Police in the Northern Regional capital,Tamale are holding a 28-year-old teacher for impregnating his 14-year-old pupil.  The girl was also forced by the teacher to abort her pregnancy.  David Ananga who is a former teacher of the EP Primary School in Tamale is said to have defiled nine other girls during school hours.   The teacher reportedly went into hiding after the incident was reported in October.  But the police discovered and smoked him out of his hideout with his accomplices last week.  He faces two charges of defilement and unlawful abortion while his accomplice Fredrick Akoto has been charged with permitting defilement on his premises.  Northern Regional Coordinator of DOVVSU, ASP Emmanuel Holortu told Joy News the school authority and the doctor who administered the abortion are also being investigated.

Seven people who were arrested at Jantong Daboase near Salaga in the Northern Region for possessing arms including AK 47 have been sent to Accra for further interrogation and prosecution. Police in the region arrested them on Friday and retrieved the weapons after the residents there suspected they were carrying something dangerous. Regional Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Ebenezer Tetteh told Joy News they may be put before court on Tuesday. He says the Police are also yet to apprehend one other prime suspect but “we are still pursuing him and we will intensify our search for him.” ASP Tetteh however refused to comment on a story circulating on some media that the AK 47-weilding suspects had Taliban videos on them. " I would not like to go into that," the police had said.

Seven persons have been arrested in Danton Daboase in the Northern Region in connection with two AK47 riffles and other undisclosed weapons retrieved from them. A laptop, which had what Police suspect to be terrorism-training videos of Taliban, was also retrieved from the suspects whose strange movement in the town aroused the suspicion of the residents. Northern Regional Police Public Relations officer, ASP Ebenezer Tetteh, told TV3 that the residents reported the suspicious movement of two of the seven people to the Palace where they were invited. They then led the two - Mahama Salifu Mustao and Issah Suale - to their residence and the two riffles plus other weapons were retrieved from them. Our Northern Regional Correspondent, Zubaida Ismail, reports that a 60-year-old Idrisu Ibrahim Wumpuni, a resident of Lamashegu in Tamale, who went to the palace to plead for the release of the two, was also arrested. Four others persons who also showed up at the Palace without any...

President  John Mahama in a tricycle  Some commercial drivers in the Tamale metropolis Tuesday took to the streets to protest against the use of tricycles popularly known as ‘Mahama Camboo’ as commercial transport in the area. The drivers, especially taxi operators who wore red bands prevented other taxi drivers who were not taking part in the demonstration from working. They blocked roads with vehicle tyres while others forced passengers out of taxis that were working. In a petition presented to the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, the drivers urged the minister to stop all activities of the tricycles in the region. Their spokesperson, Sherriff McCarthy Frimpong said they were specifically against the use of tricycles as commercial transport in the Northern Region. According to them, the use of the tricycle for commercial activities contravened the country’s motor traffic regulations. They questioned why the tricycles had been left unch...

A Tamale High Court presided over by Justice Noble Nkrumah has sentenced two young men to death by hanging for the murder of a businessman at Bondiri near Bole in the Northern Region. The convicts, Yakubu Aliu and Ernest Kona both 19 years were found guilty by the court for the murder of Dauda Adams, 23 after they had pleaded not guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit crime of murder. Facts Aliu and Kona who are both illegal miners (Galamsey) in 2013 met the deceased person at an illegal mining site at Bole where the deceased had gone to buy gold. The deceased at the site was approached by the convicts who told him that they had gold in their possession which they wanted to sell so they asked the deceased to follow them. They took the deceased into the bush and one of them went for a gun and shot the deceased at close range killing him instantly. The convicts then buried the deceased in the bush and took a bag that he (deceased) was holding which contained gold ...

Residents of the Nyohini Binabaani in the Tamale Metropolis are in a state of panic. A python suspected to be a sacred snake is reported to have been killed. It is feared that “Mr Bisco” as students of the Business Senior High School affectionately calls it, is a deity. Killing it is likely to bring a repercussion to the area. To appease the gods, a hen was sacrificed. Mr. Bisco has been with the school and its environs for several years now. The snake though very big has never hurt a student or a resident of the area. It recently appeared in the school. The video attached shows the last time the snake appeared. Credit : Northstar Online

The University for Development Studies, UDS, says it will soon introduce Arabic Studies as a course. This is to equip Arabic teachers with the requisite knowledge and skills to enable them to teach the subject well in schools. The Dean of the Faculty of Education of the University, Professor Agnes Apusigah who stated this at a public lecture at Wa in the Upper West Region said the introduction of the subject at the University will improve the quality of teaching of Arabic at basic and Senior High schools. Credit : GBC

Naa Dakpema Alhassan  The Chief of Tamale, Naa Dakpema Alhaji Alhassan Dawuni, has expressed disappointment at the lack of interest in the development of education by some opinion leaders, indigenes including Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Tamale metropolis.  Speaking on behalf of the Dakpema Naa Alhaji Alhassan Dawuni at his palace on November 16, 2015, the Spokesperson to Dakpema Naa, Chief Sabanaa Abass Salifu said it was so sad that none of the MPs from the Tamale metropolis had contributed to the Dakpema Education Fund to help support needy students. According to Chief Sabanaa, despite the level of influence and wealth of parliamentarians, none of the four MPs from the Tamale metropolis including, Haruna Iddirsu of Tamale South, Inusah Fuseini of Tamale Central, Alhaji ABA Fuseini of Sagnarigu and Alhassan Dahaman of Tamale North Constituencies have ever supported the Dakpema Education Fund. He lauded Engineer Ibrahim Seidu, one of the aspiring NDC parlia...

The management of SADA and the Ghana Trade Fair Company in a group photograph after one of the meetings The Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) has concluded an arrangement with the Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited to host the 20th edition of Ghana International Trade Fair in Tamale. This was the outcome of a series of meetings held between the two organisations in Accra and Tamale. Addressing participants at the opening of a two-day Planning Committees Workshop in Tamale for the forthcoming 20th Ghana International Trade Fair scheduled to take place at the Tamale Sports Stadium from February 25 – March 7, 2016, the Chief Executive Officer of SADA, Mr. Charles Abugre expressed delight at progress of work. The planning workshop was attended by participants, from Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Ghana Police Service, Northern Regional Coordinating Council, the Centre for National Culture, Ghana Trade Fair Company and SADA. ...

By: African Globe When we think of the wealthiest people in the world, we most often think of the Waltons (of Wal-Mart fame), Warren Buffett, or Bill Gates. However, if you go a bit further back in history, you’ll discover that the wealth of the kings, queens, and rulers of yesteryear trumps the bank accounts of most modern day millionaires and even billionaires by a mile. In fact, during his time, one man controlled more wealth than Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and the most wealthy member of the Walton family, Sam Walton, combined. That man was Mansa Musa I. With an adjusted net worth of approximately $400 billion, Musa is without a doubt the richest man to have ever lived. So who was he? And why haven’t you heard more about him? Emperor Mansa Musa I, also known as Musa of Mali (Mansa actually means “King of Kings”), was born in Mali, sometime in the 1280s. Mansa Musa came to be king in a rather roundabout way. His grandfather, Abu Bakr, was the brother of Sundiata Keita, the...

Professor Gabriel Ayum Teye, Vice-Chancellor of the University for Development Studies (UDS) has warned students against occultism, anti-social and non-conformist activities, saying the rules of the university frown on such acts. He said: “We totally reject and will not countenance the activities of unregistered clubs and associations and occultism. The university management shall invoke the rules and regulations drastically and mercilessly on any student or group of students who engage in occultism and other anti-social and non-conformist activities.” He gave the warning during the 23rd matriculation of UDS in Tamale on Saturday where a total 4,806 students out of 13,079 applicants were admitted to pursue various undergraduate programmes for the 2015/2016 academic year. The matriculation ceremony, which was held simultaneously across all UDS campuses (Tamale, Nyankpala, Navrongo and Wa), also saw a total of 367 students admitted to pursue various graduate programmes at the ...

A 7am Starbow flight from Accra to Tamale on Tuesday endured a “severe crash landing” on the Tamale Airport runway, forcing the initiation of safety procedures for scared passengers and crew. Images of the incident circulating on social media show gas masks hanging in the plane while the front end sits on the bare runway with the front tyres missing. The dramatic turn was an anticlimax to an otherwise smooth early morning flight, according to a passenger who did not want to be named. “It was scary, just when we were almost home. Allah is great, we thank him that we did not end up any worse,” she recounted. Confirming the incident to Graphiconline, an official of Aero Surveys Limited, operators of Starbow, adjudged the 2014 domestic airline of the year, said there were no injuries to any passenger, describing the incident as “not too serious”. Samuel Safo who offered apologies to all passengers and others affected by the incident, said he was not readily able to tell ...

Professor Gabriel Ayum Teye, the new Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University for Development Students (UDS) has taken over the administration of the university from Professor Haruna Yakubu for a five-year term. Professor Haruna Yakubu, the former Vice Chancellor, speaking to deans, heads of department and some council members at the Dungu campus of the university during the handing over ceremony, advised Professor Teye to operate an open door administration for success. He said he had learnt a lot from the UDS over the five-year period that he worked as the vice chancellor saying, “I must admit and confess that I did not know much about UDS when I took over because UDS was perceived as a university only for the people of the north”. He said it was when he had the opportunity to serve that he realized that UDS had what the other universities in Ghana did not have and mentioned its trimester programme as one of the best in the country. Professor Yakubu also said the UDS intern...

Very Rev Sam Nii Ollennu, Head of WAEC  The West African Examination Council, (WAEC) has cancelled the majority of papers of candidates who sat for this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WAEC) which were pending investigations. WAEC withheld the entire results of candidates presented by 185 out of 810 schools following widespread examination malpractices. Head of WAEC Ghana, Very Rev. Sam Nii Nmai Ollennu revealed this to Joy News’ Kwetey Nartey in an exclusive interview. He noted that after investigations of examination malpractices, sanctions such as cancellation of entire results and barring of schools from participating in any WAEC exams was applied. “In some of the cases, candidates were caught with prepared notes; others were impersonated which is criminal so they were handed over to the police for prosecution,” he added. Very Rev. Ollennu said 119 head teachers have also been made to sign a bond of good b...

A mild confusion ensued early this morning when the police from Tamale regional headquarters stormed the palace of a youth chief to take custody a vehicle that was allegedly used in stealing some six cattle. The Youth in Nyohani, a suburb within Tamale metropolis at the wee hours of today mounted a deadly chase on a Kia vehicle believed to be carrying cows stolen from a cowshed in a village near Tamale. The users of the vehicle upon sensing danger abandoned it at around the Abedi Pele roundabout and took to their heels into a nearby forest. The angry youth towed the vehicle with the stolen cattle to the palace of the youth chief. The incident attracted a thick crowd of passive spectators taking over the road to take pictures thus causing a slow in vehicular movement. The police who had the information drove to the Nyohani Zaachi palace to take charge of the case so as to commence investigations, however, the youth protested and succeeded in 'sacking' the police fr...

Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) are threatening to strike by the end of the month if government fails to pay all monies it owes the teachers. The decision, according to the group, follows government’s inability to meet a September 17 deadline to pay all outstanding debts it owed the teachers. The two teacher unions in August threatened to lay down their tools if the government failed to pay their allowances which have been in arrears for more than two years. President of the Coalition of Concerned Teachers, Emmanuel Opoku in an interview with Citi News said letters have been sent to the education ministry and its allied agencies notifying them about the groups’ decision. “Our ultimatum ended yesterday, as at yesterday we’ve not received any information from the Ministry of education or GES…today, we are sending a letter to Labour Commission, ministry of education and GES to inform them of our decision to decla...

The Chief Executive Officer of Savannah Accelerated Developmen Authority (SADA), Charles Abugri has announced that, the SADA guinea fowls that flew to Ghana neighboring country Burkina Faso have started returning to Ghana. The guinea fowls last year flew to Burkina Faso after corruption allegations rocked the authority. Several media reports on SADA guinea fowl project managed by Asongtaba Cottage Industry were to the effect that the birds had flown outside Ghana for reasons best known to the birds alone. A visit by some journalists at the facility in the Bolgatanga in the upper east region saw a few of the guinea fowls and the management’s answer for the whereabouts of the rest was that they had flown out. But presenting SADA’s development plan at the national development planning commission public consultative forum in Tamale, SADA CEO assured Ghanaians that the guinea fowls have started returning to Ghana. ’I can announce that those guinea fowls are on their way back from ...

In line with the NDC government’s manifesto to expand equitable access to secondary education, the President made two key campaign commitments in the run-up to the 2012 elections: • To build 200 community day senior high schools. • To implement the 1992 constitutional obligation to make secondary education progressively free. The objective of the dual promise is to expand physical access, with a focus on under-served areas and provide demand-side incentives for people to enrol in secondary education. Two hundred schools The construction of the 200 schools commenced in March 2014 with sod-cutting by the President at Nyanoa in the Upper West Akyem District in the Eastern Region for the construction of the first 50 schools. In November 2014, he launched the Secondary Education Improvement Project (SEIP) in Kintampo, the second phase of the community day schools project to commence the construction of 23 additional schools with ancillary facilities, supported with funding su...

Five Polytechnics in Ghana cannot be converted into technical universities for now as envisaged by the government. The institutions failed to meet the criteria required for the transformation. The Desk Officer for Universities and Polytechnics at the National Counsel for Tertiary Education of Ghana, Mr. Evan Kwabena Takyi disclosed this when a delegation from the German Academic Exchange Service visited  Koforidua Polytechnic. The visit was to access the school’s preparedness level to be transformed into a Technical University. Even though Mr. Takyi would not name these Polytechnics, he hinted that Koforidua Poly cannot be one. The institution did extremely well in the assessment, he noted. He said, government intend to remodel them after the German structures of Technical Universities and School of Applied Science to churn out graduates with employable and entrepreneurial skills. He added that, the visit by the German delegation is the first phase in the conversion pro...

Alhaji Limuna Muniru, Northern Regional Minister  The Northern Region Regional Minister, Alhaji Muniru Limuna has pulled out of the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) parliamentary race. His special aide, Rahman Ecomog confirmed this to Citi FM’s Northern Regional correspondent Abdul Karim Naatogma. A group calling itself Friends of Alhaji Muniru (FOAM) just a fortnight ago, launched a campaign to get the Minister into Parliament to represent the people of Damongo. There are no clear reasons yet for his decision but sources close to his camp say after critical assessment of his chances on the ground, the minister decided to let go. Incumbent NDC MP for the Damongo constituency, Adam Mutawakil, is said to have strong ties with the constituents and seems to be their favorite. Meanwhile President Mahama had commended him for his efforts in getting the Fufulso-Sawla road completed. That road project had been on the country’s budget for several yea...

Zaina Lodge After six years living and working within the northern part of Ghana, initially as a Peace Corp Volunteer, Harvard graduate Andy Murphy knew that the only way to sustain the developmental effort of the Savannah region through tourism was to invest in high-end accommodation facilities that would bring in generous returns. In order to better link his intrinsic understanding of the nexus between the land, communities and people he had lived with, and from whom he married, he went back and did his masters in Business Administration, developed a thorough business plan and put it out together with his business partner and former boss, John Mason. Luckily, investors, including a couple of Ghanaians, who believe in the potential of Ghana’s three northern regions, bought into the idea, and now, Zaina Lodge, the first luxury bush safari accommodation in West Africa, is near completion. PaJohn Bentsifi Dadson just returned from experiencing it. Before lunch in the afterno...

“I love teaching. I know God will see me through to land my dream profession”, may sound very optimistic statement from a 21-year old woman. For Lordina Amoah, however, this remains wishful thinking unless a miracle happens. Despite gaining admission to St. Louis College of Education in Kumasi, raising Gh¢2,500.000 to pay admission means her dream of becoming a teacher could fizzle out or, at least, be put on hold indefinitely. The former student of Armed Forces Senior High School, also in Kumasi, has been nursing an ambition to join the teaching fraternity and contribute Ghana’s human resource development effort through, in her own words, “quality teaching”. Lordina’s sole sponsor is her 60-year old mother, Afua Serwaa, who saw her through basic and second-cycle education, as a single parent. Though her spirit may be willing it’s obvious the body is becoming too weak to carry on, perhaps, when it matters most. Madam Serwaa is a seamstress but without a shop of her o...

More than 313,000 senior high school (SHS) day students are to benefit from government’s progressively free SHS policy. The beneficiary students are from selected 591 SHSs, with 102 and 88 of such schools in the Ashanti and Volta Regions respectively. Eighty-two, 67, 56 and 54 are in the Eastern, Brong Ahafo, Western and Central regions respectively, while 46 and 45 such schools are in the Greater Accra and Northern regions respectively. In all, 313,301 senior high school day students are to benefit from the free SHS policy in the 2015/2016 academic year. A statement signed and issued by the acting Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Jacob A.M. Kor, added that 28 and 23 of those schools were in the Upper East and Upper West regions respectively. Government committed The statement, therefore, gave the assurance that the government was committed to the progressively free SHS policy, starting from the 2015/16 academic year and insisted that the releas...

He is the highest recipient of awards in four decades at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). The 24-year-old Charles Dzugah’s broke the 40-year old record by raking in 8 out of the 15 available awards at the end of his seven-year- course at the university. He received the awards which included the Dr. Wereko-Brobby and Dr. Kwame Addo Kuffuor awards, at the induction ceremony at KNUST. The interesting twist to Charles Dzugah’s intriguing story is how he has maintained his consistent academic excellence from the basic to tertiary level of education. Reminiscing about awards he swept during the induction ceremony, Charles said on the Traffic Avenue on Citi FM: “It was a blur of emotions on that day. It just happened so fast… I don’t remember what I was thinking but I was just excited.” He dispelled notions people had about him that he was the “serious type,” who is always behind his books studying. “No I have a lot of fun. I party and chill w...

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has released approved fees for second-cycle institutions for the 2015/16 academic year. Boarding students are expected to pay GH¢724.50, while day students will be required to pay GH¢405.50. The Director-General of the GES, Mr Jacob A.M. Kor, who signed the letter on the approved fees to be forwarded to all heads of second-cycle institutions, said admission fees would be GH¢20 and examination fees GH¢10 for boarders, day and technical students. Breakdown The letter said for boarders, feeding fee at GH¢3.30 per day would amount to GH¢308, while entertainment, library and SRC fees would be GH¢2, GH¢3 and GH¢2 respectively. Others such as cumulative records, sports and culture fees will be GH¢5, GH¢5, GH¢3, respectively. However, boarders would each pay GH¢2 as maintenance fees. Uniform and clothing For uniform and clothing, made up of school uniform (two sets), house dress (two sets) and P.E. kits, each student, boarder or day student, wou...

This year’s Best teacher award ceremony will be held in Tamale, the Northern Regional capital. This was disclosed by the Northern Regional Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Alhaji Haruna Cambodia. The day which is set aside by government to recognize the efforts of hard working teachers will take place on October 5, 2015. Alhaji Haruna Cambodia said a committee has already been set up and tasked to organize the event. The event will take place at the Tamale Jubilee Park.

Eight local artisans have been jailed for stealing building materials meant for the Tamale Airport expansion and upgrading project. Some of them were charged for siphoning fuel whilst others were jailed for diverting large quantities of cement. According to the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, some of the unruly local artisans have been sacked for various offences. “Some of them have been sacked for truancy and everyday they siphon fuel from that place and everybody knows.” He revealed this during the 2015 International Youth Day Celebration held in Tamale. He described the situation as shameful. “We are talking about youth unemployment, yes is true but in our little way we try to see how we can engage you but your attitudes are the problem.” Alhaji Limuna said the chiefs of Tamale impressed upon him to take advantage of the project and secure employment for some of the youth. “Dema Naa came with the chiefs of Tamale to confront me that the ...

President John Dramani Mahama yesterday said he has resurrected from the land of the dead, as he is no longer a ‘dead goat’ but a living one. “I am a living goat not a dead goat,” he said jokingly, after the backlash from his ‘dead goat syndrome’ comment. The President, addressing Ghanaians living in Botswana in March this year, said he had become impervious to threats of strikes and demonstrations back home and adopted what he termed a “dead- goat syndrome”, telling agitating labour groups and the opposition that a dead goat does not fear the knife. His comment at the time caused public uproar and his political opponents in particular had since used the ‘dead goat’ analogy against him in almost every political discourse. However, in an interview on state-run Uniiq FM in Accra in commemoration of the World Youth Day, President Mahama backtracked and said he had now changed from a dead goat to a living one, as strike actions by agitating public sector workers overwhelmed hi...

Government is appealing to the family of the late Nakpaa-Naa Alhaji Salifu Dawuni to soften their stance and bury the chief. Government has admitted that the delays in burying the late chief is a major cause of the ceaseless chieftaincy crisis in the Nanun Traditional Area. The late Nakpaa-Naa Alhaji Salifu Dawuni’s corpse is currently at the Yendi Government Hospital morgue. The family refused to bury the remains because of confusion over the burial site. The family argued that the late Nakpaa-Naa Alhaji Salifu Dawuni should be buried in line with the customs of the Nanun Traditional Area as paramount chief of Bimbila. The other side of the chieftaincy divide, the Andani family is strongly opposed to this demand. This is why the Northern Regional Security Council (RECSEC) has made a passionate appeal to the bereaved family to soften their stance. The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna in a Citi News interview said, “We are engaging the regional peac...

There was near bloodbath Tuesday afternoon when a group of unidentified macho men in a Hollywood movie style stormed the premises of the National Democratic Congress youth group, the Founders’ Fun Club where an anti-Haruna Iddrisu press conference was ongoing. The macho men who the NDC Founders’ Fun Club accuses of being members of the camp of the Tamale South Member of Parliament threatened to beat up the members of the youth group and the pressmen covering the news conference if it was not brought to an end. Justice News’ Abubakari Yussif who was covering the news conference reports that a scuffle that lasted for not less than 20 minutes ensued between the macho men and the youth group. He said journalists who were covering the press conference had to run for cover and watched from a safe distance as the scuffle continued. Yussif said it took the intervention of some community members in Kakpagyili, a suburb of Tamale to bring the situation under control. He reports th...

The Government has served notice it may not pay any public sector worker who has embarked on an illegal strike action. Government has consequently directed heads of government establishments where workers have embarked on illegal (partial or full) strike actions to compile and submit to their respective ministers of state the list of workers who have been absenting themselves from work as a result of a strike or protest. A statement by the Minister of Employment & Labour Relations, Haruna Iddrisu, which explained that the decision is in line with provisions of the Labour Act 2003 (Act 651), which states among others that a worker on strike “may forfeit his/her remuneration in respect of the period during which he/she is engaged in the illegal strike,” further asked that "The compiled lists are to be submitted to the Ministry of Finance on or before Friday August 14, 2015 for necessary action." The "Government is once again appealing to public sector workers presen...