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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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LOCAL authorities in the country have attributed their poor service delivery record to rising inflation. Mayors Blessing Tandi (Mutare), Lovemore Maiko (Chitungwiza) and Angeline Kasiipo (Kwekwe) made the remarks during a virtual meeting on Wednesday organised by Shoko Festival. BY KENNETH NYANGANI Residents, the mayors said, should not expect miracles from them as they were being affected by the country’s poor economic performance.Tandi said his council was struggling to provide good service delivery due to the country’s tanking economy. “We don’t operate in a vacuum. If the national economy is not performing, why should you expect us to perform miracles when we have high inflation? We need a lot of money to buy water treatment chemicals,” Tandi said. “Our roads are in a poor state because we are not getting enough funds from the Zimbabwe National Road Administration. As council, we should be allowed to collect money from vehicle licences.” Maiko weighed in saying councils do not exist in isolation. He said they were also facing water challenges. “As councils, we don’t live in isolation, with the current economy you should not expect miracles from us, like what Mutare mayor Blessing Tandi has already said, we are struggling to provide service delivery because of the poor state of the economy,” he said. “Look at the rate at which inflation is going up, we also need to pay our workers competitively.” “Chitungwiza was established as a dormitory town of Harare and now has the largest urban population but we don’t have any source of water. We rely on Harare for water distribution and it’s giving us a drop in the ocean,” he said. Kasiipo also said they were failing to perform because of the moribund economy.She, however, urged residents to pay their dues. “We are urging our residents to pay rates, our collection rate is very low, so our residents need to play their part so that we provide good service delivery,” he said.
Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has been selected by former Ghana president John Mahama as his running mate for this year’s presidential election.
Representing the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), she becomes the first woman on a major Ghanaian party’s presidential ticket.
The 69-year_old Opoku-Agyemang, is a former education minister and university professor. She was also the first female vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Coast in 2008.
The former president called her “God-fearing, a distinguished scholar, a conscientious public servant and a role model”.
The Dec. 7 poll will pit Mahama, who governed from 2012 to early 2017, against his successor, President Nana Akufo-Addo, who defeated him in the late 2016 election.
The presidency has changed hands repeatedly between the ruling New Patriotic Party, NPP and ex-president Mahama’s NDC since 1992 in a series of peaceful elections that have cemented Ghana’s reputation as one of West Africa’s most stable democracies.
Obinim was arrested on Tuesday, May 19 on a warrant issued by the court and thus charged with the offence of publication of false news and forging of documents contrary to sections 208 and 159 of the Criminal and other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) respectively.
According to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Obinim is expected to reappear in court on June 1 as he is being investigated for other offences levelled against him.
Obinim has been in the news for the past few weeks due to a consistent media attack by the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong on him over some alleged illegalities the religious leader has been involved in.
Kennedy Agyapong, through his Net2 TV and Oman FM platforms, has featured in shows dedicated to 'exposing' criminal activities including fraud Obinim is allegedly involved in.
Mr Agyapong showed a fake \"wanted\" notice and vowed to ensure that Obinim is arrested and prosecuted for that and other crimes including money laundering and fraud.
(Trinidad Guardian) Chaguanas Mayor Vandana Mohit is confident that she would win the Chaguanas East seat for the United National Congress (UNC).
The article Trinidad: Three UNC candidates happy to face the polls appeared first on Stabroek News.
By Miriam Mangwaya President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s security aide Alfred Chagonda was yesterday ordered to pay $2 000 for settling at a farm in Chivhu without lawful authority. Chagonda, who was in a land wrangle with Bernard Makokove, former Zanu PF Mashonaland East chairperson, was fined by magistrate Mitchell Panavanhu after he pleaded guilty. He was ordered to vacate the farm by December 10, 2020. Chagonda will spend five months in prison if he fails to pay the fine before October 9, 2020. Prosecutor Kumbirai Charamba told the court that sometime in 2018, Chagonda invaded Rushfontain Farm where he embarked on cattle farming without authority from the Lands ministry. Makokove informed the police and Chagonda was arrested. Last week, a civil court dismissed Makokove’s application to evict Chagonda before tables turned at the Chivhu Magistrates’ Courts yesterday.
[Thomson Reuters Foundation] Plaintiffs say mining in the forest violates their constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment
Opposition Senator Sophia Frazer Binns has argued that the Data Protection Bill will be of great importance now, given that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses and enterprising individuals to seek out new ways of doing business.
Frazer Binns who was a part of the joint select committee, chaired by Technology Minister Fayval Williams, that examined that bill.
Frazer Binns said she was happy that there are provisions in the bill which allowed the minister, through consultation with the data commissioner, to make exception to certain micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
It requires that data should only be obtained for specific lawful purposes, with the consent of the individual, and not to be further used or processed in any way incompatible with the original purpose.
The bill further provides that data must not be transferred to a state or territory outside of Jamaica, unless that state or territory ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of the individual from whom the data has been collected.
BY SIMBARASHE SITHOLE KADOMA-BASED Jindarume Fidza Matsveru of Orchestra Gwindingwi band has released a four-track DVD. Matsveru rose to fame in 2004 after he won a prize at the Chibuku Road to Fame competition before recording his debut album, Ndangariro, the following year. The sungura artiste has four albums under his sleeve and is currently working on his fifth offering, set for release in November. Matsveru told NewsDay Life & Style that he had been recording tracks without videos, but he had since recorded a DVD with various songs. “Since 2005, we have been releasing albums without videos so we just released a DVD with different songs from all the albums,” he said.
By SIMBARASHE SITHOLE A SELF-PROCLAIMED Bindura prophetess Spiwe Gwashure (40) of Grace in Abundance Ministries was sentenced to two months in jail yesterday by Bindura provincial magistrate Tinashe Ndokera for fraud. Gwashure was ordered to pay the US$320 which she had taken from one of her congregants, Abina Maliwo (46), on the pretext that she would find him a wife to marry. Prosecutor Edward Katsvairo told the court that sometime in April 2018, the prophetess gave a prophecy to the complainant, saying she would find him a good wife to marry. In July last year, Gwashure called Maliwo to come to her house and told him that she had found a wife for him in Guruve and there was need for him to pay the bride price. The complainant raised US$320 in two months and was supposed to get his wife in October 2019.He was ordered to buy a cellphone for his intended wife and he complied for easy communication. The wife did not appear and in November, he figured out that he had been duped after he spoke to Gwashure on a mobile phone that he bought assuming that he was speaking to his intended wife. He filed a police report leading to her arrest.The magistrate ordered a full compensation of the money within two months.
THE Johanne Masowe Echishanu Apostolic sect has stepped up efforts to fight gender-based violence (GBV) and early child marriages within their religious community. BY KENNETH NYANGANI Last Sunday, the sect conducted a national day of prayer against GBV and early child marriages in Mutare, which was attended by hundreds of their members, government officials, civic society groups, and gospel musician Mathias Mhere. Sect leader Andby Makururu said the national day of prayer was part of the 16 days of activism against GBV which is observed every November to December. “As a church we, will continue to fight against the perpetrators of GBV, and we have lined up a number of programmes as we are keen to fight GBV and early child marriages,” he said. Makururu said in order to promote the girl child, he was also paying school fees for close to 500 disadvantaged children, including girls, across the country so that they avoid early child marriages. Manicaland provincial director in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Munyaradzi Rubaya, said there was need for continued engagement with the white garment sect in order to eradicate the scourge of early child marriages in the province. Manicaland is one of the provinces with a high prevalence of early child marriages due to the religious practices often associated with the vapostori sect. Rubaya said the white garment sect had been difficult to penetrate in terms of efforts to end early child marriages. “We are using prophet Makururu to reach out to fellow members of the white garment sect as a champion of gender-based violence. The church has been supportive of our programmes in the province,” Rubaya said. Makururu, through his Ruvheneko Rwenyenyedzi Trust, promised to transform indigenous churches to suit global trends and values chiefs in safeguarding the livelihoods of the girl child.
Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress is facing the risk of disintegration amid an internal crisis and rival claims to its leadership, President Muhammadu Buhari said.
“At the moment, our great party is faced with internal wrangling,” Buhari said in remarks at a party meeting Thursday in Abuja, the capital, emailed by the presidency. “It is obvious that the fortunes of the party are currently in jeopardy, the administration of our party is becoming impossible and there is consequently an urgent need for intervention.”
In the past week, different party officials have claimed chairmanship of the party, better known as the APC, after Adams Oshiomhole, the last chairman, was removed by a court order. An emergency meeting of the party’s national executive committee attended by Buhari decided to appoint a caretaker committee to manage its affairs while directing members to end all current litigations.
The APC was forged out of three main opposition parties and a faction of the former ruling People’s Democratic Party in 2014, creating a platform that successfully wrested power at the ballot a year later with Buhari as its candidate.
Factional differences appear to be increasing as interest groups position themselves ahead of elections in 2023, when Buhari will complete his second and final term.
Agencies
GWERU up-and-coming gospel artiste Sheon Chimalizeni (11) has released a touching song, Achatinunura that has an accompanying video which speaks to abuse of children and how they continue to suffer in silence. BY STEPHEN CHADENGA In an interview with NewsDay Life & Style, Chimalizeni said the single was inspired by the recent ritual murder of a seven-year-old Murehwa boy, Tapiwa Makore, who was allegedly killed by his uncle. “I was motivated to sing the song by the need for adults to pay “special attention to children’s rights. Child abuse is rampant and there is need to stop it,” she said. “I feel singing gospel is in my blood and I can express myself on different subjects besides that of child abuse.” In the opening verse of the song written by Zela and Sheon’s father, Sydleck and produced by Rox, Sheon poses a question — who is going to save children from abuse in this world? She answers herself saying no one will protect them except God. In another verse, she sings: Kodzero dzedu dzombundikidzwa, Zuva nezuva vanototi nyarara, ndonyarara sei ndichiziva chokwadi. (Our rights are abused everyday and the adults say keep quiet, how can I be silent when I know the truth. In the song, Sheon states that she tried to tell relatives about the abuse, but they kept telling her to keep quiet. At the end, Sheon turns to God when she says — they cry to him as the only saviour to deal with the burden of child mistreatment. Sheon said she was working on another single titled Holy Spirit to be released soon. Follow us on Twitter NewsDayZimbabwe
