The year under review was filled with memorable moments. Pulse.com.gh picks five of the major news stories that rocked Ghana in 2019.
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5 major stories of 2019
The year 2019 year was a mixed bag for many Ghanaians with some major events (both negative and positive) and milestones, as the governing New Patriotic Party entered the third year steering the affairs of the country.
New parliamentary chamber
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Drop that chamber
It seems Parliament decided to 'drop that chamber' as Ghanaians protested.
Ghanaians have over the past months been railing against a planned proposal to build a new $200m chamber for Members of Parliament.
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Protests have erupted against the decision which is considered ill-timed considering the state the country is currently in.
Ghanaians launched a Hashtag on Twitter when members of the Parliamentary Service Board received a model for a proposed new 450-seater Parliament chamber.
They described the chamber as "needless, unnecessary and stupid".
The 450-seater chamber will come with a chapel, mosque, restaurant, and a museum.
The speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Ocquaye, said the government doesn't know yet how much the new complex to be constructed will cost.
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Contract for sale (PPA boss indicted)
Ghanaians have been reacting to an exposé by investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni on the breach of procurement processes in the award and the sale of contracts by some government officials.
In the video, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Public Procurement Authority, Adjenim Boateng Adjei has been caught engaging in the sale of government contracts.
The exposé titled 'Contracts for sale' exposed names and faces behind the sale of government contracts by some top government officials who engage in the activities of taking bribes before awarding contracts to companies.
PPA Boss, Agyenim Boateng
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From excerpts of the 46-minute documentary, the company, Talent Discovery Limited was engaged in the sale of contracts and was ready to sell one worth a GH¢22.3 million to a non-existent entity during an undercover investigation.
Adjenim Boateng Adjei claims the company engaged in the sale of government contracts belonged to his brother-in-law one Francis Arhin but later indicated that he was a part shareholder.
"It's not 60%. It’s 50/50," Adjenim Boateng said.
Talent Discovery Limited has had contracts with the Ghana Water Company (GWCL), Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GHPHA).
PDS scandal
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One of the major stories that dominated the headlines is the takeover of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) by Power Distribution Services (PDS).
PDS was supposed to manage the operations of the ECG for 20 years starting from Friday, March 1, 2019, but the government suspended and later terminated the concession agreement with the PDS after Ghanaians detected fraud in the deal by some members and some fundamental and material breaches were detected on the part of PDS.
ECG and PDS
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The NDC, however, described the PDS scandal as Ghana's biggest corruption deal ever.
The NDC was demanding that the government "completely abandon the idea of proceeding to engage a proposed restrictive tendering process or any other process for that matter for the selection of a new concessionaire with immediate effect."
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The party asked President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to sack the Finance and Energy ministers over the fraudulent deal.
Comprehensive sex education
The initial intention of the government to include Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) as part of the new curricula for basic schools has, in the past months, triggered considerable opposition and outrage in the country.
Members of the media, religious groups, civil society organizations, traditional leaders, politicians, influential individuals, as well as the public have generally expressed disapproval of the policy.
Some Ghanaians have been buzzing with all kinds of commentary, protests, and reactions, much of which suggests that it is even evil to think about introducing the subject of sexuality in Ghana.
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The Ministry of Education after the mixed feelings expressed by Ghanaians stated that the approved curriculum framework from Kindergarten to Primary six does not include CSE contrary to what was currently being discussed in the public domain.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh emphasised that even though the curriculum framework which has been approved by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) has also been approved by Cabinet and published.
The idea of introducing a CSE from KG to Primary 6 in Ghana has dominated public discussions since last week and has aroused strong public sentiments with many opposing its introduction.
SHS placement mess
Heart-wrenching and deeply embarrassing scenes from the Black Star Square over the placement of JHS graduates into the senior high schools.
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No human being deserves to be put through the tribulations of Ghanaian students and parents seeking placement into SHS in the country.
Thousands of parents and guardians thronged the Black Star Square, Accra, to secure placement for their qualified wards to get a placement at a school they may not have chosen but has space.
The process was also to enable other students to change their placements.
Five students and a pregnant woman collapsed during the process of finding a placement.
Confusion at Independence Square over SHS placement
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The Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh alleged that former president John Mahama bussed parents and students to Independence Square to court disaffection for the government.
He said "Some unscrupulous selfish persons wanting to drag the name of the government in the mud are behind chaos at Independence Square…They gave some people 20 cedis and 50 cedis just to go there and cause disaffection for the government."
However, some of the students stated that they fed up with the government's promises and declared that they are fed up with the government's Free SHS programme.
An aggrieved BECE graduate who spoke to the media said the education system in the country is poor adding that the double-track is not helping them.
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