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Ghana’s sanitation minister resigned on Saturday over reports staff found and stole stashes of local and foreign money from her home, she said in a letter to the president in which she denied any wrongdoing. Cecilia Abena Dapaah made headlines on Friday after two former household staff appeared in court accused of stealing cash and […]
Announcement of the death of former President Rawlings pic.twitter.com/7ext0fp4sd
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) November 12, 2020
Watch our report:
Ghana is West Africa’s most impacted nation behind Nigeria, at a point in May 2020, Ghana led the regional case load. June has started with progressive lifting of more virus restrictions.
President Akufo-Addo in his tenth address announced that whiles borders remained closed, some categories of academic institutions are allowed to resume, religious places can also reopen with strict conditions and the observance of health protocols.
Social gatherings -weddings, funerals etc. – are to be allowed under certain conditions – among others with maximum 100 participants. As the 2020 polls loom, even political activity is allowed to be undertaken.
This article will be focused on tracking case increases and major developments from the West African country. It will build on our April – May 2020 updates page.
July 17: 26,125 cases; health workers infected
Over 2,000 health workers have tested positive for COVID-19 since the index case was recorded in he country, head of the Ghana Health Service disclosed on Thursday.
Patrick Kuma-Aboagye added that six out of a total of 2,065 workers have since succumbed to the virus whiles 1,870 others had recovered. The rest are under treatment at isolation centres.
The Greater Accra region, which includes the capital city, has recorded the highest number of infections among health workers. The region accounts for over 50% of the caseload with 14,391 cases.
Health workers have long called for more protection as they work in the front line of the virus combat. Government has announced tax breaks and other perks. Ghana is one of few African countries where health officials have not gone on strike over conditions of service. Records indicate that Ghana has so far conducted 339,491 COVID-19 tests.
Confirmed cases = 26,125
Active cases = 3,716
Recoveries = 22,270
Number of deaths = 139
John Hopkins Uni stats valid as of July 16, 2020
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July 13: 24,518 cases; recoveries pass 20,000
Ghana’s case load at close of the weekend stood at 24,518 but worthy of note was the fact that recoveries had hit the 20,000 mark. The Ghana Health Service reported 20,187 recoveries with 139 deaths. The active cases stood at 4,192.
The recovery rate is one of the highest across the continent. Especially comparing it with countries whose case load has passed the 10,000 mark.
The back and forth surrounding the reopening of secondary schools and the ongoing voter registration exercise continues. Despite infections in a number of schools, the government insists the final year students are set to write the West African Examination Council, WAEC; papers.
The Electoral Commission, EC; in a statement over the weekend stressed its commitment to enforcing virus protocols across the country as it registers voters for a new voter roll ahead
Total confirmed cases = 16,431
Total recoveries = 12,257
Total deaths = 103
Active cases = 4,071
\tFigures valid as of close of day June 27, 2020
June 25: 15,473 cases; mask arrests, apex court ruling
\tCase load as of today hit a total of 15,473 cases with 11,431 recoveries and 950 deaths, according to stats released Friday evening by the Ghana Health Service.
Confirmed cases = 15,473
\t\tActive cases = 3,947
\t\tRecoveries = 11,431
\t\tNumber of deaths = 95
\t
John Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 12, 2020
VIDEO
June 22: 14,154 cases; how recoveries jumped
\tGhana recorded a boom in recoveries over the weekend as over 6,000 patients were added to the tally which now stands at 10,473 according to authorities.
Confirmed cases = 14,154
\t\tActive cases = 3,596
\t\tRecoveries = 10,473
\t\tNumber of deaths = 85
John Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 21, 2020
June 15: 13,203 cases; law enacted to penalize mask flouters
\tCase load hit a total of 13,203 cases with 4,548 recoveries and 70 deaths, according to stats released Friday evening by the Ghana Health Service.
Total confirmed cases = 12,193
Total recoveries = 4,326
Total deaths = 58
Active cases = 7,809
\tFigures valid as of close of day June 16, 2020
June 15: 11,964 cases; schools reopen, masks obligatory etc.
Confirmed cases = 11,964
\t\tNumber of deaths = 54
\t\tRecoveries = 4,258
\t\tActive cases = 7,652
\tJohn Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 14, 2020
June 13: 11,118 cases, NDC advocates mass testing
\tGhana’s case load as of this morning stood at 11,118 cases with the disclosure of 262 new cases.
ACCRA (Reuters) - Soldiers entered Ghana’s parliament to break up a scuffle between rival lawmakers at odds over last month’s elections, hours before President Nana Akufo-Addo was due to be sworn in on Thursday. The clash underscored the deep tensions following the Dec. 7 election that has led to rare unrest in Ghana, a major cocoa and gold producer seen as a bastion of democracy in West Africa. It started when one member of parliament from the president’s NPP party snatched some paper ballots during an overnight vote to determine the house speaker, according to a source who was present. It was not immediately clear why the lawmaker was angry. Last month’s elections left a hung parliament, without a dominant party to push through the appointment of speaker and other key posts. Footage on local television showed politicians, many of them unmasked, pushing and shoving before about 20 soldiers entered the chamber. Ranks of MPs then faced each other and chanted over a dividing line of masked soldiers and police. Eventually, Alban Bagbin, the candidate from Ghana’s other main party, the NDC, was voted in as speaker. “The attempt to snatch ballot papers … and the invasion of the Chamber by armed military personnel are images one had never expected to see in our 4th Republican Parliament,” said losing presidential candidate John Mahama in a Facebook post congratulating Bagbin. The incident occurred as preparations were underway for the swearing in of Akufo-Addo for his second term at a ceremony on the parliament grounds. Dignitaries from across Africa are expected to attend. Akufo-Addo was declared the winner of last month’s election with 51.59%, ahead of former President Mahama, who got 47.37%. Mahama’s party has said it will contest the results in court, alleging fraud though it has not published evidence. - Reuters
West African neighbors Ghana and Nigeria are in a worsening diplomatic feud prompted by the treatment of Nigeria businesses in Ghana by the latter's union of retail traders. For over a year, the private and powerful Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has forcibly closed down Nigerian businesses suspected of engaging in the retail business....
The post Trade: Why is Ghana and Nigeria at each other's throat? appeared first on Face2Face Africa.
Votes are being counted in Ghana following the presidential and parliamentary elections on Monday.
Despite the election being largely calm, heavy security is surveilling the count in the capital Accra's Jamestown neighborhood, where Ghanaians are already celebrating the victory of their candidate.
There are 12 candidates in the running but it is expected to be a two-horse race between incumbent president Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and his longtime rival and former president John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress party (NDC).
\"We are supporting the New Patriotic Party, which is the NPP. Probably we’ve won already, so we have nothing much to say. Total knock out,\" said NPP supporter Awo 'Rasta.
But NDC supporter Yunis Day said \"These people are NPP’s people. They are the disturbance. We are the NDC.\"
\"They haven’t finished counting the ballot papers, but they are already making noise. Empty barrels make the most noise.\"
Ghana has ensured peaceful transfers of power on seven occasions its step towards multiparty democracy in 1992.
The two main parties have always accepted electoral outcomes and pursued any issues through the courts.
A few polling stations opened late and isolated cases of ballot tampering were reported by the electoral commission but there were no major incidents across the country's 38,000 polling stations.
Early election results are expected later on Tuesday.
“The family of George Floyd will like to acknowledge the message of solidarity resolution and virtual tribute from His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo, the President of Ghana.
For them, the victory in the praise was the fact that through his gestures and tribute in the wake of Floyd’s death, Akufo-Addo had won some goodwill for Ghana.
However, in spite of Akufo-Addo’s attempt to add to his feats, this time, the portrait was tainted by how police in Ghana on Saturday evening dispersed Black Lives Matter protesters in the center of Accra with brute force.
But since Saturday night, some of the protesters have said they believe the aggressive response of the police was motivated by other issues they highlighted in their protest, including the unsolved case of recent kidnapping and murder of three girls in Western Ghana.
As the issue of Ghana’s own police brutality against mostly the country’s poor was debated on social media, Accra-based social justice activist and artist, Nii Kotei, took the opportunity to remind his followers on Twitter about episodes of brutality he has been noting since 2019.
His democratic reforms transformed the country.
Globally, there is a concerted effort to boost agriculture production through all year farming and considerable reduction in post-harvest losses. As such, enhanced farming methods and best agricultural practices have been adopted to increase crop yield. In Africa, the agriculture sector has made some progress, nonetheless, the continent remains a net importer of food. This...
The post A look at West Africa's biggest Greenhouse Village in Ghana boosting agriculture appeared first on Face2Face Africa.
Ghana has reimposed a ban on social gatherings as the number of Covid-19 cases spiral in the West African nation, the president announced Sunday.
Ghana will reopen its international airport but with new regulations in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the president has announced.
Plans are underway to address the infrastructural challenges in the various universities across the country to build their capacity to increase their intake.
To enable universities absorb the increased number of students from the SHS this year, the Ministry of Education was making arrangement for a special funding to address the capacity challenges.
\"The ministry is currently negotiating a special funding under the GETfund to deal with the infrastructural matters in all the tertiary universities in the country,\" he said
The President pointed out that the infrastructural capacity of the polytechnics that had been converted into technical universities would be enhanced to enable them increase their intake as well.
Touching on plans to construct the multipurpose Pwalugu Dam in the region, the President said the government had made plans to complete the dam.
He expressed gratitude to the President for the development projects in the Bonaboto area over the past three years including the US$1 billion Pwalugu Dam, support to farmers through the Planting for Food and Jobs, among others.
July 23: West African leaders in Mali for talks
Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari announced his first trip in months as the presidency confirmed he was joining four other presidents to salvage peace talks in Mali.
Regional mediators are stepping up efforts today in the West African country where the political opposition has renewed its call for protests so that President Ibrahim Boubcar Keita leaves office three years before his final term ends.
Opposition leaders had rejected an earlier solution proposed by mediators from the 15-nation West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS.
The visiting leaders aside Buhari include:
Senegal’s Macky Sall
Ivory Coast’s Alassane Ouattara
Niger’s Mahamadou Issoufou – who is also president of the regional bloc ECOWAS
Ghana’s Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
An earlier ECOWAS mediation led by former Nigerian leader Goodluck Jonathan called for Keita to form a unity government and share power, but opposition leaders said the deal fell short because the president would get to remain in office.
ECOWAS said Keita’s departure is not something it can endorse. The president was democratically elected in 2013 and re-elected five years later.
His popularity has plummeted amid allegations of corruption and a relentless Islamic insurgency that began the year before he took office and has worsened under his watch. In June, demonstrators began taking to the streets by the thousands calling for his ouster, naming themselves the June 5 Movement.
Nearly two weeks ago, things took a dramatic turn for the worse when security forces attempted to put down the protests over several days. At least a dozen people were killed, and grief deepened the resolve of Keita’s opponents to seek his removal.
West Africa’s shuttle diplomacy has included several regional political heavyweights who helped intervene in 2012 when a military coup gave way to a jihadist takeover across Mali’s north. ECOWAS pressured the coup leader to hand over power to a transitional civilian government.
The year after the coup, Keita won the first elections organized after the country’s return to democracy.
... to engage in further consultations towards finding a political solution to the crisis in the country.— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) July 22, 2020
July 21: West African leaders expected in Mali
Four presidents from the West African region are expected in Mali on Thursday (July 23) to help resolve the political crisis in the country.
They are expected to try the latest leg of mediation between counterpart Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and the main opposition protest movement – M5-RFP who are calling for Keita’s resignation.
The four include: Senegal’s Macky Sall, Ivory Coast’s Alassane Ouattara, Niger’s Mahamadou Issoufou and Ghana’s Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The most recent regional intervention included the deployment of a former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, who met all parties involved. The protesters, however, rejected the call for a unity government.
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[GhanaToday] President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said he is humbled by the renewal of his mandate to continue for the second and final term as President of the Republic of Ghana by the decisive majority of the Ghanaian people.
FORMER GHANAIAN President Jerry Rawlings has died aged 73. Though he was a socialist, he...
The post Jerry Rawlings: Ghana's former president has died appeared first on Voice Online.
Sierra Leone Telegraph: 09 January 2021: Last Thursday, President Dr Julius Maada Bio joined colleagues Heads of states at the swearing-in ceremony of the President-elect of the Republic of Ghana Nana Dankwa Addo Akufo-Addo. Taking his oath of office, President Akufo-Addo said: \"I further solemnly swear that should I at any time break this oath…
[DW] Police in Ghana say there have been dozens of incidents of violence during the divisive election. President Nana Akufo-Addo and former President John Mahama both claim to be on track for victory.
It was hoped the Sunday appointment of Mali's new civilian prime minister, Moctar Ouane, could lift sanctions imposed by neighbouring countries.
ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Mali soon after the junta led August 18 coup and said they would be lifted after civilian leaders were appointed during the transition period.
But the bloc of West African leaders may take aim at junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita being appointed vice president.
He was one of the junta leaders who took power and toppled president Keita last month.
Former defence minister Bah Ndaw was sworn in as interim president on Friday and after announcing a new prime minister, he appearing to meet those conditions.
But Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari's office said regional leaders \"may confer again to discuss outstanding grey areas in the Mali political situation\" after he met ECOWAS envoy and Nigerian ex-president Goodluck Jonathan.
The statement said Buhari told the envoy to present a formal report to the ECOWAS chairman, Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo, \"who will then write us officially, and we then determine the next steps\".
\"According to the special envoy, the military leaders are yet to satisfy ECOWAS demand of a full civilian as vice president, and what his roles would be in government,\" the statement said.
Many are Happy About President Nana Afuko-Addo Re-election
In light of Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo’s re-election for a second term in office on Wednesday — a result his rival John Mahama's camp said it would appeal, supporters of the president’s New Patriotic Party (NPP) are celebrating the win. Prince Ofori, an NPP Supporter, is ecstatic to know his chosen president will stay in office, \"NDC, the opposition party. We have retired them. They don't have anything to do anymore. We are the government in power, our president Nana Akufo Addo. The champion president. The number one.\"
According to the electoral commission, Akufo-Addo received 51.59% of the vote in the presidential race — beating opposition leader and former president Mahama's 47.36%.
The announcement on Wednesday was greeted with chanting and dancing by a crowd of supporters in the seaside capital Accra. On the other hand, the opposition has called the election \"flawed.\"
Nyarko, another NPP Supporter, could not contain his pleasure in knowing that the opposition will not take power, \"The NDC are liars. We no longer like John Mahama. We want peace in Ghana. We want Nana Akufo Addo.\"
Polling was observed as fair in the West African country known for its stable democracy.
However, the political climate soured late Tuesday resulting in 5 people dead and 19 injured in electoral-related violence.
Ghana heads to the polls on December 7, 2020, to elect a President and 275 Members of Parliament. As such, political parties are crisscrossing the country to woo voters with juicy promises. The two leading parties, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have both launched their manifestos which outlines...
The post These are the issues driving the massive upcoming elections in Ghana appeared first on Face2Face Africa.
Yesterday, president Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone chaired a zoom online meeting of the West African Monetary Zone Authority of Heads of States and Governments, where he encouraged his colleagues Heads of State and Governments across the region to unite, in ensuring that the proposed single currency known as the ECO is adopted.
According to report from State House in Freetown, the goal is to merge the West African English speaking countries’ currencies with the West African CFA franc, to create the new Economic Community of West African States’ currency known as the ECO.
In his presentation, president Bio, who is Chairman of the WAMZ Authority of Heads of States and Governments, said that the aim of the meeting is to develop the union and continue the work of their predecessors.
Speaking at the meeting, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Finance – Jacob Jusu Saffa, who is the chairman of the Economic Convergence Council, commended the Heads of State on behalf of the Convergence Council and Committee of Governors of WAMZ, noting that their participation in the meeting is a manifestation of their belief in and passion for monetary integration in ECOWAS.
President of the Republic of Ghana – Nana Akufo-Addo, expressed appreciation for president Bio’s decision to call the leaders to a meeting.
Seen as a beacon of hope and stability in a turbulent region, Ghana is a major producer and exporter of gold, cocoa and oil.
[Ghanaian Times] Ministers from the six newly created regions yesterday took their turn at the Nation Building Updates to account for what have been achieved over the last two years.
West African leaders urged a swift political solution in Mali on Tuesday, fearing an Islamist insurgency that has been nestled in the country since 2012 could take advantage of the fragile situation.
The 15-nation regional bloc known as ECOWAS met with Mali's junta in Ghana. It had set the military chiefs a Tuesday deadline for naming a new civilian interim leader.
\"The terrorists are taking advantage of the situation in Mali to flex their muscles even more,\" said Nana Akufo-Addo, Ghanaian President and current rotating chair of ECOWAS.
\"Today is supposed to be the day when the military junta in Mali is to put in place a government... That has not been done,\" he said.
\"The circumstances of life in Mali today require that closure be brought to the matter now. \"
ECOWAS has also urged a return to democracy within a year.
But the junta, which grabbed power after a coup in August, said it would step down in 18 months.
After a similar coup in 2012, Islamic extremists took advantage of a power vacuum and grabbed control of major towns in northern Mali.
Only a 2013 military intervention led by former colonial power France pushed extremists from those cities and the international community has invested more than seven years into the fight against extremism there.
