The ruling of the Supreme Court today on whether the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission will testify in the 2020 presidential election petition filed by former President John Dramani Mahama dominates the headlines of Ghanaian press on Thursday.
The Graphic reports that Ghanaians will know today whether the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs Jean Adukwei Mensa, will mount the witness box and testify in the 2020 presidential election petition filed by former President John Dramani Mahama.
The seven-member panel of the Supreme Court will rule on an application by the respondents — the EC and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo — not to call any witness.
The issue of whether Mrs. Mensa will testify or not has become the major bone of contention in the petition, with lawyers for the respondent and the petitioner battling it out with copious legal arguments.
While the legal teams of the respondents insist there is no rule of court that obliges them to call witnesses, the petitioner argues that the EC has already decided to call witnesses and in view of that it cannot let its witness (Mrs Mensa) avoid cross-examination.
Pursuant to an order by the court during the case management stage, all the parties (the petitioner and the respondents) filed their respective witness statements.
For the petitioner, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, and a member of the NDC team in the EC’s ‘strong room’ during the 2020 elections, Dr Michael Kpessa-Whyte, filed their witness statements.
Mrs Mensa also filed a witness statement on behalf of the EC, while the Campaign Manager of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Election 2020, Mr Peter Mac Manu, filed on behalf of President Akufo-Addo.
The newspaper says that the Ghanaian Government has ordered about 355,000 AstraZeneca vaccines from Europe and will be available by the middle of March this year to cover an estimated population of 20 million.
Making an appearance before the Appointments Committee of Parliament (ACP) as the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s first nominee, the Minister-designate for Health, Mr. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu said: “We are making arrangements to cover the entire 40 million Ghanaians within the period of time.”
He told the committee that Ghana currently did not have the storage infrastructure for Pfizer vaccines that required the drugs to be stored at zero temperature.”
“The good news is that we are getting support from COVAX and the African Union (AU), which had set up an African medicines supply platform,” he said, and gave an assurance that more vaccines would be available as more countries were yet to get certification for their vaccines.
The Minister-designate, who is also the NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Dormaa Central, was accompanied by his wife and some traditional rulers from Dormaa.
Mr Agyeman-Manu called for an increment in the levy and the premiums paid by individuals into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to stop the scheme from possible collapse.
The proposed increment, should it be considered, must not affect contribution from the pension premium from the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), as it is part of people’s pension.
The Graphic also reports that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has announced that there will be an interruption in power supply in some parts of Accra beginning Thursday, February 11, 2021.
The ECG in a statement said the interruption in power supply which will be over seven days in February and March 2021 is to enable a contractor to commence work on connecting the Pokuase Bulk Supply Point (BSP) to the Kanda and Airport Stations.
The power will be interrupted between 10 am to 4 pm on February 11, February 16, February 19, February 22, February 25, March 2 and March 5.
“As part of the ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround (EFOT) project, the Millennium Development Authority (MIDA) in collaboration with the Electricity Company of Ghana will undertake interruptions in power supply to enable a contractor commence excavation works to interconnect load from the Pokuase Bulk Supply Point (BSP) to the Kanda and Airport substations,” the statement said.
The areas to be affected by the construction include Roman Ridge, Parts of Airport Residential Area, Air Site Hotel, Primrose Place and its environs, ECG Roman Ridge District Office, Accra Girls, Maamobi and the Kotobabi Poly Clinic. The rest are Ghana Institution of Engineers, Ebony, Abavana Down, Kotobabi Down, Modex Filling Station, Alajo, Tobinco Pharmaceuticals and Parts of Tesano.
The Times says that a Russian delegation, comprising the country’s foreign ministry officials and private business people, are in Ghana to explore business opportunities in the mining and related sectors.
Led by Russia’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa,Mikhail Bogdanov, the delegation includes Boris Ivanov, founder of GBP Global Resources, a leading multi-national company.
The company, whose international businesses include petroleum exploration and production, and mineral extraction, intends to engage in gold refinery as well as invest in the manganese and related industries in the country.
The Minister-designate for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, at a meeting with the delegation yesterday in Accra, expressed the hope that the visit would refresh the long-standing bilateral relations existing between the two countries for mutual benefits as new opportunities were identified.
She welcomed GBP Global Resources’ investment interest in the country and cited the gold refinery at Tarkwa, which was built by the former Soviet Union, as an investment opportunity worth the company’s consideration.
According to her, the company’s interest in engaging in the gold refinery business was in tune with the government’s agenda of value addition to the country’s natural resources to promote economic development and provide jobs.
She, therefore, assured the Russian envoy of Ghana’s commitment to expedite the processes involved to enable GBP Global Resources to lawfully commence business in the country.
GIK/APA