The week started with smiles on the faces of journalists in the country. A ceremony to honour them and their work took place on Saturday, August 27, 2016 and some of them walked away with prizes.

Seth Kwame Boateng (far right), Benedict Owusu (middle) and Beatrice Adu (left) displaying their awards

The Multimedia Group walked away with five awards; one each for Beatrice Adu, Joseph Opoku Gakpo, Benedict Owusu and three for Seth Kwame  Boateng. The journalist of the year award went to investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas.

Whilst the journalists smiled over their awards, the Bankers were not left. The Banking awards was also organised with Fidelity Bank Ghana adjudged the best bank for the year 2015 at the Ghana banking awards.

With just about 95 days to the presidential and parliamentary elections, all political parties are ramping up their campaign, and of course, it won’t be without any drama.

The vice president, Amissah Arthur made it a point to remind the New Patriotic Party that the NDC is ready to retaliate if they are provoked by the NPP. Not only will they respond, but they will do it two times more.

Also, it seems the issues surrounding the release of the Montie 3 will take a while to die down. Another lawyer has sued the Attorney General, Marietta Brew Apppiah Oppong, in an attempt to get President John Mahama to reverse his decision.

A legal practitioner based in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo region, Alfred Tuah Yeboah was the first to file a suit against the AG.

The Montie 3 were released from prison after the president remitted their sentences, but this lawyer is threatening to take them back into prison.

Many were shocked when it was reported that presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party had promised to construct a dam in every village in the north.

According Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo, the only way to increase the total land area under cultivation in Ghana, which currently stands at a mere 30,000 out of 14 million hectares of arable land, is for the country to develop more irrigation systems.

On Tuesday, an Accra High Court dismissed the suit filed against the New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s parliamentary candidate for Okaikoi-South, Ahmed Arthur.

The suit, filed by Former Minister of state and legal advisor to ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor, Vicky Bright, was seeking the court to declare the results of the election as null and void by the court.

Justice Daniel Mensah in his ruling stated that Mr Arthur had not committed fraud in his nomination form for both 2012 and 2016 primaries as claimed by Mrs Bright.

Then the shocking outburst came at noon on Tuesday. Outgoing Moderator of the Presbyterian Church, Rev Emmanuel Martey revealed that he had rejected from an unnamed politician, a $100,000 bribe, a 4×4 vehicle and a house in a plush residential area from a political party. He claimed the money was to make him tone down on his political comments.

Rev Martey’s account was disputed by a former spokesperson of the church. Dr Osei Acheampong who said the reverend minister had lied and that he took the money and even offered him $50,000 from the amount.

The claims by the PRO angered some clergymen who came after him. They said he made  the claims to get back at Rev. Martey, who had apparently fired him from his post in 2012.

The Vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party during a campaign tour of the northern region, also announced a $1 million for 1 constituency policy aimed at alleviating poverty in the country.

The policy is under the infrastructure for poverty eradication at a total cost of $1.6 billion. With this amount the NPP government will invest in pro-poor policy in villages across the country.

Following severe criticism from the governing party and its supporters, the NPP on Wednesday, defended the rationale behind the policy.

A Deputy Director of Communication of the party, Anthony Karbo, in an interview with Joy News said a Nana Akufo-Addo presidency will implement this policy without any sweat.

The Inspector General of Police, John Kudalor conducted a fourth shake up in in 10 months since he took office.

About 90 officers were re-assigned.

Later that day, a motion was moved by the Minority in Parliament for a debate on a Ford Expedition gift received by President John Mahama from a Burkinabe contractor. Gibril Kanazoe.

So Parliament was recalled for the motion to be heard.

However, in a surprising turn of events, Speaker of Parliament, Doe Adjaho single-handedly on Thursday dashed the hopes of the minority.

Mr Adjaho exercising his powers of discretion, rejected the motion and ordered the Clerk of Parliament to return the motion to the Member of Parliament (MP) who filed it.

Mr. Doe Adjaho cited constitutional provisions and Supreme Court decision, contending that the matter was already being investigated by another constitutional body. 

Minority leader and MP for Suame, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu described the ruling as whimsical. He said parliament had lost a golden opportunity to invoke its powers of oversight responsibility over the executive.

Later that evening, former president John Agyekum Kufuor said there was no way he could have beaten Jerry John Rawlings in the 1996 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Describing Rawlings  as ‘superhuman’, Mr Kufour said the retired military officer made it impossible to be beaten.

Minority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu continued to register the minority’s displeasure at the Speaker’s ruling. In an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Mr Kyei Mensah Bonsu suggested the passage of a law to regulate the Speaker’s use of his discretionary powers.

Away from politics, a strike by workers of the Electricity Company of Ghana to protest the planned privatization of the company is biting hard.

Customers of the company who went to some premises of the company to purchase credit for their pre-paid meters and have other issues addressed were left stranded.

The workers believe a privatization of the company will not auger well for the company and will also result in the loss of jobs.