LeBron James has undoubtedly cemented himself as one of the most thrilling NBA players in history.
Throughout his illustrious 20-year career, the Los Angeles Lakers star has earned four championships and numerous accolades, captivating fans with his incredible skills on the court.
However, beyond his sporting prowess, the 38-year-old LeBron takes immense pride in being a devoted father.
Off the basketball court, he embraces his role as a loving dad to his three children, Bronny, Bryce, and Zhuri, whom he shares with his wife Savannah. LeBron’s dedication to both his family and his sport has made him a true inspiration to many.
LeBron and his whole family smile on the red carpet for the premiere of ‘Smallfoot.’ (Splashnews)
Bronny James
In July 2023, Bronny, 18, “suffered a cardiac arrest,” while practicing, according to a statement from the James family. “Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital. He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU. We ask for respect and privacy for the James family, and we will update the media when there is more information.”
LeBron poses with Bronny & Bryce at the premiere of ‘Space Jam 2.’ (Shutterstock)
LeBron opened up about how being a dad has helped him be better as a teammate in a 2018 appearance on The Tim Ferriss Show. “They all are different, and I had to find out how to tap into each one of my kids to get the same results but teach them differently, and that’s the same with being the leader of a basketball team or a franchise,” he said.
LeBron and Savannah, high school sweethearts, became parents to their first son, Bronny, in 2004, just as LeBron embarked on his NBA journey. Bronny has undoubtedly inherited his father’s basketball talents and is proving to be an exceptional player in his own right.
Although currently a high school star, it appears highly probable that he will continue his family’s legacy and follow in his dad’s footsteps to pursue a career in the NBA.
Of course, having your dad be the GOAT can only help your basketball skills, and LeBron has regularly trained with his sons to help them get better at the game. Bronny opened up about following in his dad’s footsteps in a 2022 profile in Sports Illustrated.
“I was born into it, so I feel like the path was already chosen,” he said. “My dad is cool enough to let me take whatever path I want if I wanted to not pursue basketball. But I think basketball is going to be my thing, for sure.”
Bronny has been a standout talent in basketball from a young age, catching the attention of recruiters even as a kid. Colleges began offering him scholarships as early as 11 years old, as reported by ESPN.
In 2023, during his senior year, Bronny achieved the prestigious title of being named a “McDonald’s All-American” player, mirroring the recognition his father, LeBron, received 20 years earlier.
In a profile by Sports Illustrated, Bronny expressed his aspirations of playing in the NBA. Interestingly, LeBron has been vocal about his desire to share the court with his son in the NBA, expressing this sentiment in various interviews and through his Twitter account.
The idea of a father-son duo in the league has generated excitement and anticipation among basketball fans.
A recent study conducted on stone tools unearthed in Vietnam has shed light on the ancient culinary practices in the region.
Traces of spices discovered on a grinding slab and other stone tools indicate that curry was consumed in this area over 2,000 years ago.
The sandstone slab, recovered from the Oc Eo archaeological complex in southern Vietnam, was buried at a depth of 2 meters (6.5 feet) below the surface.
This site, which was once a thriving overseas trading center of the ancient Southeast Asian kingdom called Funan, has provided valuable insights into the historical dietary habits and cultural exchanges of the region.
“Preparing curry involves not only a diverse range of spices but also the use of grinding tools, considerable time, and human effort,” said study author Dr. Hsiao-chun Hung, a senior research fellow in the department of archaeology and natural history at Australian National University in Canberra.
“Remarkably, even individuals residing outside of India nearly 2,000 years ago expressed a strong desire to savor the flavors of curry, as evidenced by their diligent preparations,” Hung said.
The grinding slab was found two meters below the surface.
Analyzing ancient curry
The ingredients the researchers identified are similar to those in curries eaten in Vietnam and other places in Southeast Asia today.
“Nowadays, preparing curry in Vietnam has become much simpler for most families due to the widespread availability of curry powder in supermarkets. However, it is interesting to note that the curry recipe used today has not deviated significantly from the ancient Oc Eo period,” said study coauthor Dr. Khanh Trung Kien Nguyen, an archaeologist at the Center for Archaeology, Southern Institute of Social Sciences in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
According to Nguyen, the research team is enthusiastic about recreating the ancient curry, utilizing the ingredients discovered at the 2,000-year-old site.
The study further highlights that curry consumption dates back around 4,000 years in India, evident from the presence of turmeric, ginger, eggplant, and mango in cooking pots and dental plaque. However, the recent findings from Oc Eo reveal a rich and captivating history of curry production beyond India’s borders.
Hung emphasized that this discovery showcases the long and fascinating journey of curry, not confined solely to India but spreading its influence to Southeast Asia as well.
The ingredients unearthed at Oc Eo, like turmeric, share similarities with Indian curries, while other components, such as coconut milk and galangal, distinctly reflect the culinary preferences of Southeast Asia, making the ancient curry a delightful blend of diverse flavors and cultural influences.
How curry linked cultures
According to Hung, the exact individuals responsible for making curry at the site remain uncertain, but they are believed to have been either migrants from India or local inhabitants in Vietnam influenced by South Asian culture. The discovery of the large grinding stone, measuring 76 centimeters (30 inches) in length and 31 centimeters (12 inches) in width, alongside the remains of stilt houses, suggests that these people may have lived in close proximity to or above water.
Previous DNA analysis of a cemetery in Cambodia, connected to Oc Eo through an ancient canal system, has indicated population movement from South Asia into Southeast Asia during the first to third centuries, providing further evidence of cultural exchange and migration in the region.
The new study concluded that curry recipes arrived in Southeast Asia with South Asian traders and migrants as contact between the regions increased during the early centuries of the first millennium, and it showed how the global spice trade has linked cultures and economic systems.
Most surprising, Hung said, was that some of the nutmeg seeds unearthed during the dig still released a unique aroma.
“Food culture is significant in human history,” Hung added. “When we enjoy delicious food, we often wonder about how its flavors were formed, the origins of the recipes, and when these culinary methods were first practiced.”
The research published in the journal Science Advances on Friday.
Former General Secretary of the People’s National Convention, Bernard Mornah, has made allegations that Cecilia Dapaah, the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, was compelled to resign from her position.
Mr Mornah claimed that individuals close to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, including Eugene Arhin, the Director of Communications at the Office of the President, have been implicated in more serious crimes but have not been removed from their positions.
In an interview on UTV on Monday, July 24, 2023, Mr Mornah expressed his shock at the amount of money stolen at Cecilia Dapaah’s home, suggesting that she would still be in office if she had been closer to the presidency.
“What is more painful in all of this is that this woman was forced to resign. Euguene Arhin works at the presidency; do you remember the confusion between him and his wife? Do you know the list of assets the woman (Euguene Arhin’s wife) listed?
“Just two of those assets alone exceed the amount of money that has been stolen, for which reason this woman’s resignation was put before her to sign.
“So, it is evident that if you are close to the president, you cannot be forced to resign, but if you are not close to the president, you can be forced to resign,” he said in Twi.
Cecilia Dapaah resigned following the discovery that she and her family had lost significant amounts of money and valuable items during a robbery at her residence. The court documents indicated that US$1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghana Cedis were stolen, along with assorted clothes valued at GH¢95,000 and handbags, perfumes, and jewelry valued at US$95,000.
After her resignation, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) arrested Dapaah, suspecting her of corruption and corruption-related offenses in connection with the stolen money and items. Two house helps, Patience Botwe (18) and Sarah Agyei (30), were previously charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and five counts of stealing for their alleged involvement in the incidents between July and October 2022.
During the same period, additional items, including six sets of kente cloth worth GHC90,000 and six sets of men’s suits valued at $3,000, belonging to Dapaah’s husband, were reported stolen.
Moreover, three other individuals, including Botwe’s current and former boyfriends and her father, are facing charges for allegedly receiving dishonestly sums of GHC1 million, GHC180,000, and GHC50,000, respectively.
The arrest by the Office of the Special Prosecutor emphasizes the seriousness of the matter and the authorities’ commitment to conducting a thorough investigation into the alleged corruption.
Some students who witnessed the recent assault at Adisadel College in the Central Region have been summoned for questioning by the Regional Education Directorate.
The perpetrator, a final-year student, has already been suspended, and the school has established a board to conduct an investigation.
Additionally, the Housemaster of Quaque House, where the incident occurred, has been suspended pending further inquiry.
A committee assigned by the school to investigate the matter has made several recommendations.
The culprit has been dismissed and will subsequently take his final exams at WEAC. Meanwhile, the victim will be temporarily relocated to write the WASSCE at the school’s premises.
The Regional Directorate of Education has expressed uncertainty regarding the root cause of the incident.
Central Regional Minister Justina Marigold Assan is currently present at the school to oversee the situation.
Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has declared that there will be no parliamentary session on Thursday, July 26, due to a significant national event that will involve key authorities in the country.
This important occasion will bring together the President, Chief Justice, members of parliament, former presidents, ministers, and other prominent figures.
On the floor of the house, Speaker Alban Bagbin explained the reason for the adjournment, stating; “The house will not sit tomorrow, we have a very important National event hosted by our partners in the church and from his excellency through my good self, the Chief Justice, former presidents, some ministers, and all the important authorities in the country will have to reconvene to look at a very critical national agenda. In view of that, a number of members of parliament are compulsorily to be present and so we will not sit tomorrow. We will seat on Thursday.”
The Pentecost church is hosting a national event, leading to the adjournment of the usual parliamentary session scheduled for Thursday.
As a result, members of parliament will now convene on Friday, July 27, for the resumption of parliamentary activities after the event concludes.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has praised the late President John Evans Atta-Mills for his principled leadership, stating that he was not one to pursue power at any cost or manipulate state agencies for political gain.
He stated this during the 11th anniversary of late President Atta-Mills held in Accra on Tuesday, July 24, 2023.
“The Electoral Commission (EC) was truly independent and the judiciary did not live in fear of not satisfying the president’s wishes by their verdicts.
“He did not weaponize justice unlike what we are living through today. He was a great talent sporter and I count myself among his many proteges who have gone on to excel in our various fields of endeavor,” he said.
The former President also lauded the late Mills for upholding Ghana’s social and moral values high, as he “was unequivocal in his abhorrence of LGBTQ.”
Mr. Mahama, who served as Vice President to Prof Mills from 2009 until Prof Mills’ untimely death on 24th July 2012, expressed that he considers himself one of Prof Mills’ proteges who have achieved success in their respective fields.
Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana (UG), Legon, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, and other officials faced difficulties in adequately answering various questions related to alleged infractions during a session with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
The PAC expressed dissatisfaction with the officials’ lack of preparation and advised the University to be better prepared for future appearances.
The PAC also stated that it may recommend the prosecution of some University and NDK Financial Services officials concerning a GH¢1.2 million investment fund that has not been recouped despite repeated orders from the PAC.
The Office of Research Innovation and Development (ORID) at UG, Legon, made the investment, and since 2019, GH¢1,234,767.59 has been locked up with NDK Financial Services, with no indication of recovery.
As of March 17, 2020, only GH¢100,000.00 has been redeemed, leaving GH¢1,234,767.59 outstanding, even though the due date was October 15, 2019.
Jamie Foxx recently broke his silence for the first time since his health scare in April, which led to his hospitalization.
While updates from Foxx’s daughter, friends, and colleagues have been reported in the media, the actor himself has remained elusive, with only a few vague social media posts. However, in a new Instagram Reel, Foxx provided more detailed information about his condition and recovery.
He expressed gratitude to everyone who prayed for him and shed light on the reason for his prolonged absence from the public eye.
“I know a lot of people were waiting or wanting to hear updates but to be honest with you, I just didn’t want you to see me like that, man,” he said. “I want you to see me laughing, having a good time, partying, cracking a joke, doing a movie, television show. I didn’t want you to see me with tubes running out of me and trying to figure out if I was gonna make it through.”
“I cannot tell you how great it feels to have your family kick in in such a way, and y’all know they kept it airtight, they didn’t let nothing out, they protected me, and that’s what I hope that everyone could have in moments like these,” he continued.
Foxx went on to dispel the rumors that have been circulating, shutting down speculation that his illness has left him blind and paralyzed. “I went to hell and back,” he said, “and my road to recovery had some potholes as well.”
“I just want to say that I love everybody, and I love all of the love that I got,” he added. “It was tough, man, I was sick, but now I’ve got my legs under me, so you’re going to see me out… I’m on my way back.”
Twenty-three students of Abutia Senior High School (ABUSCO) who experienced food poisoning after consuming a rice meal on campus last Wednesday, July 19, have now been discharged from the hospital.
Mr. Claude Dziseaku, the Physician Assistant of Mater Ecclesiae Hospital in Sokode, Ho Municipality, confirmed that the students were rushed to the facility on Friday night, July 21, with symptoms of abdominal pains, vomiting, and diarrhea.
The situation was challenging, with some students paired on a bed due to the high number of cases.
On Saturday afternoon, July 22, nine of the students had been discharged after showing signs of improvement, and the situation has now been successfully addressed.
Headmaster of the school, Mr. Leonard Nyatsoe, has however informed the Ghana News Agency that currently the affected students have recovered their strength.
The hospital’s Public Health Unit has initiated investigations into the incident to determine its cause.
A fact-finding investigation, involving the Ghana Education Service (GES), Ghana Health Service, and Police, is underway to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.
Member of Parliament (MP) for the Kumawu Constituency, Ernest Yaw Anim, has called on the government to prioritize and support the tourism potential of Sekyere Kumawu District.
He highlighted that the district possesses significant tourism prospects, but it has not received the necessary attention for its growth and development.
In his maiden statement in Parliament on Tuesday, July 25, after his election, Mr. Yaw Anim outlined the various tourism potentials present in the district. He emphasized that harnessing these resources could greatly contribute to the improvement of the country’s struggling economy.
“Mr. Speaker, Sekyere Kumawu is a district blessed with an abundance of breathtaking natural wonders. Its most prized treasure, the Bomfobiri Wildlife Sanctuary, stands as a sanctuary for an array of fascinating creatures, encompassing a diverse range of birds, baboons, crocodiles, and buffalos.”
“Furthermore, this sanctuary boasts an attractive rainforest and a woodland savannah, adorned with plush green vegetation that entices visitors. Additionally, within Sekyere Kumawu, one can discover remarkable attractions such as the Lion Stone – which is a naturally carved stone resembling a lion, the Stone Bridge, and the magnificent Waala Waterfalls.”
He added that “It is my firm belief that when fully harnessed the potential held within the district can be unprecedented. With such remarkable strengths at its disposal, Sekyere Kumawu has the potential to blossom into a premier tourism destination.”
He has thus urged the government to urgently support the district to achieve its full tourism potentials.
“I implore the government to carefully consider the vast tourism potential held within Sekyere Kumawu and extend the vital support needed to catalyze the growth of the district’s tourism industry.”
“Moreover, it is crucial to recognise the opportunities and threats that lie ahead for Sekyere Kumawu in the tourism sector. The growing interest in ecotourism presents a promising opportunity, as the world increasingly values sustainable travel experiences.”
“Labyrinthian mazes”. I don’t know what exactly struck me about these two words, but they caused me to pause for a moment.
As I read on, however, my alarm bells started to ring. I was judging a science-writing competition for 14-16 year-olds, but in this particular essay, there was a sophistication in the language that seemed unlikely from a teenager.
I ran the essay through Artificial Intelligence (AI) detection software. Within seconds, Copyleaks displayed the result on my screen and it was deeply disappointing: 95.9% of the text was likely AI-generated. I needed to be sure, so I ran it through another tool: Sapling, which identified 96.1% non-human text.
A third confirmed the first two, but was slightly lower in its scoring: 89% AI. So then I ran it through yet another software called Winston AI. It left no doubt: 1% human. Four separate AI detection softwares all had one clear message: this is an AI cheater.
I had known for some time that AI-written content was causing serious challenges to many industries, including my own profession of journalism. Yet here I was, caught by surprise because a student thought it would be acceptable to submit an AI-drafted entry for a writing competition.
Of course, students trying to cheat isn’t anything new. What struck me was the possibility that the intentional use of AI could be more widespread than I had realised. Staring at the fake student essay before me, I couldn’t help but worry. As a mother to a young eight-year-old child with a whole lot of educational journey still before her, seeing AI used by a school-child caused me great concern about the integrity and value of the learning process in the future.
So, how might we spot the AI cheaters? Could there be cues and tells? Fortunately, new tools are emerging. However, as I would soon discover, the problem of AI fakery spans beyond the world of education – and technology alone won’t be enough to respond to this change.
AI-written text contains patterns that can be spotted by other tools – but they are not foolproof (Credit: Getty Images)
In the case of student cheating, the reassuring news is that teachers and educators already have existing tools and strategies that could help them check essays. For example, Turnitin, a plagiarism prevention software company that is used by educational institutions, released AI writing detection in April. Its CEO Chris Caren told me that the software’s false positive rate (when it wrongly identifies human-written text as AI) stands at 1%.
There are also web tools like the ones I used to check my student essay, like Copyleaks, Sapling, and Winston AI, or others like GPTZero and the “AI classifier” released by OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. Most are free to use: you simply paste in text on their websites for a result.
How can AI detect another AI? The short answer is pattern recognition. The longer answer is that checkers use unique identifiers that differentiate human writing from computer-generated text. “Perplexity” and “Burstiness” are perhaps the two key metrics in AI text-sleuthing.
Perplexity measures how well a language model performs in writing good, grammatically correct, possible sentences – in short how well it predicts the next word. Humans tend to write with different perplexity to AIs, with more unpredictable and diverse sentences.
Burstiness refers to the variance of the sentences. In written text, AI tends to be more uniform across the board: its sentence structure and lengths are generally regular and less creative in its word choice and usage of phrases. The frequency and combination of terms, repeated phrases and sentence structures create clusters that lack the variation of an extended vocabulary and flourishing style that a human-written text would normally display.
In one study, English drafted by Chinese writers was more likely to be identified as AI (Credit: Getty Images)
However, AI is getting ever-better at sounding human. And already it’s clear that these spotting tools are not foolproof. In a recent paper by researchers at Stanford University, GPT detectors showed bias against non-native English writers. They evaluated the performance of seven widely used GPT detectors on 91 TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) essays from a Chinese forum and 88 US eighth-grade essays from the Hewlett Foundation’s ASAP (Automated Student Assessment Prize) dataset. The detectors accurately measured the US student essay but falsely labelled more than half of the TOEFL essays as “AI-generated” (average false-positive rate: 61.3%).
To GPTZero’s CEO Edward Tian, detection is only half the solution. He believes that the cure to irresponsible AI usage is not detection, but in new writing verification tools. This would help to restore transparency in the writing process, he says. His vision is of enabled students who transparently and responsibly disclose AI involvement as they write. “We started building the first human verification tool for students to prove they are the writer,” Tian says.
Human in the loop
Here is the real challenge for humans as AI-produced writing spreads: we probably cannot rely on tech to spot it. A sceptical, inquisitive attitude toward information, which routinely stress-tests its veracity, is therefore important. After all, I only thought to check my student essay with an AI-checker because I was suspicious in the first place.
The war on disinformation has already shown us that automated tools alone do not suffice, and we need humans in the loop. One person who has seen this first-hand is Catherine Holmes, legal director of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office at Whitehall, who has been working within UK’s national security departments for decades. When seeking to corroborate information that could be false, she says, people’s judgement remains vital. “You are trying to figure out whether this bit of information is actually accurate based on a human being’s actual insight.”
It’s the same in the world of fraud. At global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, where forensic services director Rachael Joyce helps clients with investigations into fraud and misconduct, human oversight and insight is a key part of the process: “The human element brings a layer of critique and expertise of context to investigations that AI is not very good at.”
So, what AI-checking can you do yourself? Over the past few years, I’ve been researching and writing a book called The Truth Detective, which is about how to enhance your critical thinking. Here are some basic questions I’ve learnt that could help you get started with your AI detective work.
Your first task is to verify. Can you verify and check the sources? Can you check the evidence – both written and visual? How do you do this? Cross-check. If you cannot cross-check or find supporting material from other reputable sources, your suspicions should be raised. “There is this hallucination problem with generated AI where it will make things up,” says Caren from Turnitin. “Factchecking is super important as a consumer of the content or as someone who’s using AI to help them be more productive.”
The next step is to take a closer look at the text. Some clues can be found in spelling, usage of grammar and punctuation. For now, the default language for AI is still American English. If the spelling and grammar is not appropriate for the publication or the author writing it, ask: why? Does it include quotes? If so who are the quotes by – do these people or institutions exist? Do this also for any references used, and check what date they are from: a tell is that AI is often still limited in terms of what data source it can access, and it can be unaware of recent news. Are there any references to specific knowledge? A lack of it may indicate fraudulence.
Finally, check the tone, voice and style of writing. There are linguistic patterns that are still stilted in AI-generated text (at least for now). A particular giveaway is an abrupt change in tone and voice.
The following example is perhaps a stark reminder that AI can easily make things up that can seem plausible and very real, but absolutely need cross-checking.
In June 2023, in what the courts described as an “unprecedented” situation, Steven A Schwartz a lawyer in New York, tried to file a motion that got himself into the hotseat with the judge. Why? The citations and judicial opinions he submitted simply did not exist. He had used ChatGPT, which had assured him the cases were real and that they could be found on legal research sites, such as Westlaw and LexisNexis. As an example, in response to Schlowwartz’s request to “show [him]” evidence for a case, ChatGPT responded: “Certainly! Here’s a brief excerpt…” It then continued to provide extended hallucinated excerpts and favourable quotations. Schwartz said he was mortified. He had believed ChatGPT to be a search engine similar to Google.
Not all cases will be this blatantly obvious, however. So, as we all glide into an artificially drafted future, it’s clear that a human questioning mindset will be needed. Indeed, our investigative skills and critical thinking techniques could be in more demand than ever before.
Correction: In an earlier version, Edward Tian’s company was wrongly named. He is the CEO of GPTZero.
*Alex O’Brien is a freelance journalist and the author of the upcoming book The Truth Detective: A Poker Player’s Guide to a Complex World (Souvenir Press, November 2023).
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
Managing Director of Republic Bank, Benjamin Dzoboku, has stated that his outfit is not anticipating any impact from the second round of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) or the cocoa bills.
During the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for 2022, he clarified that the bank has no exposure to dollar-denominated instruments and holds only GH¢400 million, which accounts for 5 percent of the outstanding GH¢7.96 billion worth of cocoa bills.
As a result, the bank believes it will remain unaffected by these financial developments.
“We do not have any exposure in the dollar-denominated bonds, but we do have a small exposure in the cocoa bill and the exposure amounts to approximately GH¢400 million,” he said.
Despite facing challenges, Republic Bank is taking a proactive approach in managing its exposure to the government’s debt restructuring efforts. The bank has made provisions for this exposure, although it does not expect a significant impact on its profitability for the current year.
In the year under review, Republic Bank performed better than expected, even in the face of industry-wide headwinds. The bank reported broad revenue of GH¢478.7 million in 2022, a notable increase from GH¢374.5 million in the previous year.
Its total assets surpassed GH¢5 billion, growing by 20.2 percent compared to the GH¢4.2 billion recorded in the previous year. Similarly, liabilities increased by 25 percent to reach GH¢4.4 billion in 2022, largely driven by higher deposits.
However, despite these positive aspects, the bank reported a pre-tax loss of GH¢26 million, in contrast to a profit of GH¢125.6 million in the previous accounting year.
The bank’s year-end financials showed significant impairment losses, leading to negative returns on assets (ROA) and equity (ROE). The ROA stood at -0.49 percent, and the ROE at -3.18 percent.
Moreover, Republic Bank experienced an increase in its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio, rising from 15.32 percent in the previous year to 19.85 percent, primarily due to the expansion of the NPL portfolio. However, the Managing Director, Mr. Dzoboku, anticipates rectifying this situation by the end of the current year.
“When we look at the economic situation in 2022, we noticed that inflation went up quite a bit, reaching around 54 percent. On top of that, the exchange rate was all over the place, and we had some exposure to foreign currency risks. To play it safe, we decided to convert most of those foreign currency loans into cedis.
By implementing the debt restructuring measures, our non-performing loans increased to approximately 19 percent. However, we remain confident that by December, the non-performing loan ratio will witness a significant reduction. It is noteworthy that the bank’s regulatory forbearance-adjusted capital adequacy ratio stands above the required threshold at 21.25 percent.
Looking ahead, our Managing Director is optimistic about Republic Bank’s future. Barring any unforeseen external factors, the bank should be in a position to resume declaring dividends in 2025. This follows the expiration of the Bank of Ghana’s suspension of dividend payments and other distributions to shareholders, which was in response to the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
“We will continue to monitor and assess the impact of the macroeconomic-related and other potential risks on our operations, whiles pursuing initiatives to ensure that our services remain relevant to all stakeholders in 2023. We will continue to form strategic partnerships with various institutions aimed at enhancing brand visibility and the diversification of our products and services,” the MD said, adding that the performance in the first half of the year gave added cause for optimism.
Billionaire Elon Musk’s recent decision to rebrand Twitter as X may encounter legal complexities, as other companies, such as Meta (META.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O), already hold intellectual property rights to the same letter.
The letter “X” is extensively utilized and referenced in various trademarks, making it susceptible to potential legal disputes. Consequently, the company formerly known as Twitter could encounter challenges in safeguarding its X brand in the future.
“There’s a 100% chance that Twitter is going to get sued over this by somebody,” said trademark attorney Josh Gerben, who said he counted nearly 900 active U.S. trademark registrations that already cover the letter X in a wide range of industries.
On Monday, Elon Musk rebranded the social media network Twitter as “X” and revealed a new logo featuring a stylized black-and-white version of the letter.
Trademarks protect brand names, logos, and slogans that identify the sources of goods, and owners of such trademarks can claim infringement if other branding causes consumer confusion. Remedies for infringement can include monetary damages or blocking the use of the contested branding.
Since 2003, Microsoft has owned an X trademark related to communications about its Xbox video-game system. Meta Platforms, which has its Threads platform as a Twitter rival, also owns a federal trademark registered in 2019 that covers a blue-and-white letter “X” for fields like software and social media.
While Meta and Microsoft might not sue immediately, they could take legal action if they perceive Twitter’s X branding to encroach on the brand equity they have built around the letter, according to trademark attorney Josh Gerben.
Both Meta and Microsoft, along with Twitter, have not responded to requests for comment.
Meta itself faced intellectual property challenges when it changed its name from Facebook, including trademark lawsuits filed by investment firm Metacapital and virtual-reality company MetaX. Meta also settled another trademark dispute over its new infinity-symbol logo.
If Musk’s rebranding efforts succeed, other companies could potentially lay claim to the letter “X” for their own branding purposes.
“Given the difficulty in protecting a single letter, especially one as popular commercially as ‘X’, Twitter’s protection is likely to be confined to very similar graphics to their X logo,” said Douglas Masters, a trademark attorney at law firm Loeb & Loeb.
“The logo does not have much distinctive about it, so the protection will be very narrow.”
Insider reported earlier that Meta had an X trademark, and lawyer Ed Timberlake tweeted that Microsoft had one as well.
Embattled member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Koku Anyidoho has accused the brother of the late former President John Evans Atta-Mills of disrespecting the wishes of his deceased brother.
In an interview on Kingdom FM, the Chief Executive Officer of the Atta Mills Institute alleged that Mr Sammy Atta-Mills, the Member of Parliament for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) was directed by the late president to publish a thesis he had written.
The thesis said to have been written in the 1970s hovers around taxation.
According to Mr Koku Anyidoho, for years, Mr Sammy Atta-Mills has held on to the thesis without making an effort to have it published.
“You Sammy Atta Mills, you are the same person who said that before your brother passed on, he left something with you, his PhD thesis he wrote in the 70s… He gave the only copy of the thesis to his friend who returned it just in 2012.
“He (Prof Mills) told you (Sammy Atta Mills) that all the knowledge he has acquired in taxation was in that thesis and begged you to publish it into a book for the world to have access to it.
“Up to today that book has not been published. It is with Sammy Atta Mills,” he is quoted to have said by Ghanaweb.
For Mr Anyidoho, this indicates that Mr Sammy Atta-Mills does not have the legacy of the late Evans Atta-Mills at heart.
“You don’t care about your brother; you don’t care about his legacy,” Anyidoho added.
The former deputy General Secretary of the NDC made the comments on Monday, July 24, 2023, which marked 11th anniversary of the death of Prof Mills.
A wreath-laying event was held at the Asomdwee Park, the resting place of the late former president to honour his memory.
Convenor for the Ghana Individual Bondholders Forum, Senyo Hosi, has announced his decision to step down from his position effective July 31, 2023.
In his resignation letter dated July 22, 2023, Mr Hosi noted that serving in such capacity for the past seven months has been “one of the most fulfilling in my life” as he had the opportunity “to correct what I believe was an economic injustice to the average Ghanaian and a major risk to the recovery of the Ghanaian economy.”
Mr Hosi noted that he is content with fighting for the welfare of individual bond holders following the introduction of the Domestic Debt Exchange programme (DDEP) meant to enable the government to restructure its debt to avert a default.
According to Mr Hosi, his time as convenor has enabled him to understand the nuances of people management and public policy making better.
“It has been a period of learning, service, fulfilment, and pain,” he added.
Despite the pros, he highlighted some challenges that came with his position. He noted that being in that role cost him “relationships, business and family” yet “I have no regrets.”
For Mr Hosi, he remains content for receiving no reward during his time as convener since he holds “honest conviction” as his compensation.
“I have served despite not being a victim of the DDEP. Together we have shown the capacity and value in working as a collective. We have shown that if Ghanaians collectively, committedly, and fearlessly work towards a common good, we can shape right the path of policy and transform our country for good. Truly, evil triumphs when good people do nothing,” he added.
During his reign, Mr Hosi who led a collective work improved the economic terms for membership who wished to subscribe to the DDEP by reducing their economic loss from 50% to levels ranging from 19% to 33% in the revised offers.
“We have also secured billions of payments to those who opted not to participate and protect 100% of their investments at par yields,” he continued.
Despite being proud of the collective efforts, Mr Hosi says he is unable to continue to commit the time and resources required to effectively serve.
“I therefore wish to humbly wish to serve notice of my resignation as convenor and member effective 31st July 2023,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Mr Senyo Hosi has extended his appreciation to the media, government officials and the Individual Bondholders Forum (IBF) and Individual Bondholders Association of Ghana (IBHAG) general membership for their support.
Some close associates of former Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, are currently being questioned by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) regarding the stolen money case.
Per reports from JoyNews, these relatives were invited because Madam Dapaah claimed that some of the money belonged to them.
In response to this information, the OSP expanded its investigation to include the mentioned relatives to ascertain the truth.
Madam Dapaah, who had earlier spent time in OSP custody, is now on bail with surety.
The OSP had conducted searches at both her official residence in Cantonments and her private residence in Abelemkpe in connection to the alleged million-dollar cash theft by housekeepers, which ultimately led to her resignation.
During the search at her residence on Monday, significant findings were reportedly made by the investigators, although the details of the discovery have not been disclosed by the OSP.
Madam Dapaah has been requested to complete an income and property declaration form to enable the OSP to track any property she acquired and ascertain if it was obtained illegally.
Media reports have emerged, implicating two housemaids who worked for the Sanitation Minister and her husband at their home, for the theft of substantial sums of money and other items between July and October 2022.
The charges include the alleged theft of US$1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghana cedis, as well as various valuables like clothing, handbags, perfumes, jewelry, kente cloth, and suits.
The allegations have resulted in public scrutiny and criticism of Cecilia Dapaah. However, she has contested the reported amounts stolen, citing “noticeable inconsistencies” in the discussions surrounding what she reported to the police.
Amidst the controversy and the ongoing investigations into the “stolen” cash, Cecilia Dapaah resigned from her position as Sanitation Minister in July 2022.
Second Deputy Majority Chief Whip, Habib Iddrisu, says it is presently irrelevant for Members of Parliament to demand the sacking of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
In October 2022, some New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament and the Minority called for the removal of the Finance Minister.
While NPP MPs said having Mr Ofori-Atta as the head of the Finance Ministry would not augur well for investment, the Minority accused the Finance Minister of illegal payment of oil revenues into offshore accounts in flagrant violation of Article 176 of the 1992 Constitution among others.
President Akufo-Addo intervened and urged that the Finance Minister conclude the country’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The opposition Members of Parliament on Tuesday, October 25, 2022 filed the motion to trigger a process to revoke the minister’s appointment citing severe economic challenges.
The vote of censure motion filed by the Minority against the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta failed.
This is because only 136 legislators on the Minority side voted to demand the removal of Mr Ofori-Atta thus falling short of the two-thirds constitutional requirement for the motion to pass through.
The proponents of the motion needed the votes of 183 legislators to have the motion passed against Mr. Ofori-Atta.
Ghana in May successfully secured a $3 billion deal from the IMF and since then there have been mild calls for the minister’s resignation.
In an interview with host of 3FM Sunrise Morning Show, Johnnie Hughes, the Member of Parliament of Tolon, Habib Iddrisu, noted that such calls can no longer hold as the economy has fared better under Mr Ofori-Atta’s leadership.
“This is not something that I don’t think we need to comment on. It has been abandoned. As at December last year, inflation was around 54% which has been brought down to 42%, and trying to stabilize the cedi that was about GHS 14 to GHS 15 to a dollar as at December last year which has now come to GHS 11 and GHS 12 cedis over the past three months. That is what we are looking at. What you are talking about now is definitely irrelevant” Mr. Habib Iddrisu said.
New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful, Kennedy Agyapong, has praised his contender, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, for his strategic thinking and leadership qualities.
The Assin Central MP said he has immense respect for the Vice President, who heads the government’s economic management team and has implemented various policies and initiatives to boost the country’s growth and development.
“I have the utmost respect for Vice President Bawumia and his strategic thinking. He has demonstrated time and again his ability to effectively strategise for the benefit of the party and the country as a whole,” he said.
Mr Kennedy Agyapong made these remarks during an interview on Home Radio in the Upper West Region, where he also clarified some statements he made earlier about the government’s decision to seek budgetary support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He explained that his comments were not aimed at criticising the Vice President, but rather a colleague in Parliament who had questioned the government’s strategic approach.
“The truth hurts…so you are the victim, and I am educating you, and you think I’m hitting back? You see, they are not being fair. I did not hit the Vice President but I hit one MP because he said, ‘We don’t want somebody who will come and say that I have done this and that for the party and Ghana, but we want a strategist,’” Mr Agyapong added.
He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the depreciation of the cedi, saying it had cost him over $20 million in five months.
Ghana has recently secured a $3 billion loan from the IMF after China agreed to a debt restructuring deal. The IMF approved the loan based on the government’s Post-COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG), which aims to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability and includes wide-ranging reforms to build resilience and lay the foundation for stronger and more inclusive growth.
The IMF’s decision will release $600 million immediately and will be welcomed by other countries struggling to deal with their debt woes.
Colombia made a strong start to their Women’s World Cup campaign with a 2-0 victory over South Korea in Sydney.
Catalina Usme opened the scoring from the penalty spot, and 18-year-old Linda Caicedo added another goal in the 39th minute.
The match was also notable for the introduction of South Korea substitute Casey Phair, who became the youngest-ever player at a Women’s World Cup.
Aged just 16 years and 26 days, Phair broke the previous record held by Nigeria’s Ifeanyi Chiejine, who played at the World Cup in 1999 at the age of 16 years and 34 days.
Although born in South Korea, Phair moved to the United States when she was only a month old.
Despite her young age, South Korea’s coach Colin Bell had expressed confidence in Phair, stating that she would be a valuable member of the squad. Phair came on as a substitute for Choe Yuri as South Korea pushed for a comeback in the game.
“We’re taking care of her. She’s taken very well to the team. She’s selected because I think she can help the team now, like every other player. She is going not as a passenger but as a valuable member of the squad.”
Colombia took the lead against South Korea after Shim Seo-yeon was penalized for a handball in the area, and Catalina Usme successfully converted the penalty kick.
Shortly after, Linda Caicedo extended Colombia’s lead by showcasing her skills, starting from midfield, cutting in from the left, and delivering a well-curled shot past goalkeeper Yoon Young-geul.
With this victory, Colombia now shares the top spot in Group H with Germany, who secured an impressive 6-0 win against Morocco in their opening match. Both teams have accumulated three points in the group standings.
All teams participating in the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand have completed their opening matches. England is scheduled to face Denmark in their second Group D match on Friday. Sarina Wiegman’s team began their tournament with a 1-0 victory over Haiti.
The prestigious CAF Awards will be making a highly anticipated return on December 11, 2023, in Morocco, to honor the shining stars of African football.
Following the success of last year’s event held in Rabat, Morocco, where Sadio Mane from Senegal and Asisat Oshoala from Nigeria and Barcelona claimed top honors, the upcoming CAF Awards will once again showcase some of Africa’s finest talents.
The specific time and host city for the event will be communicated by CAF in due course.
The awards ceremony will recognize outstanding performances from both club and national team players over the past year, with the most awaited moment being the announcement of the CAF African Player of the Year in both the men’s and women’s categories.
Mane and Oshoala will face tough competition from other talented stars who have excelled in the last 12 months across the continent.
Previous winners in the men’s category include iconic players like Yaya Toure, Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, Mohamed Salah, Riyad Mahrez, Nwankwo Kanu, Abedi Pele, and the legendary George Weah.
In the women’s category, Oshoala has dominated in recent years, winning multiple times. However, she will still face competition from other previous winners such as Thembi Kgatlana and Perpetua Nkwocha, who are still actively contributing to the sport.
Apart from the African Player of the Year awards, various other honors will be at stake, including Interclub Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year, National Team of the Year, Coach of the Year, Club of the Year, and Goal of the Year.
The Interclubs Women’s Player of the Year award, introduced last year after the successful launch of the CAF Women’s Champions League, will continue to be part of the event this year.
The period under review for the CAF Awards 2023 will span from September 2022 to June 2023, capturing an extraordinary chapter in African football history.
Erik ten Hag has acknowledged that Manchester United is making progress in their search for a new striker. However, he refrained from commenting on any potential move for PSG’s Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe is reportedly available for transfer after expressing his decision not to renew his contract at Parc des Princes, making a move away from PSG likely before his anticipated free transfer to Real Madrid in 2024. Al Hilal is said to have linked to a potential £259 million deal for the player.
With Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from Manchester United at the end of 2022 and Wout Weghorst’s failure to meet expectations, the club is in need of a striker.
Although they have successfully recruited Mason Mount from Chelsea and Andre Onana from Inter Milan, the arrival of Rasmus Hojlund at Old Trafford has not materialized yet, with rumored rival interest from PSG.
“We make progress, yeah,” Ten Hag said when asked about United’s attempt to land a forward. “But you know how it works – when we have him, we will tell you directly.
“The only thing I can say is we do everything that’s in our power to get that done. If it was up to me, yeah, as soon as possible. The earlier the better because we have to integrate him in the team, the way of play.
“In an ideal situation, he was already here but you do not always get ideal situations as a manager and you have to deal with the situation.”
When asked if he could be interested in Mbappe, he answered: “We never speak about players who are under contract in other clubs.”
Daily Mail reports that Manchester United has set a limit of £60 million for their pursuit of Rasmus Hojlund this summer, despite Atalanta demanding £86 million for the striker.
The 20-year-old Dane is Manchester United’s primary target for the No 9 position, even amidst the possibility of Tottenham selling Harry Kane. However, the club is determined not to exceed their valuation and will not pay an inflated price for the young forward.
The Mail adds: “Having already spent £110m of a tight budget on Mason Mount and Andre Onana, United will already have to sell players in order to sign Hojlund.
“Sources say that even paying an additional £10m on the former Copenhagen striker will affect any future business due to Financial Fair Play restrictions.”
As per the Mirror, if Atalanta refuses to lower their asking price for Rasmus Hojlund, Manchester United is considering alternative options.
Among the players on their radar are Randal Kolo Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt and Mohammed Kudus from Ajax. The club is exploring these potential signings as they remain firm in their stance of not overpaying for Hojlund.
The Mirror adds: “Ten Hag has been experimenting with Jadon Sancho as a false nine in pre-season and is likely to continue with that approach when United face Real Madrid in Houston.
“The United boss has big expectations for Sancho after the forward’s struggles with physical and mental issues last season, which saw him miss a significant chunk of the campaign.”
Barcelona interested in Mbappe
According to L’Equipe, Barcelona engaged in discussions with Paris Saint-Germain on Monday to explore the potential signing of Kylian Mbappe.
The player has attracted significant attention, with Al Hilal reportedly making a remarkable world-record €300m (£259m) offer for a one-year deal before Real Madrid’s rumored interest.
In contrast to the circulating transfer fee speculations on Monday, Barcelona’s approach stands out as a more unique and novel strategy in their pursuit of Kylian Mbappe.
L’Equipe writes: “Barça would like to be able to put several players in the balance because they do not have the finances to carry out such an operation.
“Chelsea, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Tottenham are the other clubs that have shown an interest in Mbappé in recent weeks, beyond of course the known interest of Real Madrid, who remain the huge favourites in this race for the French striker.”
Gallagher to part ways with Chelsea
After 17 years at Chelsea, Conor Gallagher appears to be on the verge of leaving the club. The Standard reports that Chelsea considers the midfielder surplus to requirements, despite his recent appearances in pre-season victories against Brighton and Wrexham.
West Ham made a £40 million bid for Gallagher, but Chelsea rejected it. Tottenham is also expressing interest in the player.
The potential funds raised from Gallagher’s transfer could be used by Chelsea to pursue a move for Moises Caicedo from Brighton. However, Brighton has set a significant asking price of £100 million for their midfielder.
The Standard adds: “Chelsea have a shortage of senior midfielders but would still let Gallagher go. He has been at Stamford Bridge since the age of six, and has always publicly said that he wants to stay. However, he increasingly accepts his need to leave after not being offered a new contract and with only two years left on his current deal.
“Gallagher rejected a move to Everton in January but was open to joining Newcastle, who had a loan offer turned down. Chelsea didn’t want to strengthen a rival for European qualification but Newcastle have since cooled their interest after spending big on Italy international Sandro Tonali.”
Head coach Tata Martino has officially confirmed that Lionel Messi will take on the role of captain at Inter Miami.
Messi already donned the captain’s armband during his debut in the Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul. Making a remarkable start, Messi sealed his first appearance for the MLS team with an injury-time free-kick, securing a victory in the game.
As Inter Miami prepares to face Atlanta United on Tuesday, Messi’s leadership and exceptional skills are expected to play a crucial role in the team’s performance.
Asked if Messi would continue to captain Miami, Martino said: “The other day he was, when he entered. Yes, he will be.”
Earlier this season, Gregore held the position of club captain for Miami, but due to an injury, he is currently unavailable. During the match against Cruz Azul, DeAndre Yedlin handed over the captain’s armband to Lionel Messi when he came on as a substitute.
In the upcoming match against Atlanta, there is a possibility that Messi will be included in the starting lineup, alongside his former Barcelona teammate, Sergio Busquets, who also made a substitute appearance in the previous game.
The combination of these two talented players is eagerly anticipated by fans and could prove to be a formidable force for Inter Miami.
Martino said: “It is very likely that both Messi and Busi [Sergio Busquets] will play longer, even from the beginning.
“Everything will depend on how they feel. It’s just their second game.”
Asked if he was surprised at the way Messi decided the game against Cruz Azul, Martino said: “It is something habitual from him, and because it is habitual, we try to normalize things that are not common.”
He added about Messi’s impact at the club: “What was seen of Messi in the game trying to order his team-mates, is what he has been doing in the training sessions.
“He helps and talks about football with his team-mates.”
Reports suggest that Lionel Messi might not be the only former Barcelona teammate joining Inter Miami.
Luis Suarez, currently playing for Gremio, is reportedly willing to repay all the wages he has received in 2023 and make additional payments to secure an exit from the club.
The possibility of Suarez’s move to Inter Miami has been boosted by the club’s acquisition of an extra international roster slot, creating a potential opportunity for another signing.
If all goes as planned, the reunion of Messi and Suarez at Inter Miami could be an exciting prospect for both the club and their fans.
Aisha Huang, an alleged illegal miner, claims that she was not informed about the prohibition of re-entry into Ghana after her repatriation.
During a hearing at the Accra High Court, Aisha Huang stated that she could not provide the exact date of her re-entry into Ghana but asserted that it occurred in July 2022.
In opposition to the prosecution led by Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Aisha Huang denied the accusation that, despite her illegal stay in Ghana, she obtained a non-citizen Ghana Card.
“If I knew I was illegally in Ghana, I could not have entered Ghana to apply for a non-citizen Ghana Card,” the accused person said.
During the trial, when the prosecution accused Aisha of being in Ghana to continue her illegal activities, she broke down in tears. However, the trial Judge, Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, issued a warning, saying, “Stop the interjection with tears. It does not affect me. I have developed a thick skin over such gestures.”
During further cross-examination, Aisha revealed that when she re-entered Ghana, she applied for both a National Identification Card and a COVID-19 Vaccination Card. She stated that someone accompanied her to a facility where she received her COVID-19 vaccination, but she could not recall the exact date when the prosecution suggested it was April 24, 2022.
After returning to Ghana, Aisha resided in Ahowdwo, Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region. She disagreed with the prosecution’s claim that she moved to Tamale in the Northern Region intentionally to obtain a COVID-19 vaccination card while still living in Kumasi. Instead, she explained that she traveled to Tamale in search of someone who owed her money and took the opportunity to get her COVID-19 Vaccination Card.
Aisha refuted the prosecution’s allegation that she applied for a new Ghana Card with the intention of staying in Ghana.
Her lawyer, Miracle Atachi, objected to the tendering of the National Identification Authority (NIA) application through Aisha, arguing that it should be presented by NIA officials instead. However, the trial judge ruled that Aisha had admitted to signing the application form and that her name was on it. Therefore, the form was tendered through Aisha and admitted as evidence.
Aisha informed the court that she had notified NIA officials about a name change and was instructed to go to court to formalize it. However, she expressed uncertainty about the procedure for conducting a name change in court.
The hearing is set to continue on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.
Aisha is currently facing charges related to illegal mining operations without a license, facilitating illegal mining, and re-entering Ghana despite being prohibited. She has denied these charges and is currently in lawful custody awaiting further proceedings.
Management of Adisadel College has relieved the Housemaster of Quaque House and his deputy of their duties over the recent assault on campus that has gone viral on social media.
On 30th June, 2023, a senior assaulted a junior for reasons currently unknown.
In a viral video, the senior placed his arms under his junior’s arms while clasping his hands behind the junior’s head. He then slammed the junior’s head to a metallic bed, causing part of his head to swell and bleed.
The video garnered massive attention with many calling for immediate sanctions against the culprit.
Among those sanctioned in the interim are the House Master, whom management says “did not deliver as expected of you as a housemaster as far as this video is concerned” in a statement dated July 24, 2023.
Pending final decision of Board of Governors and Ghana Education Service (GES), management of Adisal College has also dismissed the culprit and will have to write his exams at West African Examination Council (WAEC).
The culprit has also been referred to the Police for further action.
The victim in the incident has also been suspended and will write his exams with parental escort. But this decision taken by the school has been questioned by some Ghanaians who believe it is unfair for such a decision to be taken.
Also, the said student who recorded the video will be suspended externally for one week and also face internal suspension for another week.
The other students who were at the scene but did not intervene and also failed to report the incident will also face severe internal punishment, the tweet added.
Meanwhile, the GES has directed the Regional Director of Education to collaborate closely with both the school authorities and the relevant law enforcement agency to resolve the matter.
In an unfortunate turn of event, the victim involved in the recent assault at Adisadel College has been sanctioned.
Management of the school made this known while announcing the sanctions it has meted out to the individuals involved in the unfortunate incident.
“The victim in the incident will be suspended and will write his exams with parental escort,” management is said to have stated in a tweet.
For some social media users, they are unable to fathom the reason behind the victim’s suspension from the school.
In a video gone viral, a student in his final year held unto his junior in a Nelson hold position. The senior placed his arms under his junior’s arms while clasping his hands behind the junior’s head.
He then slammed the junior’s head to a metallic bed, causing part of his head to swell and bleed.
The unfortunate incident happened on the 30th June, 2023 in Quaque house.
Pending final decision of Board of Governors and Ghana Education Service (GES), management of Adisadel College decided to outrightly dismissed the culprit who will have to write his exams at West African Examination Council (WAEC).
The culprit has also been referred to the Police for further action.
The other sanctions are as follows:
The said student who recorded the video will be suspended externally for one week and also face internal suspension for another week.
The other students who were at the scene but did not intervene and also failed to report the incident will also face severe internal punishment, the tweet added.
Also, the housemaster and his Deputy who are to supervise the behaviour of students they are responsible for will be suspended immediately pending the outcome of the findings by GES.
Meanwhile, the GES has directed the Regional Director of Education to collaborate closely with both the school authorities and the relevant law enforcement agency to resolve the matter.
Former rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Professor Stephen Adei, has called on relevant stakeholders in the education sector to hold headmasters and headmistresses responsible for bullying happening in schools.
His comment comes in the wake of a horrifying assault that took place at Adisadel College where a form three student bullied a junior.
The unfortunate incident happened on 30th June, 2023 in Quaque house. In a viral video, the culprit was sighted hitting the head of the victim on a metal bed. The victim suffered a cut and bled. It is unknown the genesis of the incident.
Reacting to the incident, Prof Adei called for the dismissal of heads of schools under who tutelage such unfortunate incidents happen.
According to him, only severe sanctions meted to those in authority can finally rid the canker in the bud.
Speaking on JoyNews on Tuesday, July 25, he said: “I believe it depends on the educational authorities. The victims must know that they are totally protected and then it will not happen.
“This idea of he is a child playing, forgive them, warn them – no! Nobody has the right of hurting another person just because he is younger than you. If we don’t allow it in our homes, we should not allow it in the schools.
“The head teachers condone it. I believe the protection has to come from management and I believe that when we start punishing the head mistresses and head teachers for allowing it, because they know it happens. They can’t say it doesn’t happen.”
Management of Adisadel College has imposed sanctions on a number of students involved in the assault.
Pending final decision of Board of Governors and Ghana Education Service (GES), management of Adisal College has outrightly dismissed the culprit and will have to write his exams at West African Examination Council (WAEC).
The culprit has also been referred to the Police for further action.
The other sanctions are as follows:
The victim in the incident will be suspended and will write his exams with parental escort.
The said student who recorded the video will be suspended externally for one week and also face internal suspension for another week.
The other students who were at the scene but did not intervene and also failed to report the incident will also face severe internal punishment, the tweet added.
Also, the housemaster and his Deputy who are to supervise the behaviour of students they are responsible for will be suspended immediately pending the outcome of the findings by GES.
Meanwhile, the GES has directed the Regional Director of Education to collaborate closely with both the school authorities and the relevant law enforcement agency to resolve the matter.
Senior member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has purportedly responded to claims levelled against him over the ‘controversial’ Ameri Plant deal.
New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful and former Minister for Energy, Boakye Agyarko, during an interview on Kumasi-based Asanteman FM, claimed that Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a prominent figure in the NPP, renegotiated the Ameri deal without obtaining consent from the government committee assigned to work on the deal.
Upon confronting Gabby about the matter, Agyarko asserted that he was told to keep quiet because President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was already informed about the actions taken by Gabby.
Agyarko recounted that he received a call from Gabby while he was on a flight to the United States, during which Gabby expressed frustration at not being able to reach him.
In a recent post on Facebook, some hours after Mr Agyarko’s comments, Mr Otchere-Darko made a statement accusing an individual of being a liar.
“What aaaa can one say to an energised liar, struggling with constipation?” he wrote.
Due to the ongoing controversy and the lack of official statement on the matter, it is believed that this is Mr Otchere-Darko’s way of responding to Mr Agyarko’s accusations.
According to the former energy minister, when he discussed the matter with President Akufo-Addo, the president inquired whether there was anything inappropriate about Gabby’s actions.
Boakye Agyarko said that he told the president that, “the authority to renegotiate the terms of the Ameri Power Plant doesn’t lie in the hands of Gabby and that the proposal the firm he contracted made had violated all the Cabinet instructions and extended the contract to 20 years.”
Agyarko added that Akufo-Addo agreed with his reasoning but went ahead and asked him to forward the deal Gabby had negotiated to the committee that was set up to renegotiate the deal.
Ameri Plant deal
The Ameri Power Plant project was initiated in response to Ghana’s power generation challenges and the need to increase the country’s electricity supply to meet the growing demand for energy.
The project was awarded to Ameri Group, a Dubai-based energy company. Ameri was tasked with supplying and operating the power plant.
The Ameri deal was signed in 2015 under an emergency power agreement to quickly address the power crisis in Ghana. The agreement was signed during the tenure of former President John Dramani Mahama.
After the initial agreement was signed, the Ameri deal became a subject of controversy in Ghana due to concerns over its cost and terms. There were allegations of overpricing and lack of transparency in the agreement.
Following the change of government in 2017, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, initiated a renegotiation of the Ameri deal. The government sought to amend the terms of the agreement to reduce costs and make it more favorable to Ghana.
The renegotiation process led to the signing of a novation agreement with a new company called Mytilineos International Trading Company in 2018. Under this agreement, Mytilineos took over the management and operation of the Ameri Power Plant from Ameri Group.
The novation agreement was brought before the Ghanaian Parliament for approval, and after heated debates, it was eventually ratified by Parliament in March 2018.
Chris Bart-Williams, the former midfielder of Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest passed away at the age of 49.
The sad news was confirmed by Sheffield Wednesday, stating that he died in the US, where he was serving as a mentor and coach.
During this difficult time, both clubs, Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest, are also coping with the loss of another former player, Trevor Francis, who passed away at the age of 69.
A statement from the Owls said: “Bart-Williams’ untimely passing mirrors that of his manager at Hillsborough Trevor Francis, who also died on this, one of the darkest days in our long history.
“Our thoughts are with Chris’ and Trevor’s families and friends at this devastating time.”
Chris Bart-Williams, originally from Sierra Leone, started his football journey as a trainee at Leyton Orient.
He went on to have an impressive career, making over 150 appearances for Sheffield Wednesday, where he played in the Premier League as a teenager. In July 1995, he secured a £2.5 million move to Nottingham Forest, where he played 248 games.
After his playing career, Bart-Williams transitioned into coaching and moved to the US. Initially, he worked in women’s college football and later became the owner and chief executive officer of CBW Soccer Elite, a US College Soccer recruiting agency.
He described himself as a “coach, college recruiter, former footballer” on his social media accounts and was dedicated to working with college-bound players.
His LinkedIn profile reads: “As a retired athlete with 35 years of international playing and coaching experience, I’m passionate about developing young adults into highly successful soccer players.
“My goal is to empower kids to have the confidence and technical ability to excel in soccer while learning valuable lessons in responsibility and teamwork that will prepare them for a lifetime of success.
“Everything I do is designed to maximize athletes’ unique potential and propel them to their personal best in soccer and in life.”
In February last year, Florida-based Dade County announced Bart-Williams had been appointed as head coach to oversee all football programmes.
News of his death was greeted with shock by former team-mate Mark Crossley.
The goalkeeper, who played with Bart-Williams at Forest, tweeted: “Devastating and I’m so upset to hear the news of Trevor Francis passing and my former team-mate Chris Bart Williams.
“Both so young, it is so sad. RIP Trevor and Chris.”
Ipswich also offered their condolences. They posted: “The club is saddened to learn of the passing of former player Chris Bart-Williams.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has indicated signs of recovery in the country’s economic activity, albeit at a slower pace.
According to the Central Bank, the updated real Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) contracted by 3.7% in May 2023, compared to a contraction of 5.4% in April 2023, and a growth rate of 1.7% in the corresponding period of last year.
The Central Bank’s high-frequency real sector indicators showed that the main indicators that weighed down the index during the period were port activity, cement sales, credit to the private sector and imports.
Domestic Value Added Tax (VAT) collections, industrial consumption of electricity and exports, however, improved in the review period. Also, results from the Central Bank’s latest confidence surveys conducted in June 2023 reflected mixed sentiments.
While consumer confidence softened on account of an uptick in prices of goods and services, which also led to some concerns about future economic conditions, business sentiments, on the other hand, remained largely unchanged.
Businesses’ optimism about the impact of stable macroeconomic conditions on their operations was offset by concerns about the cost implications of recent tax and utility tariff increases.
Similarly, Ghana’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dipped to 50.4 in June 2023 from 51.3 in the previous month. The index however remained above the 50.0 mark for the fifth successive month, signaling stable business conditions.
Assin Central Member of Parliament and presidential hopeful of the NPP, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, has addressed the controversy surrounding his strategic comment on the government’s management of the cedi, clarifying that it was not targeted at Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia.
In an interview on Home Radio, Mr Agyapong explained that his remarks were directed towards a specific Member of Parliament, rather than the Vice President.
He asserted that his intention was not to attack Vice President Bawumia, but to criticize another parliamentarian who had questioned the government’s strategic approach.
“The truth hurts…so you are the victim, and I am educating you, and you think I’m hitting back? You see, they are not being fair. I did not hit the Vice President but I hit one MP because he said, ‘We don’t want somebody who will come and say that I have done this and that for the party and Ghana, but we want a strategist,” Agyapong quoted.
Mr Agyapong then pointed out an incident in Parliament where the said MP had claimed that Ghana would not approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF), only to have the country seek IMF assistance later. This led Agyapong to question the MP’s claims of being a strategist, criticizing what he described as “diabolic ways”.
Press disappointment
The Assin Central lawmaker also expressed his disappointment with the media, accusing them of sensationalising news and not providing the full context of his statements.
He emphasised that his remarks were made in an attempt to advise against divisive campaigning within the party and to promote unity among its members.
Mr Agyapong further opened up about his experiences with politics and the challenges he faced, stating, “The people that I have helped, made them who they are today, they are the ones that are against me. I bought cars, gave them money, campaigned for them to win their seats, but now, they’re my number one enemies. But I just look at them, and I say Lord, forgive them because of their stomach”.
Dr. Prempeh made these remarks when he led an official delegation to meet the Mayor of Houston, Texas USA, Mr Turner at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra earlier today.
The Mayor is leading a delegation to the country on a trade and investment drive. In 2022, the two met in Houston during the Africa Energy Summit, and again at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) earlier in 2021.
On both occasions, their discussions were ‘very fruitful’, according to the Minister.
Referring to the historically warm relations between Ghana and the United States, the Minister noted the role played by the United States government in the construction of the Akosombo Dam to provide hydro-electricity to Ghana.
“In the business community, in the Peace Corps progamme and in several other endeavours, American presence in Ghana has been an important force to reckon with, and must work harder at deepening this”, he said.
Dr. Prempeh further acknowledged Houston as the energy capital of the world, which made this visit particularly significant in respect of the opportunities for investment, collaboration and strategic partnerships in the sector.
“Ghana has everything going for it as a destination for investment– a stable political system, a robust legal framework, a viable fiscal regime, a good telecommunications system and warm, hospitable people”, he said.
He further highlighted the work that President Akufo-Addo’s government has done over the past six years in opening up access to education and skills training as a critical base for leveraging on the opportunities that investment will provide.
On his part, Mayor Turner stated that he was excited about his delegation’s visit to Ghana which he described as ‘very productive’, and stressed the need for partnerships that make an impact on ordinary lives.
He agreed that Africa was the ‘new frontier’ for investment and that the combination of vast mineral deposits and a youthful population with education and skills training meant that the potential was enormous.
After the discussions, the Minister presented the Mayor with a plaque displaying various Adinkra symbols, whilst the Mayor presented the Minister with a book on the City of Houston.
The heads of various energy sector agencies, private operators and senior officials were in attendance on the Ghanaian delegation, whilst the Houston delegation included members of the City Council and representatives from various oil companies.
The delegation leaves the country tonight back for the United States.
Ghanaian midfielder, Gladson Awako, known for his experience in the game, has offered crucial advice to both Medeama SC and Dreams FC as they prepare for their African campaigns.
Medeama SC, the reigning champions of the Ghana Premier League, will be representing the country in the CAF Champions League, while Dreams FC, winners of the MTN FA Cup, will compete in the CAF Confederation Cup.
In an interview with Akoma FM, Awako urged both clubs and their supporters to temper their expectations ahead of the start of the CAF inter-club competitions.
“The performance of Medeama and Dreams FC in the just ended season wasn’t that bad, especially from where they (Medeama) emerged from to snap the league and how Dreams FC also snapped the FA Cup. But I will advise them to lower their expectations going to Africa,” Gladson Awako shared.
He continued, “My reason is premised on the fact that the quality in our league now cannot be compared to what we used to have in the past where Kotoko and Hearts dominated Africa.”
Tomorrow, both Medeama SC and Dreams FC will find out their respective opponents for the preliminary round of the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup. The draw will determine which teams they will face as they begin their journey in the prestigious African club competitions.
Member of Parliament for Takoradi Constituency, Kobby Okyere Darko-Mensah, has firmly stated that the delegates of his constituency are resolute in their support for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearer.
He emphasized that no other aspirant would be chosen by the delegates while Dr. Bawumia is in the race, making it clear that they will settle for nothing less than his leadership.
He made this known during the visit of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to the Takoradi Constituency,
“Those of us on the ground and working with the grassroots know that Dr Bawumia is the one who has cared about us all these years. We will not exchange him for anyone” he stated.
Dr Bawumia at Takoradi Constituency
He also indicated that several other factors have accounted for their choice in Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the party’s candidate for the 2024 elections which include his competence, humility, integrity, incorruptibility, etc.
Hon. Kobby Mensah also mentioned the fact that Dr. Bawumia is someone one can easily reason with, and that is a factor that endears the Vice President to many of the party’s members.
“Dr. Bawumia is someone we can reason with, Dr. Bawumia is humble so I am urging you, he knows the power of power, the power of using power to raise people up, the power of power to make sure that Ghana would be better”
The Vice President began his campaign tour in the Western Region on Sunday, July 23, 2023, where he met delegates of Takoradi and Effia Constituencies.
Member of Parliament for Effia Constituency, Joseph Cudjoe, has stated that delegates in his area have cast their symbolic votes for Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the NPP’s flagbearer.
He made the statement despite no formal voting process being conducted.
Addressing party delegates and supporters during a campaign tour, Joseph Cudjoe asserted that the delegates of his area have expressed their unwavering support for Dr. Bawumia to lead the party into the upcoming elections.
Effia Constituency MP, Joseph Cudjoe
“The delegates of Effia Constituency have, in spirit, cast their votes and overwhelmingly chosen Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the next flagbearer of our great party, the NPP. “We have already voted for Dr Bawumia as NPP flagbearer in spirit. We are only waiting for December 2024 to make him President,” the MP assured.
NPP faithful in support of Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia
All 10 flagbearer hopefuls of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) have been cleared to contest in the upcoming primaries slated for November 4, 2023.
They are former Trade Minister, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, Kwadwo Poku an energy expert, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, former Energy Minister Boakye Kyerematen Agyarko, former General Secretary of the NPP, Kwabena Agyei Agyapong.
The others are Assin Central MP, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, a former Offinso North MP, former Agric Minister, Dr. Owusu Akoto Afriyie, a former Attorney General Joe Ghartey and Francis Addai-Nimoh, former MP for Asante Mampong.
The General Secretary of the party, Justin Kodua Frimpong disclosed this in a press release issued on Wednesday, July 12.
The Central Bank has indicated that from the beginning of the year to June 2023, it has built up US$1.0 billion in reserves.
According to the Bank of Ghana, this mainly came from the institution’s gold purchase programme, and settlement of short-term liabilities.
Gross International Reserves (excluding encumbered assets and petroleum funds) improved to US$2,353.95 million equivalent to 1.1 months of import cover, compared with US$1,440.0 million (0.6 months of import cover) recorded at the end of December 2022, the Bank announced in its Monetary Policy Committee Press Release dated 24th July, 2023
The Bank’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme was launched in June 2021 with the key objective of shoring up the Bank of Ghana’s foreign reserves by purchasing domestically produced gold and converting same into foreign assets (monetary gold).
Since the inception of the programme, a total of 7.73 tons of monetary gold, valued at approximately US$480 million, has been added to reserves under the Gold for Reserves programme, well ahead of the target of doubling the gold holdings in 5 years.
Exchange market
The foreign exchange market has remained relatively stable for the first six months of 2023, supported by positive market sentiments derived from the IMF disbursement of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) first tranche of US$600 million, forex purchases from the mining and oil sectors, and weakened demand.
The Ghana cedi depreciated by 20.6 percent against the US dollar in January 2023 and has remained generally stable since then with a cumulative depreciation of 1.8 percent between February and June 2023.
The Bank of Ghana has reported a mixed reaction to the prices of Ghana’s major export commodities on the international market in the first half of the year.
According to the Monetary Policy Committee Press Release dated 24th July, 2023.
Cocoa prices surged to record highs last seen over a decade ago, triggered by tight supplies from West Africa coupled with expectations of a global deficit in the 2022/2023 crop season.
On a year-to-date basis, cocoa beans gained 25.5 percent to settle at US$3,185.29 per tonne in June 2022.
International benchmark crude oil prices lost 7.8 percent in the year to close at US$74.98 per barrel due to concerns that sluggish global growth could reduce energy demand, the report noted.
However, decisions by OPEC+ to deepen production cuts moderated the losses somewhat.
With regards to gold, the price of the commodity went up by 8.1 percent year-to date to settle at US$1,942.07 per fine ounce.
This was as a result of increased fears over global recession and possible slower interest rate hikes in the United States loom.
Also, increased demand for the metal from China is said to be another factor for the price hike.
Reports coming in is that officers of the Office of the Special Prosecutor are moving to the Akpelemkpe residence of former Sanitation Minister and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah to search her home.
This comes after the former minister’s arrest today over suspicions of corruption and corruption-related offences, revolving around the alleged theft of significant amounts of money and valuable items from her aforementioned residence.
Sources say Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour have been taken along for the search in their home.
The couple is reported to have been robbed by two of their house helps in their home in Abelemkpe, Accra.
The two, 18-year-old Patience Botwe and 30-year-old Sarah Agyei are said to have undertaken their operation between July and October 2022.
At an Accra Circuit Court, Patience and Sarah are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a crime and five counts of stealing, which include amounts of US$1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghana Cedis.
Clothes valued at GH¢95,000, handbags, perfumes, and jewelry worth US$95,000 were reportedly stolen as well.
Three other individuals have also been charged in connection with the theft being investigated.
Due to the controversy surrounding the “stolen” cash, Madam Cecilia Dapaah resigned from her position as Sanitation Minister on Sunday, July 23, 2023.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e06Xo3HY5HI
Source: The Independent Ghana | Andy Ogbarmey-Tettey
Former Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has reportedly had her name expunged from the ruling New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Election Committee.
Per reports, Madam Dapaah’s name has been removed from the members of the NPP Election Committee that is to supervise the party’s internal elections.
Engaging the media at the NPP headquarters on Monday, July 24, Deputy Majority leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who is a member of the Election Committee could not confirm the assertion.
This was contained in a statement from the Office of the Special Prosecutor dated July 24, 2023.
According to the OSP, her arrest involves suspicions of corruption and corruption-related offences, revolving around the alleged theft of significant amounts of money and valuable items from her residence in Accra.
Five individuals are facing charges for their alleged involvement in stealing millions of dollars and euros from the minister’s house at Abelemkpe, a suburb of Accra.
According to Madam Dapaah, the reported amounts of money stolen in the media is inconsistent with the original complaint she filed.
According to Madam Cecilia Dapaah, she decided to resign on July 23, 2023, to prevent this matter from becoming a preoccupation of government and a hindrance to the work of government at such a crucial time.
She also assured of her willingness to cooperate fully with all state agencies to enable them fully establish the facts.
It is expected that investigation by the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, will bring finality to the matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e06Xo3HY5HI
Source: The Independent Ghana | Andy Ogbarmey-Tettey
The Bank of Ghana has reported a contraction of total borrowing in the banking sector during the first half of the year.
In its Monetary Policy Committee Press Release dated 24th July, 2023, the Central Bank revealed that total borrowings declined by 39.1 percent to GH¢16.0 billion compared with GH¢26.4 billion a year earlier.
Total deposits on the other hand, grew significantly by 42.8 percent to GH¢187.6 billion in June 2023.
In the period under review last year, total deposits grew to GH¢131.3 billion, representing 19.1 percent growth.
The banking sector’s total assets as at June 2023 was GH¢242.4 billion, showing a moderation in growth of 21.2 percent from 22.8 percent in June 2022.
According to the Bank of Ghana, data submitted by banks for the first half of 2023 reflected the lingering effects of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), notwithstanding the strong rebound in profitability following significant losses incurred at year end 2022 on account of impairments of holdings in government of Ghana bonds.
Meanwhile, the banking industry’s investments increased sharply, supported by significant growth in deposits.
Total investments rose to GH¢89.9 billion in June 2023 from GH¢ 81.0 billion in June 2022, made up of short-term investments which grew by 149.6 percent to GH¢39.9 billion, from GH¢15.9 billion last year, while medium-to-long term investments declined to GH¢50.1 billion from GH¢65.0 billion, as a result of portfolio rebalancing following the DDEP.
In the first quarter of 2023, the provisional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the real sector exceeded expectations, showing significant improvement, according to the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
According to the latest data from the Ghana Statistical Service, the real GDP grew by 4.2 percent during this period, surpassing the 3.0 percent recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2022.
The Central Bank made this known in its Monetary Policy Committee Press Release dated 24th July, 2023.
Non-oil GDP growth also experienced substantial growth, reaching 5.5 percent compared to 3.7 percent in the same period of 2022.
The notable growth was primarily driven by the Services and Agricultural sub-sectors, which recorded growth rates of 10.1 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively.
However, the Industry sub-sector faced challenges and contracted, experiencing a decline of 3.2 percent.
The late Hanny Sherry Ayittey up until her sudden demise, contributed immensely to the country’s development.
She contributed her quota via governmental positions and non-governmental roles. At the age of 75, one can say Sherry Ayittey has built a good reputation and an enviable résumé.
Her enviable academic record is just a few of the indicators that Madam Ayittey was a genius. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and a Master of Science in Industrial Microbiology from the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.
Political career
In the political space, Hanny Sherry Ayittey sided with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
NationalVice Chair
On November 18, 2018, Hanny Ayittey achieved success in her bid to join the NDC’s national executive committee. She secured a position as one of the three vice chairpersons for the party.
In this capacity, she served as the 2nd Vice Chairperson, while Awudu Sofo Asorka served as the 1st Vice Chairperson, and Said Sinare served as the 3rd Vice Chairperson.
Sherry joins the Executive arm of government
2. Minister for Envrionment
Following the 2008 presidential election, the late former President John Atta Mills appointed Hanny Ayittey as the Minister for Environment, Science, and Technology in his government.
Her responsibilities included collaborating with the Ministry of Energy to oversee Ghana’s first drill of oil and gas. During her tenure, she diligently addressed environmental hazards, ensuring that all necessary precautions were taken into account.
Furthermore, Hanny Ayittey played a crucial role in developing an oil and gas master plan in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
This plan aimed to integrate environmental management, health and safety, and community concerns into the operations of the petroleum sector, with a focus on achieving sustainable development.
In April 2012, she represented President Atta Mills at the 2nd Commission Meeting of COMSATS, where the President was appointed the chairperson of the commission.
Sherry Ayittey held unto this position until the end of the Atta-Mills administration.
3. Health Minister
Owing to her call to service, Sherry Ayittey won favour in the eye of former President John Dramani Mahama who took over from Atta-Mills, whom he once served as Vice under his tutelage.
In January 2013, Hanny Ayittey was appointed as the Minister for Health by President John Dramani Mahama, succeeding Alban Bagbin in the position.
During her tenure as Health Minister, she represented Ghana at various international forums and conferences, including the 66th World Health Assembly, where she served as one of the keynote speakers at the event focused on climate change and air pollution.
One of her significant initiatives as Health Minister was advocating for the introduction of family planning education in schools through the Ghana Education Service (GES). Recognizing the high incidence of teenage pregnancies in Ghana due to the lack of knowledge on reproductive health and family planning among youth, she believed that incorporating family planning education into the curriculum would reduce stigma and empower adolescents to make informed decisions about their reproductive health.
Hanny Ayittey also emphasized the importance of eye-care as a crucial aspect of ensuring a healthy nation. In collaboration with the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG), she led an initiative to distribute eye-glasses to residents in rural communities in Ghana.
Furthermore, she emphasized the need for more ophthalmologists in the country, as there were only 74 trained ophthalmologists nationwide in 2014.
He role as Health Minister was short-lived as Mr Mahama believed her services were needed in another ministry.
4. Fisheries Minister
On June 9, 2014, President Mahama reassigned Sherry Ayitey to the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
During this time, she was responsible for overseeing policies and initiatives related to the fishing industry and the sustainable management of aquatic resources in Ghana.
She held unto this role up until 2017 when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) led by President Nana Akufo-Addo took over governance.
As mentioned earlier, Sherry Ayittey was phenomenal in all she did, even in non-governmental spaces.
5. Chairman of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology
Sherry Ayittey held prominent roles in various international organizations. She served as the Chairperson of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology in Geneva, as well as the African Regional Centre on Technology in Dakar.
Additionally, she was a member of the ECOWAS Board, which stands for the Economic Community of West African States, and served on the Council of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in Washington.
Moreover, Sherry Ayittey was actively involved in the Economic Community of West African States Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE).
Flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kennedy Agyapong, has had his presidential candidacy questioned over alleged lack of development in Assin Central Constituency.
On July 22, one Twitter user @Shugah12840248 accused the Assin Central MP of failing to provide development to his constituents. According to the said individual, it is unacceptable for Mr Kennedy Agyapong to dream of governing an entire country based on his assertion that he has not been able to carry out his duty as an MP.
He or she wrote: “Have you developed your constituency before talking about developing Ghana as a country?”
The statement garnered some response which opposed the assertion that the people of Assin North have not benefited from Mr Agyapong.
One Kwabena Holman said: “Are you in Ghana? Go there and see.” Another user, Christine Mitchell wrote: “pls you don’t know anything about this man….He is the only MP who has create jobs in his constituency.”
As part of his campaign promises, , Kennedy Agyapong pledged to generate electricity from sawdust in the Bia East Constituency of the Western North Region if given the mandate of Ghanaians to be President.
The death of Hanny Sherry Ayittey has caused great pain to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the people of Ghana.
Her death was announced by the bereaved family over the weekend on July 22, 2023.
Up until her demise, she contributed to Ghana’s development. She held several government positions as well as non-governmental positions.
Below is a profile of the Hanny Sherry Ayittey
Hanny Ayittey was born on February 8, 1948, in Ghana. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and a Master of Science in Industrial Microbiology from the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.
In addition to her academic achievements, Ayittey has been recognised by esteemed American universities for her leadership capabilities. She is a fellow of both the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Beyond her political career, Hanny Ayittey has been actively involved in various non-governmental organizations activities in Ghana. She attended a leadership programme at Harvard University in February 2013, further enhancing her expertise and skills.
Her notable accomplishments extend internationally as well. Ayittey is a fellow of the Institute of Directors in the United Kingdom. In the past, she held the esteemed position of Chairman of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology. Currently, she serves as a member of the ECOWAS Board for Renewable Energy and is also affiliated with the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
She sided with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) during her political career.
After the 2008 presidential election, President John Atta Mills appointed her as Minister for Environment, Science, and Technology in his government.
She served as the Minister for Health in Ghana during the presidency of John Atta Mills. She held this position from 2009 to 2013.
After her tenure as Minister for Health, she later served as the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture.
During this time, she was responsible for overseeing policies and initiatives related to the fishing industry and the sustainable management of aquatic resources in Ghana.
She was the Executive Director for MOKAS Women Trust Foundation – Ghana.
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana, as part of efforts to address the surging inflation, has raised its Policy Rate by 50 basis points, reaching 30%.
This is the latest move in a series of increases since November 2021, amounting to a total of 15.5%.
Interestingly, despite the hike in the policy rate, lending rates are not anticipated to rise. Surprisingly, the cost of credit has been decreasing, contrary to the expected upward trend.
After declining consistently between January to April, headline inflation increased in May and June on account of a variety of factors, including higher food prices, implementation of new tax measures, and utility tariff adjustments.
Overall inflation increased from 41.2 percent in April to 42.2 percent in May and then further to 42.5 percent in June.
Underlying measures of inflation have all ticked up in May 2023, the BoG said.
“While core inflation ticked up, businesses expectations of inflation remain flat at an elevated level. Although inflation is expected to decline in the near-term, baseline forecasts show a slightly higher elevated profile in the year ahead, which, if not contained, could embed in underlying inflationary pressures.
“It is important that policy responds appropriately and decisively to prevent these risks from becoming embedded and consequently derail the disinflation process,” the Central Bank addded.
Inflation has persistently hovered around 42 percent throughout the second quarter of 2023 even though central bank financing has been eliminated in the first six months of the year.
Ghana’s macroeconomic framework, the Central Bank noted, requires decisive tightening from both the fiscal and monetary side to anchor inflation expectations firmly on a declining path.
The Cruise People Limited has taken legal action against musician Black Sherif, accusing him of breaching a contract they had entered into.
The lawsuit, filed at the High Court, alleges that Black Sherif failed to fulfill the terms of their agreement, which ultimately led to the cancellation of the Afro Cruise Jam concert he was scheduled to perform at in August.
According to the suit, Cruise People Limited had booked Black Sherif for the cruise event and paid half of his booking fee, amounting to $20,000. As part of the agreement, Black Sherif was supposed to provide a video confirming his participation in the event in Greece.
However, the Plaintiff claims that despite assurances from Black Sherif that he would send the video before the media launch on May 19, he failed to do so. Consequently, the company went ahead and paid $18,000 to secure cabins on the cruise and an additional GHS65,000 to Joy FM for the launch on Drive Time.
Due to Black Sherif’s alleged failure to honor the contract, the concert had to be canceled, leading to financial losses and disappointment for Cruise People Limited. The lawsuit seeks to address the breach of contract and the damages incurred as a result.
“The Plaintiff avers that as a result of the Defendant’s willful neglect and or refusal to confirm his musical performance on the Joy FM radio show through the video clip, the paid deposit of $18,000 for the cabins on the cruise ship was lost to the cruise line due to the cancellation of the booking of the cabins since the expected Interests and patronage of the event could not be guarantee,” part of the suit read.
Cruise People Limited emphasized that Black Sherif was fully aware that his failure to fulfill his obligations, specifically confirming his participation in the event, would severely impact the Afro Cruise Jam. The success of the event relied heavily on the Defendant’s announcement of his availability to perform on the cruise ship.
They further asserted that this conduct by Black Sherif constitutes a significant breach of the agreement that was executed on April 18, 2023, rendering the entire agreement ineffective.
As a result of the breach, the organisers of the Afro Cruise Jam are seeking legal recourse. They are asking the court to direct Black Sherif to reimburse the $20,000 booking fee he was initially paid, in addition to seeking $18,000 to cover the expenses incurred in securing cabins on the cruise ship.
In summary, Cruise People Limited is urging the court to hold Black Sherif accountable for his actions and to provide compensation for the financial losses incurred due to the breach of contract.
Again, they are seeking “payment of interest on the $20,000 from the 18th April 2023, up to the date of final payment and an order directed at Defendant to pay Plaintiff $50,000 being lost profits occasioned by Defendant’s breach of the agreement.
Cruise People Limited are also seeking “an order directed at Defendant to pay to Plaintiff the Ghc65,000 which was paid to the Multimedia Group with the sole purpose of advertising the video clip of the Defendant which the Defendant refused to make available, general damages for breach of contract and Costs Inclusive of legal fees.”
Background
Following his arrival in Ghana, Black Sherif was arrested by the police at the Kotoka International Airport for alleged breach of contract. Sources close to the musician confirmed that he had been booked for the Afro Cruise Jam event and had initially paid a deposit of $20,000 out of the total $40,000 booking fee.
According to the same sources, the contract did not specify a requirement for promotional videos to be made for a press launch prior to the event.
In response to the threats of contract cancellation and potential lawsuits, Black Sherif’s agents chose to refund the initial deposit. However, the event organizer insisted on being reimbursed $50,000 instead of the original $20,000 fee that had been paid.
Black Sherif’s agents find this request unfair and inconsistent with their understanding of the agreement.
On the other hand, CEO of Cruise People Limited, Daniel Vanderpuye, maintains that a promotional video was indeed part of Black Sherif’s obligations under the contract. Despite the musician’s failure to provide the video, his team expressed readiness to consider any changes or proposals to the agreement in an email.
However, Mr. Vanderpuye stated that there was no response from Black Sherif’s team for almost two months, during which he made multiple attempts to reach out to them through various channels, but to no avail.
“Gramps Morgan was in Ghana, he called the team and they called his bluff. Papa Logic, Baba Sadiq, and Amakye Dede’s folks all reached out and they called their bluff. I didn’t want to go on this tangent so I used all available human resources to reach out to the team,” he told Kwame Dadzie.
Musician Okyeame Kwame on July 21, 2023, led approximately 500 students in a walk from Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to Parliament to petition the climate caucus for more ambitious action on climate change.
During the walk, the students chanted slogans demanding climate justice, a greener Ghana, reafforestation, and raising awareness about the climate emergency.
Upon reaching Parliament, Okyeame Kwame and the group were received by notable figures, including Dr. Emmanuel Marfo, the UN resident coordinator, Charles Abani, the mayor of Accra, Elizabeth Sackey, and some members of the parliamentary Climate Caucus.
The hosts unanimously agreed with the advocates that climate action is crucial, especially for Africans and indigenous people worldwide who contribute less than 4% to carbon emissions but bear the brunt of harsh climate conditions.
Dr. Emmanuel Marfo praised and commended Okyeame Kwame and the climate clock team for taking up this important cause and involving future generations in the fight for climate justice.
The climate walk was organized in observation of Climate Emergency Day, which occurs every 22nd of July.
While at parliament, the UN resident coordinator also commended Okyeame Kwame stating “his activism must go beyond the regional level.”
Students, teachers, and activists participating in the climate walk were supported and refreshed by Ekumfi juice as they marched to advocate for climate justice.
After the walk, a delegation led by Okyeame Kwame and his family paid a courtesy visit to Amer Al Alalawi, the head of the United Arab Emirates’ diplomatic mission in Accra.
They were accompanied by Nakeeyat Dramani Sam, a Youth Climate Advocate, Portia Adu Mensah, the lead advocate for Climate Clock Ghana, and a group of media representatives. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss youth representation at COP28, which will be hosted by the UAE in Dubai’s expo city in November.
During the meeting, Amer Al Alalawi praised Okyeame’s initiative and expressed the UAE’s commitment to involving youth in climate discussions and decision-making. He appreciated the delegation’s concern for the environment and aligned vision with the UAE.
Leading up to the walk, the climate clock team visited several schools, including Kwabenya Snr High School, St. John’s Grammar High School, Kaneshie Cluster of schools, and St. Martin De Porres. They spoke to over 1500 students, using the clock’s figures to explain the urgency of the climate emergency and the need for immediate action.
The climate walk was organized by the Okyeame Kwame Foundation in partnership with Climate Clock, Accra Metropolitan Assembly, and sponsored by Ekumfi Juice.
The death toll from the building collapse in Cameroon has tragically increased to 16, with several others injured.
The incident occurred when a four-storey building collapsed onto another residential block during the early hours of Sunday morning.
Distressed neighbors recounted hearing screams as the tragedy unfolded. As of now, the cause of the collapse remains unknown.
Rescue teams from Cameroon’s fire brigade, the Red Cross, and other services continue to work tirelessly at the scene, searching for survivors.
Regional governor Samuel Dieudonné Ivaha Diboua has reassured the public that the situation is under control, and rescue teams are making every effort to ensure that no one is left trapped beneath the wreckage.
Three children and ten adults are receiving urgent medical attention at the nearby Laquintinie Hospital, where it was unfortunately reported that a three-year-old girl brought in has succumbed to her injuries.
The specific reason for the building collapse in Douala’s Ange Raphael neighborhood is yet to be determined, but residents have told journalists that the building appeared dilapidated.
It’s worth noting that while city authorities have been demolishing homes considered at risk from flooding or landslides, this particular block was not designated for demolition.
Building collapses are regrettably not uncommon in Cameroon, and in 2016, another dilapidated building in Douala, which violated construction rules, collapsed, resulting in the loss of five lives.
The Bank of Zambia has confirmed a cyber security breach that targeted its official Facebook page.
Hackers replaced the bank’s profile and cover pictures with an image of an unknown couple in a romantic embrace, leading to a flood of memes and jokes on the internet.
The bank has taken the incident seriously and is conducting a thorough investigation. They are also collaborating with relevant law enforcement to address the issue.
While the bank works to restore the Facebook page to its full functionality, it urges its customers and the public to exercise caution and remain vigilant against potential phishing attempts or suspicious activities.
Officials have reassured the public that the cyber attack does not compromise the safety and security of customer financial information, as the central bank’s core systems remain secure.
Yendi Member of Parliament, Farouk Aliu Mahama, has appealed to his fellow minority Members of Parliament to uphold the decision of the High Court, which has scheduled daily hearings for the criminal case involving Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson.
During an interview on JoyNews’ The Probe on Sunday, host Ayisha Ibrahimon asked whether the Majority was considering intervening in Gyakye Quayson’s case to facilitate the return of the Minority to the House.
In response, Farouk Aliu Mahama emphasized that matters of justice and the rule of law are paramount, and not even the president has the authority to intervene in such cases.
He, therefore, called on the NDC MPs to rescind their boycott and “leave the courts and the work of the judiciary in the hands of the competent people.”
“What can be done is that they should have a will within the courts, but for the government itself trying to intervene in this is something that is unacceptable.”
On July 4, 2023, the Accra High Court, under the jurisdiction of Justice Mary Yanzuh, ruled that the trial of Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson, on alleged perjury charges would be conducted on a daily basis.
However, the ruling has sparked protests from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and several prominent public figures have urged the president and the Attorney General to consider filing a nolle prosequi in the criminal case.
In solidarity with Quayson, NDC members of parliament, supported by party leaders, have chosen to boycott parliament sessions to accompany him to court.
This week, the caucus reiterated their commitment to the boycott and announced a new strategy to escalate the protest. Their plan involves continuously raising concerns about quorum for parliamentary meetings, effectively disrupting and shutting down House proceedings.
Mr. Aliu Mahama stated that it is reasonable for the Assin North MP, Gyakye Quayson, to be required to appear in court daily, and he emphasized that the court’s decision must be respected.
He urged the Minority not to use the court’s decision as a bargaining tool to boycott parliamentary proceedings.
The legislator explained that prioritizing Gyakye Quayson’s case over the expectations of the Ghanaian people would not be appropriate.
Mr. Mahama called for consensus building among members in the House.
“There should be some consensus building. Obviously, God gave us this 8th Parliament so we cannot run away from that, it is a test case, and cooperation is important. Leadership must come together and we Members of Parliament must look at Ghana first and carry our duties as MPs,” he said.
