Accra, Ghana | AFP | Former presidents, lawmakers and senior government officials in Ghana will no longer have special privileges for private travel to the United States, Washington’s envoy has said. Until now, such individuals were able to take advantage of “protocol services” where they did not have to physically …
Read More »Ghana court rules transfer of ex-Guantanamo detainees unconstitutional
Accra, Ghana | AFP | Ghana’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the transfer of two former Guantanamo Bay detainees to the country was unconstitutional without parliamentary approval. Ghana had signed an agreement with the US government in January 2016 allowing the two ex-Guantanamo prisoners to live in the country. …
Read More »Hooray for… Kumawood! Ghana’s fastest filmmakers
Kumasi, Ghana | AFP | India has its Bollywood and Nigeria, Nollywood. Even New Zealand has a Wellywood. In Ghana, films made in Kumasi and the surrounding region go by a similar shorthand — Kumawood. The cultural heart of Ghana is about five hours’ drive from the more cosmopolitan coastal …
Read More »World’s first malaria vaccine
Children aged five to 17 months old in Kenya, Ghana, Malawi to test it Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have been chosen to test the world’s first malaria vaccine through a pilot program beginning next year, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on April 24. The vaccine, which has partial effectiveness …
Read More »Ghana MPs face British travel bans over ‘visa fraud’
Accra, Ghana | AFP | Three members of Ghana’s parliament and a former lawmaker are facing travel bans to Britain over apparent visa irregularities, according to a leaked document seen by AFP on Wednesday. Britain’s High Commissioner to Ghana, Jon Benjamin, wrote to parliament Speaker Mike Oquaye that the four …
Read More »First large-scale malaria vaccine trials for Africa
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A new malaria vaccine will be tested on a large scale in Kenya, Ghana and Malawi, the World Health Organization said Monday, with 360,000 children to be vaccinated between 2018 and 2020. The injectable vaccine RTS,S could provide limited protection against a disease that killed …
Read More »Ghana bribery probe clears minister
Accra, Ghana | AFP | A Ghanaian lawmaker was on Thursday found in contempt of parliament and ordered to apologise after claiming that a government minister bribed a committee to approve his appointment. National Democratic Congress (NDC) party MP Mahama Ayariga accused Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko of paying members of the …
Read More »Ghana’s gender minister warns on short dresses, causes storm
Ghana’s gender minister causes storm over rape comments Accra, Ghana | AFP | Ghana’s new gender minister has warned schoolgirls that what they wear can attract rapists, sparking controversy and debate in a traditional but evolving society. Otiko Djaba told girls at a senior school in eastern Ghana they should …
Read More »Ghana seeks new dawn for struggling power sector
Accra, Ghana | AFP | Ghana’s new government is looking to fix a crippling power crisis with a complete overhaul of its deficit-ridden energy sector including a boost for solar energy. Intermittent power supply issues have dogged the west African nation since the 1980s and became particularly acute in the …
Read More »Controversy over Ghana’s elephant size cabinet
Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo lent credence to the saying that the strength of an African democracy is in the size of its cabinet after he appointed 110 ministers to his newly formed government. Addo defended the size of his cabinet as a “necessary investment” for the small country. Addo appointed …
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