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3 traders burst into tears over GH¢120 court fines
A Gavel
Three traders who were dragged to the Adentan Magistrates court in Accra for disturbing public peace burst into tears after the court imposed a GH¢120 fine on each of them or spend six months in prison.
The convicts Vivian Fiatsor, Mawutor Fiatsor and Sadame Linda who pleaded guilty to one count of disturbing the peace in a public place contrary to section 298(a) of the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (ACT 29) knelt and wept uncontrollably and pleaded with the court presided over by Madam Nancy Adadey to tamper justice with mercy.
But the court would have none of that and were led by the Police escorts to either begin their sentence or pay the fine.
Chief Inspector Philomena Borje prosecuting told the court that the accused are all traders and neighbours residing at Burnapat Oyibi in the Kpone Katamanso Municipality in the Greater Accra Region.
She said Vivian and Mawutor Fiatsor are siblings and on March 6, 2024 the three came to the Oyibi Police Station and reported a case of assault against each other.
The court heard that Police medical report forms were issued to all of them to attend hospital for treatment which they duly returned endorsed by medical officers.
Chief Inspector Borje stated that Mawutor Fiatsor and Linda Sadame were bearing grudges against each other in their neighbourhood.
Due to that on March 6 at about 10:30am while passing by each other in their neighbourhood at Burnapat, they both without provocation started raining insults on each other. This, the court heard, led to a fight between them in which both inflicted degrees of injuries on each other.
The Prosecutor told the court that the scene attracted Vivian Fiatsor, the sister of Mawutor who tried to separate them but Linda Sadame slapped her with the reason that she held her for the sister to bite her left arm.
Chief Inspector Borje said after investigations they were all charged with the offence and arraigned in court.
By Lawrence Vomafa-Akpalu
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Richard Appiah, the footballer who killed two children and stored part of their bodies in a fridge at Abesim in the Bono Region in 2021 has been handed a lifetime sentence.
This was after a five member panel of judges at the Accra High Court returned a verdict of guilty against the convict.
Appiah, 32, also a draughtsman would spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of murder.
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BY MALIK SULLEMANA
