News
142% rise in road traffic offences in 2021

The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) in 2021 arrested a total of 6,877 motorists for various offences in the course of the year.
The figure increased by 142% from 2,831 in 2020 to 6,877 last year.
Other offences – 3, 843 (196% rise)
Other offences top the list rising from 1,296 in 2020 to 3, 843, representing an increase of 196%.
Driving without licence -1,299 (110% increase)
Driving without licence also recorded 110% increase to 1,299 in 2021 from the 616 recorded in 2020.
Expired documents – 768 (95% increase)
Motorists using expired documents jumped by 95% from 394 in 2020 to 768 in 2021.Worn-out tyres – 219 (40%)
Drivers arrested for worn-out tyres also increased from 134 in 2020 to 219 in 2021, representing 40% rise.
Not wearing helmet – 203 (76.5%)
Two hundred and three drivers were arrested for not wearing helmet in 2021, an increase of 76.5% over the 115 for 2020.
Drunk driving -153 (115.5%)
In respect of drunk driving, it increased from 71 in 2020 to 153 in 2021, representing 115.5%.
Not wearing seatbelt/child restraint -169 (231%)
A total of 169 drivers were arrested for not wearing seatbelt/child restraint, an increase of 231% over the 51 recorded in 2020.
Overloading -118 (9.3%)
Drivers arrested for overloading also increased to 118 in 2021 from 108 in 2020, representing 9.3%.
Over speeding -105 (128.3%)
Over speeding jumped by 128.3%, rising to 105 last year from 46 in 2020.
The offences, which ranged from over speeding to drunk driving, culminated in some 5,690 cases ending up in court, with the courts convicting 4,799 persons of various offences.
In the meantime, 704 cases are awaiting trial whilst 1188 cases are under investigation.
Some 28 motorists were jailed for their crimes, whilst 84 others were discharged.
Offences
Driving without licence – 1,299
The leading offence on the roads in 2021 was that of driving without licence. This was most prevalent in the Ashanti Region, where about 653 motorists were arrested for driving without their licences.
It was followed by the Greater Accra Region, with 309 drivers caught without their licences.
The Western Region and the Western North regions recorded 86 and 57 cases respectively.
The Bono Region recorded 56 cases, whilst the Central Region followed with 47 cases. The Eastern Region recorded 40 cases, whilst the Bono East and Volta regions ended the year with 17 cases each. The Ahafo Region recorded 10 cases, whilst the North East Region recorded seven.
Driving with expired documents: 768
The second-highest infraction recorded among motorists in 2021 was the offence of driving with expired documents.
This was most common in the Ashanti Region, where some 337 incidents of driving with expired documents were recorded by the police.
This was followed by the Western Region, where 118 drivers were caught driving with expired documents. In the Greater Accra Region, 111 drivers were arrested for driving with expired documents.
In the Eastern Region, 46 of such cases were recorded, with the Western North following close behind with 43.
The Central Region in 2021 recorded 31 cases of drivers driving with expired documents. The Bono East Region recorded 29 cases, whilst the Bono Region recorded 20. The Ahafo and Volta regions recorded less than 20 cases with 17 and 13 goals respectively.
Tema with two, and the Western North with one case, made up the rest of the cases of driving with expired documents.
Driving with worn-out tyres: 219
In 2021, a total of 219 drivers were arrested by the police for driving vehicles with worn-out tyres.
The Ashanti Region had the most cases, recording 87 cases. The Greater Accra Region followed with 67 cases.
The Western Region had 44 cases of drivers driving vehicles with expired tyres. The Bono East followed distantly with 11 cases.
The Easter Region recorded six cases, whilst the Volta Region recorded three, with the Western North recording just one case.
Riding without helmet: 203
For the offence of riding without a helmet, some 106 motorists were arrested in the Greater Accra Region. The Western Region recorded about 59 of such cases within the same period.
The Western North recorded about 14 cases, whilst the Upper West recorded 10. The Bono East and the Volta regions, however, recorded less than 10 cases with eight and six cases.
Driving without seatbelt/child restraint
Some 97 drivers were apprehended in the Ashanti Region for driving without seatbelts or child restraints.
The Greater Accra Region followed with 39 cases of drivers being caught without seatbelts or child restraints.
The Western Region in 2021 recorded 24 of these cases, whilst the Tema Region recorded four cases. The Western North and Bono East regions recorded a case each.
Drunk driving: 153
There were 153 drunk driving cases recorded in 2021. The Western North Region led the rest of the country with 70 cases.
The Ashanti Region recorded 36 drunk driving cases, whilst the Western Region had 20 cases. It was followed closely by the Greater Accra Region which recorded 19. The Bono East had six cases, whilst the Eastern Region recorded two.
Overloading: 118
The Western Region recorded the most cases of overloading in 2021 with 40 incidents. It was followed by the Greater Accra Region, which recorded 39 cases. The Bono East and Western North followed distantly with 12 cases each.
The Eastern Region recorded about four cases, whilst the Central and North East regions recorded one case each.
Over speeding: 105
In the area of over speeding, the Western Region led the country in 2021, with 51 drivers being arrested for the offence.
The Greater Accra Region followed with 29 cases, whilst the Eastern Region recorded 12 cases. The Bono Region had eight cases in total, whilst the Central and Volta regions recorded a case each.
Others: 3,843
For other offences, the Ashanti Region led the other regions with 1,496 cases. It was followed by Greater Accra Region, which recorded 1177 cases.
The Tema Region recorded 336 cases in this category, whilst the Central and Western regions had 315 cases each.
The Bono Region recorded 187 cases, whilst the Bono East recorded 145 cases. The Volta Region, on its part, recorded 59 cases.
The Ahafo Region recorded 32 cases, whilst the Upper West Region recorded about 10 cases.
The North East Region and the Oti Region recorded less than 10 cases with nine and five cases respectively.
There were no cases recorded in the Upper East, Northern and Savannah regions in 2021.
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News
National honours conferred on COVID-19, ITLOS champions

Individuals, institutions and partners who distinguished themselves in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, have been honoured by the State at the National Honours and Awards 2023.
Other awards receivers are members of the legal team of men and women, who were charged with ensuring that the maritime boundary dispute with Cote D’Ivoire, ended favourably for Ghana.
Apart from these two main categories of awardees, that is the COVID-19 and International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) awardees, there was a third category of awardees of a few individuals whose work deserve the plaudits of the nation.
They are the late great philosopher, Prof. Johnson Kwame Wiredu, by common consent one of the outstanding philosophers of global repute of the modern age, who will be given a befitting posthumous award, Order of the Volta – Companion.
The rest are Ms. Margaret Sophia Darkwah, the first female Commissioner of Police; Prof. Akwasi Osei, former Chief Executive of the Mental Health Authority; and Dr. Veronica Agartha Martinson, former Executive Director of the Cocoa Research Institute, Ghana.
In all, some 19, 557 frontline health workers received certificates and plaques for their dedicated services in the line of duty.
Additionally, about 50 individuals and entities also received the Order of the Volta – Companion awards, comprising Members of the National COVID-19 Taskforce, Trustees of the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund, and ITLOS Technical Team and Legal Advisors.
The national awards are presented to persons who have made immense and recognized contributions in sectors such as the civil service, military, prisons service, education and public health, agriculture, commerce and industry, the judiciary, scientific and other research, sports, culture and the arts, and the financial sector.
The country received many commendations for the measures it put in place to contain the viral disease, after it recorded the first two cases in March 2020.
“Ghana is indeed indebted to you,” President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo saluted the awardees.
The selflessness and commitment demonstrated by the health workers helped saved many lives, the President noted, citing the difficulties the nation went through at the height of the pandemic.
These ranged from the imposition of a three-week lockdown in some parts of the country, and social distancing to the adherence to safety protocols.
President Akufo-Addo stated that the Government instituted some one billion Ghana Cedis as a relief package to alleviate the plight of the people in the wake of the pandemic.
Additionally, personal protective equipment worth several millions of Ghana Cedis were also procured for the safety of the citizenry.
The President lauded the ITLOS main legal team for their effectiveness and able manner in which they handled Ghana’s maritime dispute with its immediate western neighbours.
“This ensured that our western maritime resources remained legitimately in our possession,” he said.
“It is important to state that today’s awards ceremony is a purely national event, devoid of partisan, ethnic or religious considerations, and organised solely in recognition of the services offered by its recipients to the growth, development, progress and prosperity of Ghana.
“I, as the President of the Republic, the Fount of Honour, act as the Head of State, and not as Head of Government, in the distribution of awards.
“I can happily say that I am not aware of the political sympathies or views of the overwhelming majority of today’s awardees. Their politics is of no moment to me, only their exploits in favour of Mother Ghana, he said.
- VALCO workers asking for dollar indexed salaries untenable – 4 November 2022
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News
Misinformation undermining democracy, eroding gains in Ghana

Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has expressed grave concern about the rising spate of false publications and misinformation within the Ghanaian media landscape.
According to him, the phenomenon is gradually undermining the democracy of the country and eroding the gains made over the years.
With a significant section of the Ghanaian population now relying on online platforms and other social media platforms for information, he noted that some unscrupulous persons had resulted to using those channels to propagate falsehood and misinformation.
Speaking at the launch of a website for the Information Services Department (ISD) of the Ministry of Information in Accra, Oppong Nkrumah stated that “This phenomenon is gradually undermining our democracy.”
23.05m internet users
The state of digital in Ghana in 2023 report indicates that there are 23.05 million internet users in Ghana at the start of 2023, when internet penetration stood at 68.2%.
6.6m social media users
Ghana is home to 6.6 million social media users in January 2023, equating to 19.5% of the total population.
43.88m cellular mobile connections
A total of 43.88 million cellular mobile connections are active in Ghana in early 2023, with this figure equivalent to 129.8% of the total population.
68.2% internet penetration
Ghana’s internet penetration rate stood at 68.2% of the total population at the start of 2023.
Ghana Today
The platform which is a website called Ghana Today is a reliable news portal that provides accurate information on government projects, programmes, communications and positions.
The website, www.ghanatoday.gov.gh, has been created with the aim of combating public misinformation, a phenomenon that has been on the ascendancy, with the establishment of multiple private media outfits and blogs.
Objective of the portal
The main objective of the portal will be to disseminate information directly from the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies, about the works of Government and becoming a repository of all happenings in government.
Oppong Nkrumah in his address stressed that the launch of the news website forms part of the Ministry’s duties of supervising ISD and supporting Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to communicate regularly.
The portal, the Minister noted, will provide facts about government projects and programmes, as well as full texts of all speeches by heads of MDAs, official communications and publications, and policies and programme documents to reduce the level of misrepresentations and misinformation online.
Re-organization and retooling Programme
Oppong Nkrumah indicated that the launch of this project by the ISD forms an integral part of the re-organization and retooling Programme, and is aimed at equipping the Department to serve more audiences with its work even as the times and media consumption patterns change.
He said, “a significant section of our population now relies on online platforms and other social media platforms for information. It is also important to note that some unscrupulous persons have used many of these portals and social media platforms to propagate falsehood and misinformation. This phenomenon is gradually undermining our democracy.”
Fight against misinformation
He continued, “the rollout of this website will, therefore support the department in the fight against misinformation.”
Repository of all happenings in govt
He further indicated that it will provide “direct information from Ministries, Departments and Agencies about the works of government and become a repository of all happenings in government.
Sensitisation of the public
He said, over the years, the ISD had played critical role in the sensitisation of the public on major issues of national interest, including the construction of the Akosombo dam; re-introduction of the 17 per cent VAT after a previous failed attempt; introduction of the new Ghana cedi in 2007 and most recently, the creation of the six new regions and the E-Levy.
Those, he said, the Department had done through the use of various Public Education Campaign strategies and the deployment of Public Relations professionals and Regional and District Information Officers to MMDAS and MDAs.
Keeping up with ever-changing media landscape
However, he noted that, the Department had lost some steam in recent years, mostly due to the inability of successive administrations to equip it as well as keep up with the ever-changing media landscape and the advancement in technology.
In response to these challenges, Oppong Nkrumah stated that Cabinet has approved a Programme for the Department to undergo vigorous re-tooling and re-organization to meet the needs of the present day.
He indicated that the launch of the website formed an integral part of the re-organisation and retooling programme of the Department, aimed at equipping it to serve more audiences with its work even as the time and media consumption patterns changed.
He urged the staff to work quickly and accurately to ensure that the citizenry was reached with all the facts and the necessary documentation as soon as possible.
The Minister tasked ISD to “get to work with speed to ensure that the information and the documents reach ISD Media Today, so they are published. The regular delays in getting materials to your colleagues at ISD media will only undermine the potential efficacy of this very useful tool.”
He urged the general public who want to validate the information about Government works that they may come across, to visit the new website for the information they need.
On his part, the Acting Chief Information Officer of the ISD, Mr. David Owusu-Amoah urged Ghanaians to make use of the Ghana Today platform and to be vigilant in their consumption of online content.
He said it is important that “we all take responsibility for the information we consume and share and be mindful of the impact of false information on our society whiles working together to combat it.
“We all have a role to play in combating misinformation. We must all be responsible and verify information before sharing it. With this new tool, we hope to empower Ghanaians to take an active role in the fight against fake news.”
Mr Amoah, said that “at the inception of the ISD, there was no need to worry about misinformation.”
However, today due to the proliferation of news outlets, the struggle is against misinformation.”
Mrs Adiza Ofori-Adu, Head, Media Division, ISD, said the website would enrich dissemination of information on government’s projects and urged media houses to depend on it for authentic stories.
The ISD was established in the latter part of 1939, some 84 years ago, as a branch of the Colonial Government Secretariat dedicated to conveying news on the second World War to the people of the then Gold Coast through weekly journal.
- VALCO workers asking for dollar indexed salaries untenable – 4 November 2022
- 2022 Fuel price increases: Petrol-94%, diesel-136% in 10 months – 19 October 2022
- Coalition: New producer price too low, it will kill cocoa industry – 18 October 2022
News
Police nab 6 in connection with killing of soldier in Ashaiman

Six persons have been arrested on different dates and at various locations within Ashiaman and its environs in connection with the murder of Trooper Imoro Sherrif, a soldier.
A statement issued by the police indicates that on March 4, Police received information that a male adult had been found lying dead at Ashiaman-Taifa in the Greater Accra Region.
A team of Police officers proceeded to the said location and confirmed the incident.
Police immediately commenced investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the victim.
The officers cordoned off the scene and called in the specialist Police Crime Scene team to process the scene for forensic analysis.
The Crime Scene Team retrieved a number of items, including a knife with blood stains on it and a backpack.
In the backpack, Police found a Samsung tablet, an Apple laptop, a military uniform with the name tag “Imoro”, eight other items of clothing, as well as a Ghana card and a Health Insurance card bearing the name Imoro Sherrif.
Judging from the contents of the backpack, the police suspected the victim could be a soldier, and in line with Police standard operating procedure for handling institution-based victims, the Military was accordingly notified of the incident and some military personnel came to identify the deceased to Police as Imoro Sheriff, a soldier.
The body of the deceased was thereafter conveyed to a hospital for preservation and autopsy.
As part of the investigation, an intelligence operation was immediately launched within Ashiaman and other strategic locations of interest to follow up on all relevant leads on the case.
On the same day, consistent with Ghanaian tradition and as part of the investigation process, a team of police officers after identifying the residence of the parents of the deceased, visited them, commiserated with them and assured them of a thorough investigation into the matter.
During the visit, the parents informed the Police that the deceased was stationed at Sunyani but had come to Accra on a course.
Investigations further revealed that on March 3, the deceased had visited a female friend at Ashaiman Newtown at about 10:30pm and left the place in the middle of the night at about 1:30 am, on March 4.
After almost a week of painstaking intelligence-led operations, on March 9, the police arrested suspects Safianu Musah alias Dayorgu and Ibrahim Abdul Rakib at their hideouts in Ashaiman.
Two other suspects, Samuel Tetteh alias Wiper and Abubakar Sadick alias Birdman were also arrested at their hideouts on March 10.
Two additional suspects, Yussif Mohammed and Abdul Gafaru Abdul Karim were arrested on March 11 and 12, respectively.
Further investigation has established that suspects Samuel Tetteh and Abubakar Sadick at about 1:45 am on March 4, 2023 attacked the deceased at Ashiaman-Taifa in an attempt to rob him of his phone and a backpack.
The deceased, however, resisted and struggled with the suspects. During the struggle, suspect Samuel Tetteh pulled out a knife and stabbed the deceased in the arm, snatched his phone and bolted leaving the deceased with the knife stuck in his arm.
A postmortem examination was performed on the deceased’s body on March 8, after which the pathologist gave the verbal cause of death as exsanguination and laceration of major vessels of the left arm consistent with the stabbed injury.
Investigations also revealed that suspects Samuel Tetteh and Abubakar Sadick sold the phone which they had robbed from the deceased to suspect Ibrahim Abdul Rakib who later sold it to suspect Safianu Musah.
Suspect Safianu Musah is being evasive as to the whereabouts of the phone and claims to have sold it to suspect Yussif Mohammed and later to suspect Abdul Gafaru Abdul Karim.
Both suspects have been arrested and are assisting in investigation to recover the phone.
On March 12, a team of police officers led by the Tema Regional Police Commander visited the family of the deceased and briefed them on the investigations done so far.
The Police commended all police officers at all levels of Command, especially the crack police intelligence and investigation teams as well as the Ashiaman District Police Command for their professionalism and meticulous dedication, working around the clock to unravel this case.
The Police assured the public, especially the family of the deceased, that all the suspects are in Police custody and will be put before the court on Monday, March 13, for justice.
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