The year 2020 will go down in history as an unusual one. It was a year plagued with a pandemic. COVID-19 came with its own troubles, but also tested and stretched the ingenuity of humans.
It connected worldwide medical emergency to the political response and to our personal experience of it all.
This article seeks to review the “big stories” that hit Ghana during the year under review. Below are the top 10 stories of 2020.
COVID-19
The first case of COVID-19 was reported in December 2019 and the source of the outbreak has been linked to a wet market in Wuhan (Hubei province, China).
Human-to-human and patient-to-medical staff transmission of the virus have been confirmed. Many of the associated fatalities have been due to pneumonia caused by the virus.
Cases of the virus have been confirmed in numerous countries and territories worldwide. Virus-screening and quarantining measures are being implemented at airports worldwide, as well as extensive travel restrictions.
The pandemic has caused many countries to shut down and many economies have also come to a standstill
On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the global outbreak a pandemic.
Ghana’s Ministry of Health confirmed the first two cases of COVID-19 on Thursday 13 March 2020. According to authorities, the individuals had returned to Ghana from Norway and Turkey.
As of 31 December, Ghana’s case count stands at 54,771 with 53,594 recoveries and 335 deaths. Active cases currently stand at 842
The Agyapa deal
The national conversation recently was dominated by one topic, Agyapa Royalties Ltd.
Our airwaves were awash with information about the company, what it intends to do and various opinions about how viable it is.
For the politically inclined, the conversation was steered mostly in the direction of the ties of individuals involved in forming the company.
President Akufo-Addo has directed the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, to go back to Parliament with the Agyapa Royalties deal for further scrutiny following the Special Prosecutor’s corruption risk assessment.
Rawlings’s death
Another event in 2020 that shocked Ghanaians and the world was the death of Ghana’s former President Jerry John Rawlings.
Rawlings died at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on Thursday morning (12 November).
He was 73. His last public appearance was on 24 October during the burial of his late mother, Victoria Agbotui.
Martin Amidu’s resignation
Many Ghanaians were excited on the appointment of Martin Amidu as the first Special Prosecutor. There were a lot of expectations as many Ghanaians saw the move as a step in the fight against corruption in the country.
But that didn’t happen; the man (Martin Amidu) resigned amidst accusations of interference from government officials.
In a letter to President Akufo-Addo, Amidu suggested that the president has not been able to ensure his independence and freedom of action.
He said, “My position as the Special Prosecutor has consequently become clearly untenable.”
Martin Amidu said his decision is to enable his appointing authority “to take steps to appoint a replacement to that position as required by law.”
Airbus scandal
Fallout from the Airbus bribery scandal echoed around the world on 3 February 2020.
In Ghana, a political storm erupted over accusations of Airbus payments to a relative of a government official in connection with the purchase of military transport planes.
The former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu named former president John Mahama as the person referred to as the “Government Official 1” in the airbus scandal.
Western Togoland separatists’ attacks
Members of Western Togoland separatists group blocked all roads leading to and from the Volta Region which led to about 3 km of traffic.
The roadblock, they say was to “assert its sovereignty all over the Southern sector”.
The group also reportedly forcibly took over the Aveyime and Mepe Police stations, overpowering the police officers in the process and looting the Station’s armory.
They also reportedly set ablaze an STC minibus and beat up drivers who were passing the night in the STC yard in the Volta Region. The attackers then absconded.
Several suspected secessionists have been arrested and currently in court.
Domelevo proceeds on leave
In June, President Akufo-Addo asked the auditor general, Daniel Yao Domelevo, to take his accumulated leave, a statement from the presidency said.
“The President’s decision to direct Mr Domelevo to take his accumulated leave is based on sections 20 (1) and 31 of the Labour Act 2003 (Act 651), which apply to workers, including public office holders such as the Auditor General,” the statement said.
But on 7 July 2020, a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) called a press conference in response to the president’s action and issued an appeal to him to rescind his directive to Domelevo.
The CSOs expressed grave concern over the constitutional and governance implications of the president’s action.
Ghana-Nigeria tensions
In 2020, tensions between the Ghanaian and Nigerian governments increased following the eviction of Nigerian retail traders from their shops in Ghana.
The demolition of parts of a property belonging to the Nigerian High Commission in Accra after a land dispute escalated matters.
The Nigerian government accused its counterpart in Ghana of harassing Nigerian citizens and threatened to retaliate.
But Ghana rejected the accusations, insisting it was only applying its laws, which bar foreigners from engaging in retail trading.
The Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives had to come to Ghana to seek to resolve the matter.
Beyonce ft Shatta Wale – Lion King
Beyoncé’s new album – Black Is King – reimagines the story of the movie The Lion King with human beings and is intended to “shift the global perception of the word black”, the artist has said.
Work on the album, which features lush music clips celebrating the search for identity and black beauty in contemporary and historical times, began a year ago.
Beyoncé’s collaboration with Shatta Wale and Major Lazer – “Already” – has been dominating playlists all over again.
Election 2020
How can we forget the 7 December polls and the brouhaha that has hit it?
The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa declared Akufo-Addo winner of the 2020 presidential elections, after defeating John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress.
Akufo-Addo won by 51.59% of the total votes cast as against Mahama’s 6,214,889 representing 47.36%. Akufo-Addo polled a total of 6,70,413 votes out of the total votes of 13, 434, 574.
The opposition National Democratic Congress is currently in court challenging the results as declared by the Electoral Commission (EC).
Did we miss out on any story or event? Share with us and have a prosperous 2021.
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