Harry Kane became Tottenham’s all-time record scorer, surpassing the great Jimmy Greaves, as his 267th goal for the club dented Manchester City’s title ambitions at a raucous Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The England captain reached the landmark with a composed finish from 10 yards out after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg did exceptionally well to find Kane inside the box.

Fans jumped from their seats to applaud the 29-year-old striker, whose first Spurs goal came on 15 December 2011, while a message flashed up on the scoreboard inside the ground which read ‘Congratulations Harry Kane’.

The 15th-minute finish was also Kane’s 200th on the Premier League stage – only Alan Shearer (260 goals) and Wayne Rooney (208) have scored more.

It came against the run of play and with Spurs boss Antonio Conte recovering at home after surgery to remove his gallbladder.

Tottenham, who finished with 10 men after defender Cristian Romero was sent off in the 87th minute for two bookable offences, dug deep in their Italian manager’s absence to frustrate City.

Pep Guardiola’s side missed the chance to cut Arsenal’s five-point lead at the top of the table following the Gunners’ defeat at Everton on Saturday.

Riyad Mahrez went closest to equalising with an attempt which cannoned off the underside of the bar, but City are without a point – and a goal – in five visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

While they remain five points behind Arsenal having played one game more, Tottenham’s victory moves them one point behind fourth-placed Newcastle.

Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam

A group of Ghanaian road contractors has rejected the government’s plan to include them in a debt restructuring program, citing that they have not received any official communication from the government.

The Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, had announced that the government would be sending letters to private banks and contractors to whom it owes about $2.8 billion for a debt restructuring.

However, the National Chairman of the Ghana Road Contractors, John Afful, said that the group has not received any such letter and is therefore not aware of any plans to include them in the debt restructuring program.

“We haven’t been reached and I think what I have read was pertaining to the foreign contractors. We local contractors haven’t been approached and I don’t think we will be involved because the amount we are owed is far, far less than the $2.8 billion,” Afful said in an interview with JoyFM’s Newsnight.

Afful also stated that the group would not participate in any debt restructuring program even if they were included, citing that the government has owed them since 2016.

“Hopefully, we can’t participate because our debt has been there for a very long time- from 2016 to now. So, I don’t think it will be right for any party to do anything like that. It will be very much unfair to us,” he added.

This development comes after the government announced plans to restructure its debt to private banks and contractors.

The move is seen as an effort to alleviate the country’s debt burden, which has been a major concern for investors and economists.

However, the rejection by the Ghana Road Contractors raises questions about the government’s ability to successfully restructure its debt.

-BY Daniel Bampoe

The Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, has expressed optimism in the Speaker and the Members of Parliament, anticipating a swift passage of the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, publicly known as the anti-gay bill.

Despite setbacks faced in laying the bill for consideration a few days ago, with proponents alleging deliberate frustration by the Majority side in Parliament, Apostle Nyamekye expressed confidence in the bill’s success.

Speaking to Citi News on the sidelines of the commissioning of the Amigo Bread factory on the Accra-Tema Motorway, Apostle Nyamekye conveyed his belief in the legislative process for the bill to succeed.

“I even heard the Speaker say that we need to expedite action on the promulgation of the bill, and we are praying for him. As long as they keep pushing, I am sure they will be able to work on it, and it will succeed.”

Hundreds of residents in Tamale in the Northern region have joined the #fixthecountry conveners to demonstrate to demand constitutional reforms.

The protesters who are marching through the principal streets of Tamale want the 1992 Constitution reviewed.

This comes on the back of Ghana’s celebration of its 30 years of constitutional rule today.

The organizers who for the past weeks have been in the region met youth groups in some communities and have been collating signatures as part of a petition demanding reforms in the Constitution.

The demonstrators were clad in red and held placards with various inscriptions.

Some of the protesters who spoke to Citi News used the occasion to call on authorities to address other pertinent concerns of Ghana.

“I’m here in support of all of us, because we deserve a Ghana that works for everybody, and we deserve leaders that are going to lead us into success and prosperity. And I believe that we should hold them accountable. I also believe that people should take personal responsibility for their lives so that we can all smile as a nation,” one of the protesters, Ama Yankah said.

Another youth activist, Abdul Fataw, wants a new Constitution that will cater for the current and future needs of Ghanaians.

“We want to sound it very hard into the hearings of the leadership of the country that, the 1992 Constitution that was created to take care of Ghanaians for a very short period needs to be reviewed. I mean the true reflection of whatever was happening then has become outmoded.”

“We are currently agitating that the leadership of the nation should come up with a very new Constitution that will cater for the current and future needs. Lots of injustices happening, misappropriation of resources, we, the voiceless are crying that they should come out with a new Constitution to safeguard the rights of citizens,” he appealed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=/Ge6C-5ua-rI

The Upper East Regional House of Chiefs says residents of the region are now living in fear following renewed clashes in Bawku.

The House of Chiefs states that the clashes have escalated to other parts of the region, creating panic and fear among residents.

President of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, Pe Ditundini Adiali Ayagitam III, says the Bawku crisis must be addressed head-on.

“The Upper East is generally a peaceful region until the Bawku crisis erupted into proportions beyond human imagination. The crisis has reached a stage where everybody is highly suspicious of their neighbor. We are no longer safe in the region. Whether you are Kusasi, Mamprusi, or a well-meaning citizen who wants to see peace in the area, you are tagged to either of the warring factions.”

Violence erupted in the area on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, following the killing of two people at the Bawku Community Centre.

The MP for the area, Mahama Ayariga, condemned the killings and called on “the office of the Ashanti Hene, Otumfuo, to mediate.”

Five people were also killed in a brutal attack by unknown assailants on January 23 en route from Bawku to a market in Binduri.

The resuscitation of the railway system in the country will witness a major boost in mid-February with the arrival of twelve units of modern diesel train engines and vehicles from Poland.

The units, part of a comprehensive arrangement in the ongoing railway resuscitation project across the country, are expected to facilitate the activation of regional and long distance operations of the passenger and freight train system in the country.

An official of the Polish railway company charged with the task of producing the engines, Rynek Kolejowy, who broke the news, said the modern railways are expected in mid-February.

“They’re due to reach Ghana by mid-February,” he said, adding that they are already en route to Ghana.

He disclosed that the Ghana Railways Company Limited ordered the modern diesel engines “from Bydgoszcz to operate both regional and long-distance lines.”

The order was first confirmed September last year.

Continuing, the official said that “the first vehicle is already undergoing final tests at the factory in Bydgoszcz.”

The order, a major deal on the international railway scene, has already caught the attention of industry watchers who put out the information on the public space recently.

The contract is for “the supply of 12 Diesel multiple units, with 10 vehicles being an option for the ordering party. The vehicle is technically similar to the RegioFox vehicles that Bydgoszcz produces for Czech Railways.”

With the arrival of the engines and completion of some of the tracks coupled with the railway bridge over the Volta River at Mpakadan, a major feat would have been chalked by the government in the line of resuscitating a transportation system long dead, its aged tracks overgrown with weeds.

The Mpakadan segment of the railway system constitutes a backbone of the track system between Tema, through Yendi, Tamale and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The capital-intensive project is being undertaken under the aegis of the President Akufo-Addo established Ministry of Railways Development, which was established in February 2017.

The main frame of reference of the Ministry whose implementing agency is the Ghana Railway Company Limited is the rapid development of a modern rail network in Ghana.

It is expected that the modern railway system being envisaged will connect the major cities of Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi, and Tamale, ending in Burkina Faso.

It will also enhance the use of Ghana as the route for transporting goods from landlocked countries north of Ghana, such as Burkina Faso, to the ports of Tema and Takoradi, and also from the ports to the landlocked countries.

The transportation of the multiple minerals the country is endowed with, among them manganese, bauxite, and iron ore along the route of the existing railway’s network will be greatly enhanced when the railway system is fully operational, industry watchers have asserted.

Commercial and high grade iron ore deposits have already been offered some successful bidders who are on sight already undertaking further work to determine the quantity of the minerals among others, the viability of which has been ascertained following intensive geological sampling.

The recent completion of the Mpakadan railway bridge, the first of its kind in the country, will link the southern portions of the country to the north and Burkina Faso.

Both countries, Ghana and Burkina Faso, have showed keen interest in the railway project because of the inherent economic dividends.

The mid-February arrival of the modern railway engines and vehicles would have gone a long way in making the dream of the resuscitation of this steel track transportation system by President Akufo-Addo come true.

The current railway network in the country is made up of three lines: The Western Line, the Eastern Line, and the Central Line (from Huni Valley to Kotuku), all built during the colonial period.

Sources from the Railway Ministry indicate that “what is still operational is barely 13% of the approximately 947 kilometers of rail
that existed at independence in 1957. These lines are all narrow (Cape) gauge, single-track lines. What is left of it, is used for both freight and passenger traffic. Over the years, the track and rolling stock have all deteriorated, due to lack of maintenance.”

The Ghana Railway Master Plan, completed in 2013, is a guide for the fulfillment of the ministry’s mandate, the Railway Ministry stated in a document about the industry, adding “the Master Plan proposes a new railway network of 4,007.6 km with an investment of approximately US$21,507,920,000.00. All the new rail networks will be standard gauges. The Ghana Railway Master Plan envisages that the total rail network of 4,007.6 km is to be done in six phases.

“The Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Railways Development, having reviewed the Ghana Railways Master Plan, has identified specific phases of the Master Plan as Priority Projects for the next few years. The proposed time frame for the execution of these Priority Projects is from July 2016 to June 2020.

“These Priority Projects are Phase 2 of the Master Plan and some railway lines in Phase 3 and Phase 5 of the Master Plan.
“This is as of 2013 and the figure has not been reviewed. Phase 2 covers approximately a total of 1234km. It involves the construction of the following: Takoradi – Kumasi (Western) Line, 339 km, (with a branch line from Dunkwa to Awaso). Accra – Kumasi (Eastern) Line (300 km).  The lines in Phase 3 that have been included in Priority Projects for the next four years are the following: Kumasi – Nyinahin Line (58 km), and Tamale – Yendi Line (102 km).”
The total length of the rail network identified as a Priority Project is 1394 kilometers, the company added.

Implementing these Priority Projects will create jobs and facilitate trade and industrial development and stimulate economic growth, it has been learnt.

By A.R. Gomda

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has accepted the Electoral Commission’s (EC) promise to release the updated 2024 Provisional Voters Register to all political parties for scrutiny within one week.

This development follows the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held on Tuesday, October 1, where the NDC pushed for a forensic audit of the voter register.

The NDC also welcomed the EC’s decision to re-exhibit the updated Provisional Voters’ Register.

In a statement signed by General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, the NDC recommended conducting the re-exhibition exercise both online and offline at exhibition centres.

Furthermore, the party demanded a multi-stakeholder and interparty examination of the Electoral Commission’s IT system.

“With this background, the Functional Executive Committee of the NDC has deliberated and decided to accept the EC’s promise to release to political parties, the corrected/updated version of the 2024 Provisional Voters Register for scrutiny within one week.

“FEC further welcomes the decision by the Electoral Commission to re-exhibit the updated Provisional Voters’ Register. We however recommend that the re-exhibition exercise should be conducted online and offline at the exhibition centres.

“Additionally, the NDC demands a multi-stakeholder and interparty examination of the IT system of the Electoral Commission with the aim of addressing the vulnerabilities that the EC itself has admitted to, which vulnerabilities led to several of the anomalies we have raised. Clearly, the vulnerabilities in the IT system of the Electoral Commission can be exploited by criminals to compromise the integrity of the December 07, 2024 elections if not addressed.”

Read below the statement by the NDC

PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release

01/10/2024

NDC POSITION ON MATTERS ARISING FROM IPAC, RELATIVE TO THE 2024 PROVISIONAL VOTERS’ REGISTER.

Following the Special Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) Meeting held today, Tuesday, 1st October 2024, to deliberate on the 2024 Provisional Voters Register, the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the National Democratic Congress deems it fit to restate the following significant admissions by the Electoral Commission of Ghana:

* Illegal transfer of voters due to the lack of a liveliness test technology, as occured in Pusiga and other Constituencies,

* Erroneous addition of previous transfers to the current 2024 transfer list?

* Presence of corrupted files in the 2024 Provisional Voters’ Register, which the Commission claims have been rectified and restored,

* Deleted voters who the Commission wishes to place on a Missing Voters register, and

* A vulnerable EC IT system that is susceptible to data manipulation and infiltration from officials and non-officials of the Electoral Commission who have access to login credentials.

With this background, the Functional Executive Committee of the NDC has deliberated and decided to accept the EC’s promise to release to political parties, the corrected/updated version of the 2024 Provisional Voters Register for scrutiny within one week.

FEC further welcomes the decision by the Electoral Commission to re-exhibit the updated Provisional Voters’ Register. We however recommend that the re-exhibition exercise should be conducted online and offline at the exhibition centres.

Additionally, the NDC demands a multi-stakeholder and interparty examination of the IT system of the Electoral Commission with the aim of addressing the vulnerabilities that the EC itself has admitted to, which vulnerabilities led to several of the anomalies we have raised. Clearly, the vulnerabilities in the IT system of the Electoral Commission can be exploited by criminals to compromise the integrity of the December 07, 2024 elections if not addressed.

SIGNED.
FIFI FIAVI KWETEY
GENERAL SECRETARY

——

Explore the world of impactful news with CitiNewsroom on WhatsApp!

Click on the link to join the Citi Newsroom channel for curated, meaningful stories tailored just for YOU: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCYzPRAYlUPudDDe53x

No spam, just the stories that truly matter! #StayInformed #CitiNewsroom #CNRDigital

The King of the Gonja kingdom, Yagbonwura Bii-Kunuto Soale Jewu Soale, has banned the Member of Parliament for Damongo and Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor, from visiting any palace in Gonjaland.

This comes after the youth of Gonjaland staged a protest against the MP, accusing him of disrespecting authorities.

In a video cited by Channel One News, Yagbonwura Soale Jewu Soale, speaking at the Jakpa Palace after the protest, described the lawmaker as a threat to peace and unity in Gonjaland.

The King, through his interpreter, enumerated several reasons for the ban, including Abu Jinapor’s alleged use of government power to circumvent traditional authority and evade accountability.

He stated that any chief who welcomed Abu Jinapor to their palace would face consequences.

Yagbonwura Soale Jewu Soale emphasised that he would not tolerate any further arrogance and disrespect from Abu Jinapor, stressing that he would deal with any chief who entertains him.

”Let me state this authoritatively that from today, no Chief in Gonjaland should allow Abu Jinapor to come by himself or lead or accompany any government official or politician to any palace in Gonjaland. Any Chief who disobeys this order will have himself to blame,” he said.

He added, “It is not a secret that Abu Jinapor uses the powers of government to circumvent the traditional authority and orders of the Yagbonwura in an attempt to evade accountability and to counter the orders so given by the Yagbonwura. This is mostly done deliberately to get the Yagbonwura to feel worthless, powerless and of no value in the eye of the public.”

“Enough of his arrogance and disrespect. I will deal with any Chief who will entertain him or in the company of any government official to his palace”.

Explore the world of impactful news with CitiNewsroom on WhatsApp!

Click on the link to join the Citi Newsroom channel for curated, meaningful stories tailored just for YOU: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCYzPRAYlUPudDDe53x

No spams, just the stories that truly matter! #StayInformed #CitiNewsroom #CNRDigital

A military officer briefing dignitaries about the FOB

THE BUI Power Authority (BPA) in collaboration with the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has established a military base near the Bui power generating plant to protect against imminent terrorists operating in the Sahel region and other illicit activities such as galamsay.

The Forward Operating Base (FOB), will house troops and other necessary military logistics needed to respond to threats from terrorist groups that, according to experts, are operating in the Sahel region.

It will also monitor illegal mining activities at a Dollar Power community in the Savanna Region and provide general security to the Banda District and surrounding communities.

Deputy Defence Minister, Kofi Amankwa Manu and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Bui Power Authority (BPA), Emmanuel Tandoh, assisted the Bono Regional Minister, Justina Awo Banahene, and the chief of Banda Traditional Council, to inaugurate the base.

The FOB boosts of facilities including administration block, guard house, mess and regulatory centre.

Others are a medical centre, observation post, training shed, car park, valley ball court, basket ball court, reefer, cold and ration store, Post Exchange shop and an engineering shop.

The rest are maintenance offices, guard houses, and armory among other critical military installations needed for quick military response.

Mr. Manu, said the government, over the last seven years has invested in the retooling and development of the GAF to respond to operational duties and the needs of troops.

“This base forms part of the government’s broader effort to establish military bases in and around the country to provide adequate security to the people and more importantly, protect strategic national assets and infrastructure like the Bui Power House and others,” he said.

“On the 26^th of last month, another FOB was commissioned in the Obuase Municipality also with the support of Anglo Gold Ashanti Ghana, to protect the mine and give security to the area,” he said.

He praised ongoing collaborations between some state and private organizations to complement the government’s effort to equip the GAF to discharge its mandate of protecting the borders of the country and making it safer for the citizenry.

“I pledge the unflinching support to the BPA and stand ready to commit the GAF to the defence of this critical national asset,” he assured.

BPA CEO, Kofi Dzamesi in a speech read on his bahlaf, emphasized the need for the establishment of a military base near the Bui Power House.

He explained that the project is in two phases saying the first phase was started in April 2023 and completed in December 2023.

“Today’s official opening of the base represents a significant achievement for the BPA’s corporate social responsibility to enhance security, increase productivity generate local employment and stimulate economic growth in the Bui enclave,” he said.

Mr. Dzamesi said the project underscores the authority’s commitment to promoting law and order and protecting vital national assets.

Madam Justina Awo Banahene in her speech said the Banda District always witnesses significant developments which go a long way to improve the living standards of the people.

She, thus, appealed to the people to live in harmony with the soldiers and approach the BPA with their problems on issues affecting their lives due to the presence of the dam.

FROM Daniel Y Dayee

Dr Clement, Member of Parliament for Builsa South, has responded to the criminal complaint filed against Rev. Kusi Boateng by the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA).

The group has filed a criminal complaint against Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, also known as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, and has requested that the Criminal Investigation Department look into him.

According to Dr Apaak, the man of God would have been arrested for these alleged charges in any serious democracy.

The group wants the man of God investigated for allegedly violating various provisions of the Criminal and Other Offenses Act 1960 (Act 29) specifically Sections 251, 215 and 132.

They claim that Rev. Kusi Boateng has allegedly engaged in crimes including deceiving a public officer, the deceit of a court by personation and defrauding by false pretences.

“We believe that the respondent perpetrated a criminal offence under Section 251 of Act 29 obtained two different passports from the State, two different driver’s licenses from the Drivers and Vehicle Licensing Authority, two different tax identification numbers, two different voters ID cards by knowingly providing false and conflicting information to these public officers to obtain these documentations.”

In his response, Dr Apaak stated that the man of God is not above the law and should have been arrested for the alleged crimes.

He stated that he could not wrap his head around the ongoing situation because there is clear evidence that requires answers, and yet the one who blew the whistle on the alleged saga surrounding the man of God is the one being attacked.

He characterised the man of God as duplicitous and questioned why he had not been arrested, adding that this is a test case for the country, and Ghanaians are waiting to see what happens.

”Such a duplicitous character, two: mothers, days of birth, dates of birth, names, TIN numbers, passports, Ghana cards, still walks freely? Do security agencies need a prompt to arrest him? Is he above the law? This is a test case, we are watching.”