Claim: India scored Ghana 99:1 in 1963 with Akwasi Mfum scoring Ghana’s only goal.
The game never took place and the Ghanaian players said to have participated have denied playing that game.
Full Story
India 99:1 Ghana. This is a story that has been flying around for decades. The game is said to have taken place in 1963. The Indians apparently hosted the Ghanaians in a game that had to be played to prevent a great famine.
The Indian players are said to have come out of a bottle the referee placed at the centre of the field. In other versions they came out of the pocket of the referee.
It was agreed before the game that if Ghana was able to score even a single goal, they would be awarded victory.
During the game, the Indians scored through spiritual means. The ball purportedly turned into a three-headed beast or fire, depending on who is narrating the story to you. This is said to have happened 99 times.
In the last minute of the said game, Ghana had a penalty. The ball was placed on the spot and it turned into a big metal pot which was impossible to kick.
This post has again resurfaced online with a Facebook user suggesting that the Ghanaian player to score that one goal is one Akwasi Mfum who allegedly decided to take the penalty, even if it meant death. He ended up hitting the big metal pot into the goal, this gave Ghana the win. Full time whistle, India 99 : Ghana 1.
Verification
This has been a confusing story ever since it was first circulated. Dubawa decided to delve into this resurfaced issue and provide some clarity about what really happened. Before we go into it, note that, Nigerians also have their own version of the same story, where they played against the Indians.
The first point of call the reporter made was to the Ghana Football Association. The communications officer of the Association, Henry Asante, indicated when that he knew nothing of any such football match when contacted, asserting:
“I am unaware of such a game, I can’t speak to rumours, I only speak [based] on facts.”
We went ahead and spoke to some prominent sports journalists in the country.
When we asked whether the game took place, Collins Atta Poku of Wuntumi FM, who has been voted the best sports analyst in Ghana in the last two years, said,
“It never did. I asked Mfum himself and he said he never played against them.”
Fentuo Tahiru Fentuo, Head of Sports, Citi FM, also said,
“It never happened, it’s just a fantasy we have all lived with for a long time. The said characters have all denied ever taking part in the game. The versions differ depending on who you speak to. It’s just a myth.”
Conclusion
This claim can be considered as false, as all relevant players in the said game have denied that the said game ever took place.
This report was produced under the Dubawa Student Fact-checking Project aimed at offering students in tertiary schools aspiring to take up roles in the profession the opportunity to acquire real-world experience through verification and fact-checking.
Claim: News reports claim Ghana is the second-largest producer of Cassava in Africa.
False. Ghana is the third-largest producer of cassava in Africa, not the second.
Full Text:
According to news reports “Ghana is the second-largest producer of cassava in Africa.” The claim, published here and here, was earlier published on myjoyonline.comon the 22nd of May 2021 but has since been updated.
Source: myjoyonline.com
Source: Myjoyonline.com
According to the news reports, the claim was made at a conference on financial and technological support for processing cassava in Kumasi.
At the event, stakeholders resolved that it is time the country added value to cassava through agricultural industrialization in order to boost its production.
Verification
Cassava is a major crop in the farming systems of Ghana. According to the Global Cassava Processing Market Report 2019, the majority of the population of Africa, Latin America, and Asia depend on cassava for sustenance as it provides food as well as occupation to farmers and traders.
But what’s Ghana’s position in the production of cassava in Africa?
Since the source of the claim was not stated in the story, Dubawa reached out to the journalist who wrote the story published on myjoyonline.com. Our checks revealed that a freelance journalist, Mahmud Mohmmed-Nurudeen, was the reporter of the story.
An email was sent to him to seek clarity on the claim.
On WhatsApp, he sent the link to the original video of the news story on YouTube. Dubawa assessed the video and revealed that the claim was made by the Head of Trade in Services and Manufactures at the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Banda Abdallah Khalifah, during a conference on financial and technological support for processing cassava in Kumasi.
“…Another interesting statistics that we would want to know, Ghana is one of the largest producers of cassava in the world, not even in Africa… in 2019, we produced about 22 million metric tonnes of cassava – 22 million metric tonnes. Thailand is the largest producer, followed by other countries. In Africa, Nigeria is the largest, Ghana is the second largest producer of cassava fresh cassava in Africa…,” Mr Khalifah said in the video (3:35-4:30).
In response to a phone call after seeking clarification Mr Khalifah revealed that “the claim was made using statistics of either 2017 or 2018.”
But he confirmed that “currently, Ghana is the third-largest producer of Cassava in Africa with Nigeria being the first.”
Globally, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) most recent data, the ten largest cassava producing countries are Nigeria, Thailand, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Ghana, Angola, Vietnam, India, and the United Republic of Tanzania.
Deducing from the ten cassava producers in the world, in Africa, the five major cassava producing countries include Nigeria (42,592,025.35 mt), the Democratic Republic of Congo (22,018,779 mt), Ghana (12,113,237.42 mt), Angola (7,806,487.15 mt), and United Republic of Tanzania (5,507,582.62 mt).
According to the most recent data on Tridge, a global sourcing hub that puts together data and networks to make cross-border trade happen, Ghana is the third-largest producer of cassava in Africa.
Ghana indeed is one of the largest cassava producers in Africa, but it is the third in Africa.
This report was produced under the Dubawa Student Fact-checking Project aimed at offering students in tertiary schools aspiring to take up the opportunity to acquire real-world experience through verification and fact-checking.
Claim: Social media users claim the Volivo Bridge in the Volta Region of Ghana is one of the legacies of former President John Dramani Mahama
Verdict: More context needed. The John Mahama-led administration signed the loan agreement but the Volivo Bridge construction commenced under the current government.
Full Text
There have been mixed reactions from Ghanaians over the yet to be completed Volivo Bridge in the Volta Region of Ghana with some commending the incumbent government but others seem unhappy with the move.
Scores of communicators and activists from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) believe the yet to be completed Volivo Bridge project is one of the legacies of former president, John Dramani Mahama, which is inherited by the Akufo Addo led administration.
Some activists on Facebook have cited a November 2016 Facebook post by North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakawa, as evidence to the claim.
The text of the message reads “Congrats to all Ghanaian Farmers. In North Tongu, our farmers are particularly excited about the positive impact this week’s parliamentary approve to Volivo to Dorfor Adidome Bridge over the volta river will have on their Economic fortunes”
Image source:Yayra Koku(NDC ACTIVIST) on Facebook
The bridge upon completion will be an asphalted dual carriageway with ancillary facilities including bicycle lanes, pedestrian walkways, a mini rest stop and toll bridges. It will also be Ghana’s second longest.
The project, when completed, will complement the government’s effort to develop the Eastern Corridor road which is the shortest route connecting the Greater Accra, Volta, Northern and Upper East regions.
This claim has generated some debate on social media about whether or not the project belongs to the erstwhile government or it was started by the current government. Therefore, we decided to fact check and verify the claim.
The then Minister of Finance, Mr. Seth Terkper, signed the loan agreement on behalf of the country while Mr. Kaoru Yoshimura, Japan’s Ambassador to Ghana, signed for his country.
The loan then had an interest rate of 0.1 per cent for the construction and 0.01 per cent for the consulting services with repayment period of 40 years, including 10 years grace period.
Due to the 2016 elections which went in favor of the then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), the Mahama led government could not kick start the project.
Also, per our checks from the 2016 Green Book of the National Democratic Congress also dubbed Accounting to the People, there was no indication of the start or the completion of the said project.
Conclusion
The loan for the Volivo Bridge project was acquired by the John Mahama led NDC government but its construction was started by the Akufo Addo led NPP government.
This report was produced under the Dubawa Student Fact-checking Project aimed at offering students in tertiary schools aspiring to take up roles in the profession the opportunity to acquire real-world experience through verification and fact-checking.
Claim: A viral image of a railway line circulated on Facebook with captions purporting that it is a 100km railway project to link Ghana and Burkina Faso.
Dubawa’s findings show that the purported image of a completed railway line is not that of Ghana’s 100km railway line linking the country and Burkina Faso.
The railway line is part of the main Ghana-Burkina Faso interconnection project which will link the two West African countries and improve trade relations between them.
The former Minister of Railway Development at the time, Mr Joe Ghartey, revealed that the cost for the first stretch of 100km was expected not to cost more than USD600m. The project was, however, expected to be completed in August 2020 as stated by the Minister.
In a post which has since been deleted by a Facebook user, Nana Hesse Ogyiri and shared by legal counsel to the President at the Jubilee House, Kow Essuman states:
‘’This is the first 100km of the Ghana-Burkina Faso railway interconnectivity project. #Wearefixingit attached to the post was an Image of a Railway line.“
The original source of the post was deleted after several concerns were raised about location of the project from pages of both the poster and the sharer.
A comment from Elikem Kotoko and Kwame Baidoo confirms the story was pulled down after criticisms from facebook users.
The post drew the attention of many Facebook users who in sharing it asked if indeed the image was captured from the project site, thus casting doubt on the claim. Some persons including a system analyst and cyber security consultant, Yayra Koku Deku, a journalist and business management consultant, Stan Xoese Dobge and Ras Mubarak, a former Member of parliament for Kumbugu in the Northern Region, have called out the social media users who shared the image, stating that the image does not originate from Ghana.
The growing virality got the attention of Dubawa to verify the claim.
Verification
By using reverse image search, Dubawa traced and found the origin of the photo in contention to the BBC website where the image was credited to Michael Khateli.
The search revealed that the image was originally taken by Michael Khateli, a freelance photojournalist in Nairobi, Kenya in May 2017 during the inauguration of the country’s first major new railway running from the capital Nairobi to the port city of Mombasa. Michael Khateli’s Linkedin account profile describes his current status as a freelance photojournalist based in Kenya.
The image was also featured in the same railway story published on a construction review website by Fidelis John on November 8, 2019.
Checks by Dubawa on government official social media handles and websites proved that no such announcement of completion of the first phase of the project has been made. Again, the circulated railway line image could not be found on the pages.
Further checks by Dubawa on the Ministry of Railway development website and subsequent sites which published the earlier story did not have a story of its completion.
After a search through completed projects on the ministry’s website, we only found an image of the former minister and a video of UK-Ghana Trade Investment Forum 2017, which clearly signified that the page had not been updated with any completed project in recent times. It, however, has on the site a published video as an ongoing project.
We also found out that plans to link Ghana and Burkina Faso by rail were first announced on 11th June, 2004 by Christopher Ameyaw who was then Minister for Ports, Harbours and Railways.
The rail was expected to go from Tema near Accra through Kumasi in the Ashanti Region to Dori, 200km northeast of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s Capital.
Meanwhile, construction of the project has been rescheduled to begin in the middle of next year-2022 as 3 bidders have been shortlisted.
Dubawa’s findings show that the purported image of a completed railway line from Tema in Ghana to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso is not that of Ghana’s 100km railway line designed to link Burkina Faso. Therefore, the attached image is wrong and the claim is completely false and misleading.
Claim: President of the World Bank has asked Ghana’s president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to stop borrowing and fix his country.
Verdict:While the president of the World Bank had asked the government to hold down on non-concessional borrowing, he did not ask the government to “fix the country.”
Full Text
A post shared by a popular Ghanaian blog, Ghana Celebrities, has gone viral on different social media platforms. In the post, the president of the World Bank is reported to have told the government of Ghana to stop borrowing and fix her country.
The post has generated so many comments and has been shared by one other popular Ghanaian blog, Aba_the_great1. At the time of going to press, the post had received 207 likes and seven comments.
Verification
At a recent virtual Media Roundtable discussion by the World Bank for some journalists in Western and Central Africa, the president of the World Bank, David Malpas, made some observations about Ghana’s current status.
His comment was a response to a question posed by a Ghanaian journalist, George Wiafe, who sought his view on Ghana’s debt stock. Although Malpas had advised the government to hold down on borrowing as a result of future impacts, he did not wade into the #FixTheCountry campaign which has become a major topic in Ghana.
In the original news article regarding the issue by Myjoyonline.com, Mr Malpas was quoted as saying “holding down the non-concessional debt means higher interest rate debt because that burdens the further generations”, thus making the social media post misleading.
#FixIt Campaign and Misinformation in Ghana
Since the beginning of the #FixTheCountry, #FixTheCountryNow, #FixTheGhana campaign —a youth-led social media campaign in Ghana to demand accountability and development from political leaders— the tendency for social media users to share old photos and videos to pass them as new has become common, making the work of fact-checking organizations in Ghana very timely.
While Dubawa and other fact-checking organizations in Ghana are working to curb misinformation in this period as we do every day, it is important for social media users and media consumers to have knowledge of some digital tools that could be used to verify information that comes in the form of images and videos. Dubawa has therefore put together some basic tools and tips for fact-checking images and videos. Familiarity with the tools and tips will enhance the ability to mitigate the spread of misleading information such as the one in this fact check.
Claim: The Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah, says that the capital city has not recorded a case of Cholera in a long time
Verdict: True. Even though the Mayor had not given a specific timeline, between 2017 and January 2021, there has been no reported case of Cholera in Accra.
Full Story
On Wednesday, May 19, 2021, the Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Hon. Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah, said that the capital city had not recorded a single cholera case in a long time.
The initiative, according to the Assembly, was aimed at establishing “the status of environmental sanitation in electoral areas quarterly, creating a sanitation database for decision making, facilitating investment in sanitation, emphasising remedial measures, promoting local ownership of environmental sanitation issues, as well as incentivizing community initiatives on sanitation management.”
Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah touted the achievements of the Assembly with regards to sanitation, saying that it had led to a zero case of cholera over a long period.
“Today, we are confident in saying that Accra for a long time has not recorded a single cholera case, and that’s the impact of the interventions that we’ve put in place,” he said.
Verification
Although Hon. Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah did not give a specific timeline for the period he claimed that Accra has not recorded a case of Cholera, the reporter looked into the Cholera situation in Accra since 2017 – the year in which Mr. Sowah was first appointed.
The GWER publishes reports of public health interest and importance, thereby informing its readership of the developments in the health sector in Ghana.
We examined a total of 120 reports and found no cases of Cholera recorded from Accra. However, cases of Cholera that were found in these reports were outside of Accra.
One of those cases was in Cape Coast (September 2017) and the other two were in Ketu South (October 2018).
In the other reports where no cases were found, it was indicated in the report that:
“During the week, there was no confirmed case of Cholera”
The Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, said when asked about the last time a cholera case was recorded in Accra “that should be in 2015.”
Conclusion
The claim by the Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Hon. Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah, can be considered as true as Accra has not recorded a single case of Cholera, at least, since 2017.
This report was produced under the Dubawa Student Fact-checking Project aimed at offering students in tertiary schools aspiring to take up the opportunity to acquire real-world experience through verification and fact-checking.
Claim: Dzata Cement is under the one district one factory project being implemented by the government of Ghana.
Verdict: The Managing Director of Dzata Cement, Nana Philip Archer, says Dzata Cement has no relation with the One District One Factory policy by the government of Ghana.
Full story
There have been positive feedback from Ghanaians on the creation of Ghana’s cement production factory, Dzata Cement. The factory founded by a Ghanaian, Ibrahim Mahama, has received several commendations from social media users, the Trade Minister Alan Kyeremanteng, and other government personnel including businessman and politician, Kennedy Agyapong.
However, a viral message shared on WhatsApp and Facebook claims the newly established cement factory in Ghana, Dzata Cement, is under the One District One Factory initiative by President Akufo Addo.
The text of the message reads, “It is with utmost greatness to know that the country is being fixed. This is evident with the construction of the Dzata Cement Factory by Ibrahim Mahama under the one district one factory programme by the government. Great move to have a cement factory fully owned by Ghana for the first time. #heisfixingit”.
The one district one factory policy is a Government of Ghana policy. It is aimed at creating jobs for Ghanaians through the setting up of factories and industries which will in turn move the country towards greater industrialization.
These messages have generated several conversations as to whether the cement factory is under the one district one factory policy. So, we decided to verify the claim.
Verification
The government of Ghana has a website dedicated to the One district one factory policy. Dubawa surfed through the website to find out the list of factories the government has built, and those under construction.
And since Dzata Cement is located in Tema on the Tema Harbour Road, we limited our search to factories built in Greater Accra, specifically Tema. In Greater Accra, we found out that there were 59 factories categorized under (operational, under construction, on hold and at inception).
Limiting our scope to Tema, we found out there are only 10 factories under the policy. Out of the 10, six are operational, two are under construction, and two are at the inception stage.
However, Dzata Cement is not a part of the listed factories.
Also, Managing Director of Dzata Cement, Nana Philip Archer in an interview with Dubawa, revealed that “Dzata Cement is not under the One District One Factory policy thus claims about that should be disregarded.”
He also revealed that the “friendly environment in Ghana gives room for everyone to operate a business and Ibrahim Mahama’s Dzata Cement is one of those businesses and that Dzata Cement is by no means related to the policy.”
Conclusion:
It is untrue that the Dzata Cement factory is a part of the government’s One district One factory policy.
This report was produced under the Dubawa Student Fact-checking Project aimed at offering students in tertiary schools aspiring to take up the opportunity to acquire real-world experience through verification and fact-checking.
Claim: Youth Enterprise Support Initiative 2021, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, is reported to be awarding Ghanaian applicants, GH₵30,000 per week under the YES fund.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied it and described this viral message as fake.
Full story
Between Thursday and Friday, many WhatsApp users received a message which was purportedly issued by the Youth Enterprise Support under the name of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. In the message was a link that asked all interested Ghanaians to apply and choose their preferred mode of payment, adding that their accounts would be credited “as soon as as possible.”
The application form was available on ghanafunds.applyfast.online and requested applicant’s first name, last name, phone number and email address.
According to the website,
“All Ghanaians are entitled to GH₵30,000 per week for the youth enterprise support fund. Proceed now to apply by filling the provided form and choose your preferred payment method. Your account will be credited as soon as possible.”
Beneath the form was another false claim that Youth Enterprise Support was initiated by President Nana Akufo-Addo. The site could not tell the exact figure of Ghanaians who have benefited from the Initiative. The lack of such critical information raised suspicion over the content on the site.
Verification
The supposed disbursement of GH₵30,000 (an unusually generous offer from government) per week to each Ghanaian that completes the application stimulated Dubawa’s curiosity.
A telephone conversation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that,
“Since it is not advertised on any of our pages and website, it is not true; disregard it,” an official of the Ministry warned.
The official further warned that Ghanaians should disregard it.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, in a release dated May 17, 2021 said “the Government of Ghana has neither established a support initiative that goes by the name ‘Youth Enterprise Support Initiative 2021’ nor has the President of the Republic, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo initiated any programme that provides the above mentioned financial support.”
“The Ministry wishes to advise the general public to disregard the ‘Youth Enterprise Support Initiative 2021’ and the claims being made about its purported services since it is fraudulent,” the release added.
Furthermore, the Facebook page for the Youth Enterprise Support, which is associated with the claim being made, did not have the same announcement purported to have come from it. The last post on that page, as at the time the search was conducted, dated back to August 11, 2015.
Conclusion
It is not true that the Youth Enterprise Support, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, is set to award GH₵30,000 to Ghanaian applicants per week.
This report was produced under the Dubawa Student Fact-checking Project aimed at offering students in tertiary schools aspiring to take up roles in the profession the opportunity to acquire real-world experience through verification and fact-checking.
Dubawa is officially a year old in Ghana and what an exciting and eventful year it has been!
Our primary goal in establishing a fact-checking platform in Ghana was to contribute to the fight against misinformation and disinformation, by ensuring access to accurate and truthful information, and in the spirit of our motto, to ‘amplify truth.’
Dubawa’s approach to addressing the problem of ‘fake news’ and increasing awareness of fact-checking has been multi-thronged: rigorous fact-checking, fact-checking training, and media and information literacy.
Media And Fact-checking Ecosystem in Ghana
By February 2020 when Dubawa was launched, Ghana’s media landscape was largely pluralised with a lot more Ghanaians able to access more information on mainstream and social media and on the internet than a decade ago. While this is good for the country’s growing democracy and especially for freedom of expression, it also raises concerns about the increasing spread of misinformation and disinformation, commonly referred to as ‘fake news’, in the country. This is in spite of the much-contested Electronic Communications Act (2008) which criminalises the dissemination of fake news in the country. Offenders are liable to a fine of GHS 36,000 (about $6,250) and up to five years imprisonment.
Through preliminary desk research and a Dubawa commissioned survey, we found that fact-checking as a response to addressing fake news was not mainstream although some media outlets engaged in ad hoc or occasional fact-checking. Coincidentally, by 2019 when the expansion of Dubawa to Ghana was conceived, GhanaFact, a full time fact-checking platform was launched and the Media Foundation for West Africa’s fact-checking project, Fact Check Ghana, which was vibrant in 2016 but became dormant sometime in 2017 was relaunched later in 2020. Dubawa was established to, alongside these existing organisations, deepen the culture of truth amplification in Ghana.
With Ghana’s December 2020 elections, expected to be keenly contested considering the key contenders were a former and a sitting president, on the horizon, the problem of ‘fake news’ was expected to take centre stage. Taking into account the havoc wrought by misinformation and disinformation even on developed democracies like the United States of America, a quick and strategic response was needed.
Dubawa’s Interventions
The key thing we did in furtherance of our objectives was to raise awareness about the dangers of misinformation and disinformation and the need for fact-checking in Ghana. This message was first sold to stakeholders at Dubawa’s official launch which was chaired by the Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ms Josephine Oppong and had the former Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, as the keynote speaker. The Ministry of Information was later instrumental in our Covid-19 misinformation fight as it served as a pathway to reach Ghanaians with verified Covid-19 information and fact-checking tips.
Over the period, Dubawa organised fact-checking training for members of the media and blogging community and other stakeholders. Participants in our training sessions did not only share the knowledge and skills gained with colleagues but also incorporated them into their work. They were also instrumental in supporting Dubawa’s effort at countering misinformation during the December 7, 2020 elections.
Further inspired by the need to address the menace of misinformation and disinformation in the country, a six-month fact-checking fellowship, which commenced in August 2020 was organised. The fellowship was open to practising journalists in new media platforms (online blogs), newspaper, radio and TV stations, and researchers with the aim of providing an opportunity for journalists to acquire skills and knowledge in fact-checking; contribute to countering misinformation and disinformation by writing truth-based and factual stories; and also to institute a culture of fact-checking in newsrooms.
From the onset, we realised the importance of collaboration. We worked with the knowledge that misinformation is widespread and needed to be tackled collectively by all stakeholders. And we were right. Our partnership with the media, Alliance for African Women Initiative (AFAWI), the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), and the Coalition for Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) achieved major results.
Within the period, Dubawa as signatories to the International Fact-checking Network (IFCN) contributed to the CoronavirusFacts Alliance which has brought together fact-checkers from over 70 countries, publishes fact-check reports in over 40 languages, and has produced over 9,000 fact-checks since the Alliance started in March 2020. Also, as a partner to Facebook and its Third-Party Fact-checking Programme, Dubawa contributed to fighting misinformation on the platform.
We are grateful to the numerous partners who have been with us on this journey. We invite you to join us if you are yet to.
Missed our fact-checks last year?
Here are some of our top-performing fact-check reports of 2020:
Hibiscus tea otherwise called Sobolo, sobo/zobo, according to a viral video, has been used by China to cure the novel coronavirus, Covid-19. The claimant, Nana Okogyedom Ntim-Barimah, Executive Director for Soul Health and Wellness Center, claimed the Chinese used ‘sobolo’ to cure the COVID-19 and called on Ghanaians to do the same.
In the video, Nana Ntim-Berimah refers to two articles that he suggests have information on the use of the flower as a cure for the coronavirus in China. Click here for full fact-check.
A few days to the 2020 elections, a viral video with accompanying narratives suggesting the President of the country and New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, was caught on video receiving a bribe. This was discussed extensively on mainstream media and social media by the opposition party NDC with the narrative purporting that Akufo-Addo took a USD40,000 bribe in 2017 in his capacity as president, in order not to sack Alhaji Abbas who is the director of Urban Roads. Click here for full fact-check
Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC) came under criticism from a section of the public following the official declaration of the 2020 election results. Most of the criticisms have been about how the Commission has not been able to effectively undertake its clerical functions for the purposes of updating the public. One of such was an artwork announcing the result of the Essikado-Ketan parliamentary elections. Many pro-opposition Facebook groups including NDC TV and some commentators shared images to claim that the Commission published results for six parliamentary candidates for the Essikado-Ketan seat when in fact, only three people contested for the seat.
The discourse on COVID-19 vaccines as a possible panacea for the ongoing pandemic has varied progressively from the onset of the pandemic to the discovery of vaccines. The narrative has ranged from the seeming anticipation of a vaccine, probes on its efficacy, queries on its affordability, preservability and sustainability, to its general acceptability by users; where science, religion, culture, and emotions are among the basis influencing many of such interrogations and discussions.
In Ghana, when the president of the Republic announced in January 2021 that the government’s aim is to vaccinate the entire population with an initial target of 20 million people, it was noticeable that the discourse intensified. Detailing further that the government was hopeful that by the end of June 2021, 17.6 million vaccine doses would have been procured for the country, where the earliest vaccine is expected by March 2021, the president inadvertently gave Ghanaians an added scope to express their divergent views on the subject.
In light of this, a few Ghanaian-oriented tweets which were sampled, gave the lead to a thematic analysis on Ghanaians’ views on the vaccine – and admittedly, does not reflect a representative sample of the entire population’s general reasoning and sentiments about the government’s vaccination agenda. In consideration of these views, therefore, the falsities identified therein are debunked while the appropriate information required is supplied, wherever applicable.
Anti-vaccination
A number of Ghanaians have indicated their unwillingness to get vaccinated with a foreign vaccine. A user identified as Dee, for example, has expressed refusal to use a vaccine from a ‘white man with unknown intentions’, for fear of being ‘used as a guinea pig.’
It appears people such as @Dee07 may prefer a locally manufactured vaccine as it has further been suggested that Ghana should source local scientists to conduct research and trials into potent vaccines.
@Rockson2, who detailed this in a thread with some recommendations to the government in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, included that the government should receive some of the AstraZeneca doses being put on hold in South Africa by appointing a chief vaccine negotiator from a private sector with industry connections and focus majorly on two regions in Ghana with the highest percentage of cases for the vaccination strategy to reduce the spread to other regions and appoint a chief vaccine spokesperson from the science community and not one from the political domain.
In his recommendations, Gregory Rockson made some remarkable points that were worth looking into.
Claim 1: @Rockson2 stated that the dominant variant in Ghana is the UK variant, and it is known that the AstraZeneca vaccine works effectively against that variant.
Prof Awandare stated in January that the Centre’s “January sequencing data shows clearly that B.1.1.7 (first reported in the UK) is now the predominant strain driving local transmission in Ghana.’’
According to the studies reported, a single AstraZeneca vaccine dose is 76% effective for protecting against the virus up to 3 months, and increasing to 82% effectiveness with a second dose after a 12-week interval. Also, the vaccine can reduce the spread of the virus up to 67% after one dose which suggests that those vaccinated are unlikely to infect others.
Claim 2: Again, @Rockson2, in recommending the regional focus of the government’s vaccination strategy to achieve herd immunity stated that the Greater Accra Region and Ashanti Region have over 90% of cases.
Data from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) shows that as at February 8 2021, Greater Accra Region records the highest number of cases being 43,497 and active cases being 3,754 and Ashanti Region records the second highest number of cases being 13,361 and active cases being 1,353, both over a national total cases of 74,347 and total active cases of 7,509.
Therefore, the assertion that Greater Accra Region and Ashanti Region have over 90% of cases is inaccurate, as they record 76% of cases and 68% of active cases respectively, as at February 8, 2021. However, both regions do record the highest number of cases, and in that regard, the recommendation for the vaccination strategy to focus on those regions may still hold.
Alternate COVID-19 vaccines
Halidu Yakubu’s tweet also suggests the support for the procurement of vaccines. In fact, in his tweet, @YakubuHalidu rather commends the need for the government to import other COVID-19 vaccines such as Sputnik from Russia – a suggestion which is similarly shared, explained and argued for by Dr. Asiedu Sarpong, who is a pharmacist and research fellow at Centre for Democratic Development (CDD)-Ghana.
Claim
However, in @YakubuHalidu’s contemplation for this preferred Sputnik vaccine, he claimed that the vaccine being imported by the government is ‘that of Bill Gates’. He further alleges that ‘the Vice President once spoke to Bill Gates for vaccines to be injected on March 21.’
Meanwhile, @YakubuHalidu’s claim of the Vice President speaking to Bill Gates on COVID-19 vaccines cannot be proven beyond what is publicly reported since the only recent publicly known interaction Ghana’s Vice President has had with Bill Gates on vaccines was not COVID-19-related but polio-related in September 2020, whereby at the time there was no known WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccine as yet.
Austin Charles, whose contribution also suggested the approval of having vaccines in Ghana, admonishes for vaccine literacy to be intensified. In his tweet, @mr_ablordey gives the reason for the vaccine education to be the existing skepticism on the efficacy of the vaccines in view of its alleged several negative effects.
Similarly, Dr Alexander Dodoo, the Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority who has appeared in a number of mainstream media interviews discussing the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in Ghana, has advised for more community engagement on vaccines to be held to enable Ghanaians understand the uses and limitations of vaccines against COVID-19. He also showed that none of the vaccines is 100% and they vary in their efficacy percentages and doses needed.
“We need to get the public ready not just for the vaccine but to also expect that the protection offered by the vaccine goes with some amount of risk. There will be side effects. And it’s not going to be 100% safe. It never happens. So we need to communicate that there will be a lot of benefits, but there will be an accompanying measurable amount of tolerable risk which the population should be ready for,” Dr. Dodoo said.
“The reaction of the immune system to foreign elements is different for everyone so some of these things are expected. When the vaccine arrives in Ghana, you’ll realize someone will have no effects after taking the vaccination, some will have slight headaches and I’ve even experienced someone collapse after being vaccinated,” Dr. Sylnaken said.
“COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you from getting COVID-19. You may have some side effects, which are normal signs that your body is building protection. These side effects may affect your ability to do daily activities, but they should go away in a few days,” CDC said
The CDC has listed some possible common side effects of a COVID-19 vaccine as shown below:
It is being revealed that the issue most people have with vaccines in Ghana is not so much of getting vaccinated as it is about unknown issues surrounding the vaccines. In this contribution, for example, Sir Nana Kokote suggests the order of the administration of vaccines, perhaps in order to trust the safety of the vaccines. In his tweet, @kokote_sir states that the government of Ghana should administer the COVID-19 vaccines from the top (presidency) to the bottom (ordinary citizens), as was done for the issuing of the Ghana card.
For all Ghanaians interested in being vaccinated against COVID-19 with the procured vaccines, the Ghana Health Service has assured that the vaccine will be free to the average Ghanaian, thusconfirming that no one is to be charged to be vaccinated.
However, some categories of persons will be exempted from being vaccinated, unless otherwise recommended by a doctor, as was listed by the Director-General of Ghana Standards Authority, Dr Alexander Dodoo. They include people with allergies, underlying health conditions, HIV/AIDS, undergoing cancer treatment, children under age 16, pregnant women, and the aged, due to the possible compromise of such persons’ immune systems and in the case of children, their proven protection and inability to pass on the virus.
Conclusion
Evidently, the government of Ghana has put in measures to help control the spread of COVID-19 such as the procurement of vaccines in ensuring that the entire population is vaccinated. Some Ghanaians through the different available media platforms, have expressed their views accordingly with an array of their terms and conditions for vaccination – some of which may apply, some of which may not.
