The Management of the Abuakwa North Municipal Assembly in the Eastern Region has officially commissioned and handed over a newly built market for the people of Akyem Old Tafo.

The market comprises 41 sheds, 3 lockable stores, a place of convenience, a warehouse, a meat shop, revenue and environmental offices, and a corn and cassava milling machine area.

Speaking to Kingdom News after the commissioning and handing over the project to the community, the Akyem Old Tafohene, Daasebre Adusei Peasah expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the management of the assembly for the kind gesture.

He praised the Municipal Chief Executive of the Assembly, Dr. Alhaji Umar Bodinga for his timely intervention in fixing the only dying market in the area back to life to boost the local economy.

Daasebre Adusei Peasah used the opportunity and called on those who sell at their various homes and the shoulders of the road to return to the market and sell their commodities there because it is now functioning to help generate funds for the Assembly to use it for other developmental projects for the other communities that need help.

He made it clear that every Friday would be their main market day in the area because they don’t go to the farm on that particular day.

Furthermore, the MCE for the Assembly, Dr. Alhaji Umar Bodinga stated that anybody who has acquired space in the market and sold it to a 3rd party would be dealt with, and indicated that they spent a little over ¢500,000.00 to revive the market because they think about the welfare of the market women in the area.

“To prevent the thieves from entering the market at night and stealing the trader’s items after they are done with the day and go home I have fixed bulbs in and around the market to ensure the place is secured and well-protected,” he opined.

Alhaji Bodinga mentioned that the Assembly is ready to provide deep freezers for those who want to sell meats in the market to enable them to keep their meats neat because he does not want his people to consume unwholesome meat; hence adding the environmental health office to the market.

By// Kontihen Kofi Oboh.

Source// Obohnewsonline.com.

The Okyenhene, Ɔsagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin has described the free Senior High School policy as the greatest achievement in the world and urged Ghanaians to uphold it.

According to Ɔkyehene, many Junior High School graduates have been denied opportunities to further their education level to Senior High School due to poverty and hardship that engulfed their parents over the past years and this has destroyed their lives.

“For this reason, when President Akufo Addo and his New Patriotic Party’s government assumed office in 2017 after winning the 2016 elections they quickly initiated a free Senior High School education policy to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor to enable them study under the same umbrella because he [President Nana Addo] don’t want to see any JHS graduate staying at home as a result of poverty,” Ɔsagyefo Ofori Panin recounted.

The overlord of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council condemned the attitude of some of the SHS matrons who smuggled the students’ foodstuffs home and sold them and later on turned themselves and criticized the government that the students don’t get food to eat in school indicating they are very wicked people.

Ɔsagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin noted that Free SHS education is a very good initiative and since its inception in 2017 over 1.6 million youth have benefited from it so far.

“Therefore woe onto those especially the matrons and teachers in the various schools who are sabotaging the policy that has given hope to the poor to realize their dreams”.

He made this assertion during the 2024 Ohum Kan festival and the same time celebrating his 25th golden jubilee anniversary on the Ofori Panin stool.

“The youth play a major of nation-building and their education must be the topmost priority of every country, that is why we must do everything possible to protect the Free SHS education policy to allow every Ghanaian child to benefit from it to give them a brighter future,” he added.

By// Kontihen Kofi Oboh.

Source// Obohnewsonline.com.

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Right Reverend Abraham Nana Opare Kwakye has bemoaned the ongoing indefinite strike by the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG).

The striking teachers have held onto their decision since Friday, June 14, 2024, across all 46 Public Colleges of Education in the country.

“We were compelled to force our members to go on strike due to the failure of our Employer to comply with the National Labor Commission’s (NLC) decisions and orders given by the compulsory Arbitration Awards agreed by the parties,” according to CETAG.

The agreement includes an order for the payment of one month’s salary to each entitled member of CETAG as compensation for additional performed duties in 2022 among other incentives.

Reacting to the matter, Rt. Rev. Opare Kwakye called on the government to give financial clearance to the Colleges of Education to enable them to employ much-needed administrative and teaching staff.

The Presbyterian Moderator noted that already, Colleges of Education do not meet the minimum Ghana Tertiary Education Commission recommended tutor-to-student ratio.

Rt. Rev. Abraham Nana Opare Kwakye made this assertion during the 16th Congregation of the Kibi Presbyterian College of Education where over 400 students successfully graduated from the institution.

He then appealed to the government and CETAG to have a fruitful discussion to ensure the fragile academic calendar which has not fully recovered from the effects of COVID-19 is thrown haywire again.

By// Kontihen Kofi Oboh.

Source// Obohnewsonline.com.

The Parliamentary Candidate for Akuapem North Constituency in the Eastern Region, Sammi Awuku has promised to complete all stalled projects started by the outgoing Member of Parliament for the area, Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei.

Addressing the elders, Chiefs, and residents of Benkum Division in the Akuapem Traditional Council, Sammi Awuku assured the Akuapem Benkumhene, Osaberima Asiedu Okoo Ababio that he will make sure to complete all the abandoned projects in the area and handed over for use.

He urged the traditional rulers not to blame Nana Ama Dokua for not being able to execute all the projects she commenced.

The Akuapem North PC who doubles as the Director General for the National Lotteries Authority added that he had started some of these projects with his resources and money.

He further indicated that an abandoned public toilet facility in Larteh has been refurbished in his name. According to him, he used his outfit as NLA Boss to lobby for another ultramodern 20-seater water closet toilet facility from the Good Cause Foundation for the people of Larteh indicating that all the aforementioned projects have been completed and handed over to the community.

Sammi Awuku made this assertion during the sod cutting of the construction of a 3-unit classroom block with the headteacher’s office for Larteh M/A Junior High School.

He also highlighted the absence of a JHS education in Larteh which has increased school dropout in the area since the pupils have to walk a long distance to the nearby communities before they can have access to JHS after completing the basic level of education.

He said the Akuapem Benkumhene has had several dialogues with him to get them JHS education hence breaking grounds for the project to help reduce the school dropout in the area.

For his part, the Akuapem Benkumhene who doubles as the Lartehhene, Osaberima Asiedu Okoo Ababio mentioned he was glad to hear Samuel Awuku went unopposed in Akuapem North constituency because he knew what he is capable of.

He stated that all the MPs the Akuapem North had previously denied the people of Larteh developmental projects and thus are very grateful to Sammi Awuku for his kind gesture.

Osaberima Okoo Ababio indicated that the Benkumhene Division which starts from Obosomase to Adweso will use their larger populace to vote massively for Sammi Awuku to become the next Member of Parliament for the area because they deemed him as he’s the only one who can rewrite the story of the constituency.

By// Kontihen Kofi Oboh.

Source// Obohnewsonline.com.

The Omanhene of Akwamu Traditional Area in the Eastern Region, Odeneho Kawfo Akoto III has bemoaned how successive governments have denied them their fair share of the national cake.

According to him, Ghana’s history cannot be written without the inclusion of Akwamu because they have been part and parcel of Ghana’s history before and after independence.

“My grandfather, Kwafo Akoto II, the then Omanhene of Akwamu played a vital role in the fight for Ghana’s independence and he became the defacto Vice President of Ghana, with the absence of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President, he [Kwafo Akoto II] acted as President of the country on his behalf.”

Odenefo Kwafo Akoto III emphatically stated that looking at the sacrifice and contributions they have made towards the growth and development of the country, apart from the Nkrumah’s government who promised them a juicy deal but unfortunately following his overthrow successive governments had disappointed them in terms of the developmental projects.

“We deserved better treatment from the government, by this time Akwamuman should have been developed because my grandfather Kwafo Akoto II during his time as the defacto Vice President of Ghana released a vast land to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah for the Akosombo Dam project which supplies electricity to the country and beyond and generate foreign income to the nation,” he said.

Odene Akoto III said that today if you go to the Volta River Authority (VRA) the residents from Akwamu who are working over there are very few and that is very sad.

The Akwamu Omanhene revealed this when the Eastern Regional NPP executives led by the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Bryan Acheampong paid a courtesy call on him at his palace in Akwamu to officially inform him that they had come to his land to have an engagement with their party members ahead of the 2024 general elections.

Odene Kwafo Akoto III then appealed to President Akufo Addo to do something about their plight, especially the VRA denying the youth of the area job opportunities stating that it is very worrying because they cannot be maltreated on their own backyard.

By// Kontihen Kofi Oboh.

Source//Obohnewsonline.com.

The Member of Parliament for Fanteakwa South Constituency in the Eastern Region on the ticket of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kofi Okyere Agyekum has assured the party’s leadership of supporting the 2024 Parliamentary Candidate of the area, Duke Ofori-Atta.

He reaffirms his stance to help retain the parliamentary seat for the party in the upcoming 2024 election.

Arafat as he popularly called noted that, Duke Ofori-Atta was the right person to succeed him and continued his good work to develop Fanteakwa South.

Kofi Okyere Agyekum added that the Fanteakwa South Parliamentary seat is dear to NPP and that they can not afford to lose it to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), therefore, he will join Ofori-Atta on his campaign trip to amass more votes for him to win the seat for their party.

Arafat debunked the claim that some people are speculating that he is not on good terms with the parliamentary candidate after losing the parliamentary bid to him in their primaries.

The Fanteakwa South MP revealed that should he hold a grudge against the PC, he wouldn’t have been attending programs with him and marketing him to the constituents to vote for him to become the next member of parliament for the constituency.

Kofi Okyere Agyekum made this known during the sod cutting of the construction of a 6-unit classroom block with the headteacher’s office and 6 water closet facilities for the Hemang D/A Primary School.

Okyere Agyekum then advised colleagues outgoing MPs to emulate him and support the elected parliamentary candidates to retain the seat for the party to enable them to break the eight and continue the development of the country.

Source// Obohnewsonline.com.

By// Kontihen Kofi Oboh.

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Bryan Acheapong has indicated that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Asuogyamang Constituency of the Eastern Region needs at least 800 votes to capture the parliamentary seat from the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

According to him, the incumbent NDC MP, Thomas Ampem Nyarko defeated then candidate of the NPP, Paul Asare Ansah with few votes during the 2020 election.

His contention follows the limited voter registration exercise and transfers, hence the NPP need not less than 800 votes per their analysis to unseat the NDC come December 7, 2024.

The Food and Agriculture Minister who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Abetifi Constituency stated that getting 800 votes in Asuogyaman is feasible but requires teamwork and unity to do so.

Dr. Acheampong added that the NPP would by hook or crook win the presidential seat regardless and therefore asked the NDC to abstain from being over-reliant on social media trends.

He made this known at Asuogyaman on Sunday, July 14, 2024, during an engagement exercise with the grassroots of the area which included polling station executives, electoral area coordinators, volunteer groups, and party faithful.

He used the opportunity and entreated them to forgo their differences and rally their support behind the party to win the election and do more for the country in terms of developmental projects.

For his part, the 2020 Parliamentary Candidate for the area, Paul Asare Ansah reiterated his commitment to helping Pius Enam Hadzide to win the parliamentary seat for NPP.

He noted that after losing the parliamentary bid to Pius Hadzide he called all his followers to come on board and work for the party to help break the eight-year term jinx as uniformity is all that the elephant family needs.

The Parliamentary Candidate for the Constituency, Pius Hadzide thanked Paul Asare Ansah who is also his uncle together with the other aspirants for throwing their support behind him in the quest to reclaim the seat.

He concluded by asking whosoever he had offended in any way during his campaign for the primary to forgive him for peace to reign.

In his voice, the Eastern Regional Chairman for the NPP, Jeff Konadu Addo commended Paul Asare Ansah for the love and support shown to Pius Enam Hadzide despite his bid proving futile.

“This tells us all that he has the progress of the party at his heart and this is exactly what all the failed parliamentary candidates must emulate to help the party to grow,” he opined.

By// Kontihen Kofi Oboh.

Source// Obohnewsonline.com

The Parliamentary Candidate for Akuapem North Constituency in the Eastern Region, Samuel Awuku has put smiles on the faces of some Artisans in the area by presenting equipment to them to support their work.

The beneficiaries are the Dressmakers and Hairdressers Association where he [Sammi Awuku] gave 50 Dreyers to the hairdressers and 50 sewing machines to the dressmakers together with 25,000.00¢ each as seed money to use to establish a welfare for their association.

According to Mr. Awuku who doubles as the Executive Director for the National Lotteries Authority (NLA), it is better to teach someone how to fish than always fishing for them because doing so would breed relaxation.

He indicated all hands are not equal and that sometimes people can go through hardship but if the Association has a welfare fund at any given time one can rely on it through borrowing and repay later.

He also again engaged other professionals such as mechanics, welders, electricians, and painters, listened to their consent and assured them that they would also get their fair share of his kind gesture.

The Akuapem North Parliamentary Candidate entreated the artisans to have a reflection of the support and honor him and NPP’s flagbearer, Vice President Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia in the December 7 polls to step in the shoes of President Akufo-Addo.

He told Kingdom FM’s KONTIHEN KOFI OBOH that the people of Akuapem North will continue to see more of such benefits if they retain the NPP government in power.

By// Kontihen Kofi Oboh.

Source// Obohnewsonline.com.

A group calling itself Ofie Ladies based in the Akuapem North Constituency of the Eastern Region on Saturday, July 13, 2024, embarked on a massive clean-up exercise at the Mamfe township.

The exercise aimed to pave the way for the much anticipated ‘Ofie’ mega walk with the Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, and the Parliamentary Candidate of the Constituency, Samuel Awuku slated for August 3, 2024.

Speaking to Kingdom FM’s KONTIHEN KOFI OBOH after the clean-up exercise, the Woman Organizer for the Constituency, Linda Darkwa, noted that, the mega walk with DMB and Sammi Awuku will start at Mamfe roundabout through to Amanokrom and ends it at Mampong which would be occasioned with cleaning to ensure that the aforementioned adjourning communities are tidy up.

Linda Darkwa urged all and sundry to take sanitation issues seriously and clean up their environment regularly to help prevent contracting diseases such as malaria, and cholera among others.

She used the opportunity and invited everybody to join them on the dee day.

Some Ghanaian musicians such as King Paluta, Sister Afia, and Eno Barony would grace the event to entertain the crowd.

By// Kontihen Kofi Oboh.

Source// Obohnewsonline.com.

Residents, including Chiefs and Elders of Akwadum in the New Juaben North Municipality of the Eastern Region, have demonstrated against their traditional ruler Nana Owusu Agyare over an alleged illegal sale of community lands coupled with the lack of social amenities confronting the area.

The demonstrators alleged that Nana Agyare had sold the Akwadum stool lands to some institutions and individuals in the region.

Speaking after the exercise, the Obaahemaa of Akwadum, Nana Adwoa Animah who spearheaded the demonstration accused the Akwadumhene of unlawfully selling community lands of 1,701 acres.

She explained that 1100 acres of land were sold to the management of the Cocoa Research Institute (CRIG) in Akim Tafo, 100 acres to the Joy Daddy Industries, and 501 acres to the Koforidua Technical University.

According to her, totaling an amount worth over Four Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (¢400,000.00) was profited from the land sale without rendering an account to the people of Akwadum.

Nana Adwoa Animah, while expressing her disappointment in the traditional ruler for his gesture said, his failure to consider using part of the profit made to develop the area with the provisions of social amenities is mind-blowing.

“As a mother of the town, I can not sit down, fold my arms, and watch him continue destroying Akwadum. So, this why we embarked on such demonstration exercise to demand accountability from him [Nana Owusu Agyare] on exactly what he used the huge sum amount for..,” she added.

Nana Animah hinted that although they referred the Akwadumhene to the Omanhene of New Juaben Traditional Area, Daasebre Kwaku Boateng III called him to order however their efforts proved futile.

The Akwadum Obaahemaa thus cautioned that the agitated youth of the area would not hesitate to take their actions to a different level should the accused chief fail to heed their accountability call.

For his part, the Ahenemahene of the area, Nana Boakye Yiadom also registered his displeasure against the New Patriotic Party’s Parliamentary Candidate for the Constituency, Nana Osei-Adjei for turning a deaf year to the lack of developmental projects of the area.

He indicated that, before the party’s parliamentary primaries in January 2024, the latter visited the area and prayed to them for votes but after his election, he refused to show up in the community amid assurance of delivering the promises made to the people during his campaign.

He added that the Parliamentary Candidate has also refused to use his influence to intervene in some disputes retarding the development of Akwadum for more than three years.

“We are sending a signal to him that since he cannot console us in difficult times to help address the issues at hand, then we will also advise ourselves in the December 7 polls,” said the Ahenemahene.

By// Kontihen Kofi Oboh.

Source// Obohnewsonline.com.