Godwin Fumeti, a 32-year-old carpenter, has been sentenced to 72 months’ imprisonment with hard labour by the Odumase-Krobo Circuit Court for stealing 200 cement blocks, which belonged to his father, Fred Fumeti. Fumeti had earlier pleaded guilty to the charge. Presenting the facts of the case to the court, presided over by Mr Asmah Akwasi Asiedu, the prosecutor, ASP Richmond Akwasi Yeboah, said the father, a farmer and his son resided at Kpong. He said on December 7, 2013 at about 3 p.m. Mr Fumeti had information through a witness who is a driver that his son had engaged him (driver) to cart 200 pieces of cement blocks from Kpong to Juapong. He said when he, the driver, got to Ahudzo, a suburb of Kpong, Godwin ordered him to offload the blocks on one Moses Atiapa’s land without any explanation. The prosecutor said the driver suspected foul play and reported the case to Mr Fumeti who also reported to the police. The prosecutor said when the police visited the scene, they saw the 200 pieces of blocks valued at GH¢502. The police consequently arrested Godwin and during interrogation, he admitted the offence with the explanation that he took GH¢45 from  Atiapa to design a door for him but he could not do it and when Moses demanded a refund of his money, he decided to use the cement blocks as collateral with a promise to pay in the shortest possible time. The court, however, ordered the police to release the blocks to the owner.   

  Last Sunday, January 26, 2014, marked World Leprosy Day. It is a day which is set aside internationally on the last Sunday of January every year to help increase public awareness of the disease. In Ghana, the day was observed at the Weija Leprosarium where under the auspices of the Lepers Aid Committee, chaired by Very Rev. Fr Andrew Campbell, who has for long championed the cause of lepers, the inmates interacted  with other members of the public.  The special guest was the wife of the Vice-President, Mrs Matilda Amissah-Arthur. Mrs Amissah-Arthur presented some items which included bags of rice, cooking oil, mats, buckets, cups and bowls to the lepers. Commenting on the need to integrate cured lepers into the society, she urged Ghanaians to accept the cured lepers into their midst since the disease was not contagious and was curable. She said the continuous rejection of lepers by their families and communities had an effect on the activities at the Leprosarium in terms of high operational costs and advised families of  such people to visit and give them hope. According to Fr Campbell, the Cummist USA supported them with $52,000, which was used for infrastructure and maintenance.   

The Controversial Ahafo Ano South District Chief Executive (DCE), Gabriel Barima, whose infamous ‘who said tweaa’ recently stirred a nationwide storm, has been penalized for his action. The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, which has oversight responsibility over District Assemblies commenced investigations into his conduct, after the issue about his boycott of an […]

The free falling cedi value against the convertible currencies is prompting worrying yet justifiable disquiet. Experts in fiscal matters and ordinary Ghanaians managing simple businesses by the street and in metal containers in the alleys of Accra are talking about the trend. They are fretting over what the eventual outcome will be. It is not […]

Rt. Rev. Stephen Richard Bosomtwi-Ayensu The Methodist Bishop of Obuasi in the Ashanti Region, Rt. Rev. Stephen Richard Bosomtwi-Ayensu, has in an unusual fashion, criticized the John Mahama administration, describing the President as sleeping on the job. The Reverend Minister, who was not afraid to speak his mind about the state of the nation, advised […]

Nana Akwasi Agyeman Nana Akwasi Agyeman, popularly called ‘Okumkom’, has issued a warning to those who are deliberately spreading the rumour that the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has kicked the bucket. The former Mayor of Kumasi, who is incidentally a royal in the Ashanti Kingdom, warned those spreading the false news to desist from […]

The deceases, Nana Osei aka Naasei and the buiding he jumped from RESIDENTS OF Adum in Kumasi were on Thursday morning greeted with the terrifying news of a man jumping to his death from a tall building. The young man from Amoaman near Barekese jumped to his death from the third floor of a four-storey […]

BUSTED! Simon Yovou and Thomas Dodzie Nodzi  and the human skull in the bag The Afienya police have arrested two persons for allegedly possessing human skull on the Akosombo-Tema Highway. The two culprits, Simon Yovou, 34, fetish priest and Thomas Dodzie Nodzi, 38, unemployed, both residents of Afienya, were transporting the skull from Agortime Wudome […]

  A programme that seeks to promote public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources has been launched in the country. The programme will engage citizens in the use of a test kit called  “World Water Monitoring Challenge Test Kit” to conduct basic monitoring of their local water bodies. Targeted beneficiaries of the programme are: governmental institutions, schools, communities and youth groups in Weija, Daboase and Aprakoso in the Greater Accra, Western and Ashanti regions respectively. The programme is part of the European Union-African Caribbean Pacific (EU-ACP) water facility project aimed at building capacity in quality water  monitoring and surveillance in Ghana. The water monitoring project is being supported by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL). Benefits of the test kit In a speech read on his behalf at the launch in Accra, the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing (MWRWH), Mr Collins Dauda, said the programme would contribute towards addressing the issue of water quality that had become a global concern. Mr Collins explained that the components of the projects would focus on improving the quality of Ghana’s water bodies by raising awareness among relevant institutional stakeholders, communities and schoolchildren. According to him, the government’s vision of providing water for all by 2025 would be defeated if the quality of water was poor. He said, “ It is, therefore, imperative to ensure that in our drive towards 100 per cent water coverage, quality is not sacrificed.” Mr Dauda observed that with the increasing number of people moving to urban areas, the water supplied by the GWCL was not sufficient to meet demand. “Many of the inhabitants in these urban areas have no option than to rely on water from sources whose wholesomeness cannot be guaranteed,” he added. Mr Dauda, however, urged stakeholders to team up and work towards improving the quality of potable water in the country. Challenges facing the GWCL The Managing Director of the GWCL, Mr Godwin Kweku Dovlo, mentioned the pollution of water bodies through illegal mining (galamsey) as a major problem that affected the operations of the company. He said the GWCL, over the past years, had spent huge sums of money to purchase chemicals to treat water and make it safe for drinking, adding; “ we buy around 15,000 metric tonnes of alum to treat water annually.” Mr Dovlo, therefore, called for concerted efforts by all stakeholders to fight against illegal mining, since it pollutes the water bodies in the country.  

Malawi install Young Chimodzi as head coach of the national team and Jack Chamangwana as his assistant coach.

Ghanasoccernet.com is providing live coverage of all the deals, sightings and signings involving Ghanaians and other top stars in the top leagues of Europe as the January transfer window closes at 23:00 GMT on Friday. Refresh for latest news:

Scottish Premier League side Partick Thistle have signed Ghana midfielder Prince Buaben on loan, the club have announced.

Dr. Omane Boamah The Minister of Communications, Dr. Omane Boamah has called on Ghanaian politicians to stay away from student politics in educational institutions across the country. Dr. Boamah appealed to the authorities to strength their relationship with representatives of students. “I want all politicians in the country, including myself, to stay off student politics,” […]

  The Government of Ghana is to terminate two projects signed between the Savanah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) and the Asongtaba Cottage Industries (ACI). The projects – the guinea fowl rearing and processing project and the afforestation and tree growing project- have been considered for termination following a report by the Minister in charge of Development Authorities, Dr. Ahmed Mustapha regarding the two projects. According to a statement signed by the Senior Communications Adviser at the Presidency, Ben Dotsei Malor, the report submitted by the minister noted that although the projects were viable and held the potential for the creation of a significant number of jobs in the three Northern Regions, “SADA had not established the systems and mechanisms for the monitoring and supervision of these projects to ensure that the state received value for money.” The statement said the report further noted that sufficient expertise still existed within the Savannah Research Institute and the University of Development Studies to re-design and implement a strategy that could properly harness the potential of the guinea fowl industry and turn it into a major income earner for the people of the Savannah belt. President John Mahama has, thus, instructed the Board of the SADA to act in consultation with the Attorney General to terminate the two contracts it entered into with Asongtaba Cottage Industries, the statement said. The statement further said President Mahama has requested the SADA Board to hold consultations with the Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Local Government to work out a strategy for the proper implementation of the afforestation and tree growing project, on a decentralized basis. “The President has further instructed the SADA Board to immediately strengthen SADA's systems of accountability, to ensure that the Authority is able to account for any resources committed by the Government for the accelerated development of the savannah areas,” it noted.  

Hajia Ahmed Ruka Hajia Ahmed Ruka, a staunch member of the 2012 Campaign Team of Nana Akufo-Addo, has declared her intention to contest for the national treasurer position of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Ms. Ahmed has played key role in the party for a very long time with a distinguished record of mobilizing supporters […]

  The future of meat production in the country is under threat due to the rejection of animal breeders from various communities in the country. The Vice-Chairman of the Cattle Dealers and Breeders in Kumasi, Mr Mohamed Muntakar Iddrissu, who disclosed this, explained that the current situation whereby chiefs, opinion leaders and communities were rejecting, sacking and refusing to give land out to the breeders was very dangerous. According to Mr Iddrisu, “currently, a little over half of the animals sold in the country were brought from nearby countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Cote d’Ivoire which shows  that there is the need for the nation to boost its own production of meat since any break in supply from those foreign sources can be very disastrous to the nation.” He said the expansion in the local production of animals in the country did not only enhance meat production but also create jobs at various levels in the country in the area of animal farming, animals sales and the sale of meat, as well as improving the quality of meat supplies in the country. The Vice-Chairman said the land tenure system in the country posed a threat to the rearing of animals as most stakeholders were not ready to release parcels of land for the establishment of kraals in their communities. He, therefore, appealed to the various stakeholders and opinion leaders in the country to take a critical look at the situation to avoid a disaster in the production of meat in the country. Another dangerous situation was the fact that most commercial farmers were just raising the animals in large numbers just for fame and were not ready to sell them. He explained that if care was not taken, in the next 10 years, it would be very difficult to get meat raised from the local market, citing the high foreign exchange rate which also made it very difficult to buy the imported animals as the dealers had to deal with the various police barriers where they had to pay huge sums of money to prevent their trucks from unnecessary delays. Mr Iddrissu said apart from the unnecessary delays at the barriers, when the animals are delayed, it usually led to the death of some due to suffocation and heat in the trucks and to avoid those conditions, the dealers were forced to pay huge sums of money demanded at the barriers. That, in the long run, leads to an increase in the prices of meat products on the market, a situation which, to them, is not good for the nation.  

Patrick Boamah The Member of Parliament (MP) for Okaikoi Central, Patrick Boamah has expressed concern about the spate of accidents on the George Walker Bush Highway, popularly called N1 Highway. He said from February 2012 when the late President Atta Mills opened the highway to December, 2013, 489 accidents had been recorded on the road with […]

Championship strugglers Barnsley have completed the signing of Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong for an undisclosed fee.

Alhaji Iddrisu Bature The National Democratic Congress (NDC) branch in Amsterdam, Holland has descended heavily on Alhaji Iddrisu Bature, Managing Editor of Al Hajj Newspaper for making derogatory comments about women. According to the NDC Amsterdam branch, Alhaji Bature described the entire New Patriotic Party (NPP) as a ‘Women’s Fellowship’ with “Fear and Panic” as […]