JULY 2, 2020

Inside JULY 2, 2020.qxp_Layout 1 7/1/20 8:48 PM Page 1

DIGITAL NO. 100896 THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH

• Locked-up monies

Payment to

•Flash Back: Aggrieved Customers of MenzGold

determine

our votes

Page 3

Decongestion of prisons

Review Amnesty criteria

• POS foundation to President

p2

•Mr Enoch Kwasi Gyetuah,

Executive Director of GNACOPS

• Jonathan Osei Owusu, the Executive

Director of POS Foundation

400,000 private sch.

teachers to loss jobs

• If MoE insists on teacher licensing

p6

visit us: @dailyheritagegh dailyheritage


02 CONTENT

DAILY QUOTE

Failure is the condiment that

gives success its flavor

--Truman Capote

ANNIVERSARIES

25 Dec, Christmas Day

26 Dec, Boxing Day

1 Jan, New Year

DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY , JULY 2, 2020

Published by: EIB

Network / Heritage

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Decongestion of prisons

Review Amnesty criteria

BY MUNTALLA INUSAH

muntalla.inusah@dailyheritage.com.gh

FACILITATORS OF

the Justice For All Programme

(POS Foundation)

is calling for an

immediate reviews of

the Amnesty Creteria

for presidential pardon of prisoners

under Article 72 (1) of the

1992 Constitution to enable the

President to free 24% of the over

15, 000 prisoners across the country.

The call by POS Foundation,

which is also the lead organization

in the advocacy for the Non-Custodial

Sentencing Regime, was to

make Ghana’s prisons stay free of

the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Jonathan Osei Owusu, the

Executive Director of POS Foundation,

said “the only practicable

intervention is the release of prisoners

through an immediate review

of the amnesty criteria/

presidential pardon under Article

72 (1) of the 1992 Constitution,

which has not changed since the

Fourth Republic.”

“At this critical moment, where

the world struggles to come to

terms with the devastating effects

of the Covid-19 pandemic, the

POS Foundation, West Africa

Drug Policy Network and Harm

Reduction Alliance Ghana call on

the President, the Council of

State and Prisons Service Council

to grant pardon under Article 72

by reviewing the amnesty criteria

and proposing the inclusion of

Convicted Non-Violent Drug

Users (not trade/traffickers) who

are serving below 10 years from

the old PNDC Law 236 and petty

offenders to assist in decongesting

the Prisons.

“Governments around the

world are urged to dispensed preventive

and palliative measures by

providing reliefs to some sections

of the population and make

prison decongestion a priority; review

laws to allow for non-custodial

sentences for certain offences

such as drug use, petty non-violent

offences that do not pose a

threat to society,” Mr Osei Owusu

made this call during the commemoration

of the World Drugs

Day in Accra.

We’re ready to sacrifice

He said, “The POS Foundation

and its partners, together

with its donor agencies, are willing

to support the State for non-violent

convicted drug users who

may need treatment to go through

a period of rehabilitation and

treatment within the pardon

process period, which is also in

accordance with the new Narcotics

Control Commission Law

2020 and international best practices

as they pose no major threat

to society but to themselves.

“The well-documented history

of the transmission of infectious

diseases in prisons rings alarm

bells. Across countries where the

coronavirus has caused harm to

human lives so far, prisons have

been a substantial locus for its

spread and present a focus for reform.

“This has caused the release of

prisoners by many governments

such as 381 in California, Iran

54,000, Afghanistan 10,000, Indonesia

30,000 and Ethiopian

4,011 prisoners,” he noted.

Over 24% of minor offenders

in prison deserve amnesty

The Executive Director of

Post Foundation said, “Owing to

the fact that there are more than

15,000 prisoners in Ghana’s 44

prison facilities of which at least

24% are persons who have committed

for relatively minor non-violent

offences, we extrapolate that

two things can be anticipated if

the virus enters the prisons:

• It will spread much more rapidly

than in the general population

due to the high congestion rate of

52% and even as high as over

150% in some prisons. As at January

2020, the Nsawam Medium

Security Prisons, designed to hold

815 persons, was home to over

3,459 prisoners. The Akuse prison

holds 207 against a design capacity

of 60, while the Koforidua

prisons holds 683 against a design

capacity of 300 as per records

from the Prison Service of

Ghana.

• There is likely to be more

deaths in prisons than in the general

population due to the weak

immune system of most of the

prisoners as a result of malnourishment

from food provided on

the GHC 1.80 per prisoner feeding

grant. As is the case, persons

in prisons tend to have poorer

health, including chronic conditions

that predispose them to the

worst effects of Covid-19.

Already, due to the overcrowding

situation, the spread of communicable

diseases, coupled with

inadequate medical supply, has

been a challenge to the Ghana

Prison Service.

Recommendations

• Grant Amnesty/Release to

those who are vulnerable and

pose low-level threat to public

safety, i.e. elderly, pregnant

women, children, people awaiting

trial, people who cannot afford

bail, people with less than one

year to serve, those charged with

low-level offences, e.g. drug use or

possession, non-violent inmates

awaiting trial.

• Implement alternatives to detention,

pre-trial detention and

imprisonment, e.g. warnings, community

service, suspended sentence,

voluntary access to drug

treatment and harm reduction

services, while ensuring follow-up

care after a person is released, e.g.

ensure access to welfare benefits,

food, housing, employment and

healthcare as needed.

Immediate amnesty

He said, “Users of narcotics

(not traffickers),

with reference to

the newly-passed

Narcotics Control

Commission Act,

marijuana/narcotic

usage must be

looked at from the

public health perspective

and some

may possibly be

given rehabilitative

treatment rather

than incarceration.

“Marijuana

users of non-violent

crimes should

be considered to

be part of the

amnesty criteria

with reference to

current global best

practice and well

as petty offenders.”

According to

him, “this swift intervention

is critical

to protect the

health and wellbeing

of prisoners,

the general public and ensuring

public safety concerns should

there be an outbreak of the virus

in Ghana’s prisons.

“We urge the government to

support the Ghana Prisons Service

with the necessary and protective

tools for prison officers and

visitors and to put in strict precautionary

measures to prevent imported

cases of the virus into the

prisons.

The Foundation has worked in

partnership with Judiciary (under

the direct supervision of the Office

of the Chief Justice), the

Ministry of Interior and Attorney

General’s Department to develop

the first draft of the Community

Service Bill and the ongoing draft

of the Legislative Instrument (LI)

and Constitutional Instrument

(CI) for the activation of probation

and parole.



• Locked-up monies

Payment to

determine our votes

NEWS DESK REPORT

THE LEAD-

ERSHIP of

the Coalition

of Aggrieved

Customers

of MenzGold (CACM), a defunct

gold dealership firm,

has called on its members

and their families to register

in the ongoing mass voter

registration exercise across

the country.

The call, coming in a

statement, further urged all

customers that they “should

see the ongoing exercise as

an important national duty

and must comply as such.

Your vote is your power. As

customers, our money shall

determine our votes on December

7, 2020.”

The statement signed by the

leadership CACM further said,

“The Coalition of Aggrieved

customers of MenzGold is by

this letter calling on all its

members, their families and

friends, church members, community

members and all those

who share in our plights to respectively

present themselves at

their designated registration

centres in their respective constituencies

and register massively

in their numbers to

obtain the new voter identification

cards so that they can vote

on 7th December 2020.”

The statement added, “This

is a very urgent call on all our

members so that we can be

part of the decision-taking

process to determine which

group of people will run the

affairs of this nation in views

of what has happened to our

locked up investment in Menz-

Gold and other financial institutions.

Disappointment

In a related development,

the coalition of aggrieved customers

of collapsed banks, is

also rallying its members to

defy all obstacles in the ongoing

voter registration exercise

to register in order to be able to

vote in the December polls.

According to them, government’s

refusal to pay their

locked up funds has rendered

them poorer with adverse implications.

At a press conference in

Bolgatanga on Tuesday, the

group said they had been disappointed

in the Akufo-Addo

government’s handling of the

financial sector clean-up.

“Many of our businesses

have collapsed. We lost our

loved ones, who died from the

shock and pain of losing their

lifetime investments and savings,

and many could not pay

their medical bills for surgeries

that could have otherwise saved

their lives. A good number of

us with underlying debilitating

health conditions could not

cope with the financial pressures

associated with healthcare

costs and many have lost their

lives.

“Our wives have deserted us

and have taken our children to

other men because we could

not properly take care of them

and our marital responsibilities

with dignity as fathers and husbands

anymore. Most women

among us are facing wretched

lives as well,” the group said in

a statement.

The statement added:

“Ladies and gentlemen of the

media, as a result of our disappointment,

we are by this press

conference here in Bolgatanga

encouraging all our over 2500

members in Upper East and by

extension all depositors in the

country who have their monies

locked up in these collapsed

banks, microfinance and savings

and loans companies to

defy the consequences of

Covid-19 and join the queues.

“No matter the restrictions

you may encounter, get registered

to be able to vote against

the government, who has decided

to make our lives miserable

by withholding our hard

earned money for God knows

how long without any justified

cause. Nobody should expect

us, victims of this government’s

wickedness in the financial

sector, to turn around and

praise the same government

that has rendered our lives miserable.”

The statement also noted

that if they were not paid in

two weeks, they would besiege

the Jubilee House.

Customers of the defunct

firm have had their investments

locked up for close to two

years.

This is as a result of the

close-down of Menzgold by

the Security and Exchanges

Committee over regulatory issues

in 2018. Several protests

by the customers to get back

their locked-up investments

have yielded no results.


•Zimbabwe's economy has suffered under

the coronavirus lockdown

Zimbabwe eases tourism lockdown measures

ZIMBABWE HAS announced

it will partially reopen its

tourism industry, one of the

sectors worst affected by a

three-month long lockdown.

Restaurants were previously

only allowed to serve takeaways.

They will now be allowed

to serve sitting customers

but at only half of

their licensed capacity.

National parks and local safari

and hunting operations are

now also allowed to reopen.

Zimbabwe’s economy relies

heavily on international

tourism, which generates close

to $1bn (£800m) from the

more than two million tourists

arrivals each year.

The sector has been forced

to close due to the coronavirus,

with borders remaining

closed except for returning

residents. Tourism players will

now focus on reviving domestic

tourism. BBC


WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH

World news in 4 stories

Hong Kong: First arrests

under 'anti-protest'

law as handover marked

HONG KONG police

have made

their first arrests

under a new "antiprotest"

law imposed

by Beijing,

as crowds marked 23 years since the

end of British rule.

Nine people were held accused

of violating the law, including a

man with a pro-independence flag.

More than 300 others were detained

at a banned rally.

The national security law targets

secession, subversion and terrorism

with punishments up to life in

prison.

Activists say it erodes freedoms

but China has dismissed the criticism.

Hong Kong's sovereignty was

handed back to China by Britain in

1997 and certain rights were supposed

to be guaranteed for at least

50 years under the "one country,

two systems" agreement.

The UK has now said up to

three million Hong Kong residents

will be offered the chance to settle

in the UK and ultimately apply for

citizenship.

On Wednesday, thousands gathered

for the annual pro-democracy

rally to mark the handover anniversary,

defying a ban by authorities

who cited restrictions on gatherings

of more than 50 people because of

Covid-19.

Police used water cannon, tear

gas and pepper spray on demonstrators.

They said more than 300

people had been arrested, nine

under the new law, which was

adopted in the wake of last year's

widespread unrest.

They included a man who was

holding a "Hong Kong Independence"

flag, though some Twitter

users said the picture appeared to

show a small "no to" written in

front of the slogan. The man has

not been identified, and it was not

clear whether he would be prosecuted.

BBC

•Hachalu's songs focused on the rights

of the Oromo ethnic group

Hachalu Hundessa: 'Fifty

killed' in protests over

Ethiopian singer's death

•Many residents worry the new law means the end of the "one country, two systems" principle

AT LEAST 50 people have

been killed in Ethiopia after

the death of a popular singer

sparked huge protests in the

Oromia region, a local official

has told the BBC.

Thousands of fans had

gathered to mourn Hachalu

Hundessa, who was shot dead

on Monday night while driving.

Police say 35 people, including

prominent politician

Jawar Mohammed, have been

arrested.

The motive for Hachalu's

killing remains unclear.

But police say they have arrested

two people in connection

with the killing.

Hachalu, 34, had recently

said that he had received

death threats. He will be

buried on Thursday.

His songs focused on the

rights of the country's

Oromo ethnic group and became

anthems in a wave of

protests that led to the downfall

of the previous prime

minister in 2018. BBC

Malawi top lawyer 'rejects justice minister post’

THE LAWYER who represented

Malawi's new president Lazarus

Chakwera in annulling the last

election has turned down the post

of justice minister, according to

Malawi's Daily Times newspaper.

Mordecai Msiska was the lead

lawyer in the case that annulled

the presidential election in December.

Mr Chakwera went on to win

the re-run of the election which

was held on 21 June and reportedly

subsequently offered Mr

Msiska the job.

But, he did not consider it appropriate

to take up the post

which he was being offered by Mr

Chakwera.

"My presence in Cabinet

would have been a continuous

distraction to the President’s

agenda for the country,” Mr

Msisha is quoted as saying in the

Daily Times.

Last year Malawi became the

second African nation to annul a

presidential election over irregularities,

after Kenya in 2017. BBC

"My presence in

Cabinet would

have been a continuous

distraction

to the President’s

agenda for the

country,” Mr

Msisha is quoted

as saying in the

Daily Times.

• Lazarus Chakwera won the June re-run of the election




EC must surely accomplish the task

AT LONG last, the compilation of a

new voters’ register started on Tuesday,

June 30, 2020, as scheduled.

The Deputy Chairman of the Electoral

Commission (EC) in charge of

Corporate Services, Dr Bossman E.

Asare, confirming the the commencement

of the exercise in a letter to political

parties in the country, said in

part that the registration would be

held at registration centres and district

offices of the EC throughout the

country.

There is this information that gives

details that the registration is taking

place in 6788 clusters having five centres

each. It is not clear if the district

offices are included in these clusters.

Whatever the case is, multiplying the

number of clusters by that of the

centres, we get 33,940 centres.

Meanwhile, the EC has set a target

of registering, at least, 100 voters a

day at each centre for six days running

in the exercise divided into five phases

with each phase lasting six days. In effect,

the EC has projected to register

over 20 million voters. Happily, there

is information that some of the centres

even registered more than the targeted

100.

There is another thing about the

registration, which is that there will be

a mop-up for a number of days to

capture those who would miss the

current exercise for one reason or another.

The exercise ends on July 30,

using the six days for each of the five

phases that it is divided into.

Now a few points we know the EC

has taken note of but still call for

some comments or questions. It was

on Tuesday that some prospective

voters learnt they had to wait for their

turn later after they had gone to their

usual centres to register. How effective

was the education concerning the

phases and their different dates?

Are there plans to increase the

number of days for the mop-up, factoring

in circumstances that can disrupt

the smooth running of the

exercise such as rainfall as it nearly

marred registration at Africa Faith

Polling centres 1,2, and 3 in the

Dome-Kwabenya Constituency on

Monday? How about machine breakdowns

and time lost due to some misunderstanding

or disturbances as it

happened in the Ayawaso constituency.

What is the EC doing to fulfil its

promise of ensuring prospective voters

observe the Covid-19 protocols,

especially in Accra and Kumasi, where

some people have the impunity of

doing what pleases them. We saw on

some television screens on Tuesday

how some people at some centres in

Accra had ignored social distancing,

wearing of nose masks and washing

of their hands before going through

the process.

The exercise is a daunting one but

must be accomplished by all means.

The DAILY HERITAGE would like

to suggest to the EC to constantly remind

its field or registration officers

that they should put away every lackadaisical

attitude and disrespect towards

prospective voters.

Most of the time, such officers

laud it over the very people they are

supposed to serve, with some of

them showing blatant disregard for

the people. There were unreported

incidents of such cases, during the

registration for the Ghana Card by the

National Identification Authority.

As we have stated, the EC is burdened

with a lot to do in relation to

its service to the nation, especially in

this Covid-19 times, and so it behoves

us all to help it because it must surely

accomplish the task.

400,000 private sch. teachers to loss jobs

BY PHILIP ANTOH

philip.antoh@dailyheritage.com.gh

THE GHANA National

Council of Private

Schools

(GNACOPS) has

stated that at least

400,000 private

school teachers will be rendered

jobless in September 2020 if the

Ministry of Education insists on

compulsory licensing of private

teachers.

According to the council, if this

policy is implemented, it will increase

the level of unemployment in

the country.

“We all bear witness to the outstanding

performance of private

schools and their contribution to

education in Ghana. We can state

emphatically that even though about

80% of our teachers are unlicensed,

we the private schools have performed

exceptionally in the past

years of our existence,” the council

stated.

The council announced that it

had put together a scheme that

would help maintain, train, license

and absorb the existing teachers into

the profession seamlessly, adding

that the scheme is known as ‘The

GNACOPS Volunteer Service

Scheme.’

Speaking at a packed press conference

in Accra yesterday to brief

Ghanaians on update of the reopening

of schools and the Coronavirus

Alleviation Programme

(CAP) for private schools, the Executive

Director of GNACOPS, Mr

Enoch Gyetuah, said the council

has proposed to the government

and Ministry of Education to work

on developing and establishing a

Private Education Policy, which will

lay out regulations and foster cooperation

between the private schools

and the sector ministry.

Efforts by GNACOPS

Mr Gyetuah said currently there

are over 22,000 registered private

schools in the country, which employ

over 400,000 workers and advocate

the mastering of

quality-based education with emphasis

on academic excellence, creative

exposures, sporting disciplines

and religious and moral upbringing

of students.

•Some of the council members at the high table

Covid-19

He said the outbreak of Covid-

19 pandemic, which led to the closure

of schools, had impacted

negatively on the finances of private

schools, whose incomes are dependent

on fee payments by parents and

loans from the financial institutions

CAP Project

Mr Gyetuah said GNACOPS

met with the Finance Ministry after

dealing with the MoE executives,

where it was realised the council

should collect one month’s payment

voucher for all private school teachers

across the country.

“Based on this, the council was

able to collate details on about

96,000 teachers from 4300 schools

interested in the grant which is

being sought by the council as a relief

for its members.

He said the council was then

redirected to the National Board for

Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) for

the inclusion of private schools in

the CAPSUPPORT Programme, a

relief fund introduced by the President

for Small and Medium Scale

Enterprises as “we await a response

to the grant request.”

Appreciation

The council praised the government

for showing much effort in

fighting Covid-19 and also putting

measures in place to ensure that

businesses were better placed in

these hard times.

PPE distributions

The council said as at June 30,

2020 all the sixteen regional coordinators

of the GNACOPS had confirmed

that all private schools had

received PPE promised by the President.

Boarding issues

The Executive Director said, “It

has come to the notice of the council

that some district directors of

education in various districts are issuing

some threat to ban some

schools for boarding the final year’s

students.

“The point we want to put out

there is that all private schools who

have received the endorsement of

parents’ to keep their children, it is

free to do so by observing and

meeting all agreed safety protocols.

On the other hand, schools with no

boarding facilities should not adopt

ad hoc measures to keep final year

students.”

At the end, the General Manager

of Pthos AIB, Mr Felix Danso, on

behalf of the company, donated

hand sanitizers and other disinfectant

materials worth over

GH 40,000.00 to the council for

onward distribution to all private

schools in the country.


06

Election 2020

Views


What Ghana must vote for (1)

BY WILLIAM KOFI DOWOKPOR

EVERY FOUR years,

Ghanaians go to the

polls to elect a President

and Members of

Parliament (MPs), to

govern the country.

By operation of our multi-party

electoral democracy, we are presented

with several choices and

we elect leaders based on varying

reasons.

All things being equal, we shall

vote again on December 7, 2020.

But do we really know why we

are voting and what our votes

mean to us individually and collectively

as citizens of Ghana?

How do our votes impact the real

economic growth and development

as well as the opportunity

to secure prosperity for all

Ghanaians who apply themselves,

instead of the few political elite,

their families and friends? In the

next few weeks, I shall show how

and why we must change our voting

patterns to change the governance

system, to change Ghana’s

destiny for the best, beginning

with my “What Ghana must vote

for” series.

For close to 30 years, long

enough to transform any resourceful

nation from developing

to developed, third world to first

or poor to rich, like South Korea,

which attained independence

about the same time as Ghana,

and with similar economic indicators,

has done, we have missed

the economic transformation dividend

of our democracy because

the basic law that governs it, the

1992 constitution, is just not fit

for purpose.

In this fourth republic, only

political parties have won elections

to form government(s). But

the successive administrations so

far produced by the two major

political parties, National Democratic

Congress (NDC) and New

Patriotic Party (NPP), that have

governed the country since 1993,

have made endless promises they

know they can never keep.

Instead of reforming the system

through the relevant constitutional

amendments to lay the

solid foundation required for

good economic policies to be executed

to guarantee the basic

needs of the electorate, the NDC

and NPP have rather settled for

all manner of vote-buying

schemes at intra- and inter-party

elections to compensate for their

lack of delivery to secure re-elections.

In nations where the electorate

have not on their own

mustered the courage to change

such voting systems, bad governance

has prevailed. Institutions

that must preserve democracy get

compromised and corrupted.

Winning elections become a

function of ability to manipulate

or buy votes, winner takes all,

make or break and “all die be

die”, just for the ruling elite to

continue to feed fat on state resources

while majority of the

people remain emasculated and

poor.

Open secret

When leadership of the NDC

•William Dowokpor

and NPP in Parliament, speaking

on the floor of the house,

confessed to vote buying by MP

aspirants and candidates, charging

that it was the cause of corruption

in Ghana, they only voiced

an open secret. After the confessions

however, they walked away

scot-free, most likely to go and

repeat same to remain in power.

There is no room for such

hypocrisy anymore. Ghana is a

certified ‘moneycracy,’ the major

characteristic of a failed state,

where votes are bought to win

elections and the elected office

Instead of reforming the system through the relevant constitutional

amendments to lay the solid foundation required for

good economic policies to be executed to guarantee the basic

needs of the electorate, the NDC and NPP have rather settled

for all manner of vote-buying schemes at intra- and inter-party

elections to compensate for their lack of delivery to secure reelections.

used to loot state resources to

win more elections and hold on

to power until an uprising or military

intervention kicks in.

We can no longer afford to

have it twisted. Ghana’s democracy

is thoroughly bankrupt.

Changing the persons in charge

as we have done in several elections,

without changing the system

would lead to more

disappointments, more corruption,

more destitution, more neglect

and more of bad governance

as we have observed for three

decades. There is danger in delaying

the reforms.

For the real change we need,

to pave the way for good and accountable

governance, to restore

a functional democracy and attain

economic freedom, voters in election

2020 should, for the first

time, listen to all the candidates

carefully. And with the understanding

of where we are and

where we must be going, vote for

comprehensive reformist candidate(s),

where reformist means a

party in government that would

amend the constitution for the

better:

Election of MMDCEs

Have Metropolitan, Municipal

and District Chief Executives

(MMDCEs) elected. It is that the

ruling NPP in 2019 reneged on

its 2016 election promise to have

MMDCEs elected. That act of

betrayal alone is estimated to cost

Ghana about one decade of economic

progress.

Disallow members of parliament

to double as ministers of

state. The constitutional provision

to have majority of ministers

appointed from parliament

breeds executive corruption, arrogance

and impunity as it weakens

parliament in its oversight

role in relation to the executive.

Have an Independent Prosecutor

appointed by a reformed

and strengthened Public Services

Commission (PSC), and who

must be independent of the executive’s

Minister of Justice.

Have Chairpersons and senior

officers of the Electoral Commission

(EC), appointed by a reformed

PSC, to avoid the

constant bastardisation of the

election management body by opposition

elements who suspect

EC’s neutrality would be compromised

by virtue of the executive

appointing them.

Have the Inspector General of

Police (IGP) appointed by a reformed

and strengthened PSC.

For the police to enforce the law

without fear or favour, the IGP

must be appointed by a body independent

of the executive.

Reforms

These reforms are so fundamental

to the sustenance of

Ghana’s democracy and opportunities

for economic transformation

that we delay the nation’s

development by maintaining the

status quo. Any candidate, presidential

or parliamentary who

does not subscribe to and commit

to these reforms is unfit for

elective office at this time in our

Have Chairpersons

and senior officers

of the Electoral

Commission (EC),

appointed by a reformed

PSC, to

avoid the constant

bastardisation of

the election management

body by

opposition elements

who suspect EC’s

neutrality would be

compromised by

virtue of the executive

appointing

them.

nation’s desperate search for rapid

economic transformation and development,

which can only happen

within the framework of

good governance.

Anyone who wants to be

elected to public office, who does

not know that the 1992 constitution

is the chief enabler of excessive

abuse of executive power,

parliament’s extra-ordinary weakness

in checking executive excesses

and the unprecedented

corruption in government, is either

ignorant of the business of

good governance and nation

building or simply wants to maintain

the status quo, to benefit

from its systemic fraud.

Disallow members

of parliament to

double as ministers

of state. The constitutional

provision to

have majority of

ministers appointed

from parliament

breeds executive

corruption, arrogance

and impunity

as it weakens parliament

in its oversight

role in relation

to the executive.


Medical information for Covid-19

What are the symptoms

of Covid-19 infection?

SYMPTOMS OF Covid-19 vary in

severity from having no symptoms at

all to having fever, cough, sore throat,

general weakness and fatigue and muscular

pain and in the most severe cases

severe pneumonia, acute respiratory

distress syndrome, sepsis and septic

shock, all potentially leading to death.

Are some people more at

risk than others?

Elderly people above 70 years of

age and those with underlying health

conditions (e.g. hypertension, diabetes,

cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory

disease and cancer) are considered

to be more at risk of developing

severe symptoms.

Are children also at risk of

infection and what is their potential

role in transmission?

Children make up a very small proportion

of reported Covid-19 cases,

with about 1% of all cases reported

being under 10 years, and 4% aged 10-

19 years. Children appear as likely to

be infected as adults, but they have a

much lower risk than adults of developing

symptoms or severe disease.



&Env.

Could harm reduction win

the fight on drugs?

BY JOSHUA OKYERE

THE WORLD, as we

know it, has been

fighting against

drug use since the

80s. In all of all this

endeavour one

thing remains constant: the international

community and individual

states and nations have

outrightly condemned drug users

and drug use by subjecting drug

users to mandatory urine tests;

the criminalization of persons

who use drugs; the denial of

harm reduction services; and, the

discrimination of drug users.

[However, all these seem to

have failed]. This failure in drug

policies and laws simply exacerbates

stigma and discrimination

and encourages the creation of

black markets and the strong urge

to defy social norms, hence there

is the need to explore innovative,

pragmatic ways of dealing with

drug use.

Besides, it is only a fool who

does the same thing over and

over again yet expecting a different

result. Going hardcore on

drug use has clearly not been successful.

Therefore, this is the time

to rethink and adopt new measures

like Harm Reduction.

Before I delve into the nuances

and dynamics of Harm Reduction

and its potential to win

the fight on drugs, it is prudent to

understand some basic concepts

and grasp some basic facts about

drug use. Drugs are psychoactive

substances that, when taken, have

an effect on the mind and consciousness.

In that sense, it means drugs

can be both beneficial and harmful

simultaneously. Drugs are

used to improve a state of mind,

serve as a social ritual and for

some religious purposes or as

passage of life.

Pleasures

It also creates or stimulates

pleasure, which is very good;

however, this can also cause psychological

and physiological dependency.

This is where the

society begins to talk about it –

when they see drug users being

dependent on it. Mainly, the society’s

concern is with what has

been branded as illicit by the international

community, including

heroin and cocaine..

It is estimated that globally, on

an annual basis, about 250 million

people use illicit drugs, i.e., one in

20 people (including the use of

cannabis and opioid).

Despite the seemingly worrying

number, statistics shows that

majority of drug users (90%) will

be beneficial and non-problematic

(this is irrespective of

whether the drug is illicit or

legal).

Given these facts, it raises concerns

as to whether the current

stringent laws and policies are, indeed,

the right ways to deal with

the drug issue. This is where the

concept of harm reduction

comes in.

Harm reduction

Harm reduction simply refers

to policies, programmes and practices

that aim to minimize negative

health, social and legal

impacts associated with drug use,

drug policies and drug laws.The

import of this strategy is rooted

in the principles of social justice,

respect for human rights, avoiding

stigma and cooperating with

networks of people who use

drugs.

We know that using unsterilized

needles can lead to the contraction

of HIV and HPV, yet

drug users do it. Criminalizing

such issues does not solve the

problem. What if we could simply

regulate what they do to minimize

the harm they are likely to

face when not supervised? This is

what harm reduction seeks to attain.

•Failure on drug policies breeds stigma and discrimination

Harm reduction centres act on

the inclusion of drug users into

the society to eradicate marginalization

of such groups, increase

their trust in the health system

and social welfare, and develop

the volition form of positive behaviours

of social acceptability.

Essence of harm

reduction

This is the essence of harm

reduction. For years, the narrative

has been that government can

control every aspect of the drug

use continuum, but this is a “Big

Misperception”. Governments

and narcotic authorities have zero

control over the demand and supply

of drugs, the prices of drugs,

the quality of the drugs used, etc.

It is anecdotal that using contaminated

heroin or cannabis can

be more detrimental to the health

and wellbeing of the user and can

even lead to death. In most cases,

these stringent drug policies

forces individuals into a web of

crime just to be able to get quality

drugs for their perceived benefits.

Therefore, employing harm reduction

can help to regulate this

more effectively and efficiently

and minimize any possible risks

or harm that may emanate from

this intervention.

Practically, there are a lot that

can be done with respect to harm

reduction. The most common

method is the incorporation of

harm reduction into intervention

programmes. For instance, it is

known that the use of unsterilized

needles for injecting drugs

can increase the likelihood of

spread of HIV. Therefore, what

harm reduction will do is to provide

drug users with clean needles

as well as accurate education

about the need to avoid sharing

needles to inject drugs.

Using drugs the

right ways

This will empower users to use

drugs the right way and reduce, if

not eliminate, the likelihood of

contracting HIV from an infected

needle. Again, there can be interventions

to ensure that pharmaceutically

pure drugs like

methadone are used. This will ensure

that drug users avoid criminal

activities in order to get the

right stuff. Also, massive outreach

work is another way of ensuring

harm reduction.

As stated earlier, harm reduction

seeks to minimize the negative

effects of drug use. This

fundamentally starts with controlling

problematic and dependence

drug use. Therefore, outreaches

are quintessential in educating

and providing drug users with the

opportunity to make informed

choices in order to minimize

harm.

In essence, harm reduction is

effective and saves life. It is an evidence-based

approach to reducing

the spread of HIV in drug

injecting users.

Therefore, I conclude that

governments around the world

can follow the WHO’s harm reduction

protocols for drug use by

adopting Opioid Substituting

Therapy (OST) and Needle and

Syringe Programmes (NSPs).

There will also be the need to revise

drug control policies across

the globe to incorporate harm reduction

tools.

Additionally, health providers,

as well as social workers and psychologists,

would have to be reoriented

and their capacity honed

to understand and deliver harm

reduction interventions without

prejudice. When countries adopt

this method in the fight against

drugs, we will be able to reduce

several health events.

Harm reduction is the new

paradigm for winning the fight on

drugs.

joshuaokyere54@gmail.com

Reference

Harm Reduction International

(2020). Retrieved from:

https://www.hri.global/what-isharm-reduction?

United Nations.

(2016). World Drug Report 2016.

UN.

spread_ JULY 2, 2020.qxp_SHOWBIZ TEMP 7/1/20 8:53 PM Page 1

News

DAILY

MoH yet to submit

data for payment of

frontline workers

– Finance Ministry

BY SENANU DAMILOLA WEMAKOR

THE FINANCE Ministry has blamed

delays in payments of allowances to

front-line health workers on the failure

on the part of the Health Ministry to

submit data of the workers.

Answering questions on the floor of

Parliament, Deputy Minister for Finance,

Mr Charles Adu Boahen, disclosed that

health workers on the Covid-19 front-line

would be paid their 50% special

allowance as soon as the data was made

available.

He said, “In March 2020, the

President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-

Addo, announced incentive packages for

the health sector as part of Ghana Covid-

19 pandemic preparedness, readiness and

response action, including a special

allowance of 50% salary hike.”

“I want to reassure the house that

adequate provision has been made for

this incentive package. We have put aside

an amount of approximately GH₡80

million for this package,” adding that the

money was enough to pay the workers

for the six months period announced by

President Akufo-Addo.

He added “the Ministry of Health,

alongside the Ministry of Finance, are

together compiling the data and doing the

necessary consideration, especially to

determine the particular health sector

workers who are eligible or designated as

front-line workers and hence eligible.

This exercise is still ongoing and as soon

as it’s completed, the payments will start.”

However, the Ho Central Member of

Parliament (MP), Mr Benjamin Kpodo,

whose question brought the deputy

minister to the house, has described the

response as unsatisfactory.

Speaking to Starr News’s Ibrahim

Alhassan, Mr Kpodo accused the

government of deceiving the health

workers. According to him, it should not

take the government more than three

months to compile simple data for

payment of the allowances to the health

workers fighting Covid-19 on behalf of

the country.

He said “that’s very very

unsatisfactory; this money is available

from the Ghana Stabilization Fund,

which they has already [been] drawn

down. And it cannot be that since April

we cannot identify front-line health

workers, some of who, as a result of their

front line position in assisting to treat

Covid-19 patients, have themselves

contracted the disease.

“They are very clearly defined. You go

to Noguchi, there are testers there, you

go to KCCR there are people who are

working on suspected patients. If you go

to the hospitals, if you go to the isolation

centres, doctors and nurses are there, so

what is the difficulty,? he asked.

He went on, “If they have started with

a few, then they can later add on. But

they have not paid even one person.

Instead, they are tossing them.”

Mr Kpodo also accused the

government of diverting the funds,

insisting that “my suspicion is that they

are not diligent. They may have applied

the money for some other use; nothing is

clear. That is why we had to bring the

Minister of Finance to answer the

questions. That caution they are

exercising is ridiculous to me.”

THE GHANA

Medical Association

has called for the

arrest and

prosecution of New

Patriotic Party (NPP)

members who refused to comply with

social distancing protocols during the

party’s primaries two weeks ago.

In a statement, the GMA said it

‘strongly condemns the lack of

observation of safety protocols

during the recently-held primaries of

the NPP.’

“The GMA believes that such an

attitude as exhibited does not help in

the fight against the spread of the

Covid-19 disease.”

“Indeed, identifiable individuals

who took part in throwing all the

precautionary measures prescribed by

the Ghana Health Service and, for

that matter, the Government to the

dogs should be apprehended and

prosecuted by the police according to

the dictates of the law,”

The statement also expressed

concerns over the lack compliance

with safety protocols in the ongoing

card distribution exercise by the

National Identification Authority.

Personal protective

equipment (PPE)

Health professionals

continue to face huge

challenges accessing the

appropriate PPE for their

work. This has contributed

significantly to large

numbers of health

professionals getting

infected in the line of duty.

The GMA calls on the

government to, as a matter

of priority and urgency,

provide the needed PPE

(both in quality and

quantity) at all times to

address the recurrent

inadequacy of PPE at

health facilities. Any supply

chain challenges should also

be addressed with

immediate effect.

Drugs (medications)

The periodic shortages of the

needed drugs for case management

should be addressed with immediate

effect.

Testing

i. There are still huge delays in

getting test results for patients

(sometimes up to 7 to 10 days after

sample taking). This situation,

HERITAGE, THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020 WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH

Prosecute NPP members for flouting

Covid-19 protocols during primaries – GMA

NEWS DESK REPORT

undoubtedly, is not the best for case

management, especially with its

attendant high risk of viral exposure

to health professionals and patients at

various facilities. The GMA urges the

government to do all it can to ensure

that test results are available within 24

hours.

ii. There should also be an

expansion of the current testing sites

and their capacities. All 16 regions

must be equipped with testing sites

immediately by the government

(Ministry of Health/Ghana

Health Service).

iii. The Ministry of

Health/Ghana Health

Service should address the

recurring issues of

shortages of test kits. The

government’s promise to

re-engineer the then Gen-

Xpert machines dotted

around the country to do

Covid-19 testing is yet to

materialise, months later

same was communicated to

the people of Ghana.

iv. The GMA also

condemns the refusal of

some health facilities and

their managers to test

exposed health

professionals and other

staff [members] in the line

of duty. The GMA entreats

Government (Ministry of Health) to

quickly address this unfortunate

development and bring all such

facility managers or administrators to

task.

Human Resource

(Specialist Care)

Most regions (aside from Greater

Accra), to an extent, have very limited

capacity (both Human Resource and

Intensive Care Units) to manage

severe to critical cases of Covid-19

requiring intensive or highdependency

care. The government

should ensure that all regions have the

needed capacity to manage such

patients.

Increasingcase counts

The GMA is deeply worried about

the continuous high daily case count

(New Cases). This clearly represent

significant community spread of

Covid-19. The GMA recommends

that the government should strictly

enforce all Covid-19 preventive

measures of the security and other

law-enforcement agencies, including

the courts.

Covid-19 education (especially that

against stigma) should be stopped at

all levels.

Reopening of schools

and Covid-19

The GMA urges all school heads,

teachers, and students returning to

school to observe all Covid-19

protocols. Management at schools

should ensure that the requisite

preventive logistics are available for

use at all times. Enforcement of rules

is paramount at this point in time.

This is very essential if we are to

avoid outbreaks at the various

schools.

Punishment for not wearing nose mask harsh – GBA

BY KOBINA WELSING

THE GHANA Bar Association has

described the punishment for the

refusal to wear a face mask in public

as harsh.

The GBA is therefore calling on

the government to take a second

look at the punishment in order not

to congest the country’s prisons.

A new Executive Instrument (E.I.

164) signed by President Nana Addo

Dankwa Akufo-Addo on June 15,

2020, as part of measures to curb the

spread of the coronavirus disease

(Covid-19), has made it an offence

for refusing to wear a face mask in

public.

The punishment is a prison

sentence of four to 10 years or a fine

of GH¢12,000 to GH¢60,000 or

both.

The E.I. was issued by the

President pursuant to the powers

granted him under the Imposition of

Restrictions Act, 2020 (Act 1012).

Per E.I. 164, which was gazetted

on Monday, June 15, the mandatory

wearing of face masks shall be in

force for three months and shall

apply to all parts of Ghana.

But in a statement, the GBA said

the punishments imposed by the

provisions of Section 6 of Act 1012

and Paragraph 4(2) of EI 164 are

severe and that it may culminate in

the imposition of custodial

sentences.

“Much as punishments ought to

be meted out to persons who flout

and contravene laws, the GBA is

concerned with and finds the

punishment imposed in respect of

persons who breach Act 1012 and EI

164, harsh. It is our view that the

punishments imposed by the

provisions of Section 6 of Act 1012

and Paragraph 4(2) of EI 164 are

severe and further that may

culminate in the imposition of

custodial sentences.

“The GBA is apprehensive that

the prisons, which are presently

•Freedie Blay, NPP National Chairman

congested, may shortly be teeming

with convicts who are unable to pay

fines imposed by Courts under

Section 6 and Paragraph 4(2)

aforementioned.

•Wearing of nose masks is now compulsory in Ghana

“The GBA would therefore

suggest, in the circumstances, an

amendment of the said Section 6 to

impose punishments that are less

severe. The Bar would propose a fine

of not less than ten penalty units

and not more than one hundred

and fifty penalty units or to a

term of imprisonment of not

less than one month and not

more than two years. It is our

firm belief that our proposals are

sufficiently punitive and will deter

people from violating the

restrictions imposed by virtue of

the law.”

A new Executive

Instrument (E.I. 164)

signed by President Nana

Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

on June 15, 2020, as

part of measures to curb

the spread of the

coronavirus disease

(Covid-19), has made it

an offence for refusing to

wear a face mask in

public.

Over 100,000

voters to register in

New Juaben South

—Dr. Assibey Yeboah

BY KOJO ANSAH

THE MEMBER of

Parliament (MP) for New

Juaben South, Dr Mark

Assibey Yeboah, has stated

that little over 100,000

qualified voters are expected

to register in the constituency.

Dr Assibey Yeboah said

the constituency is the most

populated in the region with

close to 94,000 registered

voters after the recent limited

registration exercise, hence

his projection of an increase

of over 6,000 voters.

He said this in an

interview with the media in

Koforidua after monitoring

the ongoing first phase of the

registration exercise in the

New Juaben South

Constituency.

The lawmaker was

impressed about how the

exercise was progressing and

the enthusiasm of the

electorate, but urged the

registration officers to speed

up the process to ensure that

the target of, at least,

registering 100 qualified

voters per day is met.

He urged constituents to

turnout in their numbers to

register, adding that EC was

strictly adhering to Covid-19

preventive protocols, hence

there was no need to fear

contracting the Coronavirus.

The lawmaker also visited

the Municipal Electoral

Office to familiarise himself

with the electoral officers

The Municipal Electoral

Officer, Mr Kofi-Asante

Owusu, said the late

configuration of the

registration equipment slowed

down the operation of the

equipment but after few

hours it started working

efficiently and so he was

hopeful the target would be

met.

The Electoral Commission

of Ghana on Monday

commenced its month-long

nationwide voter registration

exercise for the December

general election.

The exercise is going on in

6788 clusters made up of five

registration centres each

across the country.

The exercise is being

conducted in five phases, each

phase spanning six days with

additional days for mop-up.

•Dr Mark Assibey Yeboah, MP for New Juabeng

•Mr Kwaku Agyeman Manu, Health Minister


1ST

JULY

2020

MONDAY

CURRENCY PARIS CODE BUYING SELLING

US Dollar USDGHS 5.6646 5.6702

RATES Pound Sterling GBPGHS

6.9991

7.0084

Euro

GBPGHS

6.3577

6.3649

10



World Bank to give

Ghana US$715m support

THE COUNTRY Director

of the World

Bank, Pierre Frank

Laporte, says the

bank is currently

processing financial

support that could reach up to

US$715m to help the government

combat the Covid-19 pandemic as

well as execute other projects.

Mr Laporte told Business24 in an

interview that the amount includes a

US$100m financial support request

made by the government to enable it

to undertake a set of projects relating

to its fight against the pandemic.

This amount follows a similar

support offered by the bank at the

onset of the pandemic in early

April, when an amount of US$100m

was approved as part of the Covid-

19 emergency Preparedness Response

Support initiative.

“We are going to give US$315m

to Ghana through two projects,” Mr.

Laporte said. “The first is a jobs and

skills project, which will focus on

improving the environment and

make funds available for SMEs and

focus on building skills in that area.

The other project is the recently

launched Ghana Accountability for

Learning Outcomes Project

(GALOP), which will support teaching

and learning through modern inservice

teacher training and

provision of learning materials.”

The Country Director expressed

confidence that the government’s request

should be approved by end of

July to provide the needed resources

to tackle the pandemic and its ramifications.

He added: “Early in the [World

Bank’s] next fiscal year, by September

2020, we expect to bring roughly

another US$400m in new projects,

including one in the financial sector

which will provide credit lines to the

development banks and provide

guarantees for SMEs. Additional

funds will also be dedicated to the

water sector — and this time we are

focusing on Kumasi.”

Debt service relief

With resource-dependent countries

like Ghana, which have been

badly hit by the pandemic, asking

for a debt service respite from both

multilateral and bilateral institutions,

Mr. Laporte stated that the government

may have to formally notify

the bank if it intends to benefit

from such a favour.

He said although the government

agrees that a suspension of its

debt service commitments with the

Washington-based lender would

offer it some respite, the bank is yet

to receive an official request to that

effect.

“Ghana has not yet officially

made a request for debt service suspension.

The Finance Minister and

his team are still considering this.

There are several issues related to

that. For instance, there are benefits

and costs of such engagement.”

President Akufo-Addo in April

announced that an agreement had

been reached with the Bretton-

Woods institution to freeze the

country’s debt service commitments

for the rest of the year. Ghana’s outstanding

debt to the World Bank

stood at US$4.2bn as at May 31.

Mr. Laporte said while a formal

notification was yet to be received

by the bank from Ghana, other

countries that made a similar request

had been put on a watch list by

some credit rating agencies —

which perhaps could be a reason

holding government back. thebusiness24online.net

Effect of Covid-19

ExxonMobil to make major job cuts

BY KOBINA WELSING

THE LARGEST oil company in the

United States is preparing to let go between

5% and 10% of its US-based

employees subject to performance review,

anonymous sources told BNN

Bloomberg.

Exxon’s job cuts will be characterized

as performance-based, and not

considered layoffs, technically speaking.

Employees who are not subject to

performance reviews will not be affected,

the source said.

Exxon told Bloomberg in a statement

that there was no specific reduction

target.

Exxon has not been immune to

the drastic effects of the coronavirus

pandemic and the oil price war that

has destroyed demand for crude oil

and eaten into profit margins for that

reduced demand, and it has attempted

to tighten its belt in response.

In Q1, Exxon swung to a $640

million loss — its first loss in a decade

after a $2.9 billion market-related

charge. It also cut 2020 Capex by a

staggering $10 billion — a 30% cut. It

has also cut its production from

the Liza field in Guyana, although that

was related to the risk of excessive

flaring and not the coronavirus or

prices.

In addition to offloading some

lower-performing employees, the oil

giant is preparing to rid itself of

its UK North Sea assets, for which it

can no longer expect as much money

thanks to the downturn.

The news comes as Minnesota and

D.C. launch climate-related lawsuits

against Exxon — and others – alleging

that they have deceived oil consumers

for years about the effects of climate

change, and about their role in causing

climate change.

Exxon, headquartered in Irving,

Texas, employed nearly 75,000 people

globally at the end of 2019.

Shares in Exxon had fallen on Friday,

June 26, by 3.43% by 4:11 p.m.

EDT, to $43.62.



DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY , JULY 2, 2020 11

Politics

Do not mind anything that anyone tells you about

anyone else. Judge everyone and everything for

yourself —Henry James

MP Lydia Alhassan not

busing ‘foreigners’ – NPP

BY MUSAH LANSAH

THE NEW Patriotic

Party (NPP) has

rubbished claims by

the opposition National

Democratic

Congress (NDC)

that Member of Parliament (MP)

for Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency

(AWWC), Lydia Alhassan

is busing non-residents into

the area to register in the ongoing

voter registration exercise.

NPP’s Constituency Secretary,

Sawadogo Nab, who spoke to

Starr News’ Musah Lansah, rejected

the claims of the NDC and

said the allegation was to hide the

opposition party’s poor preparedness

for the exercise.

”I want to state it categorically

that it is not true. It is a fabrication.

They want to [avoid] blame

[for] the inadequate preparation

on their side. They want to use

that as an excuse to say that we

are doing. It is not true.”

The NDC in the AWWC ,yesterday

at a press conference, accused

the NPP’s parliamentary

candidate, who is the incumbent

MP for the area, of busing people

from other constituencies and regions

into the area to register as

voters.

Constituency Chairman of the

NDC, Bismark Aborbi Ayitey,

told the media that his party

would resist any attempt to have

non-residents register in their constituency.

Confusion at Accra Girls’

•Some elegible voters in queues

Vocational Institute

In a related development, there

was tension at the Accra Girls’

Vocational Institute registration

centre in Accra as supporters of

the ruling NPP were reported to

have prevented members of the

opposition NDC from holding a

press conference at the centre.

According to Starr News’

Musa Lansah, the police had to be

called in to restore calm as the

supporters hurled insults at each

other.

The supporters of the NDC

were said to be concerned about

some happenings at the registration

centres and had planned to

address the media concerning

their concerns. But the NPP

members said the centre must not

be used for the media encounter

and that sparked the confusion.

A/R:

NDC executives storm Sekyere Afram Plains over members’ arrest

BEDIAKO JUSTICE

ASHANTI REGIONAL executive

members of the National

Democratic Congress (NDC), led

by the regional chairman, Augustus

Nana Kwasi, have visited

Sekyere Afram Plains Constituency

over the arrest of two

party members.

The party members were arrested

and kept in custody for

many hours after they reportedly

challenged a ‘non-resident’ from

registering in the constituency in

the ongoing voter registration exercise.

Meanwhile, Starr News’ Isaac

Bediako Justice reports that the

two party members have been

granted bail after they were denied

it Tuesday.

The party leadership in the

constituency says it is gathering

first-hand information on claims

of non-residents registering in the

area.

The party members were arrested and

kept in custody for many hours after

they reportedly challenged a ‘non-resident’

from registering in the constituency

in the ongoing voter

registration exercise.

•Ashanti regional chair of NDC, Augustus Nana Kwasi


12

DAILY

Politics


HERITAGE THURSDAY , JULY 2, 2020

Voter’s register:

CODEO commends EC for good start

BY KWAME ACHEAMPOMG

THE COALITION

of Election Observers

(CODEO)

has commended

the Electoral Commission

(EC) for

what it says is the smooth takeoff

of the voter’s registration

exercise.

According to CODEO, most

registration centres are accessible

and easily identified within

communities and had safety

protocols in place to check

Covid-19.

Concerning their observation

so far, the Project Lead for

CODEO, Rhoda Afful, told

Francis Abban on Morning

Starr yesterday that the delivery

of registration materials to centres

was also impressive.

“All in all, day one wasn’t

bad. There were some positives

and some negatives. Most of the

registration centres are easy to

locate and accessible. The materials

were there and election officials

were there. The safety

protocols were in place, hand

washing equipment was there,”

she said.

The Northern regional police

commander, DCOP Timothy

Yoosa Bonga, also expressed

satisfaction over security in the

various registration centres in

Tamale when he toured the centres.

At the Bagabaga registration

•Scenes at Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituecy

centres in the Sagnarigu Constituency,

Mr Bonga said that his

tour around the various centres

indicated there was peace and

calm.

In Koforidua, two voter ID

applicants were arrested for not

wearing nose masks at a registration

centre.

The arrest was effected on

the orders of the Koforidua-Effiduase

District Police Commander

.S.A Young at a polling

station in Ogua Electoral Area

in New Juaben North Constituency.

The suspects were a man and

a woman.

Concerning their observation

so far, the Project Lead for

CODEO, Rhoda Afful, told Francis

Abban on Morning Starr

yesterday that the delivery of

registration materials to centres

was also impressive.

215 Pwalugu police recruits recover from Covid-19

• Maame Tiwaa

BY KWAME ACHEAMPOMG

TWO HUNDRED and fifteen

police recruits at the Pwalugu

Police Training School in the

Upper East Region who contracted

Covid-19 have all recovered,

Director-General in charge

of Welfare of the Police Service,

Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-

Danquah, has disclosed.

The staggering number of

affected recruits was out of a

total number of 274 trainees in

the Upper East Region.

“Yesterday, I was at the

Pwalugu Police Training School

and for the first time; they

recorded 100% negative cases in

relation to Covid-19. The

trainees had a feast to celebrate

the feat achieved.”

She noted all police officers

had been given two reusable

nose masks in order to protect

them from the virus. She also

disclosed that all inmates who

had been infected by the disease

had all recovered from the disease.

Meanwhile, 45 new confirmed

cases of Coronavirus in

five districts in the Eastern Region

have pushed the regional

case count from 623 to 668.

Out of the number, New

Juaben South recorded 20,

Nsawam Adoagyiri 17, Birim

Central five, Kwahu South two,

and West Akim one.

This is the second time the

Eastern Region has confirmed a

set of 45 positive cases. Out of

the total confirmed cases in the

region, 248, representing 37%,

are health workers. However,

107 have recovered and one

death recorded.

Of the 668 confirmed cases

in the region, 438 have recovered

and nine have died.

•COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah



DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY , JULY 2, 2020 13

Music contributes to

my happiness — KashBwoy

BY ERICA ARTHUR

NIGERIAN-

BORN

GHANAIAN

recording and

performing

artiste, KashBwoy,

born Kingsley Okedi, says

music is the only thing that gives

him genuine happiness and inner

peace.

KashBwoy, who was born to

farmer parents from Delta State,

Nigeria, explains that music is not

his actual career, but he does

music because it gives him genuine

happiness.

In an interview, he said, “I

won’t necessarily call music career

though. I’m just doing what

makes me happy. Though the

music industry is lucrative, I don’t

depend solely on that financially. I

am doing this out of passion but

if my passion pays well, why not?

But I do other side businesses to

•KashBwoy,

push my craft. Music is the only

thing that gives me genuine happiness

and inner peace.”

He adds that the musical journey

has been slow but steady, and

he is still trying to put the sound

out there through all the challenges,

but nonetheless he is more

focused.

“What makes me different is

my style. You can’t take that away

from me. My style is simple, fun,

and straightforward. I just hope

my music makes as many people

happy as it makes me.”

Beginning music

Kashbwoy started music at a

young age. His parents, who were

Christians, used to play gospel

music all the time. His father, also

a huge high life fan, influenced

Kashbwoy’s music journey. He

grew up listening to the parents

and that’s where it started.

“I initially started writing rap

songs at age 10. I used to have

this notebook I took with me

everywhere. I started with rap because

rap music was the trend

then. The likes of M.I, Naeto-C,

Sarkodie, and even Olamide were

influencers back then. But along

the line, I was coerced into

singing by these three guys --

Runtown, Burnaboy, and Mr Eazi.

These are the three guys that really

influenced my current sound.

Big ups to them”

The artiste, who classifies his

craft as the versatile genre, says, “I

don’t actually get classified in a

genre because I just go with the

flow. But curators in recent times

classifies me as an Afrofusion/Afro-pop

with a little

street vibe.”

Kashbwoy had his elementary

education in Nigeria before proceeding

to Accra Institute of

Technology, where he studied

computer engineering.

He is a songwriter and he says,

“Yes, I write all my music. For

now, I draw inspiration mostly

from experiences and my environment.

My favorite part of this

musical journey is the part of the

free-styling moments. Most times,

I free-style on the beats before

putting the lyrics out. That

process is kind of very spiritual to

me.”

He says, though his music is

growing, there has been no best

moments yet, “as the best is yet to

come but I’ve had a few good

moments reading through comments

and reviews about my

songs.”

KashBwoy has officially

dropped two songs, which are

‘Kiss & Tell’ and ‘Maria’ but has a

couple of songs online. He advised

that “No one should want

to be like anybody; they should

rather be the best versions of

themselves. Should follow their

own true path.”

I'm sorry

• Akuapem Poloo begs for posing nude with 7yr-old son

BY EDWARD ACQUAH

GHANAIAN VIDEO vixen,

Rosemond Brown, popularly

known as Akuapem Poloo, has expressed

regret for a picture published

on social media in which

she has posed nude squatting before

her seven-year-old son.

She was criticised severely after

her nude post went viral on social

media.

Following her nude post which

was intended to celebrate her

seven-year-old son’s birthday, the

Child Right International (CRI)

has petitioned the Criminal Investigations

Department (CID) to invite

the actress for questioning

over abuse of the boy’s rights.

A number of individuals have

also expressed disdain about the

indecent photo stating that the

young lady must be called to

order.

She stated that the nude photo

was an artistic impression and not

to promote nudity as many perceived.

"I'm not trying to portray porn

in the picture I posted. What I

posted was an artistic impression.

I can't post porn on my page. I

even bath with my son.

"I was only sending a message

out there. I'm so sorry if I hurt or

anyone got hurt with my nude

post. It wasn't a bad intention,"

she apologised

The Director of the Anti-

Human Trafficking Unit of the

Police Service, Superintendent

Mike Baah, said the actress is yet

to honour an invitation extended

her by the CID of the Ghana Police

Service following a petition

against her for posting a nude picture

of herself and her son to celebrate

his birthday.

According to the CID, the actress

was asked to report at 10:00

a.m. yesterday (Wednesday) but as

of 12 noon, she had not turned

up to help in investigating the

matter, adding that the child needs

•Rosemond

Brown aka

Akuapem Poloo

counselling.

“We are now investigating but

if what we saw is proved to be

what it is, then, of course, we have

myriad of offences such as gross

indecency; we can also talk about

indecent exposure under the

Criminal and Other Offences Act,

and we can also look at abusing

the child psychologically, which is

criminalized under the Domestic

Violence Act, Act 732,” the CID

boss noted.

Akuapem Poloo was seen in

the viral picture naked and squatting

before her semi-nude sevenyear-old

son as they held hands.

She later replaced the nude

photo after public backlash with a

decent photo.

Akuapem chief warns

Reacting to the Poloo's nude

post, the Mampong Akuapem

Apesemakahene, Nana Yirenkyi I,

said last year he warned her of

that behaviour and she apologised

to him.

“But from what she has done

now, I think she is not a changed

person. She is not from here, and

so she cannot be using the name,"

he said.

Nana Yirenkyi indicated that

Poloo could go naked without

using the Akuapem name and no

Akuapem chief would complain.

According to him, the name

'Akuapem' is bigger than Rosemond

Brown and very soon the

name will be taken away from her.



Arts & Ent


Parents who cover up rape

deserve hell – Fmr Miss Ghana

BY SENANU DAMILOLA WEMAKOR

• Stephanie Karikari

BEAUTY QUEEN

Stephanie Karikari

has waded into the

trending global discussion

on rape,

bringing a different

twist to the fight against the

canker.

The Miss Ghana 2010 winner

says she is of the view that children

at very tender age must be

introduced to speaking up when

they sense that they are being

abused in certain ways.

She insists that kids at the

kindergarten level, as done in the

west, must be taught by parents

and teachers when they are being

touched in a wrong way.

Stephanie also called out parents

and guardians who conceal

rape cases in their households,

saying they deserve hell.

She described rape as “just a

whole embarrassing and really disgusting

act.”

In Africa, the rate of child

abuse is the highest at 34%. In

Nigeria, 24% •Stonebwoy of females aged 18

to 24 have gone through some

form of sexual abuse and only

3.5% cases have been reported to

the police. In South Africa, 41,000

plus women were raped between

2009 and 2019.

Similarly, in Ghana 514 rape

and 1889 defilement cases were

reported to the police.

Stephanie, a new episode of

her SK Diaries vlog that borders

on social issues and dubbed ‘Rape

in Households’, seeks to give children

a voice at a young age, so

they grow with it.

She said “we need to create an

aggressive awareness on this type

of issue. And I suggest that we

start from kindergarten and this is

because when you look at the

western world, kids know their

rights from a young age.”

“What happens is that when

there is some sort of child abuse

and they get to school, they eventually

end up telling somebody,

like their teacher, and the right

measures have been put in place

to act upon it. So, I feel like we

need to get that done where from

kindergarten, a child needs to

know, parents need to tell their

children, and should even be told

in school,” she added.

“When someone touches

•Burn

you

this way or that way, report it. You

need to tell somebody, • tell a

teacher or tell a parent. Let it sink

into their heads so that when they

are growing up, they know what is

wrong or what is right.”

Touching on the concealment of

rape cases by parents, she said “at

times, you have uncles that have

probably raped or touched their

nieces and the parents of this little

girl or boy will say it’s a family secret

and will keep it in the house.

Maybe they wouldn’t be as close to

the uncle anymore but it stays in the

house. That is so wrong, and parents

need to do better.”

“If you are a mother or a father

and you have someone who

is a rape victim in your house and

you have kept quiet about it, well

done. You have succeeded in destroying

someone’s future, and

you deserve a place in hell,” she

fumed.

She called on the Ministry of

Gender, Children and Social Protection,

the Domestic Victim and

Violence Support Unit of the

Ghana Police Service and nongovernmental

organisations to do

600 times better in addressing

rape cases.

Agya Koo has no regard

for time – Fred Amugi

BY EDWARD ACQUAH

VETERAN ACTOR Fred

Amugi has said he would never

be on the same movie set with

Alex Kofi Adu, popularly

known as Agya Koo.

He noted that the actor,

who hails from Kumasi, has no

regard for time when he was

asked to report on a movie set.

Mr Amugi recounted an experience

where the award-winning

actor failed to report on

time for a movie shoot, giving

reason that he only works in

the evening.

The 71-year-old actor indicated

that he would decline to

be on the same film set as Agya

Koo.

“I think it is Agya Koo; he is

one person I will not like to

work with again because we

went to work somewhere

around the Sunyani–Kumasi

road.

• Alex Kofi Adu

“We were there the whole

day but he came around

5:30p.m. and told us he works

in the evening. It wasn’t like we

were going to shoot the night

scene but you decided to come

around that time. I live in Accra

but I came early and you come

• Fred Amugi

out to say you work in the

night,” he lamented.

Fred Amugi and Agya Koo

have starred in several movies

but, currently, both are not as

active as they used to be in the

Ghanaian movie industry.

Tinny tests positive for

coronavirus

RAPPER NII Addo Quaynor,

better known by his stage name

Tinny, has tested positive for

the novel coronavirus (Covid-

19). This was announced by

fellow musician Nii Funny on

his personal Facebook page.

“Covid-19 is real Ghanaians

should pray for Tinny; he has

tested positive,” Nii Funny

wrote it on Facebook.

Top politicians, celebrities

and sports people have been

infected as governments

around the world are taking

strict measures to curb the

spread of the virus.

Ghana’s Covid-19 cases surpass

17,700 with 13,268 recoveries

and 112 fatalities.

Below is the regional

breakdown:

Greater Accra Region –

9,858

Ashanti Region – 3,615

Western Region – 1,556

Central Region – 972

Eastern Region – 623

Volta Region – 346

Tinny

Upper East Region – 274

Northern Region – 120

Oti Region – 112

Western North Region –

102

Bono East Region – 52

Upper West Region – 40

Savannah Region – 39

Bono Region – 18

Ahafo Region – 8

North East Region – 6



Kotoko, Ashgold to represent

Ghana in Africa next season

ASANTE KO-

TOKO and

Ashanti Gold will

represent Ghana

in next season’s

CAF’ inter-club

competitions.

This decision comes after the

Executive Committee of the

Ghana Football Association

(GFA) met on Tuesday to cancel

the 2019/2020 football season.

The Ghana football season

has been cancelled as a result of

the crisis presented by

the Corona virus (Covid-19) disease.

As a result, Asante Kotoko

and AshGold, who represented

•File Photo: Asante Kotoko team

the country in the CAF Champions

League and the Confederation

Cup last year, will represent

the country again next season.

“The Executive

Council

of the

Ghana Football

Association

has taken

a decision to

cancel the

2019/2020

football season

following

a marathon

meeting on

Tuesday, June

30, 2020, at

the GFA Secretariat

in

Accra. Details soon,” a GFA

statement said yesterday.

In an interview with Accrabased

Angel FM Tuesday

evening, Communications Director

for the Ghana FA, Henry Asante

Twum, has shared that due

to the inability of the FA to complete

the season, the body would

present Asante Kotoko and Ash-

Gold to represent the country in

the CAF Champions League and

the Confederations Cup respectively.

The two Ghana Premier

League clubs represented the

West African country in Africa

last season after winning the tier

1 and tier 2 of the Normalisation

Committee Special Competition.

Ghana loses boxing great

• GBA, WBO pay tribute

THE GHANA Boxing Authority

(GBA) has described as ‘sad and

unfortunate’ news of the passing

of Ghanaian boxing great, Alfred

Kotey.

Kotey’s demise, according to reports,

occurred on Tuesday, June

30, in the United States.

Unconfirmed reports indicate

Ghana’s fifth world title winner

had been unwell for some months

now and was on life support until

his death.

The spokesperson of the GBA,

Sammy Heywood Okine, told

www.ghanaweb.com his outfit was

saddened by the boxer’s department.

He described him as a wellmannered

boxer who at his peak

shied away from controversy.

“The whole GBA is very sad

that death has laid its icy hands on

Alfred Kotey. Our president said

he is the first of our world title

winners to die and that’s a huge

disappointment. I knew him personally

and he was a cool guy who

did not like trouble”, he said.

The President of the GBA said

“Sad news indeed. The very first of

all our world champions to pass

on, Alfred, rest in peace.”

Yoofi Boham, a boxing consultant

who confirmed the death, said,

“It’s true as yesterday (Monday),

the doctor invited Coach Kwame

Asante to come over today. He was

on life support and had already

been declared brain dead. This

morning, Wonder Tackie told me

that the life-support had been removed”.

Kotey is the first Ghanaian to

win a WBO world title, a feat he

achieved in 1994 against Rafael Del

Valle of Puerto Rico.

WBO has also, in a tweet, paid

tribute to the boxer who was

widely known as Cobra.

Prior to becoming a professional

fighter, Kotey competed at

the 1988 Olympic Games.

The WBO family is deeply saddened

by the passing of the great

Alfred Kotey, the organization's

first World Champion from

Ghana. Kotey defeated Rafael Del

Valle to win the Bantam crown on

July 30th, 1994. May he rest in

peace.

Alfred Kotey

died in the

United States

I had no choice

Marcel Desailly on why he

played for France

GHANAIAN-BORN retired

France footballer Marcel Desailly

has told Football Made

in Ghana about how he

ended up playing for ‘Les

Bleus’ instead of the Black

Stars.

Desailly, a son of a diplomat,

was born in Ghana but

left the country for France at

the age of four. He eventually

saw his growth and development

through the

French system and would

later go on to have an extraordinary

career as a footballer.

The crowning moment

will come when Desailly

played a pivotal role in helping

France to their first and

only FIFA World Cup conquest

in 1998 on home soil.

He would later captain

the side to glory at the continental

level when France

overcame Italy in a crunch

final to win the EURO

Championship in 2000.

Desailly, who says he regrets

never getting the

chance to feature for Ghana,

says he had no other choice

than to settle on France.

In an exclusive interview

with Football Made in

Ghana, Desailly insisted it is

awkward he is mostly seen

as a European whereas he is

Ghanaian.

He told FMIG “It’s

strange when you say he

won the World Cup with

France. People straightaway

Desailly won the 1998 World

Cup with France

identify me with some sort

of European but I am

Ghanaian. My both parents

are Ghanaians (sic).

“You know in the 80’s I

left Ghana. I was four years

old. So, I reached France

and I entered into the football

system slowly. I didn’t

really have the choice, I was

inside the system and [at]

Under-13, I was already

playing for France National

team.

“So I did not have a

choice really, I was already

in the system,” he noted.

Desailly played 116 times

for the French National side

and retired from international

football in 2004 after

the European championship.


DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH

THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

Africa Cup of Nations

postponed until 2022

THE CONFEDER-

ATION of African

Football has moved

the biennial tournament

to January

2022.

The next edition of the Africa

Cup of Nations (Afcon) has been

postponed by 12 months, the

Confederation of African Football

(CAF) confirmed in their Executive

Committee meeting on

Tuesday.

The 33rd edition of the biennial

tournament was due to begin

in Cameroun on January 9, 2021,

but has now been pushed back to

January 2022 due to the impact of

the coronavirus pandemic across

the continent.

Goal understands that CAF’s

concerns about the ability to fit in

the outstanding qualifiers before

the intended start date of January

2021 are behind the decision to

postpone the 24-team tournament,

although African football’s

governing body has not announced

whether the 34th edition

of the tournament—scheduled

for Ivory Coast in 2023 — will

also be pushed back.

Fifa had earlier announced that

September’s international football

window would be cancelled for all

territories outside Europe and

Riyad Mahrez

South America, denying Africa a

critical window in which to play

some of the outstanding four

rounds of qualification.

While CAF could play some of

the outstanding qualifiers in the

October-November international

window, this would impact the

World Cup qualifying campaign,

where the five qualifying teams

must play in eight qualifiers before

the Qatar tournament in late

Messi scores 700 career goal

2022.

Algeria are the reigning

African champions, having defeated

Senegal 1-0 in the 2019

final in Cairo.

The Africa Cup of

Nations was long held during January

and February, but moved to

a June-July schedule ahead of the

2019 event, with newly-elected

president Ahmad Ahmad keen to

avoid the club-versus-country disputes

that often overshadow a

tournament being played during

the European winter.

However, the 2021 tournament’s

dates have already been

moved once, with the original

June-July 2021 dates brought forward

to January due to the unfavourable

climate in Cameroun

during the summer months.

CAF also confirmed the 2020

African Nations Championship

— the biennial tournament

for home-based players —

which will be played next

year, having originally been

scheduled for April 2020.

The Chan — which was

also due to be held in

Cameroun — had been indefinitely

postponed due

to the spread of Covid-19.

CAF’s decision comes

after Uefa pushed the 2020

European Championships

back by 12 months, while

the 2020 Copa America

has also been shunted back

to a 2021 start date.

Also announced during

the meeting was that the

semi-finals of CAF’s two

continental club competitions

— the Champions

League and Confederation

Cup — will be one-legged

affairs, moving forward,

rather than the home-and-away

ties previously.

For women’s football across

the continent, the 2020 African

Women’s Cup of Nations has

been cancelled, while CAF has announced

the inauguration of a

new women’s Champions League,

which will begin in 2021.

Source: Goal.com

LIONEL MESSI scored the 700th

goal of his career with a Panenka

penalty in Barcelona's La Liga draw

with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

The Spanish giants' all-time top

scorer hit the landmark goal for club

and country by gently chipping the

ball into the net as Jan Oblak dived

the wrong way.

The goal had put Barcelona 2-1

up but Atletico hit back to draw 2-2.

Barca remain second, one point

behind Real Madrid, who have a

game in hand.

Messi's penalty was also his

630th goal in his 724th appearance

for the club.

The Argentina star played a part

in the opener for Barcelona when

his whipped corner hit Diego Costa

and deflected into the back of the

net.

Former Chelsea striker Costa

quickly had the chance to make

amends when Atletico were awarded

a penalty after Yannick Carrasco was

fouled inside the box.

Costa stepped up to take the

spot kick only to see it saved by

Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but it had to

be retaken because the Barcelona

goalkeeper had come off his line

early. Saul Niguez took the second

penalty and sent Ter Stegen the

wrong way.

Messi restored Barcelona's lead

and reached his career milestone

with his cheeky Panenka - named

after Antonin Panenka's famous

penalty for Czechoslovakia in the

final of the 1976 European Championship

- but Niguez equalised

again with another penalty as Barca

dropped points which could cost

them dearly in the title race.

Messi joins 700 club

Another year, and another milestone

for Messi.

His 700th career goal - coming

just over 14 months after netting for

the 600th time for Barcelona -

means he joins a select group.

According to data

from Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics

Foundation, Messi is now one of

seven players to have reached the

700-goal mark in their career.

Czech-Austrian Josef Bican leads

the way with 805 career goals, followed

by Brazil legend Romario,

who bagged 772, with his compatriot

Pele being third on 767.

Hungary legend Ferenc Puskas

hit 746 goals, while former Germany

striker Gerd Muller rounds

out the top five with 735 goals.

Messi's great modern goalscoring

rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, is the sixth

man on the list, having reached 700

career goals with a strike for Portugal

in a Euro 2020 qualifier against

Ukraine in October last year. He has

added a further 26 goals to his tally

since then.

Messi's goal was his 27th of the season

for club and country

JULY 2, 2020

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