Author: Krobea

The Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC) has announced that 5,000 of its biometric verification devices (BVDs) will be piloted during the voter exhibition exercise which begins on Friday, September 18. The devices will be operated alongside the physical copies for the eight-day exercise, the Chair of the Commission said on Thursday. Mrs Jean Mensa made this known while addressing journalists in Accra ahead of the start of the exhibition exercise. The exercise is aimed at affording prospective voters the opportunity to confirm or correct details in the recently compiled register. Aside the “light” corrections, the BVDs are expected to biometrically verify…

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has refuted claims of sabotaging the government with the recent incessant fluctuations in power supply. Ashanti Regional Chairman of New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bernard Antwi Bosiako alleged that ECG and its energy allies such as GRIDCo have been fluctuating electricity supply intentionally to make the government unpopular. ECG’s Public Relations Manager for the Ashanti Region, Erasmus Kyere Baidoo, however, refuted the allegation. He says the power company gains nothing in sabotaging the government, but rather should be commended for working hard to keep the lights on. Speaking on Akoma FM’s flagship morning show, ‘GhanAkoma’,…

The governor of Nigeria’s north-western Kaduna state, Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai, has signed into law a measure introducing tough penalties for convicted rapists. The law says those convicted of raping a child below the age of 14 should be surgically castrated and given the death sentence. Where the victim is over 14 years, the law provides for surgical castration and life imprisonment. Female adults convicted of raping a child will face bilateral salpingectomy (removal of fallopian tubes) and death. In rape cases where the victim is under the age of 14, a medical report will be necessary to corroborate the allegations.…

Residents of Epowano, a fishing and farming community in Shama District of the Western Region, have resolved to exercise their franchise this year in the Western Region in December . The community even though geographically located in the Western Region had been voting in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem Municipality of the Central Region for the past 16 years. They complained that Western Region had abandoned them. Epowano is a coastal community located along the border between the Shama District of the Western Region and the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem Municipality of the Central Region. The community is without an engineered access road. As a result,…

One of the candidates writing this year’s ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), Richard Mensah, has died at Apremdo in the Western Region.  He died on Wednesday, September 16 after writing the Monday and Tuesday papers. According to his grandmother, who was speaking in an interview on the Omanbapa morning show on Connect FM with Nhyiraba Paa Kwesi Simpson, he started complaining of headache last Saturday and was taken to the hospital for treatment. He, therefore, managed to participate in the exams only for him to pass on at the Jemima Hospital at Kwesimintsim on Wednesday. The deceased was a…

The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and industry has inaugurated the Koforidua Chamber of Commerce and Industry. National President Nana Dr. Appiagyei Dankawoso noted the need to set up the Eastern Region branch to support business activities in the region. ”It will therefore not be appropriate to deny the business community in the Eastern Region of the numerous business support services that the Chamber provides.” He added that it was imperative the business community in Koforidua and the entire Eastern Region collaborate with the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry to ensure that businesses operate efficiently and profitable. “The…

The Vice Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has assured traders in Prestea Market in the Western Region of enhanced economic benefits of their trading activities. She said this while interacting with them in the market. John Mahama’s running mate noted that challenges facing traders in the area would be addressed by the next NDC administration. “We are coming to serve you better,” she told the traders at the market on Tuesday. She gave the assurance that traders would be offered soft loans to enhance their businesses, adding that the informal sector remains extremely…

The chiefs of Asankragwa in the Amenfi West District of the Western Region have declared their support for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), praying for the return of the party to government to continue its good works. According to the chiefs, considering the track record of the NDC in the implementation of projects in the area, the return of the party would be largely beneficial to the district. They said they are confident that NDC’s return would ensure the completion of the many projects it initiated but were abandoned by the present administration. The chiefs declared their support on Tuesday…

Globally about 1 in 3 women experience violence in their lifetime (WHO; world report on violence and health, 2002).   Violence against women and children, in particular, continues to be frighteningly common and consequentially accepted as “normal” within too many societies. The Former Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur at the 57th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women stated, even in schools, 14 and 52 % of girls are victims of sexual abuse and gender-based violence respectively. Measures taken by Government to prevent and respond to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence include the…