We have subdued potholes.

What is electric bus?

Author

Chale News
November 29, 2024

Cheers to the weekend, people!🥂🥂 When we see you again on Monday, it’s going to be December!!! Can you believe it? Kwerh!😲😲 Make sure to give November a well deserved farewell and see you in the new month.

Today:

  • National: Trotros have seen floods, dumsor, and loud passengers—you think they fear an electric bus?

  • National: Forget Heathrow to Kotoka—Gatwick to Kumasi is the new big flex.

  • Crime: Richmond DIY’s his electric gate, then learns that short cuts come with long sentences after.

  • Crime: From "highways" to "high crimes," the only trip this wee truck is making now is straight to evidence lock-up!

  • Politics: EC runs low on ballot papers, Volta Region side-eyes the situation.

  • Fact of the Day: How far will you go for your dental hygiene?

  • Crime: Who knew a road trip could end with “This car belongs to Canada”?

  • National: After months of waiting, over 500 victims of the Buduburam rock blast finally receive compensation—but not without some drama.

QUICK BYTE

  • Ghana has said, “akwaaba” to its first batch of 100 electric buses under Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMT), promising to slash transport fares and reduce pollution. But don’t think the GPRTU is shaking. Abass Imoro, their Industrial Relations Officer, has basically said, “Electric buses? Cute. But trotros are a culture; we’re not going anywhere. We’ve been running the streets since time immemorial.” Get the 411 in the Deep Dive section below

  • Richmond Laweh, our unfortunate headline star, thought he was a part-time caretaker and full-time electrician. This guy took the “DIY is cheaper” motto too seriously, rigging up a makeshift gate with illegal electricity. The result? A 14-year-old boy, Samuel Darko, got zapped just for trying to pass through. It’s tragic, and we wish it didn’t happen, but let’s unpack this carelessness with the side-eye it deserves. Richmond? Now he’s got 10 years to sit and think about the time his common sense took a holiday. Read more

  • Christmas in Kumasi just got sweeter! London Gatwick to Kumasi Prempeh I International Airport are taking off on December 3! Thanks to Ethiopian Airlines and the Ghana Airports Company Limited, you can now wake up to Big Ben’s chime and have breakfast in Kumasi’s finest fufu joint by 9:05 AM. Christmas travelers, the December 15 flight is your next big chance to flaunt your Oseikrom vibes. And yes, more schedules are on the way. Read more

  • Somebody's uncle in the Volta Region decided to channel their inner Pablo Escobar by loading a truck with enough weed to turn a whole country into Bob Marley fans. But trust Ghana Police to ruin their operation. Want the deets in full? Check out the Deep Dive section.

FACT OF THE DAY

❝

The Romans used stale urine as mouthwash.

  • Imagine putting together your best road trip squad, prepping for a grand adventure, and halfway in, the police pull up with “Excuse us, these cars don’t belong to you.” That’s the drama Wanderlust Ghana is currently living. A Lexus RX 350 and a Toyota Tacoma from their fleet turned out to have murky pasts. Congo security have seized the vehicles. Get the 411 in the Deep Dive section below

  • The EC just had its “oops” moment: ballot papers meant for the Volta Region are short in supply. Constituencies like Keta and Hohoe are wondering how this even happened. To fix this, the EC has called for extra ballot papers to be printed today, November 29, at Acts Commercials in Accra. And because Ghanaian elections love an audience, political parties and independent candidates can send two reps each to babysit the process. Transparency is key, after all.

    But still ballot paper shortages a week before elections? Wowza! Read more

  • Remember that chaotic Buduburam rock blast on the Kasoa-Winneba road? Well, the government has started compensating the victims. Shops, homes, and vehicles destroyed in the blast have been factored into the payouts, with an added “inconvenience allowance” for good measure. But not everyone is smiling at the bank—some recipients are grumbling about the amounts, calling it peanuts. Read more

DEEP DIVE

Wee, Wee, Wee, All the Way to Jail

A snitch (yes, snitches sometimes save the day) tipped off the police, who then set up a "Surprise! You’re under arrest!" checkpoint at Kadjebi-Okanta. What did they find? Cannabis neatly hidden in secret truck compartments. Not even Hide & Seek experts could’ve done better.

The truck driver and his sidekick—clearly the stars of this terrible heist movie—were promptly cuffed and are now explaining themselves in police custody. Meanwhile, the police are busy pulling threads to unravel the whole drug trafficking syndicate.

Btw, the wee was headed to Nigeria and also, somebody's Christmas plans just went up in smoke. Read more

GPRTU is like, "Cute, but we're the OGs.

Ghana just pulled the covers off its first 100 electric buses for Metro Mass Transit (MMT), and they’re all about clean energy, cheaper rides, and less noise pollution.

The GPRTU, aka the trotro overlords, is not losing sleep, sake of, they’ve seen it all. Their Industrial Relations Officer, Abass Imoro, might as well have said, “Electric buses? Cool story, bro. But let’s see who rules the roads when the potholes show up!”

The buses are like fresh graduates showing off their degrees: sleek, full of potential, and ready to shake things up. But the GPRTU? That’s your experienced auntie who’s been through it all, telling stories about how they survived fuel hikes, dumsor, and rowdy passengers. “Electric buses? Try surviving Makola traffic on a Monday.”

The thing also is, Energy experts, like Benjamin Nsiah, are basically saying, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, people.” They’re talking about charging station issues, maintenance hurdles, and the fact that if we’re not careful, these buses might park themselves permanently. Read more

“This car has an owner in Ontario.”

While rolling into Congo, the Wanderlust team’s Lexus RX 350 and Toyota Tacoma got flagged as stolen property. Yep, these rides were hot topics back in Canada, reported stolen in 2019 and 2022. Congo security did the “confiscate first, talk later” move, leaving Wanderlust in a bind. The trusty Ford F150 Raptor? Safely back in Ghana, like a responsible sibling avoiding the family mess.

Turns out the cars were bought in Accra, and the team swears they did all the checks—Carfax reports included! But even Carfax, apparently, couldn’t sniff out the shady history. Now, Wanderlust is lawyering up, prepping to sue the sellers, and teaming up with Canada and the U.S. to educate Ghanaians on spotting stolen cars.

Meanwhile, their cross-country dreams are on pause. They’d already clocked 28,811 kilometers, cruised through 28 countries, and repped Ghana hard. Now, they’re working on a comeback—new cars, fresh vibes, same dream. Read more

NEWS SOURCES

Today’s stories are curated from: