Author: Krobea

Ghana’s aggressive tests for Covid-19 has seen over 50,000 samples tested as of Wednesday, April 15. The country is the second, behind South Africa, on the continent of Africa in terms of testing for coronavirus. Precisely, 50,517 tests have been conducted as of Wednesday, April 15. So far, 636 cases have been confirmed since Thursday, March 12 when the first two cases were announced by the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang Manu. The Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research (NMIRM) has conducted a majority of the tests, mostly in the southern sector, while the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in…

“Umuofia kwenu,” yelled Ogbuefi Ezuego the powerful orator in Chinua Achebe’s legendary novel Things Fall Apart. It was the fifth time the old man had bellowed and the crowd that had gathered at the market-place thunderously responded ‘Yaa!’ The crowd of men, numbering in their thousands, had gathered after they had heard at dawn the gong of the town-crier resounding. The message was simple. That, they ought to meet immediately after the sun had smiled away the grim looks of the dawn. “Those sons [referring to the people of Mbaino— a nearby community] of wild animals have dared to murder…

Minister of Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah says persons making allegations about favouritism in the distribution of food to the vulnerable in these partial lockdown period must be made to validate them. Member of Parliament (MP) for Klottey Korley Constituency Dr Zanetor Rawlings expressed disgust at the distribution of food to the vulnerable on Tuesday, alleging that it is being done on a partisan basis. “In spite of the government saying [kayaye] are being fed, these people are not getting food,” the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP fumed. “And the unfortunate thing that is happening is that people are using partisanship…

The COVID-19 pandemic, one of the world’s most significant events, has resulted in cessation of economic activities that will lead to a significant decline in GDP, an unprecedented social disruption, and the loss of millions of jobs. According to estimates by the African Development Bank, the contraction of the region’s economies will cost Sub-Saharan Africa between $35 billion and $100 billion due to an output decline and a steep fall in commodity prices, especially the crash of oil prices. More fundamentally, the pandemic has brutally exposed the hollowness of African economies on two fronts: the fragility and weakness of Africa’s…

US President Donald Trump has said he is going to halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) because it has “failed in its basic duty” in its response to the coronavirus outbreak. He accused the UN agency of mismanaging and covering up the spread of the virus after it emerged in China, and said it must be held accountable. In response, the UN’s chief said it was “not the time” to cut funds to the WHO. Mr Trump has been under fire for his own handling of the pandemic. He has sought to deflect persistent criticism that he acted…

Nigeria has recorded its biggest one-day rise in coronavirus cases after confirming 30 new cases on Tuesday. The country has so far confirmed a total of 373 cases including 11 deaths. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had announced 19 new cases of the virus then added a further 11, one hour after the first announcement. The country’s commercial city of Lagos, which is the epicentre of the pandemic in the country, recorded 25 out of the 30 new cases. The NCDC tweeted about the latest cases. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday announced an extension of the lockdown…

Inspector General of Police (IGP) James Oppong-Boanuh has blamed the stiff posture of the security services at various checkpoints enforcing the lockdown directives on recalcitrant citizens. The IGP said some people are giving unsubstantiated excuses to the security services to allow them pass. But such excuses, if allowed, he says, would mar the directives on Covid-19. Government extended the partial lockdown imposed on some four cities of the country by one more week. The extension took effect from Monday,April 13, and will be subject to review. “The decision has been taken through the issuance of another Executive Instrument to extend…

The US Ambassador to Ghana, Stephanie S. Sullivan, has penned an article underscoring the strong partnership between her nation and Ghana in the fight against Covid-19. She states that the help of the US in the fight against the deadly virus, not only in Ghana but also globally, is “much more than money and supplies”. “It’s the experts we have deployed worldwide, and those now conducting tutorials via teleconference. I am pleased that members from my embassy team – from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Naval Medical Research Unit Three (NAMRU-3), U.S. Agency for International Development…

Ghana’s Trades Union Congress (TUC) has cancelled all activities planned for this year’s International Workers’ Day of Solidarity, May Day. The activities would have been climaxed in Accra on Friday, May 1. But a statement issued on Tuesday by TUC’s Secretary General, Dr Yaw Baah, said the celebration has been cancelled in compliance with the Imposition on Restrictions Act, 2020, which has been in force since March 30, 2020 in Accra, Kasoa, Tema and Kumasi. The TUC said as characteristic of May Day celebrations, the Organised Labour National May Day Planning Committee had planned nationwide parades across the regional capitals.…

The Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA) has welcomed government’s intervention for businesses in the throes of the coronavirus directives. “The intervention is not only timely but also appropriate in the sense that the issue is not only of health but also of serious adverse effect on every sphere of life; leaving the entire global community in an atmosphere of uncertainty to which everyone can attest to,” said a statement issued on behalf of GUTA by General Secretary Alpha Shaban. It, however, asked for places on the various committees for the leadership of GUTA in order to ensure that the…