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OccupyJulorbiHouse demo: BBC Journalist, Cameraman released
A BBC reporter in Ghana, Thomas Naadi, and his Cameraman who were earlier picked up by the Police have been released.
The Journalists were picked up while they were covering a demonstration organized by Democracy Hub on Thursday.
A BBC spokesperson said: “Two BBC reporters were arrested in Ghana whilst covering demonstrations at Jubilee House. Both reporters were briefly detained and have since been released.”
In a statement, the police explained that “in dispersing the illegal demonstrators, a group of them were picked up and sent to the police station. During their screening process, two persons identified themselves as journalists and were immediately allowed to go.
“While we assure the public of our commitment to work with all stakeholders in our quest to ensure security law and order, we want to urge all the other stakeholders to be circumspect in the discharge of their responsibilities since they have implications for the image and reputation of other stakeholders.”
The protest was intended to commence at the 37 Hospital area of Accra and culminate at Ghana’s presidency, the Jubilee House.
According to the police, court notices were served to the protesters, advising them to cancel their plans. However, the demonstrators dispute this claim, asserting that they were not served any such notice, leading them to proceed with their protest.
Law enforcement officers apprehended 49 protesters and some journalists and transported them to the Accra regional police headquarters.
Subsequently, after screening and discussions, the journalists who were among the detained protesters, including BBC’s Thomas Naadi and his colleagues, were released.
At the Accra regional police headquarters, some protesters were arrested at the main entrance while attempting to have some of their colleagues released.
The police issued a press statement earlier in the day, clarifying that they do not take pleasure in preventing any group from demonstrating, emphasizing their history of providing security for demonstrations in the past.
Source: Citinewsroom.com
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
