Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia has asked Muslim communities in the Oti Region to use the Ramadan fasting month to pray for him and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to succeed in bringing total development into the country.
Dr. Bawumia said Ghana needed divine intervention to achieve the needed development and the only way was for its citizens to go to God through prayers.
He was speaking when he joined hundreds of Muslims in the Oti Regional capital, Dambai on Friday for prayers as part of his nationwide Ramadan tour.
The Vice President also joined and prayed with Muslim faithful at Kwamekrom in Biakoye and Kadjebi in Akan District asking for the blessings of God throughout the Ramadan season.
Minister for Zongo and Inner City Development, Ahmed Mustafa assured that government was putting measures in place to see the development of zongo communities in the country.
Assemblyman for Kwamekrom, Amidu Ibrahim appealed to the Vice President and the Minister for Zongo and Inner City Development to consider renovating the Kwamekrom Central Mosque and introducing English and Arabic to attract more students.
Some residents who spoke to Voltaonlinegh appreciated the visit of Dr. Bawumia and prayed that their requests should be granted.
Member of Parliament for South Dayi in the Volta Region, Rockson-Nelson Etse Dafeamekpor has registered his displeasure at the security’s handling of members of secessionist group, Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) describing it as a storm in a teacup.
A joint police-military operation on Wednesday led to the arrest of 81 people including two women suspected to be members of HSGF in and around Ho, the Volta Regional capital for unlawful social/public gathering but were later granted bail.
The arrest of the 81 individuals followed an earlier arrest on Sunday of the leader of the group, an over 80-year old Charles Kormi Kudzordzi, popularly known as Papavi Hogbedetor and 7 other front liners for their alleged attempt to secede some regions from Ghana and declare them on Thursday, May 9, 2019 as an independent country called Western Togoland.
The eight were airlifted to Accra and without access to a lawyer, arraigned before a high court on charges of conspiracy to commit treason felony, abetment of unlawful training, unlawful assembly and offensive conduct conducive to breach of peace with the leader being the only person who was granted bail.
But Hon. Dafeamekpor said the criminal prosecution of the secessionists was uncalled for and described the processing of the eight for court without access to a lawyer considering the charges leveled against them as a departure from laid down procedure anchored in law.
He admitted that it was “possible” for the group to do what it was alleged but it was not “probable” to do so because per the history, the “territory previously known as Western Togoland, presently is made up of 5 regions: the Upper East Region, the North East Region, Northern Region, the Oti Region and the Volta Region.”
“So how can any serious security agency come to the conclusion that the mere intention of a group based in Ho, not based in Oti, not based in Northern Region, not based in North East, not based in Upper East Region will successfully declare a self-determined territory their own,” he wondered.
The Lawmaker made this known on Friday when he granted an interview on Ho-based West FM’s morning show, West Breakfast Drive regarding the arrests in the region in relation to activities of the group.
He rather proposed that government had a dialogue with the agitators saying, “persecution has never succeeded in quelling the agitations of a people determined to attain self rule.”
The private legal practitioner also hinted of plans by the Volta caucus in Parliament to meet over these agitations and see the way forward because tact was needed in dealing with such agitations so as not to offend the sensibility of the people.
Earlier, Mr. Dafeamekpor in a press release titled, “Rambo-Style Arrest of Octogenarians Worrying; The State must Act to Restore their Rights as Citizen” following the first arrest in the week, condemned the manner in which the men were picked up saying, it was “a raw exercise of executive power” which “ought not be abused in the manner it was applied.”
Executive Director for African Centre for Parliamentary Journalism and Research (ACPJR), Harrison Belley has observed that most Members of Parliaments (MPs) had failed to properly represent their constituents in Parliament.
Mr. Belley said ideally, MPs should visit th eir constituencies to engage members on the agenda of Parliament and seek their opinion to ensure their views were represented in discussions in the House but “when they are in their comfort zone, they don’t care about it.”
According to the EP University College (EPUC) Lecturer, an MP’s “decision in Parliament is supposed to be informed by his/her engagement with the community.”
He cited for instance, the Right to Information Law that before that Bill was passed, the MPs were supposed to have visited the constituencies they represented for their (the people) consent and inputs into the discussion.
Mr. Belley said though some might attribute their failure to meet with their constituents to various reasons contrary to the standing orders of Parliament, refusal to honour telephone interviews on radio stations and granting interviews to the media in the constituencies and regions should not be tolerated because the media served as another platform for engagement with constituents.
To him, on Mondays that Parliamentary sitting does not hold, MPs could engage the media in their constituencies and brief constituents on what transpired in parliament in recognition of their (MPs) roles as representatives of their people.
The Executive Director made this known on Thursday while addressing concerns from the media that some MPs in the Volta Region turned down offers to speak to them on issues of interest to the citizens during the launch of a report by the non-profit organisation at EPUC main campus, Ho.
The report titled, “Monitoring Media Coverage of Parliament in the Volta and Oti Regions” established that majority of the respondents had “limited understanding of parliamentary practice and procedures in Ghana.”
The study also revealed that “all the programme (morning show) hosts have never had capacity building in parliamentary reporting in the last three years” with majority not reviewing “the hansard of Parliament and have not set eyes on the agenda of Parliament, order and vote and proceedings.”
The research which considered discussions of Parliament of Ghana from January-April 2019, employed qualitative data from analysis of issues and discussions on morning show programmes, purposively sampling 20 radio stations, 20 programme hosts/journalists, 20 media panelists, 15 editors and 10 media owners from both regions.
According to Mr. Belley, the study by Africa’s premier provider of parliamentary journalism and research training was to assess the nature of media coverage of Parliament and whether it contributed to a better understanding of its functions and processes to ensure “accurate, fair, impartial and balanced coverage” of its activities.
Some 81 individuals including two women arrested on Wednesday in and around Ho, the Volta Regional capital for unlawful social/public gathering to demonstrate against an earlier arrest of leaders of secessionist group, Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) have been granted bail.
The Regional Police Command in collaboration with the 66 Artillery Regiment on Wednesday arrested 17 people in the house of leader of the group, Charles Kormi Kudzordi (who lives near the Barracks in Ho), 54 aboard a bus entering Ho and 10 others at other entry points to the Ho municipality.
Seventy-one of them were earlier granted police enquiry bail while the remaining 10 were on Thursday, granted a bail of GH¢500 each with a public servant as surety by a Ho circuit court.
Lawyer for HSGF, Emile Atsu Agbakpe prayed the court presided over by His Worship Ebenezer Kwaku Ansah to grant the 10 bail while the court looked into merits of the case, arguing that an intention to demonstrate in itself could not be deemed to be an offence.
The accused persons were asked to reappear in court on May 21, 2019.
Meanwhile, the Lawyer in a separate habeas corpus application seeking the Ho High Court 2 to allow for the eight persons arrested on Sunday to be produced before the court, failed to convince the court.
In dismissing the application, Justice Baah said the case was already being tried by a competent court in Accra with the whereabouts of the accused persons known and so the claims of their whereabouts being unknown could not hold.
Earlier Arrest
Eight persons were on Sunday arrested in Ho and airlifted to Accra in a joint operation by the police and the military for their alleged attempt to secede the Volta Region from Ghana and declare it on Thursday, May 9, as an independent country called Western Togoland.
They included over 80-year old leader of the group, Charles Kormi Kudzordzi, popularly known as Papavi Hogbedetor, Bisa Akorli, 54, Kofi Dzreke, 39, Thompson Tsigbe, 58, Benjamin Agbadzada, 48, Agbenyega Akudzi, 54, Freemen Blikaku, 36, and Nkpe Tsryiri Kudzo aged 61.
They were (without access to a lawyer) arraigned before a high court on Wednesday in Accra on charges of conspiracy to commit treason felony, abetment of unlawful training, unlawful assembly and offensive conduct conducive to breach of peace.
All of them were denied bail except the octogenarian who was admitted to a bail in the sum of GHS250,000 and they would reappear on May 22, 2019.
Background
This was the second time the leadership of the Homeland Study Group Foundation had been arrested for attempting to declare the Volta Region an independent state.
The group made waves in 2017 when police arrested some of its leaders on March 7, in Ho for agitating for the restoration of Western Togoland as a state and a declaration of independence on March 9.
Although the leading figures of the Foundation were ordered by a high court in Ho to sign a bond of good behaviour and desist from their secessionist activities in July 2017, they convened another breakaway conference.
According to the group, the Gold Coast voted to be a unitary state on July 12, 1956 while the Western Togoland voted to be in union with Ghana on July 9, 1956 and that the union had not been established till now.
The Homeland Study Group Foundation was formed by secessionists to unite all the supporters of Togoland. The group has since been campaigning for the Volta/Oti Region and parts of Northern, North East and Upper East regions from Ghana to join the new state.
Member of Parliament for Krachi West in the Oti Region, Helen Adjoa Ntoso has donated bags of cement and 40 bundles of roofing sheets as relief package for victims of two farming communities, Twereso and Wurotor in a recent rainstorm in the area.
The rainstorm which occurred last week Tuesday in the two communities claimed one life and destroyed the roofing of many houses leaving over 200 people displaced.
Speaking in an interview with Voltaonlinegh, Hon. Ntoso bemoaned the continuous destruction of the environment through illegal chainsaw operations and reckless bush burning.
The result, according to the former Volta Regional Minister, had been that there were not enough trees to serve as windbreak to reduce the impact of strong winds that often accompanied rains in the area.
She therefore, advised the people to help check and brace their building strongly in order to avoid such occurrences in the future.
A father, Tetteh Odue, who lost his 2-year old son to the rainstorm together with some affected victims who received the relief items, expressed their profound gratitude to the Lawmaker for her support and called on other individuals and groups to also come to their aid.
Earlier in the 1970s was the dawn of computer and information technology and contingent on that was the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in basic and complex communication tools. These became the foundation of socially inclined techs we have in vogue now in the 21st century nuances of social life and business marketing.
Recently, I read in BBC news portal about how nations such as South Korea and the UK are attempting and contracting communication giants such as Huawei to exploit the advantages of a 5th Generation mobile communication network, that’s not far-fetched because tech cannot be static.
Also, recent discussions in the labour and work world have been revolving around the impacts, be it negative or positive, of artificial intelligence (AI) and machines on work. Most people fear that AI and machines threaten their economic rights and freedoms.
Some countries have tested AI in place of lawyers and they seemed to work above par, some have also tried AI in issuing judgments on cases in court, so much for technology in our days. More will follow I believe.
The fear of economically active humans albeit legitimate, has been allayed or sought to be allayed by the World Bank and other socio-economic forums through research that AI and machines can only improve work and productivity in the long run.
Transport, defense, communication, health, medicine, infrastructure and other sectors have seen improvement by admixing with technology and its advancements but while the focus of the world is on luxury and comfort (making life easier), I believe strongly, and rightly so, because research corroborates the fact that climate change and its attendant impacts of global warming (flooding, fires, droughts, famines, etc) has seen a predictable upsurge.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts a global mean surface temperature increase of about 2°C by 2030.
Wildfires and the unrestrained logging of forest covers are also threatening the ecological footprint of the next generation. These show to anyone that while the world is making advancements in technology, it is lagging in leveraging this same tech in mitigating issues of climate change.
Consider plastic waste generation for instance. Of the 8.3billion tonnes of plastics that have been produced since its inception in the 1970s, about 6.3billion tonnes are still in the environment in various forms. (BBC, 2019)
If this trend continues, about 12billion tonnes of virgin plastic waste will be in the environment by 2050. Technology has not been useful enough in managing the environment and hence managing the attendant changes in the environment.
What therefore is the next big use of technology? It is difficult to acknowledge because its immediate derivatives are not seen, and it is not a provider of comfort and ease. It is difficult to accept that the next big use of technology will not be in communication, or defense, or health or transportation. These albeit very necessary, their absence will not threaten the survival of the next generation.
This is not to discount the breakthrough of tech in medicine, health and life expectancy, not at all, but the issue of climate change is that of the survival of not only the inhabitants of the earth but also the guarantee of the existence of the earth itself in forms sustainable enough of the next generation.
Technology that is focused therefore on climate change impact mitigation (CCIM) will be the next big thing, and I believe the next generation leaders of change will be the ones who instinctively cash in on such techs and by so doing, attempt to discover and produce technology that will help to among others
Manage waste more effectively and sustainably
Strengthen and manage green energy production
Be the backbone of circular economies
Educate on climate change impacts
Track the use, reuse and disuse of plastics and help to enforce governmental policies in waste management
With these in mind among other opportunities that tech is laden with, young people must be empowered by governments and venture capitalists in the evolution and development of digital and hardware technology that will help sustain the ecological footprint of Earth while creating wealth for themselves.
The next generation of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, JD Rockefeller, Mark Zuckerberg etc will make their wealth by paying attention to leveraging technology in climate change impacts mitigation if they will be able to answer the pressing questions of “how do we make the climate safer for my grandchildren while equally making wealth enough to take care of their future needs?”
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana and the Evangelical Presbyterian University College (EPUC) have led discussions to restructure the Ho-Kpodzi Old Mission House of the North German (Bremen) Mission into a Cultural, Training and Conference Centre.
The impressive structure built with unique techniques of woodwork and clay construction, having well-arranged rooms, and ventilation, goes beyond denominational limits to represent a historical and cultural identity of the Ewe people.
A colloquium organised on Tuesday at Kekeli Hotel, Ho, brought together stakeholders including Deputy Volta Region Minister, Johnson Avuletey, President of the University, Dr. Kenneth Nyalemegbe, chiefs, the clergy, officials from Ghana Tourism Authority, Museums and Monuments Board, NGOs, reps from HTU and UG.
It was to deliberate on the renovation of the over 100-year old architecture, its benefit to the Christian community, the Volta Region, Ghana and the entire world among others.
Participants at the colloquium in a pose
Lecturer at the University of Lome, Togo, Prof. Kokou Azamede prayed that the renovation and retooling of the building would reconcile the European Christian culture with the African traditional culture.
Prof. Azamede who alluded to a presentation he gave on the topic, “Ewe People between Christianity and Traditions in North German Mission Stations: 1847-1939” said, the early missionaries committed a blunder by forcing the early converts to assume entirely different identities to be considered Christians.
His presentation which chronicled the early history of the EP Church settling on two ordained officers who had to suffer in one way or the other because their cultural practices were in conflict with their newly found faith.
Hermann Yoyo was excluded from the church because of his conviction that polygamy was not a sin but a cultural fact while Pastor Theodor Martin Sedode Bebli (born in Agbozume) stood against his traditional culture and died from chickenpox few weeks after making some proclamation in defense of his stance.
Dr. Gunther Rusch of University of Cottbus, Germany who made a presentation on “The Ho Mission House and its Socio-Cultural context, Special Attention to Architecture”, underscored the need to renovate the place saying, it held many offers for the people of the region.
Dr. Rusch believed the historic structure should be preserved to “contribute to the improvement of cultural offers in Ho and in the entire Volta Region” adding that, it would “demonstrate the responsibility of the church for social development through a museum, archives, and an exhibition room.
Afetornyonufia of Ho Bankoe, Mama Agblatsu III who chaired the occasion, urged Christian bodies to respect traditional cultures of the people such as preserving the environment.
Mama Agblatsu observed that Christianity brought along with it, a great loss where people “in the name of Jesus destroyed the environment.”
According to her, in the past, traditional cultures forbade people from indiscriminate felling of trees by designating some of the vegetation as “tror-ve”(sacred forest).
The structure when completed in 2022 at about Gh¢500,000, will be stocked with literature on the first Christian group in Eweland (the EP Church), and other Ewe literature and artworks currently in museums in Germany, thus, making it a religious tourism destination.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (founded in 1847), and the Eglise Evangelique Presbyterienne du Togo are the products of the Bremen Mission.
Kpando Heart of Lions were too strong for Amidaus Professionals as they defeated the Tema-based side 4-0 at the Tema Sports Stadium in the Normalisation Committee Tier Two League.
Samuel Agbenyegah opened the scoring for Lions in the 7th minutes after a superb assistance from striker Gordon Akaminko to send the game into recess with the visitor’s noses in front.
Lions continued from where they left it off in the second half with a sensational display and were awarded a penalty in the 52nd minutes after Samuel Agbenyegah was brought down in the penalty box. The kick was perfectly executed by Sule Musa to cushion the lead.
Sule Musa scored his second goal of the day in the 75th minutes to make it 3 for Lions after receiving a pass from Samuel Agbenyegah.
Defender Dickson Sakabutu slot in the fourth goal in the 87th minutes to put the game beyond Amidaus.
The result puts Lions at the summit of Zone Three A table with 21 points after 9 matches.
Lions play regional rivals Agbozume Weavers on Wednesday.
Volta Regime Music Group (VRMG) Boss, Edem will be returning from his trip to Togo dubbed Media and Club Tour on Sunday, May 5.
The tour took him to the studios of major radio and TV stations in the capital, Lome and other parts of the country including Metropolys, Victoire Fm, Taxi Fm, Zephyr, TV2, TVT and TV7.
He was at nightclubs such as Miami 228 on April 30 and Air Force VIP Bar on May 3 where he thrilled patrons there with wonderful performances, dishing out hits to which they sang.
The one-week tour of Ghana’s neighbouring country according to Edem, was to further push his brand (which is already a household name there).
The award-winning rapper, born Denning Edem Hotor, famous as the modern day champion of Ewe music at both national and international stages, pulled along with him on his tour, Volta Region’s Artiste of the Year at the 2019 helloadipa Volta Music Awards, Keeny Ice (born Barnabas Amu).
Traffic build up caused by Edem and Keeny Ice’s visit
The famed “hot jams” dropper in an interview with Voltaonlinegh on his trip, said he had received several requests to visit the mainly Ewe-speaking country, saying it would offer him the opportunity to “push his brand, new songs and also establish new connections.”
Out of the passion to promote his region and Ewe music, the Koene hitmaker decided to go with Volta’s reigning Artiste of the Year to Togo on the conviction that “he is doing well and deserves the link up.”
A massive crowd gathered at the Togo side of the border to give a rousing welcome to the Ghanaian acts into their country and to show their love and support to their music.
Click on the link below to watch video of Edem and Keeny Ice live in Togo as posted by Ghanaian Publicist, Tourist and Brand expert, Jonilar on his Instagram page.
Dzodze-born Edem who uniquely made Ghana fall in love with him through the use of Ewe language, rhythmic quality and depth of lyrics of songs on his debut album, Volta Regime released in 2019, has many hit songs to his credit including Nyornuviade, Kpordawoe, Toto, and his newest hits, Pull Him Down (PHD) and the controversial banger, Politics while the Aflao-born Keeny Ice has his award-winning song, Ebe God featuring Victor AD, Gankivi, Barcode among others.
The Press in the Volta Region has joined thousands of media practitioners across the world to commemorate the 2019 Press Freedom Day in the capital, Ho
The celebration on Friday which started with a route march from the forecourt of regional office of the Ghana News Agency through the principal streets of Ho with journalists from Volta/Oti holding placards with inscriptions regarding freedom for the press, had the regional minister, Dr. Archibald Letsa and his deputy, Rev. Johnson Avuletey, MCE for Ho, Mr. Nelson Akorli, heads of departments, and security agencies in attendance.
People on the route march
A symposium was later held under the theme, “Security-Media Relation and Election 2020” at the Volta Press Centre.
In a welcome address, Chairman of Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Volta Region chapter, A.B. Kafui Kanyi noted that the media in the region was celebrating the Day to look at the relationship between the media and the security in the region and the election 2020 and to evaluate the freedom of the press in the region, taking stock of their performances in the past year.
He commended stakeholders for their role which made the region record just few cases of attack on journalists in the region, urging that all hands be put on deck to avoid such attacks in the future.
He also commended individuals and partners who supported in diverse ways towards the construction of the only regional press centre in the country, Volta Press Centre.
Speaking at the symposium, a seasoned journalist, Sepenyo Dzokoto said the media served as a medium through which the political parties communicated their messages to the public and that practitioners “go through a lot in the course disseminating information to the public.”
The gathering at Volta Press Centre
Mr. Dzokoto said, journalists only “report messages from political parties to the public in such a way that they do not libel or slander anybody” and that they “go by the media laws in the course of performing their duty and sometimes political parties step on toes in their discussions in the media but we are here as the media to caution them.”
The second Lt. of the military at the 66 Artillery Regiment, Lt. Jones Amoaku in his submission, cautioned journalists to be professional in performing their duties saying, the media sometimes reported information to the public which should have been left in the hands of the security to handle to a certain level before it got to the public domain, thus, making the work of the security difficult.
On elections, Lt. Amoaku said there were rules which restricted the media from going beyond some areas to take coverage and had security personnel stationed at such areas to ensure that the media did not go beyond the demarcations but some journalists failed to observe these restrictions in the name of “I’m doing my work” hence, the misunderstanding between the security and the media.
He admitted that it was not possible for the security to protect a journalist who was trying to take coverage even when gunshots were being heard with fire arms flying in the air.
He therefore advised that “looking forward to election 2020, let’s all be in our lane in order to make the work easy for all of us because your life is as important as mine.”
Some placards suggesting the need for collaboration
Volta Regional Police Commander, DCOP Oduro Kwarteng cautioned journalists to be circumspect in reporting on election, crime and other cases in order not to incite the public against the police adding, the public interest must be taken seriously in reporting any story to the public.
He assured journalists that the security agencies and the media “are friends” and would continue to be friends and that the security of the media in the region was guaranteed.
Representatives of the two main political parties, National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) commended the media in the Volta Region for the level of professionalism they always exhibited during elections particularly in the 2016 general elections and in the Oti Region referendum.
They charged the journalists to be cautious in their reportage in the upcoming elections so as not to provoke the public to cause mayhem in the region and the country as a whole while calling on the security agencies to protect the media in the cause of performing their duties without any intimidation.
