her party office ablazed. Agyenim Boateng and the NPP members used petrol to burn my office.I was in Accra when I was informed that my office were in

She further hinted that her outfit had reported the issue to the New Juaben Municipal Police Commander who has launched investigation to it. Reported by Ryan Martin Obed.

NPP PREPARES TO RE-RUN PARLIAMENTARY PRIMARIES

he New Patriotic Party(NPP) which is the largest opposition party says it is preparing to organised re-run elections in the Korle Klottey Constituency.

process was flawed when Nii Noi Nortey was emerged the winner.

This re-run election issue came up after a court ruling that ordered the party to undertake a re-run primaries after Philip Addision who was defeated in the first parliamentary primaries challenged the results.

The Director of elections for the NPP,Mr Martin Adjei Mensah who Philip Addison and Nii adjei spoke to Citi fm,said the date for the Tawiah who aspired for the re-run election will be set soon. parliamentary primaries for the He continued,"let me mention that it Korle Klottey boycotted saying the

not only Korle Klottey,we also have Manhyia North, Kumawu and Kwesimintsim constituencies, all these three have been boxed down by court issues. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is also Ablekuma West in Accra and the legal committee is working around these to bring it to a closure. Part of the confusion was miscommunication the last time round, that's and internal matter. We hope to add that one to the resolution that we want to do put them together as one family even before the go into the election.â&#x20AC;? He asserted. Source:citi fm AfricaWorldnews Ghana

Politics HASSAN AYARIGA TO LAUNCH A POLITICAL PARTY

elections,Hassan Ayariga is set to contest in the presidential elections this time on the ticket of his own party(APC).

All Peoples Party(APC) is set to make imapact after an extensive ground work since last year after he left.

He has already picked up certification forms from the Electoral Commission(EC) of Ghana and according to sources claim that Mr Ayariga would be issued with a temporal licence this Friday as they proceed to verify the credibilty of the proposed party.

After he lost his re-election bid to Mr Edward Mahama due to acrimonious circumstances.

Hassan Ayariga is said to have estabilished his party office in 170 districts across the country.

With ten(10) months to go to the November 7 General

The PNC leadership has warned of its punitive action should any

assan Ayariga, the formal presidential candidate of the Peoples National Party(PNC) is set to launch his political party after his break away from his former political political due to his lost in the PNC presidential primaries.

member join the breakaway faction. Reported by Ryan Martin

DR RAWLINGS SUED BY INCUMBENT MP

he incumbent Member of Parliament for Klottey Korle Constituency in the Greater Accra Region has filed a suit against Dr Zanetor Rawlings winner of the recently held NDC Parliamentary primaries. Nii Armah Ashietey who filed a joint suit with Nii Johnson Coleman at the Accra High Court is praying the court to restrain Dr Rawlings from holding herself out as Parliamentary candidate elect for the NDC.

registered voted within the meaning of Article 94 (1) (a) of the 1992 constitution at the time of the said contest, violates the constitution and the internal regulations governing the conduct of the parliamentary primaries of the NDC and same is illegal and of no effect. 2. A declaration that the Dr Zanetor Rawlings election as a parliamentary Candidate elect for the Klottey-

Mr Ashietey was defeated in the November 2015 primaries by the daughter of ex-president John Rawlings but there are claims Dr Rawlings did not have a valid voter's register which is a requirement for one to be elected into the position of an MP.

3. An order of injunction restraining the Dr. Zanetor, agents, privies, assigns or anyone claiming through her from holding herself out or allowing herself to be held out by the other defendants as Parliamentary Candidate-elect for Klottey Korle Constituency until the matters in dispute are heard and disposed of by this honourable court. 4. An order of court directed at the NDC for a re-run of the parliamentary primaries in Klottey Korle Constituency between the plaintiffs in accordance with its constitution and the regulation governing the 2016 parliamentary primaries within one week of the annulment of the 2nd defendant's election.

The embattled MP is among others seeking the following reliefs. A declaration that the decision by the NDC to allow the Dr Zanetor Rawlings to contest parliamentary primaries in the Klottey-Korle Constituency when she was not a

Korley Constituency is null and void and is of no effect as same violates the constitution of the NDC and the rules governing the conduct of the 216 parliamentary primaries.

It will be the second time the parliamentary aspirant elect is being sued barely three months after winning the contest.

AfricaWorldnews Ghana

General News COURT JAILS A 23YR OLD MAN FOR DEFILING A YEAR OLD GIRL

wabena Donyina, a 23 year old man was on last Monday arraigned before the Wassa Akronpong Circuit Court for allegedly defiling a year old baby girl. The incident which shocked the residents of a small minning community, occurred at Bawdie in the Amenfi East District of the Western region. The Chief inspector of Police at the district, Mr Foster Berko told the court that medical examination conducted confirmed the victim was defiled. The baby was said to be crawling in front of their room whist the mother took a nap inside the room. The suspect (Kwabena) took this opportunity and picked the baby into his room and defiled the baby girl. He asserted. An eyewitness, who is a community nurse who lives with the suspect and the victim in the same house saw him abusing the little baby sexually when she(nurse) opened the door of the suspect to discuss something with him. An alarm was raised by the nurse which led to the arrest of the suspect and a report to the police. He continued. The Chief Inspector, Mr Foster Berko told the court the suspect was placed in police custody to his appearance before the Wassa Akronpong Circuit Court on Monday.

MAMPONG WIDOW ATTACKED BY A COW

ast Monday morning threw the residents of Asante Mampong into a state of shock as a cow attacked a widow injuring her in the process. The 45year old Comfort was said to be sitting in her house whiles mourning her husband when the incident happened. Some hunters subsequently shot the animal after the residents had called for help. Speaking to the media, a seasoned hunter said the attack on the woman was very strange. We chased it out for a long time till we got hold of it and shot it to death after the residents had called for help. He asserted. The widow who is recieving treatment at the Asante Mampong Government has been tested positive of rabies whiles the cow is with the police for further investigation.

GHANAIANS TO COMSUME MORE ALCOHOL THAN WATER IF.. By: Ryan Cornelius

he National Association of Sachet and Packaged Water Producers (NASPWP) has described the recent hike in water tariff on their operation as an act that will lead to alcohol consumption more than water.

GHC10.07 representing 165 percent. The Association at a press conference on Tuesday vowed to increase the sachet

According to the NASPWP, while they are being charged GHÂ˘51 for the production of bottled water, beer producers are being charged GHC10, adding the profitability of both sectors are at huge variance to the advantage of alcohol producers. The Public Utility and Regulatory Commission (PURC) in December last year increased electricity and water tariffs by 59.2% and 67.2 % respectively, while a 27 percent tax was slapped on petroleum products. They said the current operational cost for the production of sachet water has been increased by 195 per cent moving from GHC3.8 to GHC11.21 while bottled water has also been increased by 400 percent moving from GHC10.07 to GHC50.76. Commercial rates moved from GHC3.8 to GHC8.36 representing 120 percent. Industrial rate moved from GHC 3.8 to

water prices to 30 pesewas if nothing is done about the recent hike. The president of the association Magnus Nunoo told Starr Business various pleas to the PURC to reduce the hike on their operations have fallen on deaf ears. Source:Star Fm

VISA RACKETEERING AND FAKE PASSPORTS LEADS TO THE ARREST OF THREE PEOPLE Three people are now in the grips of the Accra Regional Police Command for falsifying visas for over 13 years. A 69 year old trader,Moses Lamptey; William Kofi Mensah, 45, a businessman; and Eric Nyamekye, 35, an artist were suspected to be in this action. The Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Effia Tenge,eho spoke to the media,said on Friday, January 22, the police embarked on an operation based on a tip off that some people were supplying fake passports and falsifying visas. They embarked on an operation within Kokomlemle, Bubuashie, Anyaaa and Bortianor all in the Greater Accra region

which led to the arrest of the three suspects. After their arrest, the police retrieved about 190 Ghanaian, American, British, South African, Netherlands and Nigerian passports, three printers and one digital camera. 75 different rubber visa stamps, two lamination machines, a laptop, a coloured printer and other forged documents were also retrieved. We falsify documents for our clients, and they are charged on grade one and grade two fees.Suspects asserted. The grade one fee which starts from $1,200, secures you a visa that can enable you pass through the immigration of the country of origin to your destination whilst the grade two, which costs between $700 and $800, only takes you through the immigration of the country of origin but cannot see you through the immigration of your destination.They claimed. Investigations are still pending, after which the trio would be put before law court. Ryan Cornelius

AfricaWorldnews Ghana

General News GHANA HIT THE HIGHEST SCORE IN BRIBERY

new survey conducted by TRACE International, a nonprofit business association that pools resources to provide its members with anti-bribery compliance support has revealed that businesses in Ghana are increasingly being exposed to bribery. Scoring a high level index of 68 points, the survey pointed out that bribery risks to doing business in Ghana is widespread and inimical to the growth of the private sector. The survey looked at four main areas which were Business Interactions with Government, Ant-bribery Laws and Enforcement, Government and Civil Service Transparency; and Capacity for Civil Society Oversight. On Business Interactions with Government, Ghana scored 70 points, indicating a high risk of incentive for bribery in government-private interactions due to regulatory burden. Also on Government and Civil Service Transparency, the country did not perform wellscoring 71 percent which shows a low

quality administration and governmental transparency. However, on Anti-Bribery Laws and Enforcement, and Capacity for Civil Society Oversight, Ghana performed well by scoring 20 and 37 points respectively indicating a strong application of the laws against persons engaged in bribery cases. According to the researchers, the four main domain scores were weighted and combined with risk penalty added for individual domain scores that exceeded the overall country risk score. “Each country that took part in the survey is given a score from one to 100 for each domain, and for the total bribery risk; a higher score indicates a higher risk of business bribery” Founder and President of TRACE International, Alexandra Wrage explained. The survey was sponsored by USAID and PYXERA Global was launched in Accra. In a speech read on her behalf, the Chief Justice, Mrs. Georgina Theodora Wood noted that the fight against bribery is a significant piece needed to improve

integrity in the market place to make States desirable destinations for sustainable businesses that contribute effectively to national growth. She stated that Ghana has invested extensively in institutions and legislation targeted at controlling every form of criminal activity that affects commercial transparency, including bribery, money laundering, procurement fraud and fraud in other commercial transactions. “Institutions such as the Serious Fraud Office, Economic and Organized Crime Office, and the Financial Intelligence Center have been given oversight mandate to ensure integrity and transparency in aspects of financial and commercial activity such as commercial fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing”, she said. She maintained that there is still room for improvement even though much effort has been engaged to ensure institutional and regulatory support for confidence and transparency in commercial activity within the jurisdiction.

PRIVATIZATION OF ECG WILL ONLY BENEFIT THE RICH IN THE WEST FMR. BRITISH HIGH COMMISSIONER hana's intended privatization of its utility body (Electricity Company of Ghana) which provides electricity to the consumer and bills them has come under scrutiny by a former Deputy British High Commissioner, Craig Murray.

actually provide less than 20% of electricity generation into the grid yet scoop up over 60% of the revenues! The electricity bills of Ghana's people go to provide profits to fat cat foreign corporations and of course the western banks who finance them.”

Mr. Murray believes that the much talked about privatization being championed by the International Monetary Fund and the USA when pursued and implemented would only benefit the wealthiest in the west much to the detriment of the poor in Ghana.

“Indeed, in thirty years close experience the net result of all IMF activity in Africa is to channel economic resources to westerners and not to ordinary western people, but to the wealthiest corporations and especially to western bankers.

He said all the Independent Power Producers in Ghana are heavily financed by the western firms which take a chunk of the profits they make at the expense of the Ghanaian economy. “Those private sector Independent Power Producers

“Not content with the devastation they have already caused, the IMF and the USA are now insisting on the privatisation of ECG. The rationale is that a privatized ECG will be more efficient and ruthless in collecting revenue from the poor and from hospitals, clinics, schools and other state institutions. “Doubtless it will be. It will of course be more efficient in channelling still more profits to very rich businessmen and bankers. I suspect that is the real point. That privatized utilities bring better service and cheaper prices to the consumer has been conclusively and forever disproven in the UK. What it does bring is huge profits to the rich and misery to the poor. To unleash this on Ghana is acutely morally reprehensible,” Mr. Murray argued in a post. Source: Kasapa fm/Ghana AfricaWorldnews Ghana

Press Release

MAHAMA LADIES IN SOLIDARITY WITH DR. ZANETOR RAWLINGS

ahama Ladies is an organization that supports the women front of the ruling National Democratic Congress. We are upbeat and focused on seeing H.E John Dramani Mahama re-elected President on November 7, 2016.

are motivated by the aforementioned premise to take a stand and solidarized with Dr. Zanetor Rawlings as she scales through the ugly jaws of politics to get elected as the first female Member of

We are confident that Ghanaians will reward H.E John Dramani Mahama with a second term bid giving the numerous infrastructural developments he has embarked on that has brought respite to all and sundry despite the grueling challenges his administration has faced.

As a group made up of mainly women, we

The NDC has a flagbearer and First Lady that have development and growth of women at heart and we are motivated by this reality to stand with her till the battle i s w o n . We call on our ever supportive men to join hands with us in solidarity with Dr. Zanetor for change in Korley Klottey. Dr. Zanetor, Korley Klottey game changer, Korley Klottey symbol of hope, and a model to many young women. You have our support to give JM and NDC another victory.

While we take solace in the words of H.E John Dramani Mahama's words that there are still a lot of work to be done to lift the country from the doldrums, we are not oblivious of the momentous roles women have played, especially in the 21st century, towards the growth and development of their countries. Indeed election demographics and census project women as the deciding factors in election. In the light of this, we are poised to support any woman contesting the impending parliamentary election on the ticket of the NDC.

in the midst of the stiff battle being waged against her candidature.

Parliament for the Korle Klottey constituency. As an astute medical doctor, we know her capabilities which she has so far demonstrated since she acquiesced to calls on her to lead the NDC into the 2016 election as parliamentary candidate. We will like to assure her that we stand by her

Vote Dr. Zanetor for Korley Klottey Vote H.E John Dramani Mahama Vote NDC. #ChangingLives, #TransformingGhana Eye Zu, eye Za Long live Ghana, Long live Ghanaian Women, Long live Mahama Ladies. Signed… Hajia Tawa Zakari-Raji Chairperson Belinda Adadevoh

IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY: STOP BANKS FROM KEEPING PETROLEUM TAXES AND LEVIES

he Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (PAC) at its sitting on the 20th of January 2016, revealed that some Banks have withheld an amount of GHS83m for more than three years for reasons yet to be disclosed. The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) is worried about this revelation by the committee. ACEP has consistently maintained that the transparency and accountability mechanism around the governance of taxes and levies on downstream petroleum sector needs urgent improvement to ensure that taxes and levies are used for the intended purposes for which consumers are made to pay. It is instances like this that continue to burden citizens with levies such as TOR debt recovery levy with no definite schedule for repayment. The ministry of

finance has over the years violated the legal requirement to account for the receipt from the TOR debt recovery levy to parliament as required by law. TOR Debt Recovery Fund Levy Act 2003 (Act 642) states; “The Minister shall within three months after the end of each financial year, submit a report on the Fund to Parliament.” However the Minister does not complied with such requirement of the law. This is also a duty call on parliament to monitor the implementation of the laws they make to ensure that implementing bodies do not flout the laws. If parliament had been demanding timely accounting of public funds, we will not be talking about petroleum levies kept in Banks for more than three years. Society would have benefited from the investment of such monies.

In the specific instance of the GHS83m of petroleum taxes Kept by Banks, ACEP calls on parliament to probe into the matter and those responsible should be punished whilst the banks involved should be made to pay appropriate interest on it. We would like to reiterate our call to the Minister of Finance to consciously report on the receipt and utilization of taxes imposed on petroleum products. This will improve transparency and accountability and also improve public confidence in the payment of taxes. ACEP will continue to monitor the governance space on the petroleum sector, particular the reporting requirements under the Energy Sector Levies Act 2015 (Act 899) to ensure that Petroleum levies are not kept by banks or misapplied

AfricaWorldnews Ghana

Business News WAYS TO CONVERT BUSINESS CONCEPTS TO FUNDABLE PROJECTS

pecialists in business consulting will on February 13, 20 and 27, 2016 provide business proposal writing solutions to the corporate community and Ghanaian businesses at the Airport View Hotel. Project Management Experts (PME) as part of this training workshop will prepare participants on how to convert their business ideas/concepts into fundable projects and also groom them in persuasive business writing. The training which will be facilitated by experts, who have evaluated thousands of winning proposals and have decades of project management experience in various fields like construction, agriculture, mining, telecommunication, technology and many other fields, promises to address genuine challenges people face in selling their ideas to prospective clients/donors. Previously, PME organized trainings on writing winning business proposals for corporate individuals in Ghana, which was acclaimed by participants as being very insightful. “We have had a request from corporate individuals who are usually busy during the weekdays to organize one on weekends only,” said Mr. Joseph BaidooWilliams, a Director at PME.

“This training is to equip entrepreneurs, business startups, business persons, NGOs, C level managers, project leaders, and other project officers with the appropriate skills to be able to write great proposals that can be funded,” he added. “Writing proposals can be made easy if you learn the core elements/dynamics and apply it correctly to suit what the funding agency wants,” said the Director. Over the years key PME personnel have provided clients with project management services from initiation through planning, implementation, monitoring and control to project closure, across the African continent. Participants of the upcoming training, will master how to write winning project proposals and business plans, acquire help to develop ideas into fundable projects, by receiving firsthand information from experienced Project Managers with over 20 years of experience. PME has limited seats available. Interested persons are required to visit PME's official website (www.pmestation.com/contact) and fill the contact us form. PME can also be contacted through email [info@pmestation.com] or called on telephone numbers 0302-505-824 and 020-7630718. Information related to fees will be found on the same website.

JICA DONATES $137,500 ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT TO ECG FOR TRAINING

he Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has handed over equipment worth US$ 137,500 to the Electricity Company of Ghana under the Technical Cooperation Project for Electrical Engineers Training for African Countries. Among the training equipment were; portable cable fault locator, Oil tester, Primary current injection test set, Secondary injection test set and Potable power quality analyzer. The Chief Representative of JICA, Mr. Koji Makino commenting on the gesture said “as you are all aware, the Government of Ghana has been putting emphasis on the universal access of electricity to achieve equitable and inclusive economic development of Ghana. We are also quite aware the government is putting emphasis not only on construction of distribution facility but also the maintenance of the facility. In this regard, every year, ECG

employs engineers and technicians and provides the mandatory trainings to effectively maintain ECG facilities.” He continued: “This project is called technical cooperation on electrical engineers training for African countries in which Japanese experts are deployed to support ECG Training center for updating the training curriculum, renewing training equipment and brushing up of trainer's capacity. And through those activities, we aim to enhance the quality of training and professionalism on the job.” The Managing Director of ECG, Mr. Robert Dwamena promised that the generous gesture and technical cooperation will further strengthen the bond of friendship between the Government of Japan and Ghana. He promised that ECG would utilize the equipment to improve teaching and learning at the Training Centre.

REFUND OVERPRICED FEES TO CUSTOMERSPURC ORDERS GWCL AND ECG

he Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) have been ordered by the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) to immediately fix its metering and billing anomalies that have sparked uproar among consumers and the service providers. They have also been directed to refund the full amounts overcharged by crediting the accounts of the affected customers and inform them (customers) accordingly. That aside, they utility service providers were further directed to develop and implement detailed communication plan for engaging the public on the impact of the December 2015 tariffs and measures put in place to resolve implementation challenges arising from the tariffs. The order which was issued on January 20, 2016, prevailed on the utility service providers to strictly abide by the tariffs approved by the PURC. “The Commission hereby orders as followers: 1. Tariffs approved by the Commission apply only to consumption on and subsequent to the effective date stated in the applicable Gazette. 2. ECG and GWCL shall take immediate steps to rectify the bills of customers overbilled or wrongly billed from December 1, 2015”, a statement released by the Commission in part read. The two utility service providers have up to either by the end of the January billing cycle or February 5, 2016 to comply with the directives. They are also expected to submit details of their compliance reports to the PURC by Monday, February 8, 2016 and February 15, 2016 respectively. In the event of non-compliance, the “Electricity Company of Ghana and Ghana Water Company Limited shall automatically pay a surcharge of 5% of the excess amount over-billed to each customer whose account is not credited with the amount overcharged, in addition to the refund”. The directive by the PURC follows complaints by some customers of the GWCL and ECG that they have been billed with new rates effective December 1, 2015 aside the 67.2% and59.2% rate increase announced by the Commission respectively. AfricaWorldnews Ghana

Business News

SADA TO BE DEVELOPED BY GOVERNMENT.

overnment is determined to ensure that the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) zone attracts the right investors and accelerates the development of the area, Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, has said. He said the SADA Zone has great resources which if well harnessed and developed would create employment opportunities for many. Mr Akwesi Oppong-Fosu, Minister incharge of Development Authorities, said this on behalf of the Vice President, during the launch of a Master Planning Exercise for SADA. The event was on the theme: “Planning to transform the Savannah zone”. The meeting was to learn from the experiences of Surbana International Pte, a Singapore's leading institution on urban planning and design. The master plan for the SADA zone would articulate a strong and clear vision, identify gamechanging investments and actions to attract and channel public and private investments. The zone occupies 54.4 per cent of the land area of the country, comprising 64 administrative districts in the Northern, Upper West, Upper East regions and the northern parts of the Volta and Brong Ahafo regions. Vice President Amissah-Arthur commended management of SADA for repositioning the Authority into a viable venture, adding that the plan among others focuses on a unique regional vision. He said SADA since 2012 has facilitated many interventions to help transform the zone including the SADA millennium Villagers Programme which works in two regions, improving health, education and agriculture. Surbana International will work closely with Ghanaian professionals including the Town and Country Planning Department and the National Development Planning Commission to undertake socio-economic analysis of the zone.He continued. Mr Charles Abugre, Chief Executive Officer of SADA, said the Authority is

mandated to provide planning guidance to government to ensure accelerated, comprehensive and integrated development of the Northern Savannah Ecological zone. He said through the partnership with Surbana International, there would be human resource training for the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly and the Buipe

District. Mr Abugre said the Authority has launched a commercial agriculture investment guide with support from the Soil Research Institute, Queiroz Galvao of Brazil to complement the efforts of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

GRA TARGETS GHC27.59BN REVENUE FOR 2016

he Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) projects to collect GHC 27.59 billion this year (2016), Mr George Blankson, Commissioner General of the Authority, has said. The Authority exceeded its 2015 target of 21.57 billion Ghana cedis by 620 million Ghana cedis at 22.17 billion Ghana cedis, a 29.3 percent increase over that of 2014. Domestic direct tax is also expected to bring in GHC11.513 billion this year, whiles domestic indirect tax, and Customs are expected to bring in GHC5.916 billion and GHC10.159 respectively. Addressing this year's Annual Management Retreat in Ho, Mr Blankson said though the 2016 revenue target was challenging, the Authority would do its best to achieve the stated target. He attributed the excess revenue achieved in 2015 among others to increasing number of audits, regular external visits and inspection of taxpayers' businesses to retrieve outstanding taxes and roping in operators in the informal sector. Mr Blankson commended management and staff, especially the Revenue Taskforce for the achievement and charged them to do more in 2016. He said infrastructure works were progressing on some offices of the Authority and the Revenue University at Kpetoe. Mr Seth Terkper, Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, in a speech read on his behalf, said the Ministry had submitted proposals to the Speaker of Parliament to withdraw the one per cent tax on interest for individuals.

He said Parliament was also to reduce to 7.5 per cent withholding tax on services, which went to 15 per cent in the new Income Tax Act, 2015, (ACT 896). “This clearly shows that, this government is a listening government…” he said, because it was not the intention of government to unduly burden the citizenry with a plethora of taxes, but to raise the required revenue to pursue the development agenda. Mr Terkper said though payment of tax was not a pleasant experience for anybody, “taxation is the price we pay to live in civilized societies.” He said the attainment of middle income status meant that the country must look within to mobilize revenue as concessionary loans were becoming difficult acquire. Mr Terkper commended the GRA for exceeding its target in 2015 and urged the Authority to be more proactive in engaging the public through education on tax policies. He also called on the Authority to engage an independent “think-tank” to assist in the public education of some of its tax policies to achieve results. Mr Ralph Tufuor, Board Chairman, GRA, congratulated the Authority for achievements in 2015 irrespective of challenges. Togbe Kotoku XI, Paramount Chief of Kpenoe, on behalf the Agbogbomefia Togbe Afede XIV urged the Authority to continually educate the public on their tax obligations. The three-day retreat is on the theme, “The implementation Status of Strategic Plan 2015-2017 and Operational Plans-The Way Forward” AfricaWorldnews Ghana

Business News

MANAGER OF DUBAI CARES VISITS GHANA. CHINESE COMPANIES RUN TO GHANA Ms Nada Al Hajjri, the Country Interacting with the GSFP management Programmes Manager of Dubai Cares, a philanthropic organization working to improve children's access to quality primary education in developing countries, has paid a five-day working visit to Ghana. Ms Al Hajjri was in the country to gain a firsthand information and experience of the activities implemented by the Partnership for Child Development (PCD) with Dubai Cares funds. The PCD with funding from Dubai Cares is supporting the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) through the implementation of a Comprehensive School Health and Nutrition Project which seeks to improve the nutritional value of the school meals and even at household levels promote higher educational outcomes.

and stakeholders including, beneficiary school children, teachers, caterers and community members, Ms Al Hajjri said Dubai Cares was committed to support the underprivileged. She lauded the Ghana government's commitment towards the GSFP but was concerned about the delayed in payment to the caterers. She appealed to government to treat the payment to caterers as a priority, since without regular payment to them, they were bound to compromise on the quality and quantity of the school meals. Ms Al Hajjri expressed satisfaction with PCD's work, and hoped that the outcome of the impact evaluation exercise being carried out by PCD on the GSFP would help strategize the way forward.

TIGO GHANA READY TO DELIVER MORE VALUE IN 2016

s Cynthia Gordon, the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, Africa Division of Millicom, has ended a twoday working visit to Ghana. While in the country between January 18 19, she met with various stakeholders including members of the Ghana Leadership Team to discuss new and improved strategies to grow the business and deliver more value to customers. Some of Tigo Ghana's major initiatives for 2016 include network optimisation and revamping its product portfolios to attract and retain customers. Ms Gordon said Africa's telecommunications market is innovative and competitive, due to the size and scale of predicted growth adding that the focus needs to be on some key strategic pillars. “Ghana is an interesting and exciting market. It is one of the most vibrant and has enormous growth potential and we will differentiate ourselves by adding more value through existing infrastructure and partnerships. For instance with the increasing adoption of smartphones and internet consumption locally and the decreasing prices of smartphones worldwide, we can help drive up the numbers for smartphone connections through a win-win partnership with an affordable handset provider”, she said. She said the focus for Tigo in 2016 is to grow the volume and value of customers

by accelerating growth in data, Tigo Business and Mobile Financial Services, MFS. In 2015, Millicom, the parent company for Tigo, highlighted industry predictions of an exponential growth in Africa's mobile broadband subscriptions which are expected to almost triple by 2018 whilst data traffic in Sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to grow by 20 times by 2019 twice the global average. Industry research also forecasts that data revenues in Africa represents 10 percent 20 percent of total revenues, but this number is expected to reach 30 percent by 2018. Millicom's vision is to leverage on the role of the internet and digital technology to advance people's lives -financially and socially and Cynthia's task is to help position and sustain this within the Africa markets in the face of increasing competition. With responsibility for six countries operations in Africa: Tanzania, Ghana, DRC, Senegal, Rwanda and Chad, her visit to Ghana was second since her appointment on September 21, 2015. Cynthia has more than 20 years of telecom sector specific experience, leading mobile, broadband and fixed-line operations in emerging markets across Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Russia. She developed her Africa experience while at Orange, where she was VicePresident of Partnerships and Emerging Markets, and Ooredoo where she was Chief Commercial Officer.

ore Chinese firms are preparing to relocate to Ghana as a result of the slowdown in economic activities in that country. China has described Ghana as its largest import supplier currently and should the influx of Chinese companies take place soon, Ghana's manufacturing sector should prepare to take advantage of the situation to meet the possible shortfall in Chinese imports. However, the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) said Ghanaian industries do not have the production capacity to accomplish this. According to Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Trade & Industry Minister, who disclosed this, government was considering the best means to benefit from the slump. He explained that the Chinese themselves have decided to relocate some of their businesses to Ghana. “So we've actually written to our ministry to prepare to receive them. And later this year, we are going to have a Ghana China Investment Forum. There are lots of Chinese companies here who have larger delegations coming from China to do match-making and counter-parting to their colleagues. Our circumstances also permit this. We are going to send Ghanaian delegations sometime to China for business forums there as well.” Uncountable number He said: “Tens of thousands of Chinese companies need to relocate quickly based on their own economic circumstances for a number of reasons, for example labour cost and other things. Ghana has now become competitive. Africa has also become competitive. The raw materials are here anyway closer to us so if they can bring their technology and their capital, to add value to the raw materials. It makes economic sense to them and we are happy to accommodate other Chinese companies as long as they come in and they obey our laws, they do not go into 'galamsey' and other kinds of illegal activities.” Apprehension Already, some Chinese nationals living in Ghana have bad reputation since a lot of illegal gold mining, also known as 'galamsey' with its attendant pollution of water bodies in the country have been attributed to them. AfricaWorldnews Ghana

Business News

GOVERNMENT'S ACCOUNTS TO BE SCRUTINISED

inance Minister Seth Terkper has affirmed that from this year all government accounts -including transfers, transactions -will be monitored electronically by the ministry through a system known as 'B-Tracking'. The 'B-Tracking' system, he explained, is being piloted and will soon take off in order to strengthen the cash management system to include others such as the e-Travel Card, eFuel Card, and Treasury Single Account. He made this announcement at the Public Accounts Committee sitting in Accra. “The Controller and AccountantGeneral working with the Finance Ministry will put in place a big tracking system that is being developed. It will give us the capability to view all government accounts without exception from all

banks, all accounts,” Terkper said. Mr. Terkper also added that the ministry is already in partnership with the Bank of Ghana -- and just as it is doing for payroll management, when the Public Financial Management bill is passed, it will empower the ministry to monitor on a real-time basis. Government has grappled with employee salaries and financial irregularities in the civil service in the past, and Terkper stated that some of the actions it is taking to improve payroll management and also manage impacts from the compensation bill in 2016 include: Electronic Payroll Input Forms (eForms); Interfacing Payroll Database with SSNIT Biometric data; Nationwide Pension Payroll Head Count; Enhancing control and oversight. He also said government is committed to rolling out a progressive Human

Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) aimed at improving human resource management and development in the public service. A new Public Financial Management bill is also being drafted to be passed into law in 2016 to provide a stronger regime for budget planning and formulation, execution and monitoring. The PFM strategy was developed and approved by Cabinet to further enhance efficiency, transparency and accountability of the Public Financial Management Systems. The Finance Minister also said that the PFM will ensure rules that are used to put the Controller in charge of personnel -- whether appointment, promotion, transfers, retirement or other forms of staff leaving the service -- will have to be validated first by the Public Services Commission.

AIRTEL ADJUDGED THE INFLUENTIAL TELECOM OF THE YEAR

irtel-Ghana has emerged as the most influential telecommunications company on social media for 2015 in the latest rankings released by the Ghana Social Media Rankings (GSMR). The comprehensive annual rankings measures a company or brand's social media engagement, post reach, mentions and activations across key social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. A statement issued in Accra by Mr Richard Ahiagble, Head Corporate Communication, said Airtel Ghana has the largest following in the telecom industry on Facebook with over 571,000 followers and this is besides the huge following on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Ms Rosy Fynn, the Marketing Director of Airtel, said “ours is a company that deeply believes in engaging with our

customers across all touch points including on social media. “Our relentless commitment to remain close to our customers, to listen, engage and respond to their needs is core to our strategy. When you have a passion to engage customers as we do, they provide you with the insights to delight and enrich their lives every day and that is our hallmark as the fastest growing telecommunications company in Ghana”, she said. The statement said this recognition really goes first to our cherished customers who continue to make us the telecom company of choice and to the hardworking Customer Experience team who lead the engagement with our customers on a daily basis. It said Airtel- Ghana's leadership on Social Media is not new as it was recognised as the most socially devoted brand by Social bakers, a

global social media analytics firm. Socialbakers monitor over 8 million social profiles across all the major social media platforms of companies on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+ and VK to set a benchmark for response times and response rates to questions from fans and customers of multiple companies. Airtel Ghana, according to the Ghana Social Media Rankings, outperformed all the other telecom companies and its own performance in 2014, to become the Most Influential Telecom Company for 2015 and also the most talked about. Data used for the rankings were gathered and evaluated throughout the year with the final data used for rankings recorded on the 28th of December, 2015. The Rankings was conducted by Avance Media and CliQAfrica. AfricaWorldnews Ghana

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AIDS AMBASSADOR FORCE TO DENY STATUS

zidzor Yawavi Mensah,Fomer AIDS Ambassador has revealed she publicly denied her HIV positive status because her children were being ridiculed in school. In an open letter to President John Mahama, the controversial Ghana AIDS Commission explains, “Love for my children and fear for the future concerning HIV related stigma compelled me to publicly deny my HIV status putting the entire world in the state of shock.” She also wants compensation for her five years service to the AIDS Commission before her contract was terminated. According to Dzidzor Mensah, her contract with the AIDS Commission was terminated by the Commissions Director, Angela El Adas, because she was suspected of using her HIV positive status to promote her personal interests.

My heart broken and apology letter to President John Mahama, to all schools and churches, to all institutions and the media in Ghana and abroad who have hosted me to educate them with my HIV story I lied about my HIV status to protect my children. I test positive to HIV in the year 2007. Love for my children and fear for the future concerning HIV related stigma compelled me to publicly deny my HIV status putting the entire world in the state of shock. I entered into an agreement with the Ghana AIDS Commission five years ago to disclose my HIV status publicly giving a

“A journalist called Rebecca Awuah at GBC interviewed me on GTV and in the process showed a gospel music I recorded when I was barely 17 years. Due to that, Angela said i was using the HIV campaign to promote my music.

“I heard some staff of AIDS commission say I belonged to an opposition party which I think may also be another factor for my termination,” she explained in the open letter released Sunday.

The former AIDS Ambassador shocked the country in 2014 when she declared she was not HIV positive. She said then: ''I am not HIV positive, but I did confess that I was for the sake of those who are really HIV positive''. Dzidzor Mensah also apologized to Ghanaians and institutions who had invited her to share her story. Read her letter below. My heartbroken apology letter to President Mahama and Ghanaians for public denial of my HIV positive status

Rebecca Awuah,a journalist at GBC interviewed me on GTV and in the process showed a gospel music I recorded when I was barely 17 years. Due to that, Angela said i was using the HIV campaign to promote my music. I was unable to attend a particular program because my mother in law wasn't available to help me with my new baby. I heard some staff of AIDS commission say I belonged to an opposition party which I think may also be another factor for my termination. The termination letter affected me both physically and psychologically for years and I struggled many times with sleepless nights even as at now. But since my termination wasn't made public, schools and churches continued to engage my services. I then decided to intensify my education with a movie I produced using my story. I took loan from UT Bank and from some individuals to produce this movie leaving me with huge debt as at now. My exhusband decided to run away from Ghana due to stigma which he blamed me severely for. My children started experiencing rejection at school making my little boy always telling me he wouldn't go to school again because he was being called AIDS boy. This broke my heart as a mother.

“I was unable to attend a particular program because my mother in law wasn't available to help me with my new baby.

“The termination letter affected me both physically and psychologically for years and I struggled many times with sleepless nights even as at now. But since my termination wasn't made public, schools and churches continued to engage my services,” she said.

These were reasons for my termination.

I needed a new life for my children and since Ghana as a nation left me to my fate after all

human face to HIV. With my past experience of stigma and rejection from house to house, abuse and discrimination, I requested for shelter protection from the AIDS commission which was agreed. The campaign finally kicked off with my images on billboards and my videos being aired across the nation.

I have done to achieve a great reduction in HIV new infections especially among pregnant women and their babies in Ghana.

I have so far attended over two hundred and fifty schools and an uncountable number of churches nationwide with my education.

The CID can attest to that. To prove to that, I thereby give the go ahead to the CID to publish my health status which was recorded in Korle bu maternity block in the year 2007, 3rd September. The principal nursing officer at the Korle bu maternity block called Joyce Dodoo conducted my first HIV test on 3rd September 2007.

A year after my contract, Dr Angela El Adas Director of AIDS commission terminated my contract leaving me homeless, and my compensation for risking myself and family also taken from me.

In order to get a new life for my children, I took the wrong decision to publicly deny my HIV status. I am not a criminal, neither am I fraudulent AIDS ambassador.

Yes indeed my current HIV viral load test for some years now shows undetectable AfricaWorldnews Ghana

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meaning

I have no virus in my blood anymore, which some may call wonders of scientific retro-viral drugs, but I see it as a miracle. And I believe any person living with HIV can also achieve with Constance intake of the medication and with prayers. His Excellency, President John Dramani Mahama is the chairman of the AIDS

Commission and he launched the campaign I embarked on when he was the vice president of Ghana. I therefore humbly request of him to pay me my compensation and my shelter which was agreed upon since Madam Angela has taken it away from me. I do not need a lawyer since am powerless to fight the state, but I therefore will leave the entire nation only to the judgment of

GHANA'S FIRST(PART 1)

ilestones and achievements are always celebrated and honored worldwide.

named the 7th Secretary General of the United Nations making him the first black African to hold the prestigious office.

Some are marked with awards and national recognition. Others are just talked about a few times and then fade into history.

He served the UN from January 1997 to December 2006. During this time he worked hard for the rights of individuals, particularly women. He often said that

Ghana is a great nation which has been blessed with many pace-setting achievements and unmatched milestones. Let us look at a few of these and celebrate the greatness of this historic West African country. Jovago Africa's #1 online hotel booking portal brings you some facts that make Ghana great.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;More countries have understood that women's equality is a prerequisite for development.â&#x20AC;? Kofi Annan was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for having revitalized the UN and for giving priority to human rights. The Nobel Committee also recognized his commitment to the struggle to contain the spreading of the HIV virus in Africa and his declared opposition to international terrorism www.nobelprize.org

1.Ghana was the first black African nation to gain independence from colonial rule. On 6th March1957 Ghana (formerly called the Gold Coast) attained full independence from the colonial rule of the British. Hence the United Kingdom gave up its control over the colony of the then Gold Coast, Ashanti, Northern Territories and British Togoland. Since 1957, Ghana has independently grown from strength to strength under the able leadership of various Ghanaian leaders and government officials. 2. Ghana was the first African Country to win both the FIFA U-17 and FIFA U-20 world cup tournaments. In the world of sports, specifically football, Ghana is spectacular. Ghana is remembered in history as the first African country to win the FIFA U-17 world cup staged in Italy in 1991. Although Ghana won it again in Ecuador 1995, it is the first win in 1991 which holds much significance as it was the first time an African Country won that particular trophy.

A WEEP FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS Ghana is undoubtedly one of the most peaceful countries in Africa in terms of w a r a n d c r i m e s . But Ghana is not free from corruption and injustice which makes the country unpleasant for its citizens especially the poor who turns to suffer at the detriment of their supervisors and officials. Right from the District Assembly level to the Presidency alongside public and private institutions, there have been several instances of alleged and proven corruption and injustice. This menace keeps going on for so many reasons. Among them is that most of these officials who are found guilty of squandering state monies or indulging in acts of injustice are not prosecuted. In most cases, they are suspended, transferred or sacked.

Also in 2009, when the FIFA U-20 world cup was staged in Egypt, Ghana surpassed every obstacle to become the first African Nation to win that tournament.

In few cases where they are taken to the law court, they are fined lesser than the amount stolen. The lack of no severe

3. On December 13, 1996 Kofi Annan was

the Almighty God if am still denied of my right. I therefore use this medium to express my sincere gratitude to all who stood by me and to all who judged me wrongly in my trials and tribulations. God Bless our Homeland Ghana. Dzidzor Yawavi Mensah (Former Ghana Aids Ambassador)

punishment for perpetrators somewhat encourage other state and private officials to find dubious means of defrauding the state or their institutions. Another reason why this menace still lives with us is because greater percentage of Ghanaians are timid, thus unable to agitate or make strong calls for accountability and justice. The far a corruption or an injustice issue can go is its discussion in the media where panelists express their displeasure. Even during such times, there is someone who will be defending the culprit. Social media is the next place where such issues are discussed where the ordinary Ghanaian also expresses their displeasure or in a way lambaste the fellow in question. It is so rare to see a pressure group or the ordinary Ghanaian calling for the prosecution of someone or accountability to the extent that it will yield results. One of its kind where Ghanaian actress Yvonne Nelson called on Ghanaians to assist her hold a vigil in the wake of severe power outages across the country, though successful, a section of the public and officials labeled her as a member of the opposition, disrespectful among others. Some people went to the extent of abusing her personally with phone calls and on social media. Lack of proper supervision is also one reason why corruption and injustice still stares us in the face as Ghanaians. It's as if those who are tasked to supervise rather team up with those working to dupe the nation and their various institutions. I could go on and on to give simple reasons why corruption is still alive so glare in Ghana. But in the midst of all these, some selfless journalists have dedicated their work to unravel some of these corruptions and injustice acts going on in the various institutions. Example of such revelations brought into the lime light by the award winning investigative journalist AfricaWorldnews Ghana

Social AnasAremeyawAnas are Inside Ghana's Madhouse (January 2010), In the interest of the State (April 2010), Orphans Home of Hell-Osu (September 2010), Enemies of the Nation (February 2011), Ghana's Gold (December 2011), Presidential Assignment-Stealing the People's Power (January 2012), Dons of the Forest (June 2012), Deadly Gold (July 2012), Wild Ghana Project (September 2012), Spirit Child (January 2013), The Messiah of Mentukwa (May 2013), Ghana Sex Mafia and Ghana's Soul Takers (April 2014) and Ghana's Food for Thought (December 2014). Another hard working award winning journalist who have been putting in much efforts to unravel corruption and injustice in Ghana is Manasseh Azure Awuni ; an investigative journalist presently working with Joy FM. Notable among them was The GYEEDA Rot (2013), The SADA Rot (2014), The World Cup Kickback Scandal (2014) and the Gay Doctor (2014). The list cannot be ended without mentioning another hardworking journalist also working with Joy FM; Seth Kwame Boateng. He has been in the new lately for his ground breaking documentary Locked and Forgotten which even won him a citation from President John DramaniMahama and adjudged overall Best Journalist in 2014 by the Ghana Journalist Association. He also produced documentaries like Buying Life (2014), Pain from Cursed Cell (2014) among others. In life, the goal of every worker is to finish whatever project it is and then see results or make the solution work. The same applies to these assets of ours. Am not sure Anas, Manasseh and Seth are just so passionate about journalism that they pick up their equipment and go out there to investigate corrupt and injustice issues in the society. All of them have on several platforms shared how far they go and how dangerous the work gets sometimes to the extent of nearing their graves. Thus the utmost goal of these journalists is to see that desired change that triggered them from the onset to take on a particular project.

whether change and justice is carried out as expected but looking from afar, everyone can attest that the desired end result do not happen. In the wake of the revelations, authorities who were supposed to be working but sleep on the job for such corruption and injustice to be happening stand on their feet to get the mess cleaned up but after the heat is gone and another topical issue comes into the limelight, most of the happenings continue. Due to this, the mess does not get cleaned up entirely but rather give culprits the awareness on how to restructure and divert their dubious acts. Let me take Enemies of the Nation as an example. This was a documentary filmed by AnasAremeyawAnas on the fraud and corruption that goes on at TemaHabor. It showed how officials of CEPS who are supposed to be taking tax for the state team up with importers, receive bribe from them and allow them to transact business at the loss of the state. It is no news that many of these happening revealed by Anas still goes on at the TemaHabor. Another is the SADA Rot, a mystery unraveled by Manasseh Azure. This documentary revealed the fraud and corruption going on at the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority. How SADA lied about growing trees in the Northern Region, how SADA claimed of investing in a Guinea Fowl project but had no evidence to show for it but rather gave an excuse that all the Guinea Fowl had flown to Burkina Faso (the lamest excuse I have ever heard in my life), etc. The CEO of SADA at the time AlhadjiIddi was in a way found to be the main culprit together with other staff. But the worse was to sack the CEO, change members of the Board and work goes on. Virtually no one was seriously prosecuted for the huge amount that was cited to go into personal pockets.

So the question is, do changes and justice come to the projects they embark on?

One documentary that made the biggest waves and took even the President to the prisons is Locked and Forgotten by Seth Kwame Boateng. Locked and Forgotten reveals how some citizens are taken into prison for remand but never get their cases to be investigated. And in many of such cases, the people are somewhat innocent.

I have not gone back after a project carried out by these gentlemen to see

Ghana's prisons is said to be over populated who gives way for disease outbreak, hardship, etc. but every day, our judges sentence and remand people. Some of these sentencing are said to be outrageous because a man who stole cassava or mobile phone can be jailed 10 years. A boy arrested for smoking marijuana can be jailed 15 years. Others are in remand for over 5 years where their cases never get back to the law court or investigated. In the wake of this documentary, about 100 remand prisoners were released doubled with the call by several social groups for a bill to be passed which will see less or no jail sentence for minor crimes whiles others will see only fines. As at now, it is not news that a lot of people are still locked up and forgotten whiles others will still be locked and forgotten. This bill could take a long time to get passed by parliament because as soon as the heat of the issue goes down, even the parliamentarians will seem to forget. Some judges will as well forget or ignore and continue to sentence even minor offenders to many years in prison forgetting that there ever existed a documentary revealing the injustice caused by their actions. In conclusion, I think it is unfair to these hardworking journalists that after going the extra mile to unravel such corruption and injustice in our society, justice and changes are not ensured well. I don't think the award or citation they mostly get is their dream but rather solution to the problems since the solutions will make that better Ghana they always desire and want to live in. Also, we have to be bold enough as citizens to support such selfless and hardworking fellows who are putting their lives at risk for the betterment of us all. I will also urge our beloved fellows to conduct a cross check after sometime and ascertain the level of change where the findings will be made known to the public. LET'S RALLY BEHIND THE BOLD!!! God Bless Our Homeland Ghana and put the corrupt to shame. COURTSEY:KWAME MCJOSEPH AfricaWorldnews Ghana

Entertainment

KISA CLAIMS SHE DOESNT LOVE SEX

One of Ghana's hottest actress Kisa Gbekle who celebrated her 24th birthday last Saturday donated to the Children's ward at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

Are you dating and if yes what kind of man are you into?

Kisa is a young Ghanaian actress and singer who hails from the Volta region of Ghana, she is a product of Ghallywood Academy and she is such a talented actress and a very cool and lovely lady.

Don't have any

I am single and dating Who is your celebrity crush?

Wanna become big in the world as the best from Ghana so that I can be able to help people, the needy with what God will bless me with. Can you talk about a fan encounter that completely took you by surprise? Is a lot, can't really point any out now lol . Is just amazing Well does your music carry a particular message or is it meant for pure pleasure, and how many tracks do you have as at now?

During an interview with Foxvibes.com, Miss Gbekle revealed her beautiful mum was the one who inspired her to pursue her dream of acting.

Music is not something am really looking at, I know music is people's business but is not my business yet and I have 3 single tracks

Miss Gbekle revealed she is from a poor home and she was a very humble kid when she was growing up in Aflao in the Volta region. When asked how and when she was discovered, Miss Gbekle revealed she was discovered from Ghallywood Academy by Abdul Salam when she won the best actress of the school in 2012 September and her movie debut was Accra Runs which features the likes of Bismark The Joke and Eddy Nartey. Kisa Gbekle also revealed she would have been a lawyer or business lady if she were not an actress or singer. Kisa Gbekle further revealed some challenges she has been facing in filming and she said sometimes the lines, she might get them correctly and the person she is acting with will mess his or her own up and that calls for several shots. Read Excepts From The Interview Below

Which project is going to release first in the coming days? New beginning and Vernom On what do you spend the most: clothes, accessories, perfumes, underwear, or anything else? I spend much on my family. What is your favourite music genre? Ok I love hip pop, highlife and hip life. Who is your favourite artist? Favourite is stonebwoy Do you have any hobbies? Yes sure, working, listening to music and gyming Do you have a favourite actor or actress and who is he or she? In Ghana is Majid and Adjetey Annan, ladies is Jackie and Nadia

Do you love sex and what's your favourite position? Don't love Sex To Wrap it up, Kisa gave a word of advice to kids who look up to her as their inspiration and role model that â&#x20AC;&#x153;They don't need a soothsayer to tell them their future. What they can think of they can become it. They should Work hard and remind themselves of what they wanna be and it is done. And pray always.â&#x20AC;? Ryan Cornelius

What are your personal goals/ambitions?

AfricaWorldnews Ghana

Entertainment ME WITHOUT AN AWARD WILL DISCOURAGE UPCOMING ARTISTES-KOFI KINAATA Kofi Kinaata,a Fante musician who hails from the Western Region says organizers of the Ghana Music Awards will not be fair to upcoming artistes if his songs, 'Susuka' and 'Crusade' do not win any award at this year's awards.

the normal featuring or the collaboration where one person goes to the studio, records a verse and the other will just come and record. There were certain words Kinaata would want me to say in the song so he can say something about it.”

He said, now that 'Susuka' has become popular and “looking at the work I put into it, if it doesn't get any award, upcoming artiste will get discouraged and not do good songs.”

He added that, sometimes, the lights go off just 15 minutes into the recording and they didn't have money to fuel a generator.

The Fanti rapper said this while premiering his new soft tempo romantic single 'Sweetie Pie' on Hitz FM's 'Showbiz Filla' with Amanda Jissih.

He rubbished rumours of a beef between Kofi Kinaata and Tee Flow.

Another musician, Donzy, who was in the studio with Kofi to premiere his new single also reiterated Kofi's comments He said “if songs like 'Crusade' and 'Susuka' do not get any nominations, it will discourage young and upcoming artistes who are looking up to the likes of Sarkodie and EL. They won't put in extra effort to do good song; they'll just do any party songs which will not help their career.” On what inspired 'Susuka', Donzy said, he and Kofi Kinaata were at Kinaata's

AHUOFE PATRI IN RIPPED JEANS

girlfriend's birthday party at Labadi Beach when he got the idea for the song. “I started with the ladies and gentlemen, and Kinaata said something so then we were like we have to hit the studio.” Donzy revealed that it was very challenging recording 'Susuka'. “I had to just be in the house and think about this very deeply. It wasn't just like

“I have so many responsibilities and I don't have time for these things,” he said. Kofi, who says he used to play football and was not certain if he was going to do music, also revealed that he didn't know 'Susuka' would become so popular. Contrary to perceptions, the 'Crusade' singer also made it clear that 'Susuka' is a hiplife song and not a gospel song. “We do hiplife, we are not gospel artistes. We won't say we do gospel because of the chorus, we were just trying to be creative and we succeeded. It's just one good song,” Kofi said.

SHATTA WALE DISCLOSES HIS FEMALE CELEBRITY CRUSH

hatta Wale in an interview with Deloris Frimpong Manso on the Delay Show disclosed his female celebrity crush. It was on a question he was asked by the hostess Delay as to which female celebrity appeals to him.It was quite shocking when the dancehall commando revealed Tonto Dikeh a Nigerian actress as his female celebrity crush.

ast Friday, Ahuofe Patri who's is famously known for her Youtube skits with Kalybos and her music video appearances, shared some new photos on social media. She stepped out rocking the ripped jeans trend, and a bright yellow top to go. She didn't spare the hills, as she posed for the camera.

”I think I will choose Tonto Dikeh as my female celebrity crush,she is beautiful and I like her.” He therefore revealed the female musicians he would love to marry,date and the one he will just have babies with when he was queried to put Eazzy, Kaakie and Mzbel in those categories.

”I would date Eazzy among the three,marry Mzbel and have babies with Kaakie”,he said this on the hot seat segment of the Delay Show. AfricaWorldnews Ghana

Sports AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2016: SERENA WILLIAMS BEATS MARIA SHARAPOVA, ROGER FEDERER THROUGH

erena Williams beat Maria Sharapova for the 18th time in a row to reach the Australian Open semi-finals. The American defending champion, seeded number one and chasing a 22nd Grand Slam title, saw off fifth seed Sharapova 6-4 6-1 at Melbourne Park. It is 12 years since Williams lost to the Russian, and the world number one moves on to face fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the last four. In the men's draw, Roger Federer beat Tomas Berdych 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 6-4. The Swiss 17-time Grand Slam champion will play top seed Novak Djokovic or seventh seed Kei Nishikori in the semi-finals on Thursday. Federer racks up more records. The four-time Australian Open champion

claimed his 80th match win at Melbourne Park, taking him into a record 12th semi-final and 39th Grand Slam semi-final at the year's first major tournament. Williams extends dominance over Sharapova Sharapova made it a real contest for almost an hour but eventually buckled under the American's power and the second set was a one-sided affair. Williams, 34, appeared to struggle with her ball toss in the morning sunshine on Rod Laver Arena as she fell 2-0 down and was not at her best in the opening stages. The intensity ratcheted up as the set progressed with both players repeatedly yelling "Come on!" as they tried to grab the initiative.Sharapova, 28, held on valiantly in an eight-minute game to claw her way back to 4-4, but the pressure told in game 10 and

Williams clinched the set at the fourth opportunity with a volley. The world number one called for a brief visit from the doctor at the changeover, but powered on stronger than ever in the second set, making it 12 games out of 15 as she sealed victory after one hour and 32 minutes. "It was super intense," said Williams. "She's an incredibly intense and focused player who was world number one. "When you're playing someone so great you have to come out with a lot of fire and intensity. "I've been playing this whole week aggressive and I don't think I started out playing that way. At the start of the second set I wanted to play the way I have been doing to get to the quarterfinals." Sharapova said: "It's motivating because she's at a different level. She makes you go back to the drawing board, not just for me, but for many other players. "She makes you work. That's inspiring." Radwanska earlier beat Spanish 10th seed Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1 6-3 to reach her second Melbourne semi-final in three years. Federer reaches 12th Melbourne semifinal Berdych had won their past two meetings at Grand Slams but the most recent of those was four years ago, and Federer remained a solid favourite having won their past four matches. The Swiss, 34, fell behind early in the first and third sets but hit back immediately both times and was dominant for the most part on serve. He made a fast start to the opening-set tie-break and was in control from then on, breaking twice in the second set and making the decisive move at 4-4 in the third. "I'm very, very happy," said Federer. "Tomas has caused me a lot of problems over the years, but it's been a pleasure playing against him, he's the type of player who makes you better. "I thought I played a good match. I was aggressive, had variety in there. It was good conditions to play in.”

SAM YEBOAH SATISFIED WITH DEBUT FOR HEARTS OF OAK Former Hearts of Lions striker Samuel Yeboah says he is delighted having finally made his debut for the Pbobians. Kenichi Yatsuhashi unleashed Yeboah in the friendly game but was still unable to cop a victory. Yeboah who played in that game says the game was a good exercise which they responded well despite ending in a stalemate. “The game was a good one and everyone who saw it knew we are playing very well,” Yeboah said after the game against Inter Allies “I am happy with the way things have gone but we will have to all wait and see what happens.” Courtesy of GHANAsoccern

RAMIRES TO MOVE TO JIANSU SUNING ON £25M DEAL

helsea's Ramires is close to a £25m move to Chinese side Jiangsu Suning.

The 28-year-old Brazil midfielder, signed from Benfica for about £17m in 2010, agreed a new four-year deal in October but has only started seven Premier League games this season. Jiangsu finished ninth in China's top tier in 2015 and are managed by former Blues defender Dan Petrescu. Ramires has helped the Blues win the Premier League, FACup, League Cup, Champions League and Europa League. AfricaWorldnews Ghana

Sports MOURINHO JOINS POLITICS

acked Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho has joined the Portuguese presidential campaign trail, backing conservative candidate Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in a video posted on YouTube.

“I have a clear understanding that we

“I know the man and the politician. We need a charismatic winner,” added the former Real Madrid and Inter Milan coach.

The 52-year-old Mourinho, who parted company with Premier League champions Chelsea last month, called Rebelo de Sousa a “charismatic winner” in the video message. “It's the first time I publicly state my support for a candidate, because I think Portugal needs to make the right choice, more than ever,” said Mourinho, who looked relaxed and was casually dressed, comfortably sitting on a couch as he addressed viewers.

think that's what Portugal needs right now.

“So, without any reservation, I take this public position for the first time: I vote Marcelo and I do so because I am convinced he is the right choice for us.”

need a winner, but not only a winner. We need charisma, and uniting these winning qualities and charisma, I

Rebelo de Sousa, a 67-year-old professor of law and veteran TV political commentator, is leading the polls in the race to succeed conservative president Aníbal Cavaco Silva with voting getting underway

KOTOKO READY FOR GPL OPOKU NTI

umasi Asante Kotoko General Manager, Opoku Nti says the dethroned premier league champions are ready to wrestle back the premier league title last season. The Porcupine Warriors lost out the league crown to Ashanti Gold after winning it for three consecutive seasons.

And the depth in squad has given Opoku Nti confidence ahead of the commencement of the Ghana Premier league season which will start on February 20. “Asante Kotoko is ready for the

prepared for it,” Opoku Nti told Atinka FM. The former Black Stars striker revealed the target of Kotoko for the year is to win all competitions before them. “We have to go Africa (next season). We have to go back to Africa. We have to announce our presence in Africa again; so the league title and the FACup are our target.

They went into the transfer market and signed as many as eight players to augment the squad. The signings gave the squad enough depth and it was divided into two to compete in two different tournaments the GHALCA Six invitational tournament season. Even if the league is starting and a friendly match against Al next week, i can tell you we are fully Ittihad in Tripoli.

“I believe Kotoko have a strong team and the dream we had for this year is on course. The players we targeted to take into the new Premier League season and to give the coach more options were signed.” He added. Asante Kotoko divided their squad into two play each other on Sunday. AfricaWorldnews Ghana