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Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare

Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, the Special Advisor on health issues at the Presidency, has quashed rumours saying the coronavirus epidemic disease does not attack black people.

According to him, the rumours in the Ghanaian media are false, frivolous and must not be tolerated at all.

Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare says washing of hands with soap and water is one of the cheapest forms of infection control and the most effective way of spreading COVID-19 in the face of an outbreak in the country.

“Is never true coronavirus does not attack black people because all the people who have contacted the virus in Ghana, only one person is not from Ghana. We must do well to protect ourselves from the virus by cleaning our hands very well and use sanitizer efficiently,’’ Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare exclusively told Lawyer Ohene Gyan on Accra-based Kingdom FM 107.7

He stressed that, with regard to the spread of COVID-19, hand washing and adhering to good etiquettes is the way to go to slow or reduce the virus infection.

Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare said adequate Health measures have been publicized to avoid the spread of the coronavirus include frequent washing of hands with soap or usage of sanitizers to kill germs and the virus upon contact.

The President also ordered an indefinite closure of educational institutions from today, Monday, March 16, 2020.

Madam Lucy Anin

A Member of Parliament (MP) in the First Republic, Madam Lucy Anin, has called for total attitudinal change and mindset among Ghanaians to reshape the country’s destiny and stimulate faster economic transformation.

“Independence [for Ghana] means, we are a new state not under somebody, you are independent, you can make your own decision, you don’t have to let someone decide for you,” she said.

Madam Lucy was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the 63rd Independence Day parade which was organized in Kumasi on the theme: “Consolidating our gains.”

The former lawmaker said reshaping Ghana’s destiny demanded hard work, discipline and commitment to build a robust local government system to engender rapid social and economic growth.

“Nowadays when you go to schools you ask them [school children], even about our own history they don’t know about it and yet they are learning history about other countries,” she said.

According to her, with a strong local government structure, the country could get rid of widespread filth that has engulfed many towns and cities as well as quicken local development.

She called for the review of the 1992 Constitution to enable relevant institutions deal decisively with corruption in the country as the indemnity clauses provided in the country’s constitution protected “looters” of the nation’s coffers.

“We need to change it [constitution] because the constitution with the indemnity clauses covered people who have looted this country,” she said.

Madam Lucy was among the first 10 women MPs from the then ten regions of Ghana to be sworn in in 1960.

She expressed worried that many state assets such GNTC stores, catering rest houses and then largest film studio in West Africa, TV3, known as studio B had been lost to private individuals.

“I’m saying that we need to change the indemnity clause in the 1992 constitution, how can you legalize coup,” she quizzed.

“If we don’t change the Constitution you can never put anybody before court for the pillage that is why I’m saying we can’t stop corruption because people are covered with indemnity clauses in our constitution.”

She also said Ghana was not moving forward as a nation because of its overly dependence on imported food items, lorry tyres and used garments among others, which were once produced in the country.

Ghana is Africa’s second-biggest gold producer, after South Africa, and second-largest cocoa producer. It is also rich in diamonds, manganese ore, bauxite, and oil.

She said, “We are so blessed, and we should have been exporting a lot of farm products instead of importing. We can produce enough food, if we put our minds on it.”

The MP called for a deliberate national action to teach Ghanaians about patriotism, discipline and love for the country.

Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah

Ghanaian authorities will announce travel restrictions on countries with confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) today.

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah says the announcement will come up at 12 pm.

There was a meeting by the inter-ministerial committee on the COVID Response, chaired by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday.

But Mr Oppong Nkrumah told Accra-based Peace Fm that the Committee was concluding some matters before coming out with a position.

Meanwhile, consular services have already been suspended in a lot of the countries which have recorded confirmed cases of the coronavirus, the Minister noted.

Government has assured it is assiduously working to contain the situation

One of the two persons confirmed as having contracted the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a Ghanaian, Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has revealed.

According to him, one of the two males who entered Ghana through the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) works abroad and returned to Ghana for a visit with the disease.

The other person is a Norwegian citizen.

He confirmed that the two started showing symptoms on Thursday and reported to a health facility.

The Minister also indicated in an interview on Accra-based Peace FM Friday morning, that the affected persons have been in Ghana for at least a week.

Ghana confirmed two cases of COVID-19 on March 12, 2020, being the first cases to be reported in the country.

According to the Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Manu, the two cases were confirmed at the same time from the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.

The Ministry, however, noted that both patients are currently under isolation and are stable.

The two individuals returned to Ghana from Norway and Turkey. So they are imported cases of COVID-19, the statement said.

“Government of Ghana together with all Health Partners will continue to work assiduously to ensure the situation is contained…” parts of a statement from the Health Ministry said.

Some executives of the NDC

There was near fisticuffs at the site of the Adiboo Dam in the Yendi Municipal Assembly of the Northern Region as supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) clashed with their counterparts in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Wednesday.

The NDC led by its Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, had highlighted the state in which some of the dams under construction under the One-Village One-Dam Policy are.

He had been at the Nakpachee One Village One Dam site, punching holes into the cost of the project.

But supporters of the NPP, probably getting wind of the arrival of Sammy Gyamfi and his team at Adiboo, went to the site to prevent them from addressing journalists.

The ruling party’s supporters said the NDC had not notified them nor authorities before heading to the site to hold their press conference.

The timely intervention of the police prevented a possible bloodshed.

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The performance of students in the Basic Education Certificate Examination, BECE, in Akuapem North Municipality of the Eastern Region, continues to decline.

Available statistics from Ghana Education Service indicate that a total of 1064 candidates representing 38.1% of 2,708 Candidates who wrote the 2018 BECE examination failed.

The figure of failed students is a sharp increase from 472 candidates representing 17% of the total number of 2602 candidates who failed in 2017. The failed students obtained aggregate 37 and above.

In 2017, only 8 students obtained aggregate 6 whereas in 2018 only 3 students had aggregate 6 in the entire municipality. Sixteen (16) schools out of the total 97 scored 100% in 2017 whilst in 2018, 17 schools out of 100 schools that participated in the BECE scored 100%.

These poor performance recorded over the years informed a Non-Governmental Organization, As- I –Grow (AIG) to organize intensive classes for about 800 BECE Candidates in Larteh, Akropong and Mamfe under its initiative dubbed “My Career Campaign Project”.

The classes brought together Examiners from WAEC who took the students through technicalities and methods of answering examination questions in subjects such as Mathematics, English, Integrated Science, Social Studies and ICT.

The Chief Executive Officer of the NGO Debrah Bekoe told Starr News “we glanced through the performance of Candidates in Akuapem North from 2015 to 2018 and we saw that performance of students keep declining. In 2018, when you pick Larteh, the school which performed well was on 30th position, others were in 60th position.”

“For almost six years now, No candidate has scored aggregate 6. We noticed that most of the students do not know the technicalities in answering Examination questions aside their own weaknesses. So AIG decided to bring these examiners here to facilitate and take these candidates through so that they will be able to pass.”

Some of the Teachers and WAEC Examiners who took the students through various rudiments of answering examination questions told Starr News that, what they have observed is “that not that the students can’t answer the questions but some of the basic things they have to do in the presentation of the answers is where the Challenge is. For instance, in Mathematics how they label the Venn diagram, how they plot their graph, how they arrive at answers are all challenges. Mathematics demands a step by step solution.”

Some of the beneficiary candidates preparing to sit this year’s BECE said the exercise has been beneficial.

“I was having challenges in some of the topics in Mathematics and Science but the Teachers here have taken their time to teach us so I now understand.“

Another beneficiary said “I had a problem in Mathematics, Science and Social studies but I now understand those topics. I hope I will pass well.”

The General Project Supervisor of the NGO Mr. Daniel Owusu Koranteng, who doubles as the General Secretary of Maritime and Dockworkers Union who is an indigene of Akropong-Akuapem admonished the students to stay away from social media and Television programs rather and focus on their books to enable them to prepare well for the examination.

A bronze statue is dedicated to Asameni, the brilliant strategist, and his capture of the castle.

Osu Castle, also known as Christiansborg Castle, is a castle located in Osu, Accra, Ghana.

Christiansborg Castle was built by Danish colonialists in 1659 on a land obtained from Paramount Chief Okaikoi of the Ga ethnic group.

Over the years, the fort was juggled between the Portuguese, Swedish and Danish. Sometimes it was taken over by force; other times it was bought.

Seizing the castle

In 1693, Asamani, an Akwamu Chief, planned to seize control of the castle by way of a cunning trick.

A successful trader and warrior, Asameni moved to Accra, became proficient in the Danish language and disguised himself as a cook and interpreter to secure work at the castle.

He studied the site, and its occupants and operations, including the ships’ arrivals and departures as well as those of traders, merchants and others who worked and visited the Christiansborg castle.

The Akwamu was a state set up by Akan people (in present-day Ghana) that flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Asamani informed the Danes that he would escort a group of Akwamu traders to purchase ammunition.

In 1693, Asamani and 80 armed men impersonating traders entered the castle.

Since it was accepted practice to test merchandise prior to purchase, the men were given ammunition.

But they had also hidden ammunition, powder and shots under their clothes.

Once in the castle, the Akwamu attacked the unsuspecting Danes.

A fierce battle ensued. Severely wounded, Governor Janssen escaped to nearby Fort Crevecoeur.

Many Danish merchants and officials were injured, and some were taken to Akwamu as captives.

Asamani and his men captured the castle.

The Akwamu leader, Asameni occupied the Christiansborg castle for a year appointing himself “Governor” of Christiansborg Castle, trading with merchants from many nations.

He replaced the Danish with the Akwamu flag.

In 1694, Asamani sold the fort back to the Danes for 50 marks of gold (400 troy ounces, worth about $666,920.00 Today) but retained the keys.

The AKwamu legacy

The keys are still in the ethnic group’s possession till this day and it had since been kept by the Akwamu as a trophy and a proud symbol of the resistance by the Akwamus from the Danes.

In 1957, when Ghana became independent, with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, the fort became Government House, the residence of the Governor-General.

When Ghana became a republic in 1960, it became the residence of Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah.

Christiansborg Castle is currently marked a security zone and is not open to walk-in visitors.

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The main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has accused the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) of destroying paraphernalia belonging to the NDC in the Ablekuma West Constituency.

A statement signed by Jerry Johnson, the Greater Accra Regional Communications Officer, on Tuesday, 10 March 2020 said the destruction was perpetrated by “NPP surrogate groups under the guise of the Municipal Assembly routine Operation.”

The statement said: “Information available to us with pictorial evidence indicates that the operation of ripping off all NDC flags and signboards were taken by the infamous members of the SWAT Operatives allegedly acting as a charade for the Invincible Forces.

“Much as we take cognizance of the law which compels all citizens to obtain a permit before erecting a signpost, it has remained a convention that political party paraphernalia are allowed to hang on Signposts in every election year.”

“We also wish to remind the public of the established procedure which requires the Municipal Assembly to notify political parties to remove their signposts within a specific period during and after every election.”

“Reference to ACT 936 of the Local Government Act 2016 therefore, we believe the Assembly had no locus to warrant arbitrary destruction of political party paraphernalia on our streets in this time.”

“Even though the government of Akufo Addo, ever since it assumed power in January 2017 has gained notoriety in its abuse of Executive Power, this level of political intolerance exhibited at the Ablekuma West Constituency is offensive, vindictive, an affront to the principles of Rule of Law and a danger to our fledgling democracy.”

“We, therefore, wish to register our resentment against this act of political persecution and roundly condemn the wanton disregard for the rights of other citizens to engage in politics from opposition. We further wish to call on the general public, civil society groups, the clergy etc to stand up against any form of violence, that is orchestrated to dim the sanctity of the forthcoming elections and plunge our nation into an abyss.”

“In conclusion, the president is hereby expected to pull the reins of his operatives to desist from this act of barbarism on the innocent members of the NDC and Ghanaians as a whole. Failure to do same withing the period expected will leave us with no option than to execute a firm resolution passed by the Greater Accra Regional Secretariat to physically resist any act of terror visited on the innocent people of Ghana.”

Of the 3,994 new infections, 3,949 were outside China, according to the WHO.

Burkina Faso has confirmed its first two cases of the novel coronavirus, local media reported Monday.

The two patients are a couple, the wife having recently returned from France, a report said, quoting Health Minister Claudine Lougue.

Lougue added that the patients were quarantined in a local hospital in the capital Ouagadougou.

A third person who was in close contact with the couple is under observation, according to the report.

At least 109,578 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, have been reported worldwide as of Monday, an increase of 3,994 infections from the previous day, according to a coronavirus update released by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Of the 3,994 new infections, 3,949 were outside China, according to the WHO.

Besides Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, Albania and Paraguay reported cases of COVID-19 for the first time as of Monday, bringing the total number of countries and regions affected by the coronavirus to around 105.

Burkina Faso has become the latest African country to report coronavirus cases after Cameroon, Senegal, South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Togo and Egypt, which on Sunday reported the first coronavirus fatality on the content.