Before our encounter, I could only sense that a person with such a mammoth socio-political responsibility will have but little time to entertain my presence. “You are welcome, how may I help you?” said the tall dark smiling figure with his hand stretched out for a hand shake.Sylvester A. Mensah
Before our encounter, I could only sense that a person with such a mammoth socio-political responsibility will have but little time to entertain my presence. “You are welcome, how may I help you?” said the tall dark smiling figure with his hand stretched out for a hand shake.Vaccination for over 200,000 persons in UWR against yellow fever to cost GH¢110,000
Health workers in the Upper West Region are preparing to embark on a yellow fever vaccination campaign in three of its nine districts that had recorded six cases of the disease.
About 214, 494 persons, especially one-year old children, would be vaccinated with 248,000 doses of yellow fever vaccines allocated to the region within one week, Dr. Kofi Issah, Deputy Director of Public Health, has said.
Dr. Issah was briefing members of the Upper West Regional Epidemic Preparedness Committee on the yellow fever situation in region at a meeting in Wa on Monday.
He said Wa East District has been the worst hit, recording four cases with one death, while Jirapa and Nadowli Districts also recorded a case each.
It is expected that 61,127 persons would vaccinated in Jirapa District, 61,219 persons in Wa East District and 92,598 persons in the Nadowli District.
The campaign would involve 276 health staff and 32 supervisors and would cost the Health Directorate GH¢110,106.00, Dr. Issah said.
He said about 90 per cent of the targeted population would be vaccinated against the disease and that district and sub-district teams had been trained in vaccination and other aspects of the exercise to be carried out on November 22.
Dr. Issah said the region would receive 340,000 mosquito nets in February next year under the Malaria Control Programme and would be distributed in the nine districts of the region to help reduce malaria.
Three districts, namely Wa Muncipal, Wa East and Wa WestdDistricts would however benefit from Ashanti Gold five-year sustained indoor residual spraying programme to reduce the population of mosquitoes.
The Upper West Regional Directorate of Ghana Health Service in collaboration with the Ashanti Gold would implement the programme.
Source: GNA
From seedlings to trees – the challenges and considerations for all tree planting initiatives
As a follow up to the previous article on deforestation, I like to now look at how to plant and cater for trees. This is intended for individuals or institutions that wish to plant trees but have little or no expertise. Before I progress, I like to state that even though everyone can plant a tree, it is not every one that can raise a tree. Trees are just like children in my view. Just like how every man may father a child but may not be able to raise that child so is the situation with tree planting. It is one thing planting a tree and a completely different thing raising that tree. To raise a tree is to cater for the tree by protecting it and providing all that it needs to grow.
Ghana’s total debt stock up 34 per cent in 2011
Ghana’s total debt rose by 34.09 per cent rising to GH¢23.6 billion (over $14 billion), equivalent to 44.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product, the central bank governor announced.
??Domestic debt increased by 43 per cent year-on-year to GH¢11.84 billion in 2011, from GH¢8.3 billion the previous year, while external debt stock also increased by 20.1 per cent compared the corresponding period in 2010.
Presenting a report from the Monetary Policy report, central bank governor, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, on Wednesday said fiscal operations saw revenue and grants in 2011 amounting to GH¢10.7 billion, compared to GH¢7.5 billion in 2010.
Total expenditure, on the other hand, was GH¢12.7 billion in 2011, compared to GH¢9.2 billion in 2010 with wages, salaries and related expenditures surging from a little over GH¢2 billion to GH¢5.2 billion.??
“Fiscal operations in 2011, therefore, resulted in a narrow budget deficit of GH¢2.1 billion and was financed mainly through the issuance of domestic bonds,” the governor said.
Net Domestic Financing of GH¢2.1 billion was within the projected target of GH¢2.4 billion.
On the external front, the country’s overall balance of payments recorded a surplus of GH¢941.07 million in 2011, significantly down from the GH¢1.5 billion surplus recorded in 2010. Amissah-Arthur attributed the decline to the widening of the current account deficit.
The current account balance worsened in 2011 as a result of increased net outflows in the Services and Income Account, which rose to US$3.1 billion in 2011 from $2.1 billion in 2010.
Total merchandise exports grew by 60.6 per cent in 2011 to $12.7 billion, supported by oil exports and favourable commodity prices. ??Gold exports amounted to $4.9 billion while cocoa beans totalled $2 billion and the value of crude oil exports was $2.7 billion over the same period.
Total merchandise imports grew by 46.2 percent in 2011 to $15.9 billion.?? Crude oil imports amounted to US$1.4 billion while imports of refined oil products were $1.7 billion and gas imports were estimated at $172.8 million.
Total non-oil imports amounted to $12.7 billion and by end-use, capital imports were $2.7 billion, intermediate imports amounted to $6.1 billion, consumption goods, $3.0 billion and others constituted $900 million.
The governor noted that the rapid growth in imports 2011 and the unusual surge in demand for foreign exchange during the last quarter of the year created a misalignment in the bank’s foreign exchange cash flow.
The Capital and Financial Account surplus improved to $4.5 billion in 2011 from a surplus of $4.3 billion in 2010, driven by net inflows of private capital investments mainly into the oil sector.??
Gross international Reserves of the Bank of Ghana improved to US$5.4 billion in 2011 from US$4.7 billion in 2010, but Amissah-Arthur said that declined to GH¢4.6 billion as at January 2012 due to the increased demand for foreign exchange resulting from the higher than normal surge in seasonal demand to support trade.
Source: Lawrence Quartey
Omar Baa Oumson
Affable, attractive and talented will be attributes that put him right in the middle of what many wrote off as a dying industry. At a time when Ghanaian movies came no close to matching those from Africas’ most populous nation, Omar Baa Oumson and his generation of actors and actresses appeared on scene to salvage what remained. Soon Ghana could boast of a formidable movie industry still growing in international proportions.
Never lacking a bright smile, there always seem to be something about Omar, especially on set that makes him a delight to watch so much that he could even steal the shine from the lead actor/actress of a movie.
He gained an unrivalled mindshare in Ghanaian movie lovers after casting in 2007 classic, Crime to Christ. He was in the movie alongside Madjid Michel , Yvonne Nelson, Naana Hayford and Gavivina Tamakloe.
Thought ethnically Fulani, ‘Trinity by Nationality’ is how Omar Baa Oumson describes his origin; African by Spirit, Ghanaian by Soul and Sierra Leonean by flesh. His early life begun in Freetown -Sierra Leone, with his family. Definitely a family man, Omar believes the love, affection and support he got from his parents makes them the finest ever to walk the face of the earth.
Born in the early 1970’s he nurtured childhood fantasies of becoming a pilot when he becomes an adult but as he grew older and the puzzle of life fell in place he found himself pursuing a rather different career within the entertainment industry.
Omar Baa Oumson has always been an attention lover; he takes pleasure in putting a smile on a sad face through a genuine display of his entertaining talents. He has a rap music single to his name, released in 1989. He happens to exhibit proficiency in choreography and dancing.
Oumson holds a degree in French and Tourism from the Université Cheikh Anta Diopn (Cheikh Anta Diop University) in Dakar, Senegal. While in school he became the head of English students studying French at the University, underscoring his capabilities as a leader (political and otherwise).
His first appearance on the Ghanaian set was in Shirley Frimpong Manso’s ‘Different Shades of Blue’ – a television series about five university girls who shared a hostel room. Now Omar can count over 20 movies in which he has stared – dozens are in the pipeline soon to hit the screens.
Besides acting, Omar is a script writer, programmes organiser, radio presenter and linguist (English and French). He hosts a radio music programme Criss-Cross Africa on Citi FM, Accra. His lingual proficiencies have taken him across continents.
Omar expressed strong emotions against the increasing phenomenon of nudity in Ghanaian movies. “it’s crazy ,man, it’s crazy’. I don’t blame the producers or actors but blame the public,” he said. He thought the public’s continuous purchase of such movies motivate movie producers to make more of such movies to meet rising demands. “Those who complain are very few, majority are those who buy the movies.”
The actor harbours some quite revolutionary political ideas. “Democracy is not good for Africa”. In his view, it further separates Africans along the artificial boundaries that were set by the colonial masters. Monarchy or unity in political ideology is the way to go. Omar is a Pan-Africanist (Nkrumaist). He hopes to find himself within the ranks of ECOWAS or the AU canvasing for an immediate unity of African states.
Omar is a self-confessed fashion freak. That is at least one thing that is common between the characters he plays on set and his lifestyle. He enjoys the attention, “if I go to a party for instance and somebody is better dressed than me, I will go home and change.”
The programmes organiser is working on a project which he believes will aid in educating persons in West Africa’s English speaking countries about their counterparts in French countries. The saying that the English are very ignorant of the French is true he said, referring to observations he made during his numerous travels and interaction with both parties as a bases.
As his hobbies you will find Omar Baa Oumson partying or shopping.
He has words of encouragement for young movie producers that they pursue their trade with commitment and diligence as it is a very powerful tool to exhibit the rich Ghanaian culture and the beauty in African diversity.
Musician Asem accused of rape
Asem, known in private life as Nana Wiafe Asante Mensah, has allegedly lured a school girl into his Achimota home and had sex with her while she was intoxicated by a drug he allegedly put in her drink.
The story, published in Flex newspaper and written by journalist Attractive Mustapha, is known as Mustapha Inusah.
I thought I was just feeling sleepy naturally so I allowed myself to sleep. I only woke up and realized that my virginity had been broken with blood on me. “That was when I knew I had been raped. I could not tell my mum who happens to be a teacher in a Senior High School since she would not have taken it kindly. I only went to the Maamobi Polyclinic and the doctor told me I was pregnant. I told Asem I was pregnant but he did not mind me till even now, though I hid it from my mum.” The minor told the newspaper captured by
Ama Benyiwa Doe Must Face Justice!
I and the family of Mr Doe in Keta (V.R) are dumbfounded when we read a response through the Lawyers of Mrs Benyiwa Doe to the Ghana Media Commission in the Ghanaian Daily Guide newspaper on Monday, January 17, 2011 denying with arrogance that She (Benyiwa Doe) “Did not Kill Her Husband Mr Doe”.
I am Dennis Doe-Vormavor, The Interim Chairman of Ghanaians Abroad Against Corruption and a Nephew of Mr Doe (Late husband of Mrs Benyiwa Doe). I say with astonishment and extreme anger that Honourable Minister Benyiwa Doe has had the effrontery to deny through her Lawyers to the Ghana Media Commission that she did not kill her husband with poisonous substance. In fact, in her effort to try and deny her iniquitous act, she failed to explain to Ghanaians how she killed my uncle (Mr Doe) if not through poison.
Since my statement was published that she killed her husband (my uncle) with a poison in Nigeria in the 1980’s,poison which a pathologist report confirmed that high doses of rat poison was found in Mr Doe’s bloodstream. the Criminal Investigating Dept of Ghana Police have shown no sign of investigating the matter until we all heard the denial from the Honourable Minister – Mrs Benyiwa Doe through her Lawyers to the Ghana Media Commission.
I deem the denial through her solicitors to the Ghana Media Commission as ridiculous and not enough since the matter is a criminal offence committed by Mrs Benyiwa Doe. I would have expected the C.I.D of Police or the Attorney General to lodge an investigation into the matter. The Ghana government must not cover up murder!
Though I am a resident in Glasgow UK I am prepared to come down to Ghana with more credible evidence and as a witness to show that indeed Ama Benyiwa Doe killed my uncle, provided my safety and security can be guaranteed by the state. I have also spoken with Mrs Arkoh (a Ghanaian) in London who was the Senior Nurse on duty during the postmortem of my late Uncle Mr Doe in Nigeria and is also willing to come down to testify of what she knows about the death of Mr Doe if her security can be assured.
In fact, it is rather unfortunate that one woman who could have even testified before I do so is late honourable Hawa Yakubu who was with Madam Benyiwa in Nigeria during that time but died mysteriously. So now, who poisoned Honourable Hawa Yakubu at the party? This is a food for thought.
I believe that Mrs Benyiwa Doe’s denial through her Lawyers to the Ghana Media Commission as reported by the Daily Guide news paper has raised more questions than answers.
Some of the questions are:
1. Why did Mrs Benyiwa Doe fail to explain to Ghanaians how my uncle (Mr Doe) died if she did not poison him?
2. Why did Nigerian Authorities suspect foul play in Mr Doe’s death and opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
3. Why Mrs Benyiwa Doe has to flee to Ghana under a Diplomatic Immunity (though not Ghanaian government official) whilst the investigation was in progress in Nigeria?
4. Is Mrs Ama Benyiwa Doe not living with her late husband’s child in Ghana after poisoning Mr Doe to death?
Ironically, I believe many Ghanaians are still surprised to hear more this unfolding story concerning the death of my uncle (Mr Doe) who was allegedly poisoned in Nigeria by his wife Mrs Benyiwa Doe who is the current regional minister of Central Region.
Mrs Ama Benyiwa used to work at the University of Ghana, Legon administration as a typist and got married to my uncle who was also a lecturer at the university. Eventually, Mr and Mrs Doe moved to settle in Nigeria in the 1980s.
In Nigeria, Mr and Mrs Doe tried tirelessly for a child but could not produce one and as today, Ama Benyiwa has no child of own. Mr Doe – the husband, seemingly lost interest and Mrs Ama Benyiwa resorted to accusing her husband Mr Doe of womanizing and cheating on her. The situation became worse when Mr. Doe befriended a Nigerian woman (Ms. Tolou) in Lagos.
Mr Doe’s girl friend had a child for him and as the result Mrs Benyiwa Doe could not hold her anger and therefore decided to eliminate the Husband with poisonous substances which created a debilitating effect on my uncle which eventually led to his death. The Nigerian authorities suspected foul play in Mr Doe’s death and therefore opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.
Interestingly, to cover up her deeds from her accusers, Ama Benyiwa quickly camouflaged the Nigerian security and the investigation team at the time by adopting the child from her late husband’s beautiful girl friend. Ama eventually sold my uncle’s assets and then fled to Ghana under a diplomatic immunity by the then Ghana High Commissioner to Nigeria with the help of Ghana Foreign Affairs dept under Prez Rawlings. Now, if she claims nothing fishy happened, why the rush to sell the assets of the late husband and flee to Ghana shortly after the death of my uncle? Who was chasing her?
As at today, there’s credible information that Ama Benyiwa Doe is currently wanted in Nigeria to answer allegations of murder of her husband Mr Doe. We also want to assure you that your denial through your Lawyers to the G.M.C is the genesis of the battle, so the honourable Minister Ama Benyiwa should not think that she’s gotten away with the murder of my uncle. Ama has to face the due punishment of the law. This wicked crime can no longer be swept under the carpet!
Though the Nigerian security is still investigating this case according to a reliable source, we also want urge the Ghanaian authorities to lodge an investigation into this atrocious act perpetuated by the honourable Minister Ama Benyiwa Doe.
Its still beggar’s belief that the President and the Parliament of Ghana could still allow a murderer to continue as a Minister representing the good hardworking people of Central Region.
I call on the President, The Ghanaian Authorities and National Security to investigate this matter and together with Interpol should extradite Ama Benyiwa Doe to Nigeria to face Justice!!
Source: Dennis Doe-Vormavor, LLB MA Political Science Interim Chairman Ghanaians Abroad Against Corruption G
10 Richest People In Ghana
Please note this is just an estimate as said by the compiler of this list, most of their wealth are hidden to public eye.
The fact that Nigerian, Aliko Dangote is Africa?s richest man according to Forbes 2011 Rich List doesn?t mean he is the richest in Africa. Forbes list is made up of billionaires who gave access to their personal finances and assets.
(1). Dr. Kwame Addo Kufour ? $1.2 billion
(2). Dr. Sam Jonah ? $500 Million
(3). Dr. Kwesi Nduom ? $300 million
(4). Nana Akufo-Addo ? $250 million
(5). Dr. Yaw Osafo-Marfo ? $220 million
(6). Dr. Kwesi Botchwey ? $200 million
(7). Dr. Kwaku Afriyie ? $180 million
(8). Mr. Kwadwo Adjei Darko ? $150 million
(9). President Jerry John Rawlings ? $50 million
(10). Mr. Kofi Wayo ? $30 million.
UN AND ECOWAS MUST INVESTIGATE GHANAIAN GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR LAURENT GBAGBO
Ghanaians Abroad against Corruption is appealing to The UN Secretary General and the Ecowas, to investigate the circumstances whereby elements of the Ghanaian National Security services, and advisors of Ghanaian President John Atta Mills authorised the supply of military equipment, namely pistols, ammunition, rocket propelled launchers, bullet proof vests and two way’/adios to Laurent Gbagbo.
, Our sources on the Ghanaian -Ivorian Border stated that on Christmas Day at 2.am 400 members of the ruling party militia, the United Cadres Front, “crossed the border town of Enchi in Ghana into Cote d ivoire and headed south to a rendezvous point at Grand Bassam in Cote d Ivoire.
Close allies of Laurent Gbagbo have set up a command post to receive these men. Though the aims of objectives of these men are not clear, it is believed they are to act as a search and destroy unit and to thwart forces loyal to Mr Alhassane Ouatarra from taking key installations around the capital and to support the Ivorian army factions loyal to Mr Gbagbo.
The Ghanaian Government we have learnt has bowed to pressure from their National Security outfit to support Mr Gbagbo with financial assistance. We condemn this decision as it undermines the efforts of the African Union and Ecowas, the regional body to bring the crisis to an end.
We also expressed serious reservations about the involvement of Ex President Mr Jerry Rawlings, and Mr Kojo Tsikata, former Head of the Ghanaian Intelligence services, 1982-1995 and currently special advisor on National Security, Foreign Intelligence and Elections under President Mills as well as elements of the Ghanaian security services. We know that elements of the United Cadres front militia are very skilled and well drilled. All are former members of the Committee for the Defence of the Revolution (CDRs) and the defunct Forces Reserve Battalion (FRB) which existed under the 19 year rule of Mr Jerry Rawlings. Most of these individuals also received training in Libya. We ask the United Nations to investigate why elements who are not part of the Ghanaian army are being sent to Cote d Ivoire without any proper mandate to prop up and support a government whose current legality is in dispute and also why military equipment is being supplied, just satisfy vested interests in violation of international Law.
Dennis Doe Vormavor
Interim Chairman, Ghanaians Abroad against Corruption (GAAC)
GlasgowUK
Dr Frank Obese Jecty
GAAC Representative, Abidjan, Cote d ivoire












