The Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, has dragged US-based Ghanaian journalist, Kevin Taylor, and his media company, Loud Silence to court over alleged defamatory comments made against him. Ken Agyapong is seeking USD $9.5 million dollars in damages awarded against Mr. Taylor. A fifteen-paged court document filed at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said the MP’s suit was influenced by a series of “false and defamatory statements in a series of videos and an email correspondence published by Defendants (Kevin Taylor and Loud Silence Media) via Facebook, YouTube, and other social media platforms about Plaintiff” It said the defendant, Kevin Taylor, and his organization had on several occasions referred to the plaintiff as a “murderer, drug dealer, and drug addict, thief, and green card fraudster” “The factual background given in support of the action states among others that the defendants till date continue to repeat these false and defamatory statements about Plaintiff on their social media platforms, while other news outlets or platforms have also shared or republished the Defendants’ false statements. “These false and defamatory statements have caused severe harm to Plaintiff’s personal, business, and political reputation. Plaintiff has also suffered severe embarrassment and personal humiliation due to Defendants’ defamatory statements” portions of the suit said. Mr. Agyapong’s suit further contends that “Defendants’ factual assertions to the contrary are false, offensive and damages the reputation of Plaintiff as an MP.” The legislator is thus seeking seven (7) reliefs from the Virginia court, including an injunction prohibiting Kevin Taylor and his organization from posting on any media outlet any further defamatory remarks and an apology from the latter. Kevin Taylor is widely known for criticizing persons in positions of power. While some love him for what he does, others are of the view that his excesses outweigh the positives. Credit: Citinewsroom

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta will tomorrow November 17 present the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy on the floor of Parliament. The Minister is expected to be in Parliament at 9 am as the presentation is expected to start at 10 am. The yet-to-be read 2022 budget has already generated lots of mixed reactions as many organizations and Ghanaians are hoping there will be reducing of taxes imposed on things in the country. With the increase in the price of fuel in the country, most driver unions are expecting a reduction rather than an increase. It is emerging that the 2022 budget statement and Economic Policy will be aired live on most media channels and online portals. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu, has failed to show up in court for the second time. Police Prosecutor, ASP Sylvester Asare, told the Kaneshie District Court 1 that the Court had served a hearing notice on Parliament and wondered whether the same had been responded to. But a 10th November 2021 letter, signed by a Deputy Clerk of Parliament, Eric Owusu Mensah, and addressed to the Registrar of the Court noted in response to the hearing notice that Mr. Sosu was still on Parliamentary duty, and out of the jurisdiction. According to the letter as read by the Court Clerk, Francis-Xavier Sosu is “attending at the proceedings of the 3rd Meeting of the 1st Session of the 8th Parliament which commenced on Tuesday 26th November 2021, and is also currently representing Parliament and the country in a conference in the United States of America”. The letter says understated constraints of the Constitution, Speaker Bagbin is “unable to bring the service to the attention of the Member of Parliament as requested.” The case has subsequently been adjourned to November 26, 2021. The MP has been out of the country on Parliamentary duty and could not appear in Court last week, following a number of failed attempts by the police to arrest him. His attempted arrests had sparked political controversy relating to his immunities as a Member of Parliament. Story by: Citinewsroom

Information reaching this portal indicates that the first-ever District Chief Executive for the newly created Guan District in the Oti Region, Marlon Anipa is reported dead after 11 days in office. The former Hohoe NPP Parliamentary candidate reportedly died on Tuesday morning at Hohoe. The deceased who was the first DCE to be nominated by the President to the newly created District was unanimously approved for the Guan District by all the 19 Assembly members barely two weeks ago. Mr Anipa was a Specialist Consultant and a member of the ruling New Patriotic Party in the United Kingdom before relocating. In 2016, he contested the Hohoe parliamentary seat on the ticket of the party but failed in his bid. Source: DGN online

Everyone who uses a phone in Ghana should make it a normal practice to always check if they have been signed on to any unsolicited paid value-added services. In fact, we recommend that these checks be done daily. For each network, there is a shortcode one can use to check. Dial the short code, Send and then follow the prompts: MTN – *175# Vodafone – *463# AirtelTigo – *100# It didn’t have to be so, because the law says the only one that can initiate a sign-on to any value-added service or unsolicited electronic communication is the customer himself. But it would appear that some staff of the telcos has made it a practice to sign unsuspecting customers onto paid value-added services secretly and use it to siphon money/airtime to meet their sales and revenue targets and or create a booty to share with their cohorts in their party content provider organizations. Value Depleting Schemes (VDS) Sometimes, I wonder why they describe those well-crafted schemes to steal from us as value-added services (VAS). For the most part, they add no value to anyone’s life. They are rather used by the telcos to devalue our lives by stealing out airtime and leaving us with nothing. By no stretch of the imagination should that be described as value-added service? They are more of value-depleting schemes (VDA). Let me state here that it is not our opinion that the telcos, as institutions, have deliberately set up systems to siphon our airtime secretly. It is rather some telco staff and their cohorts in the third-party content provider organizations, who have turned themselves into airtime looting brigade, deliberating stealing from us for two possible main reasons: To meet sales and revenue targets set for them by their employers To make more money for the content providers and get some kickbacks from them. For one, that is broad daylight robbery, which is criminal. Secondly, it violates the National Communications Authority’s code of conduct for unsolicited electronic communication. The reason one cannot divorce the telcos, as institutions from these crimes is that Section 31 (1,2, and 3) of the Code of Conduct places all such violations squarely at their doorsteps. It used to be the duty of content providers to onboard customers on to value-added services, but now that role has been passed on to the telcos, so they have the duty to keep the gate and ensure their staff is not shortchanging customers, because there are regulatory consequences for that. Now to the specific incidents. VDS on my TurboNet? I am telling this first story because when it happened, I told the MTN officials who contacted me that, I will let it slide but if it happens again, I will tell the story in full. It has happened again on a bigger scale, so here goes: Sometime early this year, I wrote a big article about how MTN started providing some paid-for Weather Report service on shortcode 544 to my TurboNet SIM without my consent. The TurboNet SIM is inside the TurboNet. I have NEVER put the SIM in my phone. So, I could not, under any circumstances, have subscribed to any paid-for SMS service on it. But I noticed I was being charged GHC1 per week for some Weather Report service. To cut a long story short, I did my investigations and the MTN staff spoke with pointed fingers at their content provider partner, Ignitia, and to the NCA for the problem. They claimed NCA authorized the shortcode for that service directly to Ignitia so it is only NCA and Ignitia who can answer. But when I reached out to Ignitia, they told me emphatically that they have no authorization to onboard and bill customers, so MTN does all that and only gives them instructions to activate. So how the MTN staff could conveniently blame Ignitia and NCA is mind-boggling. Because they pointed an accusing finger at NCA, I also went to NCA for answers, and NCA contacted MTN. Eventually, MTN called me and apologized, refunded my money, and assured me that they had corrected all the anomalies in their onboarding practices and refunded monies to all affected customers and it will not happen again. I thought that was great. But just days later I noticed that on my mainline itself, there were two other paid-for services – NEVARA (a games portal from India) and SELFIE STAR. MTN had no proper explanation for those ones, so I just deactivated without any refunds, thinking it will not happen again. But just this month I found that another sucker and stealing VAS simply called GAMES PORTAL hidden on my phone. It appears I am a target and they will not just let me be. My 78-year-old mum’s yam phone The reason I actually checked mine was that my 78-year-old sick mum, who is unable to even press keys on her yam phone, complained to me that the GHC20 airtime I bought for her was gone. I then bought another GHC20 and before we realized it, it was down to GHC4. Then another GHC20 to make GHC24, and that one also got to GHC14 in days. So, I decided to check if she has any hidden subscriptions, and truly there was an active service called VUCLIP GAMES on her phone taking a whopping GHC2 from her airtime every single day. How a sick woman who cannot even press keys on her phone went as far as activating a paid-for response I got from MTN, that my mother activated the service by herself. That is exactly what they tell you casually when you call to complain – that you activated the service by yourself as if they have video evidence to show you did it. But we know for a fact that in the past when content providers had the authority to onboard people, they were doing it from their end so that they could make more money to meet their overheads. The truth is that, when these value-added services are sold to us, the telcos take between 60 to 70% of the booty and the content providers get the rest. So, the way for the content providers to make more money is to secretly sign on more people and steal their money. So technically, it is as easy as drinking water for telcos and or CPs to sign us on from their end, which they always do – my TurboNet story being a case in point. Widespread airtime looting But MTN is not alone in this daylight robbery. We put out the shortcodes for checking VAS subscriptions on all telcos and the results are baffling. On MTN, the main services they use to steal from us are GAMES PORTAL, VUCLIP GAMES, HEALTH AND FITNESS, WEATHER REPORT, SELFIE STAR, and others. On Vodafone, we found PREMIUM TRIVIA, PERSONALITY TEST, MSCORER, MUSICAPP, GAMES24PRO, and BRAINWAVE GAME. Not much was found on AirtelTigo and Glo, for obvious reasons. Not much is happening on those two networks. In fact, with Glo, we got a response that all VAS services have been suspended until further notice. A lot of the people who gave us feedback in the form of phone screenshots on Facebook and WhatsApp expressed shock at how all those services got activated on their phones. There are a number of possibilities, one of which has been explained earlier – that some telco staff connives with content providers to sign us on secretly just to meet their sales targets or make bad money and share. Secondly, a customer may sign on to a specific service on a particular short code, but later on, the telcos and their CPs will create many other services on that same shortcode, and without the consent of the customer, they will just be sending those services to him or her and keep charging for it, even though the customer originally signed on to just one service on that shortcode. So, for instance, you signed on to a PRAYER service on a shortcode. But as more people signed on to that same service, the telco and its CP partner realized the shortcode was popular so they placed about three more paid services on it and Eugene Boakye is automatically provided all the additional three services and charged for it, even though he only signed on to PRAYER. The other clandestine way they get people signed on without knowing is by deliberately hiding links to SMS-based paid services online. So, while you are on the internet and you think everything you are doing is web-based, you may click on a certain link and it automatically activates a paid SMS service on your behalf, without warning or seeking your express consent. Meanwhile, Section 6.1.3 of the NCA’s Code of Conduct says “The process of obtaining [subscriber’s] consent shall be clear and transparent to the subscriber.” If this is not deliberate stealing crafted and given a nice name like innovation, then I wonder what is. The truth is that when you report to NCA, the telco’s response will only be that you signed on to the service by yourself and you can always unsubscribe via the same shortcode by sending STOP. They will never accept that the signing on was done at their end. In the case of my TurboNet, for instance, when they realize they could not pass the buck on Ignitia and NCA, their initial excuse because a cock a bull story that someone who had access to my TurboNet wifi, may have signed on to the service, and instead of their system picking the person’s phone number, it rather picked by TurboNet number. This is clearly a story for the Indians. Because they get off the hook that easily, they will NEVER stop signing on people secretly. After all, before you realize and cancel the subscription, they would have made some money from you, anyway. And if you do not have the clout to push for a refund, you just lost money to a service provider who promised you nothing but reliability and integrity and yet committed daylight robbery on you. So, let’s all help ourselves. Let’s make it a practice to regularly check for any hidden value-added services and unsubscribe as and when we see them. Source: Techgh24

The former Minister of Transport, Dzifa Attivor, has passed on at age 65. Madam Attivor, who has been sick for some time died on Monday, November 15, 2021, at the University of Ghana Medical Centre. This was confirmed to Citi News by her aide and also corroborated by the Deputy Volta Regional Organizer of the NDC, Lord-Chester Ati in a Facebook post. Her family is expected to receive sympathizers at her Adentan residence in Accra from today, Tuesday, November 16, 2021. Born on 22nd February 1956, Dzifa Attivor is known as a politician and a businesswoman. She was Minister for Transport in Ghana until her resignation in December 2015 due to a controversial bus re-branding contract. She was appointed in February 2013 by President John Mahama after the Ghanaian general election in December 2012. Early life and education Dzifa Aku Attivor started her basic education at the Evangelical Presbyterian Primary School at Abutia-Teti between 1960 and 1970. Her secondary education was at the Kpedze Secondary School and the Peki Secondary School, both in the Volta Region of Ghana between 1970 and 1975. She then trained at the Government Secretarial School qualifying as a Stenographer Secretary in 1981. She later obtained a Secretarial Silver Diploma from Pitman College, UK. Her graduate qualifications are from the American Century University where she obtained a Bachelor of science degree in Administration in 2007 and a master’s degree in Human Resource Management in 2012. Career Attivor worked with the Bank of Ghana from 1976 to 2003 as a research clerk and then as a Personal Assistant to three successive Deputy Governors. She also became the Personal Assistant to the head of treasury in charge of all general office administrative work in the same bank. Attivor moved into private business. She also set up a Non-Governmental Organization named ‘Dedefund’, which is dedicated to the support of brilliant but needy children, the course of women and the youth. The NGO also cares for the 120 cured lepers at Schohaven Village located in Ho in the Volta Region. Politics Attivor is a member of the National Democratic Congress. She contested the Ho West constituency primaries of the NDC in 2008 but lost to Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah who subsequently won the elections in December 2008. She was however appointed Deputy Minister for Transport by President John Atta Mills from 2009 to January 2012. After John Dramani Mahama became President, she was appointed the substantive Minister for Transport. Regional Chairperson bid Attivor made her intentions known publicly and launched her campaign to become the Volta Regional Chairperson of the National Democratic Congress in August 2018. She campaigned on the ideas of changing the norm by selecting a female to head the region and the fact that the incumbent government had failed in delivering their promises, but she lost the elections and urged the members and other supporters to rally behind the winner and ensure a collective win for their party. She was defeated in the elections in September 2018 after garnering 374 votes against the winner John Kudzo Gyapong, the incumbent who had 491 votes. International work Attivor was appointed as the chairperson for the ECOWAS Medical Village (EMV) and Eco-medical taking over from Peter Ahiekpor who doubled as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson, but had been moved to only serve as the CEO whilst Attivor served as the chair for the medical project. EMV is a private sector initiative focused on putting up an internationally rated hospital complex for the use of residents within the West African sub-region to reduce the number of citizens who go out of West Africa to receive treatment in South Africa, North America, Europe, Cuba and India. Her role was to oversee the setting up of the EMV. The village is being put up on a 40 acre land in Accra, Ghana, with satellite hospital units in all other West African countries. The firm also supplies medical, mobility and accessibility equipment to countries within the sub-region. Personal life Attivor was married Raphael Napoleon Kwaku Attivor, who passed away in 2019. She has three children. She is a Christian and a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana. Credit: Citinewsroom

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said he has apologized to the leadership of the Anglican Church of Ghana for failing to consult them before passing criticism on their position on the anti-LGBTQ draft bill. Expressing concern over the new bill currently before the Parliament of Ghana, Rev. Welby in a statement shared on October 26, 2021, decried the support of the Anglican Church of Ghana for the bill saying “the majority of Anglicans within the global Anglican Communion are committed to upholding both the traditional teaching on marriage as laid out in the 1998 Lambeth Conference Resolution I:10 and the rights of every person, regardless of sexual orientation, before the law.” Following a virtual meeting with the Ghanaian Anglican Church leadership on the matter, the archbishop in a statement said he should have dialogued with his Ghanaian counterparts before his previous statement. “On 3rd November, I met online with the Anglican Archbishop of Ghana, the Most Revd. Cyril Kobina Ben-Smith, and several bishops and senior clergy from the Anglican Church of Ghana. We discussed their response to the draft Bill that is before the Ghanaian parliament, aimed at strengthening family life but including within its provision for the criminalisation of many LGBTQI+ people. “I welcomed this conversation, which should have happened before my previous statement. That is not mere diplomacy: Christ commands us to speak directly and prayerfully with our brothers and sisters. I apologised for failing to do so,” his latest statement dated November 12, 2021, said. While stating the collective position of the Anglican Church on matters of sexuality, the Archbishop noted that he wields no authority over the Church in Ghana. “We affirmed that the 1998 Lambeth Conference Resolution 1.10 represents the last and most widely accepted statement by the Anglican Communion on the question of human sexuality. “We agreed that all human beings are made in God’s image and are worthy of love, respect and dignity, and that the Church of Jesus Christ is called to demonstrate the love of God by protecting all vulnerable people and communities. “This was a conversation between equals: I have no authority over the Church of Ghana, nor would I want any. I say that partly because of Britain’s colonial history in Ghana, but also because of the very nature of the Anglican Communion. We are a global family of churches who are autonomous but interdependent: a holy, catholic, apostolic Church bound together by history, sacraments, liturgy, and the love of Jesus Christ for each and every person,” the statement said. The Archbishop stated that his meeting with the Ghanaian bishops concluded that despite human dignity being paramount, there is always the need to consider it in a cultural, social, and historical context. “One of the key conclusions of the meeting is that human dignity is always paramount, and that cultural, social and historical contexts must also be considered and understood. “I encourage continued good conversation with the Anglican Church of Ghana, with the same courteous but clear and robust conversation as I experienced, ahead of any future public statements,” the archbishop said. Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Ex-Manchester United striker Andrew Cole tells Sky Sports News the criticism of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is "not nice" and "doesn't sit well" after the Norwegian's future has been heavily speculated on since the home defeat to Manchester City The video you are trying to watch cannot be viewed from your current country or location Andrew Cole says the criticism and abuse Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer receives 'doesn't sit well' with him Andrew Cole has condemned the "flak" being thrown at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for Manchester United's travails and believes he should be given more time. The ex-United striker and team-mate of Solskjaer insists the Norwegian is doing all he can to restore the club to the top of the Premier League and that United cannot keep going through managers to solve the problem. Solskjaer's future is under intense speculation following successive defeats at Old Trafford to rivals Liverpool and Manchester City, which left them nine points behind league leaders Chelsea and in sixth place. But Cole, who scored 121 goals in 274 appearances for United, told Sky Sports News: "The flak that Ole gets disappoints me. "I don't think any manager should take that kind of flak; whether it's United or non-league. I think they are trying to work to the best of their ability. He's trying like everybody else who tried previously. "Whether he is my ex-team-mate or not, even if it was someone I didn't know, I wouldn't like people to talk about them like that. But I don't like it because when I played with him I got on very well with him. To see him in this position now doesn't sit well with me. "We all want Manchester United to be back where they were, but that takes time. We can talk about 'how much longer?' But the previous managers have found themselves in the same position. The stick that Ole takes is, at times, not nice. "Things are never going to be easy for a club like Manchester United. To succeed Sir Alex Ferguson was always going to be difficult for whichever manager takes over - and what are we now, four managers in? And we are still talking about United not being in the position they would like to be. The video you are trying to watch cannot be viewed from your current country or location Roy Keane gives a damning verdict on Manchester United's performance in the derby defeat at Old Trafford. "But other teams have got to move forward. Look how long it took Liverpool to win the league. I'm not saying United are going to be in that position, but you can't be kept by history. Manchester United have to get stronger as a team and go from there. "United are four managers in; all the managers that have gone before have done a good job as well. Unfortunately they have not been able to get them back to where they were." Sky Sports football expert Roy Keane is one of several other ex-United players who have strongly criticised the team's performances this season, but Cole understands his frustration and believes his cut-and-dry opinions on the game will always be relevant. "That's 'the skip' for you," he said. "He's very honest. He makes me laugh. I get on very well with him. But when you played with someone like that, you know what he's talking about and what he wants from you. It's that simple. With Roy he's black and white. Roy wants to win. "People are saying he's trying to be relevant? Roy Keane will always be relevant because of what he's done as a player. He talks from his heart, and doesn't want to see Man United in the place they are in. I think that's why he gets frustrated at times." Story by: Lyall Thomas

Candidates in this year's Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) at various examination centres across the country have expressed optimism about obtaining good grades. The BECE, which is usually written in the month of June each year, had to be delayed some four months due to the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus pandemic. The students who wrote their first two papers, Social Studies and French Monday, November 15, 2021 were excited as they described the exams as ‘’normal’’ class exercise. They expressed surprise that all questions given to them were simple as well as easy to understand and answer. According to them, based on speculations that BECE is tough, they went in nervous but relaxed after seeing the exams questions. In Ashanti Region, a total of 111, 432, made up of 55,829 males and 55, 603 females are writing this year’s BECE. According to this reporter at New Tafo M/A JSS, a total of 287 candidates from 10 public schools sat for the two papers at the centre. Mr. Maxwell Manu who is the Supervisor for that centre said everything have been set in order to enable the participating students go through without hitches. At Ashtown Roman Girls where there are to two centres ‘A and B’, our reporter Gloria Osei Akoto said there were four absentees as 566 candidates took part in the exams. Several other candidates who spoke to the news team also expressed similar feelings about their readiness to deliver excellent performances in the 2021 BECE. The Supervisor for centre ‘A’ Charles Kusi Amankwaa said the students were conducting themselves very well. Reporting from Kumasi Asanteman Senior High School, Rosemond Amponsah said 1,081 candidates from 19 public and private Junior High Schools took part, with nine candidates absent. Some of the candidates who also spoke to our reporter said, they were happy to be able to write the exams. The situation was not different at Kumasi Anglican SHS where our reporters visited as the candidates were busily writing their papers. Kumasi Metropolitan Director of GES, Mr David Oppong, said 10,679 candidates across 216 public and private schools within greater Kumasi made of 5,596 females and 5,083 are males told part in the exams. The Minister of Education, Yaw Osei Adutwum has asked students participating in the BECE to desist from all forms of examination malpractices. In a statement, Dr. Adutwum said his outfit is working with the Ghana Education Service ( GES ) and West African Examination Council ( WAEC ) to ensure a smooth and peaceful examination at all the centers. “On behalf of my Ministry, I wish to extend my best wishes to the 571, 894 candidates who will be writing this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination from Monday 15 November 2021 to Friday 19 November. “I wish to encourage candidates, invigilators, supervisors, school authorities, and teachers to observe all COVID-19 safety protocols as you write the exams devoid of all forms of examination malpractices,” the statement read. WAEC assurance The West Africa Education Council (WAEC), has assured that the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) will end successfuly without any leaks. A total number of 571, 894 candidates are sitting for the exam from today, Monday, November 15, 2021, to Friday, November 19, at 2,158 centres nationwide. Speaking ahead of the exams, the Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, said “the Council has done everything that needs to be done to ensure that the examination is done successfully to safeguard the integrity of the exam. "Even during the printing of the questions, Mrs. Teye Cudjoe said the WAEC invited the National Intelligence Bureau to oversee the process. “… So they were there to watch over the printing in addition to the Ghana Police and the Council’s security,” she said. “Having a successful exam is a collective responsibility. Now WAEC has compiled questions, printed, packed, and distributed, and we are handing them over to supervisors at the various centres,” she outlined. GES advice to candidates A statement signed by the Head of Public Relations of the Ghana Education Service, Mrs. Cassandra Twum Ampofo, urged the candidates to eschew all forms of examination malpractices during the period. “Candidates, invigilators, supervisors, school authorities, teachers, and parents are advised to desist from any form of examination malpractice.” “GES, WAEC, and the security services are working jointly to ensure the smooth conduct of the examinations at all the centres across the country,” she added. The statement further charged supervisors and invigilators to ensure strict adherence to COVOD-19 protocols. The statement also commended teachers, school heads, parents, and other stakeholders for preparing the candidates for the examination. It said details of the selection process for the Senior High School will be communicated in due course and wished all candidates success and good luck. Story by: John Antwi Boasiako

The President of Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) Dr. Joseph Obeng has observed that the 2022 budget statement should be tax free budget. Dr. Obeng says, the outbreak of covid-19 and introduction of other taxes have brought so much burden on the industry players. Speaking to Tvnewsgh.com, Dr. Obeng says Ghanaians are already going so much crisis especially the business communities. The Ministrer of Finace, Mr. Ken Ofori Atta is set to read the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Planning on Wednessday, 17, 2021 at the Parliament House. Watch the video below: Credit: Tvnewsgh.com

A total of 571,894 are expected to take part in this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination which begins today November 15, 2021 to Friday, November 19, 2021. It is expected to take place in 2,158 locations around the country. The Ghana Education Service (GES) has cautioned all Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) candidates to desist from any form of examination misconduct. In a statement signed by the Public Relations officer of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Cassandra Twum Ampofo said her outfit and the West African Examination Council (WAEC) as well as the security services are working together to ensure the smooth conduct of the examinations and also provide a safe environment for all. In order to avoid the transmission of the coronavirus, invigilators and supervisors have been instructed to guarantee that COVID-19 safety standards are strictly followed at all of the centers. The statement added “Candidates, invigilators, supervisors, school authorities, teachers and parents are advised to desist from any form of examination malpractice.” “Parents, applicants, and the general public are advised that the school selection procedure will begin following the BECE,” Story by: Selassie Agbagba

At least three persons died on the spot when a Mercedez Benz crashed into a broken down Tipper Truck at Ntensere, near Abuakwa in Kumasi , police have confirmed. Eight others who sustained injuries in Friday’s accident are currently receiving medical attention at the Mount Sinai Hospital. One person who is said to be in critical condition has been referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital for treatment. 2,300 deaths in road crashes recorded so far in 2021 Meanwhile about 2,380 lives have been lost to road crashes alone between January and October 2021, the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has said. Speaking at the launch of the ‘National Stay Alive’ campaign by the NSRA in Accra, the director general of the NRSA, May Obiri-Yeboah, urged all Ghanaians to collaborate with the authority to fight against the menace. “Just between January and October this year, over 2300 and 12,800 people have been killed and injured respectively on our roads. “The crashes we register everyday are not only reckoned in losses of lives, behind the staggering figures lies a family that has descended into abject poverty, a community burdened by dependents and a nation deprive of its valuable human resource,” Obiri-Yeboah said. The campaign is an initiative that seeks to educate the public on the need to adhere to road traffic regulations. Credit: News Desk Report