Renowned legal practitioner and academic, Tsatsu Tsikata has raised questions with the petition filed by the Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin on the correct position of the law regarding Article 97(1) (g) and (h), the constitutional provision that the Speaker of Parliament recently used to declare four seats in Parliament vacant.

A seven-member panel of the court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, has fixed Tuesday, November 12, 2024 for judgement.

The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) was established by section 4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2008 (Act 749) as amended.

It is a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue and be sued in its corporate name.  

The FIC may for the performance of its functions acquire and hold movable and immovable property and may enter into a contract or any other transaction.

The FIC is the National Centre for the Receipt and Analysis of suspicious transaction reports and other information relevant to predicate offences of Money Laundering/ Terrorist Financing and Proliferation Financing (ML/TF&P) and disseminating actionable intelligence to competent authorities.

It is an established fact that in the history of Ghanaian politics, very few figures resonate as strongly with the people as President John Dramani Mahama. A man of vision, integrity and determination, Mahama has left an indelible mark on Ghana, both as a seasoned leader and as a symbol of what true leadership should embody. 

As he steps forward, ahead of the 2024 General elections, with renewed zeal and commitment, Ghanaians are once again inspired by his promise of a better future, underpinned by his remarkable knowledge, experience and understanding of the nation’s most pressing issues.

The presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama is at a church service with members of the clergy in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region on Monday.

This is a follow up to a similar event in Accra some weeks ago.

The Supreme Court will on Tuesday give a judgment on the correct position of the law regarding Article 97(1) (g) and (h), the constitutional provision that the Speaker of Parliament used to declare four seats in Parliament vacant.

A seven-member panel of the court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, fixed the date for judgement on Monday after hearing arguments from the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, and Joe Ghartey, lawyer for Alexander Afenyo-Markin , the plaintiff.

The Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has described as unconstitutional a ruling in 2020 by a former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, declaring vacant the seat of the then Member of Parliament (MP) for Fomena, Andrews Amoako Asiamah.

The Attorney-General made the point at the Supreme Court hearing on Monday morning during submissions in a suit seeking an interpretation of Article 97(1) (g) and (h) of the 1992 Constitution, which is the basis for the current Speaker, Alban Bagbin, declaring four seats in Parliament vacant.

The Speaker of Parliament has decided not to defend a suit at the Supreme Court seeking an interpretation of the constitutional provision that led him to declare four seats in Parliament vacant. 

At Monday morning’s hearing of the suit seeking an interpretation of Article 97(1) (g) and (h), there was no legal representation for the Speaker, neither had he filed any legal process.

The Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, says the government has successfully revived and expanded Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which he claims was nearly collapsed under former President John Mahama.

Speaking to stakeholders in the Suame Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Dr. Bawumia said the NPP inherited a troubled scheme in 2017, facing financial difficulties and limited coverage. 

However, he said the government has since injected funding to improve and broaden the scheme, adding new benefits to ease the healthcare burden on Ghanaians.

Former President John Darimani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have stated in their 2024 manifesto that the next NDC government will review the Nana Addo/Bawumia free secondary education policy within 100 days in office.

Top on former President Mahama and the NDC’s list is to: ‘abolish the double-track system to restore a stable one-track academic calendar’.

Any attempt to abolish the double track calendar will deny an estimated one million, eight hundred thousand (1,800,000) students access to free senior high school and technical vocational education and training (FSHS/TVET). 

…You Open The Box At Your Own Peril

DAMOCLES is a character, who appears in an anecdote commonly referred to as the “SWORD OF DAMOCLES” in Greek mythology, an allusion to the imminent and ever-present peril faced by those in positions of power. Damocles was an obsequious courtier in the court of Dionysius II of Syracuse, Sicily. 

Some Ghanaian citizens were encouraged by the declaration that “If the Fundamentals are weak, the Exchange Rate will expose you”.

Finally, we hoped, someone in power might understand Ghana’s challenges and lead the charge to resolving them.

Alas, the charge never came.

When the Speaker of Parliament, Right Honourable A.S.K. Bagbin, addressed the media last Wednesday, he appeared to suggest that Parliament is supreme and that none of the other arms of government, the Executive and Judiciary can impeach the Legislature for as long as it acts within its jurisdiction.

He was right. Indeed, for as long as Parliament follows the due process and respects the rule of law in the performance of its functions, it would be left alone. 

The Speaker was quick to make reference to Article 115 of the 1992 Constitution, which provides that "there shall be freedom of speech, debate and proceedings in Parliament and that freedom shall not be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament".

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has directed the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to provide scholarship for every cocoa farmer’s child at the tertiary education level in the country.

The Upper East Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), James Abdulai Ayaala, has stated that the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections are a contest of ideas and not a do-or-die affair.

“It does not mean it is a do-or-die affair in this election. It is a contest of ideas. You need to sell the manifesto of your political party,” he said.

The vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the 2024 elections, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has assured residents in the Damongo Constituency of strategic investment in the tourism sector if the party wins the December 7 polls and forms the next government. 

He said although Damongo hosted some of the country's most important tourist sites, including the Mole National Park and the Larabanga Mosque, there had not been much investment to unleash the full economic potential of those resources.

Three academics and respected governance experts have proposed dialogue and consultations as the solution to the current stand-off in Parliament.

They are former United Nations Governance Advisor, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah; Governance Fellow at the Institute for Economic Affairs, Dr Samuel Kofi Darkwa, and a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Political Science of the University of Education, Winneba, Dr Maliha Abubakari.

The National Media Commission (NMC) has welcomed the formation of the Ghana Fact-Checking Coalition, an initiative aimed at combating misinformation and disinformation in the lead-up to the 2024 elections. 

The coalition, launched on Friday, 8 November 2024, is a collaborative effort by civil society organisations including the Media Foundation for West Africa, Dubawa, and FactSpace West Africa.

In a statement issued by NMC Executive Secretary George Sarpong, the Commission commended the coalition as a "ground-breaking" and "crucial intervention" in safeguarding Ghana’s information landscape during a critical electoral period. 

The Speaker's Oath in the Second Schedule of the 1992 Constitution reads: “I....... do in the name of the Almighty God swear that, I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Republic of Ghana as by law established; that, I will uphold the integrity of the Republic of Ghana; that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as Speaker of Parliament; and that I will uphold, protect, and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana; and that I will do right to all manner of persons in accordance with the Constitution of Ghana and the laws and conventions of Parliament without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.”

How faithful, Mr. A.S.K. BAGBIN, have you been to this oath of office?

Money transfers to Ghana from abroad through Taptap Send has been temporarily disabled due to a suspension of the remittance termination partnership of Taptap Send by the Bank of Ghana (BoG). 

This means anybody trying to send money through Taptap Send will not be able to do so in the next one month.

The Bank of Ghana on November 1, 2024 announced that it has suspended the remittance termination partnership of Taptap Send for one month.

The Bank of Ghana said Taptap Send's partnerships with all EPSPs and commercial banks in Ghana had been suspended for one-month effective November 8, 2024. 

A Ghanaian pastor has encouraged his congregation to invest in the cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE), despite the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) cautious stance on digital assets. 

During a service on November 1, 2024, Prophet Bernard ElBernard Nelson-Eshun, Lead Pastor of Spiritlife Revival Ministries - The Oracles' Place, advised worshippers to invest at least $200 in Dogecoin and hold the investment for the next four years.

The First Lady,  Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has hosted  traditional priests, priestesses,  and warlords of the Ga state to thank them for their support towards the successful rule of her husband,  President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over the past seven years.

She asked them to consider all the important and critical policies and social interventions introduced in the country by the NPP, which were changing and improving the lives of the citizenry and vote massively for the New Patriotic Party's presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia  and all NPP parliamentary candidates in the December polls. 

Mrs Akufo-Addo also used the occasion to introduce Alma Naa Djama Adade-Prempeh, wife of the running-mate of the NPP vice presidential candidate, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, who is also a native of the Ga State, to the traditional priests and priestesses and asked them for their prayer and support for her as the incoming wife of the Vice President.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is set to commission the newly constructed Flower Pot Interchange in Accra on 19 November 2024, marking the completion of the infrastructure project aimed at easing traffic flow between key parts of the city. 

The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has announced that the next stage of its 2024 recruitment exercise will commence on Monday, November 11, 2024, at 9am at the Fire Academy and Training School in Jamestown, Accra. 

MTN Ghana remains tight-lipped about its direct involvement in the Next Gen Infraco (NGIC) consortium that is set to lead the nationwide rollout of 5G in Ghana. 

During MTN Ghana’s recent Q3 earnings call on November 1, CEO Stephen Blewett refrained from confirming whether MTN Ghana would sign onto the NGIC-led platform, which was officially launched on the same day (November 1) with the backing of the government and several key technology partners.

Cybersecurity firm SOPHOS has issued an urgent alert for computer users following reports of a cyber attack linked to a seemingly innocent Google search.