Two miners who vanished when an Australian mine collapsed have now been found dead.
According to local media, Dylan Langridge and Trevor Davis were driving 125 meters (410 feet) deep on Wednesday within the Dugald River mine in Queensland when the ground broke way.
They plunged 25m into a void along with their utility car, a drill rig, and the drill rig operator.
The drill rig operator was able to flee and sound the alarm before receiving minor injury treatment.
The remains of Mr. Langridge and Mr. Davis were discovered following a “major” search operation at the mine near Cloncurry, according to Perenti, the international mining company that employed the two men.
“This is a devastating outcome and I want to extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to the families, friends, colleagues and loved ones of Trevor and Dylan, both of whom should have come home safely from work yesterday,” chief executive Mark Nowell said on Thursday.
The two men were reported to be “fly-in, fly-out workers”, a common practice in parts of Australia where staff are flown temporarily to remote work sites.
Mr Langridge, 33, joined Barminco, a Perenti company, in March 2020, Perenti said. He began working at the Dugald River mine later that year.
Mr Davis, 36, had worked at the mine since November 2021 after joining the company a year earlier. Both worked as charge-up operators, the company said.
All operations at the zinc mine were suspended during the search, according to mine owner MMG.
Rescuers worked all night using heavy equipment to gain access to the utility vehicle, and on Thursday morning MMG general manager Tim Akroyd said a mission had begun to recover it from below.
Thomas Partey would miss Arsenal’s match against Manchester City, and this is a major blow to the team.
The Ghanaian has been an essential member of the Gunners team that has dominated the Premier League standings for the majority of the season.
Mikel Arteta will have to get by without him on Wednesday night even though he has played in all but three of their league games this season.
Partey won’t be playing against City because of a muscular issue, according to The Athletic.
The 29-year-old took part in Tuesday’s training session with his teammates, but a new injury prevents him from playing on Wednesday night at the Emirates Stadium.
Additionally, he might not play in Saturday’s matchup with Aston Villa.
These developments might herald Jorginho’s first start for the team since his January transfer from Chelsea.
With so much on the line, Partey’s absence may be a major setback for the Gunners.
Joao Cancelo called claims that he and Pep Guardiola had a falling out a “lie” and claimed that both the Manchester City manager and the team “gave me everything.”
Brazilian fullback One of the more unexpected movements of the January transfer window had Cancelo joining Bayern Munich on loan for the remainder of the campaign.
At the Etihad Stadium,Cancelo was reported to have been kicked off the team after an altercation with Guardiola.
The former Juventus defender did, however, express his gratitude for what Guardiola has done for his professional career.
Speaking to Movistar after Bayern beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, Cancelo said: “People who say that I fought with Guardiola [it] is a lie.
“I didn’t feel important in the team in the last games. I spoke with the coach and he also agreed. And together with the club we decided that I had to leave, that it was the best for me.”
Cancelo’s contract at City runs until June 2027 and he conceded it remains a possibility he will play for the club again in the future.
“I like the new opportunities, it’s not against City,” he added.
“I think that at City he has taken the step to the level he wanted to reach, that’s where I became the player I am today.
“I am grateful to both Pep and the club because they gave me everything. My daughter was born in Manchester and it’s a club I’ll never forget.
“And who knows, in football you never know and at the end of the year I can return.”
If Paris Saint-Germain overcomes their first-leg deficit against Bayern Munich in the Champions League round of 16, Kylian Mbappe maintained it won’t be viewed as a comeback.
The champions of Germany upset the champions of France 1-0 at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday thanks to a goal from former PSG forward Kingsley Coman.
In order to prevent another early Champions League departure, Christian Galtier’s team will have a lot of work to do. However, France forward Kylian Mbappe is certain that PSG will succeed in Munich.
“As we said, we said we had to take the positives. It’s a two-legged tie. We can’t change what happened in the first leg,” Mbappe said in quotes reported by PSG’s official website.
“We will go there to qualify. We know that there is a possibility. There is always a good possibility to qualify. So we will go there with a lot of energy and determination.
“It’s not a comeback. There’s no longer the away goal. We have to score a goal and we’ll be level, so we have to go there and win.
“Play our game, play attacking football, which we know how to do and try to go there and win.”
Mbappe had initially been ruled out of the first leg with a hamstring injury sustained against Montpellier on February 1.
Galtier named Mbappe among the substitutes and he entered the fray shortly before the hour, with the man himself admitting he was not supposed to play.
“I wasn’t supposed to play but I wanted to play and help my team-mates,” he added.
“We did everything, we worked night and day to get me some game time.
“I wanted to [start the game]. But sometimes you have to be satisfied with what you can do, and that’s all I could do.
“My feeling? I was a bit concerned, but I gave everything I had and I have nothing left. Now we have to continue and recover well.
“Like I said, get everyone back healthy and all come back at 100 per cent, and I’m sure it can go well.”
For writing on social media about a devastating strike by Russian jets on a theater in Ukraine, Russian journalist Maria Ponomarenko has been sentenced to six years in prison.
She was found guilty of distributing “false news” by a Siberian court in Barnaul as a result of new rules intended to silence opposition to the invasion of Ukraine.
Additionally, she was prohibited from working as a journalist for five years.
When the Mariupol theater was bombed in March of last year, hundreds of civilians perished.
Weeks after the bombing, in April of last year, Ponomarenko was jailed for stating that the strike had been carried out by Russian airplanes despite the Russian defense ministry’s denial.
She is one of a growing number of Russian dissidents jailed for criticising the war in Ukraine.
Some 1,200 civilians were seeking shelter inside the theatre when it was bombed by Russian fighter jets. Ukrainian authorities believe 300 people were killed but an Associated Press investigation said the number was closer to 600. Many of the bodies were found in the basement.
Amnesty International said it was a war crime carried out by Russian forces and the international monitoring group OSCE said it had not received any indication to back up Russian allegations that a Ukrainian battalion had blown up the theatre.
Prosecutors said Maria Ponomarenko had committed a criminal offence brought in within days of the invasion of spreading “knowingly false information” about the Russian armed forces.
Image caption,Residents had written the Russian word for “children” outside the theatre in an attempt to stop Russian airstrikes
Addressing the court ahead of her sentence she stressed that under Russia’s constitution she had done nothing wrong: “Had I committed a real crime then it would be possible to ask for leniency, but again, due to my moral and ethical qualities, I would not do this.”
Declaring herself a patriotic, opposition pacifist, she ended her address by saying: “No totalitarian regime has ever been as strong as before its collapse.”
The journalist and activist, who has two young children, has suffered mental health problems in jail, according to her lawyer, and last year compared her conditions in pre-trial detention to torture.
Last summer, Moscow councillor Alexei Gorinov was jailed for seven years after he was filmed speaking out against Russia’s war in Ukraine in a city council meeting. Earlier this week a UN working group called for his release, concluding that his detention was arbitrary and contravened the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In December one of Russia’s most prominent opposition figures, Ilya Yashin, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years for spreading “fake news” about the military after he went on YouTube to condemn the killing of hundreds of Ukrainian civilians by Russian occupying forces in Bucha, near Kyiv.
A health official has relocated an orphaned Syrian infant who was born during last week’s earthquake under the debris of her destroyed home to a “secure area.”
She was receiving medical care at a hospital in the area controlled by the opposition when there was a violent incident there on Monday.
The manager allegedly received physical abuse from a male nurse and two armed guys.
Dr. Ahmad Hajj Hassan, the director of the health department, refuted statements made on social media that Aya’s kidnapping attempt had failed.
“The kidnap allegations were a misunderstanding. This was a wholly internal hospital-related issue and had no connection whatsoever with the baby,” he said.
Thousands of people offered to adopt the baby last week, after her story was widely reported by local and international media.
However, the health directorate is determined to prioritise her welfare and act cautiously with the adoption process, according to the source.
Aya’s mother went into labour soon after their family home in the town of Jindayris was destroyed by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck southern Turkey on 6 February.
She died after giving birth to Aya, who was still connected by her umbilical cord when she was found by rescuers.
Dramatic footage shared on social media showed a man carrying the baby, covered in dust, after she was pulled from debris.
Aya’s father, four siblings and an aunt were also killed in the disaster.
Khalil al-Suwadi, a distant relative who was there when she was pulled to safety, brought the baby to the hospital in Afrin.
The paediatrician looking after her told the BBC last Thursday that Aya had arrived in “a bad state”. “She had bumps, bruises, she was cold and barely breathing,” he added.
She responded to treatment and by the next day her condition had stabilised.
The hospital’s manager said his wife was breastfeeding Aya alongside their own four-month daughter and that they would care for her until she was adopted.
Jindaryis, about 8km (5 miles) from the Turkish border, was one of the worst-hit towns in Syria. Some 200 buildings there have completely collapsed.
The White Helmets, whose volunteer first responders have been leading the search and rescue effort in opposition-held areas, say 517 bodies have been pulled from the rubble there.
The deaths represent almost a quarter of the total reported by the White Helmets and opposition authorities across the region, where 90% of the 4.6 million population needed humanitarian assistance even before the disaster.
Former Cief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, is unimpressed with how administrations have performed since the 1992 Constitution took effect.
Even the New Patriotic Party (NPP), where she served as Chief Justice, is subject to her criticism of underperforming political leaders.
These remarks were delivered by her in an interview on JoyNews which is yet to be aired.
She believes that, to the detriment of the citizenry, succeeding administrations have consistently put the constitution on the back burner.
“I’ve been disappointed with every single government under this Constitution. Because, after all that we went through with the military and everything and we centered the Constitution as the guiding principle, at least, constitutionalism should have been what should have been guiding us,” she told Raymond Acquah.
According to her, “we have eroded so many standards, we’ve eroded so many principles. Yes, it’s not only the NPP government, as far as I’m concerned, every government has failed.”
Fans are perplexed by Kylian Mbappe’s most recent Instagram post, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain.
Tuesday night’s Winners League round of 16 encounter pitted the defending Ligue 1 champions against Bayern Munich, the dominant team in the German Bundesliga.
Due to a recent muscle injury, Mbappe started the game on the sidelines, putting Neymar and Lionel Messi in charge of penetrating Bayern’s defense.
Kingsley Coman, a former player for Paris Saint-Germain, scored the game’s only goal in the 53rd minute to give Julian Nagelsmann’s team a slim 1-0 lead for the Bavarian club, which ultimately prevailed in the closely contested match.
With work to be done in the second leg, Mbappe took to Instagram to send a message to his fans after the disappointing display against Bayern.
Having posted a message in French, the translation tool on Instagram has got fans all confused.
Mbappe’s posted a picture with a message that read: “Tout reste à faire…” which normally would translate to “Everything remains to be done…”.
However, the message was weirdly translated as “All that remains to be done…Manchester United’s team is now on @psg.”
Naturally, Manchester United fans were quick to react to the glitch.
One fan said: “Does that mean Qatar are buying us and Mbappe is joining too???”
Another tweeted: “That translation thing does not actually translate what you wrote, it simply reads your mind and says it out loud.”
A third fan added: “Bro this translation got me confused. I need help!”
Someone else commented: “Bro just come to Manchester United already.”
The fact that United star Marcus Rashford commented on the post will only add fuel to the fire amid all the speculation about the club’s potential new owners.
Image Credit: Instagram/@k.mbappe
It has been reported that the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani is expected to launch a bid to buy United after the Glazer family put the club on sale.
The administration of Chris Houghton is expected to see some new faces, tactics among others.
His success is dependent on how good his players are. However, the current Black Stars, despite the massive potential have failed to live up to expectation.
Nonetheless, Houghton will have to give all he has got to ensure he transforms the senior national team.
Here are some players who could help make the coach’s work easier.
One of the most gifted players the Black Stars can employ is the 22-year-old player, who has demonstrated his abilities.
Although a creative midfielder, the youngster’s eye for goals and ability to evade defenders to complete the task demonstrate that he is the main rock the Black Stars can rely on.
Mohammed Salisu
Mohammed Salisu is without a doubt the best center-back who might guide the backline for the Black Stars in the future. Daniel Amartey is already showing signs of aging and has already served his purpose as the solid rock in Ghana’s defense.
Salisu has worked his way up to leading the defense for Premier League team Southampton since joining the Saints. The defensive rock-solid player makes almost no mistakes in his tackles and is quite commanding on the field to keep his teammates on task.
Abdul Salis Samed
Abdul Salis Samed was able to fill a significant vacuum in Ghana’s midfield despite his late entry into the Black Stars, which occurred prior to the commencement of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Salis Samed was always there to make strong interceptions and put some effort into his forward passes, so Ghanaians never had to worry about defensive midfield battles.
Above all, Salis Samed is a good midfield partner for Thomas Partey because Samed protects the defense, allowing the Arsenal player to concentrate more on helping the attack.
Kamaldeen Sulemana
One of the individuals Chris Hughton can construct the team around is the gifted, quick-footed player who is extremely dangerous with the ball.
Kamaldeen Sulemana has always given his all since making the national squad, although it seems that his contribution to the attack is missing.
With his quick movements and ability to generate opportunities, Kamaldeen only requires a strong striker up front to score.
Tariq Lamptey
The right back of the Black Stars has never been the same since John Paintsil and Harrison Afful left.
However, thanks to nationality changes, Ghana has been fortunate to have Tariq Lamptey and Denis Odoi as two players in that position.
Unfortunately for Odoi, his advanced age makes Tariq Lamptey and Samed the two most qualified candidates to fill the team’s right back position.
Tariq Lamptey mixes his primary defensive responsibilities with the role of an attacking right back. The teenager, who is quick and skilled at winning balls, has the potential to be one of the Black Stars’ foundational players.
On February 14, 2023, President Akufo-Addo and Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, came together for a local school inauguration ceremony.
Up to July 2022, Sarah Adwoa Safo served as the minister of gender, women, and social protection.
After more than a year away on an extended leave from the ministry and a contentious absence from Parliament, President Akufo-Addo removed her of her duties.
When President Akufo-Addo opened and turned over the Kwabenya Model Kindergarten School, the MP featured prominent in images released by the administration.
BSW International built the facility for the residents of Kwabenya through the Ghana Education Service (GES).
Adwoa Safo was captured holding the red tape along with other guests like the Education and Greater Accra Regional Ministers who were also in attendance. She was also seated on the dais with the Education Minister sandwiching her and the president.
President Akufo-Addo with Sarah Adwoa Safo and other ministers in his government
In comments during the launch, Akufo-Addo stressed the importance of quality and inclusive early childhood education, stating that it enables all children, irrespective of their physical, emotional, social or medical challenges, to come together at school, to play and learn together.
He said the absence of this deprives the child of play and other critical things of childhood, like cognitive, motor, physical, social, emotional, core competencies and language development.
It is for this reason that Mr Akufo-Addo said his government has embarked on the construction of some 350 kindergarten blocks, for which 160 have so far been completed while several dilapidated KG blocks have also been renovated but without mentioning numbers.
“We will continue to invest in education, and help secure our country’s future, for these interventions are geared towards the growth and development of Ghana,” he stated adding “we are preparing our youth for the birth of a prosperous society – a society which creates opportunities for all its citizens, rewards creativity and enterprise, honesty and hard work.”
The UN Sustainable Development Goal 4.2 explicitly seeks to ensure that, by 2030, all girls and boys will have access to early childhood care and development to prepare them for primary education.
According to the Sanitation Minister, government has contributed around $1 billion to make it easier to meet the country’s long-term water and sanitation needs.
Cecilia Abena Dapaah stated that the government used a Public Private Partnership (PPP) strategy to address the escalating demand for water and sanitation demands throughout time.
When Dr. Rashid Mbaziira, the Executive Secretary of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), paid her a courtesy visit in Accra, Mrs. Dapaah revealed this.
She pointed out that the implementation of the PPP strategy resulted in the construction of integrated compost and recycling plants, wastewater treatment facilities, condominium sewers, and water intake and treatment facilities.
“The country is open to new proposals and inputs in tapping into Ghana’s 53.2 billion m3 Renewable Water Resources,” she added.
Following the reviewing of the National Sanitation Policy, with focus on open defecation, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources indicated that the ministry was fully committed to supporting the activities of AMCOW through data sharing with sister countries for the collective good of Africa.
Mrs Dapaah said it was important to mobilise high-level political buy-in and commitment for the roadmap to formulate the post-2025 Africa Water Vision in implementing continental and global commitments on water and sanitation.
She reiterated Ghana’s full support for the proposal to appoint a United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Water to strengthen Africa’s voice at the global level in order to accelerate progress towards achieving water and sanitation goals in Africa.
Dr Mbaziira for his part stressed the need for African countries to focus on using the digital elements available to them for data collection in the water sector.
He used the opportunity to commend Ghana for the successful implementation of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) Water and Sanitation Projects, and the World Bank is considering replicating the project in other African countries.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), according to Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is implementing a Unified Digital Property Platform for the purpose of property taxation.
On Monday, February 14, 2023, he declared via a social media post that the government’s investment in digitalization was the reason behind the policy that had resulted in the identification of more than 7 million unique properties.
“One of the problems Ghana has faced in the area of revenue generation since independence is that only about 9% of properties in Ghana pay property taxes. This is because we have not had a database of properties, the owners and their addresses. As a result, many property owners do not even receive bills for property taxes although they are willing to pay.
“Thanks to the implementation of the Digital Property Address System, the Ghanacard, and Mobile Money Interoperability, and after three years of painstaking work, Government has been able to put in place a Unified digital platform for property taxation which the Ghana Revenue Authority is now rolling out together with the Municipal and District Assemblies.
“The Unified Digital Platform for Property Taxation includes the list and details of over 7 million properties, uniquely identified by their addresses. This is a historic innovation for Ghana,” the statement shared by Dr Bawumia said.
He noted the Digital Property Address System as a platform will among other things offer assemblies, tax authorities and property owners the convenience of paying and collecting Property Taxes with ease.
He further underscored that the policy will lead to a significant increase in government revenue.
“On this digital platform, property owners can verify their property rates and pay same and receive receipts online. Also, the GRA and MMDAs can see, in real-time, which properties have or have not paid their property taxes. This unified digital platform will significantly increase property rate collection and revenues.
“The Unified Property Rate Platform can be accessed at www.myassembly.gov.gh and I encourage you to visit, login and explore the site,” the statement said.
In late 2022, President Akufo-Addo in a nationwide broadcast on various measures being undertaken to increase revenue generated to the state, announced that the government is looking at taxation on properties as a viable revenue generation measure.
Armed robbers have attacked the Ghana Wheelchair Tennis National Team in Nigeria, taking their goods.
After competing in a tournament, the team was traveling to Ghana.
On Tuesday, around 2:30 am, the terrible tragedy took place at Ogun Stage in Nigeria.
Despite their best efforts to flee, the robbers were able to smash the car’s windshield and escape with some of the valuables inside.
As a result of the incident, three squad members suffered facial injuries. Team members who were hurt were transferred to the hospital where they got medical attention.
The Wheelchair Tennis National Team were on their way to Ghana from Nigeria after participating in the 2023 ITF World Team Cup Africa Qualifiers.
The team is made up of No.1 seed Daniel Laryer, Razak Baba Abdul and National Ranking Tour 1 Champion, Bernard Yawson.
Also among the team are Bridget Nartey, Issah Zenabu and Stacy Mensah Konadu with coach Philip Plange.
The tournament took place on 8th February and ended on the 12th in Abuja, Nigeria.
President Akufo-Addo’s nominees for appointment as Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers will be reviewed by the Appointments Commitment of Parliament at a public hearing on Monday, February 20.
The Order Paper of Parliament for Tuesday, February 14, Edition contained this information.
Kobina Tahir Hammond, Bryan Acheampong, and Stephen Asamoah Boateng are the Ministers-designate for Trade and Industry, Food and Agriculture, and Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, respectively.
The others are Dr. Stephen Amoah, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Osei Bonsu Amoah, Minister of State for Local Government, Decentralization, and Rural Development, and Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance.
The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCO) has issued a warning that if its cash flow issues are not immediately resolved, a steady supply of electricity may be compromised.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) owe them GHC2.7 billion, according to the company’s managing director Ebenezer Kofi Essienyi, who made the announcement on Monday during a press briefing.
GRIDCo claims that the debtors don’t have a specific plan in place to pay off the debt.
“From our last count, I think it is about 2.7 billion – ECG and NEDCo. The debt impacts our operations …it is an issue that is the reason government makes a conscious effort to find some resources for us to do the investment that we require. It is all with the understanding that this legacy debt will have to be addressed in a strategic way over time,” he said.
He added that there is a bulk of compensation that GRIDCo ought to pay to land owners who have leased out their lands to be used.
The Managing Director said the current state of the economy could worsen if there is a cut in electricity supply.
“.…tough economy not only the availability of fuel and electricity, the economy is tough, but if we don’t have these too, it will worsen the situation,” he stated.
The Grid Company is also spending over $200,000 to repair each destroyed power tower by illegal miners or ‘galamseyers’.
According to the Managing Director, some of their metal lines have been cut by scrap dealers, making power supply difficult.
“Galamsey cost is huge, some of them instead of one tower, we need to leave the tower place, get contractors to spend maybe $200,000 to insert an additional tower which under normal circumstances we shouldn’t have.
“When they do and the tower collapses, the cost of unserved energy, because industries will go down. Those are all big costs that we easily don’t quantify but it is really a challenge to us,” he said.
Parliamentarians on the Majority side in Parliament have criticized the treatment of Haruna Iddrisu, a former minority leader and the current representative for Tamale South Constituency.
On February 7, 2023, the MPs from Sissala East Constituency, under the leadership of Amidu Chinnia, addressed the media in Parliament that it was wrong way the previous Minority Leader was being treated.
They cited two important concerns to support their worries. The first was his exclusion from seven House committees and efforts to have him removed from his current position as a result of his loss of leadership.
“Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader, by virtue of his removal he has been removed from several committees of which he was serving. Appointments, Business, Inter Parliamentary Union, Standing Orders Committees among others,” the group spokesman lamented.
He added that the issue of attempts to remove him from his office amounted to “a case of humiliation to the MPs and their constituents,” referring to Haruna and his chief whip, Mohammed Muntaka-Mubarak.
The MP also slammed the National Democratic Congress, accusing the party for betraying two major voter blocs of the party, the northern regions and the Zongos (Muslim dominated areas) by virtue of removing Haruna and Muntaka.
“The five northern regions at least should have been represented, the Zongo communities in Ghana which contributes significantly to the votes of the NDC should have been represented. These changes took away Haruna Iddrisu from the North, it took away Muntaka, a Zongo man.
“Zongo representation and northern leadership has been taken away and which is a complete disrespect,” he stressed.
Haruna was replaced by Cassiel Ato Forson whiles Kwame Governs Agbodza took over from Muntaka, the other change saw deputy Minority Leader James Klutse Avedzi replaced with Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah.
Eighteen people have been apprehended by the Police following a clash on the University of Ghana campus on Tuesday, February 14, 2023.
The 18 were among aggrieved (past and present) students who stormed the University premises to protest Management’s silence on the school’s accommodation crisis.
Their protest follows an injunction on the implementation of the residential policy.
Recall that on January 6, 2023, secured an interim injunction against the implementation of the policy revoking the residential status of continuing students of both Mensah Sarbah and Commonwealth Halls.
However, management of the institution failed to heed to the court order.
The agitated students have accused the school authorities of contempt of court over their failure to adhere to the injunction.
The students became agitated and engaged in a standoff with the police, who had been called in to stop them from entering Commonwealth Hall.
Lamenting over the situation, one student indicated that a private hostel he was assigned due to the directive requires that he pays GHs4,000 which he cannot afford.
“I am one of the people who couldn’t pay… as we speak today, we have been sacked from those halls,” he said.
The National Lottery Authority’s (NLA) Good Causes Foundation has commissioned a smart laboratory for the Senior Correctional Centre at Dzorwulu.
The smart lab has been equipped with 50 tablets, a projector, and a number of laptops that would suffice all teachers at the Centre.
According to Director-General of the NLA, Sammy Awuku, the facility will “enhance inmates’ learning skills and help them better integrate into society.”
A smart laboratory for the Senior Correctional Centre at Dzorwulu
This is not the first time the Authority has been generous to the Centre as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
In August 2022, the Good Causes Foundation of the National Lottery Authority in partnership with Coral Reef provided some 20 tablets to enhance teaching and learning at the facility.
The Good Causes Foundation was established by the NLA, under the tutelage of Mr Sammi Awuku, to aid communities in need of portable water, health facilities, and maternity wards, among other things.
Students testing out the new laptops
Mr Awuku has time without number noted that he “want to be remembered as a Director-General who championed good cause.”
“What we get after paying out our salaries, contributing to the Consolidated Fund, paying our operational costs, what is left should not be squandered by the NLA or be used for other extravagant activities, but should go into supporting good causes,” he revealed to The Independent Ghana during an interview.
The Authority was the brand sponsor for Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak for the year 2021/2022 football season.
Students excited about the new smart lab
Meanwhile, the National Lottery Authority has pledged GH¢10 million to the government’s YouStart programme, which aims to help small business owners grow their operations and create one million new jobs.
Razak Kuampa Avoliya, NDC’s Suame Constituency Youth Organiser, has been granted a GH50,000 bail with two sureties by the Asokwa Circuit Court in the Ashanti Region after his arrest.
On February 8, 2023, Razak Avoliya was turned over to police by party officials and then arrested, charged, and jailed.
He has been apprehended for urging NDC supporters to commit mayhem against NPP members in the run-up to the 2024 elections.
The NDC National Organiser, Joseph Yammin said the party is happy about the development and urged the party supporters to continue to support their own in times like these.
Five lawyers represented the accused person in court today. The case has been adjourned to March 9, 2023.
The lawyer for the accused person, Evans Amankwah, in an interview with Citi News’ Ashanti Regional correspondent Hafiz Tijani said, “first of all we have to say a big thank you to the numerous supporters of NDC across the region and the nation. And a big thank you to Joseph Yammin”.
Joseph Yammin also said, “we are happy because that is what we have been seeking, we were disappointed when he was not first granted bail. But we believe in our lawyers and as you can see today, the whole court was parked with lawyers to defend our brother. And we are very grateful that the court and the judge found the wisdom in granting our brother the bail.”
Communications Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful says the Interior Ministry and the National Identification Authority (NIA) must endeavour to increase their registration centres and days to enable more Ghanaians to register for the Ghana Card.
The Ghana Card has become a crucial public document without which one cannot register his or her SIM Card.
If the proposed Electoral Commission constitutional instrument goes through, citizens cannot register to vote without the Ghana Card.
Responding to questions in Parliament, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful explained that whilst the National Identification Authority (NIA) is not under her ministry, she continues to urge the Interior Minister to act.
“We will continue to encourage them [Interior Ministry] to increase the number of registrations per day in the country,” she said.
She, however, stated that “the Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation as part of the SIM registration exercise continues to collaborate with the National Identification Authority to enable seamless registration of SIM cards.”
She added that the Ministry of Interior is however the supervisory ministry of the NIA and not the Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation and urged for the question of extension of days for Ghana Card registration to be extended to the Interior Ministry.
One of Ghana’s millionaires whose wealth transcends the borders of the country and beyond, Mr Daniel McKorley, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the McDan Group of Companies has showcased his private jet worth $10 million.
McDan’s private jet is a T7 SFG Sparefell. The McDan Aviation acquired a private jet for its operations at Terminal 1 (T1) of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra.
McDan Aviation owned by the CEO of the McDan Group of Companies, Mr Daniel McKorley, currently operates and manages the executive lounge for private jets at Terminal 1.
It received a licence to commence operations in 2019 as Ghana’s first fixed-base operator (FBO).
Per the FBO, McDan Aviation now caters for the full ground handling services at KIA T1. This includes general aviation operations, aircraft service operations, aircraft airframe and engine repairs (maintenance) and aircraft rentals.
McDan has on many platforms motivated the youths to work hard, and sharing pictures of his private jet on the internet to is prove to them that it’s possible to achieve any goal or dream one sets his or her mind on.
Aside from McDan, business magnate Ibrahim Mahama and former Anglo Gold boss, Sam Jonah are also some of the known notable persons in the country who owns a private jet.
Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffohas reacted to recent criticisms by Mr Gabby Otchere-Darko, a member of the ruling party over her picketing at the Finance Ministry.
Madam Sophia Akuffo last week joined the Pensioner Bondholders Forum to picket at the Finance Ministry to demand their exclusion in government’s Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.
She described the Programme as wicked and unlawful while stating how government has been unfair to the aged.
“I find this wicked; I find it disrespectful; I find it unlawful; I find it totally wrong. Period. Because you don’t solve your problems by sacrificing your aged. That’s the last thing you should do especially when we don’t have any services that are specially geared at the comfort and the relief of the aged,” she said.
Reacting to her comments, Mr Otchere-Darko stated that the former Chief Justice failed to understand issues pertaining to the ongoing Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DEEP) before choosing the side of the pensioners.
He noted that some conditions have been reviewed. For instance, government reviewed its first position and settled on a 15% yield maturing in five years instead of the initial 15 years.
“For a former CJ to take up a noble cause such as she did but at such late hour when all was done and for all that publicity, she owed it to herself and her social standing to have understood the issues far better than what she exhibited last Friday. She is bigger than that,” Mr Otchere-Darko tweeted on February 12, 2023.
In a sharp rebuttal, Madam Sophia Akuffo stated that she would not spend time addressing concerns by the NPP stalwart since he is a disturbance.
“Gabby Otchere-Darko can call me paranoid. I don’t care. We are talking about people, we are talking about human beings, we are talking about people who have served this country. I have served well and served hard, active service.
“He doesn’t decide for me what I need to do and what I don’t need to do, I don’t have time for things like that. People like that are not important to me or to my life, and he is a disturbance, that is all that I need to say to that,” she said.
“When you are not a member of government and you are calling yourself a member of government, so that is all I have got to say about this matter,” Justice Sophia Akuffo added.
The Pensioner Bondholders Forum together with the former Chief Justice are back again at the Finance Ministry to rehash their demands.
The 26-player shortlist for the FIFPro Men’s Team of the Year for 2022 has been released by FIFA, and it includes Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Kylian Mbappe.
After a challenging second half of the season in which he was released by both Manchester United and Portugal and ultimately parted ways with the Red Devils in November, Ronaldo’s inclusion was undoubtedly the biggest surprise.
Since 2007, the Portuguese superstar has consistently made the Team of the Year alongside Lionel Messi, but he will face tough competition from attackers Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Robert Lewandowski, and reigning Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema.
Last year, Ronaldo, Haaland, Lewandowski, and Messi were the only four forwards to make the final XI.
🪄 Shortlists for the Men’s and Women’s #World11 have now been revealed.
World Cup stars Jude Bellingham and Enzo Fernandez are named in the shortlist for the first time in midfield, alongside Casemiro, Kevin de Bruyne, Gavi, Luka Modric, Pedri and Federico Valverde.
The defenders nominated are Joao Cancelo, Virgil van Dijk, Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva, Alphonso Davies, Josko Gvardiol, Achraf Hakimi and Theo Hernandez.
The goalkeepers in contention are Alisson Becker, Thibaut Courtois and Emiliano Martinez.
As part of the Rearing for Food and Jobs programme, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) is helping two anchor farms scale up chicken production and processing.
The Ashanti Region’s Rockland and Boris B Farms are the two anchor farms taking advantage of the project, which aims to reduce the importation of poultry goods and create jobs.
The beneficiary farms are given a 50% subsidy on feed, vaccines, and day-old chicks under the “The Broiler Project” initiative, which encourages farmers to increase production in response to local demand for chicken.
As a further incentive for the recipient farmers to grow their enterprises, the government, through the Obaatanpa Cares Program, is subsidizing 50% of the interest on bank loans for them.
The two farms, which are also into processing of poultry products, work closely with other out-grower farms who supply them with broilers for processing onto the market.
This is to encourage the beneficiary farms to increase production through the creation of ready market while promoting the consumption of local poultry.
A team of officials from MoFA and the Finance Ministry were in the Ashanti Region to monitor the progress of the project and expressed the belief that it would yield the expected dividend if sustained and extended to more anchor farmers across the country.
The Director of Animal Production MoFA, Mr Edwin Bekoe led the team to visit the processing units of the farms, and some selected out growers.
The members were taken through the various stages of processing and packaging poultry meat as workers of the facilities engaged in their daily routine.
Mr Bekoe applauded them for adding value to local bird production while creating jobs for Ghanaians.
One of the major problems the project sought to address was the large-scale importation of chicken as a country, he said, and that building the capacity of local farmers was necessary to address the perennial challenge.
The initial plan, according to the Director, was to engage as many poultry farmers as possible, but a lot of challenges were encountered hence the decision to target anchor farmers, who had the capacity to process poultry meat and bring other out growers on board.
Mr Bekoe said as financing the project suffered a setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Obaatan Cares Programme stepped in to subsidise 50 per cent of interest on loans for the farmers.
“The ultimate goal is to achieve zero importation of chicken, but it will take us a few years to get there looking at the gap and the current economic crisis,” he said.
A Technical Officer at the Ministry of Finance, Mr Michael Baidoo said the intervention by Obaatanpa Cares was to make funds accessible to the farmers to grow their businesses.
He said the team was impressed with the level of productivity at the processing units and expressed the readiness of the programme to support them to achieve the desired results.
The Chief Executive Officer of Rockland Farms, Ms Edith Akosah Wheatland, said her outfit had the capacity to process 5,000 birds a day and that the vision was to establish a bigger factory to process eight million birds a year.
She said the intervention by the government was a step in the right direction to spur growth but more could be done in the form of tax waiver to make the local poultry industry competitive.
Mr Boris Baidoo, the Chief Executive Officer of Boris B Farms, commended the Government for the support and called for investment in machinery.
The ongoing evaluation of the dollar exchange rate, according to CADEG, has a detrimental impact on importers’ business operations.
This was communicated by the chamber when its executives met the GRA’s recently appointed Sector Commander at the Tema Port.
Dumenu George, the chamber’s executive secretary, added that a set rate would improve importers’ operations and guarantee consistent revenue for the government in his remarks at the meeting.
He also called for the consolidation of certain processes at the ports adding that “we plead that all these agencies should be a unified, code all boxes into one with a single charge to avoid duplication of functions and the waste of time at the port”.
Interactions by members of Chamber of Automobile Dealership
For his part, the National Vice Chairman of the Chamber, Kusi Ankomah and owner of Erata Motors remarked that the recent operation by security agencies on imported stolen vehicles had affected the sale of vehicles due to the mistrust on the former.
“We are of the view that, these inspectorate agencies are required to verify all these vehicles and their requisite documents and approve same before we are allowed to pay huge import taxes to the state. It then comes to us as a surprise that these vehicles after going through these checks are now tagged as a “Stolen Vehicles”, he said.
At the maiden engagement with selected major stakeholders in industry which comprises of the Chamber of Automobile Dealership Ghana (CADEG), Ghana Union Traders Association (GUTA), Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Chamber of Commerce (Burkina Faso), Chamber of Commerce (Mali), Chamber of Commerce (Niger), Trade Advocate Group of Ghana (TAAG) and Cement Distributors Association of Ghana.
The Sector Commander (Customs Division) Tema Collection, Assistant Commissioner, Christiana Adjei said her outfit is committed to improving efficiency and facilitating trade operations at the port of Tema.
She advised the members of CADEG and other stakeholders to report all complaints to her and gave the assurance that her office will partner all trade associations to facilitate trading at the port.
The CADEG delegation was led by Elliott Boateng, the National Chairman and Nana Adu Bonsu, the CEO of NABUS Motors and President of Chamber of Automobile Dealership Ghana.
Tullow Oil plc (Tullow) has announced that Tullow Ghana Limited (TGL) has filed requests for arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce in London in respect of two disputed tax assessments received from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The assessments relate to the disallowance of loan interest deductions for the fiscal years 2010 – 2020 and proceeds received by Tullow Oil plc under Tullow’s corporate Business Interruption Insurance policy.
The requests for arbitration have been filed in accordance with the dispute resolution process set out in the Petroleum Agreements which govern TGL’s activities in Ghana. A copy of the Petroleum Agreements can be viewed on the website of the Ghana Petroleum Register.
Tullow considers that the two disputed tax assessments, which total $387 million plus penalties, breach TGL’s rights under its Petroleum Agreements. Tullow’s decision to file for arbitration on these matters does not result in any change to the overall exposure previously disclosed.
Tullow believes that resolution through international arbitration will bring certainty, which is in the best interest of all stakeholders. Notwithstanding this formal step, Tullow intends to continue to engage with the Government of Ghana, including the GRA, with the aim of resolving these disputes on a mutually acceptable basis.
Background to the assessments
TGL has received a revised corporate income tax assessment for $190.5 million from the GRA relating to the disallowance of loan interest for the fiscal years 2010 – 2020. Tullow has previously disclosed assessments by the GRA relating to the same issue; the revised assessment received in December 2022 supersedes all previous claims.
TGL has also received a new corporate income tax assessment and demand notice for $196.5 million from the GRA relating to proceeds received by Tullow during the fiscal years 2016 – 2019 under Tullow’s corporate Business Interruption Insurance policy, previously referred to in Tullow’s Trading Update on 25 January 2023.
Branch Profits Remittance Tax arbitration
Tullow has previously filed a request for arbitration in respect of a separate assessment for Branch Profits Remittance Tax of $320 million in 2021. A hearing in respect of this dispute is scheduled for October 2023.
Several members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) are allegedly undermining President Akufo-Akufo-Addo’s goal of making the nation’s capital the cleanest city in West Africa, according to Greater Accra Regional Minister Henry Quartey.
The MP for Ayawaso Central alleges that some party members prioritize their own interests over those of the party. As a result, whenever he sends out a task force to clear the streets of all vendors, certain party members undermine his plans and bring the vendors back to resume their business operations.
He claimed that because he has the full support of the government, he is not disturbed by the actions of such people in an interview with Peace FM on February 13, 2023.
“Let me say this, I have issues indeed and let me be clear on this. I have heard people saying that the president has said that, I should stop what I’m doing. I want to say here that the president has not on any day told me that ‘Henry stop what you’re doing.’
“The vice president has not. In fact, the office of the president has not, but I will say that there is an internal sabotage from my own party.
“Yes, and that is what has led us to where we are…they’re happy with what we’re doing but internally some people are sabotaging the work of Henry Quartey and I wonder whether it is for the good of the people of this country or for their own selfish interest I don’t know.
“Chairman (referring to Kwame Sefa Kayi) the issues are plenty…initially, when you drive the traders away from Nkrumah Circle latest by five minutes… you had been at UTC, it was so beautiful, but some people went to tell the traders not to mind me, so they should go and sell their things,” he said.
He added, “I am not perturbed and will do the best I can for God and country.”
Henry Quartey called on the said detractors to put the national interest first instead of parochialism.
The minority leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has expressed grave reservations regarding the government’s gold-for-oil agreement, which aims to lower the cost of petroleum goods in the nation.
The former deputy minister for finance said that the Bank of Ghana is covertly printing cedis to deliver to the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), which will use them to buy gold for the government, during an interview with Prince Minkah on the Dwaboase program on TV XYZ.
“Where is the BoG getting money to purchase to give to PMMC to purchase the gold?” Dr Forson asked while pointing to the illegality that is surrounding the policy.
“The Bank of Ghana has secretly printed GH¢50 billion this year without Parliamentary approval. He did that with Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, and we don’t know where the money has gone,” he said.
He explained that the secret printing of cedis began in 2020.
“From 2020 till now, the Bank of Ghana has printed GH¢90 billion cedis. GH¢40 billion printed between 2020 and 2022. This year alone, they have printed GH¢50 billion cedis,” Forson disclosed.
Dr Forson who is also the MP for Ejumako-Enyan-Essiam Constituency also indicated that the Minority would hold the Governor of the Central Bank accountable for the illegality.
The ‘Gold for Oil’ policy is to buy oil products with gold rather than U.S. dollar reserves.
It is meant to tackle dwindling foreign currency reserves coupled with the demand for dollars by oil importers, which weakens the Ghana cedi and increases living costs.
Speaking at the 2022 AGI Awards in Accra, Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia explained that Ghana’s gold for oil program will give Ghana the space to accumulate more international reserves as the country will save the $3 billion it spends on oil imports.
He added that the use of gold was specifically for oil imports in the face of declining foreign exchange reserves.
However, Dr Ato Forson believes the deal is marred by corruption as he explained that the government did not buy oil with gold in its first transaction under the policy.
“They bought the oil with dollars; they didn’t buy with gold as we were told. Even with that, instead of buying the oil at 95 dollars per metric tonne, they bought it at around 101 or 105 dollars per metric tonne.
“This means there is a middleman somewhere who is making 5 dollars profit around the deal,” Dr Forson noted and assured that his side of the law-making chamber will unveil the face behind that illegality.
The opposition National Democratic Congress has set May 13, 2023, as the date for its parliamentary primary elections. In order to run for seats in the various constituencies and enter parliament on the party’s ticket in 2025, many newcomers are lacing up their boots.
Others aim to unseat incumbents, while some target seats in orphan constituencies where there are no MPs currently in office. However, after serving in the legislature for many years, some current members are hanging up their boots.
In no particular order, here is a look at ten relatively young hopefuls to keep an eye on in the lead-up to the NDC primary elections.
1.Emmanuel Kojo Jones-Mensah
Real Estate mogul Emmanuel Kojo Jones-Mensah is eyeing the Keta seat. The seat is currently occupied by Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey. Mr. Gakpey took over from Richard Quashiga who opted out after serving in the 7th parliament.
The resourceful of the business mogul whose wedding took Ghana by storm is expected to ease his path into the legislative house. Even before the contest, the aspirant has started embarking on some developmental projects such as construction of bridges in the constituency.
Profile
Emmanuel Kojo Jones-Mensah
Emmanuel Kojo Jones-Mensah is one of the young millionaires in Ghana who is making the business environment of the Ghanaian market very competitive.
With over a decade of experience in construction, design, and global real estate development, he has established himself as a business mogul.
He gained a lot of experience working with a few construction and real estate companies in the UK.
After working and gaining so much education, experience and exposure from the UK, Kojo returned to Ghana in 2015 to establish a new business alongside his family.
He now runs and owns multiple businesses.
He is the CEO and Founder of the Empire Conglomerate, which comprises various businesses in various sectors: Empire Concrete Ltd, Empire Domus Ltd, Dominion International Petroleum Ltd, KJM Trading Ltd and Kingscrown Media.
His innate ability lies in identifying, maximizing, and facilitating business development opportunities for creating living experiences that are seen as beyond expectations.
A young African entrepreneur, Mr. Jones-Mensah is committed to creating job opportunities for his people, maximizing opportunity to create and manage wealth for the future.
After successfully acquiring a Bachelor of Laws in Business Law in 2011, he further pursued a Master of Business Administration in 2012 at Coventry University in the UK where he specialized in Oil and Gas Management.
2. Kwame Obeng Adjinah
Kwame Obeng Adjinah
Another young serial entrepreneur Kwame Obeng Adjinah also known as ROYAL, a native of Basengele, a suburb of Bibiani in the Western North Region is lacing his boots for the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai seat. The seat is currently in the hands of the New Patriotic Party’s Alfred Obeng.
The former boss of BOST who exited under controversial circumstances won the seat in 2020 with over 60% of valid votes cast. Should Mr. Adjinah emerged victorious after the NDC internal process, there will be much work to be done to snatch the seat from the governing NPP.
He is however counting on the love he has shown the constituency and his vision to bring real development to his people to give him an urge.
Profile
Kwame Obeng Adjinah is the Managing Director of Wood Acres Limited, a real estate consulting and development company he owns. He is also the Chief Operating Officer of the Omri Projekts Ltd, a real estate construction company he Co-owns.
Kwame is a Housing Consultant for Centre for Affordable Housing Finance (South Africa) for Seychelles Island. He is currently serving on the 13-member Technical Working Group of the Ministry of Works and Housing on the Disposal and Completion of the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project.
He completed Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Land Economy and afterward worked for Ghana Home loans as a Junior Collateral Management Analyst.
He holds a Professional Executive Master in ADR from University of Virgin Islands and Pulse of Africa (GGA). He was famously known as a member of “The Big Six”; a group of young men who worked so hard and diligently that they became the cornerstone of a company that has existed and thrived for years.
With determination and an exceptional work ethic, he eventually became the Lead Property Valuer of the continental banking giants, First National Bank GH until he resigned to found his own real estate company.
Kwame is an old student of the famous Ghana National College, Cape Coast. He had his basic school education at Bibiani Presby Primary, Brightest and Best Preparatory School and Otoo Preparatory School.
He’s a Chartered Valuation and an Estate Surveyor certified by the Ghana Institute of Surveyors, and a Professional Alternative Dispute Resolution Practitioner with specialty in real estate dispute resolution and management.
3. Baba Sadiq Abdulai Abu
Baba Sadiq Abdulai Abu
Another aspirant to look out for in the impending parliamentary primaries of the opposition NDC is entrepreneur and founder of 3 Media Networks Limited Baba Sadiq Abdulai Abu.
Popularly known in the entertainment circle as Baba Sadiq, the young business man is eyeing the Okaikoi Central seat. The seat which has been occupied by Patrick Yaw Boamah of the governing New Patriotic Party for a while now has remained with the party since the constituency was created.
Baba Sadiq is however counting on his experience, youthfulness and plans for the constituency to annex the seat should he get the nod to carry the flag of his party.
The constituency has a large number of Zango population mostly youthful and this political pundits believe could play to the advantage of Baba Sadiq.
Profile
Baba Sadiq Abdulai Abu is a trained media, communications and sustainability specialist and entrepreneur having worked his way up in the Ghanaian & African media, creative and sustainability industries within the last 17 years working variously as a media and communications executive, channel manager, sustainability specialist and an entrepreneur.
Sadiq is the Founder and former (CEO) of 3 Media Networks Limited, operators of music media brand, 3Music TV as well as the former executive producer of the annual 3Music Awards, the 3Music Awards Womens Brunch, the 3Music Fan Festival.
Sadiq is also founder and Executive director of the WILDALAND Foundation, an ESG organisation famed for the WILDALAND festival. Prior to this role, Sadiq was the founding Country Director of Africa’s number one digital streaming service Boomplay in Ghana leading the setting up of the streaming service’s office in Ghana, building a team and helping it acquire nearly 10 million users in Ghana as well content from every relevant Ghanaian and African content creators.
Sadiq also previously worked for Modern Times Group (MTG) AFRICA as Viasat1 Ghana’s head of Programmes & own productions/executive producer, where he led the team to win 18 various awards within a year and a half period.
At MTG AFRICA, Sadiq was also responsible for the pan-African TV channel, Trace TV’s operations in Ghana and led the launch of Airtel Trace Music Star reality show in Ghana.
Sadiq is also the co-founder of Muse Africa, a millennial targeted music, lifestyle & Entertainment brand where he served as the founding CEO of the brand from 2015 to 2018. Sadiq is also a politician, a member of the NDC in Okaikoi Central Constituency where he has been voting since 2004 and served as the party’s elections 2020 campaign spokesperson on tourism, arts and culture.
With a degree in marketing communications studies from the African University College of Communications (AUCC), Sadiq is currently pursuing a post-graduate LLB education in Ghana.
4. Eric Edem Agbana
Edem Agbana
Edem Agbana has not hidden his intention of succeeding current MP for Ketu North and immediate past deputy minority leader James Klutse Avedzi who is hanging his boots in 2024.
Mr. Agbana who is also the immediate past deputy National Youth Organizer for the NDC was actively involved in students politics which saw him serve as SRC President for the University of Ghana, Legon.
It is unclear the weight of the opposition Agbana will face in his bid to represent the people of Ketu North in Parliament. Reports dean of school of business of the University of Cape Coast Prof. John Gatsi is in the race is yet to be confirmed.
The late Prof. Awoonor’s son, Afetsi Awoonor is reportedly also lacing the boots for the contest.
Eric Edem Agbana is a Management Consultant, Social Entrepreneur, Sports Administrator and Politician, with over a decade experience in youth development, Volunteerism and youth leadership.
He is a Fellow of the prestigious African Young Leaders Fellowship of the European University Institute, a Doctoral Student in Leadership and Governance and hold two Master’s Degree in Economic Policy Management, and Development Finance respectively, and host of other post graduate certificates.
Currently, he is the Project Manager for the African Centre for Development Finance and also, the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of Young Apostles FC, a football club in Ghana.
As a former Deputy National Youth Organizer of the NDC, he holds the record as one of youngest ever elected national executive of any political party in Ghana.
He is also a former SRC president of Ghana’s biggest university, the University of Ghana. Among other relevant political experiences, He was the party’s spokesperson on youth policies, and also the spokesperson of Johnson Asiedu Nketia’s campaign team.
Edem Agbana is undoubtedly one of the most charismatic political figures in Ghana today, with mass support among the youth. However, his Edem has many awards and recognitions to his credit, notable among them are Most Influential Young Politician 2020 (Spotlight Africa Awards), Listed twice among 50 Most Influential Young Ghanaians (2018, 2020), Listed among 100 Most Influential Young African Leaders (2018), Coca-Cola awards for 60 young Achievers in Ghana (2017), Best Student Leader in Africa 2014 (by the All Africa Students Union).
5. Lamtiig Abugri Apanga Esq.
Lamtiig Abugri Apanga
Another aspirant to watch is private legal practitioner Lamtiig Abugri Apanga. He has his sight on the Nabdam seat. The seat currently occupied by Dr. Mark Kurt Nawaane of the NDC in recent past has been swinging between the party and the NPP.
The contest promises to be an interesting one since the incumbent might not be a walkover. But Mr. Apanga is counting on his service not just to the party in the constituency but at the national level to do the trick for him.
Profile
Lamtiig Abugri Apanga is a native of Gane Zanleregu of the Nabdam District in the Upper East Region. He attended St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School, Accra, he holds HND Marketing from Takoradi Polytechnic (Takoradi Technical University).
Bachelor of Arts from the prestigious University of Ghana and Bachelors of Law (LLB) from the same university. He holds a practicing certificate in Law (BL) from the Ghana Law School.
He has been a private legal practitioner and currently the Managing Partner of Prestige Partners, a private legal firm co-founded by Lawyer Apanga. Lamtiig as he is affectionately called by the people of Nabdam is currently the Legal Co-ordinator of the NDC Upper East Regional Directorate, a position he has held since 2020.
He has offered tremendous legal expertise to the NDC and officers of the party from 2017 to date. He was part of the team led by Prof. Joshua Alabi that vetted the Eastern Regional Executive NDC Elections, he also chaired the vetting committee of constituency executives in the Ashanti Region prior to the 2022 party re-organisation.
He was appointed with Joshua Akamba to supervise the Upper East Regional Elections. He served on the Protocol and Accreditation Committee of the NDC during the National Delegates Conference recently held in Accra.
He aspires to lead the NDC in the Nabdam Constituency to provide a more inclusive leadership in parliament and to accelerate the development of Nabdam in:
1. Promoting Education and Youth Capacity Building
2. Promoting Health and Environmental Protection
3. Women and Girl Child Education
4. Protection of the Physically Challenged and Vulnerable Groups
6. Francisca Mawufemor Adjei
Francisca Mawufemor Adjei
It is going to be all women fight when Francisca Mawufemor Adjei slugs it out with Joycelyn Tetteh; the incumbent MP for North Dayi.
The incumbent has been in Parliament for two terms after upsetting George Loh in the party’s primaries ahead of the 2016 elections.
Francisca who has been one of the female faces for the campaigns of the opposition NDC is seeking to leverage on that and some initiatives she is implementing in the constituency.
Profile
Francisca Mawufemor Adjei served as the Branch women organizer, Ayawaso central constituency (Freeman hostel branch), from 2004 -2012
She was a Branch member in the Odododiodo Constituency from 2012 and became the deputy constituency treasurer in 2018 till 2022
She did my internship with GBC and National service with Accra Metropolitan Assembly. She also worked with the Electoral Commission as an officer during the 2012 voter registration.
She also served as the Personal Assistant to George Lawson (then Deputy General Secretary of the NDC) in 2012.
Francisca worked with the Engineers and Planners (E&P) from 2013 till 2022
She is one of the founders of #iChooseJM, a volunteer group for the NDC 2016 campaign. In 2020, he was the leader of the street campaign.
She is also the CEO of Franca’s Kitchen and Francisca Mawufemor Adjei Foundation. She has a Degree and Masters in Communication from the African University College of Communications
7. Felix Kwakye Ofosu
Felix Kwakye Ofosu
Felix Kwakye Ofosu is another aspirant to watch in the impending primaries of the opposition National Democratic Congress. The former deputy communications minister narrowly lost the Abura Asebu Kwamankese seat to Morris Donkor of the New Patriotic Party after winning the NDC primaries.
Felix, as he is affectionately called fought off stiff competition from seven others to emerge as NDC’s candidate in 2019. He polled 360 votes against the main contender Dr. Nana Ama Browne Klutse who garnered only 327 votes.
Well, 2019 would not be the last time the two go at each other. There is every indication the battle will repeat itself this time around.
Now Prof. Nana Ama Browne Klutse, the senior lecturer at the University of Ghana who is currently an AIMS-Canada Research Chair in Climate Change Science is expected to give Felix a run for his money.
Felix Kwakye Ofosu is a product of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, KNUST. He served as deputy communications minister under the Mahama administration. He is currently works at the office of former President John Dramani Mahama.
8. Prince Benson Mankotam
Prince Benson Mankotam
Prince Benson Mankotam is a young private legal practitioner who has set his eyes on the Sunyani East Seat. This seat has been occupied by the NPP since the creation of the constituency.
It’s current occupant, Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh is currently on his 4th term in the house of the legislature. Should Mr. Mankotam emerge as NDC’s candidate and go ahead to clinch the seat, political bookmakers will describe the feat as the biggest upset not just in the region but nationwide
Profile
Prince Benson Mankotam had his professional law education at the Ghana School of Law after obtaining his LLB at the University of Ghana, Legon.
He also had his first degree; BA. Political Science with Philosophy & Classics at the same University. He is BARRISTER & SOLICITOR OF THE SUPREME COURT OF GHANA.
Prince is a Legal Associate with experience in Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency, Labour Adoption, Debt Recovery and Intellectual Property. As a home-grown lawyer, he has conducted due diligence for and on behalf of local and international clients on the legal framework for corporate restructuring, and matters relating to inheritance and trusts.
He has assisted both companies and individuals with regulatory compliance in line with transactions, and has drafted and reviewed various agreements to ensure that they are in compliance with the existing regulatory framework of Ghana.
Prince is a focused and driven young lawyer and thrives in teamwork. He is very meticulous and exhibits diligence with a variety of client instructions. Prince has interest in Arbitration and Litigation, and has been involved in successful recovery of debts for clients of the Firm.
9. John Dumelo
John Dumelo
Celebrated Ghanaian actor, farmer, and politician, John Dumelo will be another candidate to watch in the impending parliamentary primaries for the opposition NDC.
The actor reated a lot of buzz in the 2020 elections by contesting for the Ayawaso West Wuogon seat. He however lost to the incumbent Lydia Seyram Alhassan.
Mr. Dumelo, a first timer however gave his opponent a run for her money. Ghanaians might however witness a rematch come 2024 as Mr. Dumelo has reportedly decided to have another bite at the cherry in the same constituency.
This development is despite reports that Dumelo set his sights on the yet to be created Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL) constituency in the OTI region.
Mr. Dumelo had set camp in the area engaging in a number of projects including distribution of farming implements to constituents. But latest development has revealed Mr. Dumelo might just stick to the Ayawaso West Wuogon where he will go head to head with another actor Fred Nuamah who has already thrown his heart into the race
Profile
John Dumelo had his basic school education at Christ the King School in Accra and his secondary school education at Achimota Senior High School. He further studied Civil Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
John Dumelo has been gracing the silver screens for more than a decade now with many movies to his name. During the National Democratic Congress NDC Party’s Campaign in 2016, Dumelo was one of the most influential and outstanding celebrities who were seen campaigning for the NDC Government.
It is said and believed that, as an appreciation for his engagement and patriotism to the Party, he was appointed by the former president of Ghana H.E John Dramani Mahama, to serve his Party as a Director of Operations for a pro-NDC youth group for the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
John Dumelo, picked up a nomination form to contest in the NDC primaries as a parliamentary candidate. On August 24th, 2019, he won the NDC parliamentary primaries to represent the NDC in Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency in the 2020 general elections.
10. Amelia Amenate (Dela Goldheart)
Amelia Amemate
This might be the first time many are hearing the name Amelia Amemate even though the bearer of this name is a very popular you might add controversial woman in the country especially on social media.
But Dela Goldheart will certainly ring a bell and that is the woman eyeing the Anlo seat on the ticket of the opposition NDC. The seat is currently occupied Richard Kwami Sefe who joined the house of the legislature in 2021.
Dela Goldheart is not someone to chicken out from taking on men in any contest. Many will remember her battle with private legal practitioner Ace Annan Ankoma on social media and how it ended that’s if it has indeed ended.
Dela has been involved in activities of the NDC both at the national and constituency level. Political watchers will describe the move by Dela Goldheart as a bold one but as to whether she can fend off competitions and dislodge the incumbent, May 13 has the answer when delegates make their decision.
Profile
Amelia Amenate was part of the 2020 Batch of Gates Cambridge Scholars. She was to pursue PhD in Gender Studies at the University of Cambridge.
She is the first Ghanaian woman to become a Gates Cambridge Scholar as a PhD candidate. Biography Confronting issues affect women and girls has always been part of Dela’s development process.
According to her growing up in a small coastal town, she noticed boys are treated unequally and women and men are held to different expectations. The above experience pushed her to focus on gender issues from a very early stage of her life.
She obtained her first degree in political science at the University of Ghana in 2014 and later followed up with masters in American Culture Studies at the Bowling Green State University in 2020.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Rent Control Department (RCD), Emmanuel Hovey Kporsu,, the Rent Act of 1963, Act 220 section 5, prohibits landlords from forcibly evicting tenants who report them for wrongdoings.
He clarified that it is illegal for landlords or landladies to evict their tenants who complain about them to the Rent Control Department due to miscommunication, particularly if the tenant has not broken any of the terms contained in the lease agreement.
The PRO said that landlords who take advantage of renters and evict them for such reasons will be made to pay for their actions.
“So, there is this right of tenant that we’re not exploring. If you report a landlord for such an issue, the landlord has no right to evict you or come out with an excuse that my son is coming or I want to renovate the place.
“Until your tenancy expires, the law says that if you’ve not contravened any of the provisions in the Act, the landlord has no right to evict you.
“So, this cannot be a basis on which your landlord can stand to evict you. Of course, I understand after your tenancy he can tell you that I don’t want to renew for you again but within your tenancy, the landlord cannot say that I want to refund your money for you because you’ve gone to report me on this assessment issues so I’m evicting you.
“You have the right to stay there for the period of the tenancy that you’ve signed,” he said.
He noted that it has become difficult for the department to do its regular duties because of ineffective logistics, as sometimes they are forced to rely on clients for transportation.
He added that, out of the 58 offices of the RCD across the country, they can only boast of 4 cars nationwide.
He urged the government to assist the department by providing all the working resources and logistics they require in order to do their job efficiently.
People who declined to take part in the recently concluded domestic debt exchange programme have been promised by the government that they will get payment for any outstanding coupons and maturing principal.
The administration claims that this will be accomplished via government financial commitments.
“The Government would like to reassure all individual bondholders who elected not to participate that your coupon payments and maturing principals, like all Government bonds, will be honoured in line with Government fiscal commitments,” the government said in a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday, February 14.
The Government in the said statement also thanked the people of Ghana for their support and contribution.
“The DDEP is being done to help protect the economy and enhance our capacity to service our public debts effectively.
“The alternative for not executing the DDEP would have brought grave disorder in the servicing of our national debt and exacerbated the current economic crisis.
“The government is, therefore, grateful for the overwhelming participation of all bondholders. Your support and contributions have gotten your country much closer to securing the IMF programme.”
Government also disclosed that it achieved more than the 80% target needed for the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
The programme is part of the requirements before Ghana can secure an economic bailout of about $3 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The recent 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria which has caused havoc has led to a preview of similar past events which brought so much despair.
Below is the list of top 10 earthquakes in an ascending order.
Valdivia Earthquake (9.5)
The Chilean coast was severely battered
On May 22, 1960, the coast of Chile, parallel to the city of Valdivia was hit. About 1,000 to 6,000 people died with about 3,000 people injured.
The main tsunami severely battered the Chilean coast, and raced across the Pacific Ocean and devastated Hilo, Hawaii.
Waves as high as 10.7 meters (35 feet) were recorded even 10,000 kilometers (6,200 mi) from the epicenter, and as far away as Japan and the Philippines.
Great Alaska Earthquake (9.2)
Many tried to outrun the tsunami
On Good Friday, March 27, 1964, at 5:36 PM (local time, 3:36 UTC), the Prince William Sound region of Alaska experienced the Great Alaska earthquake.
It lasted for about 4.5 minutes and was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the United States.
The Chenega village was demolished by a tsunami that reached a height of 27 feet (8.2 meters), killing 23 of the 68 inhabitants.
Survivors climbed to high ground and outran the tsunami. It also brought up a significant underwater landslide. 30 people died when the docks and harbor in Port Valdez city collapsed.
A total of 139 people are believed to have died: 15 as a result of the earthquake itself, 106 from the subsequent tsunami in Alaska, 5 from the tsunami in Oregon, and 13 from the tsunami in California.
Sumatra Earthquake (9.1)
Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Maldives, Somalia, Thailand, India, and Sri Lanka were all affected
The 2004 Sumatra Earthquake, also known as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, struck on December 26 and was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recent memory.
The faulting during the earthquake lasted for between 8.3 and 10 minutes, which was a record for faulting duration. This energy is less than that of the Tsar Bomba, the greatest nuclear weapon ever detonated, but more than 1,500 times that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
More over 200,000 people died, the majority on Sumatra, but also in smaller numbers in Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Maldives, Somalia, Thailand, India, and Sri Lanka.
Tōhoku Earthquake (9.1)
There were over 15,000 deaths
A significant underwater megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan happened on March 11, 2011, on Friday at 14:46 local time (05:46 UTC).
An enormous tsunami with waves as high as 40.5 meters (133 feet) was caused by the earthquake. It was one of the deadliest in recorded history; the waves inflicted major structural damage in northeastern Japan, traveling as far inland as 6 miles (10 km).
Airports, highways, and railroads were destroyed, and 127,290 buildings completely, 272,788 partially, and 747,989 partially damaged. A dam gave way.
In particular, the level 7 meltdowns at three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex were brought on by the tsunami.
On 10 March 2015, it was announced that the confirmed casualties were 15,894 deaths, 6,152 injured, and 2,562 people missing.
Kamchatka, Russia Earthquake (9.0)
The fatalities ranged between 10,000 to 15,000
In the extreme east of Russia, off the shore of the Kamchatka Peninsula, a massive earthquake struck on November 4, 1952, at 16:58 GMT (04:58 local time).
It generated a massive, deadly tsunami that swept across the whole Pacific Ocean, with waves as high as 15 meters (50 feet), which severely damaged the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands and resulted in the deaths of between 10,000 and 15,000 people.
Maule(Chile) Earthquake (8.8)
Damage done to houses by the 2010 earthquake with 8.8 magnitude in Concepcion city, Chile.
The 2010 Chile earthquake, often referred to as the 2010 Maule Earthquake, struck the Maule Region of Chile on February 27, 2010, at 03:34 local time (06:34 UTC), roughly 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) off the coast of the Pelluhue commune.
Three minutes or so passed during the prolonged shaking. Numerous cities, including the capital Santiago, saw building collapses that resulted in many fatalities.
In January 2011, the authorities released the ultimate death toll of 525 deaths and 25 people still missing.
Ecuador-Colombia Earthquake (8.8)
Over 500 lives were affected
On January 31, 1906, at 15:36 UTC, a large earthquake off the coast of Ecuador, close to Esmeraldas, occurred (a coastal city in northwestern Ecuador).
It is reported that the destructive tsunami caused at least 500 casualties on the coast of Colombia.
Rat Islands Earthquake (8.7)
No deaths were reported
The 1965 Rat Islands Earthquake struck on February 4, 1965, at 05:01 UTC (19:01, February 3, in local time).
Due to its remote location, it only created a tsunami on Shemya Island in Alaska that was above 10 meters (33 feet) in height. There were no deaths, according to reports.
Assam-Tibet Earthquake (8.6)
Over 500 people died
The Xizang-India border region experienced an earthquake on August 15, 1950, with the epicenter being close to Rima, Tibet. As a result of the earthquake, numerous structures were demolished, and between 1.500 and 3.000 people perished.
Large landslides obstructed the Subansiri River after the earthquake. 8 days later, this natural barrier collapsed, unleashing a 7 m (23 ft) high wave that flooded several communities and claimed the lives of 536 people.
Sumatra Earthquake (8.6)
Ten individuals died
A magnitude 8.6 underwater earthquake struck the Indian Ocean on April 11, 2012, at 15:38 local time, close to the Indonesian city of Aceh. Authorities responded to a tsunami alert but later discontinued it.
The strongest documented strike-slip earthquake occurred during these extraordinarily powerful intraplate earthquakes.
There were reports of tsunamis ranging in size from 10 cm to 0.8 meters (3.9 inches to 31.4 inches), however none of them were devastating because it happened so far away from populated areas. Ten fatalities and twelve injuries were recorded, the most of which were due to anxiety and/or heart attacks.
Each of this week’s European matches will begin with a minute of silence in remembrance of those lost in the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria, according to UEFA.
The United Nations’ humanitarian organization on the ground estimates that the death toll from last Monday’s high-magnitude earthquakes that slammed southern Turkey and northern Syria will likely double from the current total of over 33,000.
In Syria, it is claimed that over five million people have been rendered homeless, while Turkey has reported that over a million people are using temporary shelters as a result of the tremors.
The Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League knockout stage matches this week will all feature tributes to the deaths, according to information released by UEFA.
A minute’s silence will be observed before every fixture across UEFA’s club competitions this week, while a commemorative banner featuring the message, ‘We are together with you’, will be displayed in Turkish and Arabic.
A statement released by European football’s governing body on Monday also confirmed black armbands could be worn at the discretion of teams and referees.
Last week, UEFA confirmed it would donate €150,000 to the Turkish Football Federation and an additional €50,000 to the Bonyan Organization and Tiafi, both assisting in disaster relief.
Trabzonspor are the only Turkish club in action in UEFA’s competitions this week, hosting Basel in the first leg of their Europa Conference League knockout round play-off tie.
Istanbul Basaksehir and Sivasspor advanced to the last 16 of that competition as group winners, while Fenerbahce are into the same round in the Europa League.
Hatayspor and Gaziantep, two clubs based in the region effected by the earthquake, have withdrawn from the Turkish Super Lig.
Former Chelsea, Newcastle United and Everton winger Christian Atsu, who plays for Hatayspor, is still missing.
Even though Jordan Pickford has a deal with Everton through 2024, several of the top players in the Premier League are keeping an eye on him in preparation for the summer transfer window.
Tottenham and Manchester United have reportedly expressed interest in the England goalkeeper, but Sean Dyche is reportedly fighting tooth and nail to keep the 28-year-old at Goodison Park.
Pickford has been instrumental in helping the Toffees keep their top-flight position over the past two years, but should the right offer come up, he might decide to leave Merseyside.
We take a closer look at Everton’s No. 1 ahead of tonight’s rivalry match against Liverpool.
Dyche’s priority
At 28, Pickford’s best days as a goalkeeper are still ahead of him and it is no surprise that Dyche is keen for the 50-cap international to sign a new deal.
The former Sunderland ace has made some vital stops in the battle to avoid relegation both this season and in 2021-22, including a few handy saves against league leaders Arsenal last weekend.
Despite struggling under Frank Lampard until his recent dismissal, Pickford has still been able to record four clean sheets for the Merseyside club this term.
One of these came against tonight’s opponents Liverpool in September, where his heroics at Goodison Park saw him make eight saves.
His contributions have even seen him record an assist this season — a long ball up to Demarai Gray back in August helped his side secure a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest.
Former Burnley boss Dyche will be hoping for a repeat of that this evening, but any standout performance will likely enhance the interest surrounding the Washington-born keeper.
Outperforming his team-mates
Jordan Pickford has been key in helping Everton battle relegation this season
Everton are in a precarious position in the Premier League but a win tonight would lift them above West Ham and into 16th.
If they are to overcome their relegation woes, they will need their star man to perform at his best and replicate his impressive form from the reverse fixture.
This season, Pickford ranks in the top three for saves made. His 75 stops can only be bettered by Bernd Leno of Fulham and David Raya of Brentford with 55 of those coming from efforts inside of his penalty box,
He may have conceded 28 goals, but much of that blame can be passed onto the defence who have been sub-par in recent months and often spared their blushes by Pickford.
The 6ft guardian has also completed 11 punched clearances in 2022-23 and has completed eight sweeper regains, which indicates that he is often having to tidy up mistakes made in the backline.
A big decision
Jordan Pickford has faced more than his fair share of shots this season
If Pickford is going to go on and compete for major silverware in his career, he will need to make a tough decision in the summer.
While he is a loyal servant of Everton, it is unlikely that they are going to be appearing in any finals in the near future and a decision to leave would at least reward the club with a decent transfer fee.
Alternatively, he could commit his best years to a club that has shown faith in him and guarantee a legendary status within the ranks of the loyalists.
As England’s No1, there should be no doubt that Pickford is one of the best goalkeepers in the country and he would tick a lot of boxes for the clubs that are interested in him.
He would help fulfil the homegrown quota that is required of all Premier League sides and his leadership qualities would ensure that there is no slacking when it comes to fighting for three points.
Pickford is known for his passing range and excellent when performing as a sweeper keeper, two qualities that most managers value in the modern game.
Bigger and better
Jordan Pickford could thrive at a top-six club in the Premier League
There is no doubt that Pickford could thrive at a top-six club and many pundits are in agreement that the former Carlisle keeper should jump at the opportunity to move.
Scottish pundit Tam McManus is one of many who believe he should move on in the summer and believes Pickford will actively be looking for a way out.
He said: “He is a top, top keeper and Everton are such a mess. He has to be looking for a way out, everything with his contract as well.
“Why would he stay? Why haven’t bids gone in for him? If a big club comes in then he would ask to leave, I’m certain of that.
“This is the second season in a row where he’s been in a relegation fight, that’s got to affect you in a big way and he is so much better than that. He should be playing in the Champions League.”
Pickford may be good enough to play in the Champions League and he will get the chance to prove it as he lines up at Anfield tonight in a huge match for both clubs.
Prior to Paris Saint-Champions Germain’s League match against Bayern Munich, Kylian Mbappe resumed training, increasing the likelihood that the attacker will play after initially being expected to sit out.
Mbappe suffered a hamstring injury in PSG’s 3-1 victory over Montpellier on February 1, prompting the French powerhouses to predict a three-week absence for him.
PSG manager Christophe Galtier has emphasized the need to properly manage Mbappe’s injuries, while Julian Nagelsmann of Bayern Munich has accused PSG of “playing poker” with Mbappe’s availability.
On the eve of Tuesday’s round-of-16 first leg between the two European giants, PSG were handed a boost as Mbappe was pictured in training with his team-mates.
Mbappe’s potential return could be pivotal for a PSG side that has struggled in his absence, exiting the Coupe de France against Marseille last week before being beaten 3-1 by Monaco in Ligue 1.
Since making his PSG debut in 2017, Mbappe has recorded 57 goal contributions (34 goals, 23 assists) in 50 Champions League appearances – no other player has managed 20 goals and 20 assists in the competition during that span.
Lionel Messi was also absent for PSG’s dire defeat at Monaco, though Galtier maintained he would return to training on Monday, and the World Cup winner was seen alongside Mbappe as the side stepped up their preparations for Tuesday’s game.
It can be quite confusing to tell what celebrities looked like during their childhood.
For some, there is no striking resemblance, but for others, time was in their favour. Today, we look at some before and now pictures of celebrities loved by all.
Rihanna
Rihanna during her childhood days
The “Diamonds” singer was born in 1998 and is currently carrying her second child with A$AP Rocky, an American rapper.
Rihanna at the Super Bowl half-time show
Nicki Minaj
The Trinidadian-born singer, songwriter looked shy and coy during her adolescence but it now outgoing and social.
Nicky is mother of “Papa Bear”
Taylor Swift
Swift before hitting adolescence did not think her net worth would be $570 million when she becomes an adult. This is an estimate by Forbes.
Sam Smith
The English singer and songwriter has revealed that he identifies asnon-binary and genderqueer. He came out in 2019.
Rodrigo Bentancur, a midfielder forTottenham, has damaged his knee ligaments and will be sidelined the rest of the season.
Prior to limping off, the Uruguayan international opened the scoring for Spurs in their 4-1 Premier League loss to Leicester on Saturday.
Soon after the hour mark, Bentancur clashed with Nampalys Mendy of Leicester, and he needed oxygen on the field.
The 25-year-old “ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and will be out of action for the remainder of the campaign,” Tottenham announced on their official website on Monday. He will have surgery before starting his recovery.
We can confirm that Rodrigo Bentancur has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and will be out of action for the remainder of the campaign.
He will undergo surgery before beginning his rehabilitation with our medical staff.
Bentancur has participated in 26 of Tottenham’s 32 games this season, partnering up well with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the middle of the field.
The absence of the former Juventus player is unfortunate for Spurs, as fellow midfielder Yves Bissouma will be sidelined indefinitely following Friday’s ankle surgery.
Additionally sidelined for two months is captain Hugo Lloris, and Hojbjerg is suspended for the first leg of theChampions League quarterfinals against Milan on Tuesday.
Tottenham is now two points behind fourth-place Newcastle United, who also have a game in hand, after their loss to Leicester.
The FA Cup is still open for competition, and Antonio Conte’s team will play Sheffield United in the round of 16.
The founder of the Heaven Way Church, Evangelist Patricia Oduro Asiedua, also known asAgradaa, has disclosed that she will give the name Judas to her upcoming child.
During a sermon to her congregation, Agradaa stated that Judas is an undervalued name. Although everyone dislikes the term, there are positive aspects to it, she said.
Even though everyone despises the name Judas, Mama Pat says she adores it because there wouldn’t be Salvation without Judas.
If Agradaasaw Judas today, she vowed to give him a house or a car as a thank you for giving the world Jesus.
One of Jesus Christ’s dependable subordinates was Judas Iscariot. He was one of Jesus Christ’s Twelve Apostles.
Judas was the Apostle that betrayed his master by making known his location for just 30 pieces of Silver.
As a result of the role he played in the death of Jesus Christ, Christians all over the world dislike the name. Hardly will you see a Christian child named after Judas unlike the remaining 11 Apostles.
Well, Evangelist Patricia wants to be the first in Ghana to name her child after him.
The Ugandan government is pushing for the criminalization ofLGBTQorganizations and their operations there.
The country’s laws should be changed to make homosexual and bisexual behavior illegal, according to a report released in January by the NGO Bureau, an official agency that regulates the activities of NGOs.
In the alternative it urges the enactment of a new law “that prohibits the promotion of LGBTQ activities in the country”.
It further says the government needs to provide more resources to the NGO Bureau so that it can “identify and weed out those that are involved in activities that are prejudicial to the interests of the people of Uganda”.
Gay relationships are illegal inUganda, where they can be punished by up to life in prison for committing “unnatural offences”.
The report is a result of a year-long investigation into activities of NGOs involved in sexual minorities’ rights work in Uganda.
The bureau says it received concerns regarding various organisations, but did not state the source of the concerns.
In total 26 NGOs were investigated but the probe is yet to conclude its work on many of them.
It says that Sexual Minorities Uganda, one of the most prominent LGBTQ organisations in the country, was neither officially registered as an NGO nor as a business.
The NGO Bureau ordered the closure of the organisation in August 2022, but the organisation has since filed a case at the East African Court of Justice contesting its closure.
Registration applications of at least three other organisations to the bureau were rejected due to their involvement in LGBTQ human rights work.
In recent weeks, several government officials and leaders in the country have been speaking out against the “promotion of gay activities” in the country.
Last week, Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba, the head of the Anglican Church of Uganda, spoke against the recent Church of England’s decision to bless same-sex marriages.
Archbishop Kaziimba said that homosexuality was a sin and that the Anglican church in Uganda would not endorse it.
There have also been renewed calls in parliament for a new anti-gay bill to be drafted and tabled for debate.
Uganda received global attention when it passed an anti-homosexuality law in 2013. It later annulled it in 2014 when a court ruled that it had been passed without the required quorum in parliament.
According to accounts, an incident in northern Burkina Faso has claimed the lives of at least 12 civilians.
The French news agency was informed by locals in the Kossi region, which is near to the Mali border, that armed men on motorcycles assaulted the village of Sanakadougou early on Friday. Both items and animals were stolen.
It is believed that the perpetrators were members of the Islamist insurgency that has driven hundreds of thousands of residents out of their homes in Burkina Faso and its neighboring countries of Mali and Niger.
The military regimes in Burkina Faso and Mali have expelled the French troops who had been unsuccessfully fighting the Islamists and have invited Russian mercenaries in their stead.
According to reports, two former judges who were fired by President Kais Saied last year have been detained in Tunisia.
Bechir Akremi and Tayeb Rached, who were among the numerous judges and members of the judiciary fired in 2022, were seized by the police, a lawyer familiar with the proceedings said the Reuters news agency.
The ex-judges were taken into custody on Sunday, the second day in a wave of high profile individuals being detained, raising fears about the country’s political liberties.
The police detained well-known lawmakers and a businessman with political connections on Saturday.
The arrests were reportedly based on suspicion of conspiracy against state security.
The president was accused of a power grab after shutting down parliament in 2021 before taking control of the judiciary and pushing through a new constitution that gave his office almost unlimited powers.
The US is allegedly responsible for helping Tigrayan rebels during the recently ended civil war in northern Ethiopia, according to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki.
The president alleged that the US hurried the peace agreement between Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in a Sunday interview with local media to stop the rebels from losing on the battlefield.
After a two-year civil conflict that claimed tens of thousands of lives and left millions in desperate need of humanitarian aid, a peace agreement was struck in South Africa in November 2022.
In the interview, Mr. Isaias also made the first admission that the conflict claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, though he made no mention of Eritrean casualties.
Last week, the reclusive leader denied reports that Eritrean troops committed war crimes in neighbouring Ethiopia where they had been deployed to fight alongside federal troops and pro government militia.
Christian Atsu’s wife, Marie-Claire Rupio, has come out for the first time about her husband’s disappearance in the wake of the deadly earthquake that struck Turkey.
According to Marie-Claire Rupio in an interview with the BBC, the news that the former Black Stars player was trapped in a collapsed building after the earthquake shattered the family.
“He is still trapped under the rubble but the problem is they don’t have the necessary equipment needed to get them out. So he is still missing and they don’t know where he is,” she told BBC in an interview.
However, she noted that “I still pray and believe he’s alive.”
The partner of footballer Christian Atsu, who's whereabouts are unknown since Monday's earthquake in Turkey and Syria, says "I still pray and believe he's alive" https://t.co/tDdQFQE4UQpic.twitter.com/Gz5hf76MCc
She referred to the conflicting information regarding the circumstance as confused and pleaded with the governments of the UK and Turkey to do all necessary steps to save him.
Team doctor for Hatayaspor, Gurbey Kahvegi, has refuted claims that Ghanaian international, Christian Atsu has been found following the devastating earthquake in Turkey.
On Tuesday, turkish sports journalist Yeewz Za-bun jor-lo announced the former Black Stars player had been found and rescued from a rubble he was trapped in on Monday.
But recently Gurbey Kahvegi revealed that the club cannot confirm if Christian Atsu was rescued.
He revealed that “When the team heard the news that the player was taken to Dortyol Hospital, they followed up but unfortunately Christian Atsu was not there.
At the moment, they had to accept that Tana Sourt and Christian Atsu were not found.
A look at which nations and industries have the most economic influence may be gained from the list of the most profitable corporations in the world.
All ten of the most profitable corporations have their headquarters in the two economies with the greatest global markets, the United States and China.
The fact that financial services companies make up the majority of the list is also significant, while energy and technology industries also perform well.
This list only include companies that are directly or via ADRs listed on U.S. or Canadian exchanges. For instance, Saudi Aramco, the nation’s state-owned oil firm, debuted on the Saudi Stock Exchange in December 2019.
It would have been among the world’s 10 most profitable companies, and would have even topped the list in previous years.
Notably, the three most profitable companies in the world are technology firms. As opposed to prior years, all technology firms in the top 10 are from the U.S. The technology sector is comprised of companies that manufacture computers and electronics, develop software, and provide services relating to information technology, such as cloud computing and e-commerce.
Four out of the five financial companies on the list are based in China, most of them receiving major financial support from China’s central government. The financial sector is comprised of banks, investment companies, insurance companies, and real estate firms. These companies offer a range of financial services, including deposits, loans, investment and wealth management, insurance, and brokerage services.
These are the 10 most profitable companies by 12-month trailing (TTM) net income. Some companies outside the U.S. report profits semi-annually instead of quarterly, so the 12-month trailing data may be older than it is for companies that report quarterly. Data is courtesy of YCharts.com.2 All figures are as of January 11, 2023.
1 Apple Inc. (AAPL)
Net Income (TTM): $99.8 billion
Revenue (TTM): $394.33 billion
Market Cap: $2.08 trillion
1-Year Trailing Total Return: -23.64%
Exchange: NASDAQ
Apple designs and manufactures mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players.
The company also sells a range of related software, services, accessories, networking solutions, music and video streaming, as well as third-party digital content and applications. Apple is best known for its series of iPhones, iPads, and Mac personal computers.
2 Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Net Income (TTM): $69.79 billion
Revenue (TTM): $203.08 billion
Market Cap: $1.71 trillion
1-Year Trailing Total Return: -26.49%
Exchange: NASDAQ
Microsoft develops, licenses, and supports a range of software products, services, and devices. The company’s products include operating systems, server applications, business applications, software development tools, video games, and more.
The company also manufactures personal computers, tablets, gaming and entertainment consoles, phones, other intelligent devices, and related accessories. Microsoft also offers cloud-based solutions, its fastest-growing business, through its Azure cloud-computing platform.
3 Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)
Net Income (TTM): $66.99 billion
Revenue (TTM): $282.11 billion
Market Cap: $1.14 trillion
1-Year Trailing Total Return: -36.24%
Exchange: NASDAQ
Alphabet is a holding company and the parent of Google Inc., its primary business. Google offers a range of Internet products, including Search, Ads, Commerce, Maps, YouTube, Google Cloud, Android, Chrome, and Google Play.
It engages in advertising, sale of digital content, applications, cloud computing services, and sale of hardware products. Alphabet also offers smart-home products through Nest and is developing autonomous-driving technology through its Waymo project.
4 Industrial And Commercial Bank Of China Ltd. (IDCBY)
Net Income (TTM): $55.34 billion
Revenue (TTM): $143.32 billion
Market Cap: $188.72 billion
1-Year Trailing Total Return: -3.28%
Exchange: OTC
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China provides commercial banking and financial services.
Those services include corporate and personal loans, trade financing, deposit-taking, corporate and personal wealth management, and custodial services.
The company also engages in investment activities for its own account or on behalf of customers, including money market transactions, investment securities, foreign exchange transactions, and the holding of derivative positions.
5 ExxonMobil Corp (XOM)
Net Income (TTM): $51.86 billion
Revenue (TTM): $386.82 billion
Market Cap: $453.38 billion
1-Year Trailing Total Return: 67.12%
Exchange: New York Stock Exchange
The world’s largest refiner of petroleum products, ExxonMobil is headquartered in Irving, Texas.
The company distributes fuel, lubricants, and chemicals around the world under its four brands: Esso, Exxon, Mobil, and ExxonMobil.
The company’s upstream oil and gas production division includes various production chains including deep water, unconventional, heavy oil, and liquefied natural gas chains.
6 China Construction Bank Corp. (CICHY)
Net Income (TTM): $48.49 billion
Revenue (TTM): $126.78 billion
Market Cap: $159.38 billion
1-Year Trailing Total Return: -6.31%
Exchange: OTC
China Construction Bank provides a wide range of financial services to corporate and individual customers, including corporate and personal loans, deposit-taking, wealth management, trade financing, financial consulting and advisory services, and remittance services.
The bank also engages in investment activities such as inter-bank money market transactions, investments in debt securities, equities, as well as trading of derivatives and foreign currency.
7 Shell PLC (SHEL)
Net Income (TTM): $43.36 billion
Revenue (TTM): $365.29 billion
Market Cap: $204.03 billion
1-Year Trailing Total Return: 27.58%
Exchange: New York Stock Exchange
Shell is an international energy company that operates refining and petrochemical complexes around the world.
The company’s primary line of business is the exploration, production, processing, transportation, and marketing of oil and gas. Headquartered in London, England, the company’s product line also includes lubricants and petrochemical products used in plastics, coatings, or detergents.
8 Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. (ACGBY)
Net Income (TTM): $38.45 billion
Revenue (TTM): $113.04 billion
Market Cap: $122.94 billion
1-Year Trailing Total Return: 6.58%
Exchange: OTC
Agricultural Bank of China provides provides international commercial banking and financial services.
It offers financial products and services to individuals, corporations, government agencies, and financial institutions. The bank also engages in money market or repurchases transactions, debt instrument investments, and holding of derivative positions.
9 JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)
Net Income (TTM): $37.07 billion
Revenue (TTM): $123.42 billion
Market Cap: $406.54 billion
1-Year Trailing Total Return: -14.41%
Exchange: New York Stock Exchange
JPMorgan is a global financial holding company that provides banking and financial services.
The bank is involved in a broad range of businesses such as corporate lending, investment banking, market-making, prime brokerage, and treasury and securities products and services to corporations, investors, financial institutions, and government and municipal entities. It also offers consumer banking and asset management services.
10 Bank Of China Ltd. (BACHY)
Net Income (TTM): $34.54 billion
Revenue (TTM): $94.13 billion
Market Cap: $108.92 billion
1-Year Trailing Total Return: 6.02%
Exchange: OTC
Bank of China provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, corporations, government authorities, and financial institutions.
Its services include savings, deposits, lending, mortgages, credit and debit cards, trade-related products, and credit facilities. The bank also offers insurance, underwriting, stock brokerage, investment research, and asset management services.
Stuward Nankhumwa, a 17-year-old Malawian student who developed a WiFi device, was on February 6, attacked by armed men at his home.
Recounting the incident, Stuward Nankhumwa noted that the men attacked him just to find out how he developed his WiFi devise.
According to the minor, he was unable to since he was traumatised. They then attacked him and left bruises on his face.
Stuward Nankhumwa says he now fears for his life after the assailants threatened to kill him if he did not disclose how he developed the gadget.
Meanwhile, the Police in Zomba are hunting for assailants who hacked a 17-year-old student who came into limelight last week for developing a WiFi device.
17-year-old Malawian student, Stuward Nankhumwa had built a free data wi-fi device. He plans to produce a solar power generation device next. He received a scholarship offer from a Malawian university. He was attacked by three armed men who asked him to explain how he did it. pic.twitter.com/kPw894jSdQ
Ghana’s democracy is classified as being in need of improvement in the most recent edition of the Economic Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) democracy index study.
A maximum score of 10 was allowed for the survey, which was based on five different measurements. The evaluation factored in the democratic political culture, civil freedoms, political engagement, pluralism in the electoral process, and government operation.
Elections are fair and free, and fundamental civil liberties are upheld, although there may be problems with flawed democracies (e.g. media freedom infringement and minor suppression of political opposition and critics). These countries may have serious flaws in other democratic features, such as a weak political culture, low levels of political involvement, and problems with how the government operates.
The report indicated that Ghana scored 6.43 out of 10 which is a 0.07 decrease from the previous 6.5 in 2021. The score according to the report shows that Ghana’s democracy is a flawed one since the score falls within that category.
Ghana’s democracy index has been on a downward trajectory in the last 6 years and has been in the flawed region since 2010.
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Ghana however, ranked 4th in Africa and 63rd in the world for the global democracy index. It came behind Botswana (1st), South Africa (2nd), and Namibia (3rd) who scored 7.73, 7.5 and 6.52 respectively.
Global Democracy
The global score increased by 0.01 from 2021 to 5.39 in out of 10 in 2022. According to the report this represents stagnation rather than a reversal of the democratic recession that began in 2016.
The report finds that almost half (45.3%) of the world’s population live in a democracy, while more than a third (36.9%) live under authoritarian rule. The survey rates the state of democracy across 167 countries.
The global score, however, has been on a downward stream and some of the accounts can be attributed to the widespread suppression of individual liberties during the covid-19 outbreak for protection. This was seen in the significant fall in the global score in 2020 and 2021.
The printing of more than GHS41 billion by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to finance the government’s budget in 2022, according to Dr. Tiah Kabiru Mahama, a technical advisor at the Office of the Vice President, is not necessarily a bad idea.
According to him, rumors that the BoG has printed more than GH 41 billion, maybe more than the 5% of total revenue it is permitted to utilize to finance the government’s budget, should not lead Ghanaians to believe that the BoG has engaged in criminal activity.
Dr. Kabiru Mahama explained in an interview with Good Morning Ghana that the administration and BoG had petitioned Parliament to suspend some financial regulations, notably the Fiscal Responsibly Act.
“… there is a presumption of regularity in the affairs of the central bank unless we prove that something has been done irregularly.
“If that government has contemplated the law and has gone to Parliament without wanting to set aside the law and do things at their discretion and wimps, that government will equally think about the law when they are dealing with the central bank borrowing.
“We are assuming that something has been done irregularly… until it is proven based on the central bank’s own books and the outstanding loan the government is owing the central bank, we cannot be saying that this allegation that it (BoG) has done something wrong is true,” he said.
“I know Dr. Addison and his able deputies; they will never do anything that is outside the law,” Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s advisor added.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Ghana has justified its decision to print over GH¢40 billion for the government to finance the 2022 budget.
According to the BoG, it was left with no option but to support the government because it (the government’s) access to International Capital Market was closed and the domestic market was also struggling.
In a statement issued on Thursday, February 9, 2023, the central bank posited that its action was not wrong since the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2018 which was suspended by the Parliament of Ghana had not been reinstated.
“… it will be important to recall the circumstances under which Government of Ghana decided to seek IMF support. Ghana had lost access to the International Capital Market, domestic revenue was significantly underperforming and not realized, pushing the state of government finances into near external and domestic default.
“With the above, the policy choices were not that of business as usual but rather a more challenged conduct of macroeconomic policy in the context of crisis. The government needed to finance critical expenditures for which Bank of Ghana needed to provide the necessary financing to avert a disorderly default of both servicing for domestic and external debt including financing critical imports to keep the economy on the stable path,” parts of the statement read.
The statement by the BoG comes after it was heavily criticized by some Ghanaians after a Bloomberg report indicated that it printed GH¢41.9 billion for the government in 2022.
Broadcaster Dr. Randy Abbey, who was reacting to the Bloomberg report, said that the BoG, which is supposed to be regulating the country’s financial sector, appears to be breaking all the rules in the sector.
“The level of seeming recklessness and lawlessness, and irresponsibility when it comes to the operation of the central bank and the lack of transparency is getting worrying,” he said.
Frank Annoh-Dompreh, a member of parliament for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, believes Ken Ofori-Atta, the finance minister, can jumpstart Ghana’s economy.
The MP claims that requests from some of his parliamentary colleagues that the president fire the finance minister will do more to stall the government’s efforts to revive the economy.
Annoh-Dompreh stated during an interview on Badwam on Adom TV that the finance minister should be permitted to continue working as he revitalizes the Ghanaian economy.
“I think we are making progress. The times dictate that we should be at peace with each other. Before I say anything it means I have spoken to people. Now it appears things are getting better so we have to keep things running,” the Majority Chief Whip said.
His statement comes on the back of a call by the Member of Parliament for Asante Akim North, Andy Appiah-Kubi for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to honour his promise to fire Ken Ofori-Atta.
Ofori-Atta was untouched in a recent ministerial shakeup that saw Akufo-Addo nominate seven persons for ministerial and deputy positions in his government.
Annoh-Dompreh also called on the NPP in parliament to unite in breaking the 8 in the 2024 election by allowing the finance minister to retain his office.
“We are ready to break the 8 but we need unity among ourselves, “he said.
The majority chief Whip who has openly declared his support for the Vice President believes the majority in parliament should look at the larger picture of the 2024 general election, though he respects the views of those calling for the removal of the finance minister.
The assertions of Annoh-Dompreh have been shared by some members of the majority who are confident the finance minister should be allowed the fix the economy rather than replace him.
Since the end of 2020, according to data from the Bank of Ghana, consumer and corporate confidence in the overall economy has been declining.
Since January 2021, the Consumer and Business Confidence Indices have both constantly remained below the 100 level.
In this time, the consumer confidence index has averaged 86.13, while the corporate confidence index has averaged 88.19.
In the meantime, in October 2022, the consumer and business confidence indexes hit record lows of 73.9 and 72.6, respectively. The indexes increased to 79.2 for consumer confidence and 75.7 for business confidence in December 2022.
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According to the Bank of Ghana, consumer confidence improved on the back of the reductions in ex-pump petroleum prices and transportation fares in December 2022.
Business confidence also turned positive due to achievement of short-term targets and confidence about company and industry prospects, following the appreciation of the local currency during the month.
The confidence indices
Consumer confidence index (CCI) measures how optimistic or pessimistic consumers are regarding their expected financial situation.
The CCI is based on the premise that if consumers are optimistic, they will spend more and stimulate the economy but if they are pessimistic then their spending patterns could lead to an economic slowdown or recession.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an indicator above 100 signals a boost in the consumers’ confidence towards the future economic situation, as a consequence of which they are less prone to save, and more inclined to spend on major purchases.
Values below 100 indicate a pessimistic attitude towards future developments in the economy, possibly resulting in a tendency to save more and consume less.
The business confidence index provides information on future developments, based upon opinion surveys on developments in production, orders and stocks of finished goods in the industry sector.
It can be used to monitor output growth and to anticipate turning points in economic activity.
Ghana’s Real Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA)
This indicator has moved from 39.4% in April 2021 and slid continuously to 10.2% in November 2021 and by November 2022 moved to -6.2%.
It is worth mentioning that the second half of the 2022 economic year was characterized by high fuel prices, high inflation and excessive depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi and this may explain why economic indicators showed negative growth especially during this period.
Ghana’s Real Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA)
The annual growth of Bank of Ghana’s Real CIEA also shows a dip to an all-time low in November 2022 of -6.2%. This is indicative of a worsening outlook on domestic economic activity.
This indicator has moved from 39.4% in April 2021 and slid continuously to 10.2% in November 2021 and by November 2022 moved to -6.2%.
It is worth mentioning that the second half of the 2022 economic year was characterized by high fuel prices, high inflation and excessive depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi and this may explain why economic indicators showed negative growth especially during this period.
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