Day: July 7, 2023

The Republic of Senegal has joined the growing list of ECOWAS Member States that have designated their national authority for the enforcement of the decisions of the ECOWAS Court in line with the provision of the Article 24 of the 2005 Supplementary Protocol on the Court.

In a letter conveying the country's decision to the Court, the Republic of Senegal said that its Ministry of Justice would serve as the competent national authority for the enforcement as provided under Article 24 of the Protocol.

Each Member State is expected to enforce the Court's decision in accordance with its applicable Rules of Civil Procedure.

The article vests Member States with responsibility for the designation of such an authority in each Member State. With this development, the Republic of Senegal has become the 10th Member State to designate such authority.

An elated President of the Court, Justice Edward Amoako Asante welcomed the development as a 'critical step in addressing the vexed issue of the poor enforcement of the decisions of the Court which stands at 106 according to the records available at the Court.'

He said that another 11 unenforced decisions are outstanding against the ECOWAS Commission and institutions of the Community.

'Designation of the national authority is an important first step in the process of enforcement and we need to remain engaged with the Member States to resolve the knotty issues that have also contributed to the low rate of enforcement,' the Court's President added.

Justice Asante expressed optimism that the remaining five Member States, that have not designated their national authority, will key into the current momentum generated in favour of designation, starting with the 2019 decision by the Republic of Ghana to designate its enforcement authority.

Senegal joins the other Member States of Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Togo, The Gambia and Niger that have designated their national authorities.

The Court received the letters, conveying the decision of the last two, in May 2023.

Source: Ghana News Agency

An Accra Circuit has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of two suspected currency counterfeiters.

The two, Zuwela Alhaji, 30, and Abba Haruna, 33, allegedly defrauded a scraps dealer by exchanging 28 bundles of fake 100-dollar notes for GHC 15,960.

The warrant was issued because the duo failed to appear before the court when the case was called.

Zuwela and Ibrahim Halidu, a couple, have been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and possessing forged currency.

Zuwela, unemployed, has additionally been charged with defrauding by false pretence.

Abba Haruna, who is also unemployed, has been charged with compounding crime.

Ibrahim Halidu, a 58- year- old unemployed has been granted bail by the court.

The court presided over by Mr Isaac Addo admitted Halidu to bail in the sum of GHC 50,000 with two sureties one to be justified.

Chief Inspector Jonas Lawer said the complainant Bukari Mukaila is a scrap dealer at Galaway, Accra but resides in Kasoa in the Central Region.

The prosecution said Zuwela, a housewife, resides at Nsuano, Kasoa., whilst Halidu, a mechanic is a landlord also at Kasoa.

It said on May 27, 2023, Mukaila was at work when Zuwela approached him with 28 bundles of 100-dollar bills with the explanation that she urgently needed GHC 15,960 to transact a business deal but did not have the time to change the Dollars into Ghana cedis.

The prosecution said Zuwela pleaded with the complainant to keep the dollars and give her Ghana cedis, with the promise of returning the Cedis to him in exchange for her dollars later the same day.

It said Zuwela failed to return the GHC 15,960 for her dollars. The complainant became alarmed and examined the Dollars which he then suspected to be counterfeited currency.

On May 30, 2023, the complainant traced Zuwela to her house where he met Halidu who disclosed that the Dollar bills belonged to him, but he did not know how Zuwela took them from his room.

The prosecution said Halidu collected the Dollar notes from the complainant and advised him 'not follow the money to get into trouble.'

It said the complainant took one of the dollar notes for evidential purposes.

On June 2, 2023, the complainant reported the matter to the Police and Zuwela and Halidu were arrested in the presence of Haruna.

The prosecution said while the two accused persons were being escorted to the Police Station Halidu called Haruna to bury the money, which he did.

It said the money was later unearthed and handed over to the Police.

During interrogation, Zuwela told the Police that the money belonged to Halidu and that he (Halidu), her husband, asked her to change the fake currency for Ghana cedis to unsuspecting victims so they could share the proceeds.

The prosecution said the exhibits had been forwarded to the Bank of Ghana for examination and the Police were awaiting the results.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Valley View University (VVU), Ghana's first private and chartered University, has honoured five distinguished African personalities for their immense contribution to society's development.

They are President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia, who received an honorary doctorate degree, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who was given a citation, and former President John Agyekum Kufuor, who also received an honorary doctorate degree.

The rest are Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings, a former First Lady, who was awarded with an honorary doctorate degree, and Mrs. Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, Ghana's Chief of Staff.

The awardees were recognised for their exemplary leadership, and for playing varied roles in their respective endeavours to enhance the cause of humanity.

Professor William Koomson, the VVU Vice-Chancellor, said the University and society in general were grateful to the personalities for their selflessness, commitment to duty and for embarking on numerous life-changing programmes.

These include good governance, health, education and infrastructural growth, women and children's development, mentorship and democratic development.

In decorating the Zambian President, Prof. Koomson said: 'You have become a beacon of hope for the Zambian people.'

'Your bold steps in combating corruption is remarkable,' the Vice-Chancellor noted and lauded the President for working for the betterment of his people.

For President Nana Akufo-Addo, a citation presented to him acknowledged his resolve to promote democracy and good governance.

He was also commended for injecting massive resources to transform Ghana's educational sector, especially the implementation of the 'Free Senior High School (SHS)' Programme.

The Programme, since its implementation in 2017, has benefited about 1.6 million students.

Former President Kufuor was also honoured for upholding democratic principles during his tenure, and his fight for the cause of peace, unity and Africa's progress.

The other awardees, Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings and Mrs. Osei-Opare, were both recognised for their contribution to youth, women and children's development.

With the exception of President Nana Akufo-Addo, who received a citation, the other awardees were robed academically to signify their new status and the honour done them.

In response, the Zambian President, Hichilema, said he was grateful to the VVU for recognising him as he sought to improve the living conditions of his people.

African universities, he said, should continually work assiduously in meeting their mandate - addressing the needs of the society in every field of human endeavour.

President Nana Akufo-Addo said he was deeply humbled by the citation given him, adding that it would serve as a motivation to spur him on for more positive actions for the benefit of the society.

Former President Kufuor urged the VVU not to lose focus, but remain glued to its avowed educational principles and core values of excellence, integrity and service.

Source: Ghana News Agency

An Accra High Court has acquitted and discharged Mr Daniel Opare Asiedu, a lawyer, who was jailed by an Accra Circuit Court on October 26, 2022, in an adoption case.

The Court, presided over by Mrs Justice Mary Ekue Yanzuh, also acquitted Madam Elizabeth Arthur Adjei, aka Maa Lizzy, Proprietress of God Kids Orphanage, who was also jailed by the same court.

A statement copied to the GNA by Mr. Abraham Arthur, Counsel for the two, said the High Court discharged them on June 2, 2023.

On August 28, 2018, the appellants, Mr Asiedu and Madam Adjei were put before an Accra Circuit Court on the charge of conspiracy to commit crime to wit defrauding by false pretences.

Mr Asiedu was additionally charged with abetment of crime to wit defrauding by false pretences.

After a full trial, the court sentenced Madam Adjei (the first appellant) to 36 months imprisonment and a fine of GHC6,000 or in default serve 18 months.

The court sentenced Asiedu (the second appellant) to 36 months imprisonment and a fine of GHC12,000.

The two appellants who were dissatisfied with the conviction and sentences, filed an appeal on November 22, 2022.

The High Court after a thoroughl examination of the appeal records, acquitted and discharged the appellants.

'The High Court found as a fact that the charges levelled against the appellants by the prosecution were completely different from the evidence adduced at the trial, the learned Judge at page 27 of her judgement stated.'

'Indeed the evidence led by the prosecution at the trial had nothing to do with the charges preferred against the accused persons,' the statement said.

It said the High Court again found that the trial judge erred when she based her judgement on facts totally unrelated to the charges against the appellants.

According to the statement, the High Court also found out that the charges levelled against the appellants had no basis.

Additionally, the statement said the High Court also held that the prosecution failed to adduce enough evidence to support the conviction and sentence, and that the appellants ought not to have been convicted.

The statement said: 'The learned High Court Judge confirmed that the appellants were innocent of the charges against them at the Circuit Court and, therefore, their conviction and sentences were made in error.'

The High Court, therefore, set aside the circuit court's conviction and sentences of the appellant, the statement added.

A statement issued by the Gender Ministry in November 2022, alleged that the appellants succeeded in collecting money from a couple with the promise of transporting them and their one and half-year-old son to Canada for a job opportunity.

The statement said the complainants were asked to pay GHC5,000 to procure passport and other travel documents, out of which GHC4,000 was paid.

Madam Adjei, the statement alleged, later informed the complainants that, all the documents were ready but one person (the wife) could not travel because she had become pregnant and could only travel after delivery.

The statement said the complainant( the man) could also travel after three days because there was a problem with the passport, which must be worked on but his son could travel because there was nothing wrong with his document and that the 'white man' to take them to Canada would go ahead with the boy.

It said after months of persistence, the complainant was given a document suggesting his child had been adopted.

Hence, he reported the case to Devtraco Police Station and the two were arrested and prosecuted by the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police with support from the Human Trafficking Secretariat (HTS) of the Gender Ministry.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ghana on Friday launched a new commitment to Family Planning (FP) called FP 2030.

FP 2030 seeks to ensure that all persons of reproductive age in Ghana have equitable and timely access to quality family planning information, commodities, and services by 2030.

Dr Kofi Issah, Director, Family Health Division of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), who launched the commitment in Accra, said the FP 2030 was preceded by broad consultations from youth development partners and stakeholders across the country.

He said FP 2030 would see to the implementation of five FP commitments from now to 2030.

The first commitment would ensure a full participation of the roll-out plan of FP under the National Health Insurance Benefits by 2030 while the second would advocate an increase in government financial commitment to the procurement of FP commodities.

The third commitment also calls for an increase in modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) among married women or women in union, while the fourth would ensure a reduction in unmet need for contraception among sexually active adolescents from 57 per cent to 30 per cent by 2030.

Dr Issah said the fifth commitment would ensure the implementation of family planning behaviour change promotion through correct, consistent, and targeted social and behaviour change communications that focused on rights-based family planning.

He said Family Planning was not necessarily about reducing the size of families, but ensuring equitable and manageable family size to reap the health and socio-economic benefits for the family, community, and the country.

Dr Issah said FP was also central to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, adding that all facilities under the NHIS were expected to provide free family planning services to the public.

Family planning refers to the use of modern contraceptives or natural techniques to limit or space pregnancies.

Modern methods of family planning include the pill, female and male sterilisation, IUD, injectables, implants, male and female condoms, diaphragm, and emergency contraception.

Traditional methods of FP include periodic abstinence, withdrawal, and folk methods.

According to the GHS Reproductive Health Policy, FP includes information, education, birth spacing, childbearing on the number of children a couple would want to have.

It also includes the provision of affordable contraceptive services to persons who need them and childbearing assistance.

Source: Ghana News Agency