Otumfuor Osei Tutu has donated 50,000 Ghana cedis to the family of the late Major Maxwell Adam Mahama.
The King of the Ashanti Kingdom made this donation after the family of the late Military man paid a courtesy call on him.
The donation according to the King is to support in the education of the Children the late Soldier left behind.
He consoled the family for their loss and reminded them to take solace in the fact that the God who brought him to them has called him back to his bossom.
The delegation from the family that paid the courtesy call on the King included head of the Mahama family, father of the late Major and Babara Mahama the widow.
Major Maxwell Adam Mahama was lynched by some Youth of the then Denkyira-Boase in the Central region after his identity was mistaken for an armed robber.
His death sent the nation into a state of shock as most Ghanaians could not fathom why human beings could be so reckless towards their fellow human.
With few hours to honour the invitation of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service, Kwame A Plus has said his allegation against the two chiefs of staff has nothing to do with bribe.
According to the musician, his allegations of corruption should not be skewed as bribery because corruption goes beyond bribery.
A Plus who was speaking on Accra-based Okay FM said “Sometimes, people don’t get your explanation when you talk about corruption. Corruption does not only mean that the person has taken bribe and so people might think that two persons I have mentioned have taken bribes; no, they have not taken any bribe anywhere”.
He indicated that “when I said corruption, it has a meaning but maybe it is in the minds of some people that they [Jinapor and Asenso-Boakye] had taken bribe, no it is not so”.
He again described that being dishonest with the position one occupies also amounts to corruption; reiterating that many social vices can constitute corruption including cheating in marriage.
“I can say on this radio station that none of them [Jinapor and Asenso-Boakye] have taken any money anywhere,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, the President of Ghana has ordered for an investigation into the corruption claims by the musician and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has begun a probe into corruption allegations levelled against deputy Chiefs of Staff; Samuel Abu Jinapor and Francis Asenso-Boakye by Kwame A Plus.
The Ministry of Education has cautioned parents not to pay any monies if charged when they take their wards to their various schools.
According to the Ministry, the government has taken care of all expenses and all the students need to do Is to go to their various institutions where they were placed.
The Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, who made this known said the government has made the necessary provision for all effective this September, which is part of the government’s flagship policy, the Free SHS programme to cover all first year students.
He said“Students are not supposed to pay any fees. As a matter of fact, PTA-levied fees like utilities, development levy, and even teacher motivation is going to be paid by the government, as a result, we’ve made it abundantly clear to headmasters that money should not be the reason why a student should not go to school, therefore no parent should receive a bill”.
Dr Adutwum also insists there is no need for parents and prospective SHS students to panic over admission, assuring that all BECE candidates who qualified for SHS will be duly given placements.
A man by name Gafaru has been lynched by a mob at Zanguvugu in Walewale after he was suspected to have killed his relative.
Walewale Police say they have little details of the mob action and all the issues surrounding the death of the two but indicated that the two bodies are currenly in the hospital where doctors are carrying out an autopsy.
Police commander for West Mamprusi district, DSP Sarpong Aboagye said police received information that a man named Gafaru Amadu had brutally killed another man by slitting his neck.
The Police quickly responded and rushed to the village.
The investigators, according to the police chief, found the victim identified as Issahaku Ibrahim laying down on a dusty floor with blood flowing forth in great volume from his neck. Police also found Gafaru firmly tied to a tree in unconscious mood with severe machete injuries.
He was rescued by the police but died shortly whilst being transported to hospital.
Community sources, however, told Starr News that Gafaru was a mental disorder patient and had repeatedly threatened to kill Ibrahim.
The sources narrated that Gafaru attacked his relative on his farm Sunday afternoon with a cutlass and hacked him many times before overpowering him and cut his throat.
Starr News learned that a woman who was also working in his farm witnessed the attack and fled to inform other neighbors.
A community member who doesn’t want to be named said a group of men who arrived at the scene suddenly got infuriated and attacked the killer. He was beaten with sticks and cutlasses before tied up to a tree. The attackers fled leaving behind the victims.
Police said investigation was underway but added residents who witnessed the incident were unwilling to volunteer information.
This is the second of similar incident to be recorded within the Mamprugu Traditional Area. Last month, a man who killed a thirteen-year-old girl was also beaten to death at Namasim near Nalerigu.
A member of the National Democratic Congress in the Upper East region, Paul Danka has said the move by government and the Ghana Education service to allocate 30% placement into Elite Senior High Schools to candidates from deprived areas is an avenue for the Upper class to get their wards placed into those schools.
The Deputy Minister of Education Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum said that 30 percent of enrollment in elite public senior high schools will be reserved for students from deprived or less privileged schools.
He said the initiative is to ensure fairness and quality education in the implementation of government flagship policy Free SHS.
But speaking on A1 Radio’s ‘DayBreak Upper East on A1 Radio, Paul Danka said the move by government is not meant to motivate people in deprived schools but rather to create a window for the “big men” to push their wards who may not get placed into such high profile schools.
According to him, the government introduced the policy in a clandestine way without prior education on it just to keep people in the dark so that the big man will have a way of pushing their children through that avenue.
He said the move will not bring equality like the Deputy Minister promised it was going to adding that it was of no importance.
The Agriculture sector in the country will continue to decline if government fails to lift an embargo on employment in the public sector.
Government in 2010 put a ban on the recruitment of workers in the public sector as part of procedures to alleviate the weak economy.
The agricultural sector is one of the many areas that is challenged with adequate staff. The agriculture sector for more than five years now has not recruited extension officers to replace its retired officers.
The situation according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture in-charge of Annual Crops, Dr. Sagre Bambangi has immensely caused a decline in the sector “as expected over the past few years and it is partially because of these things.”
The minister said this in Bongo during a working visit to the Upper East region.
Dr. Bambangi added that the ban on employment has also affected the fight against the armyworm invasion in the country. “When we started encountering this problem of fall armyworm, we realized that our extension officers were not adequately in place to be able to address this problem. So, definitely I will not run away from the fact that it has affected our performance”
Actress Emelia Brobbey premiered her movie “Adamfo Bone” in Milton Keynes over the weekend. The event had massive attendance that beat the imagination of the actress.
In announcing the success, the actress said in a post on Instagram that “What can we say to Milton Keynes The love was deep and strong … Eii , to the extent where the venue /hotel runners out chairs THANK YOU MILTON KEYNES”
The Ghana Education Service has extended the window for the placement of BECE candidates in the various Senior High Schools in the country.
The deadline for candidates to check their results and placement online expired on Saturday; however, the GES said it has extended the deadline following reports that many candidates have not been able to access their results and placement.
Director General of the Service, Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa explained in an interview that the Service realized that 48 hours deadline coincided with the long holiday and weekend, with many of the candidate unable to check their results because they couldn’t purchase the scratch cards.
He said that the deadline has been extended to Tuesday 5th September by which time they expect the candidates to have concluded the process.
“In the past for candidates of that kind, we used our own discretion to place them in schools and we had challenges, they complained that they’ve been placed in schools that they did not select. This time round we want people to do their self-placement and we want them to do it online. Our idea is that everybody who passed should have the opportunity to go to school. We expect that by Tuesday we’ll look at the numbers and if there’s the need for us to get back to it, we’ll do that.”
He indicated that “The whole idea is that we want them to go to school by 11th September. In the past admission and placement could go on till the end of the first term. We also realized that there’re complaints about the number of terms students spend in school to write the WASSCE. We’re taking various measures to ensure that they have their full nine terms in the schools, and this is one of them.”
Ghana’s captains, Asamoah Gyan and Andre Ayew will miss out from Ghana’s encounter against Congo Brazaville on Tuesday.
The two, it has emerged picked up injuries during Ghana’s game against Congo Brazaville in Kumasi.
Gyan hurt his groin while Andre Ayew picked up a thigh injury. They were not part of the team’s training in Accra on Saturday and it has been confirmed that they will not play the return leg in Congo on Tuesday.
Deputy Minister of Education Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum has said 30 percent of enrollment in elite public senior high schools will be reserved for students from deprived or less privileged schools.
He said the initiative is to ensure fairness and quality education in the implementation of government flagship policy Free SHS.
Addressing the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education in Koforidua, Dr. Adutwum indicated that, various stakeholders have been engaged on the programme to make it a success.
“Poor kids are suffering and I know how difficult it is for children in rural areas and poor communities in urban areas to access secondary education.
“So, it our hope that no one will put any impediments on the way of anyone and as we said, 30 percent of enrollment in elite schools in this country has been reserved for those from public schools who are more likely to be poor,” the Deputy Minister said.
This new policy is an improvement on the previous one where for 30 percent of the total number of vacancies available in schools were allocated to students who attended junior high schools within a 10-kilometer radius of the second cycle institution they selected to attend.
But this, according to the Education Ministry did not serve its purpose.
Dr Adutwum said the Akufo-Addo-led administration’s Free SHS Policy is not only about access but quality and equity.
He said in implementing the policy “We don’t want to leave any child behind.”
Education Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh who was also at the Committee meeting hinted that, procurement for the free SHS will not be entirely centralised.
“Everything on the bill is being sent to school except for six things, where we wanted to achieve economies of scale, exercise books, notebooks, technical drawing equipments, PE Kits, textbooks and literature books,
“These are the only six things we are procuring centrally. The core books have already been distributed, every school will get its quota and if there are shortfalls we will top up,” he added.
He affirmed government’s decision to license teachers in the country to ensure professionalism and quality education.
He added that, licensing of teachers is a requirement in the education system all over the world.
Dr Opoku Prempeh said the process is going through consultations and a lot of things are being done and the teacher unions are being engaged.
