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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
Announcement of the death of former President Rawlings pic.twitter.com/7ext0fp4sd
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) November 12, 2020
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Akomadan — The Offinso North District Assembly, supported by the chiefs, has honoured Mr Augustine Collins Ntim, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development and Member of Parliament for the area for his sterling leadership qualities and spearheading the development of the district.
In a speech, Mr David Boakye Asare, the District Chief Executive recounted that the creation of the district in 2008 saw the appointment of Mr Ntim as the first DCE who managed to keep the toddling district on its feet after being in office for only eight months following the exit of the Kufuor- led New Patriotic Party(NPP) administration.
He said Mr Ntim who was elected the MP for the area, even in opposition, succeeded in undertaking a number of development projects in furtherance of his agenda of transforming the district into a municipality by the year 2025.
Today, the district can boast of an array of development projects with a good number of others including a Greenhouse project, Local Government Institute, Court building, Police Command and a rice factory in the pipeline.
Receiving the award, Mr Ntim thanked the chiefs and people for the honour and pledged to work harder and not to betray the confidence reposed in him for the past 12 years.
James Sommersett was the subject of a landmark legal case in Great Britain, which was the first major step in imposing limits on Trans-Atlantic African slavery. Sommersett entered the pages of history when in 1771, he fled his North American owner, Charles Stewart, while both were living in London, England. Sommersett was originally purchased in Virginia and had been bought to Britain by Stewart from Boston, Massachusetts in 1769. He fled two years later and was apprehended on the Ann and Mary, a ship bound for Jamaica.
Sommersett’s cause was taken up by Granville Sharp, a member of Parliament and the leading abolitionist of his era. Once Sharp learned that bondsman Sommersett had been transported to England on a business trip and upon capture was spirited and shackled on board a British vessel, he applied for and was granted a writ of habeas corpus which ordered Stewart to deliver Sommersett to the King’s Bench in January 1772 to determine his legal status. Sharp organized a five-attorney legal defense team led by prominent barrister Francis Hargrave who argued the case before Hon. William Murray, Earl of Mansfield and Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, England’s highest common law court.
At issue was whether a slave, even if owned in British Colonial America was by dint of residing in Britain still to be legally regarded as chattel or should be considered free. Francis Hargrave argued that by being on the soil of Great Britain, Sommersett could not remain enslaved. On June 22, 1772 Lord Mansfield decided in Somerset v. Stewart that Sommersett was to be released since no English law sanctioned slavery in Great Britain.
Sommersett’s case had differential impacts on both sides of the Atlantic. Within England it gave impetus to the nascent abolitionist movement led by Sharp and eventually William Wilberforce but which included late 18th Century black Britishers Olaudah Equiano, Quobna Ottobah Cuguano, and Ignatius Sancho. The case also moved the debate over slavery to the British Parliament. Britains
People’s National Party (PNP) vice-president Phillip Paulwell is supporting Lisa Hanna's bid for party president.\tHanna, the Member of Parliament for St Ann South Eastern will face off with the St Andrew Southern Member of...
In light of the proliferation of North-South Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), that is, agreements between the developed countries and the less developed, it is important that trade policy negotiators look at data provisions in these agreements with a tooth-comb.
Perhaps EAC and other African countries can draw inspiration from the EU, who have the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which have a framework for protections of citizens’ personal data as well as measures aimed at preventing transfer of data to third countries.
Could the developed countries then be exploiting this lacuna in the EAC data protection regime, in the trade agreements?
For instance, the US-Kenya FTA, according to the US Department of Commerce, aims to, among other things, “establish state of the art commitments to ensure Kenya refrains from imposing measures that restrict cross-border data flows and does not require the use of installation of local computing facilities”.
This is all the more reason these agreements and others that will come to the African continent should be thoroughly scrutinised with the needs of the African countries in mind given the insufficiency of data security laws on the continent.
BY Stephen Chadenga At least 75 cattle have succumbed to drought in parts of the Midlands province in the past two months and farmers have been urged to de-stock and by supplements for the remaining beasts. Midlands provincial crops and livestock officer, Madeline Magwenzi said four areas in the province were the worst affected. “We have over 75 cattle that succumbed to drought in the past two months and these are mainly in Kwekwe, Mberengwa, Zvishavane and Zhombe,” she said. “These deaths were recorded since August to date due to the drought. Grazing is not available and of low quality.” “We urge farmers to consider de-stocking by selling older stock and use the proceeds to buy stockfeed.” Magwenzi said there was need for a subsidy for stockfeed to enable farmers to buy it. “We should go back to a situation we had before where there was a subsidy for concentrates,” Magwenzi said. Early this year, there were reports that farmers particularly in Gokwe North and South as well as Mberengwa were selling cattle at giveaway prices due to shortage of pasture.
A 33-YEAR-OLD Mount Darwin man has been slapped with a 14-year prison term after he lured a nine-year-old girl with snacks (zap nax) before raping her. By SIMBARASHE SITHOLE Austine Kapiri of Makaza village in Mount Darwin appeared before Bindura regional magistrate Amos Mbobo, who suspended two years of the sentence on condition of good behaviour. Effectively he will spend 12 years in jail. Prosecutor Ngoni Kaseke told the court that on September 8 around 7pm, the accused found the victim playing at her homestead with friends. He lured her to the bush, promising to give her $40 to buy zap nax and raped her once. He, however, did not give her the money. The victim’s brother discovered that she was missing. He followed them to the bush, but the victim was already walking back home. The brother quizzed his sister who divulged everything leading to the arrest of Kapiri Follow NewsDay on Twitter @NewsDayZimbabwe
Learie Nicholas Constantine, Baron Constantine, was an international cricketer, journalist, politician, and lawyer. Constantine was the first person of African/Caribbean ancestry to be invested as a life peer in the United Kingdom. Born in Trinidad and Tobago in 1901 he was the son of a plantation foreman.
From an early age his father encouraged him to play cricket. In 1923 Constantine was selected for the West Indies international team and came to Britain to play in the pre-test matches that eventually led to the West Indies inclusion in Test cricket in 1928. Constantine was a valuable all-rounder, being skilled at batting, bowling, and fielding. He was the first West Indian to take a wicket in a test match and the first person to ever take five wickets in one inning. He was so successful that he was asked to join the Nelson Cricket Club, a team based in Lancashire in North England. Constantine moved to Nelson with his wife, Norma, and daughter and played with the club for 10 seasons. In 1933 he published his first work of many, Cricket and I, with the help of his lodger, the prolific writer and political theorist, C.L.R. James. In 1947 he was invested as a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to cricket.
After his retirement from professional cricket Constantine began working in a lawyer’s office, a career he had previously pursued before his years of professional cricket. In 1942 the British government had brought in numerous black engineers and factory workers from the West Indies to help the war effort. Constantine was asked to liaise with them and became a civil servant.
In 1943 he was asked to Captain a West Indian team at a series of exhibition matches at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Before he arrived in London he telephoned the hotel and confirmed his stay and confirmed that he was coloured. On his arrival, despite the fact that he had confirmed his colour with them beforehand, the hotel refused to allow him to check in. Constantine brought an action against the hotel for a Breach of
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, has stated that the tourism sector as a result of the 'Year of Return' initiative has recorded US$3.312 billion in revenue.
She was responding to a question asked by North Tongu Member, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa who sought to know the volume of visitors associated with the Year of Return initiative and its estimated economic impact on the country in the year 2019.
In addition to the economic impact, social such as schools, boreholes, and ICT centres in some selected communities across the countries have become legacies of the year of return, she said.
\"The coverage on the year of return has changed the narrative about Africa and branded Ghana as the gateway to Africa and one of the top tourism and repatriation destinations in the world,\" she stated.
To build on the success of the Year of Return, Mrs Oteng-Gyasi said 'Beyond the Return' a follow up initiative as initiated would be pursued to boost Ghana's tourism industry.
AN Anglican Church clergyman has urged pastors to speak out against human rights abuses in the country. BY NIZBERT MOYO Father Shonai David Magurupira of Holy Name Anglican Church in Sakubva Mutare said this in an interview with NewsDay. Father Magurupira said churches should not only be confined to the duty of leading prayer sessions at political gatherings and national events, but should also question the human rights abuses that have seen an upsurge in the violation of citizen’s rights. His sentiments came soon after government warned the Zimbabwe Catholic BishoPs’ Conference (ZCBC) that men of the cloth should confine themselves to the pulpit and not delve into the political terrain. “Politics and the church are seamless garments because politics started in the church,” Magurupira said. He said Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes wanted to find political fault in Jesus so that they could kill him, adding that even King Herod had the same plan, but Jesus based his teachings on brotherly love. The Anglican clergyman said in Zimbabwe, human rights abuses often manifested themselves during the electoral campaign period, adding that it was not a crime for people to have different political views. “Pastors should advocate for pastors’ involvement in all government departments and should be involved in the crafting of statutory instruments,” he said. Human rights defender and Habakkuk Trust chief executive officer Dumisani Nkomo also said churches had a duty to speak out against human rights violations. “The church needs to be a prophetic voice when people’s rights are being violated as this is a God-ordained institution,” Nkomo said. Recently, the United States of America and the United Kingdom threatened to slap Zimbabwe with more sanctions citing continued human rights and workers’ rights violations in the country.
Krystal Lee, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) caretaker for St Ann North West, has given low performance ratings for Member of Parliament Dayton Campbell, questioning his achievements during his nine-year tenure.
Campbell told The Gleaner last week that one of his biggest achievements as member of parliament was his programme of skills training, which he claimed has certified 3,614 people.
“When it comes on to a lot of skills training, where you can actually go into the communities and have these centres using whether school or churches ... when I actually go around, there are actually none.
She pointed to the Salem community in the constituency as one area where, she claimed, young people had not been the recipIents of training initiatives.
Lee said her focus was on rural infrastructural development, including roads and water systems, job creation, education, and skills training.
A NYANGA man committed suicide after he was accused of raping and impregnating his minor sister. BY KENNETH NYANGANI Manicaland police spokesperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa confirmed the incident to NewsDay yesterday. The man (26, name withheld) of Gohoto village under Chief Katerere in Ruwangwe, Nyanga North, killed himself on November 6. It is said that on November 5, the family members of the now-deceased met and discussed the matter as they accused him of impregnating his 14-year-old sister. The following day, the accused told his son that he was going to Nyapomboro Mountain. The family members became suspicious when he failed to return after several hours. They went to the mountain and found him hanging from a baobab tree. Kakohwa said no foul play was suspected. Ruwangwe police officers attended the scene. Follow Kenneth on Twitter @KennethNyangan1
Dear Editor,
Lest it be lost in all the confusion and disinformation.
The article The numbers put the lie to APNU+AFC claims appeared first on Stabroek News.
Dear Editor,\nLest it be lost in all the confusion and disinformation.
THE Zimbabwe consul in South Africa, Melody Chaurura, has announced that only five buses will be cleared daily to transport Zimbabwean returnees from the neighbouring country. BY NQOBANI NDLOVU Chaurura said this in response to reports that there was chaos at the country’s ports of entry with Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) officials refusing to clear buses ferrying returnees. She said all buses to be cleared should have a clearance certificate from the consulate to avoid being denied entry into Zimbabwe. “All buses involved in the repatriation of Zimbabwean nationals from South Africa are with immediate effect required to obtain travel clearance from the consulate of Zimbabwe in Johannesburg two days before the intended departure date,” she said in a notice. “This applies to all except for those travelling from Cape provinces who should approach the Zimbabwe consulate in Cape Town for clearance. To avoid congestion at the port of entry, a minimum of five buses will be cleared to travel per day.” Passengers and bus crew are required to have a COVID-19-free certificate obtained within 48 hours, the notice added. Millions of Zimbabweans are domiciled in South Africa, legally and illegally, in search for a better life due to the deteriorating economic conditions in the country. lFollow Nqobani on Twitter via @NqobaniNdlovu
A YEAR shy of her 20th anniversary as a member of parliament, Shahine Robinson, 66, has died having lost her battle with lung cancer.
Until her sudden illness in October, last year, Shahine Robinson was well-known in Jamaican politics and had been affectionately considered the darling of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
Robinson was, in fact, one of the most recognisable women in the governing JLP, who would from time to time unleash political fury on rival, the People’s National Party, despite her usually calm demeanour.
Robinson then pulled off another exciting win at the national polls in 2002 for the North East St Ann seat which brought joy to the JLP.
Former Prime Minister PJ Patterson also paid tribute to Robinson, mentioning that in 2019, after his accident, Robinson had wished him full recovery while he was being discharged from hospital.
THE African Diaspora Global Network (ADGN) and Migrants Workers’ Association-SA (MWA-SA), organisations led by Zimbabweans in South Africa have expressed concern over the renewed attacks and burning of trucks driven by foreign nationals in that country. BY SILAS NKALA They called upon the government of that country to take deterrent measures to stop the criminal activities. Yesterday, ADGN president Vusumuzi Sibanda said the renewed attacks and burning of trucks by seemingly unknown individuals had become disconcerting in SA. “We are aware that ministerial task teams were set up to deal with grievances from various groups, but this did not resolve the problem,” he said. “Many of the drivers have been attacked, not because they have no proper permits. The attackers do not request for permits before attacking. They are attacked for merely being migrants or if the company is perceived to be employing migrant drivers irrespective of their status in the country.” He added: “It would help to hear that the government has taken a position that any such attackers will be arrested and organisations known to be behind such acts will be held accountable. “We plead with President of SA (Cyril Ramaphosa) as the chair of the African Union to show that the values of ubuntu, ‘I am because you are’ are embedded in the African humanness and make us the African people to all abide by them.” On the same note MWA-SA chairperson, Butholezwe Nyathi, called on all migrants to organise themselves to mitigate the effects of these disturbances. “People should not wait until there is a situation like these attacks. They should be proactive in coming up with lasting solutions that will create harmony among locals and migrants through projects like migrant skills transfer to locals,” he said.
BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA A MUTOKO man (23), who allegedly murdered his aunt accusing her of misplacing his lucky charm, and in the process also seriously injured his 80-year-old grandmother, was on Friday denied bail by Mutoko magistrate Elijah Sibanda. Piniel Tinomuda of Village 43 Hoyuyu allegedly axed to death Lizzie Madende (59) over the lucky charm that went missing. He will be back in court on October 30. His grandmother, Benhilda Nyarambi, is reportedly unconscious at Mutoko General Hospital. Court papers state that on October 13 at around 8pm, Madende was at her residence with other family members, including the suspect. Tinomuda reportedly accused Madende of misplacing his talisman which he kept in his bedroom. The accused became violent, took an axe from his bedroom and struck Madende twice. Madende died on the spot. Nyarambi reportedly pleaded with the suspect to stop axing his aunt and he turned on her and he struck twice on the neck and arm. Nyarambi fell and became unconscious. The accused also attacked Madende’s two children who fled from the scene. After realising that he had committed a serious crime, the accused fled and hid in a nearby mountain. A report was made at Janhi Police Base, resulting in a manhunt being launched. The suspect was arrested from his hiding place. Nyarambi, who is admitted at Mutoko District Hospital, is in a critical condition. Nathan Majuru represented the State
THE local film industry has for long been viewed with different lenses with some analysts saying it was in intensive care unit while others perceive it to be“clinically” dead.
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) insists the quality of its potable water is 94% compliant with the benchmarks set by the Standard Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) despite the rise in diarrhoea in the city. BY NQOBANI NDLOVU Several suburbs have recorded diarrhoeal cases at a time residents are subjected to water-rationing following the decommissioning of the city’s three supply dams. Recently, residents complained that they were receiving foul-smelling water, but council blamed it on ageing pipes. A recent report by the council’s water supplies and action committee said quality tests conducted by the local authority showed that they were compliant with SAZ standards. “The percentage chemical quality compliance for potable water at Criterion, Ncema and Cowdray Park treatment plants was at 100% on average for all plants according to Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) prescribed limits for water suitable for human consumption,” the report read. “Overall bacteriological quality of potable water from Cowdray Park, Ncema, Criterion and consumer points was at 94,38% compliance to SAZ standards.” The SAZ is the national standards body for Zimbabwe. Formed in 1957 and incorporated in 1960, the association is a non-profit entity charged with the responsibility of certifying the quality of most non-medical goods. Meanwhile, the same report shows that city's sewage effluent disposal did not meet the Environmental Management Agency (Ema) requirements. “During the month of August 2020, wastewater discharged from municipal sewage treatment plants to the natural environment did not meet the Ema effluent disposal requirements,” the report read. “Constant breakdowns of infrastructure and low inflows at most of the treatment plants continued to compromise the quality of final effluent disposed of in the environment. Removal of organic pollutants and nutrients (phosphate and ammonia) remain a big challenge for the majority of the treatment plants.”
