Editors

The Volta regional minister, Dr. Archibald Letsa, said Monday that the region’s Security Council is worried about the recent scourge of killings in the conflict prone Alavanyo-Nkonya townships.

More disturbing, he added, is the unwillingness of residents of the aforementioned communities to assist security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators.

The Minister’s disclosure comes at the back of the killing of a 62-year-old woman at the area Saturday May 20, 2017 and a 15-year-old a week earlier.

“These things are happening in broad daylight and we are worried,” he told Francis Abban on Morning Starr Monday May 22, 2017.

He added that until the perpetrators are “apprehended and punished” the ghastly killings will linger on.

“So we are appealing to the community members to provide information because these people perpetrating the crime are known. We believe they are known…But when the security agencies go to the communities they are so tight lipped and don’t want to provide information,” noted Dr. Letsa.

Killings Beyond land dispute

According to the minister, the killings has nothing to do with the protracted land dispute.

“We have gone beyond land issues now,” he said, adding: “It is obvious it is a tit for that situation we are experiencing now.”

Curfew reviewed

Meanwhile, the Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery, has on the advice of the Volta Regional Security Council and by Executive Instrument, renewed the curfew hours imposed on the Alavanyo and Nkonya townships from 8.00 pm to 5.30 am.

The curfew takes effect from Sunday, May 21, 2017.

The 49-year-old A-lister was flanked by co-stars Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson and Jordana Brewster as he remembered his late friend, who died in an auto wreck November 30, 2013 in Valencia, California.

‘I could never stand on this stage and talk about Fast and Furious without giving love to my brother Pablo, our brother Pablo; we hope you’re proud,’ said Diesel, who’s played Dominic Toretto in the mega-successful series the past 16 years.

The xXx actor looked back to the early days of the drag racing-oriented film anthology.

‘In 2002, I was standing on this stage and MTV had given Paul Walker and I an award for Best Duo, and now 15 years later, I’m with my whole family and you’re giving us the Generation Award,’ Diesel told the crowd.

The actor noted how audiences were drawn to the diverse demographics of his film franchise, which continues to set revenue records in the wake of the latest installment in the series, The Fate of the Furious.
‘I gotta thank a generation that was willing to accept this multicultural franchise, where it didn’t matter what color your skin was or what country you were from – when you’re family, you’re family,’ he said.

Last month, Diesel said that the franchise’s massive success – personified by high-profile castmates who later joined the series, such as Dwayne Johnson, Charlize Theron and Jason Statham – was attributable to Walker.
Diesel, at a New York screening at Radio City Music Hall, said ‘a lot of great talent in this movie’ wouldn’t have been possible ‘if it wasn’t for the decades of work that my brother Pablo put into this franchise. When you see this movie, know that this is from love.’

He said that ‘there wasn’t a second we made this movie, not a minute … not a day that went by that we weren’t thinking about our brother, Pablo, and how to bring him into the movie and how to represent him and to make something that he will be proud of.’

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reiterated the commitment of his government to providing the youth of Ghana with a functional, ICT-driven educational system, that constantly responds to the challenges and evolution of modern science and technology.

According to President Akufo-Addo, “my government’s focus is to work to provide every school and community with an ICT infrastructure to keep them in touch with global trends, and also equip our youth with the skills that will be necessary in Ghana’s economic transformation.”

He made this known on Wednesday, April 26, 2017, when he commissioned the Akyem Wenchi Educational Circuit Community Information Centre, at Soabe, in the Eastern Region, the very first project he is commissioning as President of the Republic.

The President noted that his government, as is stated in the NPP’s manifesto of 2016, intends to improve the facilities and the curriculum for ICT education at all levels. Government, he added, also intends to ensure that all teachers have ICT competence.

“I am delighted, therefore, to commission this project, because it is the first to put into expression the NPP’s commitment on ICT and Education,” he said.

He continued, “I am certain that this community information centre will have a positive impact on learning in the Akyem Wenchi Educational Circuit, and will increase flexibility so that students can access education, regardless of time and geographical barriers,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo noted that “if a student studying in one of our communities, for example, wishes to find out what the latest technology in electroplating is, his or her problems could be minimized if he or she had an opportunity to use a computer equipped with the services of the internet. This is because a world of rich and abundant knowledge will lay before him or her at the click of an icon on a computer.

ICT in education has a multiplier effect, by enhancing learning and providing students with new sets of skills; by reaching students with poor or no access (especially those in rural areas); by facilitating and improving the training of teachers; and by minimizing costs associated with the delivery of traditional instruction.”

Thus, to enhance access to information to users of the Akyem Wenchi Information Centre, the President revealed that the Ghana Investment Fund For Electronic Communications (GIFEC) has equipped the centre with access to free internet services.

“In the not too distant future, the free WiFi coverage policy will be extended to senior secondary and tertiary institutions nationwide dedicated to learning, administration and enhancing the capacity to do research,” the President assured, much to the delight of the gathering.

President Akufo-Addo challenged the youth of Soabe to take advantage of the opportunities that will be afforded to them by the facility.

“You are living in perhaps the most exciting time in our history, so please make the best out of it. Some say this is our time. I say this is your time and tomorrow will be the time of your children. We want to build a new Ghanaian civilization, where fair opportunities are given to all to live dignified, productive lives by dint of their hard work, creativity and sense of enterprise. It is a bright period in the Ghanaian journey,” he noted.

The Information Centre, constructed by the Prof. & Mrs. S.K.B. Asante Educational Trust Fund, boasts 40 desktop computers.

The Information Centre is not the only project undertaken by the Prof. & Mrs. S.K.B. Asante Educational Trust Fund in this town. In 1996, the Fund was responsible for the electrification project of Soabe. Adjoining communities, such as Akyem Wenchi and Kusi, have also been beneficiaries of scholarship packages for students, the construction of 13 teachers’ quarters, a library and a modern police post.

The 2017 edition of June 4th celebration is scheduled to take place in the Upper West regional capital Wa.

The event which is coming to the region for the first time will see the architect of the June 4th Uprising former president Jerry John Rawlings, former President John Dramani Mahama and a host of other big wigs of the NDC attending.

According to a statement issued by the publicity committee of the Local Organizing Committee and copied to Starrfmonline.com, a 13-member committee has been set up to plan the event .

Below is the full and unedited statement:

PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE PUBLICITY SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE LOC OF THE 38TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF JUNE 4 MOVEMENT

COMMOMERATING THE 38th ANNIVERSARY OF JUNE 4 MOVEMENT

The national 38th anniversary celebration of June 4 Movement is scheduled to take place in Wa, the capital of the Upper West Region under the theme Restoring the values of Probity, Accountability and Truth in contemporary politics.

A thirteen member Local Organising Committee chaired by Hon. Dr. Alhaji Rashid Hassan Pelpuo, Member of Parliament for Wa Central Constituency and comprising of Party Executives, United Cadres Front, 31st December Women’s Movement, Young Cadres, Party Communicators and Youth Groups, has been inaugurated to see to the successful organization of the event. The event is coming to Wa for the first time in the history of the movement.

The inaugural ceremony was witnessed by four key members of the Central Planning Committee namely, Comrade Komla Nyaku Dr Akwesi Senanu Dzokoto, Dr Donald Agumenu, and Comrade Paul Boateng.

Following the inauguration of the Local Organising Committee, six subcommittees have been formed and assigned responsibilities geared towards making this year’s event an exceptionally historic one.

June 4, 1979 was the day Junior officers of the military inspired by Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings who was himself disconcerted with the impunity of the abuse of power and urged by the ordinary people of Ghana showed their revulsion and rejection of the endemic corruption, ineptitude and nepotistic practices and attitudes in every sphere of the Ghanaian society. It was a day that HOPE was restored in Ghana, and probity and accountability began to feature in the governance of the country and giving voice to the ordinary Ghanaian on the street.

President Jerry John Rawlings, the leader and founding father of the movement along with key individuals associated with the June 4 tradition across the political divide will be in Wa for the celebration. Expected also is the immediate past President, President John Dramani Mahama and some prominent members of the National Democratic Congress who will be there to grace the occasion.

Activities of the day will include speeches and cultural performances. There will be public lectures and courtesy calls preceding the main event.

Signed
Saeed A. Faruk
Publicity Subcommittee

As has been made evident in the first Budget of his presidency, the Asempa Budget, Akufo-Addo stressed that the economic programme of his government is hinged on the addition of value to the country’s raw materials in a process of rapid industrialization, as agricultural production and productivity is enhanced.

“Our priority is to do all we can to give our entrepreneurs the certainty of a positive business environment, devoid of arbitrary and irrational policy initiatives, so that they can do what they should do best – INVEST IN THE NUMEROUS OPPORTUNITIES TO CREATE JOBS AND PROPSPERITY,” he said.

He assured that “the initiatives introduced in the Budget are aimed at stimulating private sector activity, and shifting the focus of our economy from taxation to production. To this end, I urge the private sector to take advantage of this new focus, which is offering opportunities to local ingenuity and production.”

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced  Justice Sophia Akuffo as the new Chief Justice of Ghana.

The President who made the announcement Friday said he believes the Supreme Court Justice will be fair and independent at her new job,  as she has been throughout her career.

“I have known Justice Sophia Akuffo well, for over forty years. Indeed, she was my first junior in practice, as barristers call their work. She impressed me considerably with her hard work, her capacity for detailed research, her independence of mind and spirit, her honesty and integrity, her deep-seated respect for the rule of law, and her abiding belief in the sovereignty of Almighty God. I believe these are the qualities which sustained her brilliant career as a lawyer that propelled her to the notice of the 1st President of the 4th Republic, His Excellency Jerry John Rawlings, who appointed her to the Supreme Court on 30th November, 1995, some 22 years ago.

“She has been one of the leading lights of the Court since her appointment, and her contribution to the Court’s work and the growth of our nation’s jurisprudence has been extensive. She has enriched her judicial experience by serving with credit on continental judicial bodies such as the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, where she ended up as President of the Court.

“I have no doubt that Justice Akuffo will be a worthy successor to Chief Justice Wood and uphold jealously the independence of the Judiciary. I expect discipline, fairness, integrity and the continuing modernisation of judicial activities to be the hallmarks of her tenure as Chief Justice, if she is so endorsed by the constitutional bodies. It is important for the development of our nation that we have a Judiciary that commands the respect of the nation by the quality of its justice delivery,” the President said.

According to Article 144 (1) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution: “The Chief Justice shall be appointed by the President acting in consultation with the Council of State and with the approval of Parliament.”

The current Chief Justice who has been in charge of Ghana’s Judicial Service for a decade Georgina Theodora Wood (appointed June 2007) bows out of office in June 2017.

Justice Akuffo becomes Ghana’s second female Chief Justice after Wood.

Profile

Sophia A.B. Akuffo has been a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ghana for the past two decades.
Sophia Akuffo trained as a lawyer under Nana Akufo-Addo who had her Masters in Law (LLM) from the Havard University in the United States.

She has been a member of the Governing Committee of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute and the Chairperson of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Task Force.

In January 2006 she was elected one of the first judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights initially elected for two years, she was subsequently re-elected until 2014 and is at present serving as Vice-President of the Court.

She has written The Application of Information & Communication Technology in the Judicial Process – the Ghanaian Experience, a presentation to the African Judicial Network Ghana (2002).

One of her famous cases is when she presided over the Montie 3 in 2016.