Day: May 16, 2023

A 25-year-old online driver has been remanded into police custody by the Circuit Court Nine over an alleged attempt to transport dried plants suspected to be narcotic drug.

Logko Logko Pacome Aymar had hidden the substance into a ‘chic choc,’ strawberry carton containing 14 metallic containers and was about to transport it to Douala, Cameroon when he was arrested.

He denied conspiring with one Winfred Henri Manga Dika, on the run, to transport the exhibit without license by the Ministry of Health.

Aymar will be brought back to Court on Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

Police Chief Inspector Isaac Anquandah told the Court presided over by Mr Samuel Bright Acquah that the Complainant in the case is the Managing Director of Koinonia Impex, a Freight Forwarding Agency located at Akweteyman near Lapaz, Accra, and a resident of Teshie, Accra.

Aymar, the accused, is an Uber driver and a Cameroonian, resident of Cantonments, a suburb of Accra.

He said on May 5, 2023, at about 1030 hours, the Complainant was at his workplace when the accused went there with a Chic Choc Strawberry carton containing fourteen (14) metallic containers to be exported to Douala, Cameroon in Central Africa.

There, the complainant decided to check the content of the parcel and found that all the containers contained quantity of dried plant material suspected to be narcotic drug, Prosecution said.

The Court heard that the Complainant therefore arrested Aymar and handed him together with the exhibits to a witness in the case.

Chief Inspector Anquandah said later, the case was referred to the Drug Law Enforcement Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters of the Ghana Police Service for investigation.

In his investigation cautioned statement, the accused person confessed to the crime and mentioned one Winfried Henri Manga Dika, a Nigerian, as his source of supply.

The Court heard that during investigations, the accused person led the Police to his place of abode at Cantonments where ten partly smoked dried plant material suspected to be narcotic drug and GHS810.00 suspected to be proceeds from the narcotic trade were recovered from his room after a search.

Chief Inspector Anquandah said Aymar also led police to a certain house at Kwabenya, Accra where he claimed his supplier resided, but he was not met.

Exhibits have been forwarded to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Accra for examination and report, he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Veteran Highlife musician Kwadwo Akwaboah Snr. has passed away.

The legendary Highlife crooner died on Monday, May 15, 2023, after a short illness.

His son, Akwaboah Jnr., one of the top musicians in Ghana currently, took to social media to announce his dad’s passing while bidding him farewell.

Akwaboah Senior was a prominent member of the Ghanaian music industry and an inspiration to many aspiring artistes.

He was a talented guitarist and often played with some of Ghana’s great musicians, including the late C.K. Mann and Rex Owusu Marfo.

He was also a member of the legendary Ghanaian Highlife band, the Oheneba Ntim Barima Band.

The funeral arrangements would be announced by the family in due course.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr. Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, a Deputy Minister of Justice and Attorney-General has suggested the need for the creation of a special fund for chiefs to carry out some special development projects in their areas.

According to him, like the District Assemblies’ Common Fund (DACF), such a fund would facilitate for the chiefs, from the paramountcy jurisdiction to the community level to initiate and execute specific socio-economic development projects critical to enhance the well-being of the people.

Mr. Tuah-Yeboah made the suggestion on Tuesday in his opening remark as the Chair of the opening ceremony for the third annual conference and workshop for queen mothers underway at Abesim-Sunyani.

Organised by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), a German political foundation in partnership with the National Queen Mothers’ Platform and the Bono Regional Queen Mothers’ Association, the two-day event aims to explore the complex relations between traditional leaders and the modern legal and political systems in Africa on the theme ‘Traditional Leaders in Contemporary African Governance: The Clash of Laws, Authorities and Responsibilities’.

It is also to provide a forum for discussion and debate on other related important issues and ‘to explore ways in which traditional leaders can be integrated into modern governance systems while still maintaining their cultural identities and authorities’.

The entire paramount queen mothers from the Bono and Bono East Regions and two accredited representatives from the remaining regions nationwide are participating in the conference.

Mr. Tuah-Yeboah stated if the creation of the fund was considered and formulated as part of national development policy, its implementation would accelerate holistic national development.

That, he explained was because once every locality had a form of traditional leader, through the fund, every town or village across the country would benefit from a particular development project year in, year out.

He argued the absence of queen mothers as members of the judicial committees of the local, regional and national house of chiefs ‘cannot stand against any constitutional test’, saying as a nation it was therefore time for a due consideration to be given to that for public interest.

Dr. Arne Wulff, Resident Representative, KAS-Ghana in an address stated the chieftaincy institution existed to promote the general well-being of the society, saying that traditional leaders were therefore ‘not to be served but to serve’ to enhance the daily lives of the people.

Nana Yaa Ansua, the Paramount Queen Mother of Drobo Traditional Area and the President, Bono Regional Paramount Queen Mothers Association in a welcoming address stated that learning had no limit, so the conference/workshop was a learning process for them to build on their knowledge as traditional leaders.

Nana Ansua, also the Executive Secretary of the Queen Mothers’ Platform – Ghana recalled the theme of their previous two conferences/workshops held in 2021 and 2022 in Sunyani and Akosombo respectively focused on mediation and arbitration, saying that informed the choice of this year theme and its related issues for discussion.

Nana Amponsah Dokua III, the Paramount Queen Mother of Osudoku Traditional Area and President of the Queen Mothers’ Platform-Ghana urged queen mothers to promote unity to attain continuous peace in their respective jurisdictions and localities because unity and peace were two vital ingredients for rapid progress in any society.

Established in 1955 and had since expanded its activities to more than 120 countries around the world, KAS promotes democracy, rule of law, social market economy and human rights.

It works closely with political, social and economic leaders in various countries to promote sustainable development, good governance as well as supporting political parties and civil society organisations in developing countries to strengthen their capacities to promote democratic processes.

Source: Ghana News Agency

One hundred and six families in Seychelles are due to receive newly built government housing units by the middle of this year as part of the state’s plans to continue housing its people.

The announcement was made by Billy Rangasamy, the Minister for Land and Housing, following a visit to eight housing project sites on Tuesday.

The housing units, in the form of apartment blocks, are part of the ambitious government-funded project announced by former President Danny Faure in his 2017 State of the Nation Address to build 24 houses in 24 districts in 24 months.

Rangasamy was accompanied by top officials in his ministry to inspect the progress of the work carried out so far. The officials visited units under construction at Au Cap – a pilot project using new construction methods and materials – Roche Caiman, Bel Ombre and Union Vale among others.

“I am very happy with the progress and the quality of work I see here,” said Rangasamy at the housing project on the man-made island of Perseverance where his visit ended.

He said that although “demand for housing is about 3,000, the government will only be able to build around 200 per year.”

The demand for housing is about 3,000 said the minister. (Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

The projects vary in price depending on their sizes such as for 16 housing units at Corgat Estate at SCR 17.9 million ($1.3 million) and for four units at Bel Air at SCR 7.7 million ($579,000).

The project with the highest cost visited by the minister was at Union Vale in the central district of English River. A total of 16 units of three-bedroom at a cost of SCR30,000,652 ($2.2 million).

The minister said that in view of the cost, some of the projects are getting international funding and that those projects are yet to be tendered out.

Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean with a population of 100,000 people, has put in place housing schemes whereby citizens needing social housing assistance make monthly contributions before they are allocated new dwellings.

Rangasamy appealed to prospective tenants to continue making their contributions in order to qualify for the service.

The Minister for Finance, Naadir Hassan, in his 2023 budget address in November 2022, said there are 127 units in the implementation phase and that a total sum of SCR 1.18 billion ($88.6 million) has been projected towards the development of new housing projects.

Source: Seychelles News Agency