The plan by Ghana to spend GH¢294.5 million (about $51.7 million) to vaccinate the initial 20 million people and the report that lawyers for former President John Mahama, will today move a motion before the Supreme Court, seeking permission to reopen his case are the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Graphic reports that Ghana has estimated to spend GH¢294.5 million (about $51.7 million) to vaccinate the initial 20 million people.
The summary budget covers operational costs for phase one of the three-phase National Vaccine Deployment Plan (NVDP) for COVID-19.
Presenting highlights of the plan last Friday at a webinar in Accra organised by the Centre for Social Justice to create awareness of the NVDP, the Programme Manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Kwame Amponsa-Achiano, said an estimated $3 would be spent on each person to be vaccinated.
He said the exercise would be in three phases, with the first phase constituting a segmented group of 20 million people.
“Distribution strategies will initially be based on segmentation of the population based on vulnerabilities. But the ultimate is the entire population. The initial target is 20 million people,” he said.
The beneficiaries under the first phase included health workers, people with known underlying health conditions and security personnel, Dr. Amponsa-Achiano said.
The newspaper says that lawyers for former President John Dramani Mahama, who is challenging the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, will today move a motion before the Supreme Court, seeking permission to reopen his case.
The motion is to facilitate the petitioner’s quest to subpoena the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensa, to testify in the 2020 presidential election petition before the apex court.
The former President’s legal team, led by Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, will seek to convince the court that reopening the petitioner’s case to pave the way for the EC Chairperson to be subpoenaed would be in the “interest of justice and fairness”.
Mr. Mahama filed the application for leave (permission) to reopen his case last Thursday, barely an hour after the court had overruled an objection by Mr. Tsikata to the decision by the two respondents (the EC and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo) not to call any witnesses to adduce evidence.
In its ruling, the highest court of the land held that it was not clothed with the power to compel Mrs Mensa to testify because the rules of court and many case laws gave the respondents the right to either call or not call witnesses.
Former President Mahama, who was the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2020 polls, has based his petition mainly on the EC Chairperson’s declaration that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), won the 2020 presidential poll, describing the declaration as unconstitutional.
He closed his case on Monday, February 8, this year, after calling three witnesses to testify on his behalf.
The Graphic also reports that the Minister for Finance-designate, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta has travelled to the United States of America for treatment, following complications after recovering from COVID-19.
Mr. Ofori-Atta is said to have recovered from the Coronavirus disease last December and has since had some medical complications.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Finance on Sunday, February 14, 2021 said following the advice of doctors, the Finance Minister-designate travelled to the USA for further interventions, which were currently not available in Ghana.
“After recovering from COVID-19 last December, Mr. Ofori-Atta has had medical complications which doctors advise, require further interventions not currently available in Ghana,” the statement from the ministry said.
He is expected to be away for two weeks.
The Times says that Asokore Mampong Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Alidu Seidu, has been attacked and robbed of his official vehicle at gunpoint, by suspected armed robbers, resulting in insecurity and fear among the residents.
The incident occurred at about 11:15 pm on Friday at the Agya Wusu Junction, on the Buobai stretch, when the MCE was said to be returning from the Garden City University Campus.
According to a police source at Kenyasi, in the Kwabre East District, two gun-wielding men stopped the MCE, attacked him and made away with the Toyota Hilux vehicle, GW 2473-16, that he was using, which had in it his mobile handsets among other valuables.
The police have mounted a search for the suspects.
The attack comes barely two months, after the General Assembly Meeting of the Asokore Mampong Municipality ended abruptly when a group of ”well-built men” stormed the conference hall kicking members and smashing items on sight.
GIK/APA