We are sorry for brutalizing soldiers- Obom -Domeabra residents

Daniel Opare
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The Odum Plala Okyeame, Okyeame Adukwei on behalf of the residents of Obom Domeabra has apologised to the military and the entire Nation for brutalising two soldiers at Dome Faase earlier this week.

According to him, they mistook the soldiers for land guards hence the unwarranted attack on them .

“We thought they were land guards, but we have come to realise that they are soldiers and so we are very sorry. We are not justifying that landguards deserve to be brutalised but the President said he has stopped landguards from operating and i am not justifying our actions because every life matters. We really apologise,” he said.

Speaking on Atinka FM’s AM Drive, hosted by Ekourba Gyasi,Okyeame Adukwei admitted that the youth who attacked the soldiers had faulted, therefore calling on the military to forgive them.

However, he said they had complained about the mistreatment by those who were claiming the land, including destroying their farm produce on several occasions but they had no positive response from their authorities.

Soon after the clash between the soldiers and residents, about three hundred soldiers reportedly stormed Obom Domeabra to retaliate and as well look for two missing guns.

It was reported that all the men in the town fled leaving their wives and children at home.

When the military got to the town, they went to each house to search for their guns and marched all the women to a park as a form of punishment.

The Deputy Defence Minister, Dereck Oduro made it known that the soldiers were sent there by their authorities, adding that the military will deal with the people of Obom Domeabra for attacking the soldiers.

Meanwhile, reacting to the Defence Minister’s comments, Okyeame Adukwei said the military men in question had been stationed on the disputed land for a while, acting like landguards and therefore they did not believe those soldiers were sent by their authorities.

He, therefore, called on government to come out with the truth and intervene on their behalf, stating that they had occupied the land for so many years without knowing it belonged to some people of Akyem.

“They have hidden the truth on what really happened from the public. We are appealing to the President, if it is true that he sent them, then he should intervene because we have all gone to hide in the bush and we do not know where our children and wives are,” he said.

Okyeame Adukwei added,”The authorities should exclude the soldiers from this matter and bring in the police to help solve it peacefully. We are in an election year and we do not want chaos. We have been to the site several times and we saw land guards in army uniforms so we thought these tow soldiers were land guards.”

He added that the people of Dome Faase intend to send the matter to court immediately after the press conference, adding that it was unfortunate the issue took a violent turn .

Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori

New VALCO Board, GIADEC charged to transform sector

Daniel Opare
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The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh has charged the newly constituted governing board of the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO), to drive an agenda that will set the company as the fulcrum of the full development of an integrated aluminium industry supervised by the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Corporation (GIADEC). 

The Minister made the statement when he sworn in a six-member board of directors with well accomplished backgrounds in the fields of energy, economics and industrialization, for a four-year term to steer the revamping agenda of the Volta Aluminium Company under GIADEC.

The Minister was visibly elated that, GIADEC and the Ministry have been able to put together a board for VALCO, a company that has been without a board for a long period and seen a steep downward trend of development.

He was hopeful that the new board with the support of GIADEC, will overcome the myriad of challenges VALCO has been faced with, to effectively implement a new recovery plan that will see optimization of the company’s full capacity.

“In spite of the challenges, VALCO remains a strategic Ghanaian asset that is considered a major corner stone of the Integrated Aluminium Industry in Ghana. GIADEC, in partnership with the management of VALCO has deployed a Recovery Plan with the aim of retrofitting the plant so that it can produce at its full capacity of 200,000 tonnes per annum and expand by an additional 100,000 tonnes p.a.,”he said.

Hon. Asomah-Cheremeh further urged the board and the management of GIADEC who were present at the swearing-in ceremony to give practical meaning to the President’s Growth and transformation Agenda for the Ghanaian economy, ‘The Ghana Beyond Aid’ Agenda, by leveraging on Ghana’s existing Bauxite reserves and the smeltering of aluminium to make the Ghanaian economy an enviable one.

He reminded both teams especially the CEO of GIADEC who is also a member of VALCO’s board, that this is the reason for which GIADEC has been set up.

He hoped to see in a few years, the creation of over thirty-five thousand jobs and a major contribution to the Gross Domestic Product.

“It is expected that Ghana’s IAI will lead to the creation of over 35,000 new jobs (10,000 direct and 25,000 indirect). It is also expected that there will be an annual boost to the economy of about $10 billion. The $10 billion boost will be achieved through mining, refining and smelting (approx. $2-3 billion) in addition to contributions from the downstream and allied industries” he said. 

According to the Minister, it is expected that Ghana would be ranked 8th in the world for bauxite reserves (after China and above India) with expected annual production of 10-20 million tonnes. 

Board Chairman of the Volta Aluminium Company Dr Henry Benyah, thanked the president of Ghana, the minister and GIADEC for the confidence reposed in him and his team of Directors in especially retrofitting and revamping what is almost becoming a white elephant.

He assured of the team’s commitment in reviving the Company to lead GIADEC’s vision of establishing viable industry, that is relevant in the whole value chain and pivot to Ghana’s industrialization programs.

The board chair was emphatic that they will see to the actual retrofitting of the VALCO plant over the next five years to enable the required or expanded production capacity of three hundred thousand (300, 000) metric tonnes.

The Chief Executive Officer of GIADEC, Mr Michael Ansah who is also a board member of VALCO was happy that GIADEC’s plan of restructuring, reforming and expanding the bauxite and aluminium industry is fully on course, and a typical example is the witnessing of the inauguration of a governing board for VALCO. 

Responding to questions on the mounting concerns over bauxite exploitation in Ghana, regarding the Sinohydro Agreement which is to see the Chinese company finance some government capital projects with Ghana paying back with proceeds of refined Bauxite, Mr Ansah explained that the deal is a result of a positive well thought out developmental decision that will benefit and develop Ghana as a whole rather than benefiting a few.

“We’ve had bauxite since this country has existed. We have close to a billion tonnes of bauxite. We’ve not exploited this fully. We have only one mine in Awaso today. We are looking at exploiting the full resource that we have in Nyihahin today and kyebi as well and this would give us the beginnings of a mining industry that can support a viable refinery that would feed the smelter that we have” he said.

Members of the inaugurated board include Dr Henry Benyah as the Board Chair, Mr Daniel Acheampong (member), Dr. Gloria Naa Dzama Addico (member), Hon. Samuel Evans Ashong Narh(member), Mr Seth Adjete Adjei(member), and Mr Michael Ansah (member).

Ghana| Atinkaonline.com

Chelsea sign Leicester defender on five-year deal for £45m

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Chelsea have signed England left-back Ben Chilwell from Leicester on a five-year deal for £45m.

Chilwell is Chelsea’s third addition of the summer after the arrivals of winger Hakim Ziyech, 27, from Ajax and striker Timo Werner, 24, from RB Leipzig.

The defender, 23, is a Leicester academy product who made his debut for the club in 2015, and had a contract with the Foxes until 2024.

He missed the final five matches of the 2019-20 season with a foot injury.

Chelsea took fourth place and a Champions League place at the expense of Leicester on the final day of the Premier League season in July.

“I’m looking forward to being a part of this young, dynamic squad led by Frank Lampard as we challenge for honours next season,” said Chilwell, who has 11 England caps.

Timo Werner: How Chelsea move happened and how he will fit in
“He [Lampard] does play the younger players if they are good enough and just from speaking to him, I’m really excited to be here. I think the way the gaffer sets his teams up suits my game perfectly.”

Chilwell made a total of 123 appearances for Leicester and scored four goals, three of them coming in the Premier League last season.

Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia added: “We are confident Ben will adapt very quickly to being a Chelsea player and with the fixture programme for 2020-21 especially busy, he is a fantastic addition to the squad needed to challenge for honours.”

Chilwell joining fellow Foxes Danny Drinkwater and N’Golo Kante at Chelsea continues a model of selling one of their ‘stars’ every year since Kante left for Chelsea in 2016.

Drinkwater followed him to west London in 2017, Riyad Mahrez went to Manchester City in 2018 and Harry Maguire joined Manchester United in 2019.

It balances the books and allows reinvestment for Leicester – on what is not a bad return at all. Those five players cost a total £24.1m. Leicester sold them collectively for £250m over four years – and still finished above Arsenal and Tottenham last season. Shrewd.

BBC

Obom: 26 health workers traumatised after military raid

Daniel Opare
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26 health workers of  the Obom Health Centre  are traumatised after military men raided the entire community to search for perpetrators who allegedly inflicted cutlass wounds on two soldiers during a clash over a disputed land.

The Administrator of the facility, Adam Dramani alleged that the Military officers fired gunshots indiscriminately during the arrest of the civilians.

Adam Addramani also alleged that some of his workers  also  “received several slaps.

He also said the military mistakenly arrested his worker thinking that they were part of the perpetrators.

Due to the unfortunate incident, he complained that workers are refusing to go to work adding that two are on admission.

Adams Dramani appealed to the military men to temper justice with  mercy because many workers are leaving in fear.

Meanwhile source close the Military high command indicates that,One of the military used by the two soldiers has been found.

Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Agyei Kwaku Mensah

Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Agyei Kwaku Mensah

Hurricane Laura causes flash flooding as it makes landfall in Louisiana

Daniel Opare
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Hurricane Laura has struck the coast of Louisiana, with extreme winds causing flash flooding in the US state, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) says.

The category four hurricane is expected to cause an “unsurvivable” storm surge as it moves inland with wind speeds of up to 150mph (240km/h).

If it maintains those speeds it would be one of the strongest storms to ever hit the US Gulf Coast.

Half a million residents have been told to leave parts of Texas and Louisiana.

Hurricane Laura made landfall shortly after midnight local time (05:00 GMT) near the district of Cameron, in Louisiana.

The NHC warned any residents remaining in or near the path of the “catastrophic” storm to “take action now to protect your life… in a reinforced interior room away from windows”.

“Get under a table or other piece of sturdy furniture,” the NHC said, adding: “Use mattresses, blankets or pillows to cover your head and body.”

Over 330,000 homes in Louisiana reportedly lost power in the early hours on Thursday, according to the US tracking site PowerOutage. In Texas, more than 80,000 homes suffered power cuts.

Television footage showed heavy rain and strong winds lashing the coastal city of Lake Charles in south-west Louisiana, and damage to some buildings has already been reported.

Laura and another storm, Marco, earlier swept across the Caribbean, killing 24 people. Marco struck Louisiana on Monday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain.

Initially it was feared that both storms would hit Louisiana as hurricanes within 48 hours of each other – an unprecedented event – but Marco was downgraded to a tropical storm.
Media captionHurricane Laura approaches Texas

Laura, on the other hand, has strengthened rapidly from category three to category four, gaining 70% in power in just 24 hours.

It is now close to becoming a category five storm, which would mean maximum sustained winds of 158mph (254km/h).

Hurricane Katrina – which devastated New Orleans in 2005, killing more than 1,800 people – was a category five storm before weakening to a category three when it made landfall in the US. Broken levees led to disastrous flooding in the city of New Orleans, which sits some 6ft (2m) below sea level, making it particularly vulnerable to storms.

US President Donald Trump told those potentially affected by the storm to “listen to local officials” as the storm was “very dangerous and rapidly intensifying”.

Evacuations are complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Texas Governor Greg Abbott urged families who could afford it to take refuge in hotels and motels to be distanced from others.
What can we expect from Hurricane Laura?

On Wednesday, the NHC said satellite images had shown that Laura had undergone a remarkable intensification to become a “formidable hurricane”.

In a series of tweets, it said Laura was expected to bring “life-threatening hazards” to parts of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

Well-built homes could incur major damage, trees could be snapped or uprooted and electricity and water would be unavailable for days or even weeks, it said.

“Hurricane force winds and widespread damaging wind gusts will also spread well inland into portions of eastern Texas and western Louisiana early Thursday,” the NHC added.
Skip Twitter post by @NHC_Atlantic
Report

End of Twitter post by @NHC_Atlantic

Storm surges of more than 20ft (6m) are possible. In an update at 14:00 local time, the NHC reported 3.2ft of inundation already on parts of the Louisiana coast.

“To think that there would be a wall of water over two storeys high coming on shore is very difficult for most to conceive, but that is what is going to happen,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Benjamin Schott.

“The word ‘unsurvivable’ is not one that we like to use, and it’s one that I’ve never used before,” he added.

Governor Abbott urged people in the path of the storm to “take advantage of these final few hours to evacuate”.

“The power of Hurricane Laura is unprecedented, and Texans must take action now to get out of harm’s way and protect themselves,” he said.
Image copyright EPA
Image caption Businesses in Louisiana boarded up windows as Hurricane Laura approached

More than 420,000 Texas residents have been ordered to leave, while an additional 200,000 were told to evacuate Calcasieu Parish in south-western Louisiana.

Port Arthur, Texas, is home to the nation’s largest oil refinery, and workers have been taken off at least 310 offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, reducing oil production by 84% for a second day in a row, officials said.

BBC

TikTok boss quits as Trump's ban looms

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TikTok chief executive Kevin Mayer has quit after just two months in the job ahead of an impending ban by US President Donald Trump.

The Chinese-owned firm has been accused of being a threat to US national security by the Trump administration.

Mr Mayer joined TikTok in June after leaving his role as Disney’s head of streaming services.

TikTok was given 90 days to be sold to an American firm or face a ban in the US.

“In recent weeks, as the political environment has sharply changed, I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require, and what it means for the global role I signed up for,” Mr Mayer said in a letter to employees.

“Against this backdrop, and as we expect to reach a resolution very soon, it is with a heavy heart that I wanted to let you all know that I have decided to leave the company,” Mr Mayer added.

Both TikTok and Chinese messaging app WeChat face bans in the US as tensions rise between Washington and Beijing over a wide range of issues including national security concerns about Chinese tech firms.

“We appreciate that the political dynamics of the last few months have significantly changed what the scope of Kevin’s role would be going forward, and fully respect his decision. We thank him for his time at the company and wish him well,” a spokesman for TikTok said.

Kevin Mayer was brought into TikTok to help give the Chinese-owned app an American image.

The thinking was that the former Disney man would be able to negotiate with a tough-on-China Trump administration better than perhaps a Chinese chief executive and that would help smooth TikTok’s path into one of its biggest markets – the US.

Instead, the intense pressure from the Trump administration on TikTok only grew.

President Trump claims TikTok is a national security threat because of who it is owned by, Chinese internet firm ByteDance.

Earlier this month, he signed an executive order that would effectively ban TikTok’s operations in the US if it wasn’t sold to another company by mid September.

All of this is not what Mr Mayer signed up for when he left Walt Disney to take on the role at TikTok.

And after just two months in the job, he is now departing.

Executive order
President Trump’s executive order prohibits transactions with TikTok’s owner ByteDance from mid-September.

The firm has gone to court to challenge the ban.

Officials in Washington are concerned that TikTok could pass American users’ data to the Chinese government, something ByteDance has denied doing.

TikTok said the Trump administration’s move was motivated by politics, not national security.
US tech giant Microsoft has confirmed that it is continuing talks to purchase the US operations of TikTok.

BBC

Ghana | Atinkaonline.com

Okada riders: "We'll vote massively for anyone who backs our operations"

Daniel Opare
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The Greater Accra and Central Regional Executives of the Commercial Motorbike Riders Association, popularly known as ‘okada’ operators, have pledged to support any political party that have their welfare at heart.

This comes after the Flagbearer of opposition National Democratic Congress (NCD), John Dramani Mahama promised to legalise the okada business if he wins power again .

Speaking at a press conference in Ashaiman in the Greater Accra region, the leadership said, they are ready to vote massively for any government that will legalise their operations. 

According to Samuel Antwi, Secretary of the Central Regional branch of the Association, who read the statement on behalf of the group, their demand for the legalisation and regularisation of their operations is to ensure safety on the roads, adhering to road safety measures and prevent constant harassment from security agencies.

He said the regularisation of their operations will not only make their business lucrative and attractive to the teeming unemployed Ghanaian youths, but would also help identify and expose persons who use the Okada business to perpetrate crimes in the country.

Chairman of the Accra and Kasoa branch of the Okada Riders Association, Alhaji Issah Abubakar, added it was time government saw their operations as a national asset which needs every legal backing to operate, due to their immense contribution to the economy and social development.

He said, they cannot comprehend why MMDCEs and politicians  patronise their business for their election campaigns and other programs, but fail to give them the needed recognition.

He said they will vote for any political party that backs their operations.

Some executives of the association who added their voice to calls for the regularisation of the Okada business, said the Okada business has come to stay, and it would be prudent for the government of the day to see the positive gains in the business, as being recorded in other African countries.

Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Philip Azu

Atinka TV’s latest documentary, ‘Covid-19 and the Aged’ premieres August 29

Daniel Opare
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‘Covid-19 and the Aged’ is a documentary that focuses on the critical needs of older Ghanaians in this pandemic and how they are faring. It highlights the gaps in social protection interventions for older persons and how the Government must bridge the gap.

The 43-minute documentary by Regina Asamoah features nineteen older persons living in Ashaiman and Adenta, the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection and a Gerontologist with the Department of Social Work and Centre for Ageing Studies of the University of Ghana, Legon.

It reveals the emotional anxiety older persons are battling with and their expectations of Government in caring for older persons in the country.

The documentary will be premiered on the ‘Big Story’ on Atinka TV at 6:45pm on 29th August, 2020 and repeated on the 31st August, 2020 on ‘Ghana Nie’ at 8:45am.

Stay tuned!

Bawumia: State Housing will achieve more "with more funding"

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The Vice President of the Republic, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has said that State Housing is being run more efficiently despite the fact that it has limited resources it is working with.

In an exclusive interview on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo morning show hosted by Kwame Sefa Kayi on Tuesday, August 25, 2020, the Vice President indicated that the management of State Housing Company has done a yeoman’s job in running the outfit efficiently.

“So far, they’ve done very well, State Housing, without any borrowing. They’ve done a lot of work, and a bit more capital could see them delivering more. It is amazing how efficient they have run the outfit now” the Vice President said to Sefa Kayi.

In his belief, if State Housing Company is adequately funded, a lot more could be achieved.

They can build more houses, affordable ones, if we give them more” he stressed.

The Vice President said that so far whatever monies State Housing Company is using are internally generated.

It is upon the above that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia believes that if more monies are given to S.H.C, a lot more would be achieved.

Source: State Housing Company

Ghana l Atinkaonline.com

Hunter mistakes colleague for game; shoots him to death

Daniel Opare
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A 30 -year -old hunter, Yaw Mensah, is in grips of the Ajumako Bisease Police Command for shooting a 35 -year- old man, Kweku Klu whom he mistook for a game while hunting.

In an interview with Atinka News reporter Jerry Asare, mother of the suspect, Adwoa Akowa said she was shocked when she heard her son mistakenly killed someone.

Narrating the incident, Adwoa Akowa said her son told her he was going to farm as he did normally and decided to hunt after his normal farming activities.

“He was in the bush around 10:00 pm and heard a noise and suspected it was an animal so he shot it without knowing it was a human being. He then came home and reported the incident to the family,” she said.

According to the mother of the suspect, he is married with two children and a pregnant wife.

Brother of the deceased, Kofi Obeng said, the family became suspicious when they heard the news so they went to the families to verify.

Meanwhile, the Ajumako Bisease Station Officer, Chief Supt.William Agbetsiafa said the body had been deposited at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, awaiting autopsy report while investigation continues.

Ghana| Atinkaonline.com

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