Ghanaian presidential hopeful and businessman, Nana Kwame Bediako has detailed how he’s going to fulfil his ambitious plan to connect Kumasi, a landlocked region in Ghana, to the sea.

Bediako, also known as Freedom Jacob Ceasar or Cheddar, had previously promised to dredge a sea to Kumasi as a way of boosting economic activities in the country.

Many Ghanaians are however skeptical about the feasibility of such a project.

During a listening tour at the University of Cape Coast, Cheddar explained his vision by referencing his childhood interest in maps and the geographical layout of Africa while highlighting the untapped potential of Ghana’s water bodies, such as the Pra and Oti Rivers.

“When I was checking the map of this country, I saw the rivers Pra and Oti. When you’re coming from Kumasi to Cape Coast, the big river is just there. It’s not connected.

“When I started this tour, I went to Techiman, then to Tamale, then to Bolga, then to Bogoso, then to Techiman. So every time I went to the room, I quickly studied the map of that region. Then I found out that there’s a river Tano in Techiman, and it goes all the way to the end of Takoradi, sharing the border with the Ivorian coast. Next to it is the sea,” he explained.

Cheddar said he was going to leverage these rivers for transportation by connecting them to the sea through dredging.

“So what we have to do is just dredge our land, let the sea merge with the water bodies, the river, and the lagoon, and start to use it as a transportation. It’s been there, but we haven’t thought of it.

“You can look at the Manchester canal, all of you can google how they dredged the sea to merge with the river for it to become that,” he said.

The proposal, which has sparked debate, aims to transform the economic landscape by making Kumasi a hub for sea transport, potentially opening up new trade routes and opportunities.

Cheddar’s plan draws inspiration from global examples like the Manchester Canal, where inland areas have been connected to the sea, suggesting a similar possibility for Ghana.

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The Dormaahene, Osagyefo ƆseadeƐyƆ Dr Agyemang Badu, says he is willing to sacrifice his salary as a judge if the Western world refuses to extend a helping hand to Ghana over the anti-LGBTQI+ bill.

The chief who doubles as a High Court and the President of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs made this remarks at the Sumaman Akwantukɛse Festival at Suma Ahenkuro over the weekend.

Joining calls for President Nana Akufo Addo to assent to the bill, the chief said he should consider the interest of the nation irrespective of what it stands to lose from foreign donors.

According to him, the refusal of the president will mean that he supports the activities of the LGBTQ which may not be the case.

He added that he and others who support the bill will not relent to pressure the President to assent to the bill even if they would be killed.

The chief said there are several countries who have banned the activities of the LGBTQ but their economies are growing well despite sanctions from the western world.

The Omanhene of Suma traditional area Odeneho Dr Afram Bempong III also stated that until the country passes a law that forbids the activities of the LGBTQ, traditional laws will be used.

In his view, the president’s refusal to assent to the bill would authenticate the perception that he supports the LGBTQ activities since he said in an interview sometime ago that the activities of the LGBTQ was bound to happen.

The Omanhene used the opportunity to call on former President John Mahama, who graced the event to rehabilitate the deplorable roads in the Jaman North and help complete a university campus in the area should he win this year’s election.

The Sumahene also appealed to the NDC flagbearer to help establish a cashew processing factory to process the cashew in the country.

The chief further requested an Adinkra Centre in the Jaman North District as a remembrance for the Nana Adinkra (Bonohene in Ivory Coast) who created the Adinkra symbols

On his part, Mr Mahama pledged the next NDC government will fix the deplorable roads in the area, adding all the requests of the chiefs have been well noted.

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has announced that the House is unable to continue the processes that would lead to the approval of ministers designate vetted by the Appointments Committee.

He said this decision has been occasioned by the pendency of an interlocutory injunction filed by the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor.

“Hon Members, I also bring to your attention, the receipt of a process from the Courts titled Rockson-Nelson Etse K. Dafeamekpor vrs the Speaker of Parliament and the Attorney-General (Suit no. J1/12/2024) which process was served on the 19th of March 2024 and an injunction motion on notice seeking to restrain the Speaker from proceeding with the vetting and approval of the names of the persons submitted by His Excellency the President until the provisions of the constitution are satisfied.

Hon. Members in the light of this process, the House is unable to continue to consider the nominations of His Excellency the President in the “spirit of upholding the rule of law“ until after the determination of the application for interlocutory injunction by the Supreme Court,” Mr Bagbin stated.

This is contained in a 62-point “Formal statement by the Speaker on the refusal of the President to accept the transmission of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2021” read by Mr Bagbin on March 20, 2024.

It would be recalled that the Secretary to Cabinet wrote to the Clerk to Parliament to cease and desist from transmitting the aforementioned Bill to Parliament. Mr. Asante Bediatuo contended that such an act is contemptuous of the Supreme Court as there are two suits pending before the apex court in respect of the Bill.

However, Mr Bagbin argued that the transmission of the Bill to the presidency does not, in any way, constitute contempt of court.

“It undermines the constitutionally outlined procedures and also poses a significant threat to the functioning of democracy. Such a perspective could stultify not only the work of Parliament but also that of other arms of government or statutory agencies, based merely on the potential for an injunction. This approach, therefore, is legally unfounded given the clear constitutional mandates and potentially dangerous, as it could serve to undermine the principles of separation of powers and the efficient functioning of government,” he explained.

This notwithstanding, Mr Bagbin decided to use the fact that an injunction has been filed against the approval of the ministers designate to halt the process as indicated above.

The Speaker further noted that, “The Parliament of Ghana will comply with the existing legal framework and reject the attempts by the Executive Secretary of the President, through his contemptuous letter, to instruct the Clerk to Parliament, an Officer of Parliament whose position is recognizably under the Constitution. We shall not cease and desist!”