Author: Krobea

The Dutch foreign minister has stepped down on Tuesday after admitting he lied about being in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Halbe Zijlstra announced his decision tearfully in parliament, after MPs had summoned him to explain himself. During his campaign for the March 2017 election, Mr Zijlstra claimed he had personally heard Mr Putin speak of creating a “Greater Russia” in 2006. The Dutch minister was just hours away from an official trip to Moscow. “I see no other option today than to hand in my resignation to his majesty the King,” said Mr Zijlstra a day after…

The ministers of Interior, Transport and Roads and Highways are to meet and come out with proposals to address the issue of recent road accidents, the president has ordered. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the recent spate of accidents and the ensuing deaths and injuries is cause for concern to him. That is why he wants Ambrose Dery, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah and Kwasi Amoako Atta to meet and immediately come out with the proposals. The president tweeted his worry on Tuesday. I am very concerned about the recent spate of road accidents, and the ensuing deaths and injuries. —…

Tributes have poured in for veteran Ghanaian actor Super OD, real name Asonaba Kwaku Darko, who passed away on Tuesday in his Agona Swedru hometown. Super OD was taken ill last Saturday, according to son Simon Darko, after complaining of weakness. He has not been well for some time now. He unfortunately gave up the ghost on Tuesday at the Swedru Government Hospital in the Central Region. Past and present presidents have joined mourners to pay tribute to the Osofo Dadzie icon. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and former president John Dramani Mahama took to Twitter to express their condolences.…

South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) has formally asked President Jacob Zuma to resign for the sake of the country. But despite the ANC’s top leadership deciding to “recall” him “urgently”, the scandal-hit Mr Zuma was still in power on Tuesday. He is expected to respond to the request on Wednesday, an official said. He had already told them he was willing to stand down in the next three to six months, the official added. Mr Zuma, who has been in power since 2009, has been dogged by corruption allegations. But he has so far resisted increasing pressure to…

Liberia’s ex-president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has won the $5m (£3.6m) Ibrahim prize for African Leadership. Mrs Sirleaf, who stepped down last month, became Africa’s first elected female president in 2006. She was praised for her work rebuilding the nation after civil war and leading a process of reconciliation. The prize committee admitted that while Ms Sirleaf was accused of tolerating corruption, she had shown exceptional leadership in difficult circumstances. It added that Liberia was the only country out of 54 to improve in every category and sub-category of the Ibrahim Index of African Governance. Mrs Sirleaf served two terms as…

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appointed Elsie Awadzi as the 2nd Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana. The appointment is, however, subject to consultation with the Council of State. Mrs Awadzi is an international economic and financial lawyer with a total of 21 years of professional experience working in various capacities in Ghana and internationally. Her key areas of specialization are financial sector development and regulation, financial stability assessments, design of crisis management frameworks and financial safety nets, and legal and institutional aspects of public financial management. She was until the appointment, a Senior Counsel of the IMF’s Legal…

The Chief Executive Officer of Rufftown Records, Ricky Nana Agyemang, who is also the manager of late dancehall songstress Ebony has stated that his client always had a premonition about her early death. Speaking in an interview on Accra-based Okay FM, Bullet as he is popularly known said the late songstress had prophets and others warning her of her untimely death. “Ebony said a woman told her she was going to be a big star but she will die at the peak of her career,” Bullet said. Ebony, real name Priscilla Opoku-Kwarteng, did not survive a car crash last Thursday…

The Member of Parliament for Bolgantanga East Constituency, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has dragged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s nominee of Special Prosecutor to the Supreme Court. Dr Ayine, a Deputy Minister of Justice in the previous government, is contending that it will be ineligible for Martin Alamisi Amidu to be appointed as a public office holder given his age. He has also sued the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Gloria Akuffo. Mr Amidu, 66, was nominated Special Prosecutor by President Akufo-Addo on Thursday, January 11. He was scheduled to be vetted by Parliament on Tuesday, February 13. But…

Utility service providers including the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in the country are demanding an upward adjustment in their tariff. The figure they are asking for translates to about 200 per cent increases in what was approved for them in 2015. Their demand comes despite assurances from the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to reduce electricity tariff, in particular. At a joint consultative meeting organized by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC)  in Accra, the utility  service providers  presented their proposals for upward tariff adjustment and justified the need for it. ECG is requesting for…

Veteran actress Grace Omaboe, popularly known as Maame Dokono, has revealed that dancehall artiste Shatta Wale was a gong gong beater in popular children’s drama series ‘By the Fireside’. In an interview with Mikki Osei-Berko on ‘After Hours’ on TV3, Maame Dokono revealed that Shatta Wale is among the numerous people who have passed through her hands before becoming a star. “Shatta Wale was a gong gong beater in By the Fireside…he’s one of the numerous persons I have helped,” she revealed. Maame Dokono also revealed that she made sure the Black Stars Captain, Asamoah Gyan, and his brother, Baffour…