Ashanti Today

The Police in Ashanti have hinted that leads being followed by the Police would very soon culminate in an arrest of prime suspects in the shooting incident that took place at the premises of the NDC’s regional office at Amakom in Kumasi last Monday.  The Head of the Command’s Public Affairs Unit, ASP Godwin Ahianyo, who gave the indication, commended the leadership of the NDC in the region as well as the cooperation of two prominent functionaries of the party arrested in connection with the incident for the level of support being offered the Police in the pursuit of justice. He appealed for calm among the people. "So far, the names that we have are 12. We initially, we gave out names of four suspects. We have eight more. I will not give any timelines but, I can assure you that very soon, you'll hear good news", the Ashanti Police PRO emphasized. The Regional Secretary of the NDC, Kwame Zu assured that no pressure would be exerted on the regional Police Comma...

The Ashanti regional secretariat of the National Democratic Congress says the party’s Presidential election will take place tomorrow, Sat. February 23, as scheduled, despite recent challenges the party has had with security.  The party Executives say they have engaged with all relevant state institutions for a peaceful conduct of the polls across the region and are therefore urging all qualified party members to come out in their numbers to help select a Flagbearer to lead the party into next year’s Presidential polls.  The Regional Secretary, Kwame Zu, gave the assurance in an interview with Ashanti Today in Kumasi. He mentioned NDC members who are qualified to vote as only those whose details appear on the Constituency Voters’ Register while security for the exercise has been left exclusively to the Police.  These are Branch, Constituency, Regional and National Executive Committee members, members of the Council of State, all former Ministers and Deputy M...

 The  Manhyia Palace has announced that, in accordance with Asante custom and tradition, Asanteman will observe a ban on funerals from the 8 th to 29 th of April.  A statement signed by the Chief of Staff, Kofi Badu explained that the ban is to mark the celebration of the 20 th anniversary of the enstoolment of Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu.

A special Taskforce of the Ghana Revenue Authority has undertaken an unannounced swoop on selected retail outlets and warehouses in Kumasi as part of the Authority’s plans to enforce compliance with Act 873 of 2013 to affix Tax Stamp on selected products meant for public consumption.  The focus of the swoop was on carbonated and alcoholic drinks, cigarette as well as bottled water whether produced locally or imported which must be affixed with the Tax Stamp before distribution for retail or sale to consumers. The Taskfor seized a quantity of such goods without the Tax Stamp but were on sale. The Taskforce in charge of the Ashanti region, led by Mr. Spio Abaidoo, first visited the Game within the Kumasi Mall where after inspection of the available products to find out the level of compliance with the excisable law. Here, the Taskforce found a handful of imported carbonated canned and alcoholic drinks without the Tax Stamp.  At the Shoprite also within the Mall, th...

The Ashanti Regional Security Council, REGSEC today, Tue Feb. 19, had to intervene to ensure that there was peace and security at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi following an invasion at the premises of the Pathology Department by some youth to demand the release of the body of the victim of yesterday’s shooting incident at the premises of the NDC’s Ashanti regional office at Amakom.  According to a source at the Hospital, the uninvited youth were becoming agitated when they were told that their demand on the Hospital was not feasible, at least for today.   The police and soldiers were called in to maintain security at the facility.  The source said as part of the police investigation into the shooting incident, certain protocols had to be followed by the Pathologist in conducting a post mortem on the body. It said, the body be released to the bereaved family tomorrow, February 20, after the pathologist completed their autopsy.  Thirty-ye...

The Deputy Minister of Energy, William Owuraku Aidoo, has commissioned a materials warehouse of the Electricity Company of Ghana at Boadi in the Oforikrom Municipality of the Ashanti region.  The new warehouse will be used to house materials for major projects in the region. The materials warehouse, constructed at Boadi at a total cost of twenty million, six hundred pounds, can boast of amenities such as air conditioning and IT installations, two workshop blocks, a lube bay, conference hall and two stockyards for storage of outdoor materials. Mr. Aidoo, noted that ECG has currently provided electricity to about 85 per cent of the population and was hopeful 90 percent of the population would be covered by 2020. This he hoped, would increase employment opportunities especially for the youth.   He reassured the staff that no one will lose their jobs in the take-over of ECG, noting that one billion dollars will be injected into the takeover of the company which will be o...

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu, has inaugurated a three-member Committee to investigate all circumstances incidental to the recent students’ disturbances at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, KNUST leading an extensive destruction to public and private property which cost is estimated at nearly seven million Ghana Cedis.  The Committee, under the Chairmanship of a retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Rose Constance Owusu, starts work immediately without any specific timeline.  The other members of the Committee are a former Director General of the Ghana Education Service, Very Reverend Ama Afo Blay and a serving Ashanti Regional Head of the Bureau of National Investigations, BNI, Mr. David Adu Osei, with the Registrar of the Ashanti Region House of Chiefs, Mr. Kofi Owusu, as Secretary.  Members of the Committee were led by Chairman of the University’s Council, Nana Effah Apenteng, to take the Oath of Membership.  In a remark,...

The Ghana Union Traders Association, GUTA, has asked all its members operating stores and wholesale in the Kumasi metropolis to, with immediate effect, stop the payment of operating Licenses and Fees to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, KMA until further notice.  GUTA has indicated also to embark on street protests should the city authorities use any compelling means to take the Fees from the store and warehouse operators in question.  Speaking to Ashanti Today in Kumasi, Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer of GUTA, Albert Mensah Offei, described as unacceptable the margin of increase in the fees unilaterary fixed by the KMA for the year.  According to Mr. Offei, GUTA, which has a membership running into thousands and making substantial contribution to the revenue base of the KMA,   is shocked that the annual Stores Operating Fees has been raised from 200 Ghana Cedis to one thousand 500 Ghana Cedis while that for Wholesale which used to be 400 Gh...

The Catholic Archbishop of Kumasi, Most Reverend Gabriel Anokye, has asked Ghanaians to work towards a sustainable peace rather than wait for a particular period like before or during elections before encouraging adherence to peace.  Christians must lead the way by practicing virtues to impact positively on the larger society.  Most Rev. Anokye gave the advice during an encounter with journalists on the fringes of a ceremony at Gyinyase to upgrade the local church to a Parish.  Most Rev. Gabriel Anokye, performed a tape cutting and unveiling of a plaque to upgrade Our Lady of Apostles Catholic Rectorate at Gyinyase in the Asokwa Municipality to a Parish.  He also dedicated and opened a new one-storey temple as well as consecrate the Alter of the church for use for Mass by the Parish Priest.  The foundation Parish Priest, Very Rev.   Father Alex Mensah Agyemang, was also inducted.  Until now, the 400-member Gyinyase Catholic Church...

Roads leading to and from the newly constructed Kejetia Market complex in Kumasi have been opened to human and vehicular traffic.  This comes two weeks after the Ashanti Regional Security Council, REGSEC, gave all traders and hawkers at unauthorized places around the facility a final notice to relocate.  There was systematic closure of the roads that lead to and from the Kejetia Market Complex upon the start of construction in November 2015.  Since 2017, all access around the project site were blocked to particularly vehicular traffic leaving small spaces and openings for human movement.  The closure was to protect pedestrians and motorists against injuries while giving the contractors peace from public nuisance and interruptions.  Due to this, traders and hawkers around the project area took advantage to ply their business at any available spaces, whether within the law or otherwise but without much disturbances from the city authorities.  In D...

The Medical Director of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Professor Baffuor Opoku, disclosed also that the Oncology Directorate alone of the Hospital records 850 cases of all forms of cancers every year.  Speaking at the 2019 commemorative ceremony of the World Cancer Day in Kumasi in the Ashanti region on Monday, Feb. 5, Prof. Opoku disclosed also that, the leading cancer cases recorded at the hospital since 2015 have been childhood, cancers in men and women including that of head and neck, liver, prostate in male, leukemia, breast and cervical cancer in females among others.  He said, most of the cancer cases are reported to the hospital very late blaming the problem on factors such as ignorance about symptoms of the disease, self-medication, myths as well as application of herbal preparations.  Prof. Opoku noted that, even though the care and management of cancer is seriously hampered as a result of inadequate material and human resources, the KATH is wo...

The Ghana Medical Association, GMA, has reported that about three thousand new cases of cervical cancers are reported at hospitals in Ghana every year. Out of this figure, two thousand of the patients are unable to survive the disease due to late detection and reporting for treatment and management.  The President of the GMA, Dr. Frank Ankobea, disclosed this in Kumasi at the commemoration of the 2019 World Cancer Day. The event, which was being held in Ghana for the first time, was on the theme “I am I will” with a focus on encouraging everyone to show interest in the crusade against the increasing cases of cancer of all forms.  The GMA President, who is also an Obstetrician Gynecologist, was emphatic that Cervical Cancer is a sexually transmitted disease that is preventable. He noted that, the disease is the only female cancer, caused by the HPV,   that is preventable and wondered why there has not been much effort at halting its contraction in society.  ...

The First Lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, says one key strategy towards effective management and control of the increasing cases of all forms of cancer in Ghana will be the adoption of the public-private partnership policy that would help to put in place the needed infrastructure to cater for detection and treatment of reported and emerging cases. She noted that government’s commitment towards addressing challenges in the management and treatment of cancer cases at healthcare facilities including the provision of the required resources is being undermined by the need to give equal attention to a comprehensive healthcare at all levels.  Mrs. Akufo-Addo made the point in Kumasi at the commemoration of this year’s World Cancer Day.  Kumasi hosted this year’s the World Cancer Day cerebration for the first time on the theme: “I am I Will” following the selection of the city by the Union of International Cancer Control, UICC, in November 2017 as the 4 th in the World a...