You're not you when you're hungry

Caught slipping for food, sentenced to prison meals.

Author

Chale News
November 08, 2024

It’s Friday, people! Time to let loose and forget whatever nonsense went down on Monday—because, honestly, we’ve earned this." Now, let’s go celebrate (after you’ve finished with the stories tho 😎😎)

  • Education: WASSCE wahala! Results might delay over GH₵166 million gov't debt to WAEC.

  • Politics: NPP MPs absent? Murtala says it's either ‘pretense or ignorance’!”

  • Health: Health workers dey vex! “Gov’t no go fit chop free ride anymore!”

  • Crime: Porter smash trader’s head, now he go chop 15 years inside.

  • Fact of the Day: Turns out when it comes to the number of scents our nose can pick up, size doesn’t matter.

  • Crime: "Pope Skinny" and "Lord Bans" went shopping at midnight, but Sunyani Zongo wasn’t laughing!

  • National: Sekondi-Takoradi folks aren’t feeling the Akufo-Addo statue vibes—looks like it’s ‘remove and go’ season!

  • Business: According to Alhassan Andani, dealing with GRA feels more like facing off with “terrorists” than working with tax officers.

  • National: Tamale Central MP reveals each emergency parliament session costs the state GH¢1 million—and maybe, they should stop getting called in “by heart.”

QUICK BYTE

  • 27-year-old porter, Alex Abubakari just get sentenced 15 years after he smash Togolese trader Kofi Ametepe’s head with pavement block before he thief am. Abubakari talk say he do am ‘cause of hunger, but court no take am easy. Security people catch am, items recovered, but court still order make he do hard labor. Chale, hunger no be joke, but 15 years no be beans too. Well at least, he go get food chop for prison. Read more in the Deep Dive Section.

  • Chale, Health Services Workers’ Union (HSWU) no dey play! Dem give gov’t November 11 deadline – if dem no settle their wahala by then, somtin go happen! Since May, dem dey do “meetings upon meetings,” but still, gov't no fit settle the Collective Agreement matter. HSWU talk say if dem no see action, dem go “advise themselves” in language gov't no go fit ignore. E be like trouble dey cook for back. Get the 411 in the Deep Dive section below

  • Yawa pae! WAEC is on edge, hinting that this year’s WASSCE results might no show up on time – all thanks to a jaw-dropping GH₵166 million government debt. According to WAEC's John Kapi, invigilators, supervisors, and even script checkers are waiting for their cheques, and with only a third of their budget paid, WAEC isn’t exactly thrilled. Want the deets in full? Check out the Deep Dive section.

  • Tamale Central MP, Murtala Mohammed, has lashed out at NPP MPs for skipping the Business Committee meeting, calling it “either pretense or ignorance.” According to him, the Business Committee is crucial for setting the agenda in Parliament, and their absence disrupted proceedings. But NPP Deputy Whip Habib Iddrisu claims they did show up, only to find the Speaker already seated, which led them to hold back. Murtala isn’t buying it, though, saying he waited a full 45 minutes in the Chamber without a single NPP MP in sight. Read more

  • It was just a regular day in Sekondi-Takoradi… until the statue arrived. Yep, out of nowhere, President Akufo-Addo’s likeness went up outside Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital, apparently as a nod to his contributions to the region. But instead of appreciation, the statue sparked a chorus of “Abaa! No way!” from the locals, who aren’t exactly seeing the “contributions” side of things. Sekondi’s residents are squinting at this gesture like, “Ehn? We still have potholes, unfinished markets, and half-done roads, and you’re giving us this?” Read more

FACT OF THE DAY

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The human nose can detect 1 trillion scents.

  • Ei, Sunyani Zongo nearly turned into an action movie set as two notorious suspects, known by their “holy” street names – Pope Skinny and Lord Bans – decided to dabble in a little midnight shopping spree. These guys broke into a provision shop and even tried to cart off a whole fridge! But as they were in the middle of their “heist,” lady luck clocked out early, leaving them to face an angry crowd. Luckily, one brave guy, Malik, managed to step in, stopping the crowd from going full vigilante mode. Now, our “celebrity” suspects are cooling off at Sunyani Police Station, and the police say they’re in good health – even after that non-Ghanaian massage from the locals! Read more

  • It’s not every day you hear someone compare tax collectors to terrorists, but Alhassan Andani isn’t playing. Speaking at the Ghana CEO-Presidential Gala Dinner, Andani gave GRA a fierce critique, saying they’re not just collecting taxes—they’re coming in like they’re on a war path. With a whopping 33 tax obligations hanging over some companies’ heads, it’s no wonder he thinks businesses feel like they’re under siege. And the craziest part? He says CEOs practically brace themselves like they’re under attack when GRA shows up. Yep, tax day isn’t just a headache—it’s more like a showdown. Read more

  • Tamale Central MP Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed is not impressed. According to him, each day Parliament is recalled for an emergency session drains the state of at least GH¢1 million. And this week, that budget took a hit—only for the session to be abruptly adjourned due to a lack of quorum. Why? The New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs, who requested the recall, were a no-show. Murtala slammed the NPP’s absence, calling it a costly inconvenience that left MPs abandoning pressing engagements (including, for him, who was in his farm harvesting rice) to show up in Accra for...well, nothing. Read more

DEEP DIVE

15 years no be beans

You’re just sitting, minding your business at a park, maybe scrolling through TikTok or something, when BAM! Some random guy from nowhere smashes you on the head with a pavement block. That’s what happened to poor Kofi Ametepe, a Togolese trader just chilling at the Bank of Africa Garden in Accra. Our man, Alex Abubakari, was lurking, full James Bond style, and chose that very moment to make his move, all in the name of hunger! I mean, bro said his belly was empty, so naturally, he thought “Why not rob someone?”

But hold up, that’s not even the craziest part! After knocking out Kofi, Alex didn’t just walk away with a basic phone and a little pocket change. No, he went for the man’s Infinix Hot 50i – practically a treasure chest in the hands of a hustling trader. He even scooped up the poor guy’s backpack. Talk about going the whole nine yards! But Alex no calculate well. Just as he was getting away, some brave bystander raised an alarm, and boom – security swooped in like some Accra Avengers.

When the police finally got hold of Alex, he tried explaining the whole “hunger made me do it” bit. Safe to say, the court wasn’t too convinced, even though they cut him a little slack. Now, Alex has 15 years with hard labor waiting for him – all for that Infinix and a little snack money. Chale, talk about a hard lesson in life.

Meanwhile, Kofi is recovering from the whole ordeal at Ridge Hospital, nursing his head and probably wondering what kind of hunger would drive a man to such madness. As for Alex, looks like his hunger story has earned him a long staycation with the state – where the menu, sadly, won’t feature anything gourmet. Read more

No money, no results

So here we are, fam – another classic case of who go pay the bill? WAEC says they’re looking at a serious GH₵166 million debt, and it’s making them nervous about dropping this year’s WASSCE results on time. Apparently, the government has only paid a third of what WAEC needs for the exams, leaving invigilators, script checkers, and supervisors hanging with empty pockets. John Kapi from WAEC is raising the alarm – without that money, the results might just be chilling in their files a little longer.

Now, imagine being a student just sitting there, waiting to see if all that stress was worth it, only to hear your results might be on a little ‘sabbatical’ because, well, bills aren’t being paid. WAEC's got GH₵4 million alone just owed to exam officials. And the unpaid balance isn’t new either; arrears from last year are still in the queue, bringing the grand total to a heart-stopping GH₵166 million.

But before we all start clutching our chests, the Ministry of Education has stepped in to calm things down. Ministry spokesperson Kwasi Kwarteng says they recently released GH₵15 million to WAEC, and more payments are on the way. Read more

Health workers bore rough

 

Health Services Workers’ Union (HSWU) bore gidigidi sake of gov’t dey take style avoid the new Collective Agreement. Since November last year, HSWU submit their proposal to Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, for review. Negotiations sef start May this year, but e be endless talk no action. As HSWU say, “No more talk”.

They’ve given gov't solid deadline – by Monday, November 11, to clear everything or asem beba. According to HSWU, the agreement go help reduce small suffering wey health workers dey face inside this economic heat.

For now, they’re still telling members make dem cool down small. But, come Monday, all of us go dey watch whether gov't go sit up or health workers go make everywhere butu butu. Read more

NEWS SOURCES

Today’s stories are curated from: