Leaders of some churches have all spoken about the need for Ghanaians to help build the country in the New Year. The Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Ghana, Most Rev Prof Emmanuel Asante, challenged each Ghanaian to contribute his or her quota for a brighter Ghana in 2014. In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Rev Prof Asante, who is also the chairman of the National Peace Council (NPC), was of the view that leadership that was up to the task and a committed citizenry were elements for the successful year that all were expecting. The development of every nation hinges on good leadership, he explained, adding that citizens also had a part to play in the effort. "If we would all commit ourselves to do our part in the building up of the country and do it well, there would be a brighter year ahead," he said. "However, if we sit back as citizens and only punch holes in the effort of others, then we should all expect nothing better," he emphasised. Rev Prof Asante said each Ghanaian ought to take stock and ask himself or herself what his/her contribution was to national development. The General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church, the Rev Dr Paul Frempong Manso, was thankful to God for keeping the country through the turbulent year of 2013. His prescriptions for 2014 were succinct; first, asking all Ghanaians to unite and build the country, adding that "we must all put any division aside and unite." "We must all endeavour to build the country in any sector one found himself or herself, commit to working hard for the purpose," Rev Dr Manso said in his second prescription for 2014. He finally asked for sacrifice, on the part of citizens, to carry on with the development of the country. "Our founding fathers sacrificed to build the country. We must sacrifice to build it," he maintained. Rev Dr Manso decried the selfishness in society, which resulted in most Ghanaians expecting, rather than giving of their best for the country. He was hopeful that the New Year would bring the urge for all to eschew such tendencies.  

    The ministries of Trade and Industries and the Interior have stated that not all fireworks have been banned by the government. This was contained in the Trade and Industry Ministry’s reply to a request  by Amudalatu Company Limited for clarification on which fireworks had been banned.  The Trade Ministry wrote to the Ministry  of Interior  for the clarification.  According to the reply signed on behalf of the Ministry of Trade and Industry by the Deputy Chief Communications Officer of the ministry, Mr K. A Nyame-Baafi, information from the Ministry  of Interior indicated that the ban had been placed on the following; fire crackers (knock out), display shells, artillery shells and balls and canister shells. “In the exercise of the powers conferred on the Hon. Minister responsible for Interior under subsection five of the Public Order Act, 1994 (Act 491),  an Executive Instrument (EI 21) was passed on the subject on September 9,  1999 after much deliberations among stakeholders”, it said. The following goods were exempted from the ban: Bottle rockets and missiles, floral shells,  handle cylindrical fountains, ground spanners handing wheels, onwards wheel, hand-hold fireworks-sparkles, Roman candles, toys and assorted toy fireworks, as well as single and multiple mines. “It may be of interest  to know as a further clarification that the ministry, in conjunction with the Police Service on December 30,  2003 examined and mentioned  the list of items below as being exempted from the ban:M1--, Chuckoo, King Monkey, 120 Shots, Raging Monster, Happy, Jupiter Missiles, Cornucopia, Cracking Ground, Maximum Charge, Blown and Great Wall. The rest are: Kingguang, Lochness Monster, Calizhutug, Pop, Tube Colour Pearls, Bomber, Whistling Mom Traveler, UR. 1, Assorted Rocket, Assorted U3009, 96 Colour Pearl and Alicja. A visit to the warehouse of Amudalatu Company Limited in Accra revealed huge quantities of unharmful fireworks which have not been banned. Hajia Akweley Opar-Addo, a Director of Amudalatu Company Limited, attributed the problem to the wrong impression created by  a publication which sought to indicate that all fireworks had been banned. She appealed to the authorities to clarify the issues to ensure that Ghana purchased and used safe and legal fireworks, adding  “we are Ghanaians and la- abiding business people and we will not do anything against the law and indulge in illegal activities”.    

  There was a fire scare at the Heritage Towers at Ridge in Accra early Sunday morning when alarm systems installed at the towers alerted the public to a possible fire outbreak. Smoke emanating from a computer in one of the offices triggered the fire alarm system.  Mr Reginald Obeng of Broll Ghana Limited, property managers of the Heritage Towers, told the Daily Graphic that the fire alarm systems on the eighth floor of the towers triggered around 8:10 a.m. as a result of  smoke emanating from a computer system. He noted that security guards stationed at the facility were unable to ascertain the cause of the alert until the fire alarm system triggered again at around 10:52a.m., upon which the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) was notified. “I am sure the security guards were unable to detect the cause of the first alarm  because the smoke was difficult to detect but when the alarm sounded for the second time, the smoke was high in density, thereby making it easy to identify the source of the alert,” he said.  Mr Obeng further stated that personnel from the GNFS arrived within five minutes after they had been called and were able to douse the smoke, thereby preventing a possible fire disaster. According to Mr Obeng, the only destroyed item in the office was the computer device that generated the smoke. He said  the Heritage Towers was adequately equipped and met all fire safety standards.  

  A Korean Missionary, Rev. Bright Lee, has donated 20 computers and accessories to the Apostolic Church of Ghana Computer Training School at Aburi. The school was set up by the Aburi District Head of the church, Pastor Kwabena Ankamah and his wife, Agnes Ankamah, to equip members of the various congregations in the Aburi District and others with computer skills to make them employable. Making the presentation at the school at its first graduation, Rev. Lee said ICT had now become the number one tool in everyday life and children, the youth and the elderly had to be conversant with its application. Rev. Lee, who is also the Principal of the Ghana-German-Korea Computer Training School at Akosombo, expressed the hope that the computers would help train more people and make them employable. The immediate past President of the Apostolic Church of Ghana, Apostle John Adotey, and his wife, Rebecca Adotey, a former MP, witnessed the presentation. He outlined the importance of education and appealed to the youth of the church and those living within the Aburi area to enrol at the school. He appealed to the Aburihene, Otoobuor Gyan Kwesi, to provide land for the construction of a permanent building to house the school which is currently located within the church. He expressed his appreciation to Rev. Lee and Mr and Mrs Ankamah for their desire to improve the computer literacy skills of the students. Pastor Ankamah expressed his gratitude to Rev. Lee, who had also made a similar presentation to the Akuse Prisons for the training of the inmates in ICT. The Administrator of the Ghana-German-Korea Computer Training School, Rev. Josephine Mate-Korle Ankrah, said the school had also donated more than 100 computers to a number of institutions such as the Akuse Prisons, Coastline Assemblies of God Primary and JSS, Agormanya; Akwamu Abuakwa Primary and JSS, Anum Presbyterian School, the Assemblies of God Church, Koforidua, and the Dangme /Tongu Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.  

  The founder of King Faisal Football Club, Alhaji Karim Grusah, was arrested by the Airport Police in Accra Sunday for allegedly assaulting a flight attendant of Antrak Air. He was granted bail later in the day and asked to report to the police on Monday. According to DSP Freeman Tettey of the Public Affairs Directorate of the Greater Accra Regional Police Command, Alhaji Grusah was billed to travel from Accra to Kumasi on the Antrak Air. Just before he boarded the plane, he was advised by a flight attendant of Antrak Air to switch off  his phone but he allegedly ignored the instructions. For the second time, the attendant told the Alhaji Grusah, who was still speaking on phone, to switch off the device but he refused and before the attendant could say jack, Alhaji Grusah allegedly punched the attendant’s face. Afterwards, Alhaji Grusah went into the aircraft to take his seat but the attendant (whose name is being withheld by the police for technical reasons) called the security personnel to advise the founder of King Faisal to switch off the phone. After he had been forced out of the plane, which had delayed its take-off for 15 minutes because of the stand-off, Alhaji Grusah immediately managed to locate the flight attendant and punched his face again. Alhaji Grusah was quickly arrested and taken to the Airport Police Station for investigation. He was charged with assault and battery and has been given police inquiry bail to report at the station today (Monday) at 2:00 p.m., to enable the police to continue with their investigations.

  A 36-year-old immigration officer, Kofi Quist Defor, was shot and killed by suspected armed robbers at his residence at Mataheko in Tema early Saturday morning. Defor was shot in his living room around 3 a.m., despite pleas by his wife, Ms Kafui Mary Magdalene Tamakloe,  to the robbers to wait for her to go upstairs  and  bring them money if that was their reason for attacking her husband. The suspects, however, are said to have ignored the request of Ms Tamakloe and killed her husband. The robbers took his laptop, Ipad and two mobile phones away. No arrests have been made. Defor had just completed a law course at the Zenith University College at La in Accra and had been transferred from the Permit Issuing Department of the Ghana Immigration Service to Asikuma in the Eastern Region, before his death.  Defor’s murder brings to three, the number of persons murdered in the Tema Metropolitan Area in the last 40 days. A staff of Stanbic Bank, Ms Rosemond Nyampon, 32, was found dead in her house at Batsoona on November 21, 2013, while the Akosombo Manager of Zenith Bank, Mr Kwesi Sakyi Prah, 34, was shot and killed in the early hours of Sunday, December 22, 2013. The Ashaiman Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent of Police, Mr David Eklu, told the Daily Graphic that initial information picked up by the police indicated that five men, one of them armed with a pistol, broke into the apartment of the couple. He added that Defor was ordered to come to the living room and when he did, he was shot in the right shoulder. The robbers then hit his neck with a hoe until he became unconscious. The assailants fled upon hearing the approach of a police night patrol team, who rushed him to the Tema General Hospital, but he  was pronounced dead. Chief Supt Eklu said one used nine-millimetre bullet and another live one were retrieved from the deceased’s house. Meanwhile, the Homicide Squad of the Ghana Police Service is investigating the circumstances under which the 36-year-old Immigration Officer was killed.  

  Christmas is usually a time to exchange gifts with loved ones and show love and affection to all, especially those in need, the aged and the vulnerable. It is in this spirit that the Volta Regional and the Kumasi branch of the Prison Ladies Association (PRILAS)  held end-of-year parties for female inmates in prisons in the Volta Region and Kumasi.  Addressing the programme at the Ho Central Prisons last Friday, the President of the Volta Regional branch of PRILAS, Superintendent Hannah Ewoame, called on well-meaning persons and families to accept ex-convicts into society after they had been discharged from prison  to enable them to put the trade they learnt in prison into practice, writes Tim Dzamboe, HO. She said ex-convicts could be assisted either in cash or in kind with the needed tools or materials to practise the trade or the skills they acquired in prison. That, she said, would empower them economically and facilitate their re-integration into society and also help to reduce the problems associated with stigmatisation and lack of support from their families. Supt. Ewoame said Volta PRILAS decided to organise the party for female inmates because they were often forgotten by their families on such festive occasions. She added: “We want them to know that as officers we are not only interested in their safe custody but as our slogan goes, “We love them, we care for them and we would always support them.” Training She said some of them received training in bread making, weaving of door mats, armrests and pillow making as part of trade training, reformation and rehabilitation programmes. The officer in charge of the Female Ward, Supt. Grace Allan-Gayinah, disclosed that there were 67 female prisoners in Ho and a total of 90 in the whole of the Volta Region. She expressed the hope that the party would revive their spirits and give them confidence for the future. Addressing the main party for members of PRILAS on the theme;  “An empowered woman; A tool for accelerated development”, Supt. Ewoame urged members to take advantage of every available opportunity to upgrade themselves and added: “Let the qualification with which you joined the service be a stepping stone.” She pleaded with their spouses and partners to be behind their female counterparts as a source of empowerment. Supt. Ewoame said PRILAS aimed at promoting the interest of female officers and addressing the needs of female inmates and their children, especially in the case of those who came into custody with babies or those who delivered while in custody. The programme organised by PRILAS for female inmates in Kumasi brought together all the 40 inmates of the female prison, officers of the prison and other dignitaries who took turns to encourage and counsel the inmates about life after prison, writes Felix A. Baidoo, KUMASI. Speaking at the ceremony, Assistant Director of Prisons, Mrs Juana Tackie-Otoo, who is the officer in charge of the Female Prisons, said PRILAS was formed to promote the interest of female staff and take care of their needs. She said they also visited female prisons to encourage, mentor and counsel female inmates and also give them support in many endeavours. Projects  The Ashanti Regional branch of PRILAS in 2012 established a corn mill manned by the female inmates to support the activities of the association, the female inmates,  as well as, other projects. Mrs Tackie-Otoo, who is also the Ashanti Regional President of PRILAS, said Christmas was a period of  sharing and having a good time with families and PRILAS decided to fete the inmates to make them feel at home. Two years ago, PRILAS donated assorted food items worth GH¢300 to the inmates of the Amanfrom Prison Camp and in July, this year, also donated assorted items worth GH¢600 to them again to support their upkeep. Mrs Tackie-Otoo also assured the female inmates that they would continue to support and care for their needs as long as they lived with them and urged them to be of good behaviour and respect authority at all times. She urged them to take the training programmes seriously to ensure that they became economically empowered to fend for themselves after their imprisonment. Commendations Mrs Tackie-Otoo commended the Director General of Prisons, Madam Matilda Baffour-Awuah, for establishing PRILAS in 2006, which had brought some improvement into the lives of female officers in diverse ways. The Ashanti Regional Director of Prisons, Mr Emmanuel Yao Adzator, who was the guest of honour at the function, lauded PRILAS for feting the female inmates and urged them to continue with the good work. He said the Ghana Prisons Service was taking a serious look at issues in connection with both female prison officers, as well as, the inmates they took care of. The regional commander attributed most of the crimes committed by female inmates to lack of economic opportunities and said everything was being done to ensure that the female inmates were helped to be free from the temptation to commit crime.  

  About 3000 needy children in the Ashanti Region, including orphans and the homeless, have been feted by Nhyira FM, an Akan radio station in Kumasi, as part of an annual programme aimed at bringing happiness to unfortunate children during Christmas. Majority of the children were selected from orphanages in the region, while the rest were picked from the streets in Kumasi.       The annual ceremony dubbed: “Nhyira Aboodoo,” was the sixth in the series and had Indomie Instant Noodles as headline sponsors. Held at the Kejetia Terminal last Saturday, the occasion attracted chiefs, including the Asemhene, Nana Ampofo Kyei Baffour, and some benevolent individuals and organisations who donated clothing, footwear and food items to the children. The children danced to music from a live band and also enjoyed food and drinks to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Programmes Manager of Nhyira FM, Mr Benjamin Fiifi Ocran, said the event was part of the station’s corporate social responsibility programmes. “As a responsible station, we have a duty to bring smiles to the faces of unfortunate children who for no fault of theirs, find themselves in such situations,” he said. Mr Ocran commended all individuals and groups that contributed to make the event a success. The Asemhene, who also made a donation towards the occasion, said society had a duty to bring hope to needy children. It was in that regard that he praised Nhyira FM for the programme, which he hoped would continue.  

  The Christmas celebrations for some shop owners around the Tamale Polytechnic were cut short after fire razed down their properties and completely destroyed all their investments in the afternoon of Christmas Day. About 10 shops—salons, provision stores, restaurants and tailoring shops and all their contents such as deep freezers, hairdryers, cooking utensils, among other valuable properties—were all burnt in the inferno. Most of the victims could be seen struggling to salvage whatever item they could lay their hands on while others just looked on helplessly. There were some police officers at the scene to ensure safety of life and also prevent people from looting. A victim, Mr Ubald Sabogu, who had his restaurant completely burnt, said he spent huge sums of money refurbishing the facility just about a week ago. He said he had bought a watertank, a deep freezer, plastic tables and chairs and some cooking utensils. “All these were purchased with a loan and as I talk I cannot even find a trace of any of them, as they are all in ashes,” he stated. Another victim, Ms Miriam Akembula (a hair dresser), said she spent all her investment in buying products for the season but all had been destroyed. “I was afraid that I might spend the money during this season so I used all to buy products and items for my shop but all that investment is this smoke you can see going up the sky over there,” she stated with a false smile. She said her hairdryers, wigs, chairs, shampoos, cream and other equipment used in the training of her apprentices were also destroyed in the fire. Response Speaking to the Daily Graphic at the scene of the fire, the Northern Regional Fire Commander, Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) Douglas D. Koyiri, said his outfit received a distress call around 2 p.m. that some stores around the Tamale Polytechnic were on fire. “We quickly dispatched Pump one to the scene to put out the fire but upon getting there, the pump failed and we had to call for pump two, which was on stand by,” he stated. He said by the time the second pump came, the fire had already spread and although additional water pumps were brought in, most of the items had already been destroyed. According to him, it was too early to establish the cause of the fire. The Northern Regional Police Commander in charge of operations, DSP Ben Aniah, said his men were able to remove the goods from some nearby stores, which were in danger of also catching fire, and put them in a safer place.  

  Blavo and Co Solicitors, a Ghanaian-owned London-based law firm, has presented a cheque for  £8,000 to the Baptist School Complex and Orphanage, located in Suhum in the Eastern Region. The money is to help start a clinic project in the school to serve about 600 inhabitants in the community. Presenting the cheque in Accra, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder of Blavo and Co Solicitors, Mr John Blavo, said the gesture was to consolidate the relationship between the school and the organisation. “This is a way of giving back to our community as Ghanaians to help develop the social capital of the country,” he explained. He said the presentation was made possible through the donation of clients and staff of the company in the United Kingdom, and expressed the hope that the money would help support the needs of the school. Receiving the cheque, the founder of the orphanage, Reverend Victor Ofori Amoah, lauded the company for its support over the years. He said the orphanage which started from a humble beginning was now home to about 120 orphans. “Over 30 of the inmate are in senior high schools with others in tertiary institutions,” he added. He said the money would help solve some of the clinical needs of the school, and called on other individuals and organisations to also come to the aid of the school.  

  The Central Business District of Accra (CBD) remained unusually calm without the normal hustling and struggling for space by motorists and pedestrians after the Christmas Boxing day festivities, a  visit by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Friday revealed. GNA observed that most of the streets leading to and from the Central Business District which contain the city's main banks, biggest market, departmental stores and lorry parks, were virtually empty, contrary to the situation on the eve of Christmas. The number of customers, window shoppers, has also reduced drastically, whilst some shops remained closed, but scores of shop-owners who were operating, had mounted loud speakers outside their shops blasting music. Some of the market women described the situation in an interview with the GNA as an annual ritual; “most people after the festivities preferred to stay at home or manage with what was patronised during the festivities. “Life at the market will pick up after some few days...they will come back to buy,” Madam Adorley Sabutey. a cloths seller stated. She said even though the atmosphere is dull, due to the fact that there are no customers, “we are making merry and enjoying the festivities”. Mrs. Emilia Ahiamajor, a jewellery seller said, we anticipated the slow sales after Christmas “that’s why you have to cash in before and during the period...we are now waiting for New Year sales”. Looking physically tired and sweating she said: “I have walked the entire Makola Market but no sales, as if the customers are on break. Business has been poor after the Christmas celebration. However, I hope to make greater sales as New Year approaches”. Some street hawkers who mainly cashed on the traffic jams to make good sales also complained, saying the situation was  affecting their business “on the street, we make good sales in heavy traffic, but now look, the cars are just moving freely,” Kwame Owusu Frempong stated. GNA also observed that Police and Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) City Guides who were spotted at vantage points  before and during the festivity were absent. Scores of police personnel were noted patrolling some parts of the Makola Market, Tudu, Railways Station and the main Aflao station. Most Lorry stations visited were also empty; GNA observed parked vehicles without passengers. In spite of the low patronage, GNA observed that some traders have taken over the pedestrian walk way around the CBD, forcing people to walk on the main road. The market condition iwas exactly the opposite before and during Christmas, when the place was chocked with lots of people and vehicles, which resulted in human beings and vehicles competing for space.  

  The Bia Police have arrested and placed in custody three suspects for illegally dealing in narcotic drugs. They were arrested for possessing 100 parcels of dry leaves suspected to be Indian hemp at Bamia Cottage in the Bia West District of the Western Region. They are Kofi Karikari, 26, who hails from Nsutre, Augustine Nti, 21, from Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo Region and Karim Sanah, a farm labourer. Meanwhile, a fourth suspect, Yaw Bamia, the driver of the vehicle, is on the run. The District Police Commander for Bia West and Bia East, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Daniel Wiafe, confirmed the arrest to the Ghana News Agency on Saturday. He said the police were on routine checks at Sefwi-Adabokrom in the Bia East District on December 21, and spotted an Opel Caravan with Registration Number AW 7371-12. He said when the police stopped the driver, Yaw Bamia and was asked to produce his vehicle documents he sped off and was given a chase, however he managed to escape. On December 23, ASP Wiafe said the police spotted the vehicle at Sefwi-Yametwa and the occupants of the vehicle were arrested. The District Police Commander said when the suspects were interrogated they initially told the police that they were carrying DVD players and second hand clothing, which were offloaded at Osei-Kojokrom. However, upon further interrogation, they confessed that they were carrying Indian hemp which was offloaded in a room at Bamia Cottage. The suspects then led the police to the place to retrieve the 100 slaps of dry leaves. ASP Wiafe said the substance would be sent to the Police forensic laboratory in Accra for examination.  

  In the next three days we shall be saying farewell to the year 2013. The year came with remarkable and unfortunate incidents. But for many, the various fire disasters that engulfed our nation would forever remain on their minds. We revisit some fire disasters that occurred across the nation. Old Parliament House in flames Fire gutted sections of the old Parliament House, destroying several property and vital documents. The old Parliament House accommodates the Head office of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Economic and Organised Crime office (EOCO) and the Judgement Debt Commission. Fire guts Winneba Government Hospital Fire destroyed medical consumables at the Winneba Government Hospital in the Central Region. The fire is said to have started following a blast in the Pharmacy store of the hospital. Fire razes 13 shops in Swedru Fire razed down 13 shops and destroyed items worth hundreds of thousands of Ghana Cedis at Agona Swedru in the Central Region. 3,077 Fire kill 57 in 1st half of year Fifty-seven people lost their lives in 3,077 fire incidents recorded across the country between January to June, this year.  The figures represent an average of four deaths and 522 fires monthly with financial loss amounting to GH¢2.83 million monthly. Fierce fire gutted Abuja Slum Many people where rendered homeless as the wooden structures which served as the residential and business centres of the victims were completely destroyed by the fire which started at about 8pm. The slum accommodated mostly head porters and petty traders who ply their trade in the central business district of Accra. Fire hits Aboadze Plant The hope that the Volta River Authority (VRA) will improve power supply in the country suffered a momentary setback when a section of its thermal station at Aboadze exploded. LETAP Jewellery, Suame magazine hit by fire The unending fire disasters that have engulfed the nation hit Letap Jewellery on the Graphic Road and the Suame magazine in Kumasi. Fire destroys 49 shops at Makola Forty-nine shops were destroyed by fire at the Makola shopping mall in Accra. The fire which destroyed wooden structures, started at midnight. INFERNO, Makola No. 2 in flames.  400 shops gone Two fierce fire outbreaks rocked Accra, destroying the livelihoods of 400 traders and leaving one person dead. Kantamanto is gone A ferocious fire swept through the Kantamanto market taking away the livelihoods of about 800 traders and their families. Misery, hopelessness and confusion were written of the faces of many of them as they watched the raging fire devastate their waves which included provisions, confectionery, shoes, second-hand clothing, referred to as “Broni Waawu”.   

The Western Region recorded significant reduction in reported crimes in the passing year relative to the high incidence recorded in 2012, thanks to increased police vigilance. In 2012 a total of 24,525 crimes were reported in the region as against 17,957 cases in 2013.The 6,568 reduction, the result of police and public collaboration, represents over a quarter of the 2012 total.The Western Regional Police Commander, DCOP Kofi Boakye, is calling for further collaboration to bring the crime rate to the barest and make the region the most peaceful and attractive. He said modern day policing required collaboration between the public and the Police Service to ensure that those who wish to make life uncomfortable for others were exposed. Giving crime statistics during a cocktail for the media in the region, the Regional Crime Officer, Chief Supt. James Kofi Abraham said most of the major crimes including robbery, murder, attempted murder, defilement, rape and possession of narcotic drugs were reduced drastically. He said six arm robbery cases recorded in the region had those involved handed with a total of 125 years imprisonment. The crime officer said three suspects who were convicted for defilement were also handed 46 years imprisonment. He said in 2013 the police were relentless and adopted several measures to combat crime, including increase in its presence in the communities and urban centres. 2013 recorded 54 murder cases compared to 59 cases the previous year, while attempted murder cases also reduced from 18 to eight cases. The regional crime officer said, robbery cases saw slight increase as it moved from 62 cases in 2012 compared to 68 this year saying however, that as a result of the proactive policing and improved strategy almost all the culprits were arrested to face trial. In the area of narcotics, Chief Supt. Abraham said there were only seven arrests unlike the 59 arrests last year. He attributed the reduction to improved and proactive posture of the Police Drug Law Enforcement Unit (DLEU) in the region ensuring that such activities were unattractive to the peddlers. Due to the sensitization and strict enforcement of the law there was a reduction in the issues of rape cases, which reduced from 77 reported cases in the previous year to 45 this year.  Speaking at the event, the Deputy Western Regional Minister, Mr. Alfred Ekow Gyan said the region had become very unique in the country because it was home to a wide range of natural resources. He said given that the region has rich resources such as gold, cocoa, timber, oil and gas among others, it was easily attractive to all manner of people, including miscreants. He said it behoved the police to be responsive and professional at all times to deal with unscrupulous behaviour to protect lives and property, arrest offenders for prosecution and help to maintain law and order with recourse to the country’s constitution. Mr. Gyan lauded what he said was the tremendous relationship between the police and other security agencies, expressing the hope that the strong bond would be sustained to win the trust of the populace for their common good.

  ­We bring to you some of the interesting events that took place in 2013. Education Private SHSs Cry for students Many private senior high schools (SHSs) in the country may not get enough first-year students for the 2013/2014 academic year. This is because the Secretariat of the Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) virtually placed all the candidates who wrote the 2013 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in public SHSs. Consequently, the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) has accused the Ghana Education Service (GES) of embarking on the wholesale admission of candidates, irrespective of their performance, to public SHSs and technical institutes for the academic year. As of November 1, 2013, a total of 351,881 candidates had been placed, leaving only 40,000 yet to be placed.More than 390,000 candidates wrote the 2013 BECE. GES approves new fees for SHS The Ghana Education Service (GES) has released approved fees for the first-year day and boarding senior high schools (SHS) students for the 2013-2014 academic year. Boarding students are to pay GH¢437, while day students are to pay GH¢230 for the first term. Aviation Ghana Airways DC-10 now a restaurant The Ghana Airways DC-10 has been turned into a restaurant after government sold it out to some private individuals. Mandela died at 95 South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95. Mr Mandela led South Africa's transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison for his political activities. He had been receiving intensive medical care at home for a lung infection after spending three months in hospital. Omanhene murdered AN uneasy calm hanged over the otherwise peaceful town of Seikwa, in the Brong Ahafo Region, following the murder in cold blood of  the Paramounnt Chief of the area, Nana Kwaku Dwuma Ankoana II. Two accidents claim 13 lives Thirteen people died in two separate accidents on the Kumasi-Obuasi highway and at Mfensi in the Atwima Nwabiagya District in the Ashanti region. Courts and Crime 10 robbers jailed 400 An Accra circuit court sentenced 10 persons to a total of 400 years’ imprisonment for enegaging in eight separate robberies. Obinim back in court The leader of the God’s Way International Ministry, Bishop Daniel Obinim, was granted GH¢10,000  bail with one surety by the Accra High Court for allegedly causing harm and destroying the property of a private radio station. Odartey Lamptey disputes fathering children What previously seemed a blissful marriage between former Ghanaian star Nii Odartey Lamptey and Gloria, his wife of nearly two decades, has hit the rocks and is set to end in divorce. It is one of the most bizarre cases of alleged infidelity which has left the football community stunned, after a teammate of the player was rumoured to be a father to one of the three children. Gloria Lamptey has reportedly filed for divorce at the Accra High Court on the back of marital problems arising out of alleged infidelity on her part, after the football star discovered through paternity tests that he was not the biological father of their three daughters. The Lampteys are blessed with three girls namely, 19-year-old Khadija, Moyesha, 18, and Latifa, 7.  Apart from the three children, the couple lost two of their children during their marriage. Election Petition Ghana's Supreme Court dismissed the petition by the opposition to annul President John Mahama's  victory in last year's disputed election.The New Patriotic Party (NPP) had alleged that there were irregularities which inured to the benefit of Mr Mahama, a charge his National Democratic Congress (NDC) denied.NPP leader Nana Akufo-Addo said he was disappointed but accepted the verdict and urged his supporters to do likewise.Ghana is generally seen as a beacon of democracy in the region.The case was broadcast live on television and radio in a rare sign of judicial transparency in Africa. Sports Black Stars for Brazil 2014 The Senior national team, the Black Stars qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup to be staged in Brazil next. The Black Stars played the Pharaohs of Egypt recently to secure qualification to Brazil 2014. Ghana now joins West African countries; Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast for the 2014 World Cup. Agbeko Wins IBO Bantamweight Title Ghana’s Joseph Agbeko recorded a unanimous decision over Luis Malendez of Columbia to win the International Boxing Organisation (IBO) Bantamweight title at the Accra Sports Stadium. Agbeko scored 117-111, 119-111, 117-113 on the cards of Lanchen Oungham of Netherlands, Deon Dwarte of South Africa and Attaa Eddie Pappoe of Ghana, to overcome the durable Columbian boxer in a fight under the auspices of Fresh King Entertainments. Politics The President sacked the Deputy Communications Minister, Ms Victoria Hamah. The minister was relieved of her post after she was allegedly heard on a secret tape saying she will only quit politics after making one million dollars. The tape went viral on the Internet and social networking sites with newspapers quoting verbatim the comments contained thereof. The driver who is alleged to have secretly recorded the private conversations is Ms Hamah’s cousin. Entertainment Naa Okailey beats them all Miss Ghana 2012, Naa Okailey Shooter, earned a place in the top three of this year’s Miss World competition. Ghana did not win the ultimate crown of Miss World but made the nation proud when she placed third at the Miss World pageant and thus became Miss World Africa 2013. Ghana had tried fruitlessly in the previous years to make it to the top at Miss World. Kirk Franklin came to Ghana International award winning American gospel musician, choir director and author, Kirk Franklin, headlined the 2013 edition of Adom Praiz. The nine-time Grammy Award winner, known for leading urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God's Property and One Nation Crew (1NC), was the main artiste at the biggest gospel concert in Ghana for the year, organised by entertainment powerhouse Adom 106.3 FM. Donnie McClurkin stands in worship Celebrated American gospel singer, Donnie McClurkin, performed live at a show dubbed 'Ghana Stands In Worship', at the Accra Sports Stadium. Donnie McClurkin was one of the main attractions at the MTN 'Ghana Stands In Worship' concert, which attracted a large number of gospel music fans. R2Bees Tema-based music duo, R2Bees was crowned Artiste of the Year at the 2013 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards. The group beat competition from D-Black, VIP, Kwaw Kese, Cwesi Oteng and 4X4 to win the coveted award which for the first time came with a prize of a brand new MG 550 saloon car. R2Bees also walked home with five other awards including Hi-life Song of the Year, Hiplife Song of the Year, Group of the Year, and the Vodafone Most Popular Song of the Year. Thomas Frimpong goes by wind Highlife musician Thomas Frimpong also put his microphone down and said farewell to his listeners. The veteran musician died at the age of 70 at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. Frimpong had been taken ill for sometime and was on admission at the hospital. The late Frimpong was survived by some 10 children.  

  Tetteh David Asare, a 32-year-old driver at Agomanya, a suburb of Odumase Krobo, has been jailed six months by the Odumase Krobo Circuit Court for stealing charcoal worth GH¢50 belonging to Gladys Tetteh. The presiding judge, Mr Asmah Akwasi Asiedu, ordered the police to return the retrieved charcoal to the complainant. ASP Richmond Akwasi Yeboah said the complainant, who lived at Hwekpe, a suburb of Odumase Krobo, sold charcoal in front of her house which was near the roadside. He said Ms Tetteh, for six months now, had suffered continuous theft of some bags of her charcoal without any trace of the thief.  That, he explained to the court, had caused a rift between Ms Tetteh and her business partner who supplied her charcoal in large quantities. The prosecutor said as a result of the continuous theft of her charcoal, Ms Tetteh was compelled to keep watch over the charcoal especially at night and at dawn to catch the thieves. He said on November 27, 2013, at about 4 a.m., Ms Tetteh woke up as usual to go and find out if her products were intact. Fortunately for her, ASP Yeboah said, she saw Asare carrying two bags of the charcoal to the roadside to board a taxi. According to the prosecutor, Ms Tetteh then shouted for help and the taxi driver who was with Asare quickly unloaded a bag of charcoal which he had already put into the booth of the car and sped off, leaving Asare behind. The prosecutor said Asare was accosted by some sympathisers around and was subsequently sent to the Odumase Krobo police station with the bags of charcoal.   

  The Keta Municipality in the Volta Region is one of the places definitely known for beautiful and decorative, as well as functionally tight, woven straw mats referred to as ‘ketsiba.’ Places in the municipality  identified  for the highest quality straw mats, which are a  testament to fine weaving skills,  include Alakple, Tregui, Azanu, Ahavi, Agortoe and Gbatsivi. Many women on this well-watered land of rolling lagoons work  mainly from their homes. They have revived what was once a dying craft and turned it into an art form for international acclaim. They have also managed to turn the making of African straw mats into a home industry to supplement their incomes, and for some, this is their only source of income. The mats are made by hand, using  reeds  obtained in the area.  The women  collect the reeds and hammer them into a fibre. Weaving can be an individual  activity but  it is also a social activity where  women in a given community collect,  prepare materials and weave as a group. Though straw mats have been replaced with mattresses in many homes these day, the mats continue to hold great cultural significance for many Ghanaians, many of whom even use them these days for ceilings, beds and fence walls. Young women usually start  learning how to make straw mats from older women, especially their mothers, aunties and  grandmothers. Madam Celestine Amekudzi , a 37-year- old straw mat weaver who has been in the business over the past 10 years,  says she weaves at least three mats every day. She sells them  on  market days. According to her,  women from Accra, Kumasi,  Koforidua, Togo and Benin visit the Anloga, Akatsi and Dabala markets to buy the mats for various reasons. She says  the government and other benevolent organisations should help   them acquire  modern equipment to enable them improve on the quality of their products.  

Food Sovereignty Ghana, a non-governmental organisation, has called on the government to suspend the confined testing of genetically modified (GM) foods in the country until the necessary bodies to oversee their introduction are set up. It said the confined testing currently going on in the three regions in the north was an affront to the Biosafety Act which mandated the setting up of a biosafety authority, a governing body, a technical committee and inspectors to oversee the risk assessment and impact of GM foods in the country before the confined test trial. Confined field trial Ghana has started a confined field testing of GM biotechnology cotton in the three regions in the north. However, Ghana is yet to set up the biosafety authority, the governing body, the technical advisory committee, regulatory agencies and inspectors, according to the organisation. The Biosafety Act, 2011  (Act 831), Section 11 (1), under the heading, “Application for contained or confined use,” states: “A person shall not conduct a contained or confined use activity involving genetically modified organisms or their development without the written approval of the biosafety authority”. Section 12 (1) continues: “A person shall not introduce into the environment a genetically modified organism without the prior written approval of the authority.” Position of Food Sovereignty Ghana In an interview with the Daily Graphic, a leading member of the Food Sovereignty Ghana, Mr Yaw Opoku, stressed that the organisation was not against the application of biotechnology in agriculture, but was against genetically modified biotechnology. “Food Sovereignty Ghana fully supports the application of biotechnology in agriculture; it is not something new. But we are strongly opposed to GM biotechnology, where a gene of a different species, like pest or an animal, is transferred into another species which is a plant,” he stressed. He said Food Sovereignty Ghana was opposed to GM biotechnology because biotechnology had been applied in the country with resounding success by the CSIR and other sub-regional research centres, stressing that biotechnology in agriculture was, therefore, not new. Mr Opoku stressed that scientists and politicians in the country were not being fair to Ghanaians as far as educating them to understand the difference between biotechnology and genetically modified biotechnology was concerned. “Biotechnology is the application of science and technology to produce crops that are relevant to us. But when it comes to GM biotechnology, we are talking about a gene from an insect being transferred into a plant or another species through the application of science and technology in the laboratory, but the scientists and the politicians make it look as if all biotechnologies are the same,” he explained.  Seed Breeders’ Bill Touching on the Seed Breeders’ Bill, Mr Opoku stressed that the bill, if passed, would shift focus from the GM biotechnology to complement it with patenting the seeds that would come from foreign agribusinesses. He accused Ghanaian scientists pushing for the bill to be passed and described them “as scientists who have been sponsored by those agribusinesses to use their GM crops in Ghana. We don’t expect those scientists to come and tell you anything less than the fact that it is good.” He alleged that correspondence with some scientists at the CSIR revealed that “they have been asked by Acadia, for example, to do those tests,” and threatened that even though his organisation would not reveal the names of those scientists, if it became necessary, “we can publish those letters for the public to know that some of these scientists are doing the work of those agribusinesses in order to push these GM foods into the Ghanaian environment.”

  The button of a school shirt, kept in a schoolbag, was all that gave away an armed robber, John Baka, during an identification parade at the Kokrobite Police Station in Accra. The button, which was identified in the schoolbag by the complainant, Mr Joseph Odame, and his wife, exposed Baka, who was among a gang of criminals paraded at the Kokrobite Police Station during an identification exercise. Baka and two other accomplices, who are now on the run, reportedly stormed the Awutu Bawjiase home of the Odame family who were about to retire to bed. The robbers tied them up with pieces of cloth, brutalised and robbed them of their valuables, including the family’s Toyota saloon car. Baka’s plea to the charges of conspiracy and robbery was not taken, and the Agona Swedru Circuit Court, presided over by Mr Nat K.E. Osam, remanded him in custody, pending further investigations and directives from the Attorney General’s Department in Cape Coast. The facts, according to Inspector S. Opoku-Mensah, the prosecutor, were that at about 8:40p.m. on July 22, 2013, Mr Odame, the Awutu Senya West District Officer of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, was about to go to bed with his wife and two children when three men broke into their self-contained house. According to the prosecutor, the three robbers who were armed to the teeth, ransacked the house. Inspector Opoku-Mensah said the robbers tied up their victims, including the children, assaulted them and made away with GH¢5,000, a laptop, three mobile phones, a box containing jewelery, two wedding rings and two pairs of jeans trousers among other belongings and loaded them into the Toyota saloon car which had been parked in front of the house. A few weeks later, the prosecutor disclosed. when the victims got wind of an impending identification parade at the Kokrobite Police Station on August 6, 2013, they went there, only to identify Baka, who had been arrested in connection with another robbery. Inspector Opoku-Mensah said when the police conducted a search in Baka’s room at Kasoa in the presence of the couple, they identified some of their stolen items, including the schoolbag.

  For stealing high tension cables belonging to the Volta River Authority (VRA), kneeling down to plead for mercy and pardon in court could not change the decision of the Sunyani Circuit Court ‘‘A,’’ presided over by Mr John Ekow Mensah, to slap a 10-year sentence with hard labour on Kwame Dapaah, 28. Moments after Mr Mensah had pronounced the sentence, Dapaah, who had pleaded not guilty to the charge of stealing, went on his knees for the court to be lenient with him but the trial judge declined his plea for mercy. He explained that Dapaah did not deserve any mercy for his criminal action, having made the court to go through the trial since April and eventually finding him guilty of the offence, adding that his conviction was to serve as a deterrent to others who wanted to resort to such conduct. Mr Mensah further indicated that in the face of the popular branding of intermittent power outages,  ‘‘Dumso, dumso,’’ across the country, those who cut high tension cables were economic saboteurs, as their actions affected both domestic consumers and industrial users, adding that the court took a serious view of the conduct of Dapaah. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mawunyo Nanegbe, who prosecuted, said the complainant, Justice Asiedu, was a radio presenter at Vizen FM at Chiraa in the Sunyani West District, while Dapaah was unemployed and lived in Kumasi. According to ASP Nanegbe, on April 21, 2013, at about 6:30 a.m., Asiedu, while on duty at the radio station, had a call from Atakrom, near Chiraa, that some people were pulling down electricity cables in a bush and so he quickly alerted and mobilised some of the town folks and headed to the scene. ASP Nanegbe said on their way, the group saw Dapaah coming from the direction where the people had seen the suspects pulling down the cables, carrying some quantity of leaves on his shoulder. The prosecutor said when Asiedu questioned Dapaah as to where he was taking the leaves to, Dapaah responded that he was from Chiraa and that he was going to feed his animals. Upon suspicion, the prosecutor said the group arrested Dapaah and sent him to the chief’s palace at Chiraa where he was later handed  over to the police for failing to appropriately answer questions posed to him. According to the prosecutor, when the police interrogated Dapaah, he told them he came from Berekum. He said the police then escorted him to the bush at Atakrom where the cables had been cut, and there, a witness in the case, Mr Eric Baffoe, came out to identify Dapaah as the one he had earlier seen  pulling down some cables behind his window but was unable to arrest him. The court officer indicated that after investigations, Dapaah was charged with the offence and put before the court.