Daily Heritage November 8

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News
DAILY HERITAGE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2017
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
Take me to
court if…
• COCOBOD chair dares EOCO
BY ROLAND B TAMAKLOE
THE IMMEDIATE past board
chairman of COCOBOD, Mr
Daniel Ohene Agyekum, has dared
the Economic and Organised
Crime Office (EOCO) to haul him
before court if they are certain that
he engaged in any wrongful act.
The under-fire former
COCOBOD chairman, who seems
surprised with such accusations,
said he was waiting for EOCO to
take him to court for Ghanaians to
know the truth.
Mr Agyekum, who made this
known to Akwasi Nsiah, host of
‘Si No Pi’ on KASAPA FM , said
they were given all clearance by
Parliament before going to borrow
any amount from any foreign
investor.
According to him, the loans
given to them by the foreign
investors were not paid to
COCOBOD directly, but rather to
Ghana Commercial Bank
International in London, which in
turn transferred it to the Ghana
Commercial Bank in Ghana.
“How can you say we have
spent the money we went to
borrow? There is no way anybody
can take $1.8 billion just to spend.
Where would you hide with that
amount of money?” he asked
rhetorically.
He stated that he regrets taking
up the position of board chairman
at COCOBOD because he did not
expect to be treated badly after
serving Ghana with a profound
integrity.
Mr Agyekum said he had only
two big buildings to his name one
of which he built in Kumasi on his
return from Canada and another at
Achimota in 1975 when he
returned from Israel.
According to him, EOCO froze
and de-froze his accounts without
his knowledge just to harass him,
but he said God watches over him
and knows the level of integrity he
has served the country with.
"Being a part of the national
hockey team for 15 years and going
on to win the African Cup in Cairo
was my contribution to Ghana. I
don't expect to be treated like a
hero, but to be treated like a
criminal is really sad."
He further explained that he
was not a spending officer or a
signatory to any of the board’s
accounts, and therefore he could
not authorise payments or write
cheques, but instead he authorised
the award of contracts.
He told the host that there was
no form of payment of any kind
which constituted wilfully causing
financial loss to the state.
•Daniel Ohene Agyekum, former COCOBOD board chair
Pentecost University donates to orphans
BY HAGAR DONKOR BOADI
AS PART of the
corporate social
responsibility activities
of Pentecost University
College (PUC), its
Arnan Hall Foundation
has paid a visit to the Potters Village
Palace, an orphanage at Dodowa in the
Greater Accra Region to give them
some food items and textbooks.
The items included tubers of yam,
rice, oil, tomato and soft drinks.
Receiving the items, the founder of
the orphanage, Madam Jane Irina Adu,
thanked the students for their gesture
and gave them a brief history of the
Potters Village Orphanage.
According to her, the orphanage
was established purposely to cater for
women who are victims of domestic
violence because she had realised that
women were being maltreated with no
one coming to their aid.
She, therefore, decided to create a
shelter for these abused women and
empower them after she had visited the
United States of America few years
back.
“There are also victims of domestic
violence in the States, but the only
THE AWOAMEFIA of the Anlo
state in the Volta Region, Togbi Sri
III, has cautioned the government
against plans to allegedly demarcate
the Ketu Lagoon for prospective
investors, a move he describes as “not
proper” and one that may bring crisis.
“Mr President, information
reaching us currently is that the
Minerals Commission is in the process
of demarcating and allocating the
Keta lagoon to potential investors
without recourse to the traditional
council,” he said.
The Awoamefia stated this when
he gave an address at a grand durbar
climaxing the Hogbetsotso Za festival
on Saturday at Anloga in the Volta
Region.
He continued that “we know the
mineral wealth is vested in the central
government. However, without
meaningful dialogue with the
indigenes conflict may arise, and we in
Anlo would not like this to happen.”
difference between their victims and
ours is that justice is served on their
behalf. Though I can’t do much, I
decided to help in the best way I
could,” she added.
She advised the students to take the
moral training given them by their
parents and other elders in society
seriousl;y.
“I don’t care if you wear six-inch
high heeled shoes and wear designer
Togbi Sri appealed to the President
to use his good offices to prevail on
the Minerals Commission to do the
proper thing in that regard.
Challenges facing
the Anlo State
He commended the government
for its policies and the commitment it
had shown the people of Anlo, citing
the Nursing and Midwifery Training
College which was commissioned
recently.
He, however, highlighted some
issues hindering the growth of the
state.
"The dredging of Keta Lagoon, we
believe, will help preserve the integrity
of the lagoon as well as improve on
the aquaculture and fish production
which is fast creating jobs for the
teeming unemployed youth of Anlo,”
he stated.
The Awoamefia added that the
exploration and drilling in the Keta
Basin, the perennial flooding and sea
defence challenges that affect their
coasts from Huvenor through
Agorkevi to Atsketsi, and the road
from Aflao to Ho are all projects that
need the attention of the government.
Hogbetsotso festival
The Hogbetsotso festival
(pronounced Hogbechocho) is
celebrated by the chiefs and people of
Anloga in the Volta Region.
clothes and
perfumes; if you
visit this place and
misbehave I can
send you and your
items of donation
away. I’m more
concerned with your
behaviour and
attitude as students,
because I always
want to impact on
the life of every
individual who visits
this place,” she
Celebrated on the first Saturday of
the month of November every year,
the festival is used by the Anlos to
commemorate the exodus and the
bravery of their traditional rulers,
who, through endurance and sacrifice,
delivered them from the despot King
Agorkoli.
This year’s celebration was on the
added.
The vice-president of the
foundation, Miss Edith Afram, told the
DAILY HERITAGE newspaper that
they started the foundation to help put
smiles on the faces of the needy so that
they would also feel loved and part of
society.
“We want to leave a mark in the
lives of these people. This may even be
a motivation for them to work hard to
be great people in society and that’s
what we are more interested in,” she
said.
Some of the students of the PUC
told the newspaper how excited
they were to be part of the trip.
“I am really happy that I came
on this trip. Back in my country, I
always hear that people are poor
but coming to see it for myself, I
have actually been able to do
something to help and this gives
me great joy,” Dorcas Ebale, one
of the students from Congo told
the newspaper.
The orphans were very excited
as the tertiary students had fun
with them. They played games
like musical chairs, rap battle and
dance battle. The event was
crowned with a party where the
children danced and made merry
with their visitors.
Keta Lagoon allocation may breed conflict – Togbui Sri III
BY RAMSON ACQUAH-HAYFORD
•The president of Arnan Hall,
Augustine Aggrey, presenting the
items to one of the caretakers of the
orphanage
•PUC students, orphans and their caretakers
• The Hogbetsotso festival is celebrated by the chiefs and people of Anloga
theme ‘Re-branding our historical and
tourist sites for development.’
The chief entreated the youth to
distance themselves from cybercrime,
armed robbery and prostitution during
the festive season so as to make
themselves useful to the state of Anlo.
•Aisha Huang
Aisha Huang’s
judge goes for
cybercrime training
BY MUNTALLA INUSAH
muntalla.inusah@dailyheritage.com.gh
CRIMINAL PROCEEDING at
the Criminal Division of the Accra
High Court, where galamsey
suspect Aisha Huang and four
others are facing trial has been
adjourned to November 22 because
the trial judge, Justice Charles Ekow
Baidoo, together with other judges,
are undergoing training in how to
curb cybercrime.
At the last court sitting, the
prosecution, led by Director of
Public Prosecution, Mrs Yvonne
Atakorah Obuobisa, tendered in a
tape containing video evidence of
the accused person engaging in
illegal mining.
Aisha, together with four other
Chinese nationals – Gao Jin Cheng,
45, Lu Qi Ju ,39, Haibin Gao, 26,
and Zhang Zhipeng, 23, have been
charged with disobedience of
directive given under the
Immigration Act 2000 (Act 573).
Speaking through a Ghanaian
Chinese interpreter, Mrs Esther
Annor Addo, lawyer for the
accused persons denied any
wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty
to all charges.
Strong defence
On Wednesday, October 25,
when the prosecution had indicated
that the tape containing video
evidence was going to be played in
open court, Daniel Awuku, defence
counsel, opposed vehemently to the
decision by the prosecution, arguing
that it would infringe on the right
of the accused persons.
But the Presiding judge, after
listening to the parties, overruled
that objection and allowed the tape
to be played. The tape was
subsequently admitted in evidence.
Charges
Miss Huang has been charged
with undertaking small-scale mining
operations, contrary to Section 99
(1) of the Minerals and Mining Act,
2006 (Act 703), and providing mine
support services without valid
registration with the Minerals
Commission, contrary to Section 59
and 99 (2) of the Minerals and
Mining Act.
She has also been charged with
illegal employment of foreign
nationals, contrary to Section 24 of
the Immigration Act, 200 (Act 573)
and Regulation 18(1) of the Ghana
Immigration Regulations, 2001
(L.I.1691).
The four other Chinese
nationals – Gao Jin Cheng, Lu Qi
Ju, Haibin Gao and Zhang Zhipeng
– have been charged with
disobedience of directive given
under the Immigration Act 2000
(Act 573).
Evidence in-chief
An officer of the Ghana
Immigration Service, ASP Reuben
Ransford Aborabora, of the Service
Enforcement Unit, while being led
in evidence by the Director Public
Prosecution, said he led a group of
six servicemen to effect the arrest
of the alleged Chinese illegal
miners.
According to him, as part of
their work, they checked the validity
of permits issued by the service
and therefore they were mandated
to visit dwelling places and homes
of expatriates under their
jurisdiction.
He said upon reaching there,
they saw the foreigners and some
Africans but immediately those
people saw them (the officers) they
took to their heels, prompting the
others to also run but the officers
managed to apprehend some of
them and brought them to Obuasi.