Three EC Staff, A Student Remanded Over Stolen EC’s BVDs And Laptops

 

Three staff of the Electoral Commission of Ghana and a student have been remanded for two weeks by the Circuit Court at Dansoman for allegedly stealing laptops and biometric devices belonging to the commission.

The three staff – Philip Tetteh, a labourer, Benjamin Fienyi, a security man and Joseph Blackson Adamadze, a database administrator have pleaded not guilty to their respective charges.

They were charged for conspiracy to steal and stealing. While Clifford Yeboah, 23, a student, was charged with dishonestly receiving.

He has also denied the charge before Her Honour Halima Abdul El Lawal Basit while the case has been adjourned to April 29.

They were remanded after the prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Christopher Wonder, prayed for time to conclude on investigations.

He submitted that, the accused persons, when granted bail, will interfere with investigations since they are yet to retrieve the remaining Dell laptops, which contain serious data.

Brief facts

Per the brief facts of the case, the complainants are officials of the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC).

While the accused persons, Philip Tattey, Benjamin Fienyi, Joseph Blankson Adamadze and Clifford Yeboah are, a Labourer, security man, Database Administrator and student respectively.

Chief Inspt. Wonder said, all accused persons except Clifford Yeboah (4th Accused) are workers of the Electoral Commission of Ghana.

He said, on March 9, 2024, officers from the ICT Department of the Electoral Commission began conducting routine maintenance on the Biometrio Voter Registration (BVR) Kits.

He explained that, each of the kit boxes contain a laptop computer, printer, a scanner, battery and biometric device.

The prosecutor said, during the maintenance, the officials detected that five of the Dell Laptop computers had been stolen from their kit boxes

Chief Inspt. wonder told the Court that, a complaint was lodged with the National Security and in the course of investigation, all accused persons were arrested.

The prosecutor said, during investigation, three HP laptop computers, which value are not yet known, were retrieved from Clifford Yeboah (4th Accused).

He added that, one HP printer and three Biometric Verification Device (BVD) printer chargers were also retrieved from Benjamin Fienyi (2nd Accused).

The prosecutor said all retrieved items are properties of the Electoral Commission of Ghana.

According to him, investigations so far revealed that, in March 2023, the Commission engaged its casual workers and security men to remove some of their materials from the warehouse at the Commission’s old Head office at Ridge to one of their warehouses at Spintex.

He said, Benjamin (2nd Accused) and A3 (Joseph Blankson) planned to steal some of the printers.

In furtherance to their plan, Joseph stole the HP printer from one of the kit boxes and handed it over to Benjamin.

He said Benjamin also stole three Biometric Verification Device (BVD) printer chargers and sent them home.

Philip Tetteh, (1st Accused) on the other hand, stole three HP laptop computers from the kit boxes and gave same to Clifford Yeboah to keep and repair the remaining two for him.

He said the accused persons were charged and arraigned before this Honourable Court while investigation continues.

 

Source: kasapafmonline.com

SHOCKING: Why ‘World War Three’ Is Trending In Ghana

 

The launching of drone strikes and missiles at Israel by Iran has triggered conversations on Ghanaian social media platforms about a possible world war.

Aljazeera reports that Iran on Saturday, April 13, 2024, fired over 300 “killer drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles” into Israel.

The report quotes Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as saying that the country was able to intercept the missiles and prevent any major harm.

“Together with the United States and additional partners, we managed to defend the territory of the State of Israel. Very little damage was caused – this is the result of the IDF’s impressive operations,” he said.

However, he added: “The campaign is not yet over – we must remain alert and attentive to the instructions published by the IDF and Homefront Command. We must be prepared for every scenario. Having said this, we have thwarted the most significant wave [of the attack], and we did so successfully.”

On social media, Ghanaians have been following the issue with fears that it could escalate into a global war.

Amid the fears are jokes that the government could reference the conflict as a reason for the economic struggles of the country.

This position stems from the continuous mention of the Russia-Ukraine war as a major factor in the country’s recent economic slump.

Some users also continue to debate about where Ghana will align should it become necessary for the government to make any such decision.

Most of the tweets believe that Ghana will be on the side of Israel as the United States and the United Kingdom which are two of Ghana’s foremost partners have aligned with Israel.

There are also mundane jokes about the capability of the Ghana Armed Forces to defend the country should push come to shove.

High Intake Of Antibiotics Without Prescription Increasing AMR Burden In Ghana

 High Intake Of Antibiotics Without Prescription Increasing AMR Burden In Ghana

The burden of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Ghana is increasing due to the high consumption of antibiotics with less appropriate prescription.

Professor Eric Sampane-Donkor, a Professor of Bacteriology and Global Health at, University of Ghana Medical School, said although AMR was a natural phenomenon caused by bacteria, it had been hastened by self-medication and wrong usage among the public.

“As doctors prescribed antibiotics anyhow and people take them in large amounts, the burden keeps increasing,” he said.

Prof. Sampane-Donkor said this in Accra when he delivered a lecture on “Prioritising Antimicrobial Resistance Needs in Ghana, a National Choice between Life and Death.”

He said findings from research on ARM conducted in some tertiary schools in Ghana showed that long waiting hours in the hospitals also contributed to the high levels of AMR.

He said the high use of antibiotics in animal husbandry had also triggered AMR in Ghana.

AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness, and death.

The World Health Organisation estimates that AMR contributed to 4.95 million deaths.

It said that ‘misuse and overuse’ of antimicrobials in humans, animals, and plants were the main drivers in the development of drug-resistant pathogens.

Prof Sampane-Donkor said AMR was an ongoing silent pandemic, the third cause of global deaths in 2019, and one of the top 10 global health threats, with the highest burden in West Africa.

In Ghana, a National Action Plan for Antimicrobial Use and Resistance 2017-2021 was launched in 2018 to be a guide, which would help the country realize its aspirations at combating the AMR phenomenon.

The various components of the NAP, in line with global objectives, include steps to improve awareness and understanding of AMR, strengthen knowledge and evidence base for AMR policy and related actions, and reduce the incidence of infection.

It further aims to optimize the use of antimicrobials as well as develop the economic case for sustainable investments in antimicrobials with specific components of the health system.

Prof Sampane-Donkor called for the strengthening of the national action plan to help implement the targets and monitor the use of antibiotics among the public using the one health approach.

He said Ghana needed to raise awareness of antimicrobial resistance and improve the health and welfare of food-producing animals to decrease the spread of infections in farm animals.

 

Source: GNA

Government To Rename AMERI Power Plant To Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Plant?

 

The Volta River Authority (VRA) has announced plans for the president to commission what would be known in the coming days as the Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Plant at Anwomaso in the Ashanti Region.

The move has since caused a stir as some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress have accused the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) of deploying deceptive means to rename the Ameri Power Plant.

In a Facebook post shared by the authority confirming the president’s attendance for the commissioning, it wrote; “5 days more to the commissioning of the Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Plant (K1TPP) at Anwomaso, in the Oforikrom Municipality of the Ashanti Region. Stay tuned for more updates.”

Reacting to the development in a Facebook post, the Director of the Legal Directorate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Godwin Edudzi Tameklo accused the Akufo Addo-Bawumia administration of misleading the Ghanaian people, especially people in the Ashanti Region.

He mentioned that the government has decided to rename the Ameri Power Plant to Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Plant.

He argued that the renaming of the power plant is a deliberate ploy to deceive Ghanaians, particularly those residing in the Ashanti Region, where the plant is located.

He also called for vigilance among Ghanaians and urged them not to fall for what he views as a misleading tactic by the current administration.

He further asserted that the Ameri Power Plant, initially procured by former President John Dramani Mahama, was intended to address the country’s enduring power challenges, boasting of a capacity to generate 25 megawatts of electricity.

Edudzi Tameklo in his post also acknowledged John Mahama’s role in acquiring the power plant as part of efforts to alleviate the country’s power crisis during his tenure.

“Bawumia and Akufo-Addo, out of shame, have decided to repackage and rename the AMERI plants as Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Plant. This is what they are planning to go and commission.

“This corrupt, incompetent, useless and wasteful government are determined to hoodwink voters in the Ashanti region with the renaming and repackaging.

“This administration has failed to do anything meaningful in power generation,” he posted.

The government on February 1, 2021, resumed ownership of the 250-megawatt (MW) Africa and Middle East Resource Investment (AMERI) thermal power plant according to terms of the deal.

The Dubai-based firm arrived in the country back in October 2015 to assist in resolving the power crisis at the time.

An agreement was then signed by the erstwhile John Mahama government at a total cost of US$510 million on a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis.

 

Source: www.ghanaweb.com