UEW: Reinstate Avoke as V-C – High Court
The Winneba high court presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh J. has ordered the reinstatement of Professor Mawutor Avoke as substantive Vice-Chancellor of the University of Education Winneba (UEW). Prof Avoke and some officers of the university are also to be paid all their salary arrears from the date they were unlawfully removed from their respective offices. Prof Avoke and the five principal officers were dismissed per a high court judgment in 2017, in a case brought before the court by one Supi Kofi Kwayera, who insisted that the Vice-Chancellor and the Finance Officer were operating under the institution’s defunct Governing Council. The university, through its lawyers, even before the substantive claims were looked into, applied to the court to dismiss the suit on the three counts. The court, however, dismissed their application. The high court, subsequently, found Professor Avoke and the school’s Finance Officer, Dr Theophilus Senyo Ackorlie, guilty of procurement and other financial irregularities. They were interdicted in July 2017 by the UEW Governing Council to allow for investigations after it emerged that some vital documents at some offices at the centre of an ongoing investigation, had gone missing. The Governing Council of the University appointed Rev. Fr. Professor Anthony Afful-Broni as the substantive Vice-Chancellor for a limited period of three years. –classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Bawku cut off in recent COVID-19 vaccination campaign due to conflict–RHD
It has been announced that conflict in Bawku and subsequent restrictions in the area, including the imposition of curfew and ban on motorbike riding, and also a land dispute between the people of Kandiga and Doba which equally led to curfew in the two communities would affect the vaccination exercise. This was made known by the Deputy Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in charge of Public Health Dr. Josephat Nyuzaghl, during a media engagement in Bolgatanga He said: “It has been difficult to get all our health workers to communities to reach out to as many people as possible. For this campaign that we would be embarking on, Bawku Municipal for instance will not be taking part,”. According to him, the Directorate would rely on advice from the security agencies and the various Municipal Health Directors on safe days in the areas for vaccines to be safely deployed, especially in the Bawku Municipality and its environs. Speaking on the number of doses in the Region, he said a total of 680,460 AstraZeneca, Johnson and Johnson, Moderna, and Pfizer vaccines were received. Out of the number, 429,757, representing 63.2 percent doses were used, noting that 250,703 doses, representing 36.8 percent of AstraZeneca, Johnson, and Johnson Pfizer vaccines were available for use in the five days exercise. “We do not have issues regarding vaccine availability in the Region. People must avail themselves to be vaccinated. With those who have received at least one dose so far, we have been able to vaccinate 301,660 out of the 830,693 Regional targets. “This gives us a proportion of 36 percent of our target population. For those fully vaccinated, we have been able to reach 141,562 persons, representing 17.0 percent of our target population,” He said “I am happy to say that all the vaccines that we received were utilized even before they expired. So, in terms of strategies, micro-planning is critical when it comes to any vaccination programme, and what we have done over the period is to specifically target some of the decentralized departments and agencies to ensure they are aware of the vaccination exercise.” The Deputy Director pointed Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Breaking News: E-Levy will be passed despite opposition— Prez Akufo-Addo
Ghana President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo has echoed his government’s resolve to pass the controversial Electronic Transaction Levy (E-levy). According to him, the government as part of its responsibility to reduce the load on Ghanaians during COVID-19 spends more and it has become important to put in place measures to close the loopholes created at a time. President Akufo-Addo made the pronouncement when addressing traditional leaders from Dzodze in the Volta region on Tuesday, 1st February 2022. “Revenues during 2020/2021 went down considerably because of the slowing down of the economic activities that came from the COVID-19. At the same time, government, in order to keep the country going, did incur some expenditures on the free water, the free electricity. These were the unavoidable expenses that government had to make,” “These are the efforts that we are now making which are being resisted by the opposition but we will try and close the gap. That is the reason it has become necessary for us to use these measures like this famous tax which has caused so much unnecessary disputation; nevertheless, we would continue.” According to President Akufo-Addo, he is determined to persevere to make sure that we find the means to address some of the issues.” The Minority in Parliament led by Haruna Iddrisu has rejected a reduction of the Electronic Transaction levy to 1.5 percent from 1.75 percent. Meanwhile, the latest reduction was tabled during consultations with the minority on Friday after Thursday’s meeting ended inconclusively. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Accept the suspension lets moved on — Ayinbisa to 11 suspended Excos
The former District Chief Executive (DCE) for the Bongo Constituency in the Upper East Region Peter Ayinbisa has admonished the 11 suspended party executives to accept the suspension because no one is above the party. Apexnewsgh report Meanwhile, the petition against former DCE Ayinbisa includes theft of party money, abuse of office as then District Chief Executive and building of a mansion with ill-gotten money at Pusi-Namoo. However, the former DCE during an interview with WORDFM a local radio in the region said: “I feel very humbled and very vindicated that a report had come at least vindicating me and giving grounds for me to understand and for the general public to know that the petition written against me by some 14 members of our party was not that I had perpetrated any act of misdeed as they want us to understand but the remains that all the 18 points they said I had done, they were unable to substantiate not even half, not even quarter or even one of those allegations because we were given a fair hearing. The regional Chairman constituted a committee to give all of us a hearing.” He said “We first met at Azongsolum Guest House with all the constituency executive present, with the party men present and with the council of elders chairman Mr. Robert Ajene present and with one Mr. Amoah chairman of Disciplinary committee member, Mr. Francis Atintono who is a member of the research and intelligent unit, Mr. Francis Asanpana former DCE of Bongo present”. He added: ”The meeting was adjoined and we came back the 10th day and we continued. Eventually, a report have been written and submitted and even caused that all the issues they wrote against me were not proven, they were not able to prove even one point they alleged I had perpetuated and it is clear at the report that the intention of the petitioners was not because I had done some wrong thing, but that they had their favorite because the appointment of the DCE was eminent. He said the group wanted to do whatever they can do to make sure he was not re-appointed and that is stated clearly in that report. “So, for me, I feel vindicated, is unfortunate that friends of mine have been suspended not from the party but as executive officeholders is unfortunate, I wished this had not happened but it has happened we need to live with it and go along maybe in the future all of us will learn from it. Nobody is above the party constitution, not even the regional chairman is above the party constitution”. He stressed According to him, a former National Chairman of the party Pual Afoko was suspended, Kwabena Agyepong was suspended, and just that those who are complaining now are not above them, they even went to court and the court referred them back to the party. So, for me I think we should let cool heads prevail, lets us accept it and moved on maybe in soon future to come, they could call them back. In the report, the regional chairman had asked them to do something even though I wasn’t happy about that recommendation, I thought it was the least for them to render an unqualified apology to me simple and very simple. However, engaging Mr. Emmanuel Akay one of the suspended victims, he said the suspension wasn’t in line with the party constitution. According to Mr. Akay, the party constitution Article 4F of the party constitution says: A Member may be suspended from membership of the Party, or holding any office in the Party, pending an inquiry into his or her conduct by a Disciplinary Committee. 2. Any decision to suspend a Member shall not be taken unless the nature of the complaint has been communicated to the Member in writing, and disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against such member. However, to him, the suspension is illegal and cannot be taken serious. Elders, patrons and senior members of the New Patriotic Party in the Bongo Constituency have nullified the suspension of a group that petitioned against the re-appointment of Hon. Peter Ayinbisa Ayamga. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
University students march over UTAG strike tomorrow
The Coalition of Concerned University Students (CoCUS), made up of student activism groups across university campuses in Ghana, will on Thursday, 3 February 2022 embark on a peaceful demonstration to register their displeasure with the government’s inability to end the protracted strike by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) . According to the Coalition, the protest, dubbed “#StudentsAreSufferingDemo!”, will begin at 6am from the University of Ghana, Legon campus through the Liberation road to the Jubilee House and end at the Parliament House. All protestors are expected to be clad in “Red or black attire”. A statement issued on Tuesday, 2 February 2022, signed by all conveners of the Coalition, urged all protesters to be law-abiding during the protest and to “avoid behaviours that contravene the laws such as open smoking of “indian hemp, indecent exposure in public, harassing of ladies and citizens, bumping of vehicles etc.” Meanwhile, UTAG has served notice that as an association, it remains resolute in its decision to strike over its members’ conditions of service until the government does the needful. “We’re calling on the government to do the needful by bringing some offers on the table for consideration,” the National Secretary of UTAG, Dr Asante Asare Annoh said. He made this demand in an interview with Kwame Obeng Sarkodie, host of Accra100.5FM’s morning show Ghana Yensom on Monday, January 31, 2022. According to him, UTAG has been considerate in helping the students, particularly the first-year students, to go through the processes for registration. He was of the view that the MoU signed with the government on the conditions of service for UTAG members elapsed last year. He revealed that when the leadership of the union met the sector minister on January 20, he indicated that he was only a minister and that he was going to table the grievances of UTAG before the appropriate bodies in government. He added that lecturers are impoverished, hence the insistence of the union on the government to make an interim payment of 115 per cent of their current rate. “It is not a situation of the association asking for salary increase but what has been long overdue,” he said. He noted: “It is problematic to hear the National Labour Commission going to court over the strike when it is supposed to be making offers for consideration.” —Classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093