Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has revealed that he was notified of his new position the night before the public announcement. According to him, much like the rest of the NDC parliamentary Caucus, he had no say whatsoever concerning the decision. Speaking in his first interview following the announcement on JoyNews’ PM Express on Wednesday, he said he was surprised by the decision after he was informed in a short face-to-face meeting by the party’s national leadership. “I was told the night before. It’s a decision that the party had made so they were informing me not for me to make a choice as to whether I’m going to accept it or not to accept it. But I took it like a call to duty.“ "In fact, it shook me, it took me by surprise. But what I told you earlier is that I adapt so easily and that’s my biggest strength, it doesn’t take me a couple of minutes to adapt so I sat back and said ‘hey…’” Speaking concerning his relationship with the erstwhile Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, the Ajumako-Enyam-Essiam MP stated that working with him had allowed him to excel. “Let me put it this way, if there is any person in this House who has worked so hard for Haruna Iddrissu and worked for him, I don’t think there will be two people more than me. My loyalty to him is unquestionable.“I’ve loved him; in fact, I’m a product of his leadership because he gave me room to work and to excel. It’s not every leader that will give his ranking the opportunity to excel at that magnitude.“ "And I work for him; I go to him every morning, sit him down and brief him on a daily basis. The first thing I do when I get to Parliament, mostly before 9 am, is walk straight to his office…we’ll have our small meeting, I brief him for the day and then we disperse and go to the Floor. So we have that cohesion,” he said. According to Dr Ato Forson, he is honoured to have been the one chosen to fill the “very big shoe” of his predecessor.He said while he has “never wished for his job” he takes the appointment as an opportunity to “also step in and to lead the party.” “So when I was told, my first concern was is he aware of it and how will he feel? But Haruna Iddrisu knows that I’ve never wished for his job.“ However, if at a point in time, one person will have to stand up and do something for the Caucus and I happen to be the one, I think it’s an honour for me to step in the very big shoes of my predecessor, Haruna Iddrisu.“ "It’s a big decision…the party took a big decision it believes is the right decision. The NDC thinks where we’ve gotten to it needs a new general to take us to that kind of war, that’s how I interpreted it.“Haruna has done his part and done it very well, his successes are out there for everybody to see. And clearly, the time has come for a new general to step into the fire. I recognise that and honestly, I take it as an opportunity to also step in and to lead the party,” he said. He said immediately after being informed of the decision, “I called him [Haruna Iddrisu] to inform him about it.” "As soon as I left the place I placed a phone call to him out of respect I have for him.” Credit: Myjoyonline.com

A fraudulent payment made for the placement of a student into a category “A” school in 2022 was traced to the login access of the Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum. This is contained in a testimony given by Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, who was the  Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) at the time of the placement and the Ministry of Education’s investigative committee’s sitting to probe alleged corruption in the school placement. Prof. Opoku-Amankwa was also one of only two persons with unfettered access to the computer system and could place or approve placement of students into category “A” Schools. Access to protocol placement into the most prestigious senior high schools was limited to the Minister of Education and the Director General of the GES to curb the payment of money for placement into category “A” schools. That restriction did not stop the acts of corruption in Ghana’s most sought-after schools, resulting in the setting up of a committee by the Ministry of Education. The committee was set up after the Ministry of National Security wrote to complain about allegations of corruption in the system. The report of the six-member committee, which The Fourth Estate has exclusive access to, states: “He [Prof Opoku-Amankwa] sighted [sic] an example in one of the cases that was reported that an amount of GHS7000 had been charged to place someone at Wesley Girls or Achimota School. A probe using the log report on the system showed that it was done with the Hon. Minister’s access which was being handled by Ms. Vera Amoah.” The report adds: “Prof Amankwah went on to say that subsequently, his permission to the log port on the placement system was blocked and so could not trace and act on complaints that came in thereafter.” The committee spoke to Dr. Adutwum after taking Prof. Amankwa’s testimony, but the report does not state whether or not the minister denied the GES Director-General’s assertion that a fraudulent transaction was traced to his account. When The Fourth Estate requested comment through the public relations officer of the Ministry of Education, the ministry declined to comment. It, however, said it would “study the investigative work, collaborate with relevant state institutions and address the issues raised accordingly.” Prof. Opoku-Amankwa told The Fourth Estate that the system is designed such that he could see placements that were effected or approved by the Minister of Education and the Minister could also see what he did in the system. A week after the 2022 placement started, however, he said his access to the system was revoked without any explanation to him. The technical consultant of the school placement system told the committee that the decision on who should be granted access to protocol placement on the computerised system was communicated to him in a memo. "The consultant receives instruction in the form of a memo generated by the Free SHS Coordinator and signed by the Hon. Minister to assign protocol access to some identified officers,” the report states. However, it emerged that the Minister of Education later initiated some changes and instructions which were not documented.An Assistant Research Officer in charge of procurement at the Free SHS Secretariat, Mohammed Kamel Issa, was given access to the category C schools to help resolve some of the placement issues. But two weeks after the placement process, Kamal’s access was blocked.“ The coordinator later informed him that the Hon. Minister had requested to meet him in his office at the Ministry. According to Kamel, he sought to find out from his supervisors the purpose of the intended meeting with the Hon. Minister as well as the reasons for the revocation of his access but he did not get any response from them. “The meeting with the Hon. Minister, however, did not come on because the Free SHS Coordinator later came to inform him that the Minister did not need him again,” the report stated. A coordinator for the CSSPS centre, Mark Sosu Mensah, explained to the committee that the students were placed into schools categorised into A, A1, B, B1 and C. He told the committee, “he was initially given access to category “B1 and was later upgraded to category B schools. His access was communicated to him verbally by the Free SHS Coordinator. According to him, it was only in 2017 that his access was officially communicated to him in writing by the Hon. Minister.” There were also other issues of corruption that the investigative committee discovered during the interrogation. A member of the Operations team at the Free SHS secretariat, Bright Appiah Kubi, “told the committee that he got a report that a parent paid GHS20,000 for the ward to be placed in Wesley Girls to read science but because he did not have access to the log report on the system, he could not check who did that placement.” Mr. Appiah said in the past, such as in the 2019 placement, he could log in and verify who did the placement that was paid for. Before the Ministry of Education set up its investigative committee, Prof Opoku- Amankwa had written to the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to investigate allegations of corruption in the placement of students into secondary schools. The Fourth Estate understands that, following Prof. Opoku-Amankwa’s request, the NIB initially agreed and started the investigation, but exactly one month later, it wrote to the GES Director General, asking him to redirect his request to the CID. The Fourth Estate sources say these investigations were stopped by “powers from above.” Prof. Opoku-Amankwa could not pursue this matter to the end. He was removed from office later that year. He recently emphasised this in an interview with The Fourth Estate when he said: “If there is fraud in the matter, then I, as the Director-General, and the minister should take responsibility. I fully accept and agree, but I knew that I was part of it and I wanted to actually make sure that there were no challenges with it.” Even while in office, Prof Opoku-Amankwa told the GES Committee that he could not “fully absolve himself from any issues of corruption because he delegated his access to one of his officers to do the work for him. He, however, went on to say that one good thing about the system is that anytime someone logs in with his credentials, he gets a notification alert to enable him to inquire into what was being done.” Although the security agencies and the Ministry of Education’s committee did not uncover those behind the alleged fraudulent payments and placements, undercover investigations by The Fourth Estate revealed that a network of people charged money and placed students into category “A” and the most sought-after category “B” senior high schools in the country. The Fourth Estate worked and then liaised with the police to arrest eight persons who are standing trial. None of them works at the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, CSSPS Secretariat or the Free SHS Secretariat. The Fourth Estate also found that protocol placement into the category “A” schools after payments were done could only be approved by the Minister of Education and the Director General of the GES. Credit: The Fourth Estate

Police have announced the arrest of Razak Avoliya, an official of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Suame Constituency of the Ashanti Region. A February 8, 2023 statement said the constituency Youth Organizer was picked up "following investigation into a viral video in which he incited political violence ahead of the 2024 general elections. "The suspect is in Police custody and will be put before court to face justice," the statement added. Avoliya was captured on tape making inciteful comments with respect to the 2024 general elections. Speaking to a journalist on the sidelines on what looked like a party event, the man charged members of the NDC not to hesitate to shed blood if it is what it will take to win power. "As journalists, you were witnesses to a situation where people were shot and killed in the 2020 elections. So standing here today, I am to make sure that no NPP member can come and kill me." "So we are in and I will advise every true NDC member that in the 2024 elections when it becomes necessary to kill someone to win, kill them; even if it requires that you shoot someone or club them to win us power do it,” he told a journalist with Oyerepa FM. The 2020 elections albeit largely peaceful, saw pockets of violence which led to the death of about 8 persons. According to the opposition NDC, the New Patriotic Party through state security and vigilantes used violence at various polling stations to rig the election. However, the NDC has said that things will be different in the 2024 elections as it will go into the polls more prepared to ward off any such incidents. POLICE ARREST SUSPECT IN VIRAL VIDEO INCITING POLITICAL VIOLENCE AHEAD OF THE 2024 GENERAL ELECTIONS The Police have arrested suspect Razak Avoliya the Youth Organiser for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Suame Constituency of the Ashanti Region following investigation into a viral video in which he incited political violence ahead of the 2024 general elections. The suspect is in Police custody and will be put before court to face justice. Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Hatayspor club doctor, Gurbey Kahveci has hinted that Christian Atsu is yet to be rescued from the rubble. The Ghana winger was trapped in a rubble after 7.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Turkey on Monday. However, reports went rife that Atsu, together with the club's sporting director, Taner Savut have been rescued after 26 hours of search and have been admitted at a hospital. However, Kahveci has hinted that they have been to the hospital that admitted Atsu but he was not found. He added that they would have to accept that Atsu and the club's sporting director have not been found. "When we heard the news that he [Christian Atsu] was taken to Dortyol Hospital, we especially went and looked but he was not there," he told Hurriyet Turkey." At the moment, we accept that the sporting director, Taner Savut and Christian Atsu were not found on Monday night, unfortunately," he added. Atsu joined Hatayspor last summer following a short spell with Saudi Arabian topflight side Al Raed. The former Newcastle United winger scored in Hatayspor's last game on Sunday and even took to Twitter to revel in grabbing the winner. Credit: footballghana.com

Central Midfielder for Turkish club, Hatayspor and Black Queens player, Priscilla Okyere is calling on all to keep praying for Turkey. The call comes following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake which occurred in Turkey on Monday. In a tweet sighted by Thinknewsonline.com, Priscilla Okyere tweeted "Keep on Praying for Turkey 🇹🇷🙏. Thanks for the check up will get back to you guys 🇬🇭❤️" Aside Christian Atsu, the Black Queens player also survived the earthquake. In an interview with a Kumasi-based radio station, she said "When the building (where the famale team was lodging) started shaking (around 2am, Turkish time on Sunday), we run for our lives and less than 30secs after everyone left the building, it collapsed" She added that she was saved by grace and would have died without anyone knowing her whereabouts. Priscilla Okyere is a Ghanaian footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Turkish club [Hatayspor] and the Ghana women's national team. She played for Fabulous Ladies F.C. before joining AMPEM DARKOA Ladies F.C. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Manager of Hatayspor and Former Black Stars winger, Christian Atsu, Nana Sekyere says his player cannot be found, 24-hours after it was reported that he had been rescued following last Monday's earthquake which occurred in Turkey. It emerged that the winger had sustained some injuries after his rescue and had been sent to the hospital for treatment. "The player cannot be found after it was reported that he had been rescued" the manager said. “No club official or hospital staff have been able to confirm his presence in any hospital in Hatya or a neighbouring country, we are still searching for him, so are very concerned" "It’s 24 hours since it was reported he’s alive, however he has not been seen in any hospital" In other developments, Ghana’s Ambassador to Turkey, Francisca Ashietey-Odunton in an interview with an Accra-based radio station said "I am speaking to everybody; I am in direct contact with everybody at Hatayspor, I am also in contact with the Ghana and British consulates in Turkey and the Turkish football association.” Story by: Thinknewsonline.com

The Government of Ghana says it is providing bondholders with a window to complete processes for tendering their bonds, in response to the terms of Exchange as amended pursuant to the 2nd Amended and Restated Exchange Memorandum. It mentioned that the window ends on Friday, 10th February 2023 at 4:00 p.m. (GMT). In a release signed by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, it said "The timetable of the Exchange is not otherwise affected by this, except for the Announcement Date which is now expected to occur on Monday, 13th February 2023. The settlement of the Exchange is still scheduled for Tuesday, 14th February 2023." The Finance Minister further noted that except as set forth in this paragraph, the terms and conditions of the Exchange are not modified or amended. The statement explained that all Eligible Bondholders who were unable to complete the process should visit the website of the Central Securities Depository to complete the process. "In connection with the ongoing Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), the Government of Ghana thanks all bondholders who have so far tendered their bonds. However, it has come to the attention of Government that some bondholders faced technical glitches as they tried to complete the online tender process." Below is a copy of the release: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin commended the outgoing Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu and his team when the House resumed proceedings on Tuesday, February 7. While welcoming lawmakers back to the House, Mr. Bagbin wished the outgoing minority leadership well in their endeavours. "The former members of the [Minority] leadership led by Haruna Iddrisu must be applauded because their record of performance is visible for all to see, and I hope the new leadership will learn from their fountain of wisdom, trove of wealth and experience.” "What I can say to the former leadership is, the Lord is your shepherd, you shall not want and when one door closes, another one opens and I tell you for sure that the opened doors are better and higher than the closed doors. Look at the open doors and not the closed doors and with this, I welcome all of you once more”. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) changed its leadership in Parliament on January 24, 2023.Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson replaced Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle also replaced Ketu North MP, James Klutse Avedzi as the Deputy Minority Leader while Kwame Agbodza took over from Asawase MP Muntaka Mubarak as the Minority Chief Whip. Ahmed Ibrahim and Comfort Doyoe-Ghansah were the only two members of the Haruna-led administration that maintained their positions as First and Second Deputy Whips respectively. Credit: Citinewsroom

SM Boss, Charles Nii Armah Mensah known in showbiz as Shattawale has added his voice to calls for prayers for Ghana International, Christian Atsu. In a Facebook post, Shattawale posted "Our prayers and thoughts are still with you Christian Atsu, may you be safe 🙏" It will be recalled that an earthquake with magnitude 7.8 hits parts of Turkey and Syria. Christian Atsu was said to have been trapped under the rubble. After 26 hours of search, the rescue team have managed to save the life of Christian Atsu and team director. Below is a screenshot: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Geological Survey Authority (GSA) is warning the general public that there are indicators of a possible earthquake in Ghana. According to GSA, it however cannot tell when the earthquake will occur. It added that Ghana is prone to earthquakes adding that residents living in Weija, Aburi, Volta among others should be on the lookout. Thinknewsonline.com will update its readers on new developments. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The twin sister of former Black Stars and Hatayspor winger, Christian Atsu, has confirmed the player’s safety. Christiana Atsupie Twasam says her twin brother is “safe and sound. "Atsu together with his club director, Taner Savut, were trapped under debris for 26 hours when an earthquake hit Turkey Monday morning" Earlier, conflicting news about the player’s safety went rife but in an exclusive interview with crimecheckghana.org, London-based Astupie Twasam stressed her brother was safe. “I received a call from his agent around 6 am this morning that he has been found and taken to the hospital. We thank God though but I want to hear his voice before I calm down," she said. The 31-year-old said the family was preparing to fly to the Western Asian country to ascertain the condition of the player. "I am preparing to leave for Turkey. I want to see the extent of the injury he has sustained“ adding that “ these past few hours have not been easy, it has been tears and prayers to God," she added. Christian Atsu was in action for Hatayspor over the weekend in their victory over Kasimpasa in the Turkish top flight with the Ghanaian scoring the only goal. She continued that, “I saw him scoring in Sunday’s match, so I had planned to congratulate him when I get home but I slept off.“ “Something strange happened when I woke up to use the washroom and I felt heavy in my spirit, so I said in my head that Atsu will not die. A few hours after this, his agent called to tell me about the earthquake,“ she added. Allaying fears concerning the player’s wife and children, Atsupe said “the children are here in London, I have spoken to them in a video this morning. They are fine.” "We are grateful to Ghanaians for their prayers and words of encouragement,“ she added. On Monday February, 6, 2023 earthquake claimed over 4,300 lives while 15,000 others sustained various degrees of injuries. In September 2022, the 31-year-old Black Stars winger penned a one-year deal to join the Turkish side following a spell in Saudi Arabia. Background A powerful earthquake struck South-eastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, killing more than 4,300 people as they slept and trapping many others in the early hours of Monday. The US Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude tremor struck at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep. Hours later, a second quake, which had a magnitude of 7.5, hit the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province. In September 2022, the 31-year-old Black Stars winger penned a one-year deal to join the Turkish side following a spell in Saudi Arabia. Watch their interview here: Source: crimecheckghana.org

After months of calls from the general public, President Akufo-Addo has made changes to his government. This comes a month after former Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen and Agric Minister Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto resigned to focus on their respective political campaigns. As required by the 1992 Constitution, the President wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, informing him of the new changes in government on Tuesday, February 7. New persons have been appointed while other ministers have been reshuffled to other ministries. Below is the full list: Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, K.T Hammond has been appointed Minister-designate for Trade and Industry. 2. Member of Parliament for Abetifi, Brian Acheampong has been appointed Minister-designate for Food and Agriculture. 3. Member of Parliament for Karaga, Mohammed Amin Adam, who was stationed at the Energy Ministry as deputy Minister has been given a new post. He has been appointed Minister of State at the Finance Ministry. He is set to replace Charles Adu Boahen. 4. Stephen Asamoah Boateng has been appointed Minister-designate for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs. 5. Hebert Krapah, who was Deputy Minister at the Trade Ministry has been moved to the Energy Ministry as Deputy Minister-designate. He replaces Mohammed Amin Adam. 6. Meanwhile, Dr Stephen Amoah is now Deputy Minister-designate for Trade and Industry to replace Herbert Krapah. 7. Member of Parliament for Akuapem South, Osei Bonsu Amoah, has been appointed Minister of State at the Local Government and Rural Development Ministry. Credit: Myjoyonline.com