Government has implemented the visa on arrival to all member countries of the African Union as promised years back, by President John Dramani Mahama.

The implementation, would not only facilitate the movement of potential travellers to Ghana, but would also increase trade links between Ghana and other countries.

Ghana is the first country to implement the regime, which envisages to step up socio-economic development through tourism and other multilateral engagements with her peers in the continent.

President Mahama announced this when he treated senior citizens to a luncheon at the Banquet Hall of the State House as part of the 56th Republic Day celebrations in Accra.

The Day, which was instituted 1960 after the country gained sovereignty, initiated new civic traditions where the National Assembly replaced wigs and robes with Ghanaian apparel.

It  also created national awards to recognise excellence, dedication and selfless service to Ghana.

The annual luncheon to retired citizens is therefore to honour them for paying their dues in terms of carrying out their duties and responsibilities successfully during their working lives.

President Mahama said apart from opening its doors to all Economic Community of West African states, Ghana has also established a special Visa regime with Kenya and Mauritius and the implementation would increase the influx of tourists.

He promised to serve all categories of citizens in the country, but cautioned them play their roles responsibly to achieve the country’s development goals and growth.

President Mahama said Ghana had over the years enjoyed peace and stability and it is therefore incumbent on Ghanaians to play their roles well to maintain the status quo.

“Let’s continue to live in peace and stability by exhibiting high level brotherhood and sisterhood in all corners of the country,” he added.

He reminded the youth to continue to tap the experience and expertise of the aged, since they have gone through a lot in their working days and therefore could continue to serve as national assets.

The current issues of moral decadence, indiscriminate disposal of waste and the other negative practices, President Mahama said could be minimised if the aged engage the youth groups in educational programmes.

Mr Kojo Yankah, Former Minister of State, who represented the senior citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the rate at which national issues are being politicised to the apex in the media.

He said: “It is unfortunate that we are tearing ourselves apart on political party lines with radio stations inundated with heated arguments using intemperate language all over.”

Mr Yankah also a former Director of the Ghana Institute of Journalism said the situation has not only placed Ghana’s cultural norms under threat, but also created an environment where some public and private officials have become petty gods by neglecting their responsibilities in the society.

He urged all senior citizens to be concerned about those issues by participating in programmes that could drum home some useful social standards to the current generation and succeeding ones.

The former Information Minister said their participation and frequent educational programmes would eventually help in the reduction of moral decadence that is gaining ascendency in the country.

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President John Dramani Mahama has granted amnesty to 896 prisoners in commemoration of the 56th Republican Anniversary of the Republic of Ghana, according to a statement from government.

The freed prisoners are in the following categories:

1. First Offenders – 813

2. Seriously ill – 16

3. Aged 70 years and above – 63

4. Special Case (Double Amputee) – 1

5. Death row commuted to Life Imprisonment – 3

The President has asked the prisoners to conduct themselves well as they return to society and avoid breaching the law again.

This comes after the President freed 900 prisoners in 2015 on similar grounds.

Article 72(1) of the constitution indicates that the President may in consultation with the Council of State grant a person convicted of an offence a pardon either free or subject to lawful conditions.

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Newstube24.com can authoritatively state that the Manhyia Palace on Monday severed ties with the Chief Executive Officer of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Kojo Bonsu for disrespecting Otumfour Osi Tutu, the Overlord of Asanteman.

This website is reliably informed that Asanteman, in demonstrating its level of annoyance over the lack of respect for the Great King on Thursday slaughtered a sheep and summoned the KMA Boss to appear before Asanteman to answer certain queries against him on Monday (Today).

The action taken against Mr Bonsu was sparked by his unilaterally removal of Chief of Amoaman, Nana Agyenim Boateng who is Otumfour’s representative on the board of the Kajetia Market project which is currently under construction without informing the king about his action.

Otumfour nominated the chief to represent him after issues of corruption and embezzlement of funds was leveled against Kojo Bonsu.

The project has become a centre of controversy in recent times with a group of Assemblymen led by former Presiding Member Nana Kofi Senya, last week issuing a one week ultimatum to Kojo Bonsu to resign for allegedly inflating prices of shops in the yet-to-be completed Project and for showing what they termed ‘gross disrespect” to the Asantehene.

The group alleged among other things that Mr Bonsu has unilaterally increased prices of the shops from an initially agreed Ghc1500 to Ghc 25,000 each. But the Public Relations Manager of the KMA, Godwin Okumah Nyame has denied the allegations.

But when a gathering of Chiefs had gathered at the Palace in wait of the KMA Boss today (Monday) Kojo Bonsu failed to turn up.

Ultimate FM’s Justice Isaac Bediako in an interview with Kasapa News stated that instead, the Ashanti Regional Minister John Alexander Ackon rather appeared before the chiefs and then sought to apologize on behalf of Kojo Bonsu for his absence and the earlier actions he took.

However the Chiefs who didn’t take kindly to Kojo Bonsu’s lack of respect for them told the minister they will not accept the apology.

“They urged the Minister to tell President John Mahama that they’ve had enough of Kojo Bonsu’s lack of respect for them and urged him to inform President Mahama to immediately nominate another KMA Chief Executive to replace Kojo Bonsu as they could not work with him anymore,” Bediako noted.

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Parties in the ongoing dispute over the voters’ register will return to the Supreme court today as petitioners challenged the credibility NHIS registration list compiled and submitted by the EC last week.

The Electoral Commission as ordered by the apex court submitted 56,000 names as the full list of Ghanaians who were captured onto the voters’ register, using the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) card, as proof of Ghanaian citizenship ahead of the 2012 elections.

The figure was released at sitting Thursday to the Supreme Court, which ordered the Commission to produce the list in six days.

Lawwyer for the plaintiff, Frank Davies, told the Supreme Court the fifty six thousand figure presented to it, is contentious and could not be the actual figure since they knew of more people who registered with NHIS card in some areas, but were not captured by the EC.

In an interview before hearing today, the plaintiff, Abu Ramadan said the commission’s list containing some 84 district that did not record NHIS card registration onto the  voters register is questionable.

“What are they going to audit? Are they going to audit the hard copy- the 14 million applications that are before the commission. Because even in the names they submitted, when you look at what we filed in court we raised issues with almost about 84 or so districts that were missing. So they mean to say that in 84 districts nobody used NHIS card to register; which is problematic,” he e

However he said it’s likely the Supreme court may have to adjourn sitting later today as the evidence they have submitted in court will require the apex court to study in detail before making a ruling.

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The Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) will meet officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana(ECG) urgently over the company’s failure to clearly communicate the recent blackout in the country.

The PURC insists it will impose sanctions against the company if it fails to satisfactorily explain the problem.

Many parts of the country have been hit by an unplanned and erratic supply of power over the past two months, a situation that is affecting consumers due to non-availability of schedules for the power outages.

ECG has shed more than 200 MW of power in the last month alone but has failed to issue a public notice and a time-table downplaying the concerns of the public. The company said the blackout is temporary hence they do not need to

But the PURC’s head of Public Affairs Nana Yaa Jantuahsaid the ECG’s position is unacceptable claiming the commission will get tough on the state power distributor for failing to communicate properly the

“There should be some form of communication from ECG to say that we’re facing some form challenges in in the sector. And because of the challenges we’re facing you’ll see some form of movement in your supply, which means you might not get consistent supply because we have some challenges; It is acceptable but for you to just brush it aside…it’s not good. Something should have been done to communicate the situation.

We’re going to call a meeting because they told us it is going to be temporary and that we’ll not see any prolonged outages…but it is as if it has moved from temporary to a certain level.”

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The death is reported of former chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Mr. Ben Koufie.

Koufie, 84,  passed on at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital after a battling a short illness.

The Ghana Football Association has since confirmed the news.

He played for Kumasi Cornerstones and Ebusua Dwarfs. At the senior level he was with the Black Stars from 1957 to 1958.

He later coached Kotoko and the senior national team as well as Zimbabwe. He also had a stint with Botswana.

He was FA President of Ghana from 2001 to 2003.

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Black stars captain Asamoah Gyan has sued political show host of Accra-based Montie FM, Mugabe and Founder of Ghana Freedom Party(GFP), Akua Donkor over the allegation that he was funding the opposition New Patriotic Party(NPP) ahead of the November 7 elections.

There were allegations that  Gyan, who is currently in China playing for Shangahi SIPG had imported arms and machetes in support for the New Patriotic Party(NPP) campaign activities in the run-up to the general polls.

But Gyan tweeted  in denial of the claim and expressed disgust with the reports emanating from Montie FM.

Subsequently the management of the Ghanaian International, Gyan asked the host Mugabe to retract his claim and  issue an unqualified apology to the footballer which he failed to do so provoking a lawsuit from the Black Stars player.

The Chief Executive of the Asamoah Gyan Foundation in Ghana, Samuel Anim Addo has revealed that their Lawyers have filed a writ in court over the claims set to tarnish the image of the footballer.

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President John Mahama has disclosed that government has no intention of declaring a period load shedding despite the current power challenges.

Many parts of the country have been hit by an unplanned and erratic supply of power over the past two months, a situation that is affecting consumers due to non-availability of schedules for the power outages.

ECG has shed more than 200 MW of power in the last month alone but has failed to issue a public notice and a time-table downplaying the concerns of the public. The company said the blackout is temporary hence they do not need to.

But speaking at the Eid-Ul-Fitr celebrations in Accra on Wednesday, President John Mahama disclosed that the current power challenge has been caused due to problems facing the Nigerian authorities, who are Ghana’s main suppliers of crude oil.

“We have recently suffered some generational problems, I had a stakeholder meeting with all those involved in the power sector because of sabotage in Nigeria on the terminals, crude oil that we ordered last month has not arrived and so it has created some generational problems for us.

“But I have asked the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company to start storing at least one month of light oil supply for Ghana so that in the event anything happens at the supply end in Nigeria, we are not affected the way we are currently affected. So I crave your indulgence and urge all of you to understand. We are not declaring load shedding, I believe things will normalize.”

By: Newstube24.com

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The Kotokoli Chief of Madina, Uoro Salifu Harouna, has predicted victory for the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in this year’s elections, confident that the majority of Ghanaians will vote for him.

Uoro Salifu Harouna, who is also the head of 36 Kotokoli Chiefs in the Greater Accra Region, indicated that “there is every assurance that the majority of the Ghanaian voters, at least three-quarters, this time, are with him. We don’t want any Ghanaian to make the mistake after the voting and say that ‘if we had known we would have voted for Nana’”.

The Kotokoli Chief made this known when Nana Akufo-Addo called on him at his Palace, in the heart of Madina, on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, on his tour of the constituency.

Uoro Salifu Harouna told the NPP flagbearer that he “is in very safe hands (in the midst of the Kotokoli people) and in the hands of his lovers”, adding that “very soon, he will be our President in 2017.”

To the Ghanaian electorate, the Chief stated that since the belief is that “elections are won at the polling station, we are urging people that they have to be wide awake, alert and make sure that the right thing is done at the right time.”

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Nine persons have died Thursday dawn at Asawase in the Ashanti Region after a stampede ensued at a party (Sallah Jams) to celebrate the Eid-Ul-Fitr.

Five others are on admission at the Manhyia Hospital, one in critical condition and the other four responding to treatment.

There are conflicting reports of the incident that happened at the Asawase Community Centre. While some say the stampede was as a result of a fight, others claim power supply to the centre was disconnected by an unknown person leaving the place in total darkness, and in an attempt to flee through the only exit, the victims were walked over losing their lives in the process.

Ultimate FM’s Justice Isaac Bediako in an interview with Kasapa News stated that the police were there moments after the event to control the situation.

Foot wares of many revelers can be seen littered on the compound. The unfortunate incident has drawn lots of people to the scene of the incident.

Newstube24.com

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President John Mahama and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) appears to contradict themselves over the issue of electricity tariffs which has become a source of concern for most Ghanaian consumers.

Many Ghanaians have complained about the debilitating impact of costly power tariffs, following which government on July 1, 2016 introduced subsidies to offer respite not only to “life line” customers seen as the poor and vulnerable, but also to all customers of the country’s main electricity distributor whether residential or commercial.

The ECG’s announcement of the move at a press conference in Accra on Monday means that consumers of power will now pay a rate of 34 pesewas per unit for the first 50 units of power consumed instead of the 67 pesewas per unit previously charged.

Before the announcement the only subsidy in the electricity tariff applied to only the lifeline range (0-50 units) and when a consumer breaches that range he/she is charged retrospectively with the subsidy-free tariff for all units consumed.

Speaking at the press conference, Ebenezer Baiden, General Manager, Regulatory and Governmental Affairs of ECG explained that the utility provider’s latest move is not a reduction in the power tariffs rather to provide some relief to the consumers for the next six months.

The new subsidy which is expected to cost some GH¢300 million comes at a time government is struggling to settle its indebtedness to the ECG following years of unpaid subsidies as well as usage of power by its agencies and ministries.

But President John Mahama addressing Moslems at the Eid-Ul-Fitr celebration in Accra on Wednesday, stated that the relief to consumers has become possible due to the re-alignment of the billing system by the NDC and not a subsidy.

“Recently there have been issues with electricity tariffs, the Electricity Company of Ghana has done some work on it, they have done a re-alignment of their billing system and I believe that people can begin to feel some relief in terms of the bills they are paying. The bills have been made more transparent so that you can tell with every unit that you buy how much the value of the unit is. IT IS NOT A SUBSIDY, it is a re-alignment of the billing system that makes it possible for us to be able to know how much we are spending on electricity.”

The President’s statement has left consumers wondering who is speaking the truth and what really the issues on electricity tariffs are.

By: Newstube24.com

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The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has denied cancellation of the West African Senior Secondary Examination (WASSCE) results of seven schools across the country.

There have been reports circulating on social media that WAEC has canceled the papers of Adisadel College, Aggrey Memorial School, Krobo Girls Senior High, Accra Academy, Osei Tutu Senior High, Twifopraso Senior High  and Ideal college after the alleged affected schools engaged in examination malpractices.

The notice also asked all heads of the said schools to report to the headquarters of the Ghana Education Service as soon as possible.

“The Ghana Education service wishes to inform all students who sat for the elective mathematics paper to reconsider
their choice of courses in the universities. Not even a single person reached the pass mark of C.. which
means every student had a D or less in elective mathematics.”

But the Public Affairs Director of the WAEC, Agnes Teye Cudjoe in an interview has rubbished the report urging the public to disregard it.

“That information is false, we have not canceled results of any school. We have not issued anything like that. There has been no discussion of anything like that. There are some people who want to create panic in the society, that is all I can say. We’ll take action and clear the airwaves of the false information going on.”

By: Newstube24.com

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Eight out of nine persons who died as a result of a stampede at Asawase in Kumasi Thursday dawn have been buried.

The incident happened during a jam to celebrate this year’s Eid-Ul-Fitr, claiming the lives of the victims. The deceased are being buried in accordance with Islamic dictates.

The bodies  were conveyed to the Asawase  Community Center for Islamic prayers prior to their burial at the Tafo cemetery.

Five others are on admission at the Manhyia Hospital, one in critical condition and the other four responding to treatment.

There are conflicting reports of the incident that happened at the Asawase Community Centre. While some say the stampede was as a result of a fight, others claim power supply to the centre was disconnected by an unknown person leaving the place in total darkness, and in an attempt to flee through the only exit, the victims were walked over losing their lives in the process.

The police were there moments after the incident to control the situation.

Foot wares of many revelers was seen littered on the compound after the unfortunate incident.

By: Newstube24.com

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The Director of Research at the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Centre, Dr Kwasi Anning has said the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) has unfairly treated the Supreme Court, following the release of its statement that claim that the two panelists who threatened the lives of Judges are harmless.

He has faulted the timing of the release of the statement few days ahead of the two men being hauled before the Supreme Court to justify why they should not be prosecuted.

Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn who appeared on Accra-based Montie FM last week threatened to kill some Supreme Court and High Court judges if they made any demeaning ruling against the Electoral Commission in the Abu Ramadan case.

The statement has been roundly condemned by a large section of the public and other Civil Society Organizations such as the Media Foundation for West Africa and the Ghana Bar Association.

But ahead of the hearing of their case on July 12, the BNI on Thursday released a statement claiming that at the interrogation, the two suspects admitted making those statements and acknowledged that their remarks were regrettable and unfortunate.

“Further checks by the BNI have however established that the suspects were incapable of carrying out pronouncements but did so in a show of needless bravado.”

However speaking on Joy FM Friday, the Dr Kwasi Anning stated that the BNI by this statement has in a way boxed the Supreme Court into a corner; a situation which may affect the manner in which they will rule on the matter.

“I think the statement is unfair to the court and once small says look; we’ve done our own investigations we don’t think there is very much to this and therefore the people if they appear before you, hopefully you’ll also arrive at this conclusion.

“It is important that critical institutions of state perform their duties and functions in a manner that does not undermine the integrity of the other. I think that is very important particularly as we head for a crucial election, all these institutions have to work in harmony and in sync to ensure that the sanctity of the Ghanaian state is kept intact.”

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A Presidential Staffer, Kojo Adu Asare has appealed to judges in the country to forgive his the two embattled men who threatened the lives of judges just as they forgave former NPP general secretary Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie when he insulted them during the election petition hearing.

According to him, though the comments by the duo are regrettable, the Judges must be lenient with the beleaguered two, and leave them off the hook since there’s been precedence not long ago.

The Supreme Court has formally written to the panelists and the owner of the station to appear before it next week over the threat. They are expected to appear on July 12 to justify why they should not be prosecuted.

Speaking on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo show Friday, Kojo Adu Asare who is a former Member of Parliament for Adenta stated that though the duo were irresponsible in their comments, the Judges must temper justice with mercy.

“A former General Secretary of the NPP insulted the Supreme Court and was hauled before the apex Court for contempt. A former Attorney General, Nii Ayikoi Otoo who was his counsel in court asked the court to temper justice with mercy, because the former party Chief Scribe was possessed by a spirit he had no control of which led him to utter those unfortunate statements.

“For me, once there’s precedence where the Judges tempered justice with mercy, then we are also begging and asking the Judges to temper the same justice with mercy. If that was possible then we the NDC are begging same from the Judges. We will not dissociate ourselves from the station, as for the programme and what was said that day, we’ll never associate ourselves with that, that statement was regrettable.”

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Fire has ravaged the Berekum Police Quarters at Obrenyekwa in the Brong Ahafo Region consuming properties worth thousands of cedis.

All belongings of the police officers including their electronic equipment, certificates and other police logistics were completely destroyed by the fire.

The incident which occurred around 4pm Thursday, razed down the rented quarters which housed five police officers.

Berekum Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Andrew Akoma Boadu stated that the police hierarchy is put in measures to ensure some relief to the affected police officers.

“We have encouraged them following their great loss. We’ve asked them not to despair but continue with the good service they are rendering to the state. as we also take steps to ensure some relief for them.”

He further appealed to the public to come to the aid of the victims by supporting them with accommodation and other personal effects.

Meanwhile, Chief Fire Officer at Berekum, Rev. Thomas Zann in an interview with Kasapa News stated that his outfit’s initial suspicion is that the fire might have been caused by an electric fault, but added that a thorough investigation will be carried out.

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A suspected thief, only known as Kofi,19, at Kansaworado in the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolis missed death by a whisker after a timely intervention of a Police Patrol Team saved him from  being killed by an angry mob on Friday.

The suspect who hails from Kwesimintsim reportedly entered a room at Sikaduase, a hamlet in Kansaworado to steal around 12 noon.

He was unlucky when a neighbour who spotted him raised an alarm attracting many residents to the scene. The incensed residents who many of whom have suffered several robbery attacks in recent times subjected the suspect to severe beating with clubs, stones and other objects while others fetched water from a gutter for him to drink.

The residents who were bent on teaching the suspect a lesson tried setting him ablaze but was saved by a police patrol team who rushed to the scene after they had been alerted.

He is currently receiving treatment at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Sekondi.

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The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has described an investigation conducted by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) on the two men who recently threatened the lives of Judges as a job poorly done.

According to the party’s acting General Secretary, John Boadu, the BNI rushed into making a public statement to clear the two, an action he considers a face saving exercise.

Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn who appeared on Accra-based Montie FM last week threatened to kill some Supreme Court and High Court judges if they made any demeaning ruling against the Electoral Commission in the Abu Ramadan case.

The statement has been roundly condemned by a large section of the public and other Civil Society Organizations such as the Media Foundation for West Africa and the Ghana Bar Association and the Association of Magistrates and Judges.

But ahead of the hearing of their case on July 12, the BNI on Thursday released a statement claiming that at the interrogation, the two suspects admitted making those statements and acknowledged that their remarks were regrettable and unfortunate.

“Further checks by the BNI have however established that the suspects were incapable of carrying out pronouncements but did so in a show of needless bravado.”

But speaking on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo show on Friday, John Boadu questioned the basis of the BNI reports which clearly has left the duo off the hook.

“What is the sense in this shoddy and partisan job done by the BNI, a whole state institution leads such a shoddy investigations into such grave matter concerning the lives of our Supreme Court Judges?

“This is a face-saving propaganda job, very soon because of the backlash that has attended the release of the statement; the BNI will come out and deny issuing the statement.

“This is shameful, if it were an NPP communicator who spewed out such trash on Oman FM, will the BNI have said whoever made the comments was incapable of carrying out his threats? It makes the Ghanaian people a laughing stock. I’m praying that the BNI dissociates itself from this statement, that will keep its image intact.”

By: Newstube24.com

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The Flag bearer of the Convention People’s Party, Mr. Kobina Ivor Greenstreet has charged electorates not to judge him by his physical disability but his competence to move the country forward.

According to him, his government will empower persons living with physical challenges and ensure strict enforcement of all disability laws in the country.

He said this on Saturday during  introduction of Parliamentary candidates for  the party in Upper many a, Lower Manya, Asuogyaman and Okere constituencies to party executives and supporters at Agormanya in the Lower manya constituency .

Mr Greenstreet said in world history, there has been a precedence where a physically challenged person became President of a country, citing the election of the  former US president, Franklin Roosevelt,a physically challenged, who became US President during a time of war.

Mr. Greenstreet also took the opportunity to interact with market women and traders at the Agormanya market.

By: Newstube24.com

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