Story By: Ahashie Judeliver Eli Today, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) embarks on a crucial journey as it officially begins voting at polling centers across the country to select its presidential candidate for the 2024 general elections. This momentous event involves over 200,000 party delegates, each representing a critical voice in determining the future leadership […]

Ghana-based Stars From All Nations (SFAN), an education company that unlocks the potential of Africa’s young geniuses, has released the African Startup Investment Readiness Guide to help entrepreneurs get that money. Investment readiness is the state or condition of a startup that makes it well-prepared and attractive to potential investors. It ensures you are fully […]

Former Trade Minister and one of the leading contenders for the flagbearership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alan Kyerematen, has acknowledged the delegates of the Special Electoral College for selecting him as one of the presidential aspirants to contest the November 4th elections. In a press statement released on Sunday, August 27, 2023, Alan […]

The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has announced it has registered 1,124,438 poverty-stricken people across the country.

The government has released GH¢100 million to clear arears owed contractors working on rural roads in cocoa, sheanut and coffee- growing areas.

Mining companies have been advised to actively engage members of their host communities before embarking on corporate social responsibility projects in order to meet the actual needs of the people.

Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has said the imprisonment of presidential candidate of the Convention People's Party (CPP) in the 2004 elections George Aggudey for failing to pay the SSNIT contributions of his workers should serve as a wake up call to defaulting employers.

The chiefs and people of three traditional areas in the South-Dayi District in the Volta Region have called on the government to ensure that Members of Parliament (MP), district chief executive (DCE) and Presiding Member positions in a heterogeneous district should not come from the same traditional area.They said political positions must be equitably distributed among the four traditional area - Tongor, Kpeve, Kpalime and Peki -as it pertained in the South Dayi District.The call was made by the Tongor, Kpalime and Kpeve traditional areas in a press statement jointly signed by their paramount chiefs, Torgbui Asuo Kwesi V, Torgbui Adza Wiah Kwesi II and Torgbui Aku Dompeh XI respectively and issued at a press conference held at Kpeve at the weekend.According to the statement read by the Regent of Tongor-Tsanaakpe,Torgbui Dompreh Aboagye, both Peki and Kpalime traditional areas had already held the position of DCE and that for equity to prevail, it should now be the turn of Tongor and Kpeve traditional areas to contest that position.It said it was the agreement of the Kpalime, Tongor and Kpeve traditional areas that key positions within South Dayi District Assembly such as the DCE should be rotated among the four traditional areas, adding that a fair and impartial approach would promote peaceful coexistence and greater socio-cultural cohesion among the four traditional areas that constituted the district.“As chiefs, we are concerned about the kind of unbridled politics being practised in the South-Dayi District. We have realised that major decisions affecting the district are taken by one or two NDC constituency executive members at the constituency office, championed by the current NDC chairperson without any consultation with key stakeholders such as the traditional authorities from the four traditional areas”, the statement said.“Decisions are based on horizontal views instead of the lateral approach. This approach is dangerous and works against the peace, progress and development of the district”, it added.The statement affirmed the commitment of the chiefs to continue pursuing the course of peace and justice, adding that the greatest challenge facing the district was the unfair distribution of political leadership positions, programmes and resources, adding that as a result of the one-sided nature of issues, geo-politics is very rife within the district, deeply entrenched and getting to dangerous levels.The statement urged the government to nominate DCE who is fit, not far advanced in age, very articulate and gifted with foresight and very positive in his views to help improve on the fortunes of the district.“We also want someone who has the flair and passion for peaceful coexistence, development-oriented, respectful and have the capacity to maintain good interpersonal relationship with all manner of people who comes his way”, the statement said, adding that no individual person should be allowed to impose his private interest and preference over the people, especially in the nomination of the DCE.Credit: Graphic.com.gh

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has destooled the Omanhene of Akrodie in the Brong Ahafo Region, Daasebre Yiadom Boakye Asiamah, after a bitter 18-year chieftaincy dispute that kept the Omanhene, who is also a minister of the Gospel, out of the area for all that period.

Members of government communications team are expected to boycott defending government policies and programmes on media platforms across the country from Tuesday July 9.According to the government communicators, they have taken this 'difficult decision' because of alleged bad treatment meted out to them by some ministers.They also said they have been sidelined by the ministers, even though they are expected to do most of the difficult communications work.They are demanding to meet President Mahama to discuss their concerns with him.But the Deputy Information Minister, Murtala Mohammed, said his outfit is not aware of the strike.He said he is certain the communicators would use the appropriate channels to seek redress to their grievances if they indeed have any issues with the ministers.Credit: Myjoyonline

The petitioners in the ongoing Presidential Election Petition have filed a motion with the Supreme Court, to be heard on Tuesday, requesting the referee appointed to do a count of the pink sheets filed by the petitioners, KPMG, to conclude the task assigned by the Court to establish a total unique count of pink sheets from the available evidence filed by the petitioners.The motion filed on Friday 5th July, is praying the court to request KPMG to do the followingi. to determine the polling station names and codes of the 1,545 pink sheets with incomplete data and determine the unique count thereof with the aid of:a. the further and better particulars filed by Petitioners; and/orb. the official list of 26,002 polling stations established by the 2nd Respondent for the 2012 general elections to be supplied to the Referee by the 2nd Respondent.ii. to determine the unique count of the 2,876 pink sheets that the Referee's report establishes as part of the set of the President of the panel but which are not contained in the set of the Court Registrar.iii. to determine and produce the full list of the unique count of the aggregate of the 8,675 unique pink sheets, the unique pink sheets in the 1,545 pink sheets described in the report as having unclear data, and the unique pink sheets in the 2,876 pink sheets of the set of the President of the panel which are not contained in the Registrar's set.The affidavit supporting the motion sworn to by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, 2nd Petitioner, states that KPMG submitted its final report on 24th June, 2013. The affidavit notes that during the subsequent cross examination of the representative of KPMG, Mr. Amanoo Dodoo, by Counsel for the petitioners on 26th June, attention was drawn to several inconclusive portions of the report, including:a) the failure of the report to conduct and specify a unique count of the 1,545 pink sheets with remarks which according to the report were not clear or legible; andb) the failure of the report to conduct and specify a unique count of the 2,874 pink sheets that the report established were in the set of the President but not contained in the Registrar's set.The petitioners' further state in paragraph 6 of the affidavit that that even though the Referee stated in its report that it had been able to identify 34 out of the 1,545 pink sheets with incomplete data, the report fails to include these unique counts in the 8,675 unique counts set out in the report.The petitioners, as indicated in Court by its lead Counsel Philip Addison, note in their affidavit that they have since been able to identify the polling station names and codes of these 1,545 pink sheets. Out of these 1,545 pinksheets identified, the petitioners have identified 1,291 unique pinksheets and contend that each polling station can be uniquely identified by its polling code.With regard to the 2,876 pinksheets found in the set of Justice Atuguba but not in the Registrar's set, the petitioners indicate that no reason whatsoever has been given by the Referee for its failure to establish a unique count of the same, even though it can be identified by their polling station names, codes and exhibit numbers. The petitioners indicate that out of the 2,876 sheets found in the President's set but not in the registrar's set, they have been able to identify 871 unique pink sheets using information in contained in the KPMG report.Again, the petitioners in Paragraph 14 of the affidavit say 'that even though the report of the Referee notes that 8,675 pinksheets of the Registrar's set are unique, the report does not provide a list of these pinksheets with their polling station names, codes and exhibit numbers, if any. This renders this aspect of the report incomplete.'The affidavit notes that a grant of the application will facilitate a fair and speedy determination of the issues in controversy in this petition, as same would establish a comprehensive unique count of pinksheets filed by the Petitioners as well as make the report submitted by the referees more conclusive.Credit: NPP

Ataa Akyea, Counsel for imprisoned journalist Ken Kuranchie says he is disappointed that justice has not been done to his client.A defiant Editor of the Searchlight Newspaper, Mr. Ken Kuranchie has been sentenced to 10 days imprisonment, having been found guilty of criminal contempt by the Supreme Court.He said the judge’s intimidating presence could not allow his client or him, to fully express themselves. “I couldn’t express myself in full”, Atta Akyea confessed.In his view, the procedure for trying his client was questionable. It should have been referred to the Attorney-General who would have to file a motion and invite a response from his client.This view was partly expressed by Justice Dotse during the hearing.With the benefit of hindsight, the lawyer says he would have approached the case from a different approach.Atta Akyea revealed that an order to appear before the court cannot be made into a trial for contempt. “I never knew that”, he said.If the judges have perceived Ken’s statement was already contemptuous, then there was no reason for coming to defend him.He referred to how Kwaku Boahen was let off simply on the basis of producing a newspaper retraction that had wrongly stated the facts.The way to go was for all the parties summoned to file an affidavit, without it, it becomes “a recipe for chaos”, a disappointed Ataa Akyea said.Challenging the sentencing was “of no use”, he said. His client could be out before he finishes filing a review of the decision.Nonetheless, he explained the sentencing would not be placed on his record.This is because it was a quasi-criminal offence and could not be equated to offenses like stealing.Credit: Myjoyonline

Ataa Akyea, Counsel for imprisoned journalist Ken Kuranchie says he is disappointed that justice has not been done to his client.A defiant Editor of the Searchlight Newspaper, Mr. Ken Kuranchie has been sentenced to 10 days imprisonment, having been found guilty of criminal contempt by the Supreme Court.He said the judge’s intimidating presence could not allow his client or him, to fully express themselves. “I couldn’t express myself in full”, Atta Akyea confessed.In his view, the procedure for trying his client was questionable. It should have been referred to the Attorney-General who would have to file a motion and invite a response from his client.This view was partly expressed by Justice Dotse during the hearing.With the benefit of hindsight, the lawyer says he would have approached the case from a different approach.Atta Akyea revealed that an order to appear before the court cannot be made into a trial for contempt. “I never knew that”, he said.If the judges have perceived Ken’s statement was already contemptuous, then there was no reason for coming to defend him.He referred to how Kwaku Boahen was let off simply on the basis of producing a newspaper retraction that had wrongly stated the facts.The way to go was for all the parties summoned to file an affidavit, without it, it becomes “a recipe for chaos”, a disappointed Ataa Akyea said.Challenging the sentencing was “of no use”, he said. His client could be out before he finishes filing a review of the decision.Nonetheless, he explained the sentencing would not be placed on his record.This is because it was a quasi-criminal offence and could not be equated to offenses like stealing.Credit: Myjoyonline

The chiefs of Nkonya and Alavanyo have signed a peace declaration to end the protracted conflict and ensure peaceful co-existence between the two feuding communities in the Volta Region.The signing of the declaration in Accra on Saturday, followed a three-day crunch meeting led by a three-member negotiating committee constituted by President John Dramani Mahama to iron out the differences between the two communities.The negotiating committee, chaired by the Agbogbomefia, Togbe Afede XIV, convened series of meetings with the chiefs of Nkonya and Alavanyo in Accra, which culminated in the reaching of significant agreements and expression of commitment towards ending the dispute.Togbega Atakora VII, Paramount Chief of Alavanyo, signed the peace declaration on behalf of his community while Nanai Ampem Darkoh III, a representative of the Omanhene of the Nkonya Traditional Area, initialed on behalf of his people.Yesterday, the chiefs briefed President Mahama about the outcome of the meeting at a closed-door session.The decades long-standing land dispute between the two communities has claimed several lives and destroyed property on both sides.In February, this year, two persons from Nkonya-Tayi were killed.Anthony Akoto, 52, was allegedly shot dead while Michael Sarpong, 48, was beheaded, both on their farms, following hostilities between the people of the two towns.Last Monday, two people were shot dead at Kpeme, near Alavanyo in the Hohoe District in renewed clashes between the people of Alavanyo and Nkonya over a long-standing land dispute.The identities of the two have been given as Theophilus Akpene Latse, 30, and his six-month-old son whose name was given only as Desmond.Outlining the details of the peace declaration at a press conference in Accra yesterday, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, said they were able to establish the sources and causes of the protracted dispute.He said the leaders of the two communities noted the feeling of insecurity and mistrust between them.Mr Ahwoi said after the deliberations, the two communities expressed their desire to general peace and willingness to co-exist peacefully with each other.However, he said, the two groups had expressed their regret that they had not been able to arrest the perpetrators of the recent killings in the area.The minister said the two communities agreed, through the peace declaration, "to live in peace together" and to collaborate to apprehend the perpetrators of the recent killings."They have also agreed to confiscate all illegal weapons in the two communities," he said.Mr Ahwoi said the two communities had recommended the establishment of a police station at Alavanyo.They have also proposed the formation of one football club for the two communities to be called Alankos United, which the Minister of the Interior had offered to sponsor.He pledged that the government would communicate the contents of the peace declaration to the people of the two communities.The Interior Minister thanked the two paramountcies of Nkonya and Alavanyo for their cooperation to stop the conflict.He sounded a word of caution to the media that the government would not tolerate any media house which would carry stories likely to inflame passion in the two areas.Togbe Afede XIV said peace was a major requirement for development, and commended President Mahama for taking a special interest and bringing the people down to Accra to resolve the dispute.He said never again should blood be spilled in Nkonya and Alavanyo because the government could not continue to spend huge sums of money on conflict at the expense of development.Togbe Afede XIV reminded the people that it was only through peace that they could attract investment, saying that “without peace you cannot attract investment”.The Chairman of the National Peace Council, Most Rev Emmanuel Asante, who was also a member of the negotiating committee, said retaliation would not bring peace, and asked the people to live in peace and not to allow conflict to divide them.Meanwhile, a combined team of police and military has been sent to the Alavanyo and Nkonya Traditional areas to contain the security breaches in the area.A statement issued by the Ministry of the Interior and signed by the sector minister, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, said “the presence of the force is in response to the collaborative directive of the Ministry of the Interior and the National Security Coordinator’s office to take immediate steps at protecting lives and properties and to ensure that no further lives are lost”.The statement reminded citizens of the two areas that the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew was still in force and warned that “anyone caught breaking it will be dealt with severely”.Credit: graphic.com.gh

The chiefs of Nkonya and Alavanyo have signed a peace declaration to end the protracted conflict and ensure peaceful co-existence between the two feuding communities in the Volta Region.The signing of the declaration in Accra on Saturday, followed a three-day crunch meeting led by a three-member negotiating committee constituted by President John Dramani Mahama to iron out the differences between the two communities.The negotiating committee, chaired by the Agbogbomefia, Togbe Afede XIV, convened series of meetings with the chiefs of Nkonya and Alavanyo in Accra, which culminated in the reaching of significant agreements and expression of commitment towards ending the dispute.Togbega Atakora VII, Paramount Chief of Alavanyo, signed the peace declaration on behalf of his community while Nanai Ampem Darkoh III, a representative of the Omanhene of the Nkonya Traditional Area, initialed on behalf of his people.Yesterday, the chiefs briefed President Mahama about the outcome of the meeting at a closed-door session.The decades long-standing land dispute between the two communities has claimed several lives and destroyed property on both sides.In February, this year, two persons from Nkonya-Tayi were killed.Anthony Akoto, 52, was allegedly shot dead while Michael Sarpong, 48, was beheaded, both on their farms, following hostilities between the people of the two towns.Last Monday, two people were shot dead at Kpeme, near Alavanyo in the Hohoe District in renewed clashes between the people of Alavanyo and Nkonya over a long-standing land dispute.The identities of the two have been given as Theophilus Akpene Latse, 30, and his six-month-old son whose name was given only as Desmond.Outlining the details of the peace declaration at a press conference in Accra yesterday, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, said they were able to establish the sources and causes of the protracted dispute.He said the leaders of the two communities noted the feeling of insecurity and mistrust between them.Mr Ahwoi said after the deliberations, the two communities expressed their desire to general peace and willingness to co-exist peacefully with each other.However, he said, the two groups had expressed their regret that they had not been able to arrest the perpetrators of the recent killings in the area.The minister said the two communities agreed, through the peace declaration, "to live in peace together" and to collaborate to apprehend the perpetrators of the recent killings."They have also agreed to confiscate all illegal weapons in the two communities," he said.Mr Ahwoi said the two communities had recommended the establishment of a police station at Alavanyo.They have also proposed the formation of one football club for the two communities to be called Alankos United, which the Minister of the Interior had offered to sponsor.He pledged that the government would communicate the contents of the peace declaration to the people of the two communities.The Interior Minister thanked the two paramountcies of Nkonya and Alavanyo for their cooperation to stop the conflict.He sounded a word of caution to the media that the government would not tolerate any media house which would carry stories likely to inflame passion in the two areas.Togbe Afede XIV said peace was a major requirement for development, and commended President Mahama for taking a special interest and bringing the people down to Accra to resolve the dispute.He said never again should blood be spilled in Nkonya and Alavanyo because the government could not continue to spend huge sums of money on conflict at the expense of development.Togbe Afede XIV reminded the people that it was only through peace that they could attract investment, saying that “without peace you cannot attract investment”.The Chairman of the National Peace Council, Most Rev Emmanuel Asante, who was also a member of the negotiating committee, said retaliation would not bring peace, and asked the people to live in peace and not to allow conflict to divide them.Meanwhile, a combined team of police and military has been sent to the Alavanyo and Nkonya Traditional areas to contain the security breaches in the area.A statement issued by the Ministry of the Interior and signed by the sector minister, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, said “the presence of the force is in response to the collaborative directive of the Ministry of the Interior and the National Security Coordinator’s office to take immediate steps at protecting lives and properties and to ensure that no further lives are lost”.The statement reminded citizens of the two areas that the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew was still in force and warned that “anyone caught breaking it will be dealt with severely”.Credit: graphic.com.gh

Galamsey (ILLEGAL) mining is on the rise in Juabo, Sarah and Ayim all in the Amenfi West district of the Western region, and, this could heavily deplete the forest reserve in the area if something is not done immediately to arrest the situation.The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Forestry Commission, Security Services and other state agencies charged to monitor and arrest the situation, are sitting unconcerned and/or refusing to act.Investigations conducted by this reporter have found that some of these illegal miners are operating in the know of some of these officials charged to monitor and arrest the situation, thus making a mockery of the call by the President for their immediate crackdown.With Ghana already losing the battle to control this menace, thousands of people from all walks of life, have descended heavily into the forest reserve situate at the towns mentioned above, at an alarming rate using all kinds of equipments to dig the ground in the search for gold.The area is supposed to be protected as a forest reserve rich in different kinds of minerals and also hosts wildlife and other plant species. Some of these illegal miners have resorted to the hiring of private security men to protect their concessions and properties and operate without fear of being apprehended by state authorities charged to crack them down.Information available indicates that there are well over 600,000 illegal miners in Ghana (and this does not include foreigners who also take part in this industry) with the majority of Ghanaians being able-bodied young men who otherwise, could have been engaged in a less dangerous activity.Aside the illegality associated with galamsey, it is also extremely dangerous as many of these young men unfortunately lose their lives in the course of the mining activities and the recent incident at Kyekyewere near Dunkwa is a classic example.The destruction of the land is massive as major pits have been left uncovered by these galamseyer’s who seem to have developed a habit of digging around everywhere all in search of gold.Another major fatality awaits Ghana in the near future as there is a huge possibility that any of the opened pits could cave in at anytime and one can imagine the number of lives that could be lost if action is not taken to address the situation immediately.The main scare regarding this illegal practice is the extreme harm it causes to the environment since no proper measures are taken to ensure that the environment is protected.These illegal miners in the course of their operations, was the alluvial gold with mercury in rivers that the local folk use for their livelihood/domestic purposes, thereby poisoning these water bodies, the aquatic organism dwelling in them and lastly the people.These are issues that must be addressed by the authorities concerned and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources must play a lead role by acting immediately to stop another major calamity befall Ghana and control galamsey operations in the areas mentioned in this report.By George Osei/Happyghana.com

Galamsey (ILLEGAL) mining is on the rise in Juabo, Sarah and Ayim all in the Amenfi West district of the Western region, and, this could heavily deplete the forest reserve in the area if something is not done immediately to arrest the situation.The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Forestry Commission, Security Services and other state agencies charged to monitor and arrest the situation, are sitting unconcerned and/or refusing to act.Investigations conducted by this reporter have found that some of these illegal miners are operating in the know of some of these officials charged to monitor and arrest the situation, thus making a mockery of the call by the President for their immediate crackdown.With Ghana already losing the battle to control this menace, thousands of people from all walks of life, have descended heavily into the forest reserve situate at the towns mentioned above, at an alarming rate using all kinds of equipments to dig the ground in the search for gold.The area is supposed to be protected as a forest reserve rich in different kinds of minerals and also hosts wildlife and other plant species. Some of these illegal miners have resorted to the hiring of private security men to protect their concessions and properties and operate without fear of being apprehended by state authorities charged to crack them down.Information available indicates that there are well over 600,000 illegal miners in Ghana (and this does not include foreigners who also take part in this industry) with the majority of Ghanaians being able-bodied young men who otherwise, could have been engaged in a less dangerous activity.Aside the illegality associated with galamsey, it is also extremely dangerous as many of these young men unfortunately lose their lives in the course of the mining activities and the recent incident at Kyekyewere near Dunkwa is a classic example.The destruction of the land is massive as major pits have been left uncovered by these galamseyer’s who seem to have developed a habit of digging around everywhere all in search of gold.Another major fatality awaits Ghana in the near future as there is a huge possibility that any of the opened pits could cave in at anytime and one can imagine the number of lives that could be lost if action is not taken to address the situation immediately.The main scare regarding this illegal practice is the extreme harm it causes to the environment since no proper measures are taken to ensure that the environment is protected.These illegal miners in the course of their operations, was the alluvial gold with mercury in rivers that the local folk use for their livelihood/domestic purposes, thereby poisoning these water bodies, the aquatic organism dwelling in them and lastly the people.These are issues that must be addressed by the authorities concerned and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources must play a lead role by acting immediately to stop another major calamity befall Ghana and control galamsey operations in the areas mentioned in this report.By George Osei/Happyghana.com

The Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, has stated that custodial sentences will not be effective if the proceeds of crime are not seized.According to her, the traditional objective of prosecution has been sentencing convicts to prison as part of efforts to reform the criminal and to serve as a deterrent and retribution.However, the impact of custodial sentences could not have significant change on crime as long as criminals know that the proceeds of crime are safe from being taken away from them.Justice Wood said it was, therefore, necessary that the proceeds of crime were made inaccessible through collaboration between the justice system and the financial system to ensure that the profits of crime were removed from the perpetrators.She made the observation in a speech read on her behalf by Mrs Justice Gertrude Torkonu, a Justice of the Commercial Court, at the opening of a week’s capacity building seminar on economic and financial crimes for judges, investigators and prosecutors of Ghana in Accra yesterday.It was organised by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), the Judicial Training Institute of Ghana and the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC).Threat to national securityJustice Wood, therefore, called for concerted efforts from stakeholders to eradicate the disturbing phenomenon of money laundering.She said if the problem was not halted, it would threaten the cohesion, security and stability of the financial system, the economy, value systems of the body politic and good governance of the country.“Wealth creation and wealth generation are in themselves a positive development. However, if directed at financial cross-border and economic crimes, it becomes a plague that requires serious consideration and a well-co-ordinated effort to eradicate completely from society,” the Chief Justice said.Justice Wood said the different entities constituting the judicial system of the country were faced with systematic and peculiar challenges such as lack of channels for knowledge flow, and expressed gratitude to the organisers of the programme for building the capacity of stakeholders in the fight against money laundering.UN drug statisticsShe gave some startling statistics about drug trafficking from which moneys were laundered.According to her, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that around 40 tonnes of cocaine, with an European retail value of $3.2 billion, consumed in Europe in 2006, was trafficked through West Africa.Justice Wood said the UN had also found evidence of drug production and abuse which were also on the surge, as well as trafficking in persona, arms, minerals and counterfeit medicine in the sub-region.She urged colleagues in the fight against crime to evolve strategies that would meet the effective and efficient discharge of the task, adding that “this is necessary to remove the growing perception that, but for wilful blindness, the Ghanaian criminal justice system is capable of dealing effectively with transnational organised crime”.Credit: Graphic.com.gh

The Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, has stated that custodial sentences will not be effective if the proceeds of crime are not seized.According to her, the traditional objective of prosecution has been sentencing convicts to prison as part of efforts to reform the criminal and to serve as a deterrent and retribution.However, the impact of custodial sentences could not have significant change on crime as long as criminals know that the proceeds of crime are safe from being taken away from them.Justice Wood said it was, therefore, necessary that the proceeds of crime were made inaccessible through collaboration between the justice system and the financial system to ensure that the profits of crime were removed from the perpetrators.She made the observation in a speech read on her behalf by Mrs Justice Gertrude Torkonu, a Justice of the Commercial Court, at the opening of a week’s capacity building seminar on economic and financial crimes for judges, investigators and prosecutors of Ghana in Accra yesterday.It was organised by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), the Judicial Training Institute of Ghana and the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC).Threat to national securityJustice Wood, therefore, called for concerted efforts from stakeholders to eradicate the disturbing phenomenon of money laundering.She said if the problem was not halted, it would threaten the cohesion, security and stability of the financial system, the economy, value systems of the body politic and good governance of the country.“Wealth creation and wealth generation are in themselves a positive development. However, if directed at financial cross-border and economic crimes, it becomes a plague that requires serious consideration and a well-co-ordinated effort to eradicate completely from society,” the Chief Justice said.Justice Wood said the different entities constituting the judicial system of the country were faced with systematic and peculiar challenges such as lack of channels for knowledge flow, and expressed gratitude to the organisers of the programme for building the capacity of stakeholders in the fight against money laundering.UN drug statisticsShe gave some startling statistics about drug trafficking from which moneys were laundered.According to her, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that around 40 tonnes of cocaine, with an European retail value of $3.2 billion, consumed in Europe in 2006, was trafficked through West Africa.Justice Wood said the UN had also found evidence of drug production and abuse which were also on the surge, as well as trafficking in persona, arms, minerals and counterfeit medicine in the sub-region.She urged colleagues in the fight against crime to evolve strategies that would meet the effective and efficient discharge of the task, adding that “this is necessary to remove the growing perception that, but for wilful blindness, the Ghanaian criminal justice system is capable of dealing effectively with transnational organised crime”.Credit: Graphic.com.gh

Suame Magazine, a popular industrial and manufacturing hub in the Ashanti regional capital has been gutted by fire.The blaze consumed eight shops destroying properties running into thousands of cedis.Fire Officers are trying to fight the blaze.This is the second fire disaster in the regional capital.The Kumasi central market got gutted by fire barely two weeks ago.The fire was hours apart from a similar disaster that befell jewellery shop Letap, in the national capital Accra today.