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The Accra High Court has ordered Achimota School to admit the two Rastafarian students.

The Human Rights Division of the High Court presided over Justice Gifty Agyei Addo ruled that the fundamental human rights of two students cannot be limited by the rules in question.

The issue which caught public attention on the need for a national guideline for senior high schools, and eventually ended up in court after the two students filed their cases individually.

Nana Kwaku Nkrabea and Tyron Marhguy, were both denied admission into Achimota School though they had qualified and were duly placed there through the computerized school selection and placement system.

The School however scrapped claims, arguing that the students never returned their forms which had their acceptance of admission.

In the suit, the applicants asked the court to “declare that the failure and or refusal of the 1st Respondent (Achimota School Board of Governors) to admit or enroll the Applicant on the basis of his Rastafarian religious inclination, beliefs and culture characterized by his keeping of Rasta is a violation of his fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed under the 1992 constitution particularly Articles 12(1), 23, 21(1)(b)(c)”.

The students also wanted “an order directed at [Achimota School] to immediately admit or enroll the applicant to continue with his education unhindered.”

The applicants also sought compensation for the “inconvenience, embarrassment, waste of time, and violation of his fundamental human rights and freedoms”.

St. Paul’s Technical School (SPATS) matron and a taxi driver on a run after managing to escape a mob attack by the students when they caught them making away with food stuffs meant for the students.

Nine buckets of groundnuts paste, one bag of millet, four boxed of tin tomatoes, three bags of rice, three bags of flour, two bags of sugar and One jerry can of cooking oil are the item stolen by the Matron from the school stores.

One suspect believe to have loaded the food stuffs into the taxi is currently in police custody to help in investigation.

The students surrounded the taxi and deflated all the four tyres.

The principal of the school, Benjamin Adjabeng reported the incident to police and accompanied them to conveyed the above food stuffs to the charge office.

Statistics available in Ghana shows that over 800,000 people in the country smoke cigarettes, shisha and other tobacco products every week.

Unfortunately, 75 deaths are recorded every week from smoking-related illnesses.

This, according to authorities, makes smoking a “serious public health threat”.

These were contained in a press release issued by the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, to mark this year’s World No Tobacco Day on Monday, May 31.

Globally, tobacco kills more than 8 million people annually with more than 7 million of the deaths from direct tobacco use.
Considering these severe health effects and their impact on the world’s population, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other global partners continue to raise awareness on the harmful effects of tobacco use, second-hand smoke exposure and discourage the use of tobacco in all forms.

Source: 3news.com

Human Rights Division of the High Court in Accra is expected to give judgment in the case of two Rastafarian boys who were denied admission in Achimota School today, Monday, May 31, 2021.

The issue which caught public attention on the need for a national guideline for senior high schools, and eventually ended up in court after the two students filed their cases individually.

Nana Kwaku Nkrabea and Tyron Marhguy, were both denied admission into Achimota School though they had qualified and were duly placed there through the computerized school selection and placement system.

The School however scrapped claims, arguing that the students never returned their forms which had their acceptance of admission.

Watchers of the education space are confident that today’s judgment will put the matter to rest and shape policy going forward.

Source/Derrick Adu Asante/mynewsroomgh.com

Military leaders have been asked to take over powers in Mali after the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) suspended the country from its activities.

This was carried out in a press release issued after the emergency ECOWAS meeting on Sunday, 30 May, 2021 in Accra, Ghana.

Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Shirley Ayorkor-Botchwey, told journalists that ECOWAS is committed to restoring peace and stability to Mali.

The statement reiterated the importance and necessity of respecting the democratic process for ascending to power in member states.

“The decision of the Heads of State is to suspend Mali from ECOWAS and it [takes effect] immediately until the deadline of the end of February 2022 when they are supposed to hand over to a democratically-elected government.”

“One of the decisions of the heads of state is that they should ensure that in the next few days there is a civilian Prime Minister who will form a transitional government for the rest of the period.”

Source/Derrick Adu Asante/mynewsroomgh.com

The Appointments Committee of Parliament will from Wednesday, June 2, 2021, begin the vetting of the President’s nominees for the positions of a Minister of State and 39 Deputy Ministers.

The exercise, which will end on Tuesday, June 15, will begin at 10:00 am each day.

In all, 39 deputy Ministerial nominees were appointed under 24 portfolios.

Ten of the nominees are women.

The list also featured first-time Members of Parliament like Hassan Tampuli and John Ampontuah Kumah.

The ranking member on the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has alleged that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo spent Ghc2.8m on a private jet on his recent trips to Paris and Johannesburg.

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu in a Facebook post alleged that the president decided to rent an aircraft that cost the Ghanaian taxpayer £15,000 an hour.

Below is the full write up by Okudzeto Ablakwa.

President Akufo-Addo has been a leading voice for debt forgiveness in the international arena and back home has been imposing additional regressive taxes with the justification that the economy isn’t in a good place.

Sadly, he consistently fails to lead by example in a period of austerity where his government is appealing to struggling public sector workers to lower wage increase expectations.

It is an outrage and a blatant betrayal for Ghana to own a presidential aircraft in perfect working condition which was ordered by President Kufuor, used by President Mills and President Mahama; and yet President Akufo-Addo chooses to charter a top-of-the-range luxury aircraft offered by Acropolis Aviation.

The Airbus ACJ320neo owned by Acropolis Aviation based in Farnborough, UK and registered as G-KELT is the most luxurious and the most expensive in the Acropolis fleet. The manufacturers describe it as “the most outstanding ambassador for Airbus Corporate Jets.” It costs the Ghanaian taxpayer approximately £15,000 an hour when President Akufo-Addo rents it.

The aircraft in issue is less than two years old and had only returned from Switzerland where it received the highest luxurious spruce up ever known in the aviation world just before President Akufo-Addo chose that particular luxurious monster. The jet can take up to 150 people in ordinary circumstances, however, it has been configured to accommodate only 17 royal passengers. The spectacularly opulent aircraft comes equipped with a lavish master bedroom, an imposing en-suite bathroom, monarchial dining facilities and round the clock IT connectivity.

President Akufo-Addo undoubtedly has the greatest taste any Ghanaian President has ever had but the question is, should that insatiable appetite for his creature comforts be at the expense of the suffering masses?

Let’s further analyse President Akufo-Addo’s latest trip to Europe: per Flightradar24, the G-KELT aircraft left Accra with the President to Paris on the 16th of May — a 6 and half hour duration. Airlifted the President from Paris to Johannesburg for 11 hours on the 23rd of May. Then Johannesburg to Accra on the 25th of May was a five and half hour flight. This gives us an accumulated flight travel of 23 hours; so at £15,000 an hour, it thus cost us a colossal £345,000. At current exchange, that is a staggering GHS2,828,432.80.

Aviation experts inform me it would have cost Ghana less than 15% of this 2.8million Ghana Cedis had President Akufo-Addo opted for Ghana’s available presidential jet which is in pristine condition. Alternatively, far more affordable travel arrangements are available which could have aligned with the President’s rhetoric for sympathy from the west for African nations.

The irony is that President Akufo-Addo engaged in this fantastic extravagance on his way to France to go beg President Emmanuel Macron for debt cancellation. Needless to add that President MacRon does not travel in such splendour.

Let us imagine what GHS2.8million could do for our country, particularly considering the mess in multiple sectors which has led to legitimate #FixTheCountryNow agitations by the youth.

I have therefore filed an urgent question in Parliament to compel the Akufo-Addo administration to be accountable to the Ghanaian people on this matter and ultimately to prick their conscience to end this obscene profligacy at this time of considerable economic hardships.

The African people deserve better from their leaders.

President of the Small Scale Miners Association of Ghana, Michael Peprah has expressed disappointment over President Akufo-Addo’s endorsement of the burning of seized excavators from illegal miners by the anti-galamsey taskforce.

Mr. Peprah speaking on the Morning Starr on Starr FM on Thursday, described the president’s comment as shocking.

“When we had a stakeholder meeting with them, they didn’t mention anything about the burning of excavators. I don’t think the President is a lawyer because if he were, he wouldn’t have spoken the way he did. And how dare we make the military appear as judges?

“We shouldn’t embolden the military to go about burning excavators. That’s not how rule of law works in a country…we were not expecting our president to speak like this, honestly.”

President Akufo- Addo on Wednesday May 27, 2021 asked victims whose excavators got burned during the fight against illegal mining to go to court for redress if they so wish.

President Akufo-Addo addressing attendees of the sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of the first phase of the “Law Village”, proposed facilities of the Ghana School of Law aimed at helping to expand legal education in Ghana, at the academic enclave near the University of Ghana Business School said “The battle against galamsey, I know that some will believe the ongoing exercise of polluting our water bodies and forest zones with harmful equipment and machinery is unlawful and in some cases harsh.

“I strongly disagree and I will advise those who take a contrary review to go to court to vindicate their position if they so wish. That is what the rule of law is all about”

President Akufo- Addo has asked victims whose excavators got burned during the fight against illegal mining to go to court for redress if they so wish.

President Akufo-Addo addressing attendees of the sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of the first phase of the “Law Village”, proposed facilities of the Ghana School of Law aimed at helping to expand legal education in Ghana, at the academic enclave near the University of Ghana Business School said “The battle against galamsey, I know that some will believe the ongoing exercise of polluting our water bodies and forest zones with harmful equipment and machinery is unlawful and in some cases harsh.

“I strongly disagree and I will advise those who take a contrary review to go to court to vindicate their position if they so wish. That is what the rule of law is all about”

President Akufo-Addo emphasizing his stance said “apart from the criminal violations in Act 703 (The Minerals Act), the activities of such persons (Illegal Miners) desecrates our environment, pollutes our water bodies and endanger the lives of present and future generations of Ghanaians”.

He charged the people of Ghana as well as the political establishment in the nation to rally behind his administration has it fights the “Galamsey” phenomenon in the country.

“I appeal to all Ghanaians including many in the opposition who are so doing to rally behind government in its efforts to stamp out far-reaching illegality and criminality rather than advocate for the protection of non-existing rights of persons caught in this evil activity,” President Akufo-Addo said.

Three people have been confirmed dead after they were trapped in an illegal mining pit in Bremang in the Upper Denkyira West District of the Central region.

According to an eye witness, 15 people are still trapped in the pit and are yet to be rescued. Two other people who have been pulled out of the pit are in critical condition and have been rushed to the hospital for treatment.

The eyewitness added that two out of the three people who have been declared dead are not known in the community.

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