There’s been an exciting new discovery in the fight against plastic pollution: mealworm larvae that are capable of consuming polystyrene. They join the ranks of a small group of insects that have been found to be capable of breaking the polluting plastic down, though this is the first time that an insect species native to Africa has been found to do this.
Ghana: who can declare an MP’s seat vacant? A legal scholar unpacks the dispute between parliament and the supreme court
The parliament and supreme court of Ghana are locked in a dispute over which of them has authority to determine the issue of parliamentary vacancies.
Ghana's Black stars face a make-or-break moment as they prepare to take on Angola's Palancas Negras on Friday, November 15, in Luanda in the penultimate 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
The Sekondi High Court has set aside the injunction that prevented Joana Gyan Cudjoe, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for Amenfi Central, from contesting the upcoming parliamentary election.
The ruling, delivered on Monday November 11, followed an earlier adjournment in the case, where the NDC sought for the court to lift the injunction on its candidate and dismiss the substantive disqualification.
The case was presided over by Justice George K. Gyan-Kontoh.
The Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has stated that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) caucus in Parliament remains the majority side in the House.
He said the NPP side will not relinquish that position unless a directive from the Supreme Court based on an interpretation of Article 97 under the present circumstances.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has vowed to provide a dedicated source of funding for the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, to ensure its sustainability and consistency.
Speaking at a meeting with Christian leaders in Kumasi on Monday afternoon [Nov 11], Mr Mahama emphasised the importance of quality education for Ghana's future.
He said the talk of him canceling the policy when elected president was just a “political gimmick” that must not be taken serious.
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.